Dominik Summoned the crows to the village, having them hide out in the trees all around it, and to fly around patrolling the general area, on the lookout for a dark elf.

He wandered around the forest, or rather ran around the forest, looking for her himself. The crows could only see so much under the dense foliage of the forest.

Finally, a bit after the sun had set, his crows spotted someone in the forest, making their way toward the village. He ran to her, hoping to intercept the dark elf before she made her way to the village.

He’d been given a name by the villagers, so he’d be able to properly greet her. Once he found her and he’d gotten within eyesight, well, within the sight of his avatar’s eyes, he saw her ears twitch. Clearly she had better hearing than the humans. She turned to look at him and he began walking toward her at what he guessed would be an un-alarming pace.

“Hello.” He called out, his voice booming out into the forest. Speaking loudly enough for her to clearly understand him before he reached her. “I am Dominik the human.”

The woman had dark skin, and her hair was long and white like moonlight, almost seeming to give off a glow in the dark forest. Her eyes were like gold shining under her long white eyelashes.

He lowered his voice as he drew nearer. “Are you Franderosa the dark elf?”

Her eyes went wide, she must be surprised that he knows her name even though she’s never met him before. He decided to explain once he was within arms reach, as he switched to a normal speaking voice.

“I was told about you by the other humans of the village. They think you’ve been summoning demons and attacking their village for some reason.”

“What!? I’ve done no such thing!” Franderosa said, the apprehension on her face turning to outrage and incredulity.

“I know, I told them it was just a coincidence, and I’ve probably killed all the demons anyway, and the source of the demons. But they wanted me to talk to you anyway, and to look for any other demons that might’ve gotten away.”

Her face softened and she spoke in a calmer voice. “I’ve been attacked by demons too, I’ve been living in a small cave near here. They try to take my supplies. I use arcane and elemental magic. I’m no summoner, certainly no devil summoner.”

“Yes.” Dominik responded. “But you really do use magic? Could you teach me some spells? I’ve never gotten to learn any sort of destruction magic.”

The woman paused for a moment then replied. “I’m not sure I can just teach you spells, learning these things takes time, a lot of practice, they’re quite complicated.”

“You said you’re living in a small cave?”

“Yes.”

Dominik smiled. “Then you can just come live in a bigger cave at the mountain, I’ll have them make a little living area for you and everything. You don’t mind spiders right?”

The dark elf woman, now fearing she may be kidnapped, hesitantly responded. “No, in fact I can give partial command to lesser spiders, as many of my kind are capable of. But I came out here to be alone, not to live in some large colony of humans.”

“Don’t worry.” Dominik said. “There’s no other humans in the cave, just me, some troglodytes, and some spiders. They won’t attack you or anything either, as long as you don’t attack them of course.”

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The dark elf gave him a quizzical look. “And how long have you been living there?”

“Just a couple of days I guess, ever since we killed the demons and everything. The caves all cleared out now, don’t worry. And there’s plenty of dodos and grubs to eat, now that the population is much smaller.

The prospect of getting some meat sounded good, but this man was clearly mad. She almost felt as if she should run, something about his skin almost looked too perfect, at first she’d almost thought he was a high elf, but even that wouldn’t be quite right, assuming you ignored the ears. However, she’d heard how fast he was moving, so she knew she couldn’t outrun him. And she didn’t think starting a fight would be sensible.

“Oh, well, I’d really need to get back to my place. You see, my mule was attacked by the demons, so I was going to try and get medical supplies to take care of her, after I get them I’ll have to go back and-.”

“Oh.” Dominik said, interrupting her. “I can just heal your pet. Do you not know any healing magic?”

He said this as if it was strange. “No, I never really had time to learn, I don’t think I really have a knack for it either, judging by the short time I’d spent trying to learn a healing spell when I was younger.”

“Well that’s okay, I can just heal your pet for you. Do you need anything else from the village, or should we just go straight to your pet?”

“Uh.” She wasn’t sure if she was entirely comfortable showing him where she lived. But then again she wasn’t any safer out here alone in the forest than she would be at her cave. More importantly it didn’t sound like the village would be very hospitable right now.

She’d thought it was strange how generous they were being with their crops the past few weeks, especially compared to how she was treated the first time she came to their village. She finally relented to his offer.

“Yes, I’d appreciate it if you could heal my mule, but I can’t offer much in return.”

He smiled. “You don’t have to pay me anything.”

With that they started back toward her cave, right when she was nearly to the village. She began getting tired, and her movements were noticed by the man.

“If you’re tired I could carry you, we could get there a lot faster if you hold on tight.”

Visions of being smashed against a tree at superhuman speeds played through her head. She’d rather get there slower. “Oh that’s okay sir, I’m far too modest for such a thing, and we’ve only just met.”

He accepted this and continued on. But after a while, she began to regret this, as the walk took its toll. Normally she would’ve rested several times on the way back, but she was too proud to ask to be carried, or even to ask for breaks. She’d hoped the man might ask for one, but he never did, he never seemed to get tired. Until finally, after studying her carefully, he stopped.

“Oh right, I forgot, I have spells that can help replenish your stamina. Here you go.” He said as he put his hand near her back. The relief was immediate. She no longer felt tired as she felt his magic restore her stamina. Then she felt another spell relieve the soreness and the aching in her body.

“And here’s a buff too.” He said as he cast another spell. She felt more energy than she’d had since she was a child, and she felt faster.

“Wow, thanks Dominik, you really are a good healer.” she was no longer trying to avoid being attacked, she really was grateful for the help. And now she was sure he could heal her mule.

“No problem.” He said. “I just wish I would’ve thought of it sooner. I’ve been a bit groggy lately, some things have slipped my mind. Having you around seemed to have helped though.” He gave her a warm smile, that was maybe just a bit too wide.

The way he moved was graceful like a high elf, or a forest elf, but also somehow…. Unnatural, especially for a human. His body would bend in ways that just didn’t seem quite right. Yet he seemed perfectly comfortable.

Other than that, he was tall, even for a human. He had very light skin that almost seemed to glow in the dark of the forest, and thick dark hair that coiled around his face. His skin was free of any imperfections, and his facial structure was so well made, it almost seemed sculpted.

She thought perhaps he was some sort of nobleman, despite his cheap, rough clothing, and apparent lack of shoes. He seemed out of place here. But then again, she’d guessed she would seem even more out of place here herself. And her once fine white robes weren’t in much better shape.

“Well, now we should be able to get there a lot quicker.” She said, as she began walking so quickly, she was almost running. Though she knew she wasn’t agile enough to truly try running through the forest like the man had.

“Oh.” She turned and looked at him. “And you can call me Fran.”