[Elora]

Vanwe was both startled and pleased as Falowik accepted the bundle from her. His voice altered subtely as he spoke his thanks. She did not know whether it was his choice of words or the timbre of his voice. He turned away after, a word of pleading falling from him. She did not understand. Fair One? Surely not her, a castaway raised in a desolate village and reviled for what she was! Yet before she could demur, she felt something shift.

It was not that Falowik said "Please," but rather how he said it. Something was wrong, she sensed, but then something was right. Never had she heard that note, delicate and yet vivid, in a voice that addressed her. The Elf leant closer, reaching past her learnt caution. Her hand stretched before her as though she had no reason to fear. It alighted on Falowik's shoulder.

Something was wrong, and then something was not. She felt a quiver beneath her touch, a shock. She leant forward still, beyond her past and into her present, her pale golden hair falling fowards as she moved like a curtain lit by moon.

"What is it," Vanwe whispered to Falowik. She was perilously close to this Man. When she felt his hand close around her fingers, fear did not flare through her. She remained where she was.

"Please, tell me?" Something was right. She did not know what. Only that his fingers encirled her own, and that his voice chimed in her mind. "Thank you Fair One. Please..." If her voice held it's own note, she did not question it. He could push her away. That would be the least of what he could do.

Slowly, as though struggling hard with something, he turned his face back to hers. "I can help," Vanwe murmured softly and she smiled for she thought that she could. She did not know why, only that she trusted as did he and that she could.