"I guess I will guide you directly until you are able to navigate on your own." Aldar dryly commented. It was uglier than he thought, this student of his. "Thank you." Elene said, never one to allow a chance to express her gratitude go unused. Sneakers wiggled out of Elene's arm. She wiped her tears away and resolved to focus on what she could do right now. Aldar took her hand, and she let him. The clan dispersed, but they were all still keeping their senses on the two of them.
"If I'm going to be living here, I would appreciate a tour." Elene said with a trace of fear. "Not knowing anything about where I am is... kind of terrifying." Elene admitted. Aldar sighed internally. If a tour could help the Saviour grow used to this place, a bit of his time would be a small price to pay- but he'd have preferred to maintain his weapons.
"What do you want to check out first?" Aldar asked Elene. "Well I can't really see anything, but I'm hoping walking around will give me an idea of the distance and the sounds will give me a feel for the activity." Elene tried to explain. "Oh right, you can't 'sense'. You need light to 'see' right?" Aldar asked. "That's right." Elene said, glancing around just in case there was a small source of light.
"That must be difficult since you can only spend a few hours in the light." Aldar said, trying to make polite conversation. "It wasn't. In my world, we spent a lot more time in the light." Elene said. "Whoa, how could you do that?" Aldar asked, stopping dead in his tracks. "What do you mean?" Elene was very confused.
"Doesn't the light cause you pain?" Aldar asked as if it was obvious. "Oh, you're talking about sunburns. It's not that we couldn't get sunburns, but we had a few ways to prevent them. Like windows, sunscreen, and artificial light." Elene listed off a few methods she thought Aldar might be interested in. Little did Elene know she had just gained Aldar's full attention as he silently waited for her to continue. It was a sign of respect in the clan to wait silently, but Elene didn't have access to any non-verbal cues in a world without light. Aldar began to grow annoyed that she was ignoring his gesture of respect for her knowledge. Elene was worried she had done something wrong because of the drawn-out silence. "Aldar?" Elene asked with a hint of concern. "Fine, keep it to yourself. Let's keep moving." Aldar said grumpily, trying to take a hint. Elene had a feeling something was wrong from his tone. "Aldar, wait. Did I do something wrong? Why are you angry?" Elene said almost desperately.
Elene never wanted to let the people she respected be upset for long. "You really don't know?" Aldar asked suspiciously. He supposed it could be possible that the other world didn't see silence as a request to continue, but that seemed odd to him. "No, you just went quiet for a while and then I was asking if you were still there I mean of course you were; you were still holding my hand, but I meant I thought you were thinking or something, and then suddenly you were upset with me, and I don't know what I did wrong." Elene rambled, almost crying. Aldar was literally keeping her alive. If he got mad enough to abandon her, she would be helpless. However, Elene wasn't thinking of that. She was just frustrated that she had upset someone she respected and didn't know how to fix it.
"I wanted you to continue your story about the light, that's why I was silent." Aldar said. "Silence is a respectful request to continue, so I thought you were not sharing the rest on purpose for some reason. Is it not that way in your world?" Aldar asked. "No, it can be, but it's usually accompanied by a nonverbal cue, and here in the dark, verbal cues are all I have. I really didn't mean to be rude, Aldar." Elene said, and the mana around her was a mixture of stress, sadness, and relief to Aldar's senses.
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"Then I'll forgive you if you tell me the rest later. I'll try to remember to say something to you next time." Aldar said kindly, sensing Elene's emotions settle. "Let's continue the tour?" Aldar gently suggested. "That would be nice." Elene said in a correspondingly soft tone.
"Here is the blacksmith's crevice. He creates everyone's staffs and attachments. He'll make yours too, when I think you're ready." Aldar said, expecting a pleased reaction. What he got instead surprised him. Elene was conflicted about the news. Partly pleased, partly scared. "What's bothering you?" Aldar asked Elene. Elene was confused that he figured out her emotions for a moment, since she hadn't said anything, but she remembered they could basically see even though she couldn't, so she guessed it probably showed on her face.
"In my world, of course I ate meat, but it was different than it is here. Most of us don't hunt. Most of us never see a dead animal, at least not the kind we eat. The meat is cut and drained before they transport it. By the time I get my hands on it, the meat is cold or already cooked. So I haven't even indirectly been involved with the killing before, and now I'm expected to do a lot of that myself. It's... uncomfortable." Elene voiced her concerns in the mildest way possible. Her fears were much deeper than that, but unless pressed, Elene was the type to keep her burdens to herself.
"I won't claim to understand Elene, but I'll try and help you through it." Aldar said reassuringly. Aldar thought of it like a young child being taken on their first hunt. They would be scared of getting hurt or seeing others get hurt, and some even puked after they landed their first kill. Aldar knew Elene would grow used to it, all hunters did. They had to, or they perished. And as his student, she would have to become a hunter.
Elene knew in her heart that she would adjust too. Humans were very adaptable. In a way, that scared her most. "Thanks, Aldar. I needed to hear that." She said hoarsely, for although she was genuinely happy he was being so supportive, there was still that deep, lingering fear that if she got too used to life here, she couldn't go home to her family. The emotion lingered even after it had been reduced by her portals 'gifts.'
Aldar let Elene have a moment of peace, silently guiding her to their next destination- the medicinal crevice. "This is the medicinal crevice. They use plants and mana to get you back on your feet faster, and hopefully have you leave alive." Aldar said nonchalantly before realizing his mistake. He directed his senses at Elene to try to discern how she felt about what he just said. "It's very dangerous being a hunter, isn't it?" Elene asked quietly.
"It is hunt or be hunted once you leave the cave, yes, but if we never went out to hunt we would starve to death. It may comfort you to know before a hunter becomes independent from their mentor, they take an oath. Every oath is different and follows the mentor's line, but in general it is a promise to only hunt what is necessary." Aldar said. "What was your oath?" Elene asked innocently. Aldar's heart twinged. His mentor's spouse finished training him, so he learned two forms of fighting and made two oaths. His first oath was a sore spot, since it was made to a dying hunter.
After a moment of hesitation, he decided to share. "I made two oaths. My mentors oath was to 'hunt for the sake of others.' My mentors spouse had me make a different oath. 'to hunt for a better future.'" Aldar said, opening up to Elene the tiniest bit. "Those sound cryptic." Elene observed, since she didn't know what else to say. After a moment of pained silence, Aldar breathed out a chuckle. "They are, aren't they?" Aldar said, and they both left it at that.
Aldar guided Elene to the next crevice. If Aldar thought to check on Elene as they were walking around he would notice the swirl of emotions emanating from her. Mostly, she was in pain. Literally and figuratively. Her toes ached from the small stumbles over rocks and ridges despite her sneakers, but her heart ached more. She could feel a hint of pain in Aldar's voice as he described his oaths, and she didn't know how to help him. She was struggling to keep from drowning in her own persistent worries about living in this world eroding her modern care for life away.
