Raven left the girl to sleep soundly in the tent and stepped back into the night. He stood quietly at the entrance and then suddenly reached an open hand to his right facing a shadowy line of trees.
A shriek of dismay came from the direction his hand was facing. Without turning, he slowly closed the fist and the sound became strangled. He moved the closed fist towards his shoulder and a shrouded figure was brought forth from the dark.
An elf like woman with skin that reflected the galaxy was struggling in mid-air. Her hands were clawing at the black mist that swirled around her throat and her legs kicked wildly as her ability to breathe was cut off.
"Quiet. She is resting.", Raven said simply. He slowly turned his skull to meet the eyes of the intruder. The woman nodded vigorously.
Raven opened his fist and the woman fell to the ground.
"Speak.", he said firmly.
"My lord- I can't- my apologies for trespassing. My lord, I cannot express my joy at your return-", the woman said hastily, crawling towards his feet. Her eyes wide with shock.
"Silence.", he hissed in his deep voice. Caeli lay only a few feet away. He did not wish her to hear.
The woman's eyes grew wider yet with terror and surprise.
"How did you come here?", he asked. "And I will not tell you again to speak quietly, do you understand?"
"Yes my lord. Of course my lord.", the woman whispered reverently, she dropped to her knees and touched her head to the ground with her hands in front of her. "I was assigned to follow the girl. When you took her, I was caught in the maelstrom of your magic, I am here unintentionally, although I am overjoyed-"
"Who sent you to follow this woman?", he asked, cold calculated malice in his tone. Anger knocked on the the back door of his mind. Who would have such interest in her?
"Lord Callon, head councilor of Flumen City."
"For what reason?", he said, looking back to the pond in front of the tent he had created for Caeli.
"He seems to have a fascination with the girl, he has not disclosed his intentions to me. My orders were to simply follow the girl and report to him regularly on where she was, what she was doing."
"You are of the Galaxias clan. A night elf born from the darkest depths of the Midnight Forest. Why are you servant to a councilor of some city?", he asked as he walked towards the water of the pond, watching as large fish, left to grow by the absence of no greater predator, kissed the surface of the water. Caeli would need to eat, he had already kept her here for three days and, due to his selfish desire to become close to her, he had forgotten to take care of her mortal needs.
The woman scurried quickly to his side and bowed again.
"Callon is of the night elves from the forest. He is very powerful and I was chosen to accompany him on his journey outside of the wood to help him achieve a position of power to improve the reputation of the night elves.", she said to the ground where she was bowing.
*This elf has an interest in Caeli? Was he able to perceive her deeply dormant power? If the elf was old enough, perhaps. It seems unlikely though. Perhaps he found her attractive.*, he thought to himself. Anger boiled beneath the surface and the black shadows in the vicinity began to move erratically.
"My lord?", the woman asked, now watching the shadows like they were venomous snakes.
"Have you been able to report to your keeper since your arrival here?", he asked darkly.
"N-n-no my lord! I am powerless here! Of course, of course with your power, I could never hope to overcome your abilities to reach our time.", she stuttered quickly.
Raven stood stone still as he listened to her.
"I will release you, and you will tell your master that the girl has died. Devise an excuse, what it is matters not to me, but you will ensure his pursuit of her will end, do you understand?", Raven said, his tone deathly.
The woman nodded her head vigorously.
"My lord, I am so pleased at your return. For the Night.", she said proudly, bowing once more and holding her fist to her heart.
Raven gave a displeased grunt and waved a hand at the woman. Black mist swirled from her feet until it engulfed her and once it dissipated, the elf girl was no longer there.
"Perhaps I am protecting Caeli, this will buy me a little more time, and if that elfling wishes to live, he will let her go.", Raven said darkly as he walked towards the tree line to forage for food that Caeli could eat and use to recover.
Of course he could have manifested a meal but how long had it been since he had made a meal with his own two hands? He could hardly remember.
Taking time to provide for her was the least he could do.
A dark aura radiated from him as he became lost in thought.
He would not allow anyone to take her from him. If Caeli chose to remove him from her life, it would be her choice, not as a result of persuasion or forceful removal.
He would make sure of that.