Topic: ...Will Now Be Revealed

Imrathion Tathar · Date: 2007-11-04 00:11 EST

?The face is the mirror of the mind, and eyes without speaking confess the secrets of the heart.?
(Saint Jerome)

?All secrets are deep. All secrets become dark. That's in the nature of secrets.?
(Cory Doctorow)

Glenn had a secret. And, like all secrets do eventually, the burden was slowly but surely crushing him. Each and every day he had to carry the weight, it got just a little bit heavier. It got just a little bit harder to get out of bed each morning. A little bit more difficult to eat and drink. A little bit tougher to fall sleep at night. A little bit more wearying to pretend to everyone he met and everyone he knew that he was something he was not. Now, finally, after nearly two decades of holding up that world, Glenn was starting to struggle with it. He was going to drop it, and break it, and shatter all the pieces of himself like the glass in a mirror.

Mirrors. Damnable reflections! All they did was throw in his face the divide between him and the rest of the world. They saw one face, but always, always, Glenn saw a different one. The real one. But was it real, if no one else saw it? Sometimes, he could barely remember what he was supposed to look like to others; you couldn't exactly go around and ask people, ?What color are my eyes? Does my face still look boyish? Are my lips still thick? Are my eyebrows bushy enough? Do I look human enough to you?? It ate away at Glenn's insides, like acid, knowing that other people looked at him but couldn't see him. And, if things continued the way they did, might never see him.

But what could he do? So many times, he'd had a chance. To come clean, face the consequences, stand up for what he was and what he could be. Each and every time, he'd let the opportunity slip through his hands uselessly. So what if his parents and the other elves had always known? So what if his aunt and cousin had found out? Haleigh, even? It hadn't really changed anything about the world Glenn lived in. Most of Blackbridge lived and breathed and believed he was something he was not: a false image, a treacherous lie. And now, most of RhyDin too. Here, in paradise, or the closest thing to it, was the best chance for a fresh start, to fix the errors of his past. And he'd repeated them.

Sometimes, it made Glenn want to bawl into his pillow, weeping and wailing for all the things he had sacrificed in order to keep his secret. Sometimes, he wanted to drink the pain away, drown it in an ocean of whiskey and ale. He was strong, though. He never cried, and he never got drunk. He just bottled it up, compressed it, in a jar inside his head where every other emotion he shouldn't and couldn't let out stayed. It was getting too tight inside there, though. Too much pressure. He remembered words, words spoken to him by two different people, some time ago. Words that remained as fresh in his mind as the day he heard them.

?You should talk about yer feelings more I think.?

?And if you keep everything in, you're just going to drive yourself into a breakdown.?

But I'm already broken...Can I still be fixed? Or are the pieces too small, too far away to put me back together again?

There was only one way to find out. He was going to have to tell somebody. Anybody. Maybe everybody. Hopefully he wasn't too damaged to be repaired.

Imrathion Tathar · Date: 2007-11-07 21:29 EST

The dam finally broke when he least expected it to. It was supposed to be a simple interview, and for most of the interview, it was. Then, one simple question was asked. And something collapsed inside Glenn. The last line of defense he had put up against the world, against those he loved, hated, and lived with, was eradicated. It was like a dead, rotten tree that stood in the backyard, bleak and leafless for years. Until one day, the tree was gone, tumbling to the ground, leaving only a decaying stump and the frantic scurrying of insects on lifeless wood. Soon, Glenn knew, everything else would fall into place.

Imrathion Tathar · Date: 2007-11-07 21:35 EST

November 8, evening
Tea'N'Tomes

Erin was sitting in that chair that she was in more than she wasn't in lately. her reading glasses were perched on her nose, and she had a pad on her knee that she was writing in as she sat. Flipping the page back and forth it looked like she was putting a lot of thought into whatever it was she was working on. A bit of a sigh and she reached for her tea, sipping from it without looking.

Glenn entered the tea shop, wearing a brand-new looking black cloak with hood. He itched inside the sleeves, before stepping over to the counter to place his order. "Green tea, please, and some sugar cookies?" He dug through his coin purse, pulling out the necessary payment, while waiting for the tea to be made.

Erin looked up at the jingle of the bell and waved at Glenn. She smoothed the paper on her pad and pulled the glasses down enough to see over them. Crossing and uncrossing her legs, she watched the man until he noticed her.

Noticing her out of the corner of his eye, he smiled at her, before the tea and cookies were set before him on the counter. He thanked the woman at the counter before carefully taking the plate and teacup/saucer over to where Erin was sitting. Another smile was given, but now that Glenn was up closer, it was obvious that he hadn't been sleeping much lately (again). Rings around his eyes and a general paleness marked his features. Still, he did his best to sound cheerful, as he set his food and drink on the table. "Good evening, Erin."

"You too, Glenn. Are you sure you're awake enough for my prattling on at you?" With a good natured smile. She sipped her tea once more before setting it aside. "Though, thanks for coming. It was sweet of you. I know you're plenty busy without my worrying you."

He gestured toward the tea. "Perhaps I should have got coffee?" The look of distaste on Glenn's face let her clearly know what he thought of that option. "It's not a problem, I need to get out and about more." He shrugged his way out of the cloak, revealing a white dress shirt that still smelled faintly of smoke. He sat down, idly brushing off the legs of his dark blue jeans.

"Of course." She nodded. "You look nice." It's polite, but not suggestive. She flipped the page again and pushed her glasses up on her nose. "Do me a favor and don't go telling on my eyes. Glasses just make me look like a secretary and if people know you can't read fine print, they send more your way." Erin grinned mischievously.

"Thank you." Glenn mimed zipping his lips shut, with a slight grin afterwards. "My lips are sealed." He cupped the tea with his hands and bent his head closer to where the steam was coming off the top, eyes closed briefly, before he plucked the bag and set it aside.

"Tea is lovely, no?" She smiled a bit and then picked up her pen. "So, I'm just going to ask you a few things. Just like.. who you are, what you do, how long you've done it. It's a human interest piece, so don't feel like you need to be all technical. Just... be yourself."

"Sounds good to me." Glenn bit into his sugar cookie, chewed, then continued. "So, did you have a question you wanted me to start with?"

"How did you become a carpenter?" Erin asked, with a touch of a grin as she put pen to paper.

He stopped, just a second, to think about it, finger pressed to forehead. "My poppa was a carpenter...well, carpenter and woodworker. He started the store I used to work for and owned for a little bit in Blackbridge when he was 25. He ran it for 35 years, until he died. A couple of years ago." He paused. "I was always sort of helping him out when I was really young, and around when I turned 8, I started helping him more. With basic things. Helping turn a lathe, whittling, you know?"

"Right." She nodded, waiting to see if he was going to go on.

"A lot of the basics I learned from him, and I spent about four years, when I was 13 until I was 17, at a private trade school. Blackbridge has a lot of jobs based around lumber. Lumberjacks, yes, but you also have shipbuilders, carpenters, architects, people who manage building new buildings. And woodworking. Which is what I focused on. Smaller stuff, like furniture and music boxes."

"What do you think of as your specialty? Music boxes?" She was scribbling away here, looking up over her glasses now and then.

Glenn sipped his tea quickly, before leaning back in his chair. "I haven't actually created too many music boxes. I don't think I've had time to develop a specialty. Most of the stuff I made back home was just simple dining room chairs, tables, bookshelves, desks, dressers, maybe a bed or two. I do like making music boxes though, even if it's not quite fitting with a furniture maker." He smiled at the thought.

Erin laughed and nodded. "Right, right." She stopped writing to look up. "I think it's charming. How are you adjusting to RhyDin? Is there much need for woodwork?"

He took a bite of his cookie and thoroughly chewed before continuing. "I've been here 8 months, but I've only really gotten to furniture making in the past, oh, 3, 4 months? I've been pretty busy fixing and replacing stuff in the West End. Stores with broken display cases, restaurants with smashed tables and chairs, things like that."

Erin nodded some more. "So, you do a lot of public work then? Or is it private? And how is it going?"

"It's pay, but I'm not charging them full price. I have to make money, yeah, but people lost a lot when the-" Glenn almost hesitated to say the word - "zombies came through. It's kind of tough, though. I can only accept work where they'll let me work on site, since I don't have a workshop yet." He frowned.

Erin nodded some more. "So, tell me about you, Glenn? What makes the woodworker tick?" She gave him an almost disarming lopsided grin.

He returned her grin with a slightly puzzled look at that question. "What do you mean, what makes me tick?"

"Like.. some interesting things about you. Like... if you love apples or have an affinity for spring. Those little things that make people realize you're more human or whatever."

"Well, as far as those go-" Glenn flashed a crooked grin of his own- "I like oranges. And...yeah, spring's my favorite season." He repeated the question to himself. "What makes me tick? Like, what made me want to be a woodworker and not something else?"

"Yeah. And what are you other than that, you know? Who are you, I guess, in a nutshell. It's a hard question, but sometimes it can lead to insightful answers."

He pulled out the jade necklace that was previously between his dress shirt and undershirt, fiddling with it absentmindedly. "It's...it's gonna sound strange, but you know how I fidget sometimes? When it's just me and the wood and a workbench and my tools, I can focus. I can sit there, perfectly still, making the perfect cuts, making the joints right, cutting every block of wood to the right length. It calms me."

"You seen nervous a lot, Glenn, why?" Erin said with her best reporter voice, really. She didn't like grilling friends, but this seemed to be working.

He shrugged, hand letting the necklace drop against his shirt. "I don't really know. Bad habit, I guess?" He drank some tea, and tried a disarming smile, made less effective by the bags under his eyes.

"A bad habit?" She tried the "repeat what they say to you" game.

"I...guess it's what I do when I'm thinking." He tugged at his collar a little bit, before looking at her again.

"How do you feel about Rhydin?" She knew when to back off and when to push.

He polished off one of the cookies, using the time to try and phrase his thoughts clearer. "In Blackbridge, a lot of people see RhyDin as a...kind of paradise. Blackbridge is kind of a multi-realm port. You get these captains with these special compasses and they can sail to just about anyplace you can think of. Not too many go to RhyDin though. I've heard of a lot of these places, but only the rich people can really get all the stuff they bring back from there." Glenn realized he was rambling a bit. "But yeah, RhyDin's not a paradise by any means, but it's a good place to make a fresh start."

"A fresh start? But you seem so young, what were you running from?" Now she was too into the role. She would never ask that to a friend, but the glasses and the paper and the crossed legs! It was dangerous. She pushed the glasses higher on her nose.

He was young looking and yet, so often, so haunted as well. He brushed a lock of light brown hair out of and into his partially hidden jade green eyes. "A lot of things. My parents...both died within like a year of each other recently. And the only other relatives I had in the area either didn't care, had other problems, or hated me."

"Oh, I'm so sorry." And she was, her eyes softened. IT was a hard time of year for Erin, she felt more than usual. "That's terrible."

He stared down at the tea cup for a long time, before he looked back up. "I had friends back home, but not too many. And I didn't really have any family. So I sold my poppa's store to my best friend, hopped one of the rare ships that actually goes to RhyDin, and here I was." Glenn smiled faintly.

"What do you think is the biggest challenge for a craftsman here?" Erin quickly changed gears cause of her embarrassment.

"Figuring out what supplies work best. The materials are different. I still don't quite get the money here." He paused, starting in on the second cookie. "And factories in general. Technology. We have the same problem in Blackbridge. You have factories making cheap furniture, but it's not going to last as long. But people only see how cheap it is."

"Yeah, that's so true... about so many things." She nodded some more and then sighed. "Anything else you'd like to tell me?" Added a touch quietly.

What was visible of his eyebrow quirked. "About?"

"Anything. You know, something I didn't ask you're dying to get out there."

He was being a little recalcitrant, and started to fidget a little in his seat. Glenn's next words were spoken in a cryptic tone of voice. "I'm still not sure what you mean."

"I'm just letting you have the last word.....? In case you said something you wanted to respond or elaborate on...?" Erin was confused by his confusion.

And he suddenly stood up. "I'll be right back...I - I need to think a bit." He wandered off, towards the men's room, opening the door quickly and shutting it behind him.

"Um...." Erin was very, very confused. So she finished her cold tea and drew little question marks on her pad.

((Edited and adapted from live play))

Imrathion Tathar · Date: 2007-11-07 22:19 EST

For a solid minute or two, Glenn stood in front of the sinks. Just mussing his hair up, holding up the bangs in front, and looking at his eyes and face in the mirror. Finally, he slowly turned around, and came back out into the shop proper, still running his hands through his hair agitatedly.

"Hey..." Erin stood to meet him. "You okay?"

He looked at her, almost as if he was scrutinizing her. For what, who knew? The words he spoke were tentative, and he barely met her eye, glancing around the rest of the shop nervously. I'm-I'm sorry. I ruined the interview didn't I?"

"No, no, not at all. We were almost done anyway... and... did I say something?" She seemed worried, almost upset. She tilted her head to look at him, but didn't reach to touch him or anything.

He shook his head no, weakly. "No, you didn't say anything. I was just thinking. I didn't answer one of your questions with the truth."

"You didn't?" She furrowed her brow, still standing there kinda awkwardly. Finally she took her glasses off, so he wouldn't be blurry.

Glenn went over, grabbing the remainder of his cookie and eating it quickly, nervously. "About why I came here."

"Oh." Erin wasn't sure where to go from there. "You can tell me if you want, but you don't have to. What ever you're comfortable with.."

A corner of his lip lifted. Sometimes, he smiled, right before he knew he was going to say something cryptic. "I have a question for you. A question I ask myself all the time. 'What do you do when you've got this secret, and you've kept it for so long you don't know how to get away from it?' You've been meaning to, but then you get here and you...just never do it. And the reason you came here just...drifts farther and farther away.""

"Does it eat you up inside?" She asked it seriously, clutching the pad to her chest.

He looked down for a moment, at his shoes. Beat-up brown leather work boots. Then, Glenn looked up at Erin. "A lot. A lot of the time. I sit there and think, 'I screwed this up bad, and I don't think I can fix it.'" His words were tumbling out - fast, then slow, then fast again, in odd pairings. "And 'I had this chance to make a difference there - and I didn't. And I have a chance to make a difference here. And I'm not.' I mean, I know Marc Franco writes about me. I don't know why he thinks I'm important. I don't really think I'm important. But who am I to judge that?"

"We're all important, Glenn. To each other, anyway... that's what makes things work, turn." She was speaking softly, gently. "And if it eats you up, if you're upset... you can tell me. And if you want, I won't write it down or anything."

Glenn leaned over to grab his cup and finish off the rest of the lukewarm tea. "I...I don't know if it's important. If it's something they really want to read. But I screwed it up bad back home, and I...I don't think I want to do that again. I can't keep it up forever." And he visibly slouched more.

Erin sat back down and leaned forward a little. Folding her hands on her knees she watched him carefully. "Then tell me..."

He blatantly stalled for time. "You realize, you're the first person I've told that I've really known in like two years? And only my parents, and-and Haleigh, and my aunt and my cousin know this? I- I hope this doesn't offend you, but I'm only telling you this before I tell Carley and Lydia because-" And he murmured something inaudible.

"Because?" She was on the edge of her seat, eyes wide and mouth slightly open. She was gripping the notebook to her chest still as she watched him, unsure what to do.

And he turned to the side, still incredibly quiet. "You don't know me as well. And I don't think you'd care. But I might be wrong." He shook his head, as if there were cobwebs there. "They might hate me for hiding it from them. And-and-and it makes me want to cry, everything I've sacrificed to-" He swung his fist, as if banging it on an imaginary table. "I think if I tell you, and get it off my chest, maybe I won't cry when I tell them?"

Erin bit her bottom lip and longed to touch him. She was a big believer in the heal of touch, but then again, she didn't want to scare him or jar him in any way. So she just watched for the moment and nodded. "I know what it's like... to not be able to talk about things. It's hard. It hurts. There's always fear of rejection, but Lydia is understanding..." She would leave Carley out of this for the moment. "Always has been. And you can tell me. We may not be best friends, Glenn, but I'm always there if someone needs me. It's just... it's how I'd like people to be for me." Her voice was quiet through the whole thing.

Glenn continued to stall for time. He went over to where his cloak was, grabbing it and folding it over his arm, as if preparing to leave. "I tell you what. I'll tell you what the secret is tonight, but you have to promise not to tell anyone. Anyone until I can tell Carley and Lydia. And - maybe some other people. And I'll do an interview about it, later. I promise. Tomorrow, if you're not busy. But I don't really want to go into details. I'm more interesting in explaining...why I did it in the past. The problems with Blackbridge, and the problems that could be in RhyDin, if we don't take care."

Erin nodded again. "It doesn't have to be an interview if you don't want, Glenn. Just what you need to feel better." She paused and looked at him with an almost matronly look. "You need to sleep, honey. Eat, maybe?" Her voice was very quiet when she said all that. "So tell me where to be, and I'll do what you ask."

He threw the cloak on over his shoulders, and pulled the hood over his head, hiding all of his hair except the few wisps that were in his face. He brushed those back, out of sight, clearly revealing jade green eyes, eyes that were almost exactly the same color as the necklace that had been in sight previously. "The Glen. Tomorrow, during the day?"

"Lunchtime." She nodded. "Okay. I'll see you then." She let the pad away from her chest enough to reveal the ink stains she had left there.

Glenn walked toward the door, then suddenly wheeled back. He took a look around, to see if anyone was paying attention. Then, he lowered his hood, revealing the cord of the necklace. With some difficulty, he pulled the necklace off his face, then looked at the ground. When he looked back up his face was...different. And yet, somehow, the same. Like the first image was a distorted mirror. His nose was smaller, his cheeks were more rounded. His lips were a little fuller. Where he had seemed...boyish before, this look was a little more...androgynous? Feminine? Softer? Most striking, though, were his eyes. Jade green was replaced with a pair of larger, wider, more almond shaped dark forest green eyes. "I'm-I'm an elf, Erin. I'm not really human."

Erin tilted her head for a long moment. It was more shocking that he had two faces than his different race. and she spent the moment examining him without a word. Biting her bottom lip, she finally nodded. "Why... why would you hide that? It's not... I mean... you're a normal elf, right? Not evil or dark or...." Her voice was very quiet as she spoke. She wasn't sure what the big deal was-- of her best friends one was an elf, one was half elf, one was dead and the other was human.

He quickly threw the hood up over his head again, even though his hair was long enough to cover his ears. He stood in the doorway, fidgeting in place, clearly ready to leave. Now that his eyes were their true color, they somehow seemed more...vibrant, even if they were darker. They also more clearly showed his emotions: a mixture of pain and puzzlement. "Where I'm from, elves are second-class citizens. Not openly threatened, or attacked, but-" And he found himself choking up on the words a bit. "-you can't get anywhere good in the city of Blackbridge if you look like this." He pointed at his face, almost in disgust.

"Oh... Glenn." And suddenly her voice was back in that matronly way. She stood and moved his way again, though stopping short of touching him, still. Her voice lowered. "It's not like that here and... You should speak to Lydia about this. She's... well, I think she'd understand how you were feeling." A tentative hand reached to touch his arm.

He let the hand touch his arm. All he wanted to do right then and there was lean against a wall, collapse to the floor, and bawl his eyes out. But he kept his composure, somehow. Once the arm was removed, he took off his cloak quickly, slipping the necklace back on, then put the cloak back on as well. When he looked up from that, he looked like he always had: a boyish face, lighter green eyes, thinner lips, larger nose, and bushier eyebrows. "I-I need to go. Tomorrow, though. The Glen. Lunchtime." Glenn's eyes pleaded with her, and for just a second, there was a flash of that forest green in his eyes again. "Please don't tell anyone else."

"Of course." Erin wanted to squeeze his arm, and would try, though she was afraid he would turn to dust under her touch. It was something like this that made her want to give a secret back to him. An equal gift. But at this point that would just hold him to her when he wanted to flee, so she drew her hands back, and then stepped back, to let him go. "Tomorrow."

He repeated the word like a mantra, letting her squeeze his arm. Muscled yes, but not the muscles of someone who regularly worked out. They were leaner, less developed. "Tomorrow." Glenn opened the door and walked out it, before turning back around one last time. "And thank you, Erin."

She didn't answer him, just met his eyes, if he'd let her, and nodded. IT was the look of one tortured person to another. This was something she could relate to.

((Edited and adapted from live play))

Imrathion Tathar · Date: 2007-11-08 21:44 EST

November 9, early evening
Southern Glen

Glenn had gotten there well ahead of the time he had said he would meet Erin at. He had spent most of the day sitting by the lake in the clearing, reading from the various books of poetry he had stashed in his knapsack. Attempting to memorize those he liked. Finally, he set the books aside, on top of the bag, and began to hum quietly. He had on that itchy black cloak, a pair of canvas work pants with giant loops on the sides for holding tools, and his scuffed up brown leather work boots.

Erin left work earlier than usual, and headed to the Glen. Moving through the streets, she arrived, her jacket pulled around her and hands stuck in her pockets. Smiling when she caught sight of Glenn, she moved into the area, heading his way. "I found you." She was trying to keep it light enough, not get too serious all at once. Really, she was very nervous.

His head swiveled at the voice, and he hastily threw the hood on his cloak up over his head. He relaxed when he saw who it was, but still kept his head covered. ?Hello, Erin. How're you today??

"A bit chilly, but good." She kept the smile despite his cloaking himself. Moving up next to where he was, she found herself a rock that was close enough without being on top of him to perch herself on. Crossing her legs, she pulled her bag into her lap. "How are you today, Glenn?"

He was sitting on a bare patch of hard-packed dirt, his feet folded under his knees. He looked over at her. ?Tired. I...didn't really sleep last night. Which isn't all that different than a lot of nights, I guess.? He shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't sleep much, either." She admitted. "I'm thinking about looking into pills... but, that's neither here nor there." A pause as she looked him over. "Are you sure that you're up to this tonight?"

?If I don't do it now...? Glenn trailed off, looking to the side, before his gaze returned to her. ?I-I'm not sure how to say this. But when I first got here, I wanted to be who I truly was, and things-? He cut himself off. ?I know, I'm not making sense. Yes. I'm ready. As I'll ever be, I guess.?

"Okay.." Erin smiled and took a pad out of her bag. "Are you sure you want to do this as an interview? We can just treat it like a dry run for when you tell someone else, if you want... I don't want to push your or anything, Glenn. I know we're not very close, but you're good friends with my best friends and I don't want to hurt you in any way." Said softly as she kept her eyes on him.

He smiled faintly. ?I wouldn't mind treating this as practice. Maybe wait a while before putting it out? Or do another interview later, maybe, when it's not so close to me?? He nodded his head strongly. ?I do want to talk about it at some point. I'm-just kind of afraid of what's going to happen.?

Erin nodded. Being afraid was something everyone understood. She dropped her bag to the ground and sat back a little, leaning on her hands. "Okay, then.. I think that's best. Just.. free yourself a little. Maybe you will be able to sleep better, you know?" An encouraging smile was offered to him. "Just do and say whatever makes you most comfortable."

Glenn gave her a searching look. ?How much do you know about magic??

"How much do I...?" She pursed her lips and leaned forward, speaking somewhat lowly. "More than I should, maybe. Just... a little, though. Where some comes from.. and how others work..."

For a second, he grinned slightly, as he held a hand up to his face, as if shielding his words from unseen spies. ?You know how I have two faces right? This one-? Glenn pointed to himself as he looked then, the "normal," boyish face that most everyone saw everyday. ?And the other one. The necklace is the key.?

"Do you control it? Or is it an outside power?" She was interested now, leaning forward as if she could examine the necklace from where she was sitting.

He noticed her leaning, and he pulled the necklace out from under the cloak. ?Outside power. It does two things. One, makes me look human. And two, keeps my magic in check.? He paused, eyes narrowing behind light brown bangs. ?If you want, I can take it off and let you look at it.?

"No, no. It's yours, I wouldn't want to impose." She leaned back, a bit embarrassedly. "But.. your magic? Can you not control it? Or is it to hide it from other people who can sense it?" Erin had experience with magic sensors...

The jade green in his eyes darkened slightly, as Glenn turned to look at the ground. ?I...can't control it. The necklace was just supposed to hide my face, but the magic-? He paused, to switch directions a bit. He chose his words carefully. ?The...people who first made it decided to just set it up so my magic powered the thing. Before, I had come back every two years and get it recharged.?

"How long have you been using that?" she said, nodding at the necklace. She was trying to understand what was happening without asking too many questions, but Erin always had a problem with asking too many too fast.

Glenn was starting to fidget a little in place, not used to being asked personal questions. It surprised him, though, how readily he answered. ?My first memory is getting the necklace from my poppa and momma.? He interrupted himself with a start. ?Oh! I should probably explain that too.?

Erin nodded a bit. She was lost and piecing things together. She almost wished she had kept the pad out to take notes for herself. Her mind wasn't as clear as she would have liked since she quit drinking and started sleeping less.

His next words were spoken almost as an aside. ?Not too many people know this either. Not even some of my family for a while. Some still don't.? Glenn cleared his throat, then spoke louder. ?My parents, who were human, adopted me. My real-? and he corrected himself - ?my birth parents, I guess, died right after I was born.?

Erin nodded again. Another piece of the puzzle. "I'm sorry, Glenn. That's got to be hard..." She looked up at him sympathetically, her eyes wide a bit. "And your parents.. they got you the necklace? So only they knew?"

He rambled a bit. ?To lose one set of parents and then another?? he asked rhetorically, in a very quiet tone of voice. ?Yes.? Glenn looked down at the ground for a long moment, before looking up at Erin to respond to the next question. ?My parents, and the elves in the village I guess my birth parents were from. My dad traded with them. Laur'Lotina.?

"Laur'Lotina." She repeated it softly as if to get her mind around it. And then she nodded. "Woodwork, right. Everyone needs furniture..." She nodded some more. Really she felt rather silly. As if she were echoing him and asking silly questions. "So he knew the elves?"

He nodded, a slight smile on his face. ?Since before he opened his store. He would bring them stuff they couldn't really get in the forest, like preserved beef and different types of breads and flour, and other things. All kinds of stuff, really. I couldn't tell you what all he brought. And some of them made furniture...special furniture. And that's kind of what got him going at first, these really well-made elvish chairs and tables. Whatever he could fit in the back of a carriage and cart,y'know??

"Of course." Erin agreed, her fingers pulling at the bottom of her coat, picking at some lint there. "It sounds lovely. The relationship.." Her smile was soft as she thought about it. "How did they come to get you? Rather than another elf family? Was he close with your parents?"

Glenn hesitated for a moment, and he knew his answer was weak, but he went with it anyway. ?I-I don't really remember. Sorry.? He touched the jade arrowheads on his necklace, clacking them together.

"No, no, it's okay." She waved a hand. "I'm... I'm sorry. I'm not sure what I can and can't ask, you know?"

He smirked slightly, but somehow, it didn't come off as an arrogant gesture. It was, hopefully, meant to be disarming. "I guess you'll just have to ask the questions, and I'll answer them if I can."

((Edited and adapted from live play))

Imrathion Tathar · Date: 2007-11-08 21:57 EST

That made her laugh a little. Just a little. "So why did you leave? You said you lied about it.. and I can kind of piece it together... maybe. But.. in your own words..." She added that last part softly. It was clear she was a little uncomfortable, but not totally awkward.

Glenn looked up at the sky, tapping his chin with his index finger, thinking. It was time to buy some more time. "What did I say originally? That I wanted to get a fresh start, since my parents were dead and my family didn't really like me?"

"Yes." She nodded. "But.. it had to do with hiding, too, right?"

The word came out long and drawn out, almost hissing. "Yes." For a second, Glenn turned away from Erin, as if his attention span had suddenly shifted. He opened up his knapsack, placed his books inside it, and closed it. Then, he turned back to Erin. "Hiding the fact I was an elf, yes."

"Can you talk about that yet? Should I start from somewhere else?" She was rambling a little, she knew. "Like, uh, did you always know? That you were different than the other humans? I guess you had to...." Yep, her nervousness had taken over now. She was picking at the coat a little more.

He suddenly leaned, so that he was resting on his back, hands folded under his head, looking up at the sky. "My parents told me when I was very little that I was adopted. And a little while later, eventually, I...noticed. And I asked them, and they explained it to me as best they could. Always telling me, 'You have to make sure no one else in Blackbridge knows what you are. You have to wear that necklace whenever you are out in public.'" Glenn sprung back up to his previous seated position. "My first day of school-"

"Yes?" She waited to hear what else he had to say, captivated. Erin was interested in other people's past.. her own enough of a painful story. It was like everyone had a bit of baggage to open up. The vulnerability of people always made her feel less naked out in the world.

He tilted his head, favoring her with a quizzical look. "Do you remember what your first day of school was like? How scary it was?"

"I went to boarding school.. even as a child." She said with an embarrassed smile. "It was terrifying.. and lonely."

Glenn quickly nodded his head. "The basic schools where I lived were run by the priests of Sol. The, uh, sun god. They never said it out loud, but pretty much everyone knew that if you were an elf, or if you believed something they didn't approve of, they'd either kick you out or make you want to leave. I was...terrified of being caught."

"And you never were?" Erin asked with surprise in her voice. Not in that he wasn't caught, but in that as a child he was that careful.

He looked slightly confused at her surprise. "Well, humans in Blackbridge don't have magic. So the necklace seemed alright to them." He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't think they really expected it. Most of the elves who live in Blackbridge have no choice. It's either live there or leave on a ship. And they can't really get good jobs, or own too much property, or live in certain parts of town. No one says they can't, but if you try to..." He shook his head, sadly.

"That's... awful. I never liked that about my upbringing." She added softly. "My mother didn't much like people that were... lower status. Told me not to waste my time, but now my best friend.. well, she would have been trash in my mother's eyes and really she's wonderful. It's horrid when people write others off for things they have no control over." He apparently struck a chord with the Englishwoman.

Again, he bent his head down, and covered his mouth, almost like he was whispering, even though there wasn't anyone else around. "And you want to know what the worst thing is?"

Her brows raised almost as if she were horrified. Leaning in, so that it was more secret, more intimate, she only nodded.

"Elves and humans used to be really close." Glenn sat there for a second, eyes closed, deep in thought, before they snapped open again. "A long, long time ago. And I don't know what went wrong, but it must have happened long before I was born. I don't-don't know why either side hasn't tried to fix it. Build a bridge back."

"It's easier to hate than it is to love. I've seen that everywhere." Added rather quietly. "You know, Glenn... you really should speak to Lydia about all this... She'll.. well. She'll really understand. A lot. I don't want to say too much, but.. she knows, I think. How you feel. Better than I ever could. I was always part of the.. well, the bad half, I guess. Oppressing people and..." Erin sighed.

He paused, breathing in deeply. He tugged at the sleeves of his cloak. Still itchy. "That's the point of RhyDin, though, isn't it? Or what I think people here think. That you can get a fresh start. I just waited too long, and I think I may have made things worse." He suddenly switched gears again. "And Lydia - you said I should talk to her first, right?" He started to jump from subject to subject again. Nerves, perhaps? "But that's why I wanted to tell somebody. I don't think I'm important. But people knew of me in Blackbridge, at least. If only as the guy selling elven furniture. And I still don't understand why Marc Franco writes about me, or why things get written about me anonymously in the back of the Oracle." He smiled slyly at that. "But if people are paying attention to me, it should be for a good reason, right?"

"Of course." She nodded a bit. "People pay attention to everyone here.. the second you step foot in the Inn, you're famous. It's what makes this place special." Erin watched him for a moment, still pulling on the bottom of her coat. "And... well... there are many mistakes people make, and if they're fixed carefully, then no damage is everlasting. I've done horrible things, and have been forgiven. If you're gentle and careful and together... nothing is permanent save death."

Glenn chuckled lightly as he absentmindedly pulled up a few blades of grass. "The Inn...reminded of this place I used to go to at home. Minus a lot of the bad stuff that happens at the Inn." Now he frowned, but quickly resumed his neutral expression. "I meant to do all this months ago. When it would've been easier. Just show up and they'd accept me or not. I made it much harder than it needed to be." He paused for a second. He seemed shocked that he was saying what he was saying, or had been saying. He lowered his head, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I looked that chance in the eye, I blinked, and it's nearly a year later, and nothing's changed."

"Time not to blink anymore." Erin was now going to be the source of strength. "Look it in the eye and take control." She was good at advice, if not taking it. "Here things are different.. Or I hope they are, you know? Really different..." She looked off to the side as she thought about that.

And with that, Glenn brushed the hair out of his eyes again. He looked at her, scrutinizing her, as if examining to see if her strength, her confidence, would cross over to him. His eyes were searching, yearning, for some sort of foundation to build upon. "I...I have a lot of work to do. And things to say." His last words were whispered. "Thank you, Erin. For listening to me."

Erin stood, and headed over to where he was. She went to touch him again, on his arm. "People are weak things without friends." she said, equally softly. "Take care."

Glenn let her hand settle on his arm. "Then, thank you for being a friend. Be careful walking back. I think I'm going to stay here a while."

"Of course." She nodded as she put her bag back on. "Don't catch too cold." Erin said, with a smile as she turned to leave.

((Edited and adapted from live play))

Imrathion Tathar · Date: 2007-11-09 18:58 EST

It had been a throwaway line in a simple thank-you letter. I have something that I wanted to talk to you about. What could it mean? Glenn didn't doubt there were a myriad of possible meanings that could be attached to that line. It could be innocent. It could be salacious. It could be heartbreaking. It could be heartwarming. It could be something he had been dreaming of saying for the longest time, or a nightmare that he'd been dreading to face forever. Even Glenn wasn't sure what he completely meant by the line. All he knew was that everything was riding on her reaction to what he said. And he wasn't sure, when the moment was right for him to tell her, that he would have the strength to say what he needed to say. He could only hope and pray that he would have the wisdom to know when to speak, and that she would have the compassion needed to listen.

Imrathion Tathar · Date: 2007-11-09 20:08 EST

November 10, afternoon
A Stitch in Time

Glenn was over in the old flower shop, holed up in one of the larger rooms towards the back that he had taken over for his temporary workshop. He was putting the finishing touches on the first of two shelves - making sure he applied the same finish in the same color as he had on the shelves on the other side of the Stitch. He was decked out in his work clothes: a long-sleeved black t-shirt, old canvas carpenter's pants with hammers in both of the loops, beat-up leather work boots and long leather gloves to protect his hands. He wore the black knitted cap that Carley had given him, to keep the hair out of his eyes.

Working on the weekend meant one thing: Overtime. And overtime pay was, well, it was pretty awesome. And Carley did so love her money. Of course today was one of those days she had to reconsider if it was really worth it. She was doing a bit of cleaning in the basement of the old flower shop, and found it was entirely too dusty down in there. A box was settled down which resulted in a mini mushroom cloud of dust in her face. Coughing and waving at the cloud blindly, the little blonde elf opted to call it a day as she started heading up the stairs leading out of the basement, and into the main room of the flower shop. Still squinting and visually impaired, foot caught on one of the wood plank steps wrong and sent her falling.. upwards, and into the closed door with a thunk.

The thump made him sit upright a little more, and set down his brush on top of the jar of stain. He stood up, slowly, and walked into the main room. He walked over to the corner where the door to the basement was, and opened it.

Carley was mumbling beneath her breath, just about to peel herself off the door but before she had a chance to it opened without her assistance. With a tiny squeak the dust covered elf fell through the threshold and out of the basement towards Glenn.

And instinctively, Glenn held out his arms to catch her before she faceplanted onto the floor of the main room. "Sorry about that."

Caught in Glenn's arms, Carley blinked a couple times before turning bright blues up and up; even though he wasn't terribly tall, well, she was a little thing herself. Realizing just where she was at she grinned nervously and awkwardly before pulling away, straightening, and dusting some dust off her clothing. "That's okay Glenny! It's a mess down there, I couldn't see where I was goin'." She paused then, sniffing lightly at the air. The mixture of the dust, the must, and the finish Glenn had been using was a little overwhelming. "Ugh, it's so gross in here still. I'm bad at cleaning. I'm probably going to have to make Ivy help me with it." Rubbing at an itch on her nose, she turned around to close the door leading down into the basement. "I'm about ready to get out of here and get some fresh air and sunshine."

He scratched the top of his head before nodding to Carley. "Sounds like a good idea. Would you mind waiting for me to clean up everything in there?" He gestured toward the workroom he'd been borrowing.

She leaned and leaned and leaned aside, to take a peek inside the workroom, then looked back to Glenn with a nod. "I don't mind. Need me to help?" A hand burrowed it's way deep into one of the pockets of her shorts, digging and searching.

He smiled, then shook his head no lightly. "I mostly have to pack my tools up and put them off to the side, and make sure the finish is going to dry alright. Nothing too tough."

"Okay!" A little blue candy was pulled from her pocket and deftly unwrapped before it was popped in her mouth, wrapper disappearing back into her pocket. "I'm just gonna head outside and wait for ya there, 'k?" Not awaiting his response in typical fashion, she about faced on a heel to meander around a counter, to the front door, and out.

Glenn couldn't help but grin a little wider at the sight of that candy being pulled out and unwrapped. Perhaps it wasn't a lame gift after all. He tidied things up in the room, packing his tools into his knapsack (which had been unfortunately emptied of all his books for the next couple of weeks), then doublechecking to make sure everything was all set. He grabbed his cloak and scarf, donned them, then closed the doors and exited the building.

After Glenn exited she glanced aside and offered a big grin, teeth touched with a tint of blue. The unfortunate aftereffects of blueberry candy, but it was worth it! Her other pocket was dug through then, and a key ring with far too many rings was produced. After a moment of sifting through those, the right one was was inserted in the door and twisted. She had to lock up and all. Keys slipped back in her pocket, she turned to look about. Her plans for the day? Nada! "So Glenny, what are yer big plans for the rest of the day?" She rolled a little on the balls of her feet, watching him curiously.

Even with the new (and much more Glenn-sized) cloak, hat, work gloves, and undersized scarf on, he still found himself folding his arms. It was chilly this afternoon, and it was only going to get colder as the day passed. "I'm supposed to meet with Lydia later and talk about some things. Nothing too big." He lied blatantly, and tried to touch the jade arrowheads through the layers of fabric he was wearing.

"Oh." Carley couldn't sound shocked or surprised at that, even though she tried. She very much had suspicions that Glenn had his eye on the green haired elf. Living in the shadow of her elder cousin for years and years, one develops an inferiority complex over such things. "What kind of things?" Nosy, yes she was.

He wasn't really sure how to explain it, and he started to ramble and cut himself off as he spoke. "Just...stuff. I don't know. Things. I talked to Erin about them too. And I wanted to talk to you as well." He glanced over at her, that familiar neutral expression on his face. Like he was sizing her up for trustworthiness.

Stuff and things. It sounded important. Nodding a little to that she stuffed hands in her pockets, this time to seek warmth rather than candied goodness. "We can talk." She paused then, to glance around. "Did you wanna go somewhere or talk here? Either works for me, but if we just stand here people are gonna start starin' after a while."

He looked around, as the customers in the Marketplace hustled and bustled around them, carrying shopping bags full of various items. He nodded his head slowly. "You have anywhere in mind to go?"

"Not really." She grinned a little to him, showing off pretty bluish teeth, rather unaware of the shade. "I honestly didn't have any plans today, so I was just gonna head home after workin' here. So I can go anywhere ya want to go Glenny." She wasn't sure if this really was a serious talk or not, or private or.. well, anything. Best to let him lead the way, right?

Words were spoken with a questioning look. "Does the glen sound alright? I-" Glenn paused, as if deciding whether to admit something - "I do my best thinking there."

"The glen sounds perfect!" She nodded, sending the feather in her beret to bouncing. "I like goin' there." Already she had started a walk down the street, before giggling to herself. "Glenn in the glen..." It was as if the names being the same suddenly dawned on her, amusing her a good deal. "That's fitting."

Most of the time, he would have frowned or sighed upon someone goofing on his name. Instead, he just sort of ignored it, as he started the long walk from the marketplace east and south towards the glen. "Yeah." Another pause, then a conspiratorial grin. "Did you want to know why my parents named me that?"

((Edited and adapted from live play))

Imrathion Tathar · Date: 2007-11-09 20:29 EST

November 10, afternoon
Southern Glen

"Why?" Names fascinated Carley, truthfully. She felt they were important to a person, to their identity. Which.. is why she always had to give people nicknames. If a name didn't fit, gosh darnit, she was gonna make it fit. Or sometimes it was changed to denote affection she had for that person.

He was walking slowly, and the fact that he had the hat on made most of his eyes, and the rings around them, visible. "My poppa's poppa was named Glenn. It was...kind of in honor of him."

"So yer named after your grandpa? That's nice." Carley smiled to that, genuine, just as her words were. She pondered briefly to her own family, gaze falling a little as she realized she didn't even know the name of her own grandparents. Shuffling a little closer to Glenn as they walked, bright blues shifted aside and lifted to lock on his; it was all to rare she got a good glimpse of them. "Carley's not my real name." Quietly spoken. "Well, it is, but, it's a nickname. Short version of my whole name. I just don't like it, so I never tell people what it is."

Glenn was still a bit skittish at having his eyes looked at; at this point, he wasn't sure what his eyes looked like to Carley. Jade green? Normal green? Or something else? He tried to play off his glance aside like he was looking out over the bridge at the river while they were crossing. Up ahead was the RhyDin Public Library, the sight of which made Glenn smile. Down that road, and take a left, and they would be on their way out of the city walls, past the the orphanage and the cemetery. He suddenly glanced over at her, a slightly wicked grin on his face. "What's your real name?" He almost immediately corrected himself. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." And he looked down at the ground, shuffling his feet a bit. "I'm sorry, it was rude of me to ask."

For a while she walked quietly with Glenn, looking over the same places he did, shuddering faintly at the cemetery. When he finally spoke again Carley rolled her eyes in mock exasperation. "Gee, it's about time ya asked." She chuckled good naturedly before leaning aside, to knock an elbow lightly in his side. "I wouldn't have brought it up with you if I didn't plan to tell ya." A pause then, almost as if reconsidering. "Carlisle." Her nose crinkled almost immediately afterwards. "So that makes my name Carlisle Qui'Ama." When she spoke her last name her accent kicked in, light, almost lyrical as was the elven tongue, though it wasn't quite the same as the usual elven spoken. "I hate it. It doesn't suit me at all."

He refused to look at the cemetery when he passed by it, although he smiled wanly when he walked by the RhyDin orphanage. Once they had passed those landmarks, the road was lined on either side with thick, deciduous trees. Some of them were already starting to lose their orange, red, and brown autumn leaves. Winter was coming, and coming soon. "Why don't you think it suits you?" His next words were spoken almost as an aside. "I don't think my name suits me at all either. Well, aside from the last name."

Carley shrugged a little at his question. Hands emerged from her pockets to readjust her beret, and pulled the sides of it over sensitive elven ears when a breeze picked up. And she's wearing shorts. Such a smart girl! "I dunno? I just don't think it does. Just sounds really weird. Carlisle.. almost like a boy's name, dontcha think? Maybe people in my family just favor real names. My cousin's name is really weird too. Forcythia Lia'Tir'Si'Ell... I speak the language and even that
makes my head hurt." She chuckled a little at that before folding her arms, then turned to regard Glenn carefully. "I think your name suits ya perfectly. First and last."

Glenn shrugged at her response to his question. "I can see that, but your nickname is nice, and if that's all you tell people, then your real name doesn't matter to them, right?" He paused, considering her response to his name. "It's a bit rough, though. Glenn Kristophe Woodwright. It works, I suppose. I just wish there was a little more...niceness to it. Softness, maybe?" He trailed off, realizing he was rambling.

"Kristophe?" Carley's brows lifted a little to that, before she grinned. "Well, that one sounds a little out of place, but I think most people with middle names don't need them. They always sound out of place. Fire's and Eri's.. I think Eri has about five or six names?" She scrunched her face in thought for a moment before shrugging it off dismissively. "And Glenn's got some softness to it I think.. and it fits you. Glenn... going to the glen." A teasing quality came to her grin as she brought that up again, before it faded. She was trying to make a point after all. "The glen is... it's a really great place. It's beautiful and peaceful and quiet and... it's one of my favorite places. And in the spring? You should see it, there's no other place that compares."

"I suppose you're right on Kristophe, but it's my momma's poppa's name, so I can't really get rid of it." Glenn closed his eyes very briefly, as if picturing the glen in his mind. "I really only started going here a couple of months ago. It...eases my mind. A lot. I always go to the clearing and the lake."

"I'm surprised we don't bump into each other there more often." Meaning- ever. "I fish at the lake a lot, or go swimming. But it is a big place. I guess we just frequent different parts of it. It's easy to miss others there." Carley went quiet momentarily, to look about. "But it's a good place, yer a good person. I like it there, and I li-" Oh geez, Carley that's smooth! "I mean, it's just fitting." Faint color touched her cheeks then, as she picked up her pace a little.

They were just about at the glen. The land was starting to becoming hillier, right before it took a slight dip in altitude. Glenn tried to keep up with her pace, but his exhaustion left him a little behind her on the path. "I don't swim all that often. Or fish." He shrugged his shoulders, as he attempted to catch up. "We could just be going at different times."

"That too." She replied quickly, nodding her head. "Sometime I'll teach ya. How to fish. How to swim." She ceased in her walking, to turn around and face Glenn. "We're about there. So, what did ya want to talk to me about?" Once again, her gaze searched for his.

He motioned her to follow him further into the glen, to the clearing with the lake. He sat on a patch of ground near an old campfire, feet folded under his legs. Of course, it being Glenn, he started out by being obscure. "Do-do you remember when I said I was a mess?"

Following along, Carley took a seat in front of him, legs crossed. Better than sitting next to him and craning her neck to watch him as he spoke. "Yah huh." She nodded some to that. "I remember."

He took off his cloak and offered it to Carley, so that she could cover her legs. Even though he was still being vague, it was difficult for him to say these words. "Did-did you ever wonder why I tried to speak elven with other elves? Or why I kept my eyes hidden all the time?" The last part was whispered. "Or my ears?"

She smiled broadly and warmly to Glenn in appreciation at the offer of the cloak, and took it to drape over her legs. Gosh, that felt better. Listening to him talk, she leaned forward some, curious expression on her face. "I... guess I didn't really? Some people just like to learn different languages, and here it's a good thing, especially if yer in business." A pause, before responding specifically in regards to his hair and eyes. "I just thought ya needed a haircut." It was quiet, but still held a teasing quality to it.

He reached underneath his black long-sleeved shirt and pulled out his jade necklace. He sat there for a long, long time, just fiddling with it nervously, before he looked up at Carley. His jade green eyes were a mixture of pain and sorrow. "I-I've been lying to everybody. For a long time. About who I really was. Who I really am. I-I'm not really a human, Carley. I'm-well-" And with one motion, he lifted the necklace off his head and laid it in his lap. Eyes closed, he dipped his head down briefly, before he looked up at her. The previously boyish face she had seen now seemed more...androgynous. A bit more feminine. The lips were slightly fuller. The eyebrows were thinner. The nose was smaller. The cheeks were more rounded. Most notable, though, were his eyes. Bigger and wider and more almond shaped, they were a deep shade of forest green. And they seemed warmer, more open, more emotional than his usual eye color. It took all of his willpower to keep his gaze on Carley.

She started to look worried, at his nervousness, though that quickly turned to surprise when he said he wasn't human. Watching him, that surprised turned to outright shock- more so when she saw his face. Even though ears weren't visible, she knew exactly what he was by the features of his face, the color of his eyes. Her mouth was agape, but no words came to her. It was one of those rare moments that Carley was rendered absolutely speechless. Her eyes didn't quite lock on his at first, and instead, they searched his face, taking in this... this new Glenn. She straightened somewhat, as bright blue eyes lifted up a little to lock on forest green eyes. It wasn't the first time she had seen those eyes was it? A time or two, she had seen them. His real eyes. Mouth closed, she swallowed audibly before leaning forward, just a little closer. "...you're..." It didn't quite make it out. Not yet. Hesitantly, and painfully slow, she lifted a hand up, reaching out to brush her fingertips over his face, almost as if to see if it was real. "...you're... like me?" So very quiet, so deadly serious.

Glenn let her hand brush against his face, eyes closed, before he suddenly jerked away from her. Eyes still squeezed shut, he slammed his palms against the earth as fast as he could. The ground shuddered slightly as the rest of Glenn's magic was filtered out of his body into the earth. He suddenly leaned back and collapsed, breathing in deeply. "I'm...I'm an elf. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. Or anyone." His chest was rising and falling with every word he spoke.

((Edited and adapted from live play))

Imrathion Tathar · Date: 2007-11-09 20:50 EST

Chilled fingertips ran down his cheek and along his jawline, almost in caress before he pulled back. As the earth shuddered her eyes widened a little in surprise, before she looked back towards Glenn. For now? She just watched him, listened to him, absorbed it all in. It was a lot to take in... it was confusing, it was a lot of things, but she had far too many emotions to really zone in on one. Oddly enough she smiled, soft and natural, very much unlike her usual smiles. Cloak was lifted off her lap and set aside before she moved forward to lay down on the ground, on her side, next to Glenn, watching his profile. "...why didn't ya tell me that sooner? Or.. anyone? Why hide that?" It was asked somewhat tentatively, her mind still boggled.

"I'm sorry about-" gesturing with his hand about the area. "the shaking. That necklace was designed to hide the way I look, and to keep my magic in check. I can't control it. Only here, there's...something that protects me. I think it's Gaia. The, uh, Earth Mother." He would answer her first question in a riddle, as his breath returned to normal. "Did you ever have a secret you kept for so long, that when you finally had the opportunity to get that off your chest, you didn't know how?"

Not well versed in magic or deities, that first bit Glenn spoke of went over and beyond her, not that the rest didn't... "A secret? Everyone has secrets, but nothin' like this one. I've..." And again, she was speechless, quiet. Words failed her. "...I don't understand."

Glenn squeezed his eyes shut. Just thinking about everything he had sacrificed to keep this secret was making him want to cry, and only by tightly closing his eyes did he believe he could hold back the tears. When he felt composed, he opened his eyes again, looking at the sky. "Wh-where I come from, the elves and the humans don't get along too well. They don't fight each other, but the elves live with elves and the humans live with humans. Mostly. Sometimes, an elf gets tired of living in the forest, or an elf does something and gets kicked out of the village." He paused, hoping Carley'd figure out who he was talking about. "Sometimes, something really strange happens, and some of the humans who don't dislike elves decide, with the blessing of the leaders of an elvish village, to adopt an elvish baby that no one else there wants. But an elf in Blackbridge has a lot going against him. They don't get the best jobs, they get forced out of the nicer homes and neighborhoods, they aren't really allowed to go to the best schools. So my poppa traded a whole bunch of goods to the elders of one of the elvish villages in exchange for this necklace." He grabbed the necklace and held it up for display. "And I pretended to be a human, so I'd have a chance to succeed."

Carley... listened. Carefully. To each and every one of Glenn's words. But it didn't make her any less confused. Brows furrowed in thought somewhat. "You've pretended to be human yer whole life?" In Blackbridge, from what he told her, that made sense. It did. Discrimination against elves? That was nothing new to her. Discrimination against elves took a lot from her, but that's neither here or now. Wearing a perplexed look, she pushed off the ground, her beret abandoned on the ground leaving her own pointed ears quite exposed as she peered down at Glenn. The new face, as familiar as it was, was taking some getting used to. "..but why here Glenn? Rhydin isn't like that. Elves are allowed to be.. elves here, ya know? Elves are just as good or important as anyone else. I'm an elf and I get treated just fine, so..." She trailed off, fidgeting a little.

And now, perhaps, the reason for Glenn's constantly staring at anyone with elvish ears was explained, as he stared at hers, before continuing. "I-I guess. I just got here and-and I got scared. My only experiences with elves were visiting the village my poppa would trade with like 2 or 3 times a year, for a couple of days, and going to an elvish bar in Blackbridge. I was pretty much ignored, for better or for worse. Or looked on with pity, at best. Contempt, occasionally. I was afraid that if I told people I was an elf, they'd expect all these things out of me. Like, I'd know elvish and behave a certain way and-and" Just merely thinking about his ears made him lose it. He covered his face with his hands and started sobbing softly into them.

Carley was about to ponder his words, to think of something- anything- to say, but when Glenn started to cry? She was rather caught off guard. She had seen him being a mess in general, but never so unguarded, unprotected, raw. Sometimes she let down her defenses and barriers around him, but never to the degree he was currently doing so in front of her. "Glenn..." She very nearly choked it out, her own eyes starting to well with tears seeing him like that. To see someone she cared deeply for, not as a lover or anything of the sort, but as a very good friend? One of her very best? To be in such pain? It caused her to ache. She desperately wanted to say something to help him, to make him feel better, but no words came. Instead, she leaned down, to try and wrap her arms around him to just.. hold him.

Glenn's hands were quickly becoming wet with tears, but he wouldn't remove them from his face at first. "Please....I don't want you to see me like this. 'Tis unmanly, grief.' " His words said one thing, but his actions said another. He sat up, and let Carley put her arms around him. Glenn finally removed his hands from his face. A few tears still rolled down those cheeks from those dark green eyes of his.

She was a little reluctant to let go of him, and held on for a few moments. After giving him a big squeeze she pulled back, and to comply with his request, she turned around, her back towards him. Spotting her beret on the ground, she picked it up, toying with it in her hands, but didn't settle it on her head just yet. "Don't worry about that Glenny." Softly offered.

Glenn wiped his face and his now-runny nose on the sleeve of his shirt, with a loud sniffle. "Thank you, Carley. For understanding and-and for listening to me. And not judging me."

"It'd be kinda dumb if I judged ya for that Glenny. Since yer the same as me." Excitement flared up then, and with a radiant grin she turned around to face him. "I'm actually really glad for that, and that ya told me."

The smile returned his face, as he wiped the last of the tears from his eyes with his index finger. "I'm glad you're not like the elves back home. I'm glad you're" and the last word was practically whispered. "you."

Carley suddenly felt she had been whisked away to a very good and wonderful dream. Glenn was like her... and he was happy she was the way she was? So many had problems with her, always wanted her to change, but he never expected that. Elven face, human face, either way, Glenn was Glenn. Or rather... "Glenny... I'm real glad yer you too." She laughed then, lightly as she leaned forward to hug him. Not the same as before though, as this one was a happier hug. "In my letter to you... I lied. About bein' upset. Because I was.. because of something someone told me." She paused. "Well, that's not right either, but I was upset, but this changes that. I don't feel like.. like I'm going to be alone anymore."

And...Glenn actually returned the hug, putting his arms around her as well. "I'm glad to hear that. That you're not upset anymore."

Seeing as he put his arms around her, she wasn't so quick to move away, in fact? She didn't move away at all. Tsk tsk. With a little lean of her head, she settled it in the crook of his neck, her eyes closing. "I.. I hate bein' an elf." A quiet admission.

His voice was a low murmur, as she rested her head on him. "Why's that?"

He had opened up to her, so it felt safe somehow, to open up to him. To tell him things she didn't tell others, to share her own secrets. "I'm over a hundred... I'm still really young for an elf, but, it's hard... to watch friends age and die, but I never do, ya know?" She squeezed him a little tighter then. "I get so scared Glenny. Because I know everyone I know will die, but I'll stay young for such a long time. I hate that. But.. but yer the same. I don't have to watch you fade away from me like that." Her words were low, barely audible, but she was close enough that Glenn could hear them with ease.

Glenn was speechless for a moment. The possibility had never occurred to him, that someone could look so young and let be so old. Slowly, though, he removed his arms from around Carley, stood up, and walked over to look out on the water. He didn't know what to say, and he was afraid he never would. He could feel a single, solitary tear drop forming and tracing a path down his cheek. He felt like he didn't deserve it at that moment. He didn't deserve to cry, because he was too scared to say the truth he knew needed to be told.

Carley was confused, and it showed on her face, when Glenn pulled away from her and walked away. She remained on the ground for the moment, watching his back, before she scampered to her feet, abandoning her beret and his cloak on the ground. She moved slowly towards him, but paused a few feet away. The corners of her lips were still upturned, just a little. Glenny?"

Glenn didn't look at her when he spoke his words to her. He didn't want to see her face, her reaction to what he was going to say. He was a coward. He squeezed his hands into fists, willing himself to do the right thing. "I-I don't really know how long elves live. I know some elves are different from others, and age differently and all. I'm...only 22."

Twenty two. So that meant he wasn't quite the same. Much like Lydia. She was only half elf, and she aged like a human. That was a hard moment to absorb in when she found that out too. But this was different. So very different. Smile was wiped clean from her face as she continued to stare at his back another moment, before her gaze fell to the ground. What was this for then? If it meant he'd go away like everyone else. That little hope she had, that perhaps, someday, there could be more? It was extinguished. Almost as quick as it had come. For now, she just remained silent, mulling over everything he had told her, and the fact that in the end? It changed nothing. Not even for the better.

And in that moment, when he refused to turn around, refused to look her in the eye and say anything further, he refused to give voice to the thought that kept running through his mind: I never should have told her this. She would have been better off not knowing. Glenn stamped his foot in place, once. It was completely selfish, but he wished she would go away and leave him alone.

Carley had very little- no, she had nothing else to say. She was crushed. Just... crushed. A quiet whimper started to form in her throat as her eyes welled up with tears once more. Quickly, she reached up to swipe them away, then looked back up. Shaking her head a little, she turned around and started a quick sprint away from Glenn. Away from the glen. Leaves crunched and crinkled lightly beneath her feet as she ran, slowly fading out into nothing when she was gone.

((Edited and adapted from live play))

Imrathion Tathar · Date: 2007-11-10 19:49 EST

It was a hastily written note, included in a hastily purchased birthday present. We need to talk. Saturday. Evening. The glen. Glenn almost never did anything impulsively, but he was desperate. The secret was starting to drown him, pull him deep into the undertow, and he was afraid his head was never going to rise above the waves again. That note was his life preserver, and he tossed it out like a dying man would, at the first sign of salvation. And she had hooked him, said she would meet him. But would she pull him to the shore, to the safety of the ship's deck, or would she leave him out there to float and die alone?

Imrathion Tathar · Date: 2007-11-10 20:10 EST

November 10, evening
Southern Glen

Glenn had been sleeping there for...well, who knew how long? All afternoon, at least, if not longer. Curled up into a ball, he slept fitfully next to an small campfire. It was difficult to tell whether or not the occasionally kicking outwards of his legs was a result of something he was dreaming, or if it was merely because he was shivering from the chill. He had put his necklace back on and draped the cloak over his body before he had started napping.

Lydia was a bit late getting to the glen. Later than she would have liked, since the sky was getting darker, slowly but steadily. She certainly wasn't dressed for this meeting either, but she went straight there from her dance lesson with Grem. Dressed for that occasion, she was wearing a light, silvery teal halter dress to the knees, and over that was an oriental cut teal jacket; the very one she received on her birthday. Hair had even been partially pinned up with a pewter hair slide, another birthday item. Heels had been worn as well, which make the walk around the hillier portions of the glen somewhat vexing, but she still managed to keep up a brisk walk. Pale blues- lighter than normal as she was using her magic to keep herself and the area around her nice and toasty to combat the chill of old snow- shifted about as she walked, on the lookout for Glenn. Off in the distance though, she did see a small fire, and since that was the only sign of life she had seen in the glen tonight, that's the way she went.

The fire that Glenn had lit was slowly starting to fade, the embers smoldering a deep red. Somewhere in the vicinity of the campfire, but far enough way that it wasn't in danger of catching on fire or being rolled over onto while Glenn slept, was a familiar feathered beret. He kicked out at the air, hard, and moaned something inaudible in his sleep.

Lydia frowned a touch as she drew closer, spotting Glenn sleeping and hearing him moan. She didn't know much about camping, but she could guess that sleeping so exposed to outside elements when it was so cold out probably wasn't a great idea. Not without a tent or at least a sleeping bag. Before she moved closer to him though, that's when she spotted the familiar beret. Brows furrowed a touch at it before she leaned over to pick it up and look it over. Just to be sure. Not that it was actually necessary to do that. She could spot Carley's beret from a mile away with that oversized feather attached. Fingertips trailed over said feather before she looked back towards Glenn, frown still in place. Sighing inaudibly she stepped closer to him, though he'd very likely feel the warmth of her magic before hearing her approach or words. Glenn?" It was spoken tentatively, quietly so as to not startle him or frighten him. She wasn't entirely sure that would wake him though.

The increase of heat in the area counteracted Lydia's attempt to wake him by speaking to him. A faint smile crossed his face, as he bundled the cloak up tighter around his body. At this distance, it was clearly evident that Glenn was using his hands as extremely makeshift pillows, to keep his head from touching the hard-packed dirt.

Lips twisted faintly to that, as she idly toyed with the blue brooch holding the feather in place in the beret she held. Feet shuffled faintly before she carefully lowered herself down to her knees, likely getting lower legs a little dirty, but she couldn't be bothered with worrying about that now. Carley's beret was held in one hand as she reached out with the other, to give Glenn a gentle shake, hopefully rousing him from sleep. "Glenn?"

He sat up slowly, blinking, rubbing his eyes. "What?" At that distance, it was plain to see from his slightly red and puffy eyes that he had been crying, probably earlier that day, and that even with the nap he had been taking, he was still in desperate need of more sleep. "Oh. Lydia. Sorry about that. I was taking a nap." He took the cloak from off his lap and put it on, throwing the hood up over the black cap he was already wearing on his head. Leather work gloves were still on, but his scarf had migrated over to where the beret had been. He looked over there, not seeing the beret.

Her now pale, almost entirely white eyes paused on his own for a moment, her brows furrowing at their appearance. "That's fine Glenn..." She fell quiet then, as he donned his cloak, lips pursing faintly. Her gaze shifted down to the beret in her hand before lifting back to him, a questioning look on her face.

When she looked at him questioningly, his eyebrows arched a little bit, before he finally spotted the beret in her hands. Glenn didn't lift his head at all when he spoke. He just stared at the beret, his voice barely audible. "Carley...was here earlier. I was talking about something important with her. Something I wanted to talk about with you, too." He weakly attempted to change the subject, lifting his gaze to meet Lydia's. "I'm sorry I missed the rest of your birthday party. How was it?"

"Hm." A noncommittal sound, Lydia studied the beret another moment before setting it aside. "It's odd for her to forget her beret." It was spoken quietly, before she shrugged faintly. "It was nice. But don't worry about the fact you didn't stay the whole time. You needed your rest." Nodding as if to confirm her words, she tilted her head curiously to Glenn. She wasn't going to ask or press him. Not just yet.

He rubbed his head, forgetting for a second that he was still wearing that cap. The only way he was going to get out of talking about Carley appeared to be redirecting the conversation, even if it meant being uncharacteristically upfront. "So, uh, you're probably wondering why I asked you to meet me here, right?"

A hint of a smile touched the corners of Lydia's lips at that. "Just a little bit." Which wasn't exactly true. She was wondering more than 'just a little bit'. She was worried about Glenn. Confused about Carley's beret. Confused why he couldn't speak to her before, and why this meeting was in such an out of the way place. Even if he wanted privacy, the glen seemed a little.. much. ...are you alright? You've seemed.. I dunno.. a little off lately."

And Glenn asked Lydia the same question he had asked Erin and Carley. "Lydia, have you ever had a secret that you kept for so long that-that it started to poison you? Eat away at your insides?" He turned away from her to gaze at the lake, or what was visible of it from his position. He shivered a bit, even with the cloak and hat and gloves on.

Whatever trace of a smile that may have been on her lips or in her eyes faded at the question as she considered it. It was a few moments before she answered. "I'm not entirely sure they're really... secrets. But there are things that I don't tell people- that I keep inside that..." She trailed off, shaking her head. No need to go on. "Why do you ask?" She was quick to add that on, hopefully to redirect the conversation back to him.

He sighed, deeply, then started to fidget with that necklace again. The clacking of jade arrowheads somewhat soothing to him. "I-I've got this secret. That I've kept from pretty much everybody here. From pretty much everybody I know anywhere. And-and I can't take it anymore. I'm tired of lying to people I care about." His next words almost come out as a rush. "So I told Erin and Carley."

Lydia pondered his words over momentarily, a look of confusion making a brief appearance. He had told Erin whatever it was? She wasn't aware they were close or even knew each other that well. Such thoughts were shaken away though, as she looked him over, gaze resting on the jade necklace she had seen him toy with so often before. "Is that why you wanted me to come here? So you could tell me your secret?" Words were soft, quiet, though in the back of her mind there was a little worry for what this secret could be.

Glenn looked down at the ground, his head almost as low as it could go. That, coupled with the quietness of his voice, made his next word difficult to hear. "Yes."

((Edited and adapted from live play))

Imrathion Tathar · Date: 2007-11-10 20:37 EST

Lydia didn't like seeing him so upset, yet so often he seemed just that way. Whatever this secret was, it must really burden him; weigh him down. Though he couldn't see it, she smiled a touch, hoping it would reach her voice. "Hey.. I don't expect you to tell me anything Glenn, but if this is something you want to do?" She paused. "You can tell me anything Glenn. We're friends, yeah? It'll be fine..."

The doubt shone in his eyes, and for a moment, they were a darker forest green, before he blinked, and they returned to normal. Glenn paused, for a long moment, and then tried to stall further. "Are you sure? You won't hate me?" Somehow, in the aftermath of the Carley fiasco, he had lost all his faith in what Erin had told him: that Lydia would be understanding.

"Glenn... why would you think I would?" She furrowed her brows a bit at that. "Of course I'm not going to hate you."

"It's just-" And then he stood up, putting a little bit of distance between himself and Lydia. He shrugged off his cloak, tossing it to the ground next to his scarf. Slowly, he took that necklace off, then quickly lowered his head and closed his eyes. After a moment, he looked back up at Lydia, with a face that was instantly familiar and yet utterly alien. An elven face, with elven features: rounder cheeks, fuller lips, smaller nose, and, most strikingly, a pair of large, almond-shaped, forest green colored eyes. Those eyes radiated pain, as he fought the screaming impulse in his brain to turn away from Lydia as he spoke. "I-I'm actually an elf, Lydia. I'm not a human, like everyone thinks I am."

She tilted her head back to better face him as he stood, and when the necklace came off her eyes widened a touch. Losing a little concentration on her own magic, the air around them became just a touch cooler, and her eyes shifted to their more natural color of pale blue. Blinking a couple times she slowly rose to her feet, still watching Glenn's face, looking over his features. "Elf..?" She was trying to make sense of that, but in her mind that just wasn't happening. Mouth opened as if she was about to speak again, but no words came. She just continued to watch him, her eyes on his.

Glenn just stood there, awkwardly, necklace still clenched in his right hand. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't tell you the truth about the necklace before. It made me look human. And you might want to brace yourself." Glenn suddenly fell to his knees. For a moment, his hands seemed to glow white-hot with what looked like fire, before he slammed them into the ground as hard as he could. The ground shook briefly at that, and when he was done, he stayed on the ground, his breath coming in ragged gasps. "The necklace was also supposed to prevent that from happening." To those sensitive to magic, what he had just discharged didn't register as any of the traditional elemental types, or any of the other normal arcane schools. It was raw, primitive, untapped - and untrained.

"Brace my-?" Before Lydia could finish her confused words though, the earth beneath her feet shook, causing her to stagger a bit. She was in heels and all. Somehow she managed to catch herself though. Blinking a couple times, she watched him, listening, still trying to make sense of it. "I think you mentioned something about that before..." She trailed off at that, her brows furrowed in that ever present confusion she still carried. "...You're an elf...?" She paused. "Why is that... such a secret...? I don't understand Glenn, I-" The green haired one wasn't sure what to do or say or what to make of this.

Slowly, he walked back over to where Lydia was standing, although he made sure he kept a respectable distance. "I should be alright now. There's....something here. Sucks up my magic instead of sending it out where it could hurt people. That's why I wanted to meet here." He stopped talking briefly. "I-How much did I tell you about Blackbridge? About the way the elves and humans get along there?"

"I don't think you told me all that much... you said they didn't really get along too great, but... not much beyond that." Lydia took a moment to study his face again. It was strange how familiar and yet so different it was. Gaze shifted aside, just a little, in search of pointed ears before returning to his face.

His ears were carefully hidden, by hair and by hat. He went to where his cloak and scarf were, gathering them up, then moved a little closer to the now-dead campfire and Lydia. He didn't know why, but he was hesitant. "Can-can I sit here?"

"Yeah.. of course.." Lydia wasn't entirely sure why he was asking to sit, but she'd not voice that. Rather than sitting herself, though, she continued to stand, occasionally shuffling her feet as she let this new information sink in.

Glenn sat down, near where his campfire had been. He had set the fire up well, but he had fallen asleep and hadn't maintained it, made sure it would keep burning for a while, which was why it wasn't burning now. "I-Do you think you could light the fire again? Please?" He would wait until she decided whether or not to reignite it before continuing. "You knew I was adopted, right? My real parents died shortly after I was born. Very shortly. And-and my poppa and momma asked if they could adopt me. And the elders of the village I was from, Laur'Lotina, said yes. My poppa...had been trading with them for some time. And, I think he had done something some time ago that sort of made them realize he wasn't like the other humans in Blackbridge. He was good."

When Glenn asked her about the fire she nodded silently before shuffling that way, carefully lowering herself to her knees next to the fire. Sleeves of her jacket were carefully rolled back before she settled her hands on the campfire, then eyes glowed faintly as the flames kicked back up, licking around fingertips, though not burning. They never did. Leaning away from it she listened to Glenn, but didn't turn to watch him as he spoke. Instead, she watched the fire, remaining quiet so he could go on at his own pace.

Gloved hands were rubbed together, before he slipped the gloves off, so the heat could more fully reach his fingers. He watched the flames start to dance around the wood while he spoke, continuing his thought. "My poppa and momma didn't care that I was an elf." He paused, feeling his eyes tear up a bit, before he continued. "I guess they couldn't have kids of their own or something? I never really got the full details." He blinked, trying to get the tears out of his eyes. "They didn't care, but they knew the rest of Blackbridge did. And so my poppa traded a bunch of goods for the necklace. They told me that I had to hide who I was. 'Cause elves can't get the best jobs, and are pretty much forced to live in the worst houses, and-and were all but banned from going to the basic schools run by the priests of Sol."

Lydia took in a deep breath, holding it a moment before she turned to face Glenn finally. "Your parents sound like wonderful people, from everything you've told me about them... now and before." That was offered softly, her eyes searching his face. "...that's a shame isn't it? When people can't get along just because they're of different races... because some have pointy ears and others don't." She shook her head then, almost disdainfully. "...you've posed as a human your whole life then?"

Glenn felt her eyes on him, and he turned away from the flames to look at her. "Pretty much." He paused, trying to decide how candid he should be about this fact. "There's a few people, here and there, who figured it out back home. And I just told Erin and Carley. But for the most part, yeah, I've been pretending to be human."

She pondered that a moment. "That makes sense... if I could have done the same, pass as pure human or elf back home, I can't say I wouldn't have tried." She sighed faintly, glancing back to the fire. "Why did you do that here though Glenn? I know there's still some discrimination, even in Rhydin, but not too much.. were you just.. I dunno.. are you more comfortable as..." She trailed off, not sure where she was going with that.

For a long time, he sat there, pondering Lydia's half-spoken question. He sighed a little bit, before he answered, his gaze still on her. "I-I got here 8 months ago, and I meant to. I wanted to be what I was. I wanted to live as an elf. But-I screwed up. Badly. Fell into old habits." He looked down at his feet again. "I was afraid that other elves would judge me, like the ones in Blackbridge did. Because I hadn't lived with elves. Didn't know the language. Didn't behave like they did."

Lydia shook her head at that. "Glenn there's nothing wrong with how you behave." She almost sounded agitated. Sighing, she frowned a touch before continuing on. "Do you honestly believe there's that big of a difference between elves and humans? Others might, but what about you?"

It only took Glenn a moment, before he shook his head strongly. "No. There really isn't. Humans may be taller than me. And I may be able to use magic and they can't. And I may live a little bit longer than they do. But no. We -all of us, human, elf, dwarf, whatever. I think we all have souls. We all feel pain, joy-" And the last word was barely a whisper. "love."

Smiling a little at his response, Lydia got up to take a seat next to Glenn. "I wish more people felt the same way you did. Fighting over such small differences.. it's stupid. That's what I hated about my own home. Elves and humans don't get along there either. Even fight each other... get into war over it..." Her last words were whispered, her smile long gone. "And I don't hate you for this Glenn... you're no different to me now than you were before you told me this." She glanced aside towards him then.

"Th-thank you, Lydia." He smiled. A simple, genuine smile, at her last words. Then, he responded. "We don't have war yet in Blackbridge. There's some elves, those who got tired of living in the forest or who got kicked out of their villages, who live among the humans. Scraping to get by. I-I feel guilty about that sometimes. That I could pass, and they didn't." His tone was genuinely angry, at himself, swinging a fist as if banging an imaginary table. "I should've done something. But I was" And his tone of voice changed, as he started reciting something from memory. " 'I was pigeon-livered, and lacked gall.' I was a coward."

She looked confused at first, until he clarified that bit about being a coward. Shaking her head, she looked back towards the fire. "That's not true. If something has been a certain way for so long... for one person to try to change it or fix it somehow.. it's just.. it's impossible." That was quietly said.

Again, he was surprised at how...honest, and open he was being. "I thought it would get better, once the pirates attacked Blackbridge, but it-it didn't. It was easy for things to go back the way they were. And my parents died. And there really wasn't all that much keeping me there. Some friends yeah, but my family-" And he suddenly turned away.

Brows furrowed in concern as she turned to him. "...your family?" She paused then, thinking. "You told me once that..." And then Lydia trailed off, frown forming once again. Lydia remained silent for the moment, hesitantly reaching out to settle a hand on his shoulder. "...none of your family... do any of them... I mean..."

Glenn's gaze shifted to the fire, as he stroked his chin. "I don't see most of my family all that much. I have three uncles on my poppa's side and two on my momma's side, but they all live really far away. And my grandparents died before I was born. My aunt-was really the only other family I had. And my cousins. They were sort of like brothers and sisters to me. And then-" He suddenly cut himself off. He looked scared, scared to say anymore. Scared to tell the truth.

((Edited and adapted from live play))

Imrathion Tathar · Date: 2007-11-10 20:55 EST

Lydia didn't want to press him into saying more than what he was comfortable with saying. He had already said quite a bit... so she gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze. He could continue if he wanted, or talk of something else. She would be fine with it either way.

It was rash, impulsive. Almost completely unlike Glenn. But he asked the question anyways, his eyes warm and pleading. "Please don't take this the wrong way. But-but after the last couple of days, I could really use a hug."

She was a bit surprised at the request, especially since at her birthday gathering she had hugged him and it had gone unreturned. But she wasn't about to turn it down. He was hurting, he needed his friends. So without a word she gave a curt nod before leaning in, wrapping her arms tightly around him. She felt warm too, her skin, even her clothing. It shouldn't, not in this cold.. but that was the beauty of magic.

He had thought that he was all done crying, but he felt something collapse deep inside of him again. And with his arms around her as well, returning the hug, he buried his face into her shoulder, sobbing. After a little bit, he regained his composure. He whispered into her ear. "My aunt and one of my cousins found out. Kathryn. The middle one. And-and I screwed up. And Aunt Kyla wouldn't really talk to me, except when she was treating my momma. And she wouldn't let Kathryn or my youngest cousin Corey be around me." And suddenly, he became conscious of what he had done. He blushed, embarrassed at his second melt-down of the day. "I'm-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that."

Lydia held him just a little tighter as he cried, not saying anything. She wished there was something to say, but it was a situation she was doing all she really could for him, at the moment. She said nothing to his whispers, but when he apologized she shook her head, pulling back enough so she could face him. "Don't apologize.. it's okay Glenn. ..this is hard for you, yeah? But.. the hardest part is over.. it'll get better from here." She mustered up a reassuring smile for him. "And we're friends. I'm supposed to be here for you. So don't apologize for that, alright? I'm not upset.. I don't hate you.." She said the last words quietly, reiterating them from when she said them before, to assure him his fear wouldn't come to fruition.

Glenn smiled, very faintly. "Erin was right. You did understand. And you didn't judge me. You have no idea how much you've helped me. You and Erin." The smile increased in intensity, just a touch, and there was an extra flash of warmth in his dark forest green eyes. "Thank you, so much. I can't-I can't do enough to repay your kindness."

"I don't expect you to do anything to repay me. I just want you to feel better... I worry about you sometimes Glenn. You just seem so..." She trailed off then. "I just hope it gets easier for you... especially since you've... finally shared your burden. No one should have to do that alone. Any time you need to talk... I'm here. You know that right?" She couldn't help but ponder over his words though. Her and Erin. He had mentioned he told Carley too... pale blues shifted over towards the lone beret, briefly.

He looked down at the necklace, which he had dropped to his lap previously, before looking back up at Lydia. "I think-I think I'm going to be better. And I'm glad you're here to talk to me. I'm glad you came out tonight." His eyes followed hers, darting over towards the beret. Instantly, his eyes darkened, until they almost seemed more black than green. He looked pained, stricken.

Lydia turned back to face Glenn, about to respond to his words before she caught the look in his eyes, on his face.. immediately her expression fell. "Glenn...? Are you alright?" A pause then, before her next words came out as a whisper. "Did something happen?"

He rested his face in his hands for a moment, before he turned to Lydia. "I told Carley. And it didn't go well. At all. I think I hurt her. Badly. I-I just wanted to stop lying to the people I cared about. I think I just made it worse with her."

"Hurt her?" Lydia was confused. Why would this...?" Then she trailed off, shaking her head, sighing quietly. "I'm sure she's fine.. probably just a shock, yeah? Carley's..." A hand lifted so she could gesture vaguely. "I dunno, I've never been able to understand her, but I'm sure it'll be fine?"

Glenn's voice was even more hesitant, more measured than before. "I hope so. I don't want to hurt anybody anymore." He paused briefly, to collect his thoughts and try to better phrase his response. "I think she found out, but I'm not what she wanted me to be. And I can't be what she wants, even though I want to." He frowned, slightly.

She opened her mouth to say something, but wasn't at all sure what to say. She wasn't sure what happened exactly, and wasn't sure she should pry anymore. Lydia mirrored Glenn's frown somewhat, not saying anything just yet. Pale blues lifted a little towards the darkening sky, then back to him, just watching for the moment.

And as abruptly as he brought it up, Glenn dropped it. It was a subject that was only going to make him feel worse. At least Erin and Lydia seemed to accept him. He would cling to that, make that his foundation, as he slowly attempted to integrate who he truly was on the outside with who he was on the inside. He found himself muttering a word out loud, out of the blue. "Elandili."

Blinking, Lydia tilted her head curiously to Glenn. "What's that mean?" A hint of smile then. "We just had one language where I'm from, so I don't speak anything other than.. this." She lifted her hand and gestured to herself at that.

He arched his eyebrow a bit. "Common? Yeah, a lot of people seem to speak that. From a lot of different places. And there's basic elvish too, but I only know a few words and phrases. Stuff for trading, hellos, goodbyes-" He grinned a rare mischievous grin. "insults." He shook his head, getting his thoughts back on track. "It means half-elf, literally. But it's also used by some of the elves as an insult. Like basically, someone who is an elf on the outside but inside, behaves like something else." He paused, swallowing, as if the words were hard to bring up. "Behaves like a human."

She nodded a bit to that, smiling faintly, a rueful quality about it as her gaze lowered. "That sounds about like me right there... elf on the outside, human inside." A shake of her head then. "Though I never did behave properly for either side." Lydia bit at her lip momentarily, pondering something over. "I think I'd rather think of myself as... 'Lydia', rather than 'elf' or 'human'. Much like I think of you as 'Glenn'."

He found himself shaking his head slowly. "I think I agree." He turned to look at her, conviction and determination in his eyes. "But that doesn't mean I don't want to learn more about who I am. The language. The customs. The magic. All that stuff. It's still a part of me." Glenn looked to the sky as well. "I'm sorry I held you up so long." He temporarily forgot about her magic. "It's getting cold out, I know. And as much as I'd like to sleep here instead of the Inn tonight, I need a roof over my head." He shrugged his shoulders. "One of those universal needs, right?"

"Oh, it's fine." She smiled to him as she moved to stand up. "And I can understand that, learning about who you are... I wish I could help with that, but... I don't think we're exactly the same kind of elf," she said as she tugged on a lock of celadon. A moment of consideration then, before she turned towards him with a smile. "You're welcome to stay at
The Stitch again if you'd rather do that?"

He gathered his things together, putting back on his leather work gloves, his necklace, and too-short scarf, and adjusting his cloak, before he stood. "I...don't think it matters? What type of elf you are, or I am. I will listen to anyone who knows anything. I think...only by learning that can I help others avoid the mistakes I made, and stop all the hate between different races." He tilted his head and looked at her, almost as if looking for confirmation. "Yeah?" He looked visibly relieved at the offer of a room at the Stitch. "If it's not a problem, I would love to stay at the Stitch again. The blankets were better than the Inn's." He gave Lydia a conspiratorial grin.

The one she thought best to teach him anything about elves was honestly.. Carley, but that's not something she was about to say. Instead she chuckled a bit to his words. "I'd hope so..." Without a word Lydia bent down to scoop up Carley's beret, tucking it away within her jacket out of sight. She'd handle returning it back to the little blonde elf. Idly kicking some dirt and such on the campfire to put it out she glanced back to Glenn. "And you can sleep in as long as you want there too, since there's no work tomorrow." Sundays were days of rest and sleeping in. Gotta love them.

By this point, Glenn was a frayed thread, waiting to snap at the slightest stress. It was all he could do to stay on his feet as he walked out of the clearing, through the trees, and back on to the road to return to RhyDin city. Even with his winter gear, the slightest breeze chilled him to the bone, made him feel like he might be blown away. But he would think of Erin's kindness, and the strength she had lent him. And he would look to Lydia, as she walked alongside him back to the city. And somehow, he found the strength to keep moving forward, step by step, until they finally arrived at the Stitch.

((Edited and adapted from live play))

Imrathion Tathar · Date: 2007-11-11 19:31 EST

Had he saved himself? Or was it merely a stay of execution? Or worse, had he exchanged one terrible fate for another, more gruesome one? Glenn's mind raced the entire time he was walking back from the glen to the Stitch in Time. He couldn't help but picture all the moments he had revealed himself as an elf, both in recent days and the distant past. He tried to keep his mind focused on the good, but all too frequently, it drifted toward the bad. The family he'd offended. The ones he loved that he'd pushed away. The people he should have told, but never got the opportunity to tell. Or was too afraid to confess to. And what was going to happen now? Would his friends change their minds? Sit down and think, truly think, about how he had wronged them, by not trusting them with his secret? Or would they continue to embrace him, with open minds and open arms?

Somehow, Glenn found the strength to cling stubbornly to hope in what felt like an ocean of despair. He clung to the hope that each and every time in the future, when he said those difficult words, they'd become less and less difficult to speak. He held tight to the dream that one day, he'd be able to walk the streets of RhyDin and have everyone see him the way he saw himself. That the world would look upon him, and not ignore him, reject him, or hate him. He fervently wished that someday, someone would love him for who he truly was, on the inside and the outside. That they'd see the scars, on his body and in his mind, and not be repulsed by them. Even the ones he was still hiding.

It was these hopes, these wishes, these dreams that helped Glenn sleep as soundly as he ever had in the months since he'd arrived in RhyDin, even in the tiny space in the Stitch's workroom he had crammed his body, some quilts and pillows into. Things were getting better now. They had to be. How could they get any worse? Glenn thought, before he immediately cut himself off. Lots of ways. Let's not think anymore. With that, he found himself drifting off into a dark and dreamless sleep that, when he finally woke up in the late Sunday morning, left him feeling surprisingly refreshed and alert. Alive and ready to face whatever else the world was going to throw at him.

Topic: ...Will Now Be Revealed

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