It might have been a enjoyable story, it was a enjoyable story, but Seda found it to be an incredibly sad one. As the tale slowly drew to a close, the battered and used crane flying away, her eyes had grown more watery and now it had little to do with the sleep that was still attempting to put her under its spell. Lip trembling she sniffled once and turned her head, pressing it more firmly against her arm. Even as the other elf quietly laughed a lone tear trailed down one of her cheeks, coming to rest precariously on her chin before it dripped to the ground. Another soon followed in its wake, tailed by a third, but her breathing remained steady. Tears silently continued to fall without her notice. It was only when she went to lick her lips that she tasted the salt and realized what was happening.
Rubbing the heel of her palm across her face she tried to erase all evidence that she had been crying but it seemed to do little good, the tracks on her cheeks still glimmering faintly in the soft firelight. Giving up she let her hand fall to the ground where it listlessly dug at the earth. She turned to watch, eyes tracing the repetitive movement. “You shouldn’t do that,” she whispered softly, her eyes still focused on the ground. “You shouldn’t go and pluck all of your feathers out for someone. You…” Her face crumpled briefly, brows drawn inward and mouth twisting, lower lip lodged firmly beneath teeth that were biting down to hard. Her hand stilled and her gaze turned to focus on Pavak. It was with a strong voice, even muddled with sleep as it was, that she continued. “You understand? You shouldn’t ever do that. Shouldn’t destroy yourself for someone. That’s bad. So don’t do it.”
Then she slumped over and pulled her knees in closer, curling up tighter than before, and hid the new tears that had sprung up. There was very little real fear that Pavak would shift into a bird and start plucking out feathers left and right but… fear was there. Fear that he might one day go just as far. That he, anyone, would destroy himself for someone else’s sake as the crane had done, as Seda was sure she herself had done. He was strange, too flirtatious by far, and she was determined not to care about him but she didn’t want him to be like her.
Ruined.
“Promise,” she breathed out at last. “Promise you won’t.”