It was a sunny day in the forest. The birds were chirping, animals were coming out of their homes to look for food and the ecosystem was flourishing.
A particular dear was grazing in a part of the forest. It had no idea it had caught the attention of a predator. It heard some rustling sounds and looked up in alarm. It got ready to run but after awhile, it didn't hear anything again and so, went back to eating.
That just happened to be its last action as something pounced on it and bit it so hard, it snapped its major artery. The deer died immediately.
Alea wiped the blood off her mouth and carried the deer on her shoulder back to her cave to roast. Just because her kind was peaceful doesn't mean they didn't eat meat or hunt. It was what their fangs were after all. They were excellent hunters.
It had been two years since she had been rid of the marks that haunted her for most of her life. It took some time for the bad luck to completely fade away and her life went back to normal. It was exciting, to say the least, but after a while, the excitement vanished.
It was replaced by anxiety, guilt, loneliness and sadness. She never saw any of her friends again and she was afraid to go see them. In their world, to trust people was hard and she was sure she completely lost their trust.
She could go home but she was scared. She had been away for eight years. Though it wasn't much for elves that lived for thousands of years, she wasn't ready. But she had to go.
She looked at her leg that was turning to a light shade of grey. If she didn't leave soon, it would spread to her whole body and she would whither away. She had to go home soon and get back in touch with her roots.
She sighed and made her venison. The smell attracted predators but none of them dared to move next to her cave. Not even creatures with magix. All animals followed their instinct and Elves were apex predators. So was the animal living in that cave.
"Oila, food is ready" Alea called out. She got a grunt in return that echoed from the back of the cave to where she stood.
"Come on now. I went to hunt a whole dear just so we can share. Come on, you have to eat to get better"
"No!" A voice childishly replied.
"Don't make me come drag you out of there"
"Y....you...you can't seriously do that, can you?"
"You're about to find out"
Alea stood from in front of her stove and went deeper into the cave. She grabbed hold to a greenish tail and pulled the creature out. The creature clawed the ground so it would not be pulled but Alea had much more strength than she appeared to have.
She pulled it to where she was preparing breakfast and thrust a huge plate of the food to its front.
"Eat!" Alea commanded and the dragon hesitantly agreed. She sighed and shook her head.
While she was travelling through the woods, she heard what sounded like the cry of a baby. She ran towards it and saw the dragon. It seemed to have been separated from its herd and it was calling for help. It was also injured so she took it in and nursed it back to health.
"Your leg....." Oila said, pointing to Alea's greyed limb.
"It's nothing"
"You're lying. Dragons can smell lies, you know?"
"Can you also smell that you're dirty and in need of a bath?"
"Nooooo! No baths"
"I'll drag you all the way to the pond if I have to"
"You're such a mean elf"
"Let's go" Alea says with a chuckle.
They come out of the cave and find their way to the pond. It was clean and clear because humans hadn't reached that part of the forest yet.
Alea washed the dragon and bathe for herself. They spent the morning lounging in the pond and came out when their bodies started shrivelling.
As they walked back to their cave, Alea looked at a rose bush in suspicion. She felt like someone was watching them. It was puzzling to her because she was sure no humans have been to the area before.
She shook off her suspicion and went to her cave.
In the capital city of K'noku, the Kingdom of Krolls, a particular Kroll was running towards the palace. He was so focused on his destination, he ignored everything and everyone in his path.
Pushing people aside, shoving things out of his way, he received curses, yells and growls on his way. It was like he was deaf as he ignored everything.
He rushed past the guards who regained their senses after he has passed by him. Only one left his post to chase him and rallied others on their way. This particular Kroll was faster than all of them though and soon made his way to the throne room.
"Your majesty" the Kroll wheezed out. The throne room went silent and the king raised a brow at the Kroll that was desperately trying to catch his breath. The guards came into the throne room and groaned when they saw the Kroll they were chasing. The King chuckled and sent them all back to their posts.
"Counsellor Umik, care to tell me why you ran through the city, again?"
"Your majesty, I had to tell you something important right away"
"Okay. Leave us" the King said and the throne room cleared out, leaving only him and the counsellor.
"So, what do you want to tell me?"
"I saw a dragon and an elf in the forest today"
"What?! That's impossible. Elves and dragons aren't native to the Quitri continent"
"I'm not lying your majesty. They are both young and their magi signatures were overwhelming. I couldn't approach so I ran here to tell you immediately"
"I'll do something about it. Don't send anyone to monitor them and don't go back there. You'll scare them off"
"Yes your majesty"
"You need to make another public apology. Your hate levels are soaring"
"I will at once your majesty" the counsellor replied with a bow and left the king to his thoughts.