Long Road Home.... - Erosaf -

"To explain what happened, I guess you need to hear a bit of my past, from back in taror." He looked at Gem. "Don't worry, I'm letting you hear this as well, seeing as you're caught up in the middle as well, even though you're not from our home. Sahar, Maith and Auraka are though so they don't need permission to hear this, though the do need my permission to tell an ... outsider..."

he paused, wanting to get the whole story out before Sahar came downstairs. He could hear her coming. “You remember how I was banished from Taror? I was only seven years older than Taeron is now. I just turned fifty yesterday, so its been a part of me a while, you could say. Back in those days a bow and arrows was a common sight on me. I loved using them, and sometimes I fought using them. That was before my first hunt. I turned seventeen the day before. I had to travel a fair distance into the woods away from Taror to find anything worth hunting. I did not know that someone else was out on their first hunt as well. One of my best friends, Taeron Findarel. I was... over confident back then. I set the few snares and things I would need for traps. I thought I knew it all back in those days. Later I checked the traps and a buck was caught in one of them. I sent one arrow at it, knowing that my aim was true and it would be dead. Somehow it hit something else. I let the buck go of course, my attention was on whoever had cried out. It seemed my arrow had hit someone else.”

As he had when telling Sahar, he shook. “When I found them, it was my best friend... Taeron. “Most people would run away if they did the thing I did then by accident. I went home, to talk to my father before some other elf reported the death. I knew to tell the truth, he would hear from Taeron's parents soon enough what happened, and I wanted him to know what happened from my own point of view first. I told him, but as my story reached the end, he got very angry. he was drunk when I told him. His sword was nearby, it was a wicked weapon, and when it strikes someone it does a lot of damage. Normally if your get hit by it, you die. I'm lucky to be alive. A few times I managed to dodge, his aim was off because of the drinking. Then he managed to hit me, and well, that was agony beyond anything anyone's felt before. It rebounded, causing the scar from my left shoulder to my right hip the second time. My mother, Soora came rushing home, she healed me, with magic. I think its because she died when we besieged Quinhiroo that the magic she used is wearing off. This is the first time its reopened. Every year, the day after my birthday... did you remember I left for the day annually? I did not want you knowing what had happened. Only one other person knows this story, and they are gone now as well. Ashlere's mother. Every year, this seems to hurt me, and it handicaps me for the whole day. Before I met you, while it was still raw, on those days, I used to want to die. You don't know the agony its causing me, and I'm glad you don't. I just hope Taeron does not get as over confident as I am.”

he sighed. It was a memory he hated very much. “I never wanted anyone to know about the scar. Only one person knew, and she's dead. Sahar healed me again, but after she did, I fainted. She tried to wake me, and for the first time I've lost control. As soon as I woke up... I changed into a wolf and she was too close.” he bowed his head. “You'll see why she was too close in a moment.”

He sighed, as he heard Auraka snarl at him. “I guess I deserve this, but don't expect me to just let you hurt me.” he growled, it was a deep sound a warning. Then the huge russet wolf exploded from him, causing Gem to gasp and then faint herself, it was too much for her. Clearly he was ready to defend himself.

Maith however was watching Sahar. She blinked, it looked like her sister in law was about to change and she knew that was painful the first time. She hurried in that direction, knowing what was going on. “Sahar... try and calm down.”

“You're... changing, Sahar. I know its painful, but only the first time is painful. You'll be in control soon,” she said, catching her sister and holding her in her strong, unbreakable arms. “Don't worry if you claw me... you wont hurt me. Someone like Gem or the twins would be hurt, but not Drannor, Auraka or I.”
She sighed. “Don't fight it. Rather try and stay calm and it wont hurt as much.”

***

She'd fainted. For a moment she came to, but seeing Auraka vanish into a huge white lion made her knock out again. It was too much for her at the moment. And didn't she know of.

***

He growled, waiting until just the right moment before leaping, past Auraka, whacking him on the back with his paws as he did. Then he turned and bit hard into Auraka's mane. Oh he knew what eh was doing. Everything that he did though was not meant to hurt but to warn. A white lion. It figured.

He dodged the claw swipes, moving easily enough. He knew that he had to end this though, he did not want to really hurt Auraka. Rearing up, he snatched out at Auraka's paw, catching it in his own. His paw pinched down hard on the pressure point in that paw, knowing it would knock him out.
He had taken a few knocks himself, nothing serious though, his skin seemed to knit back together easily.

Maith sighed, muttering words under her breath to try and make this less painful for Sahar. "You'll be what your mother was. I think she was a wolf. Drannor should have been a bear, would have been one if father did not do what he did. Drannor's a bit of an abnormality."

He hadn't escaped out of the fight unscathed himself. he sighed though as he changed back into a normal elf. "Nothing permanent. He'll recover in a minute." Drannor sighed shaking his head at Auraka. he knew Auraka could hear him. "Again you try and fight me and lose. Will you never learn?" He smiled. "Another hint for you, learn to defend the weakness of the animal you chose. Just like I just used the pressure point in your paw against you."

Maith looked at Sahar. "You know you're from Taror. However learning to become an animal before becoming a druid like the rest of us is a little surprising. Never in our history has something like this occured, nor has there ever been... a collie. Most choose a wolf, bear or normal lion... not a tame dog.."

"I do not!" Drannor chuckled.

"Trust me, there are others that even I can't beat when it comes to this. Maith for example."
He sighed.

"That's the second time you've attacked me. Learn anything this time? I seem to recall I keep beating you, and I fight completely fair. You just don't know my weaknesses either. Oh and no, I did not use your mind against you either. I can't hear someone when they are in their animal form. Just like Gem couldn't see me when I scouted ahead as an eagle on the way back to Ciarbera."

"Next time, warn me if you're going to change like that," Gem muttered as she stirred. "Both of you."

Though her voice was weak, the reprimand was still there.

"Sorry Gem," Drannor replied. "I did not exactly have time with that mountain of a lion your husband is stalking me like that."

Gem shuddered. then she looked at Sahar. "Am I the only normal elf here?"

"We choose the creature, Auraka. I was meant to be a bear, woulda been too, had something not driven a wedge between father and I." Sahar knew what he meant by the wedge between him and Wistari. "Now I'm a wolf like my mother. How.. odd." Though soemthing had felt different that time. Had his tail been shorter? "Something was different that time though."

Gem winced. "I never want that happening again. Scared the living daylights out of me." She sat up, and smiled at him though. "I wish you could control that anger though, Auraka. You're going to give me grey hair."

Drannor looked over at Sahar. "You're lucky you're not another wolf. There seems to be too many. Not enough bears though." He sighed. He knew why that was. "There's a reason most choose the wolf or bear. Because of the old stories of our people." Stories he could not share with them at this point. He was not the one who knew them. "I'm yet to hear of them though."

Drannor sighed as he looked at Sahar. She had no idea what was going on in his head at the moment. “Only in time will we know what they are. Taeron though I know is a wolf.” he smiled. “I might not be able to read you as well as I once could, but Taeron is another matter entirely.” I could shut him out, but he couldn't shut me out. My mental strength was too much for him to last long against. We both knew it too. “Something was different this time. I didn't seem to know what i was doing for a little bit. I think my form's changing. Into what? Who knows.”

Gem smiled as she managed to sit up again. Seeing Sahar though, she laid down again, feeling weak again. She really did not like having all these animals bursting out of the people she loved so very much. Things did not seem normal any more. “I wish none of this happened to you guys. Its driving me nuts.” She sighed though, knowing that there was nothing she could do about it. Right now she felt so insignificant.

“Gem you're the most important out any of us. How could you think you're insignificant?” Drannor asked.

“I'll never understand you Taror elves,” she shot back. Clearly she was not too pleased about being the odd one out. “All of you are animals. I never will be.”

"You might be," Drannor replied. "Remember we are cousins. My mother was one, your father was not. Good chance it skipped him."

"I don't wanna be one."

He laughed, shaking his head. “Again, it was an accident... she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. You know me better than that.” There were some things that would never change there. “Plus I seem to have some things happening that should not be. You would have noticed I was a bear, did you not? Last time, you saw me in my animal form I was a wolf, was I not?”

He was smiling though. “it's not going to happen again, I assure you.”

“And you have to learn to stop exploding out of your skin like that without warning me,” Gem scolded Auraka. “I do not wish to faint again because of you doing that.” She frowned at him, clearly not impressed with that.