Pieces of Eight

Chapter 13

Tobias slept lightly and not long; when he awoke, he decided not to read too much into the fact that Areli was curled tightly against his back, and made his way out of bed as gently as possible. Silently, he left the rock-dwelling that Areli had bedded down in and stole back to his own house through the forests themselves, staying off the paths. Doubtless, the tale of last night's less-than-ideal encounter would have spread like wildfire through the occupants of the woods, and Tobias was in no mood to answer questions. Despite the late-morning hour, with the sun already high in the sky, he only ran into one other elf: her name was Lilith, and she was one of the Old Ones. She wanted contact even less than he did. Their eyes met briefly as Tobias stole along the shadow of a massive oak, they shared a nod, and then both continued on their way.

When Tobias returned to the borrowed grove in which Areli and his company had settled, he found most of the rest of his party up and about. The young girl who was the Gryphon's daughter and her mage-friend were sitting in the branches of a nearby tree eating apples; the fire-mage and the earth-mage were crossing swords; the wind-mage and the water-mage were absent, but the water-mage had left the door to his woven-branch dwelling open, so Tobias assumed he was awake and had wandered off. The wind-mage was likely still asleep.

The young girl saw him first, but did not acknowledge him past a shy, shallow nod before turning back to her friend. It occurred to Tobias then that he did not know what this other woman did, but a black cat gamboled around the base of the tree chasing a bird, so he would assume that she had some elemental power of which to speak. He would also go ahead and assume that the girl at least thought all elves like Ilir, as it was likely that she had had no experiences with them other than this one. Hesitating only a moment at Areli's door, Tobias set down the bag of food he'd retrieved and took with him only an apple of his own as he approached the girl in the tree.

She looked visibly and obviously apprehensive, but she also met his gaze with her own, sat up tall, and did not shy away from him. He respected that. Her companion, a beautiful woman with kind dark eyes, soft coffee-colored skin, and textured black hair, leaned over and whispered something in her ear; the girl did not look away from him, so Tobias stopped at the base of the tree a few feet away and greeted them.

"My name is Tobias. I will be lingering here to look after you in Ilir's stead. Were you able to rest last night?"

The girl finally looked away from him in favor of turning to her friend; the mage answered for both of them. "My name is Mimi, and this is Phoebe," she stated simply. "Our rest was uneasy, but through no fault of yours. Our minds are troubled."

"These are dark and difficult times," Tobias granted, aware that it was a severe understatement. "Have you eaten besides those?"

"These will hold us for breakfast," Mimi replied, gesturing with her half-eaten apple, "but we had not figured out a meal following."

"Don't let it trouble you," Tobias assured her. "Can I put your mind at ease in any other fashion?"

Mimi apparently had no other concerns, as she turned to Phoebe rather than speaking; Phoebe, as it turned out, had one major one to address. "Is my father going to be alright?" she asked, and in an instant, Tobias's heart twisted in his chest. Her words had served as iron bands that suddenly constricted around him, making breathing difficult and his heartbeat painful. The image of Areli sinking to the ground, painful and weary and resigned, came to him unbidden, and the surge of anger that followed was accompanied by the memory of Ilir's sneering face as he beat the Gryphon where he knelt.

"I will care for your father as if he were my king," Tobias promised. "He is, as you are, welcome to stay for as long as necessary."

The answer seemed to satisfy Phoebe, whether she innately sensed the truth in his words or simply yearned to believe him that badly. She nodded once, thanked him, and then returned to her apple and her conversation with Mimi. The echoes of the ache in his chest that her words had left compelled him to turn and march right back to Areli's borrowed house, picking up the bag of food he'd brought and seeing himself in.