Pity

The rushing sound of a waterfall flooded Mani's ears as she lackadaisically strolled through the forest. At this point, it was a comforting sound, able to drown the unending list of things she must do. She ducked out of the way of a branch as she moved farther from the sound of the waterfall. The melody of the songbirds coupled with the wind blowing through the branches soon replaced the sound of rushing water. It was never a good idea to stay near it, considering she could not hear the movements if someone were to approach. Not like there were many people around for miles.

Until there was.

"Get on your knees and bark like a dog, disgusting filth." The voice of another cut through the tranquil atmosphere and snapped Mani out of her thoughts. As if by instinct, she headed for cover with her back pressed against an oak tree. Surveying her surroundings yielded no results of the source of the voice. She took a step back where she came, deciding that investigating the voice is none of her concern. It never was.

"You little—! I said get on your fucking knees, you piece of shit!" A loud crack drew Mani's attention once again. Her head snapped towards the sound, and with hesitation, she silently made her way towards the sound.

Just leave. It's none of your business, her thoughts were everywhere, just one look, then I'll leave.

The source of the sound was not far, in fact, it was closer than she thought. As she neared a clearing in the forest, the sight it bore disgusted her to the core. One, two... four people surrounded a bloody and beaten man. Was it even a man? She could barely tell through their 'entourage.' Even as the dire sight met her eyes, she made no effort to make her presence known.

"Hah? Nothing to say anymore? Know your fucking place, dog." The man who spoke spit directly onto the one on the ground.

"Ugh... Damon. That's disgusting. Remember father said not to kill him. He was an expensive one." A feminine voice spoke.

"Yeah, I know. Father didn't say we couldn't push the limits though." The man said, snickering.

Her gaze never left the poor soul on the ground with their wrists and ankles shackled with chains. As the beating resumed, she didn't move. Her stomach twisted with every kick. Her eyes caught the subtle movement she was looking for. In a moment of pause, the person's chest rose and fell ever so slightly. They're alive.

And just like that, against her better judgement, she moved in.

With her sword unsheathed and emotions aside, it took only a mere moment to neutralize the four people. They had barely put up a fight, confirming her suspicions to be true. This man on the ground was a slave and the four were nobles. Not only that, upon further investigation, Mani felt another knot in her stomach as she noted the human ears on the four. The man they were beating, an elf.

"Estes's going to be pissed..." She muttered as she stared down at the beaten elf. Barely curled up with bruises and blood covering his body, it's even difficult to tell the color of his skin. Once again, another lapse in judgement had her dragging the elf away. Once they were far enough, Mani let out an exhausted sigh. He looked like he could die at any moment. She set her bag down and fished out a first aid kit that was originally meant for her.

Her ineptitude in medical care shone through as she clumsily cleaned the elf's wounds. She was usually the one to get hurt and Estes would patch her up. Still, she managed to bandage most of the injuries. Occasionally checking his pulse to make sure she wasn't bandaging a corpse. That would be awkward even without any witnesses.

She set the elf on a makeshift bed then took a seat on a log not too far away. Without the elf taking up her attention, she could properly survey her surroundings. It's a small clearing in God knows where within the forest. The sound of a small stream recreated the tranquil atmosphere that was present before the interruption. Some time passed as her thoughts drift to what her next actions should be. So lost in her own thoughts, she didn't notice the stir in the elf before it was too late.

The elf, despite his injuries, jolted awake and startled Mani out of her thoughts. A long silence ensued as two sets of wide eyes locked in awkward eye contact. Well, awkward for Mani since her eyes were not on display. Frightened emerald eyes met her mask. Without a word, the elf stumbled backward and tried to crawl out of her 'stare.' Mani watched in slight amusement as the elf failed to do so, tumbling down and letting out a groan.

"I would advise against moving so much. Your injuries were pretty bad." Finally, words filled the silence as Mani's advice reached the elf's ears.

Even with the silence broken, the elf refused to give up. He crawled away with every bit of strength he could muster—which was none. Mani continued to stare at the elf until the sheer amount of pity the sight brought was too much to bear.

"... Uh... Do you need help or..." Mani spoke hesitantly as she walked towards the elf. Just as she does, the elf's head snapped back towards her with wide eyes, fear or hatred, she couldn't tell.

"D–Do not—" The elf started, gulping, and then slowly rising to his feet. With an arm outstretched for protection, holding his palm out to warn her from stepping closer. "Do not dare come any closer to me, human."

Mani paused mid step and held her hands up to show she meant no harm and yet he did not relent. His blonde hair was matted, and the blood was beginning to dry and crust on his skin. The dirt and dried blood still made it difficult to see his features.

"So, you would rather die a stupid man than let me assist you?" asked Mani, raising an eyebrow, brushing off the insult she just threw at the elf. She looked him up and down but respected his space.

"I don't need your help," he growled with a hoarse voice, earning a scoff from Mani. She understood his attitude, but it didn't mean it wasn't irritating.

"Apparently you did not too long ago. You were on death's doorstep when I saved you," Mani said, pointing out his bandages but he did not look nor acknowledged them.

He stayed silent, causing her to feel more agitated.

"Very well, suit yourself," she said then turned away from him. She crouched to grab her bag and rummaged around for a second. She could feel his suspicious gaze boring a hole through her. She pulled out a water flask and held it out in his direction. "Water?"

The elf scowled at her in disbelief. "I need nothing from you," he eventually said snidely.

She stared at him with indifference for a moment, observing his every feature as best as she could. He's dirty and injured, but it's obvious he's also dehydrated.

"Look, I do not care about you or what you are thinking. If you end up in a ditch, it changes nothing for me aside from wasted medical supplies," she said as she stood back up. "I saved you. If you do not require my further assistance, then you are free to leave. I will not continue to waste my time."

The elf stared at her with subtle surprise, but it's quickly replaced with his scowl. Despite that, the reality check managed to make him pause. After a brief silence, his gaze fell to his feet. His tone was still hostile but there was a subtle plea to it.

"Wait..." he started but trailed off as soon as he did.

"That's what I thought," Mani tossed her flask towards him, "drink up. I'm no expert but all the bleeding must have made you thirsty. It should be safe here for the time being so I will set up camp."

The elf caught the flask despite his injuries and hesitated to drink. After a moment passed, he opened the flask and gulped down its contents. Mani had already started to set her tent up, paying the elf no attention. In his state, there wasn't much he could even do to her. The shackles on his ankles clinked together as he shifted uncomfortably, his gaze finally left Mani and it surveyed the area instead. The conflict in his mind was evident from his body language as he glanced back at Mani setting a tent up.

"Why?" he asked with furrowed brows. An elf being brutally tortured within the human realm should be as natural as rain falling in Rivane. Mani had to remind herself that his confusion was indeed warranted.

"Why not." Mani said after a pause. The elf looked unamused as he stared at her back. He decided not to pursue the topic for now and took a seat on the grass. His guard remained up as he stared, and it was obvious none of them would start a conversation. When Mani moved on to starting a campfire, her voice cut through the silence.

"What's your name?"

"Aerendil."

"I'm Mani."

And with the brief introduction gone, she started the campfire.

The silence was awkward, the awkwardness enhanced further by his shameless staring. She tried not to pay it any mind but that proved difficult when they would occasionally lock eyes as she tried to check if he was still staring. When she couldn't take it anymore, she turned to face his staring fully.

"Something catch your eye or did those people kick you a little too hard?" she asked and then revelled in the fact that it took him by surprise.

"Shut it, human. If this is some sort of trick, I will make you regret it," he said snidely, recovering from his surprise.

Mani scoffed and her face twisted into disbelief. "Please don't make me laugh. What the fuck could you do in your condition?" she remarked as she stoked the fire. The sun set not too long ago, leaving the campfire to be the only light source for them.

"I can do a lot of things despite my condition, human. Don't underestimate me."

"That's good to know, those shackles are staying on then, I suppose," Mani said with an indifferent expression. The tough guy act was amusing to her given his condition; the injuries and the shackles are not intimidating whatsoever. She looked over at him and met his glare. Her eyes scanned his injuries before looking back towards the fire.

"How are your injuries? Are you not an elf? Why not just heal yourself or something so you can get out of my hair and save both our sanities," she asked him, her gaze never leaving the fire.

"Are you dense? Magic requires energy and I do not have any energy, plus these shackles are anti-magic. Are all humans this stupid?" he retorted back, "and besides, my injuries should be the least of your concerns."

"You little— Gods, you're annoying," she muttered under her breath, "I suppose if you say so then it must be law."

She could feel his glare from where he was, his back against a tree a few distance away from the fire. Aerendil ignored her comment and instead pursued the topic he dropped earlier.

"Why rescue me if I am so irritating to you?" he asked bluntly.

"How was I supposed to know you were this irritating?" she replied, rolling her eyes at him but he continued.

"Fine, even so, why rescue an elf from your own kind?" he reworded his question after a pause.

"How to say... It's not so much as it is about your race or whatever reason you are conjuring in your mind. You merely reminded me of a friend," she said with a shrug of her shoulders, and it caused Aerendil to raise a bruised eyebrow.

"I remind you of a friend? That is all?"

"Yes."

Mani ignored his confusion and rummaged in her bag before pulling out something wrapped in a smaller bag. She seemed to contemplate about something before glancing his way. An unbothered expression returned to her features.

"Hungry?"

"I do not—"

"Wait, wait–Allow me to guess, you do not need food from a human?"

Aerendil grumbled to himself before turning away. His pride was the only thing keeping him from accepting. After a long silence, he relented. "I'm hungry. Those humans... they fed me scraps only when they wanted to 'reward' me."

"Unfortunate," she said, not hiding the fact that she could not care less. She walked towards him, albeit more slowly this time and handed him the bag. He opened it carefully and pulled out some... beef jerky.

"I am... supposed to eat this?" he asked as he slowly blinked at the jerky. He looked over at Mani for an explanation, but she had none. Her indifference cracked and was briefly replaced with slight embarrassment.

She glanced away and cleared her throat. "Yes. I am not the best cook, terrible actually. Eat it. Beggars can not be choosers," Mani didn't look his way at all. "Er... Don't knock it 'till you try it? Is that the saying? I don't remember."

Aerendil stared at the jerky, disgusted by the thought of actually eating the junk. He gulped as if to prepare himself then took a few bites. He didn't even try to hide his disgust when he gagged. Mani snickered at the sound then returned to her seat on the log, eating her own food; she faced away when she took her mask off. Eventually, they finish eating but only after Aerendil relentlessly critiqued her choice of food repeatedly.