Lost Little Elfling

A young child ran through the long green grass as twilight descended on the area.

Fabian, looking much smaller and younger than he should for being seven years old, had been playing in the grass with the insects and small animals a fair distance from his tribe since he had finished eating what his mother had given him for dinner.

As the evening progressed, he drew further away from the tribe until it was completely out of his view.

With the active imagination of a young boy, the boy had run around in many different directions chasing and running away from imaginary enemies and monsters to the point where he had no idea where he was and which was was home.

Tears streaked his tanned cheeks as loud sobs racked his body. The boy continued to run in different directions, looking for somewhere familiar so he could make his way home.

So far no such luck.

Fabian curled up at the base of a large tree, curling into a tight ball as his body shook with sobs. "I want to go home," he blubbered.

The Vampire had been traveling for the past few nights away from the town which he had started, he was sick of this now, after over six hundred and fifty years he was done.

Life had little to offer him, his nights were spent as a nomad traveling alone in an attempt to find some sort of meaning to his undying life and days were spent alone avoiding the sun which tormented him now.

He sat down upon a large rock and stared up at the sky, in a few hours the sun would rise and the curtains would close on another life.

His brows furrowed as a high pitched noise reached his ears, crying?

He rose to his feet and walked towards the source of the noise, he was deep in the woods, there should not have been any people living out here.

His mismatched eyes scanned through the darkness before landing on a small child sobbing at the base of a tree.

Why would a child be out here alone? He sniffed the hair, taking in the boys scent, an Elf, not human like he had first thought.

"Hello? wszystko w porządku?"
He had been in Poland for a few months now and had picked up the basics of the language.
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Hello? are you alright?

The boy lifted his head from his knees when he heard someone speak.

Had someone from the Tribe come to find him?!

When his eyes met with the mismatched eyes of a stranger, his body sagged in defeat. No, it wasn't someone from the Tribe.

"Oni zapomnieli o mnie!" he wailed.

That was the only reason he could think of to explain why they hadn't found him. The whole Tribe had forgotten about him and were all curled up nice and warm on their palates while he was out here in the dark curled up against a tree.

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They've forgotten about me!

His eyes widened as the boy wailed, clearly lost and distressed.
The Vampire knelt down in front of him, if he could get the child to talk to him perhaps he could take the little Elf back to his tribe.

He still had a good couple of hours until the sun rose, he was sure he could manage to find a group of Elves in that time.

"Uspokój się, pomogę Ci znaleźć drogę do domu w porządku? Po prostu musisz mi powiedzieć gdzie abouts mieszkasz."

In the dark his eyes were much better than the boys, if he could give him a rough idea of where he lived he could find them.
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Calm down, I'll help you find your way back home okay? You just have to tell me where you live.

Fabian continued to cry, body shaking with the violent sobs.

When the vampire knelt down in front of him, he launched himself at him, small arms curling around the adults neck in search of comfort.

"Żyj-jemy w w-wielkim drzewie. Mat-tka mówi, że to-o najstarszy w l-lesie," he cried, burying his face in the vampire's neck. The sobbing distorted what the boy was saying, almost making it impossible to understand.

That was all he knew. He was just a child, he wasn't usually allowed to venture too far from the Tribe. He had to stay in view at all times.

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We l-live at the b-big tree. Moth-ther says i-it's the oldest in the f-forest

He flinched when the child latched onto him, he disliked being touched but tonight he would have to abandon that, there was no way he could pry this child off of himself while he wailed and cried like that.

Instead he scooped the boy up in his arms, he didn't have time to wait around and have the boy calm down enough to be able to walk, nightfall only lasted so long.

If he could find the child's scent he might be able to follow the trail back to his home.

"Okay, znajdziemy swoją rodzinę, to będzie dobrze."
This could be his final act, do something kind for this child before he greeted eternal rest.

He liked that thought, as such he held the crying boy to his chest and started walking in the direction of his scent, walking back deeper into the woods.
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Okay, we will find your family, it's going to be alright.

The Elfling clung tighter to Aurick when he was scooped up, his legs curling around his torso to stop himself from falling.

His body shook as he nuzzled closer to the vampire. He was warm. Fabian was still only wearing the thin tunic that he wore during the day. The much thicker and warmer clothing he wore during the evenings was screwed up in the corner of his family's hut, probably being slept on by the small dog they owned.

The thought of home and everyone curled up in bed having forgotten them had another loud crying jag shaking his body.

His family had forgotten him!

Aurick held the boy close as his tiny frame wrapped around him, the Elf was shivering.

He frowned gently and untied the cord around his neck and pulled off his traveling cloak, wrapping it around the boy and placing the hood on his bright blond head.

A slight smile pulled at his lips at the sight of the tiny boy engulfed by his large cloak.

"Nie płacz, będziesz w domu wkrótce."
He muttered softly as he stroked the boy's back.
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Don't cry, you'll be home soon.

He looked up with bright, glassy green eyes when the cloak was wrapped around him.

The cloak was just as warm as he was and he snuggled into it happily, letting an arm slide from around Aurick's neck to wipe his nose then pull the cloak closer.

His now wet arm curled back around the vampire's neck as he buried his face in his chest again.

"Obiecujesz?"

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Promise?

He looked down at the boys bright green eyes with his own green and blue one.

"Obiecuję, że jak masz na imię?"
He replied with a nod as the Elf's now wet arm wrapped around his neck.

Any other day he would of been repulsed but this was just a lost, sad little boy who wanted to go home, he could relate to that.
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I promise, what's your name?

His eyes flickered when they gazed up at at his strange eyes. One was green like his own and the other was a bright blue like the sky or the surface of a lake.

The boy decided he had very pretty eyes.

"Fabian."

His voice was calmer now, easier to understand. It still wavered and there was still the odd sniffle to prove that he had been crying, but the man's warm arms wrapped around him protectively calmed him down a lot.

"Nazywam się, Adal-"
He paused, his name was quite long, something the child would struggle with, instead he decided to shorten it.

"Nazywam się, Aurick."

He was glad to see the child calming down as he walked, constantly taking in the scent of the air as he followed the boys scent but the further they went the weaker the scent got as the wind blew it away.

He simply hoped that they got close to the camp before the scent was completely gone.
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"My name is, Aurick."

"Aurick," he repeated slowly.

He didn't like that. It sounded strange. Aurick... No, even thinking it sounded weird.

"Rick." That sounded much better. He could deal with using that. Rick sounded less weird than Aurick.

He cuddled closer to the vampire.

"Przypuszczam, że możesz zadzwonić do mnie Rick, jeśli chcesz."
He wasn't fond of that name but he could put up with it for one night, if it made the boy happy.

They kept walking for quite some time until the little Elf's scent began to fade away.

"Fabian, wiesz, jeśli jesteśmy blisko?Wkrótce wzejdzie słońce i nie mogę iść z tobą w świetle."

His plans would have to go on hold if he could not get the boy home before sunrise.

If they still had a way to go he would have to find somewhere safe to stay during the day so he could continue to take the boy home the following night.
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I suppose you can call me Rick if you like.

Fabian, do you know if we are close? The sun will rise soon and I can't walk with you in the light

Fabian gave a small smile.

He'd let him call him Rick. That was good. He probably wouldn't have used the vampire's name at all if he couldn't call him a name that he liked using.

The Elf looked around, clinging to the vampire's shoulders as he pulled away to look at everything he could.

He didn't recognise anything.

The boy shook his head as he curled closer to him again.

He frowned slightly, this would make finding his family a bit more difficult, but he was determined to find them, it would just have to wait until tomorrow night.

With the sky slowly getting a lighter shade of blue he couldn't risk being out too much longer.

If he burned up the boy would be alone and lost all over again with no one to help him.

Old woods like these always had caves scattered about, and after a half hour of searching he found one built into a jagged hillside.

He cuddled the boy to his chest, he doubted the Elf would like having to go in somewhere like that for the day.

Slowly he sat the boy down on a rock on the outside of the cave and grabbed a few dry branches that were scattered around before igniting a small flame in the palm of his hand to light up the entrance of the small cave.

"Muszę tu zostać na dzień, rozumiesz? Jeśli nie chcesz możesz zatrzymać się na zewnątrz, ale nie rozumiem wyboru."
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I have to stay in here for the day, do you understand? If you don't want to you can stay outside but I don't get a choice.

He curled up, pulling the cloak closer and nuzzling into the still warm fabric.

The Elf watched as the fire lit in the man's hand, mesmerised by the flickering of the bright flame. There were a few Elves in the Tribe that could manipulate elements, but they were usually limited to water and rock.

Fabian nodded.

He yawned, covering his mouth with his hand.

He didn't want to stay out here alone. Fabian didn't like to be alone. Being alone was scary.

The Elfling slid off the rock and shuffled towards the man, the cloak dragging in the dirt.

He stuffed the wood beneath his arm and reached down with his free arm to take the boy's hand, leading him into the cave with him.

Once they reached the end of the cave he let go of Fabian's grip and set down the wood he had collected, starting a small fire to warm up the cave for the two of them.

Spending the day in here would be miserable if it stayed this cold but the fire glowed brightly, warming up the small room as the smoke caught the breeze and drifted out the caves entrance.

The Vampire gave a yawn of his own and lay down near the fire, resting his head on his arms as he looked up at the cavern ceiling.

Fabian stood awkwardly when Aurick helped him into the cave.

He watched the vampire light the fire, fiddling with the hem of the heavy cloak still around his shoulders.

When Aurick laid out near the fire, Fabian sat down and curled up, pulling the cloak closer to himself.

The man had done so much for him already that he didn't want to bother him any more by getting too close so he was going to just sleep here away from the man.

His eyes flicked over to the boy, normally he detested anyone getting close to him but he just looked so lost.

"You will get cold if you sit so far away from the fire, move in closer, I wont have you getting ill because you feel asleep over there."

He muttered softly, it was strange having company after so long, he was not a man who typically thought about the needs of others.

But this boy reminded him so much of himself and he could not help but feel compassion for him.

His eyes flickered up when the man spoke and he nodded gently his blond hair floating out around his face.

He shuffled closer to the fire then curled up again using the cloak as a blanket.

The warmth of the fire was nice. It heated his small body. Fabian was thin and had very little fat so he got cold very quickly.

"Dziękuję," he murmured softly, green eyes flickering over the man.

Aurick nodded toward the boy as he thanked him, a part of never interacting with people was that he was not used to receiving thanks for something.

He exhaled a breath and let his eyes slide shut, his pale skin soaking in the warmth of the fire.

It didn't take long for him to fall asleep, many times he had slept in places worse than this while traveling so his body was use to the discomfort.
His breath became slower as he slept, the features of his face smoothing out as he rested.

Fabian was much like a cat in the fact that he could fall asleep anywhere.

It didn't take long for him to fall asleep curled up in front of the fire. Falling asleep wasn't the problem.

It was what came when he was already asleep.

Nightmares plagued him. Nightmares of his family leaving him; of him being left alone in the cold and dark forest.

The boy woke up in a cold sweat body shaking with silent sobs about two hours after sunrise.

He sat for a few minutes, trying to calm down and get off to sleep but he was having no luck. His eyes flickered up to the sleeping Aurick, wavering for a minute before he crawled over to him.

Fabian curled up against the vampire's chest, eyes sliding shut again as he tried to sleep with the comfort of someone close to protect him from the night terrors.

Aurick's eyes fluttered open as he felt something touch his chest, his mismatched eyes landing on the blond hair that belonged to Fabian.

He resisted the urge to push the boy away.
It's just for one night. He told himself, the boy was separated from his family and scared, he could deal with this for one night.

Tentatively he wrapped his arm around the body and held him close, hoping his presence could at least bring him some comfort as he drifted back to sleep.

Fabian nuzzled closer when the arm wrapped around him.

"To ma pomóc w koszmarach," he whispered the explanation like he was giving away a big secret he had kept for years as he awkwardly manoeuvred the cloak to cover the two of them instead of huddling under it himself.

Rick was just as alive as he was and he'd probably get just as cold. He needed the heat of the cloak as much as the Elfling did.

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It's to help with the nightmares