(22 Fashanos 5115, The Landing)
“If you are going out hunting and would like a hunting partner, I would be honored if you would have me,” a man’s voice whispered to me.
Surprised, because I had not even seen him, I almost jumped. I looked at the source of the unfamiliar voice and did not even recognize his face. I am very cautious, and this elf was not introduced to me by anyone I knew.
He had the look of a Faendryl Dark Elf. All my guards came up, as I decided what to do next.
“But you have no idea where I am hunting!” I told him, becoming fretful.
“If your recent tales are of any indication, we are likely in the same vicinity,” he answered. He didn’t seem too anxious or too pushy. Perhaps this is not forward where he grew up.
“No worries, lady bardess. I apologize for imposing,” he whispered again. His manners began to impress me.
I try very hard to take whispered conversations into spoken ones, with witnesses, unless someone is a friend. Especially with men. With this in mind, I decided I would like to meet him.
“I am Luxelle, an aspiring bardess,” I introduced myself, aloud.
“And I am Zazulu, a Sorcerer,” he promptly replied to me.
I gave an inward groan. Sorcery…from a Faendryl. The old terror began to rise, and I pushed the panic down. Auntie is a sorceress, and she is perfectly nice, right? (That business with the thief she caught in her workroom aside…) Plus, he seemed nice, and I did not want to offend him. So I offered him a reason for my seeming reticence.
“I … generally do not go out hunting with people I do not know yet, please do not be offended. I have learned I must be cautious,” I told him. I did not know what would happen next, but if there is anything I have learned, it is that the truth is always the best thing. So I said a silent prayer to the Lord of Dreams that nothing bad would come of this conversation.
“An admirable quality, to be sure,” he was reassuring and polite. So, I guess he was not going to kill me for being careful. “Hunt well, lady bardess.”
I curtsied to him, and he headed out.
But this was not over in my mind. Maybe I should have done or said something else. I had no idea exactly what, but I began to feel bad, then worse. How is it I did everything Mother taught me and I still feel bad?
I will recognize him if I see him again. Everyone starts out strangers, right? Maybe he will forgive me and my carefulness.
