Faith

The demon beast collapsed to the ground, snarling a moment, heaving strangely a moment more, and at last fell silent. Three adolescents watched silently: the youngest, a fifteen year old boy who'd been knocked to the ground; a seventeen year old girl who stood protectively between the boy and the beast, a metal staff clenched tight in her hands; and the eldest, a young man of nineteen who'd cut deep into the beast's throat. Cautiously, the eldest turned his sword and prodded the creature hard with the tip of the blade. It didn't move.

The youngest stood awkwardly, pushing himself up with the same hand that held a bow, the other arm dangling with a rapidly developing bruise. He groaned softly, and the girl immediately looked back and pulled her staff upright alongside her.

"No more playing hero," she said softly, and examined the boy's arm with just as gentle a hand. He cringed, and his desire to not cry kept him from making any retort.

"Danny?"

"Already on it, Faith," the older boy answered. "How bad?"

The girl finished feeling the arm before saying, "Just one brake, upper arm... and it's dislocated."

The softest whimper escaped the younger boy's throat. It was all he could do to nod his head when asked if he was ready. Faith pulled a thick strip of leather from one of the pouches tied to her belt, marks from other sets of teeth already worn in, and let the boy bite it. One hand one the boy's arm just above the break and the other bracing on his opposite shoulder, she said quietly, "Relax and breathe. Think about Chaundrey's plumb and rabbit pie. That one is your favorite, right? I remember the first time you finally tried it. You were so sure it would be horrible. It smelled good though, didn't it? And it tasted even better...."

She shoved the shoulder back into its socket, and the crunch was followed instantly by a shriek. Tears trickled down the boy's face, and his chest heaved. Faith continued to speak to him softly, about the pies, and about swimming, and about what tricks had been played on whom over the years. His eyes remained shut tight, but now and then he smiled a little around the leather.

When Danny approached with a sturdy, decently straight stick, they traded off, Faith taking the stick and Danny taking the younger boy. She was still talking as she pulled out a strong, soft ribbon of cloth, and nodded to the young man. This time, it was his turn to ask the younger, "Ready?"

The boy shivered and breathed deep, but nodded and braced himself. With a hand on either side of the break, Danny pulled, separating the overlapping splinters of bone. Again the boy screamed, but immediately did his best to suppress it, groaning and whimpering. Faith moved in quick, strapping the injured arm to the stick, doing her best to prevent it from pulling back together too much without cutting off circulation. The young boy had already quieted down again by the time she finished.

"There.... Now, we just need to get you home to the healers," she said with cheer in her words, turning to retrieve her staff.

Danny, having noticed the way she'd kept her face down the whole time, patted the boy on the back to get him moving and asked, "Faith, could you make sure we don't leave anything? And clean that cut on your leg. Just don't follow too far after."

The girl nodded. Once the two boys were nearly out of sight among the trees, she started shivering and wiped her eyes. Faith focused on her breathing to calm herself, and finally turned to follow after the others. The beast lay before her, and after a moment's pause, she swung her metal staff violently a few times, until the dead thing's head had sunken partway in.

~*~*~*~*~*~

The three returned home together, to a city built into the trees. Homes and small shops nestled among vast roots, bulged out from enormous trunks, and both sat atop and hung suspended below mighty branches. Here and there, crops of vegetables, fruits, fungi, and certain mosses were tended by a mix of elves and young humans, the difference between them often difficult to make out from a distance.

They hadn't gotten in far before mixed children came running and asking questions about what they had seen, how terrible it had been, if the younger boy would be okay, and other various details; one particularly small child even asked if any of them had been eaten. The boy with the broken arm was in no pleasant mood, but Danny smiled and carefully pushed the children out of the way, taking the younger off to have his arm taken care of. Faith had no such escape though, having received only bruises and the already partly-treated cut on her leg. The children clung to her and asked her to do her floating trick, and while she doubted she shared blood with any of them, she enjoyed the way they frequently addressed her as "big sister."

Some of the older children helped Faith get free so she could go clean up. The young woman thanked them as the youngsters were herded away, but noted a strange quietness among them. She lacked the time to ask about it just then, though; Salaya would be expecting a report as soon as she'd gotten cleaned up.

As she went through the motions of cleaning and dressing her wound and herself, her mind went back to the demon beast. It wasn't often that such things wandered so close to their home - but it wasn't anything unusual, either. According to the elves, it had been far out enough that it most likely wouldn't have been a real problem. It had been Salaya who had insisted it be disposed of before it could become a threat to those not so well trained in combat, like the small children who sometimes tried to wander, or the gatherers and hunters not equipped to handle such unnatural creatures. It was always Salaya who made such decisions, and it was her children's place to obey. As she often reminded them, the world was a horrible place full of horrible things.

She dressed as she always did: simple tunic, plain breeches, soft leather boots - and, in case something came up that needed quick action, her belt with all its pouches and her elven-made cloak. Faith would braid her dark brown-red hair or let one of the children do it later when it had dried. For now, she grabbed her metal staff once more and set out to locate Salaya.

Faith found the woman in her small home among the roots of the tree where she and most of the children resided. A small human boy was with her, no older than four - one of the latest additions to their family. He was still learning about how different his life was going to be, and was only just beginning to understand that he was never going to see his parents again, and so he cried while Salaya scolded him. Faith remained silent, waiting by the door, but the boy ran to her and clung to her leg, sobbing.  She closed her eyes, wincing slightly, and turned the boy back around to face Salaya. The girl would not let him hide, but she kept her hands on his shoulders to let him know she was there. Salaya stared at the boy coldly, not yet acknowledging Faith, then shook her head and side.

"You are still too young to understand, but a day will come when you do, and you will appreciate the favor I have done you in taking you away from that filth," she said, and waved a hand. "Let him be, Faith. Kaden will be along soon to fetch him. I have already been told of Maeth's injury, and that Daniel will be arriving late because of it. Come, tell me the rest."

Faith released the boy, but he did not release her until she started moving toward Salaya, and even then he followed after a moment and hid sniffling in her cloak. She gave no reaction, but bowed before the slender, dark-haired woman whose ears show only the very slightest hint of elven heritage.

"Lady Salaya," she said, speaking clearly and with purpose. "It was a demon beast which I had not seem before, but which I believe was a young male buruk, possibly looking for its first mate. Maeth was injured while distracting it, and Daniel killed it while I defended Maeth from further harm."

The woman nodded, taking in what she'd been told, then asked, "How was it killed?"
"It's throat was slashed open and its skull was crushed."

Salaya's brows raised slightly, but the rest of her face remained in place. "You had the only blunt weapon."

Faith nodded, but said nothing. Rather than questioning it further, Salaya switched to, "I will speak to Maeth. A bowman should not be reached so easily, and I know he is still brash. He must learn to better silence his humanity - as should you. Strike with precision and purpose, and do not let frustration get in the way."

The woman's tone caused the boy to cling to Faith tighter, and he squeezed the wound on her leg, making her wince. She slipped a hand down to push him slightly and give her wound space, while nodding to the woman and saying, "Yes, Lady Salaya. I will be better."

"Good. Now, you said it was a buruk? Do you believe there may be others nearby that have not yet been detected?"

"It is possible, but I do not believe there is enough of a potential threat to go searching. I believe it may be wise to remain prepared and aware, and to expand knowledge on better ways to dispose of them, but I believe that our detection gives us ample time to hunt them down before they can be any real problem."

"Perhaps," Salaya said, and her gaze shifted to the door as Danny entered. Sitting back as he bowed and greeted her, she asked, "How is Maeth?"

"Worse than we thought," he sighed as he rose. "The bone wasn't just broken, it was crushed. It'll still heal right, but they think that part of his arm will always be a bit brittle."

"Maybe he'll learn to keep back as a bowman should, then," Salaya said, and shook her head. Then, "Go on, both of you. That should do, unless there is something pressing. Today has been rough on everyone."

Both Danny and Faith bowed, though the child still clinging to her made it awkward, and the three turned to go. Faith paused at the door though, and handed the child off to Danny, who gave her a quizzical look. Turning back, she hesitated, then asked softly, "Lady Salaya?"

"Yes?"

"W-what happened today? Why are the others so quiet?"

While Salaya was not generally the warmest person to begin with, the way she looked at Faith seemed suddenly very cold and dignified. The last time the girl remembered seeing her like that had been when one of her "siblings" had been killed while out gathering edibles that weren't garden-friendly. Faith's body might as well have been stone.

"There was a betrayal. Someone has been endangering everyone, disregarding all caution and risking discovery by city-dwellers or worse. Her punishment will be announced tomorrow."

Faith stared in silence, unable to speak. When at last she could move again, she nodded and excused herself with a voice that was barely there. Outside, she was barely aware of Danny putting a hand on her shoulder and telling her to go sleep. The girl nodded once more, and after taking some unknown number of steps, found her cot and lay down.

Who was it? Nira seemed the most likely suspect. Faith had told her some time ago to stop sneaking off to the city, that she would get caught. Had she continued anyway? How deep had she gotten herself when she was caught? If she was lucky, she would be beat, and that would be that. If Salaya had any idea how long it had been going on, the punishment would be exile. If she had truly done something wrong - death.

Most of the children had a fairly clear idea the lengths that Salaya would go to in order to keep them safe. Many of them had been saved by her at some point since their original "rescues." Some had been defended from different animals and unnatural things. Some, Salaya had fought through her own injuries and exhaustion to be sure they reached safety. There were also a few children whose original families had been abusive on top of neglectful and ignorant, and those ex-families had been slaughtered for it. They all also knew that the protection they received did not apply to any human who was not one of them.

Eyes stinging, Faith decided she needed a distraction. Turning onto her side, her gaze drifted across the room, noting which cots had sleeping forms and which were still empty. Nira's was empty. Faith's attention drifted on, landing at last on a doll one of the little girls had left on the floor. She reached out a hand, and her eyes gave off the faintest silvery glow as the doll lifted and floated over, right into her hand.  Setting the doll beside her, she asked it softly, "You'll help me sleep, won't you?"

She made the doll nod, and proceed to slowly dance about after she'd let go. No one had yet figured out why she was able to do such things, but it served well to entertain the young ones - and that night, to drain her until drowsiness won out, and there was no choice but sleep.

~*~*~*~*~*~

It was the sound of her name that woke her in the morning, and the first thing she was able to determine was that she was not being addressed, but spoken of. Some of the other girls were trying to decide whether or not to wake her for the judgment. One thought it best Faith not know, another was certain she'd be more upset if she did not witness it herself, and another thought she should be able to decide herself, though they all were certain that she would want to be there.

Reality crashed back in, and the girl rose, bringing attention to herself with a half-mumbled, "Yes, I wish to see for myself."

She vaguely remembered taking off her belt, as it had been a blatant interference with her comfort. Somehow her boots had also made it off her feet. Faith put them all back on, after untangling herself from the cloak she'd failed to remove. Her hair, dried while loose and sandwiched between her face and pillow, lay weirdly against her head, and she combed her fingers through it while asking when the punishment was to be announced. After breakfast, they told her.

And what a quiet breakfast it was, conversation unusually hushed and somber. Many of them ate little, mostly picking at their food. Whispers of betrayal could be heard here and there, with mixed doubt, disbelief, and anger. Faith remained silent, staring and the fruit and bread before her without really seeing it. When elves took the youngest children out, it seemed like everything became heavier and muffled.

Not long after, Salaya appeared with a small-framed blonde girl, about sixteen years old with bound hands and red, swollen eyes. It was Nira. She kept her face down, and when she no longer had to walk, her eyes stayed closed. Everyone fell silent.

"Yesterday, it came to my attention that this one," Salaya said for all to hear, pronouncing it like something distasteful, "has betrayed us. She has repeatedly abandoned her duties in favor of sneaking off to the filthy city, where she has had extensive communication with city-dwellers. Worse, I have discovered that she told one of them of our home here, directly threatening our safety."

Faith was one of the few near enough to make out Nira's barely audible, "He's a nice boy..."

Rather than acknowledge the statement, Salaya continued, "I continue to do my best to help you all overcome your human heritage, as you know I strive to do myself. She has chosen not just to ignore that, but to throw it in all of our faces. And so I have decided: if she wishes so badly to be nothing more than another filthy human, then that is precisely how she shall be treated - and as nothing more than a filthy human, she is not only a pathetic waste of space, but an invader in this place."

Salaya drew one of her knives and turned back to the girl. Grabbing her by the hair, she pulled Nira in front for all to see, neck stretched out with the woman's blade against it. Salaya's hand twitched slightly and remained where it was, as if hesitating to actually kill the girl. After a moment, her hand shook, and the knife pulled free, away from the teen's throat. After eyeing it a moment, her gaze shot to Faith, this time fire rather than ice. Faith's own eyes glowed a telltale silver until the knife dropped.

"Faith! Explain yourself!" the woman shouted.

"She made a mistake," Faith said quietly, fighting not to show her terror at her own action. "It is not worth death."

"Blatant disregard for rules and the safety of her family," Salaya hissed. "Do you wish to join in her punishment?"

There were several cries from around the room, and she could hear Danny telling her to back down. She wanted to, very much so; challenging the woman who had raised her was not something Faith had ever wanted to do. But now, she felt that she had to - for her sister's sake.

"She made a mistake," Faith repeated, standing up. "Even elves sometimes make mistakes."

Salaya scowled and drew her sword. "You seemed like one of the smarter ones when you were a child, Faith. As a runaway, you had recognized the problem and had chosen to leave it."

Faith's metal staff, lain carefully out of the way on the floor, shot up to her hand. She placed it before herself defensively. "It wasn't humanity I was running from."

The sword slashed out at her, and Faith narrowly dodged to the side and moved quickly away from the table and her siblings. Salaya followed just as quick, with a rapid slash and stab. The slash met loudly with the staff, but the stab slid along the staff and cut into Faith's hip. She winced, and barely managed to block another slash that would have cloven her shoulder away from her chest. As the ringing from the blow died down, she said, "It wasn't really my family I was running from, either."

Faith parried the next attack, then whipped her staff around and knocked Salaya hard on the knee. It collapsed beneath the woman, but she retaliated with a slice upward that Faith had to fall back from just to evade; even then, she felt it slice into her chin. Salaya was up again quickly and brought the sword down over Faith. Again metal crashed into metal. Leaning forward to put more weight on the sword, Salaya asked coldly, "Then what is it you think you were running from."

"Being stuck.... Being lonely.... Being helpless...." Faith answered, the strain in her voice clear. "That's why... I changed my name..."

Salaya released the pressure to make a fresh attack, but in doing so allowed Faith to swing her staff up and pop her in the chin hard enough to delay her a split second. It left Faith with the time to kick at the woman's legs, her eyes flaring silver as she gave a strong mental push to make up for the bit of lost strength in her legs from the wounds in her hip and thigh. Salaya's head struck the floor first and her eyes unfocused, and the pupils danced around trying to find something to focus on. Faith stood and placed the butt of her staff against the woman's throat, careful to keep the weight from pressing down too hard.

"...from Fate, to Faith."

Salaya's eyes finally managed to look in one spot again, glaring at the young woman who stood above her. "Exile," she hissed softly, then said louder, "You and any who follow you shall be exiles!"

Faith smiled slightly, her eyes sad. "You never noticed, did you?" she asked quietly, then stepped back, allowing the woman to rise. "For all your effort and whatever elven blood you have... the elves consider me to be one of them more than they do you. You would be the exile."