Adrian was not human. He had known this as a truth for most of his life. He had known that humans were powerless, yet clever creatures, whom forced his people into another land and enslaved them for the good of their own species. He had known he was not like them, in fact, had to hide from them, and he had known that it was because of them that he could never leave Elliot's house. What he did not know was what made humans so different, or what made them want to be away from other creatures. What made humans despise him? Why did they torture and mistreat his brethren? Most importantly, what could he do about it? 

Only ten years of age at that time, the small elf pondered these things from his hiding space under a large tree. This large tree wasn't surrounded by many other large trees, but the dirty robes he wore allowed him a bit of camouflage. The sun was high in the sky, its rays peeking in through the green leaves of the tree and leaving stripes of light across the young elf's body. Adrian could smell the food of the humans, feeling his mouth water, and he chewed his tongue to distract himself from the hunger. A pale hand with thin fingers reached up to touch the pointed tip of his right ear, as he noticed that his brown hair had grown even longer than before, now to his shoulders with shaggy bangs falling into his face. He needed this long hair to hide his ears whenever he was spotted. Elliot had said it was crucial.

He brushed his bangs back away from his forehead, wanting a clear vision of the world around him. It wouldn't be long until Elliot was to return, and Adrian wanted to absorb all he could before he was once again trapped. As he watched a rare, dancing, blue butterfly glide awkwardly through the air, he became unaware of his surroundings, and a young adventurer came upon him. 

"Hey there!" he greeted loudly. 

Adrian nearly jumped out of his skin. His neck snapped around to find who may have discovered him so quickly, and his brown eyes met with a pair of sparkling blue ones. The human boy stood tall, which made Adrian believe he was a bit older than himself, and his blond waves of hair fell to a length almost as long as the elf's. His robes were a bright, clean brown, and he held a toothy grin on his face. As long he played it cool, Adrian could make it out of here safely, couldn't he? [url=http://vocaroo.com/i/s0d1uqezxfQs]"Oh! Hello. What are you doing here all by yourself?"[/url]

"I could ask you the same thing," the boy replied, in a strange, foreign accent. "What ya doing here all by your lonesome? You don't got friends?" His eyes twinkled playfully and he leaned against the tree. 

Adrian looked away, with a frown on his face. It hurt, because it was true. He had one friend, but she was a slave, so it didn't count. Besides, everyone else he had known was human, and elves couldn't be friends with humans. [url=http://vocaroo.com/i/s1ZIHjqfO0uP]"I got friends,"[/url] the ten-year-old replied, unknowingly somewhat micmicking the human boy's accent. [url=http://vocaroo.com/i/s0NpS8TMv8Fy]"Actually, my friends are waiting for me, so I got to go."[/url] With a grunt, the elf got to his feet, but as he went to pass by the human, the other boy grabbed him by the arm.

"You don't got a name, stranger?" he asked. 

[url=http://vocaroo.com/i/s1CcHw8v30pu]"It's Adrian,"[/url] Adrian mumbled hesitantly.

"Well then," the boy released him and smiled. "My name's Alekus, and I've just come here from the northern part of Merovah. I have to go aswell, but I hope to see you again, Adrian. Next time, we meet as friends." With a wink, he bounded away as quickly and as silently as he had came.