I glanced at Gaelan for a moment. The stoic and hard-faced man was quite hard to read. My sister Freya had told me it was no good speaking to a man like that— but once that brute of a human had attempted to harm us and Gaelan came to our rescue, we both found new respect towards him.

A blush crept up my face remembering how worried he had been, pressed into a towering form and cradled like something precious was not what I was used to. He seemed perfectly content to allow Lady Taka and Lord Moto to handle the human who had insulted us so.

Even the villagers had come to my rescue.

I felt my hands tremble as I worked; how long had it been since I was something cherished.

I flinched at the words that flew into my mind, worthless, coward, dumb. I bit my tongue— the useless lump of flesh that refused to obey me it's own Master.

Gaelan glanced at me, his head tilting, and his eyes shadowed with worry? "Are you well Fauna," came the soft voice and a warm hand at my forehead. "Or is your head filled with dark thoughts?"

He had asked me this frequently. I had come to understand it as bad memories, given that Sentinal's rarely visited villages where half-elves resided, we didn't know much about them. And despite the fact that he too was a mix of elf and fey, on the hierarchy to mixed beings I was still lower than a warrior.

I chewed my lip, and he sighed, a thumb pressing my mouth, so I stopped. "What ails you."

[[Just old memories is all.]] I said, trying to go back to work.

Lady Taka was busy preparing what was called a cellar— I had never seen one before and tilted my head this way and that to try and get a better look; Gaelan gently pulled me back by my sleeve to keep me from falling in, his twitch of a smile present.

But what came as a shock was when our collars burst in rainbows to magical dust only to be created into nails and hardware for our Master's project.

"G-Gaelan?" I whispered, touching my neck.

"Hmm." A man of few words.

We crowded around Taka, leaning over to stare at her till her eyes fluttered open. She, too, seemed surprised.

"My Lady, you removed them?" Freya whispered.

She realized what she had done, "Oh good! Well, that killed two birds with one stone then!"

While elated, my heart sank. I had to ask… "D-does that mean we l-le-..hmm…go away?"

Taka paused, "not unless you wish to." Within moments Freya and I flung our arms about Taka as we toppled over onto the ground with tears bursting like geysers.

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Gaelan, far more stoic, gave Lady Taka a bow, in Sentinal fashion with his hand fisted over his heart. "I believe I shall stay a bit longer." He said, "it is not as if I have anywhere to go to."

Lady Taka nodded, "we would be happy for your stay, wouldn't we?"

I realized that at some point…he might leave…I abruptly jerked my head and looked at him, "Y-yYou aren't leaving a-ar-are you G-gaelan?"

He stifled the burst of emotion I couldn't place. "No, I mean unless—"

"No, I want you to stay!" I leaped to my feet and clasped his hand to my face, hoping to convey my sincerity. I realized how tiny I was compared to the warrior Sentinal. It would have been frightening had I not spent time with him to know that he was gentle.

His thumb brushed my cheekbone almost in absentminded tenderness. The look startled me as the realization came over me.

Is he staying…for me?

I tried to emphasis what I was saying. "Won't you? We're like family now. We can't separate so soon!"

A deep red spread slowly across his face, and he jolted as if I shocked him. Suddenly we found ourselves alone. I glanced around, Gaelan's thumb still gently tracing shapes on my skin.

A gust of wind tugged my hair out of its pin, and I sighed, frustrated, trying to reach to put it back, "thank you." I said when Gaelan handed me the hair stick I had lost.

"Would you like me to braid your hair?"

I blinked. Didn't my mother once say Fey men only did this with chosen potential partners?

Sentinal were a mix of Fey and Elven-- Nisse, Papa was a Nisse --culture. So I was unaware of what this meant, but it did mean something important, and so I was honored.

I paused, tucking a loose strand behind my ear, "sure, I would love that."

He tugged my hand gently till we were over where the large boulders were flat enough for us to sit; with a quick moment as I sat before him, he had dragged me back, so I was firmly against his chest and hips.

I froze; my heart was ramming in my ribcage like a bird trying to get out as two large hands delved into the mass of hair that was swaying on the spring breeze.

"You have lovely hair, Fauna," Gaelan said, smiling. "Did you acquire this from your Nisse kin?"

"I-I did…" I blushed, "My Papa. He had hair like mine; Freya takes after Mama."

"I see," was the gentle response as he braided near my temples, two braids to be pulled back into a more massive plait that would hang down my back to my lower waist. His fingers worked steadily.

"Have you done this before?" I asked teasingly but paused, "G-gaelan, I am so sorry—"

"Shh, do not fret, little one." His fingers were gentle as they pulled strands back into place, deftly and slowly twisting them to the right place. "Yes, there was a time I did this for my Companion."

The silent question lingered.

"She had many dark shadows in her heart." Gaelan sighed. "And in the end, she could not bear it," his face took on a shadowed look as he leaned his forehead against my shoulder. "I found her on the rocks of the Nelun River."

I blinked back tears and reached a hand out to clutch his fingers in mine. "That wasn't your fault Gaelan." I whispered.

Long limbs wrapped about my waist as he sought comfort, stubble brushing my neck as he inhaled deeply before speaking, "some would disagree."

"I won't tolerate it." I turned my head and pressed my forehead to his as I had seen Moto and Taka do before. A gesture of togetherness. [[I am with you.]]

This phrase was spoken by my Papa to his family days before he would leave. This Nisse vow of help and happiness. Something that I couldn't explain was growing for this Sentinal Warrior. A bond that was forged through hardship and understanding.

He seemed to pause, a wary gaze and concern. "Fauna… I cannot allow you to make such a bond to one, such as myself."

"Too late…"

In the quiet mid-spring, we sat as still as statues; I could feel the inner battle as easily as if it were my own. All I could do was be quiet and keep my promise.

By holding a hand that was able to kill, yet trembling in hope and restraint.