Snow Child

Discovery, Exploration

Natalya and Fenneck find a small elf child in the mountains. He is all alone and seems to be a different race than any other elves they've encountered before. They are unable to communicate with him and bring him back to Flottenheim with them.

"Maybe we should head back, Fen!" Natalya shouted to Fenneck through the storm. "We're almost to the next check point! We can make it there faster than we can the cave." He shouted back to her through the flurries of snow pelting their faces. "You think it will be safe in this storm?" She asked loudly. "It will have to be!" He yelled back. Suddenly they heard a loud roar in the storm. "Bumblebear." Fenneck said. The snow picked up and Natalya felt the wind try to pull her off of the mountain they were on. The checkpoint they were trying to get to was a small alcove in the side of a mountain. It would be cold and tight for the night but she knew it was the safer choice. Suddenly they saw a great flash of bright blue and silver light ahead and another roar from the bumblebear. Fenneck drew his swords and Natalya followed behind with her rapier drawn. They saw another flash as they got closer and saw the ghostly outline of a bumblebear posing to attack illuminate the night sky. The sky shook from its roar. Natalya was scared and wondered what was causing the magical blue light. Fenneck stopped and looked at Natalya, "Be careful. I don't know what that is up ahead." They saw another blue flash and watched as the bear roared and was blasted off the side of the cliff. "Let's hope it's on our side." Natalya said. They cautiously walked up the ledge. Before they turned the corner they heard what sounded like muffled sobs through the storm. Fenneck, ready to strike, turned the corner. Natalya turned with him cautiously. They looked out and saw a baby bumblebear being held by a small, blue elf child. The child was sobbing into the fur of the bear. When he saw Fenneck approaching with his swords drawn he screamed and suddenly vanished with a poof of blue smoke leaving a potted fern where his body had just been. "The hell?" Fenneck said under his breath. Natalya looked around confused. Fenneck leaned down to the plant. "Hello?" He asked the fern. The baby bumblebear looked up at him and let out a soft whimper. "Hey there little guy." Fenneck said as he caressed the bear. Natalya kept her sword ready. The bear grunted up at Fenneck and leaned into his hand. The plant shook it's leaves at Fenneck. Fenneck cocked his head and picked up the fern and studied it. He turned it over gently to look at it and suddenly dropped it as it poofed back into the small child. Fenneck looked alarmed. "Are...are you okay?" He asked the boy. The boy looked up at him as if he had no idea Fenneck was speaking to him. The bear grunted at the boy and the boy flung his arms around it and squeezed it close to him, away from Fenneck. Natalya kept her weapon ready and looked around to try and see if there was something else causing this. Fenneck reached out his hand to the boy, "We won't hurt you. It's very dangerous out here. Please, come with us and we'll get you to safety. Where is your family?" The boy looked at Fenneck confused and continued hugging the bumblebear. "Is this your friend?" Fenneck asked him. The boy continued to ignore Fenneck and slowly he started softly crying again into the fur of the bear. Fenneck slowly reached out his hand to touch the boys shoulder. The boy looked up and looked quizzically at Fenneck. Fenneck pulled his hand away and held out his palm. He created a green orb of light above it and the boys eyes widened. The boy reached out and created an icy blue one next to Fenneck's. Fenneck smiled at the boy and then created more orbs around them. The boy reached his hands up and more of his icy blue lights joined Fenneck's. Suddenly Natalya felt her feet rise off the ground slowly. It felt like gravity had vanished. Fenneck looked up at her in alarm and the boy started clapping. "What the hell is this?!" She panicked as she rose higher and higher off the ground and into the storm. Fenneck reached up and she reached to grab his hand and realized she had control over where she was going. She was flying. Her heart started to pound and she became very scared. The child was smiling and clapping at her. Fenneck looked at her in amazement. "I didn't do this!" She said as he pulled her to the ground. "No," Fenneck said bewildered, "He did." Natalya, grateful to be back on the ground, looked at the child. "He's just a child though." She said, confused. "It's wild magic." Fenneck said in awe as he turned back to the boy. The boy stood up and walked over to Natalya and held his hands up to her. She hesitantly took them and he started jumping. She held his hands tightly and let the magic take her a few feet up into the air. As they hovered above the ground the boy made some excited cooing noises and kicked his legs around. Natalya had to come back down though. It was too heavy and awkward to dangle him like that. As they hit the ground again he let go of her hands and reached his arms up for her to pick him up and hold him to her chest. She looked at Fenneck who looked as if he had just discovered a mountain of gold and he nodded at her excitedly to take the child. She reached down and felt the boy wrap himself around her. His blue skin was cold and she wondered how he was able to survive the weather up here. He was only wearing some hide rags. He cooed happily as Natalya lifted them into the air and snow. His eyes sparkled from joy and his hands grabbed her braids excitedly. After a few moments she brought them both down again as she felt the magic wear off. When she landed Fenneck walked up to her, excitedly. "He's magnificent." He said in awe. "Sure, he's...cute...I guess." She awkwardly handed the child to Fenneck who wrapped him in his arms. "What's your name child?" Fenneck asked it in elvish. The child made some cooing noises back at Fenneck as he played with Fenneck's hair. Natalya couldn't help but find Fenneck's adoration and gentleness with the child charming. "You're absolutely adorable." Fenneck said sweetly, "I don't think he speaks any languages." He said to Natalya. "Hello, what's your name? Where are your parents?" She tried in Lenisilian. The child looked at her alarmed at the harsh language and started to cry. "Guess not." She said. Fenneck cooed to the child in beautiful elvish and rocked him until he stopped crying. Natalya looked around and finally down at the little bumblebear rubbing up against Fenneck's leg. "Do you think he's...alone?" She asked. Fenneck looked around at the storm around them. "I'm not sure. We need to find shelter though. We aren't far from the checkpoint. We should take him with us and in the morning, once the storm has settled, we'll search for his parents or family." "Good idea." Natalya said. They started to move and the boy screamed and wiggled free from Fenneck's arms. He ran to the bumblebear cub and threw his arms around it. Fenneck sighed, "Would you like to take the bear?" He asked the boy. The boy squeezed the bear tighter. "Brr!" He said. Fenneck pointed to the bear, "Bear?" He asked. The boy nodded, "Brr!" "Okay, we can bring the bear then." He reached out his hand to the boy who reluctantly took it. Fenneck looked at Natalya, "Will you carry the cub?" She looked at him like he was crazy. "Oh please Nat, it's just a cub." She slowly leaned down and picked up the cub awkwardly trying not to crush it's wings. Fenneck picked up the boy and they pressed on until they made it to the small alcove. They crawled inside and Fenneck lit the place with lights. Fenneck sat the boy down on some furs and Natalya handed the bear cub to the boy who pulled it into his chest. Fenneck cut up an apple and offered a piece to the boy who took it, looked at it and fed it to the bear. "No," Fenneck laughed, "You need to eat something." Fenneck took a bite of one to show the boy who looked at him like he was ridiculous. Natalya came and sat next to Fenneck and offered the boy some jerky rations. He took it and bit into it gratefully. Natalya leaned against Fenneck, bundled up under the furs as they ate. When she was done she leaned against Fenneck to meditate and closed her eyes. A few seconds later she looked down to find the child and the bumblebear curled up across herself and Fenneck. Fenneck bundled them up in the furs and they rested until the morning. The next morning brought bright rays of sun piercing through the alcove. Natalya looked down at the child in her lap still squeezing the bumblebear cub. She felt Fenneck's lips caress her neck and she looked up at him. He seemed very happy with the discovery of the child and seemed excited, "I've never seen an elf like this before. In Gladeon I've heard talk of swamp elves with green skin and special magic, but I have never heard of blue elves. He's very powerful Nat." "Do you think his family is out here somewhere?" She asked him. Fenneck shrugged, "I hope so. I don't think the cold bothers him though. Who knows how long he's been out here." "Do you think he killed that bumblebear we saw?" Fenneck nodded, "I do." They ate some breakfast and even convinced the child to eat some fruit before they headed back out into the wilderness. The child walked himself following Fenneck closely and his bumblebear followed him. "We need a way to communicate with him." Fenneck said, stumped on where to search. He finally found one of his tree markers and asked it about foot traffic and the boy. According to the tree, the boy had come by a couple times, by himself though. After spending the entire day searching they came and spent the evening curled up in the little alcove. "We should take him to Baegla." Fenneck finally decided. "Are you sure?" She asked him. Fenneck nodded sadly. "We can't just leave him Nat." She nodded as Fenneck scooped the boy lovingly into his lap for the night.