Personal Growth
Posted: Sun Sep 04, 2022 10:06 pm
Paramour Ariella of Lady Goldheart smiled from the entrance of the Temple of Beauty, and Aelenta could not help but grin in return at the sight of her radiance and beauty. With his stomach a flutter, he gracefully bowed before announcing what an unexpected pleasure she was. Quickly he invited her up to his quarters above to share a drink and discuss the purpose of her visit. The kiss she granted him in response was encouragement enough that Aelenta had to make an effort not to ascend the stairs two at a time. After she went about removing her traveling hood and Aelenta poured them both a glass of Undercliff Meadry's finest, the pair exchanged a silent toast and got to the heart of the matter that brought her here to him.
"I..I don't know if I am a good fit for our group anymore" she confessed.
Not certain where this concern of hers had been born, but having his suspicions, he simply tilted his head to the right and waited with visible interest and concern on his face.
"I can't seem to shake these feelings that I have about Magolir." she shared, to which he could not help but reflexively grin.
"After the way he spoke with me," her voice lowered to a whisper as she spoke through a grimace "I'm beginning to doubt his intelligence, and I'm beginning to think he is hard of hearing"
Taking a noticeably larger drink of mead seemed the approiate response to express his concern, and to give her whatever time she may need to finish sharing hers.
"I mean, how many times did you tell him Lelya wasn't there and he kept calling her name?!" She was no longer whispering as she spoke of Earlanni Rachiilstar by her pet name which meant beautiful, lovely, delicate, none of which were the first descriptors to come to Aelenta's mind when he thought of the, rustic, Druid from the High Forrest.
"Then the way he doddled over and got upset when I yelled his name." Once again her voice lowered to a whisper, as if this would make it more difficult for the one she accused of being deaf to over hear her concerns "That's how people who are losing their hearing act."
After savoring his most recent drink, he decided it was time to speak up, "I could not say...though in his defense, we were in a nightmare and he was likely, and understandably overwhelmed with intensity and chaos of battle."
"Still I think you told him at least five times."
"My particular voice maybe...an exceptionally difficult one for Magolir to hear?" the mischievous smile that followed saying the words out loud was unavoidable for him.
Taking a moment to look around before she spoke, as if reassuring herself they were alone and she was not being overheard. "The thing that bothers me most is that I feel like he put his pride above what we had to accomplish. I mean even after you explained to him the severity of the situation to bark at me like that." Her brows furrowed and her lips pursed in a visible display of displeasure at the memory, certainly it was not because of the state of disarray in which Aelenta kept his quarters.
"The pair of us...Magolir and I, we are rather...different in our opinions and approach in a great very many matters. I am sure you may have noticed, we tend to disagree quite often, even if not always openly."
"Lelya said she thinks it's because he's still grieving over the ones that passed that he would not be able to bear another one of us dying instead of him. I think it's his pride but I could be wrong." She said in reference to the fallen Manthor, before taking another small sip of her mead.
"There maybe some truth to the Druid's words, as well as your own opinion...not to be noncommittal and agree with you both, but it could be that neither of you are wrong. May I offer a humble suggestion?" He replied before taking a drink of his own.
"She thinks we have to show him why he is precious to us"
"Wait...what?" The confusion on his face was apparent as he tried not to choke on his most recent swallow.
"That we need him. That he needs to be protected" To which Aelenta could only raise a eye brow of suspicion.
"Not for the outcome of battle but because we care about him." She grimaced as she continued. "The problem is, I don't care about him right now."
Aelenta took a beat to finish his drink and slowly returned to the bar to refill his glass while he pondered over the Paramour of Lady Goldheart's words.
"That's why I'm not sure if I'm a good fit anymore."
"This...whole affair of us needing to make Magolir see how much we care about him, because he is precious to us.....well I can not claim that I understand any of that, though I am not a Druid and so perhaps that has something to do with my failure to understand." He was making an effort to be careful here, but could not help but shake his head and express how thoroughly unconvinced he was with a shrug.
"She said we need to show him love and kindness," she grimaced once more. "I felt like kicking him."
She had said it, as if it was a crime she had committed, and perhaps due to her place amongst the clergy it was, but open confession of wanting to give someone a swift kick only summoned from Aelenta another shrug of indifference.
"I am ready to hear your suggestion." She said while gently taking his free hand with her own, the feel of which inspired a smile upon his face that was far from indifferent.
"Fair warning Priestess...it may not be one you are happy to hear." He said while growing his smile a bit wider in an effort to be encouraging.
"It's fine Zalir if I did not want to hear it i would not have come here." She said softly while squeezing his hand gently.
"Regardless of your opinion of Magolir, or my own, or anyone else's opinion...it does appear Magolir was chosen by the Dream Needle, Moonblade of Sehanine Moonbow...and I have faith in the Seldarine, even if I do not have the wisdom to understand their choices."
"You know Eli loved him."
"I really do not know that...my time with her was very brief, though I trust your judgement in such matters."
She never expressed such to him or at maybe he didn't realize it I'm not sure. At any rate, I do understand that and that's why I was doing my best for us as a group but that he fails to understand something so basic makes me question his intelligence.
"What I can say is that...while to my own eyes...Magolir may not appear to be worthy of the Moon Blade...maybe...just maybe...and hear me out for I know this may seem a bit of a stretch..." the interest in her eyes sparkled and helped him find the words he was searching for. "Maybe Magolir was chosen because the way forward for our people, is to stop blaming everyone and everything else for our own failings, and to take responsibility for our mistakes, and just as importantly...prove ourselves humble enough to swallow our pride...and learn to correct those mistakes?"
"Oh Zalir, I hope you are right. You know he blames you for what happened to the others." She said in reference once more tot he fallen Manthor that Magolir once lead.
"What?" He asked with more disgust then surprise in his tone, before working to conceal his frown and displeasure behind another swallow from his glass.
"He said because you shot, that your ranger got surrounded by kobolds." It was enough to make him sigh between clenched teeth.
"I could see him blame everyone but himself if our mission fails too. Especially you or I."
"This is sort of an example of what I was trying to get at...What if Magolir was chosen because out of all of us...he is most inclined to put his personal pride above all else?"
"It is possible." She said while placing a hand over his heart. "Bless us Seldarine. We have a long and hard road ahead of us if that is the goal."
"What if Magolir being chosen to carry the Moon Blade, is how the Seldarine tests all of us? To see if the least likely amongst us is capable of changing for the better? If the one most entrenched in the ways that have proven disastrous...can learn to lead us to a better future?"
"I hope you are right Zalir."
"What if our part..." he gestures between the pair of them with his glass of mead. "What if our responsibility in this is to help Magolir...in time...and through the growing pains...become worthy? Now...ultimately it will come down to him, but would we not be horribly remiss if we did not make our truest effort to be there, to offer our support, as best we can along the way?
She once again placed a kiss upon him that filled him with more warmth then the mead ever could, before she spoke with a determination and steel in her voice.
"It is a long and hard road then, but one that I am willing to take if he doesn't kick me out for disagreeing with him. Thank you Zalir. I appreciate you. I wasn't sure if i should stay before but now i am convinced"
With his face flush from the most recent kiss and drinks, he spoke through a grin.
"I can not pretend to predict what may come next...what trials and tribulations we may all face, or even create for ourselves...So long as we put our faith in the Seldarine, and are doing our best to embody their lessons for us, and show each other the love they have shown us...we will have done our best."
"You are wise even though you are young." She said through the tears swelling in her eyes as she nodded.
"I have been blessed with the learning of one hard lesson after another, in rapid succession. Due to dubious life choices made one after another...not sure that qualifies me as wise." He said in an effort of deflection through another shrug n grin, punctuated with a drink.
Passing back her empty glass before she spoke with a smile on her lips. "Thank you again. The important thing is that you are learning and growing as an elf."
"You know...Speaking of personal growth..." He looked down between them, before raising his gaze with a smile while she giggled at his innuendo."You are welcome to stay...for a time?"
"Oh, Zalir that would be wonderful."
With a empty mead glass in each of his hands, he wrapped his arms tightly around her, and for a time none of their concerns were all that concerning.
"I..I don't know if I am a good fit for our group anymore" she confessed.
Not certain where this concern of hers had been born, but having his suspicions, he simply tilted his head to the right and waited with visible interest and concern on his face.
"I can't seem to shake these feelings that I have about Magolir." she shared, to which he could not help but reflexively grin.
"After the way he spoke with me," her voice lowered to a whisper as she spoke through a grimace "I'm beginning to doubt his intelligence, and I'm beginning to think he is hard of hearing"
Taking a noticeably larger drink of mead seemed the approiate response to express his concern, and to give her whatever time she may need to finish sharing hers.
"I mean, how many times did you tell him Lelya wasn't there and he kept calling her name?!" She was no longer whispering as she spoke of Earlanni Rachiilstar by her pet name which meant beautiful, lovely, delicate, none of which were the first descriptors to come to Aelenta's mind when he thought of the, rustic, Druid from the High Forrest.
"Then the way he doddled over and got upset when I yelled his name." Once again her voice lowered to a whisper, as if this would make it more difficult for the one she accused of being deaf to over hear her concerns "That's how people who are losing their hearing act."
After savoring his most recent drink, he decided it was time to speak up, "I could not say...though in his defense, we were in a nightmare and he was likely, and understandably overwhelmed with intensity and chaos of battle."
"Still I think you told him at least five times."
"My particular voice maybe...an exceptionally difficult one for Magolir to hear?" the mischievous smile that followed saying the words out loud was unavoidable for him.
Taking a moment to look around before she spoke, as if reassuring herself they were alone and she was not being overheard. "The thing that bothers me most is that I feel like he put his pride above what we had to accomplish. I mean even after you explained to him the severity of the situation to bark at me like that." Her brows furrowed and her lips pursed in a visible display of displeasure at the memory, certainly it was not because of the state of disarray in which Aelenta kept his quarters.
"The pair of us...Magolir and I, we are rather...different in our opinions and approach in a great very many matters. I am sure you may have noticed, we tend to disagree quite often, even if not always openly."
"Lelya said she thinks it's because he's still grieving over the ones that passed that he would not be able to bear another one of us dying instead of him. I think it's his pride but I could be wrong." She said in reference to the fallen Manthor, before taking another small sip of her mead.
"There maybe some truth to the Druid's words, as well as your own opinion...not to be noncommittal and agree with you both, but it could be that neither of you are wrong. May I offer a humble suggestion?" He replied before taking a drink of his own.
"She thinks we have to show him why he is precious to us"
"Wait...what?" The confusion on his face was apparent as he tried not to choke on his most recent swallow.
"That we need him. That he needs to be protected" To which Aelenta could only raise a eye brow of suspicion.
"Not for the outcome of battle but because we care about him." She grimaced as she continued. "The problem is, I don't care about him right now."
Aelenta took a beat to finish his drink and slowly returned to the bar to refill his glass while he pondered over the Paramour of Lady Goldheart's words.
"That's why I'm not sure if I'm a good fit anymore."
"This...whole affair of us needing to make Magolir see how much we care about him, because he is precious to us.....well I can not claim that I understand any of that, though I am not a Druid and so perhaps that has something to do with my failure to understand." He was making an effort to be careful here, but could not help but shake his head and express how thoroughly unconvinced he was with a shrug.
"She said we need to show him love and kindness," she grimaced once more. "I felt like kicking him."
She had said it, as if it was a crime she had committed, and perhaps due to her place amongst the clergy it was, but open confession of wanting to give someone a swift kick only summoned from Aelenta another shrug of indifference.
"I am ready to hear your suggestion." She said while gently taking his free hand with her own, the feel of which inspired a smile upon his face that was far from indifferent.
"Fair warning Priestess...it may not be one you are happy to hear." He said while growing his smile a bit wider in an effort to be encouraging.
"It's fine Zalir if I did not want to hear it i would not have come here." She said softly while squeezing his hand gently.
"Regardless of your opinion of Magolir, or my own, or anyone else's opinion...it does appear Magolir was chosen by the Dream Needle, Moonblade of Sehanine Moonbow...and I have faith in the Seldarine, even if I do not have the wisdom to understand their choices."
"You know Eli loved him."
"I really do not know that...my time with her was very brief, though I trust your judgement in such matters."
She never expressed such to him or at maybe he didn't realize it I'm not sure. At any rate, I do understand that and that's why I was doing my best for us as a group but that he fails to understand something so basic makes me question his intelligence.
"What I can say is that...while to my own eyes...Magolir may not appear to be worthy of the Moon Blade...maybe...just maybe...and hear me out for I know this may seem a bit of a stretch..." the interest in her eyes sparkled and helped him find the words he was searching for. "Maybe Magolir was chosen because the way forward for our people, is to stop blaming everyone and everything else for our own failings, and to take responsibility for our mistakes, and just as importantly...prove ourselves humble enough to swallow our pride...and learn to correct those mistakes?"
"Oh Zalir, I hope you are right. You know he blames you for what happened to the others." She said in reference once more tot he fallen Manthor that Magolir once lead.
"What?" He asked with more disgust then surprise in his tone, before working to conceal his frown and displeasure behind another swallow from his glass.
"He said because you shot, that your ranger got surrounded by kobolds." It was enough to make him sigh between clenched teeth.
"I could see him blame everyone but himself if our mission fails too. Especially you or I."
"This is sort of an example of what I was trying to get at...What if Magolir was chosen because out of all of us...he is most inclined to put his personal pride above all else?"
"It is possible." She said while placing a hand over his heart. "Bless us Seldarine. We have a long and hard road ahead of us if that is the goal."
"What if Magolir being chosen to carry the Moon Blade, is how the Seldarine tests all of us? To see if the least likely amongst us is capable of changing for the better? If the one most entrenched in the ways that have proven disastrous...can learn to lead us to a better future?"
"I hope you are right Zalir."
"What if our part..." he gestures between the pair of them with his glass of mead. "What if our responsibility in this is to help Magolir...in time...and through the growing pains...become worthy? Now...ultimately it will come down to him, but would we not be horribly remiss if we did not make our truest effort to be there, to offer our support, as best we can along the way?
She once again placed a kiss upon him that filled him with more warmth then the mead ever could, before she spoke with a determination and steel in her voice.
"It is a long and hard road then, but one that I am willing to take if he doesn't kick me out for disagreeing with him. Thank you Zalir. I appreciate you. I wasn't sure if i should stay before but now i am convinced"
With his face flush from the most recent kiss and drinks, he spoke through a grin.
"I can not pretend to predict what may come next...what trials and tribulations we may all face, or even create for ourselves...So long as we put our faith in the Seldarine, and are doing our best to embody their lessons for us, and show each other the love they have shown us...we will have done our best."
"You are wise even though you are young." She said through the tears swelling in her eyes as she nodded.
"I have been blessed with the learning of one hard lesson after another, in rapid succession. Due to dubious life choices made one after another...not sure that qualifies me as wise." He said in an effort of deflection through another shrug n grin, punctuated with a drink.
Passing back her empty glass before she spoke with a smile on her lips. "Thank you again. The important thing is that you are learning and growing as an elf."
"You know...Speaking of personal growth..." He looked down between them, before raising his gaze with a smile while she giggled at his innuendo."You are welcome to stay...for a time?"
"Oh, Zalir that would be wonderful."
With a empty mead glass in each of his hands, he wrapped his arms tightly around her, and for a time none of their concerns were all that concerning.