2/7/2025, 12:14 AM
![[Image: Viv_Elli.gif]](https://sig.grumpybumpers.com/host/Viv_Elli.gif)
SKILL : HUNTER ( 1 / 5 )
With Northfall's peaks quiet once more, Elli pressed her luck past its protective borders. She wasn't exactly afraid of travelling alone or doing most anything by herself, but she couldn't quite shake the image of her deceased father crushed by rocks. It made her more mindful of unsteady land as she traversed the mountain she once trusted.
Truthfully, she wasn't sure she had any trust left for anything or anyone, save for her brothers. They were constants, her port in the storm of life and loss. She sometimes worried they'd leave her one day, too, like everyone else inevitably did, and the thought settled bitter on her tongue. It led her out into Northfall's outskirts and then into the tundra at large.
She wasn't entirely aimless as she stomped across the frozen alpines, however. Near-directly, she followed the trail of Amaris when he left after the tourney. If he had good sense, he would have expedited his travel back home because, if she found him in this random foray, she likely would have ambushed him. It was fortunate (for Amaris) that she wouldn't discover him and, instead, was brought to a dead stop by the scent of something sweet and alluring.
It smelled like spring and life, full of floral notes and nectar. She envisioned a meadow full of fresh blooms at the scent's origin, but that couldn't be right - it was winter. The north was frozen and dormant, all fangs and claw for those who underestimated it.
She didn't seek the bizarre scene out actively, half-afraid it was a trap, but she wound up just at its edge all the same when she crested a hill. Had she subconsciously brought herself here, or was some spell responsible? Pink-painted treetops waved invitingly as she peered down at them, uncertain if it was wise to waltz right in. This world was strange and magical sometimes, though she had seen less of its magic and more of its unforgiving punishment since she drew her first breath almost a year ago.
... Maybe she could use some magic, a more vulnerable part of herself suggested. As if she were powerless to resist its beckons any longer, Elli lurched forward in her descent from the hill crest, embarking on the path of floral rain and sun-warmed grasses.
Truthfully, she wasn't sure she had any trust left for anything or anyone, save for her brothers. They were constants, her port in the storm of life and loss. She sometimes worried they'd leave her one day, too, like everyone else inevitably did, and the thought settled bitter on her tongue. It led her out into Northfall's outskirts and then into the tundra at large.
She wasn't entirely aimless as she stomped across the frozen alpines, however. Near-directly, she followed the trail of Amaris when he left after the tourney. If he had good sense, he would have expedited his travel back home because, if she found him in this random foray, she likely would have ambushed him. It was fortunate (for Amaris) that she wouldn't discover him and, instead, was brought to a dead stop by the scent of something sweet and alluring.
It smelled like spring and life, full of floral notes and nectar. She envisioned a meadow full of fresh blooms at the scent's origin, but that couldn't be right - it was winter. The north was frozen and dormant, all fangs and claw for those who underestimated it.
She didn't seek the bizarre scene out actively, half-afraid it was a trap, but she wound up just at its edge all the same when she crested a hill. Had she subconsciously brought herself here, or was some spell responsible? Pink-painted treetops waved invitingly as she peered down at them, uncertain if it was wise to waltz right in. This world was strange and magical sometimes, though she had seen less of its magic and more of its unforgiving punishment since she drew her first breath almost a year ago.
... Maybe she could use some magic, a more vulnerable part of herself suggested. As if she were powerless to resist its beckons any longer, Elli lurched forward in her descent from the hill crest, embarking on the path of floral rain and sun-warmed grasses.