#raer

One of the houses had a new room built into the roof. Everyone around was avoiding the building so that must be where the new people had moved to. Ralenne had called to the houses that had kids close to her age to see if any wanted to play.

After being turned away at every house, she went looking for moogles to see if they had any new adventurer stories rather than wonder around the hamlet in case anyone changed their minds. She was allowed to go on the main path as far as Treespeak where only the very top of the gates were visible through the trees, something she was very proud of. Only the older kids were allowed that far out but she knew it was mama and papa trusted her – and she could hear better than the other kids and knew when to run away faster because she was a Duskwight Elezen.

“Ralenne, want to play hide and seek?” she jumped a bit – usually the other kids were joking and laughing when they were playing but they were so quiet this time she didn’t hear them come up behind her.

“Yes! I want to play – can I seek first?”

“No your ears are cheating you can only hide.” Wihtred was smiling when he spoke, and he didn’t say anything that was not nice but…Ralenne felt bad. He must not have meant to be not nice. Yes. Just a mistake.

She nodded, she would just have to win her turn as seeker, and one of the kids started counting. The rest of the day passed with the game, she would be found near the end but never last and so couldn’t ask to seek again. As the sun began to get lower in the sky they agreed to one more game and the last to be found could be seeker next time they all played. Ralenne grinned, there was a rocky outcrop near the malmstone that marked the farthest that any of them could go – hiding behind it would be sneaky, there was a girl a handful of moons younger who would absolutely not be able to even go over the bridge to go look there. But some kids could look behind it so it’s not like she couldn’t be found. It was a good hiding spot. And she could seek next time!

She rushed off once the counting began, her legs had started to get heavy two games ago and her feet had started to burn from inside the bones outwards so she was glad this would be the last game. She reached the malmstone and carefully turned by it, counting the steps to the rocks just in case. She heard the counting stop and searching, muffled talking and laughter and giggles. The sun was starting to get close to setting. Even with the two moons it wouldn’t be bright enough to walk home soon. She shifted around in her hiding spot trying to hear where they were, she could try move to a tree that was closer to the gate. It had been used as a hiding spot before but it was still a good spot, and the game might be over sooner to get home before dark.

“Careful she’s there, leave her another minute.” Followed by shushes and stifled giggling. It was a trick to have her locked out Ralenne realised too late, moving out from behind the outcropping.

“If you found me you found me! It’s getting dark and we all have to go home.” She ran towards the malmstone, eyes burning with tears she refused to let out. She was going to be a brave adventurer just like the ones from the songs who didn’t cry or get tricked. The rest of the kids ran off screaming with laughter which only grew louder when Ralenne tripped and fell, tumbling and rolling over a fallen log.

“Wait! I hurt my leg I need…help.” The woods had grown quiet. They were probably waiting across the bridge from the malmstone, another trick. Yes that was it. She just needed to find the malmstone and the side with the torch – yes it was facing her, so she had to go the opposite way. Ralenne clambered to her feet, stumbling down the incline from tree to rock to tree for support as even her uninjured knee gave out. The bone burning pain was back in her feet and her knees felt like lightning looked and Hyrstmill was nowhere to be seen. The woods were different. The constant sloshing and creaking of the waterwheel was absent. She could feel different critters and animals skulking about and the not-too-far-off footsteps of someone coming up the road.

There was a groaning creak of wood as the tree next to her moved, treants that big weren’t supposed to come this close to Hyrstmill. Unless she was not headed the right direction. A cold numbness washed over her. Hyrstmill was on top of a hill, not at the bottom and she had been going downhill for too long. She was lost. She would simply need to start being an adventurer now.

And the first step was shelter. Or food. She was pretty sure it was shelter.

Which means she needed branches…or something.

She shuffled towards a tree that was not making noises and holding onto the base for support, tried to find a suitably sturdy branch…or a stick. But a stick was still something! Mama and papa would be proud of how she took care of herself – she was sure of it! Even if they were probably worried now. Even though they can’t even come out and look. Everything would be ok in the morning.

Trusting a little too much in her false confidence, Ralenne strode purposefully back to the path only for her injured knee to give way – feeling both as if it was a missing link in her leg but also as if a thousand burning needles were trying to burrow into her legs through her knees. The numbness gave way to a bubbling, screaming panic.

She could not walk.

She did not know where she was.

Everything sounded different.

And the person coming up the path was getting closer.

Ralenne clutched her stick tightly to her chest as though it was a weapon or a soft toy that could bring assurance or comfort, looking down the path at where the footsteps were coming from. If the twelve were kind it wouldn’t be a Wood Wailer but a kindly travelling merchant, she’d even be glad to see one of the meaner adults at Hyrstmill at this point.

A tall figure rounded the corner, they were shaped differently to the other Elezens she knew – bigger shoulders and maybe bigger ears with how the hood was shaped – and they had a lance. Ralenne sniffed back tears as the person stopped, looked around quickly with their tail swishing and tapping against their leg behind them – a tail! But she hadn’t seen a Miqo’te that tall before. The person got a little closer and crouched down to be closer to her level and pulled pack their hood, “H-hey there, are you – where’s your parents? Or…grown up?”

Ralenne’s eyes went wide. The stranger had horns and scales and was nice? There was a more intense flash of panic across his face which he quickly tried to soften as he hunched down even smaller. Her voice was quiet and trembling, “’M Ralenne, nice to m-meet you.”

“Hi, Ralenne, my name is Raer.” Raer looked about again, “Are you out here alone? Where’s home?”

Ralenne’s tears spilled over, “I’m lost and – and – and ‘m not – and the trees are making strange noises – and – and I fell.”

Raer’s eyes darted between the slowly moving tree, Ralenne’s hurt knee and the path towards Hyrstmill as he chewed something over in his mind. He looked worried but the more Ralenne looked at him the more and more convinced she was – this, this was an adventurer. He had all of the things you needed to be an adventurer: a cool weapon, being tall, nice voice, nice to kids, and clothes with a hood on, but what was more was that he had scales and horns. The moogles had left out those for sure in their stories.

“Ok, Ralenne? Do you think you can be quiet if I carry you on my back?” Raer asked while quickly removing the poncho and draping it over her. She nodded, and shivered having only noticed the cold now she was protected from it. Raer helped her up to her unsteady feet and then crouched down, lance now carefully stowed pointy side down for her to climb up.