Discussion with an Elf.

You'd become quite accustomed to your elven shadow over the course of three days of slow travel. She didn't ever want to talk with you it didn't seem like, but she also never really wanted to be far from you either. Rene, Yvette, and Jane kept giving you knowing looks when they saw you looking at her, but you were honestly quite uncertain what the elf's intentions where. Even more confusing was that as far as anyone knew, elves had left this continent well before the age of Wendel. They were myth and legend at that time too you knew, and even Dawn regretted to tell you she had no information about elves besides fantasy stories. Yet here was an elf, shadowing you daily. You had a thousand questions to ask her, but you also didn't want to put any pressure on her. Mostly because you feared what they had been doing to her in that wagon, though you hoped they hadn't.

Finally on the fourth night the elf came and sat next to you by the fire. She seemed to be too shy to speak with you. It felt like a bird landed on you. You wanted to look at her, and ask her if she was ok, but you worried that doing so would frighten her off. Still, this was the closest she had been to you this entire time, so you considered it good progress. You sat there wondering what you could do to get her to talk with you, so you started small. You took a drink of water from a canteen, and you offered it to her.

"It is water if you are thirsty" you tell her without looking directly at her. She seems hesitant, but after a moment she takes the canteen, and you suppress a smile when you see her taking a drink.

"I haven't seen you eat that much. Is there a type of food you would prefer to eat" you ask her when she hands you the canteen back.

"No thank you. I do not require very much food or water" she states.

"I see. Are your wounds doing ok? Nothing is infected or anything" you ask her.

"They are healing as expected. Thank you" she states plainly.

"I'm glad to hear that. I feel a little guilty for telling you I'd give you a healing potion, and then, you know, not giving you one" you chuckle nervously "but I promise to give you one once we reach the Sanctuary" you say.

"It is okay. I am alive, and thanks to you and your women...I am free" she states.

"Well I'm glad to help where I can" you reply. The conversation pauses as you try and think of what to say next, but thankfully you aren't the one to continue it.

"My name is Fae, by the way. F...A...E" she states.

"I am happy to know your name Fae, thank you for telling me" you tell her smiling "Um...do you have any questions for any of us" you say gesturing at you and the girls" you ask, and you hear an angry warble from Copper standing behind you.

"Or any questions about Copper" you quickly amend, and Copper quietly barks content you'd included him making Fae smile slightly.

"Why did you risk your life for us" she asks suddenly serious again "you have so much to lose. I have seen how you all look at each other. You all love each other deeply. That seems like too much to risk" she states.

"It is true, we do all love each other, and we are eager to be home to see the rest of our loved ones. Losing even one of us is the most terrible thing I can imagine. However, the love I have for them, the love they have for me...the chance to find something like that is denied to a ****. We all should have the right to love and be loved from the moment we are conceived. We all should have the right to pursue happiness where ever we find it. I have the ability to help, so I will help, so that hopefully, eventually, we all will have the ability to help each other" you tell her.

"There is no other motive? You are building a town, maybe a city, do you not seek power" she asks.

"Fae, when you get to know John as well as we do you will find he is the last person to seek power" Yvette answers for you.

"Fortune then, it is for the money" she asks which makes you all chuckle.

"He is probably the single most rich person on this continent already" Yvette answers again.

"If any of you wish to leave the Sanctuary I was planning on giving each of them 10 platinum pieces" you tell her, and Fae's eyes widen for a brief moment. You can see her look you up and down again, as if seeing you for the first time.

"It is hard for me to imagine someone without a selfish motivation. Even when other's benefit you must benefit more somehow" she states, and you just shrug your shoulders since you can't think of any way to prove your motivations. Plus it isn't like you won't benefit from what you want to do, that's just kind of the nature of being a leader it seems like.

"Since we've answered some of your questions, may we ask you some questions" you ask Fae.

"You wish to know how an elf got here" she says with a slight smirk.

"Well, that is the biggest question yah" you reply chuckling.

"The answer, sadly, is I don't know. I was very young when it took place. All I really know is that my mother and father were attempting to escape someone. We were in a boat. I can remember their faces, and I can remember seeing nothing but ocean any direction I looked" she says staring at nothing "and I remember the storm. It threw us around like a feather in the wind. I fell asleep, I think, or maybe I was knocked out, and when I woke up I was wet, cold, and on a shore somewhere. I searched for my mother and father, but there was no sign of them, and slavers found me. I have been a **** for fifty three years now. Traded and sold, beaten and used, discarded...and now found" she says. You had stared at the fire as she spoke, but when you turned your head she was looking directly into your eyes. You could see the fire light flickering in them, as if she were full of rage, and you realize she very well may be.

"I am truly sorry you have suffered so greatly. What you have gone through...it is not fair, and I truly hope that you can find peace and happiness with us, or should you wish it where ever you want to go" you tell her sincerely, but you are confused when she smirks.

"We can not leave the Sanctuary. We would be captured and either resold or killed. You know this" she says still smirking.

"If I can change it I will. So that any or all of you could leave without worry of being captured again. One day, there will be towns that won't condone slavery, and I won't stop until this whole continent has abolished slavery" you tell her, and you can see her eyes staring into your eyes again. Ever so slightly she tilts her head, and the reflection of the fire disappears from her eyes.

"You really believe you can do that don't you" she asks.

"I really do" you reply, and Fae's smirk turns to a smile.

"Perhaps this world is not so dark after all. Not with people like all of you in it at least" she states looking you up and down again.

"I believe there are plenty of people just like us in it. There is just something preventing them from doing it" you reply smirking.

"Like slavery for example" she asks.

"Like slavery" you reply. The conversation pauses for a moment. Since she can't remember how she got here that eliminated a lot of your questions basically. Copper takes the opportunity to sit down behind you, and he starts booping you with his nose which doesn't help your train of thought.

"I have only seen one other raptor in my life" Fae states smirking as you turn to start petting Copper's head.

"I'd love to tame some more. Maybe then I'll get some peace" you say chuckling. Copper lets out a soft bark, and tilts his head to stare at you.

"Not that I wouldn't want give you any of my attention buddy" you tell him smiling. Copper snorts dismissively and moves his head over to Fae. You see Fae tense up for a moment until Copper nuzzles her hand. She smiles and starts stroking along his cheek, and Copper let's out an appreciative warble as he continues staring at you. You and the girls start laughing at the display, which makes Fae laugh with you. Copper lifts his head up to bark and warble with you as if he were laughing as well. Of all the Dinos you've met or will meet, Copper will always have a special place in your heart. The group laughs for a moment longer, and then the laughter fades. Fae continues petting Copper for a while as you all stare into the fire. Each of you lost in your thoughts.

"Thank you again" Fae says looking at you and the girls, and you each nod back at her.

"I think I am going to try to get some sleep now" Fae states as she stands up, and she arches her back to stretch. You try not to look, but her pose shows off her figure nicely. She was skinny from malnutrition certainly, but she was still quite attractive, and she would certainly only become even more attractive with a little more weight on her bones. You suddenly realized you were staring at her anyways, and she was watching you, so you quickly looked at Yvette, whose only response was to quickly raise her eyebrows up twice. You were tempted to make your helmet cover your face.

"G-goodnight Fae. Thank you for telling us your name again" you tell her as you shyly look back at her again. You were so confused how talking with some women it seemed so easy, but other's it felt like you were kid with your first crush. Fae just bows her head slightly with a smile and walks off towards the wagons to find a spot to sleep you'd assume.

"That was good progress with her I would think" Yvette says as she stands behind you to massage your neck.

"Yes. It seems like she's been through quite a bit. Even slaves treated well don't last for fifty years I would bet. She has a long path ahead of her" you say with a sigh.

"Perhaps. Something tells me she has a strong will to have survived as long as she has" Yvette replies.

"Yah. That she has any sense of self is quite amazing really. She is an extraordinary individual" you say.

"Is that the only thing about her you consider extraordinary" Rene asks chuckling making you all smile.

"She is beautiful, there is no doubt about that, but she has been through so much already. She doesn't need someone like me making passes at her" you tell the group.

"Right. I'm sure she follows you around for no reason what so ever" Jane says with a smirk.

"I know...I know. I'm not the person who gets to decide who she is and isn't attracted to. I just don't want her to feel indebted to me, and that sex is the only way she can pay me back" you reply frowning.

"You are a good man John Doe, but you can be very dense at times" Yvette says chuckling. The other girls chuckle with her, but you don't understand the joke very well.

"Rejecting her for what you just said would be the worst thing you could do. When you freed me I found myself even more attracted to you. If you had rejected me...well...I don't like thinking about it honestly" Rene states frowning, and Jane reaches over to hold her hand sympathetically.

"She sees your attraction to her...our attraction to her...she isn't stupid. Whether there is anything more than attraction there is not something you can know immediately, but this is the first time she has had the opportunity to chose someone for herself. Don't take that away from her because you believe she feels indebted to you. Give her a little more faith than that. Let her decide if she wants more, and you just focus on if you want more for your own reasons. Not for the reasons you are attributing to her assumptively" Yvette tells you.

"You girls are right. You think I'd be better at this by now" you chuckle sadly.

"You are better at this. The fact you even consider things like that is one of your best traits. That's part of why Fae is attracted to you. You let her get closer at her own pace. You let her ask questions she wanted to ask instead of just telling her what you wanted to tell her about us. You let her retreat to sleep without feeling overly pressured to keep being near you. No one has done that for her yet. No one did that for me until I met all of you" Rene says still sounding slightly sad. You motion her over to you, and she quickly comes to sit in your lap so you can wrap your arms around her.

"I am thankful for all of you. More than you could ever know" you tell them as you squeeze Rene tightly.

"We love you too" Yvette says softly into your ear.

"More than you could ever know" Dawn says fading in in front of you.

"Dawn" you all exclaim in unison, and you all stand up to hug her.

"So we're within your range again it seems" you say smirking at her.

"Yes, for a little bit now, but I did not want to wait any longer to see all of you. You are going quite a bit slower then when you left you know" Dawn says teasingly.

"For good reason" you reply.

"I know. I just wanted to tease you a little bit. I do have some information though" Dawn says.