He was sad that his coat was in such ruins. Holding the tattered piece in his hands, he sighed as he arrived home, feeling the chill of both the wind and his recovery from diving into fire not for the first time. Not even all the soot was off of him.
With a heavy heart, he placed the pelt up on the rack that once held it to dry it out. He could find a new life for it, perhaps- salvage it, use it as... Wrapping? He'd miss having that warmth on his back, though. It's not like he was gonna go hunting for another deer any time soon; he still had meat from the last doe.
And he still needed to carve her figure.
And he still needed to commit one crime he could barely resign himself to.
He grumbled wordlessly to himself as he kicked a log closer to the fire pit, his mind conscious of the stone knife resting against his thigh. Maybe it'd meet its fate soon- now, perhaps? No- not yet. He was cold. While he was still up, he gathered some kindling and dropped it to the charcoal-dotted circle before wiping his palms together, looking down before gathering a set of nearby dry grasses.
Now, where was his flint? He rummaged around the camp for a minute or two, looking under his cot and by his stashes, finding the piece and its metal tucked away between cracked and broken jars he used to hold his many projects. He'd have to pick back up on that fish hunting, maybe. Elspet liked those scales...
He shook out the thoughts from his head, plopping down on the log and bent over to strike the flint to spark up a fire.
@Xevir
Xevir was full, not really in the mood to eat. She was walking up until she caught the scent of a strange scent of a unfamiliar creature. She followed the scent until she reached what looked like a camp. Then inside, she saw a purple looking creature, working on two legs. Her ears perked in surprise. This was the elf she was looking for, Attikias! The calf walked in the camp, not aware of boundaries. Well, she was still just a kid. She stood in front of the elf as she spoke.
"Hi, my name is Xevir. You must be Attikias the elf! I have been looking for you! Long story short, I ran into a maned wolf and she told me some things, things she was confident I could figure out on my own. She said that a gembound's magic and forms were borrowed, but elves like you were made from old magic. She said elves and animals were different, but she did not know why or how. She also heard some master called Astraea speak what she was certain was elf language. Anyway, she was confident I could find these things out on my own! I don't work for her, but, I want to know these things for myself." She gave a friendly shake of her tail. She realized she may have blabbered on, but she wanted to get to the point. After all, she was sure this was the elf the maned wolf had mentioned.
@Attikias
He startled as he noticed a being step over his wood, yelping as his muscles reacted and struck the flint with the metal bit hard enough to spark the kindling. "Shit-" He shot back as embers threatened to die and his attention was drawn between them.
"Hold on- slow down," he tried to beg with his hands out, intending to get her to step back from the wood. He didn't need another burnt child on his hands. But, without him fanning the fire, the wind coming from the other direction blew it out before it could even start.
That was great. Sighing, Attikias folded his arms as he looked to Xevir from his kneeling position. "Word gets around fast, huh? Listen, I don't really know much. I'm not different than any other animal." He pulled in grass from the other side of the pile idly. "I was just made this way, I guess. It wasn't a different language, though? Just.. Words." Resting back, he folded his legs under him and shrugged. "Called me his imeára nur and stuff."
They were just normal words he somehow knew like he knew every other word in his vocabulary. Not some 'elf language', right? He could feel himself getting defensive, though, an armor built up from his insecurity of his previously unknown species.
"Why are you here? There's not any secrets or anything I know; I'm just trying to make a life here. I barely even got half of what Astraea said."
@Xevir
"Oh sorry. I didn't mean to offend you. I just am really trying to figure out all the ins and outs of these caves." The calf suddenly got an idea in her head.
"Again, sorry if I offended you. Hey Attikias, I have an idea. I have arcane magic. Do you mind if I use it on you? I mean I have an idea, but I don't know if it will work." Xevir really did not want to get in on this gembound's space. But, she was desperate to get answers. Bu even hindsight could give her the answers that no one else had the answers to.
@Attikias
Attikias winced to himself at the calf’s words. She was young, and here he was, being harsh when he didn’t need to be. ”No- you’re fine, I’m just a little touchy on the subject.” Being an elf was a new experience for him, and the memory of being berated for no reason came to the forefront of his mind. ”I’m sorry. You can try, but I dunno what you’d get out of it.”
@Xevir
Xevir nodded, happy for Attikias to let her try. She walked up to him and put her nose on his skin. Nothing. But suddenly, Xevir got an even better idea instead.
"Hey Attikias, it didn't seem to work. But I have another good idea. Your gemstone. I don't know why, but I think it would be better to use hindsight on your gemstone. If you're up for it that is. What do you think about it? I don't wanna touch your gemstone without permission." Something told her more useful information would come from his stone. Why? She wasn't exactly sure.
@Attikias
He supposed not.
"Yeah, sometimes it doesn't work," he gave a short explanation, shrugging. But- his gemstone? He'd never had anyone touch it before. Making quick mental math, Attik concluded it shouldn't be bad, leaning in closer for her to reach at the white on his shoulder in a silent acceptance.
"What're you trying to do, anyways?" He cocked his head to her, still forcing down minor annoyance at her for her sake. She was young; she didn't know that it was a touchy subject for him.