Dread Mage

“What is that toy your keep fielding with?” Inure asked, seeing that Sonder was too occupied to follow his instructions.

When he reached out his hand to take it, Sonder cringed back quickly.

“Don’t!” She yelped.

Inure arched an eyebrow. "Okay," he placated her, "But given its importance to you, would you like to explain what it is?"

“It’s from Mister Languor. It's meant to check if my personal 'time' is disarrayed. I'm not fully sure how it works, but he insisted I must always keep it close.”

Sonder did take it everywhere she went, even binding it around her while she slept to not lose it.

Inure stroked his stubble, somewhat interested in it. Despite his initial desire to disregard it, he mused after a pause, “I do wonder how it works.”

Seeing this as an opportune moment for a breather, he decided to rest.

He settled by a nearby crate, motioning for Sonder to join him.

After she did, she looked to Inure and wondered how his life felt.

They could be similar, ‘time’ threading and thrumming through their beings differently or similar.

"What's it like being a half-elf?" She asked.

His expression reflected confusion.

"What sort of question is that? How can one describe their feelings about their own existence if they have experienced another?"

“I’m sorry,” Sonder said. “I just wanted to know of you think there’s anything than what a human, or the like, experiences?”

He pondered her question. If anyone else had asked, he would have deemed it foolish, and given her association with the Dread Mage, he felt even less inclined to respond.

But after two days of training her, he recognized her innocence despite her peculiar companionship.

Her understanding of the world was limited, her weapon handling skills even more so. Yet, her physique was more formidable than an average girl's- she must have spent some time honing her body elsewhere or been sculpted by the Dread Mage.

"I-" He started, attempting to find an amusing anecdote for a young girl. "In my youth, I received numerous marriage proposals from your kind. Humans seem quite fascinated by elves, whether full or half. Perhaps my mixed heritage made me appear more accessible. I don't hail from a prestigious elf lineage, but I don't think that mattered much to your the ladies of your kind, Sonder. Do you have any insights into this?”

Sonder pondered and then responded on her own, "Well, you are rather handsome."