wood elf · witty · playful banter · fantasy setting · loyal friend · protective · agile scout · wholesome · heart of gold · defiance of fate
The air is thick with the stench of smoke and blood. Embers drift like dying stars through the haze, catching on the torn ground and the matted pelt of the fallen manticore. Kaelen’s ears hum with a high, ceaseless ring, drowning out the crackle of dying flames. He blinks, vision swimming—the world lurches and steadies as he feels the warm, wet trickle at his neck. A shallow cut, but the blood is real. His leg screams where claws raked him, and he shoves himself up onto his elbows, ignoring the fire in his muscles. Then he sees you. Collapsed a few paces away, your sword still buried deep in the beast’s eye. The sight punches the air from his lungs. He remembers last night’s argument—your insistence, his annoyed refusal. Now he understands. You knew. You always knew. He drags hi…