The Preserve, Saturday Morning
One moment this particular section of the preserve was empty; the next, a young elven girl with a staff slung across her back and a lost expression on her face was stepping out from between two trees.
"Creators, I wasn't quite expecting that!"
It had all happened so quickly, but in another sense it had been a long time coming.
"It would benefit the clan as well as yourself, da'len," Keeper Marethari had said several weeks ago, when she first raised the subject of sending Merrill away for a while. "You've never been truly comfortable among them, even before your studies set you apart. Perhaps some time away, a different point of view, will help you come to understand them better and put you at ease."
That was the start of several weeks' worth of quarrels, but no matter how earnestly Merrill tried to argue her case there was no convincing the Keeper, and in the end she had to admit that the idea of going away sounded at least a little bit appealing. She might feel less self-conscious, at least, without the weight of that constant sense that she didn't quite fit in properly with the rest of the clan. It was tempting, to tell the truth, and in the end she agreed to go. She had no idea what to expect from the place Marethari was sending her but the possibility of being able to recover more of the elves' lost lore might have helped to sway her as well.
So she had set out this morning from the clan's camp in the Brecilian Forest, early enough that only a few of the younger hunter apprentices were milling about. Most of them paid her no mind, though Mahariel did look up and offer a wordless nod that Merrill returned with awkward uncertainty.
It was the strangest thing: one moment she was making her way through the Brecilian Forest, and the next moment she wasn't. Oh, she was still in the woods somewhere, but a very different kind of woods. Granted, this wasn't unexpected -- it was the way the Keeper had told her to go, and she was well aware that the battles fought in the forest's history had left the Veil thin and tattered in places -- but it was still very disconcerting.
Merrill had no idea how she was supposed to find her way to this "Fandom High" (what a funny name) place from here, but there was hardly anyone around to ask. Besides, even if there had been, she wouldn't have been inclined to ask them for directions. She could just start walking, couldn't she? She'd find her way out eventually.
[OOC: For one! Merrill will be showing up at the picnic in a bit.]
"Creators, I wasn't quite expecting that!"
It had all happened so quickly, but in another sense it had been a long time coming.
"It would benefit the clan as well as yourself, da'len," Keeper Marethari had said several weeks ago, when she first raised the subject of sending Merrill away for a while. "You've never been truly comfortable among them, even before your studies set you apart. Perhaps some time away, a different point of view, will help you come to understand them better and put you at ease."
That was the start of several weeks' worth of quarrels, but no matter how earnestly Merrill tried to argue her case there was no convincing the Keeper, and in the end she had to admit that the idea of going away sounded at least a little bit appealing. She might feel less self-conscious, at least, without the weight of that constant sense that she didn't quite fit in properly with the rest of the clan. It was tempting, to tell the truth, and in the end she agreed to go. She had no idea what to expect from the place Marethari was sending her but the possibility of being able to recover more of the elves' lost lore might have helped to sway her as well.
So she had set out this morning from the clan's camp in the Brecilian Forest, early enough that only a few of the younger hunter apprentices were milling about. Most of them paid her no mind, though Mahariel did look up and offer a wordless nod that Merrill returned with awkward uncertainty.
It was the strangest thing: one moment she was making her way through the Brecilian Forest, and the next moment she wasn't. Oh, she was still in the woods somewhere, but a very different kind of woods. Granted, this wasn't unexpected -- it was the way the Keeper had told her to go, and she was well aware that the battles fought in the forest's history had left the Veil thin and tattered in places -- but it was still very disconcerting.
Merrill had no idea how she was supposed to find her way to this "Fandom High" (what a funny name) place from here, but there was hardly anyone around to ask. Besides, even if there had been, she wouldn't have been inclined to ask them for directions. She could just start walking, couldn't she? She'd find her way out eventually.
[OOC: For one! Merrill will be showing up at the picnic in a bit.]