Lost Little Elfling

Fabian pouted and continued holding the plant out to the vampire.

"Jeśli nie jeść tego, co robię, to co jesz?" He wanted to know why the vampire wasn't accepting the food that he had dug up and washed for him.

His green eyes continued glaring at the vampire.

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If you don't eat what I do, then what do you eat?

He sighed and ran his hand through his hair, the boy was not going to let up until he gave him a good enough answer.

He shook his head, what did he care if the boy thought he was some sort of monster for being a Vampire, he'd be going back to his family soon anyway.

"Krew, żyję z krwią zwierząt i ludzi."
He replied, staring back at the boy and waiting for his reaction.
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Blood, I live off of the blood of animals or humans.

"Krew," he repeated, head cocking to the side.

"Jak czerwoną rzecz, która wychodzi ze mnie, gdy potykam się i boli kolano?" he asked, his nose wrinkling.

He didn't like the taste of blood but he guessed that if the vampire liked it, then it was okay. He liked the taste of mice even though the other Tribe members didn't. He didn't understand how someone could like the taste of blood but others couldn't understand why he liked mice so he wouldn't complain.

He clutched the plant to his chest, glanced down at it then up to the vampire again. If he wasn't going to eat it, then it was okay for him to, right? He didn't want to waste the food. Especially since it had been cooked.

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Like the red thing that comes out of me when I trip over and hurt my knee?

He nodded softly.
"Tak krew, jestem co nazywają Vampire."

Aurick glanced down at the boy as he clung onto the food, it was nice to see that the boy was not wasteful, despite the abundance of that plant.

"Śmiało i je zjeść, to nie został zmarnowany na mnie."

He added, nodding towards the food, the boy was skinny and he doubted one plant would fill him up.
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"Yes blood, I'm what they call a Vampire."

"Go ahead and eat it, it would have been wasted on me."

"Vampire," he repeated.

The word was unfamiliar. "Więc będąc Vampire jest jak Elf lub królik czy pies?" he asked as he lifted the cattail to take a bite of it.

Vampire was a species just like Elf was. And the vampire species drank blood instead of eating food. That was weird. "Czy trzeba pić krew teraz? Widziałem kilka królików tam. Można je złapać." He pointed towards the gaps in the trees that he had spotted the rabbits in.

If Fabian was a little older, he would have probably thought that drinking blood was scary or disgusting. But right now he was a young fresh mind that hadn't been tainted by the morals of social acceptance or prejudices of different species. The vampire was just a person with an odd diet to him.

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So being a Vampire is like being an Elf or a rabbit or a dog?

Do you need to drink blood now? I saw some rabbits over there. You could catch them

He nodded softly at the boy's interpretation, as odd as it was he was still correct, a Vampire was just a different species, like a dog or a rabbit.

"króliki?"

He replied, his mismatches eyes looking where the boy had pointed, he had not been looking for creatures and as such had not noticed them.

If there were still a fair way away from the tribe he would need to keep his strength up. As such he pulled himself to his feet and moved silently through the forest until the rabbits came into view.

The Vampire pounced on the unsuspecting creatures, grabbing one of them in each hand and making quick work of snapping their necks. He made sure any animal he killed had a swift death instead of making them suffer through being drained completely.

His fangs extended, becoming visible between his parted lips.
He turned his back to the boy and sunk his teeth into the creature, draining them both fairly quickly.

"Czy nadal jesteś głodny? Króliki są jeszcze dobre do jedzenia i mogę gotować je dla Ciebie."

He muttered, wiping his mouth clean as he moved back over to the boy, the two dead rabbits hanging limply in his grasp.
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Rabbits?

Are you still hungry? The rabbits are still good to eat and I can cook them for you.

Fabian watched the man move through the trees towards the rabbits silently, cocking his head to the side.

He broke their necks to kill them. That was different than how the Tribe did it. He had always been taught that the best way to kill rabbits when they were hunting was to bite the base of the skull.

The Elfling's bright eyes fell to the limp rabbits and he began shaking his head. He didn't want to bother the man with having to cook the rabbits for him.

His stomach growled loudly in protest. Two cattails wasn't enough. The boy needed to eat much more than just that. With a bright blush the boy gave a little nod.

"Nie powinno się kłamać, jeśli jesteś głodny to jestem skłonny się gotować dla Ciebie."

He shook his head at the boy, the Elf had given him a hard time about not eating if he was hungry before and now he would lie about being hungry.

Aurick set the rabbits down and gathered some dry wood, making a small pile and igniting it with his hands again, fire manipulation was becoming more and more helpful.

Skinning the creatures was fairly easy, tearing it off with his nails and discarding it before gutting the creatures, mounting the rabbit on a stick and roasting it over the fire.

The entire process was much cleaner since the animals had been drained.
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You should not lie, if you're hungry then I am willing to cook for you.

The Elfling gave a little nod, cheeks flushing a little darker.

"Matka mówi, że po jadłem trochę, że nie powinienem prosić o więcej, bo jesz za dużo, kiedy wolno mi i inni ludzie potrzebują jedzenia."

Fabian was the type of person that ate and ate and ate but never filled up no matter how much was put in front of him. When there were food shortages, he had a set amount to eat and wasn't allowed any more than that because others needed it.

He watched the vampire skin and gut the rabbit and mount it on a stick above a fire that he had made. "Że ogień wyszedł z rąk. Nikt w Tribe może to zrobić. Jak to zrobić? Czy to jest magia?Trive zrobić wiele mangic ale nigdy nie stworzył ogień tak."

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Mother says that after I've eaten a little bit, I shouldn't ask for more because I eat too much when I'm allowed to and other people need the food.

That fire came out of your hands. No one in the Tribe can do that. How do you do it? Is it magic? The Trive do a lot of mangic but we've never created fire like that.

"Jesteś zbyt chudy, jeśli jesteś głodny, to powinieneś jeść."
He replied.
"Plus, nie mogę jeść króliki, więc jest to strata, jeśli tylko je wyrzucić, kiedy można je jeść."

He rotated the rabbits slowly, evenly cooking the meat. Cooking was something he had been quite good at when he was still human and he was relieved that those skills had not been lost through time.

Once they were cooked he handed the stick to the boy, leaving the other rabbit propped up next to the fire keeping it warm for when he finished the first one.

"Jedz. Kontrolowanie elementów jest coś, co większość Wampiry mogą zrobić, wiemy dużo więcej magii niż Elfy zrobić"
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You're too skinny, if you're hungry then you should eat.

Plus, I can't eat the rabbits, so it's a waste if I just throw them away when you could eat them.

Eat up. Controlling elements is something that most Vampires can do, we know a lot more magic than Elves do.

"Mama zawsze mówi, że. Ona mówi, że wygląda zbyt małe, aby być siedem." A lot of people were shocked by how small he was for his age. He looked no older than five.

For years his mother had been feeding him as much as she could to try and fatten him up a little bit so he could grow to a more normal size. That hadn't happened. He had always been small and severely underweight for his size.

He reached for the meat when it was passed to him, blowing on it then biting a chunk off. Fabian only ever got rabbit when his mother or father hunted. That wasn't often compared to others in the Tribe so rabbit was a delicacy to the small boy.

"Kontrolowanie elementów jest naprawdę ciekawe. Mój ojciec może kontrolować woda trochę. Ale nikt w plemieniu może kontrolować ogień. Założę się, wszyscy byli naprawdę zainteresowani. Trzeba im pokazać, kiedy znajdziemy Tribe." He chatted non stop in between chewing mouthfuls of the meat given to him.

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Mother always says that. She says I look too small to be seven

Controlling elements is really interesting. My father can control water a little bit. But no one in the Tribe can control fire. I bet they'll all be really interested. You have to show them when we find the Tribe

His eyes widened slightly.
"Masz siedem? Jesteś naprawdę bardzo mała na siedem lat."
He had thought the boy would have been about four or five, he was absolutely tiny.

The vampire sat back and washed his hands in the creek, it was odd how normally he was so quite yet he willingly talked to this child without reservation.

"Ogień nie jest to element, który Elfy są dostosowane do, nie dziwię się, nikt z twojego plemienia może to zrobić."

He chuckled softly, he doubted he would be very welcome around the tribe, Elves kept to themselves, and they were not overly fond of Vampires.

"Przypuszczam, że mógłbym im pokazać, kiedy tam dotrzemy."

He would not be showing them anything, he would drop the boy off and leave before the Elves decided he was a threat.
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You're seven? You are indeed very small for a seven year old.

Fire is not really an element that Elves are attuned to, I am not surprised none of your tribe can do it.

I suppose I could show them when we get there.

Fabian gave a little giggle. "Każdy mówi, że."

It was funny when people thought he was almost half his real age. It helped him get away with a lot of mischief.

The boy hummed as he tore through the rabbit, tossing aside the stick and bones when he had picked them clean. He reached for the other rabbit, fisting his hands and looking up at Rick. He didn't want to move but he wanted the rabbit.

"Możemy zrobić wiele innych rzeczy. Możemy mówić do lasu. Matka mówi, że to jest bardzo trudna rzecz do zrobienia i nie każdy Elf może to zrobić. Mogę mówić tylko trochę. To bardzo trudne." He couldn't do much more than see if plants were ready to harvest.

Fabian smiled brightly. He'd like the Tribe to see what his protector could do.

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Everyone says that

We can do lots of other things. We can talk to the forest. Mother says that it's a very difficult thing to do and not every Elf can do it. I can only talk a little bit. It's very difficult.

Aurick stretched over, grabbing the rabbit and handing it to the boy.

He was surprisingly glad to see the boy eat what he deemed to be a reasonable amount.

"Wampiry i Elfy są bardzo różne, ja jestem pewien, że będzie rozwijać się mieć wiele umiejętności, że nie."

Elves were a very old race and they had mastered very different crafts to Vampires, though he was not overly familiar, Elves preferred to keep those sorts of things secret amongst their own tribes.
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Vampires and Elves are very different, I am sure you will grow up to have many skills that I don't.

Fabian gave a bright smile as thanks as he bit into the second rabbit.

Feeling the large amount of food sitting in his stomach was nice. It had been about a year since his mother had stopped trying to feed him all she could and put him on a stricter diet. This was more than he got in three or four days and he was happy for that.

He could survive on the smaller amount, but he always liked more that what he could survive on in his stomach.

"Jak co? Ojciec mówi, że może być w stanie kontrolować wodę i jak podrosną będę w stanie przekształcić łatwiej. A to, czy jestem zainteresowany, że będziesz uczył mnie jak zrobić łuki myśliwskie jak on, ale to nie jest bardzo magiczne. Chcę się dowiedzieć, co szaman wie. On mówi, że może mówić do zmarłych i do najstarszych drzew i napojów spirytusowych w lesie i to brzmi naprawdę interesująco."

The Medicine Man and his abilities had always interested the boy.

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Like what? Father says that I might be able to control water and as I get older I'll be able to transform easier. And that if I'm interested that he'll teach me how to make hunting bows like he does but that isn't very magical. I want to learn what the medicine man knows. He says he can speak to the dead and to the oldest trees and spirits in the forest and that sounds really interesting

"Nie wiem, nie spędziliśmy dużo czasu wokół elfów ale jeśli studiować ciężko jestem pewien, że można dowiedzieć się wielu rzeczy od starszych."

He replied with a slight shrug, if the boy was a Vampire he would of been more helpful in the powers department.

Though even the elemental manipulation techniques used by both species were completely different from one another.

He leaned back against a rock, they could relax for a while so the boy could finish eating but then they would have to keep moving to find the boy's parents.
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I don't know, I have not spent a lot of time around Elves but if you study hard I am sure you will learn a lot of things from your Elders.

Fabian nodded vigorously.

"Chcę dowiedzieć się dużo, więc mogę być tak wielka, jak szaman i pomocy całego plemienia out cały czas." He couldn't wait to learn as much as he could.

He loved helping out so the thought of becoming as great as the most important man in the Tribe and helping out like him was a very exciting idea for him.

He finished the rabbit fairly quickly and, after taking a few bones from the skeleton, tossed it aside with the other rabbit.

The Elfling fiddle with the bones, turning them between his fingers with a little hum.

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I want to learn a lot so I can be as great as the Medicine Man and help the whole Tribe out all the time

"To jest bardzo godna podziwu z was."

He replied as he watched the child play with some bones, it was funny the sort of things that kids used to amuse themselves.

He stretched out then rose to his feet.
"Chodź, musimy się ruszać, jeśli chcemy, aby znaleźć dziś rodzinną."

This was an insanely large forest and with no idea where they were meant to be going it could take a very long time to find his tribe.
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That's very admirable of you

Come on, we have to get moving if we are going to find your family tonight.

Fabian grinned brightly at the praise.

The little Elfling loved getting praise of all types.

He nodded and stood, shoving most of the bones in a pocket in his tunic, slipping one onto his mouth.

Sucking on animal bones was something his mother had taught him to do so he didn't eat constantly. He could still taste the meat on the bones and it gave his mouth something to do.

He gripped Rick's hand as they continued to trudge through the forest.

Aurick smiled inwardly, of all the things in the world he would never have thought that he would find himself walking through the woods holding onto an Elfling's hand.

Well, the world worked in strange ways. He would let the boy hold has hand for now, at least this way he would not lose the child whilst trying to find his family.

They continued to walk deeper into the forest where the trees grew older and the plants got more dense.

No matter how far they walked or how old the forest got, Fabian didn't recognise anything.

He was starting to get a little worried; about as worried as a careless seven year old boy could get.

If they didn't find the Tribe, he'd have to spend another day without his family or his dog. Were the Tribe looking after him? Were they going on without him? had they completely forgotten he existed?

The boy clutched tighter to Aurick's hand.

He could sense the boy's worry rising, he could not help but feel sorry for the child.
This was a large forest and he was so small, the Vampire didn't even want to consider the fact that they might not find the Elves.

He had made a promise to Fabian to find them and he sure as hell was going to do it.

Aurick gave his hand a reassuring squeeze as the Elfling's grip got tighter.

"Znajdziemy je, Fabian."
He said, as if it was a fact.
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We will find them, Fabian.

Fabian nodded, a little unsure.

He tried to believe what the man was saying, but it had been two days already and they hadn't found his hime.

The boy couldn't help but think that the more and more time they spent looking the less and less likely it would be that he'd see the Tribe again.

A little hiccup sounded as he tried to hold back tears again. He wanted his mother.

He glanced down at the boy as he made a sad little sound, Aurick kicked himself mentally, he should not have made promises that he wasn't sure he could keep.

Elves were not know for being easy to find, they blended in with the forest and made their homes in very concealing places.

He gave the boy's hand another gentle squeeze, he really hoped that they would find the tribe today, he didn't want to have to drag the boy into another cave for the day.

The boy sniffled as he clung to Rick's hand desperately.

He was the only one thing keeping the boy alive and well at the moment. Without Rick around to protect and care for him, he wouldn't be getting anywhere.

He'd be lost and alone and in completely over his head.

Fabian rubbed at his face with his free hand. Rubbing his face was something he did when he was trying not to cry.