Elf!Kogi
“So you are- so why are you coming to me? I thought elves mostly kept to themselves and engaged in… elvish things.”
Kogi swung his legs on his branch, looking at his knees as he did so, seeming thoughtful. “I am not of use.”
“Not of use? What does that mean?”
“Nothing. Just not of use. I can show you if you would like, the archery range isn’t far from here.” There was no enthusiasm behind the offer, a vague hopelessness behind it all that made Zeph uneasy. Kogi just looked at him from under his eyebrows, the paper thin creases of his frown deepening for a fraction of a second before he sighed once more. “I will show you, then, since you seem to have trouble believing me.” And then he was gone, moving from branch to branch with the ease that Zeph could only track by the small glimpses of the white edges of his tunic between golden leaves.
He didn’t hear the twang of arrows until he finally saw the clearing but he could locate neither archer nor target until he looked up. “Are you just going to stand around down there?” Kogi’s voice made its way down to him and he rolled his eyes with a sigh before starting up the steps.
“You could have simply told me.”
“Where would be the fun in that?” There was more of a sigh than laughter in the phrase as Kogi nocked his arrow. “The target is over there.” He motioned his bow vaguely in the direction of the trees on the other side of the clearing.
“That… Which one? Where?”
Kogi sighed once more, put upon. “The golden rings stretched out against the trunk?”
Indeed, there were the canvases, blending into the white bark, rings masked by golden leaves. It swam in front of his eyes and he had to blink to clear his vision. “That is hard to spot.” He walked cautiously onto the branch, stubbornly forgetting about how high up the branch was from the ground. It creaked softly as he walked and he took a seat behind Kogi, not willing to tempt fate further.
The soft woosh was the only thing that told him the arrow had been released until he saw it embedded the stuffed canvas and Kogi already had another aimed at the next target. He fired seven altogether and each seemed to hit the mark, yet he sighed and laid his bow across his lap, shaking his head.
“As far as I can tell, they’ve hit the bull’s eye.” But his only reply was to get sullenly pushed back toward the stairs.
When they did get close, Kogi’s distress was better explained than from their seat a field away. Each arrow was half the width of a finger off from the exact center of its target, a small white circle thinner than the arrow’s shaft amidst the thick gold outer ring.
“This would be considered impressive in my kingdom,” Zeph offered, plucking the arrow from its place with some effort. It would be considered near impossible, if he were completely truthful, from such a distance. But flattery would get him nowhere, more like than not.
“This is child’s play. No, it’s all this… This eye.” A prolonged exhale and Kogi collapsed, or rather sat down more noisily than usual, against the trunk of the tree, closing his eyes and running stiff fingers through his hair. “It’s useless.” He accepted the arrows Zeph collected with a tight nod, slipping them into his quiver but making no motion to stand.
“You’re… blind in one eye?” He’d never seen Kogi worked up like this, or any elf at all bat an eyelash in distress. It must be truly something serious.
“Yes. And I am therefore useless as a hunter and I cannot even dream to become even a sentinel on the guard.”
“But aren’t there…” He took a seat on the branch, opposite the elf, steadying himself carefully before continuing. “Aren’t there other things you can do? Forge swords or make bows, even braid rope such that has no equal in strength or elegance in any of the lands?”
“I do not wish to make rope! All I desire is to protect my people, yet I am as useless for protecting as I am for feeding. I am a disappointment to both my father and my kin.”
“So you spend your days with me because you feel that I am the only one you can protect? The only one in this whole forest weaker than you? That is very gracious and kind of you if it weren’t such an offending notion.”
“No, you ass. I like you.” Zeph raised his eyebrows. “It’s true. I like you enough to be telling you all this, in fact. There seems to be some disagreement between my mother and father as to the best solution for this matter, and the argument has just come to a head. I cannot begin to understand their reasons. So I stay out of their way. Who needs a half blind, useless elf?”
“I do.” It was Kogi’s turn to level him with a disbelieving gaze and Zeph placed a hand on the other’s knee. “You are a friend to me, a true one, something that seems to be a rare occurrence between man and elf. Feeling useless is my job, as well, so you might have to just shoot things for me.” That, at least made him laugh, which was for the better. “And you think your eye affects your aim? Or you erroneously judge distance because of it?”
Kogi shrugged. “Both, perhaps, I do not know.”
“Can I see it?”
“Are you also a healer, to add to your long list of occupations? I was born with it and nothing can be done to change it. Many have been consulted on the matter, trust me. But if you wish.”
Kogi swung his legs on his branch, looking at his knees as he did so, seeming thoughtful. “I am not of use.”
“Not of use? What does that mean?”
“Nothing. Just not of use. I can show you if you would like, the archery range isn’t far from here.” There was no enthusiasm behind the offer, a vague hopelessness behind it all that made Zeph uneasy. Kogi just looked at him from under his eyebrows, the paper thin creases of his frown deepening for a fraction of a second before he sighed once more. “I will show you, then, since you seem to have trouble believing me.” And then he was gone, moving from branch to branch with the ease that Zeph could only track by the small glimpses of the white edges of his tunic between golden leaves.
He didn’t hear the twang of arrows until he finally saw the clearing but he could locate neither archer nor target until he looked up. “Are you just going to stand around down there?” Kogi’s voice made its way down to him and he rolled his eyes with a sigh before starting up the steps.
“You could have simply told me.”
“Where would be the fun in that?” There was more of a sigh than laughter in the phrase as Kogi nocked his arrow. “The target is over there.” He motioned his bow vaguely in the direction of the trees on the other side of the clearing.
“That… Which one? Where?”
Kogi sighed once more, put upon. “The golden rings stretched out against the trunk?”
Indeed, there were the canvases, blending into the white bark, rings masked by golden leaves. It swam in front of his eyes and he had to blink to clear his vision. “That is hard to spot.” He walked cautiously onto the branch, stubbornly forgetting about how high up the branch was from the ground. It creaked softly as he walked and he took a seat behind Kogi, not willing to tempt fate further.
The soft woosh was the only thing that told him the arrow had been released until he saw it embedded the stuffed canvas and Kogi already had another aimed at the next target. He fired seven altogether and each seemed to hit the mark, yet he sighed and laid his bow across his lap, shaking his head.
“As far as I can tell, they’ve hit the bull’s eye.” But his only reply was to get sullenly pushed back toward the stairs.
When they did get close, Kogi’s distress was better explained than from their seat a field away. Each arrow was half the width of a finger off from the exact center of its target, a small white circle thinner than the arrow’s shaft amidst the thick gold outer ring.
“This would be considered impressive in my kingdom,” Zeph offered, plucking the arrow from its place with some effort. It would be considered near impossible, if he were completely truthful, from such a distance. But flattery would get him nowhere, more like than not.
“This is child’s play. No, it’s all this… This eye.” A prolonged exhale and Kogi collapsed, or rather sat down more noisily than usual, against the trunk of the tree, closing his eyes and running stiff fingers through his hair. “It’s useless.” He accepted the arrows Zeph collected with a tight nod, slipping them into his quiver but making no motion to stand.
“You’re… blind in one eye?” He’d never seen Kogi worked up like this, or any elf at all bat an eyelash in distress. It must be truly something serious.
“Yes. And I am therefore useless as a hunter and I cannot even dream to become even a sentinel on the guard.”
“But aren’t there…” He took a seat on the branch, opposite the elf, steadying himself carefully before continuing. “Aren’t there other things you can do? Forge swords or make bows, even braid rope such that has no equal in strength or elegance in any of the lands?”
“I do not wish to make rope! All I desire is to protect my people, yet I am as useless for protecting as I am for feeding. I am a disappointment to both my father and my kin.”
“So you spend your days with me because you feel that I am the only one you can protect? The only one in this whole forest weaker than you? That is very gracious and kind of you if it weren’t such an offending notion.”
“No, you ass. I like you.” Zeph raised his eyebrows. “It’s true. I like you enough to be telling you all this, in fact. There seems to be some disagreement between my mother and father as to the best solution for this matter, and the argument has just come to a head. I cannot begin to understand their reasons. So I stay out of their way. Who needs a half blind, useless elf?”
“I do.” It was Kogi’s turn to level him with a disbelieving gaze and Zeph placed a hand on the other’s knee. “You are a friend to me, a true one, something that seems to be a rare occurrence between man and elf. Feeling useless is my job, as well, so you might have to just shoot things for me.” That, at least made him laugh, which was for the better. “And you think your eye affects your aim? Or you erroneously judge distance because of it?”
Kogi shrugged. “Both, perhaps, I do not know.”
“Can I see it?”
“Are you also a healer, to add to your long list of occupations? I was born with it and nothing can be done to change it. Many have been consulted on the matter, trust me. But if you wish.”