Farron waited, not sure if the elf would even come. Each second he waited left sweat gathering on his brow as he fiddled with the clasp of his cloak. His hood still covered his face and he kept it that way as a voice finally called out to him. Jumping slightly, Farron met the elf's eye. At first, that was all he could do. Say words? What words would he say? He didn't plan this meeting with any sort of goal in mind. Instead, he asked the first question that came to mind.

"...Who are you?" The whispered words filled the air between them and Farron tugged on his clasp again like he feared it might come apart and reveal his real face to this stranger who should be his enemy. Except, his body very much wanted to step forward. The dizziness felt exhilarating now. Awake. Yes, that was what he felt. Like he had never been truly awake until now. "I...all I need is to know who you are..."

Echildur looked at the figure covered in shadows. To most, the sight of the unknown would cause apprehension, but he knew who this person was. He could remember his dark hair and the shine of a blue eye filled with panic near the collapsed wall. He could feel his gûr edhel's unease as he watched his fingers cling onto the clasp of his robe.

Echildur smiled a comforting smile as he took a few slow steps toward the human, trying to be as calm as he could. It took a lot out of him to keep his concentration to hold himself back from running towards his soul mate. "I am Echildur, son of Luthar, a Vazarin elf." This information was never to be shared with other races. He knew that. But something inside him wanted to tell this human everything. Something wanted to have this human to be a part of his life.

(Sorry for making you wait. My personal writing has been taking up a little more time lately.)

Farron managed to tear his gaze away from the elf after seconds of staring, watching the dark mass of fallen leaves beneath his feet instead. A pang of familiarity hit him looking at the leaves. He used to sit under the trees surrounding the village he grew up in, reading or savoring some place he could be alone. Except here, he wasn't alone at all. He shouldn't, couldn't relax, in the presence of this stranger.

"Ech..eldur...?" he murmured finally, fumbling over the strange sound of the elven name. It felt awkward to his tongue, but a part of him loved the sound, at least when Echildur said it. His eyes narrowed slightly, trying to filter through all the reading he had done so that he could understand what the elf said. Were Vazarin's the rain gatherers or the healers? He didn't trust himself to remember properly, but he didn't want to ask either. Shaking his head, he lifted his head again to stare straight at the elven man. "Whatever, I don't really care. I only came here to confirm for myself that what I felt on the battlefield was true. You are still my enemy as someone who uses their magic and persecutes alchemy! All the other kingdoms are the same!" he hissed, his voice growing louder with each word that he spat.

"You have no idea the power that this 'false' magic holds. So, you better be ready!" He let out a short laugh, full of wild glee. "Hear me out, I have no intentions of bonding with you as a mate. I don't care what fate says because you won't like me and I won't like you. It's so simple. I don't even know why my soulmate has to be something like an elf in the first place!" He let out another laugh as he grinned, even as his hand reached up to clench at his clasp again, nails biting deep into the metal surface.

(( It's alright ^_^ ))
(( How do you write so good? Teach me your waaayyysssss ))

Echildur kept his eyes on his soulmate and while hidden under the shadows of the night watched his every movement. He tried to remain calm and kept his distance, taking note of the human's nervousness. But then he started laughing, grinning, and denouncing their bond.

"Then kill me now!" he rebutted. "Kill me now lest my heart dies and I fade into dust. Such is the fate of an elf bonded to a mortal for we will soon die after our mate has come to an end. And I have accepted the fact that I will fade before the century passes because I have found you. And if killing me right now prevents the emptiness I will feel once you are gone, then so be it."

He strode towards him and stopped with a few inches between them. "Strike your blade into my heart or crush me with your false magic! I will not mind. Because I would rather die now than go through the illusion of living."

"Deny it if you would, but my soul has already intertwined with yours."

((XD I'm not that great. Your writing is really good too.))

Farren's stomach clenched with unease, the quick anger he wanted not coming to mind, let alone out his mouth. Clenching his teeth, he wrenched his gaze away, completely unable to meet the elven man's eye. It was impossible, almost a cruelty to himself to look at the eyes of someone so filled with conviction about dying.

"That...that has nothing to do with me," Farron managed to hiss. Some of his anger dissipated though so that the words sounded weak. He still couldn't look up from the leaf-strewn ground. Taking a step back, he tried to put distance between them again as Echildur stepped into his space. "I-" He snapped his gaze back up, anger rising once again.

"I didn't ask for this! I don't want to destroy someone else's life or their love, killing every damn thing they've ever wanted to cherish!" he snapped. Lifting a hand, he jabbed a finger at Echildur. "But maybe I should kill you. I don't need a knife. I'll just touch you!" he added with a dark laugh. Stepping forward, he grabbed the other man's shirt front before pressing his palm against Echildur's chest. He didn't know why he acted this way. He shouldn't, but maybe if he caused this person some pain, they would finally leave him alone.

(( Aaaaaaaaa, I keep grinning whenever I read through this~ ))

Echildur didn't know how but a wave of pain crashed through his body as his gûr edhel pressed a palm against his chest. The pain showed on his person as his skin paled and his eye twitched, but he held back a groan behind his tensed lips. He instinctively clasped the human's hand with his and transformed the destructive power into healing energy that pulsed around the two of them.

The grass and the leaved on the trees around them fluttered glowed with green energy, a few tiny balls of green light floated a few inches off of the ground. The paleness on the elf's face disappeared and the pain in his eyes ebbed away but a look of disappointment took over his features.

"To kill me with your emotions in disarray, I would rather die in battle with a sword in my gut and arrows in my back, fired from a stranger's bow!"

Farron watched as the elven man's face paled, life energy being stolen away. He could feel it in his hands, this awful power he normally tried to hide, but right now he felt angry enough to prove it, use to push someone away. And yet, his heart stammered wildly, panicked to see this pain. He started to pull back, but Echildur grabbed his hand, holding it still before he could.

From the other man's hands, something strange flowed. Warmth cancelled out his cold destruction so that it pulsed around them. Everything looked greener, the pain easing away from Echildur's face. Entranced, Farron forgot that he wanted to pull away. Instead, he stared in wonder at the orbs of green light that lifted up from the floor. For all the magic that he saw in his home village, he saw nothing like this before.

Stammering for a second, he finally managed to speak. "W-what have you done? My magic...you..." He trailed off again, not understanding this strange magic working at all. "Why are you not in pain? I won't kill you until I know how you've done this!"

Echildur's eyes roamed the forest floor and scanned the balls of light that hovered above the grass. He held the human's hand rested above his heart a little tighter, not wanting to let go, as he tried to understand what just happened. He'd never been able to create such strange magic before. Heck, he'd never been able to accomplish much with his magic.

"I don't know ... I never-"

He paused, a light flashed in his eyes as he remembered that one moment in battle. His human had fallen to the ground and he rushed to him in a panic. Being so focused on healing him, the elf barely noticed the barren soil around them turn fertile. But now that there was no battle around them but a silent forest, he could remember the most minute of details. He remembered the surge in his heart as their eyes met and the way his magic grew so strong it healed the land his mate destroyed.

"You ..." he trailed off, trying to make sense of the string of ideas running amok in his mind. "My magic and yours ..."

Farron continued to shake his head. He tried to pull his hand away from Echildur, but after a second of trying and failing, he felt his conviction faltering. As much as he wanted to pull away, he felt starved for this. He never touched someone for so long before, not in many years. Far too often, he lost control of his power and stole energy he never meant to steal. It was the curse of magic. Unless you were anchored, it ran wild. And it was always that one thing. He never wanted his magic so he turned away from it. Now though, he found his magic doing something different than ever.

He could feel his magic still. He felt the energy flowing out of him as he used to magic, but somewhere along the lines, perhaps where his magic met Echildur, it morphed. It turned into Echildur's magic? He wondered though, if he pushed harder, might he turn it into an even stronger version of his own magic rather than a strong version of Echildur's?

Farron yanked his hand away, hard. "So what?!" he managed. "So...so what if when I touch you, something like this happens? It doesn't matter. I still don't want anything to do with you." He turned his gaze away, afraid that Echildur might read the lack of conviction there. He lied to himself and he knew it. Still, the ties of loyalty he had to his cause made this impossible.

(( So sorry this took so long x.x ))

Echildur could feel his heart breaking the more his soulmate denied their bond. Deep inside, he had started to think of how he would fade. Maybe in battle? Or maybe quietly under a tree where no one could find him?

He shook his head clear of the depressing thoughts and focused on the human in front of him. He could hear it. He could feel it. Since the very beginning when they met in this forest, the human had always been hesitant, as if two forces were pulling him apart.

He understood now. They were at war and the humans want something from the elves, whether it was eradication or slavery, it didn't matter. They were on opposite sides of the sea, clashing against each other.

"Then at least promise me you wouldn't die in this war. And then after ..."

He looked at the human in the eyes, still not knowing his name. Though it did not matter what name he had, Echildur would still cherish him the same.

"After ... will you let me be your anchor?"