Visitors (anyone)

Eoin sat by the fireplace of his home after the sun had gone down. It had been another fulfilling day for him yet again. Now, he was just relaxing and reflecting on the day. As he did his thoughts came to the Elf maiden Aranel. He met her during his time with the Elves and was taken by her. However, he was forbidden to be with her as he is a human. Eoin let himself smile a bit as he thought of Aranel. As he did, the sound of someone outside got his attention. Eoin looked up, then got his knife and silently made his way to the door, not knowing who was outside.

Having once again wished for a break from the nagging that was real lie, Odile had decided to spend the day exploring Armonía instead. Today's place of visit was the forest and as usual she was exploring in swan form. Normally, it was a rather safe way of getting about. Until today.

Odile didn't notice the hunter until too late. A sharp pain shot up her arm, making her cry out and looking over she saw that an arrow had pierced her wing. Swerving, she began to concentrate on a spell that would slow her fall to not hurt herself even more when she hit the ground. Hitting the ground with a thud, she began to transform though the wounded arm stayed in wing form. She noticed that she'd landed outside someone's home. "Hello? Is someone there?" she called out tentatively.

Hearing the voice, Eoin went to see who was there. Once outside, he saw a woman laying before him. What Eoin really noticed was the fact that one of her arms was a wing. Pushing that to the side for the moment, he sheathed his knife, then took the woman inside. "Stay calm" Eoin said to her in a gentle tone as he took her inside. Once in, he set her on the floor and began to tend to the woman's injury.

"Thank you," Odile said as the kind stranger started tending to the wound. "Pull it out and I'll transform the arm back. It'll make tending to it a lot easier," she suggested, sitting up and giving Eoin a grateful smile.

"I'm usually more careful than this. I don't make a habit of crash-landing on people's front doors," she joked with a soft laugh. "A hunter caught me unawares."

Eoin nodded in reply, then pulled the arrow out of Odile's arm. After doing so, he looked it over. "You lucky it was not poisoned." he said to her while holding the arrow in his hand at the same time.

Concentrating on finishing her bird-to-human transformation, Odile watched as the feathers turned to skin, examining the wound once finished. At his words, she nodded. "A midwinter miracle, really. I wouldn't have enjoyed ended up as a family's meal tonight. I'm Odile, by the way."

Eoin nodded a bit as he listened to her. "Nice to meet you Odile" he said to her in reply after disposing of the arrow. "What are you?" he asked, referencing the fact that she transformed from bird to human.

"Nice to meet you too. Shame it had to be on such bleak terms," she replied. "I'm human," she said in reply to his question. "My parents were sorcerers, whose specialities were bird transformations. So I learnt to transform from a very early age. It gets me into trouble every once in a while, but what's life without a risk or two..?" she added with a wry chuckle.

Eoin nodded as he listened to her. "I see" he replied while wrapping her arm up after cleaning it up. He finished a few seconds later, then got a drink made for Odile and handed it over to her.

"Thank you," she said, gratefully taking the drink from him. "And thanks for doing my arm. It's a nice place you've got. Peaceful, it seems. Are you here by yourself?" she asked, making conversation.

"You're welcome and yes I am" Eoin replied as he sat back and watched her. "What about you?, what brought you out here?" he asked.

The female nodded then said, "Just wanted a break from the city life. It's much too hectic and stressful. I've found that the forest is a brilliant place to escape to - it's so calming and peaceful. And it's very beautiful too, especially now, with all the snow around. Have you lived in Armonia all your life?" she asked curiously.

Eoin listened to her as she said that. "I have" he said, at the same time, there was an undercurrent of sadness in his voice. Memories of his parents were coming back to him. Eoin did his best to stay composed.

Even though Eoin tried to hide it, Odile heard the sadness in his tone. "What's wrong?" she asked kindly. "Did I say something wrong?" He'd been kind enough to take help her when she needed it - she really didn't want to offend or say something hurtful without meaning to.

Eoin looked up when Odile asked that. "No, you didn't" he replied in a noticeably softer tone. "I was just thinking about some people in my life." Eoin replied honestly before getting up and walking over to the window of his home.

Odile gave him an understanding smile. The look on his face and the sad note in his voice could really only mean one thing - he was thinking about his family. As someone who'd pretty much lost her own family, she could pick up on such things. "Your family, I'm guessing...?" she asked softly. "You must really miss them. I know how you feel - I lost mine too..."

Eoin looked back at Odile when she said that to him. "Yes, that is who I am thinking about." he said to her. "You miss your family?" Eoin asked her as he stood at the window, his arms at his side at the same time.

Odile stood up, nodding. "I lost my mother when I was 15. My dad kind of lost it after that. Things simply weren't the same after that. I won't bore you with the details, but I ran away and ended up here in Armonia," she said, not really used to talking about her past. "But I still miss Father. I miss the good times we had together." She placed her empty mug on the table before looking back at Eion. "What about you? What happened with your family? if that's not too forward or too painful a question..."

Eoin listened as Odile told him of her family and what happened to them. "They were killed in an farming accident." he said to her as he watched her. "After they died, I was taken in by a group of Elves." Eoin added

"I'm so sorry to hear that," replied softly, empathy for him in her dark eyes. "It's good to hear that you were looked after though. I've heard that Elves generally treat humans with a lot of kindness."

She came up to the window and looked outside. Snowflakes were lazily drifting down and Odile wondered how she'd get home - she didn't know this part of the forest at all. "If it wouldn't be too much trouble, could you accompany me to the forest border? I'm afraid I don't know this part of it very well and I can't transform back and fly out with this wing..." she asked after a moment's silence.

Eoin nodded a bit in reply. "That they do" he said to her. He looked out at the snow, then back at Odile when she asked that. "Of course, no need for you to go out alone." Eoin said in reply. He got his gear, then gently wrapped Odile's cloak around her.

"Thank you," Odile smiled at him as he helped her. It was really kind of him to help her as much as he had, despite not having to. She hadn't met many people like that - everyone she used to know was strictly of the 'help yourself cos I won't' belief.

"So what was it like, living with the Elves?" Odile asked as she stepped outside, not helping but giving a giggle as she sunk slightly into the snow. "It must have been a uniquely wonderful experience..."

Eoin nodded in reply, "You are welcome" he said to her. "It was indeed" Eoin added as he walked with her. "I learned much from them and...." he started to say before stopping himself. It was clear that someone else was on his mind at this moment.

"And...?" Odile asked, her voice suggesting that he carry on. She pulled her cloak tighter around her to keep the cold away. "You meet someone special while there?" Ah love - one of the things that Odile had long ago stopped trying to figure out long ago. "What was she like?"

Eoin looked over when Odile said that to him. His mood had changed a bit at the same time. "I met the Elf Lord's daughter Aranel." he said to Odile in reply