Korlash looked at the center of the forest and pointed. "That way. The village is that way. I'm going to say this again. If we encounter trouble leave me here. I'm dead weight and I'll drag you down. When we get to the village, or you get to the village, whisper whisper these words into the guards' ears." Korlash bent over to Jin and gave her the words. He Stood back up. He was hurting all over. He felt weak and couldn't stand it. He was upset that Jin had to carry him. He truly felt useless for the first time in forever. "Hey Jin. When we get there, if the elves tell you to leave me outside, do it. Don't get yourself in trouble for my sake. Okay?" He said with sterness.

Jin said nothing at all. She simply started to carefully help Korlash through the woods. She was upset, and scared, and she didn't want to listen to him try and give up his own life. Although she couldn't word it, she knew that it would be a betrayal of his compassion for her, and his kindness when no one else had helped her. Now there was no one to help him, and he expected her to just leave? What was wrong with him? Did her feelings mean nothing at all?

"'B'ak daer..." She growled under her breath, her jaw clenched. There was fury and fear mingled in her eyes. "I care if you die. You had trouble for my sake. And my heart is cold? I would leave my friend to die alone?" She would have kicked him if he wasn't already in so much pain. She might save it for when he was better. "Fool." She drew a hand across her face and continued on.

Sniffing the air, she knew the village was getting closer. Finally, she spotted the slim figures of elven guards, both with thin, elegant swords. They looked at her with eyes of distrust. "Please. Help." She approached the guard slowly, and whispered the words that Korlash had told her. In her fear, she probably botched a few pronunciations. But there were fresh tears starting to drip down her face.

Korlash looked at the guards and had fearful eyes. Would they let them in, or leave them to be alone? His sigh of relief was large and noticeable when they allowed them in. He pulled Jin along with him to the healer.

"Excuse me elder." He said, with a humble voice, my friend here needs a few rags to wipe her tears. She's always crying. I might also need a little fix me up as well." The healer eyed him, sizing up his wounds, and finally setting him down to be worked on. "I'm sorry boy," the older elf said, "but you'll be here for the night. We lozt our last healer who could use magic gifts to an animal attack. We have to use more... rudimentary ways." "That'll be fine, as long as you check her up as well." Korlash said, nodding to Jin.

Korlash then looked at jin. "Hey after he checks you, go find a place to stay. I'm going to be here all night so you need a place to sleep."

Jin narrowed her eyes at him, looking angry enough to say something nasty. "I am staying here. Do not argue." She leaned over and gave him a hard tug on the ear, like a goblin mother reprimanding her young. "I am not leaving you. You hear me?" She wiped her dirty arm across her eyes, which were rather red from crying. To the elder, she inclined her head deeply, respectfully as she could. Her shirt was still gone, revealing the ritual scars on either side of her stomach. "Thank you for your help, elder one." She jerked her thumb at Korlash. "This one will try to act as if he is helping you. In truth he has had the wrong mushrooms. He thinks he knows a person's heart better than they know it themselves. But mostly he is only serving his own feelings." She glared at him, but she was starting to cry again. "Help him. I will sleep." With that, she found a corner of the healer's home, and lay down on the ground in a tight ball.

The elder started to work on Korlash he observed all around making sure to clean any small cuts and wounds. When he had finished he yanked the dagger out of korlash's chest. Korlash cried out in pain from it, not realizing how much it had hurt before, when he was pumped with adrenaline. The elder rubbed some salve on it and wrapped it up. Next was the wound Korlash had wrapped up himself. he unwrapped it and it was a mess. theres was blood everywhere on it, and it looked infected. The doctor tried his best to cure the infection, putting all kinds of healing plants on it, but to no avail. it would just have to run it's course. He cleaned the wound and rewrapped it. after that was the leg. It was broken no doubt. looked like it had been hit by a boulder. He fixed it, and immobilized it, leaving it to heal. He had finished his work. he left the hut to go converse with the other elders.

Korlash got up, still wobbly, and walked over to Jin. 'Hey calm down." he said. "I'm alright aren't I? I survived. i'm here. At least i'm not dead in the desert. heh heh." Jin was curled up in a ball on the floor. He realized she probably wouldn't listen to him at this point. She was too upset with him. He drifted off to sleep while patting her back.

Jin said nothing while the healing was going on. She didn't want to hear Korlash's cries of pain, and found herself quietly humming a child's song under her breath. That was enough to distract her somewhat, but she was still angry. She'd told him his wounds would get worse, and he hadn't listened. When all was done, and Korlash made his way to her, she said nothing. Then his hand touched her back, and she let out a silent sigh. He didn't understand at all, did he? He was telling her to calm down, and yet he hadn't even accepted why she was actually upset. It was less the fact that he had nearly died, and more the fact that he expected her to not feel horrible about that. He expected her to leave, to act like she didn't care for him.

In truth, it felt more like he did not care for her, in some twisted way.

She did not move until she felt the even sound of his breathing. Slowly extracting herself from under his hand, she found an unused blanket in the corner, and spread it over Korlash. Then she curled up near him, so that her back was against his side. She fell into an uneasy sleep that was filled with an old nightmare.

Dawn was breaking through the forest. Korlash woke up to the sun in his eyes. He sat up and looked around. At the door stood the elder that had fixed him up before. The elder motioned to him to follow. Before he left, he dropped his weapons near Jin and covered her with the blanket that he had. He pulled up his pant leg and pulled out the dagger that he had pulled out of the troll's throat, and laid it on her stomach. "Have fun sleeping." He said.

The elder led Korlash to the center of the village, and whispered in his ear. "I know you've been exiled. Try and hide it as you may, we will have to take you to meet the elders. I wish the best of luck to you when you meet them." The elder grabbed his hand and pointed him to the large hut. Korlash slowly walked to the hut and opened the door, ready to meet those who banished him, leaving him for himself.

Jin woke up a bit later, the absence of Korlash's breathing finally breaking through her sleep. She stretched and nearly stabbed herself, as she looked at the dulled dagger that was once hers. Korlash was... gone. She frowned and stood up, rubbing the back of her neck. Where was he, and why did he not wake her? After carefully tucking his swords into her own belt, she exited the hut. She had to find someone friendly enough to talk to her. Now where was that elder?

Korlash entered the hut and slowly knelt down on one knee. "Elders. forgive me for tress..." He tried to speak apologies but was surprised when the leader of the village lifted him up and knelt down on one knee. "Take our forgiveness for our transgressions against you. I speak for this council when I say please accept our offering of forgiveness. If you had not done what you had when you did a long time ago, this village would not be here. you may not notice but the elder, the older head of our council, is gone. He died along with his crazy zealous ideals." Korlash looked up to the man speaking. He didn't notice at first but it was his father. He teared up in his eyes. Was he finally being accepted in his village? He lifted his father up and gave him a large hug, and ran out the door to find JIn.

Jin was wandering the village slowly. Her eyes were wary, and she was worried. But then she saw Korlash, rushing toward her. As much as a man with a freshly broken leg could run- it was more of a rapid hobble, anyway. But he didn't seem to be in much pain. In fact, he was smiling. "Korlash!" She rushed to him, to keep him from having to walk to her and further hurt himself. "Korlash, you are... happy! Why are you happy? And why are you not resting?"

"I'm accepted again!" yelled Korlash. "I'm finally allowed back in!" He grabbed Jin and threw her up in the air, catching her on the way back down, giving her a large hug. "I'm finally able to be home." Korlash said, much quieter this time. Tears started to roll down his cheek. "I can live here. But where will you go? They have to accept you too. you helped me come here." Korlash stopped hugging Jin as she probably thought he was too close. He rushed off to his house to find his mother.

Off in the distance, in the castle of the town in which Korlash once guarded and Jin once stole from, the king sat in his chambers, planning to attack wherever the man he hated most went. "You may have run," The mad king said,"But you only brought more innocent lives into this."

Jin let out a yelp of surprise as Korlash joyfully picked her up and tossed her, catching her and holding her close. He was warm, and he was happy. She was happy too, but also warm, and that was actually more confusing than it seemed to be. Mostly because he'd never been so openly affectionate before. It was nice, because she did like hugs, but her body felt... odd. She didn't have a chance to speak, as she couldn't form the words in her confusion. He was rushing away before she could congratulate him, and she was left warm and smiling. She followed him at a distance, not wanting to interrupt his reunion.

Korlash burst into his old house looking for his mother. he didn't see her. He looked around for her. He finally went out back. After staring at the fledgling tree, he walked back inside and back out to the front of his house. He walked back to the council and stood in front of them with a stern stance. "I request to receive my magical gift now." he said, staring them head on. The elders gathered around him in a circle, and started chanting an old elvish verse. Korlash could feel the power of magic finally coursing through him. He decided to test it out. He pointed his hand out torwards a small sapling outside the hut and muttered "Grow." the sapling burst forth into a glorious tree, filled completely with leaves and branches. He closed his hand back into a fist, bowed to the elders and walked out. He walked back to Jin, tired from his first use of magic. "Hey jin," he said, " come stay at my hut over here for the night. we'll figure what to do in the morning."

Meanwhile, the mad king looked over his plans. "yes," he said, "I will finally be rid of that elf and all of his kind once and for all." He looked to his general. "General!" he yelled. "Start preparing the army. We are going to trim some hedges."

(So... where IS his mother?)

Jin gave him a bit of a scowl. She'd watched from outside through a window, and the idea of someone being given magic was quite interesting to her. She had thought it was something you were born with, like green eyes or really long ears. But Korlash was doing so much running around, and she could see how weary he was. When the excitement wore off, he was going to be hurting.

"I will stay. I need clothes. I am dirty and... the female elfs here look at me with angry eyes." Her shirt had been used to staunch his blood, and it was useless now. "Do you know why? Is it because I am... not an elf?"

(I did a really bad job of writing it, but the fate of his mom was meant to be ambiguous in interpretation in that she either died, or is just gone.)

" Here." Korlash said, taking off his shirt and giving it to jin to wear. He looked around and noticed even though he had been accepted back in to the village, they still gave him strange looks. was it perhaps because of his tanned skin, that made him look so different from their light complexion? He shrugged it off. He responded to Jin's question. "I couldn't tell you. They seem to be wary of me as well, as if I carry the plague. come. come. let's get into the hut."

(Honestly, I thought the fledgling tree was supposed to be a grave marker. That she died, and the tree was planted in her honor. But it was recent, so it's not full-grown yet. I... read a lot into tiny details.)

Jin pulled Korlash's shirt over her head. The neck was wide enough to nearly show one of her shoulders. The sleeves hung past her hands, and the hem of the shirt had settled past her hips. "They will have to... what is the words... get used to me." She lifted her arm and brought it to her nose, inhaling. It was the same subtle scent as the sheets of his bed, and this time it brought an image of Korlash's smile. She realized she'd never seen him so happy as before that moment. She smiled broadly, and felt a sudden tingly warmth in the pit of her belly. "And they will have to get used to you. I do not know why they look strange at you. There is nothing wrong with how you look."

Jin may have been smart, but she did not understand the problem. "I understand you may like me, but it's different for others. I may be allowed into the village, But I'm still seen as different with this scar carved into me. I'm tolerated, not accepted. And since you are seen with me, they project their disdain of me onto you as well. The only ones that still accept me is the council, because they know the wrong i've been done." Korlash flashed a quick smile at Jin. She may have been annoying and pushy, but she still cheered him up. He knew he was overprotective, but it was the guardian instinct he had. He led Jin to his bed and let her lay down. pulling the blankets over her, he went to the wall and fell asleep.

Jin settled in his bed, trying to relax. It was soft, though, far too soft. She felt as if she were sinking into the mattress. After half an hour of trying to be comfortable, she gave up and got up. She took the blankets with her, and settled down on the floor. The solid earth was comforting, and she dropped off to sleep.

Unfortunately, not for long. Soon she was tossing and turning, deep in the throes of a nightmare. The world was large, which meant she was small. A woman smiled at her. She had long brown hair and beautiful dark eyes, and she smelled good and was warm. A man picked her up. He had dark skin, and a deep voice, and while she couldn't understand everything he said, she knew one word. "...Jinny!" Then she was asleep, surrounded by warmth. Then she was awake, and there was yelling, and a horrible noise, and sounds, and then screaming, and then a horrible smell, and so much red...

Jin groaned in her sleep, her lips moving in a mumble. "Daklou... Gaeklou..." A whimper of fear escaped her.

Korlash was woken from his sleep by Jin's frightened mumblings. He knew she was having nightmares. He used to have these when he was first captain of the guard when he lost men. He could still hear the screams of fear when they died. He got up and walked over near Jin and slowly sat down. He started humming a little song he learned from back in the city. It was a slow, simple tune. He hoped the tune would calm her down. Since she had taken care of him it was his turn. He slowly hummed the tune quietly throughout the night, hoping to sooth Jin's dreams.

Jin started to calm down, slowly. Her skin was shiny with sweat, and the borrowed shirt was slightly damp. But soon she did truly sleep, without dreams or nightmares. With dawn peeking through the windows, she slowly opened her eyes, finding Korlash nearby. Her head tilted very slightly, in surprise, before she got up and stretched, and then silently settled beside him and rested her forehead on his arm. She had yet to speak, but she was being near him, which was more than she'd done yesterday. She had stopped being upset, for the most part.

(I would say she rested her head on his shoulder, but.. considering their height difference, I don't think she could reach. So she's leaning on his upper arm.)