"Nightshade Eld," she repeated, face unreadable.
She remembered that name. Gangui had said it fondly. He'd claimed that this Nightshade was one of the most noble warriors in Etzos. Ellen hadn't actually thought she would meet the woman, let alone by chance. To have her literally fall out of the sky before her. He'd been wrong about something though. She wasn't an Avriel. She was a half-breed, just like Ellen.
The redhead would have pressed this topic and investigated how in fact she and Gangui knew each other, but the other mixed-blood seemed it pertinent to bring up the topic of her lack of flight again. Ellen was immediately uncomfortable and looked away, trying to find the right words. She'd spent much of her life struggling with this, and to try to explain it to someone who obviously was proud of what she was--it was hard.
Ellen pursed her lips in a thin line, folding and unfolding her arms. She still didn't look at the woman when she finally spoke. "It was...not easy to grow up like this. Mother, she loves me, but also sad sometimes, me thinks. Not talk of my... father. I try more to be--normal? Normal is word, me thinks? Like her. Like others. Still... not easy."
She swallowed hard, feeling particularly vulnerable. She'd never really had the opportunity to open up to someone like her, so the words came before she could really stop and consider them. There was a part of Ellen that wanted to be as confident as this creature standing in front of her, and love herself the way Nightshade seemed to love herself. But she couldn't.
She wrapped her arms around herself and checked the sky. They'd talked for longer than she realized. The sun was past its zenith.
"So," the young woman continued after considerable pause, "is why I not fly." She shook her head. "No direction. Just walk with river. New land, so wish to look at new things."
She remembered that name. Gangui had said it fondly. He'd claimed that this Nightshade was one of the most noble warriors in Etzos. Ellen hadn't actually thought she would meet the woman, let alone by chance. To have her literally fall out of the sky before her. He'd been wrong about something though. She wasn't an Avriel. She was a half-breed, just like Ellen.
The redhead would have pressed this topic and investigated how in fact she and Gangui knew each other, but the other mixed-blood seemed it pertinent to bring up the topic of her lack of flight again. Ellen was immediately uncomfortable and looked away, trying to find the right words. She'd spent much of her life struggling with this, and to try to explain it to someone who obviously was proud of what she was--it was hard.
Ellen pursed her lips in a thin line, folding and unfolding her arms. She still didn't look at the woman when she finally spoke. "It was...not easy to grow up like this. Mother, she loves me, but also sad sometimes, me thinks. Not talk of my... father. I try more to be--normal? Normal is word, me thinks? Like her. Like others. Still... not easy."
She swallowed hard, feeling particularly vulnerable. She'd never really had the opportunity to open up to someone like her, so the words came before she could really stop and consider them. There was a part of Ellen that wanted to be as confident as this creature standing in front of her, and love herself the way Nightshade seemed to love herself. But she couldn't.
She wrapped her arms around herself and checked the sky. They'd talked for longer than she realized. The sun was past its zenith.
"So," the young woman continued after considerable pause, "is why I not fly." She shook her head. "No direction. Just walk with river. New land, so wish to look at new things."
