Chapter 3

Torin pov

The female was very strange and I couldn't put my finger on why. She excelled at all things elvish, especially her skills with the bow. She was very different than other humans that had managed to enter our barrier. Her saying she was dying didn't concern me, she would remain healthy in this realm if she chooses to stay. I carry the large deer over my shoulders and head back to the tree, noticing the female resting with a bulging bag at her side. I smiled at the large rabbit feet sticking out, she apparently had gotten lucky with the hunt as well. Cadac sauntered next to me holding two pheasants in his hand. I nodded to him and bent my head towards the woman. His eyes lit up at the haul she collected. Adrit came empty-handed, luck was not on his side today, but we had plenty to share with him. I set my deer carcass down and sat to lay down in the warm sun, the others did the same. My eyes glanced at the female and I scanned her features. She was short, petite, and had adorable freckles sprinkled across her nose, she was pretty. I grin and think how long it had been since I'd lain with Esmeralda, my lady elf lover. I chuckle slightly and sit up, trying to decide how we were going to transport our haul.

"Adrit, you carry this deer, while I help the female up the trees," I mumble. He nods and I shake the female awake. She opened her sparkling green eyes and frowns at me.

"We need to head back to our dwellings," I state. She nods her head and stands, eyeing me curiously and glancing at the tree. I walk over to the large trunk and show the notches carved in the tree that we use as ladders. Her brow raised and she began to climb, I stood back and watched as she climbed rather quickly and followed after. I grew more impressed the farther she got, she balanced her full pouch well and soon reached the branch we had jumped from.

Roisin pov

I'm getting the hang of this tree-climbing crap. I smile as I reach the branch and stand proudly on it. Torin nods and looks at me with a smile as well. I felt full of confidence until he started to run and jump past me.

"Hey, wait up," I yell, struggling to balance the heavy load I'm carrying. I jumped and felt myself falling backward when a hand gripped my arm and pulled me forward. I ran face-first into Torin's chest and could feel his heart racing as fast as mine. I looked up and smiled.

"Thanks for saving me," I exhaled. He frowns and removes the bag from my arms.

"This is heavy, why didn't you tell me," he scowls down at me. I pursed my lips and shrugged. Torin sighs and starts on his way once again. I followed much easier with the added weight gone. We finally reached his home and I was glad, my muscles ache and I sat on the fur couch and stretched. Torin sat my bag down on the kitchen counter and began going through its contents. He lifted the rosemary and glanced at me curiously. I go to him with my knife and grab the large hare, taking it outside to clean. He watched me curiously as I skinned it and cleaned the guts out. I presented the cleaned carcass to him. He grabs it, taking it back into his kitchen to rinse off. I go through my backpack and get my salt and pepper. I smile standing in Torin's kitchen. I nudged him over with my hip and began seasoning the meat with salt, pepper, and the other spices I had gathered.

"Do you have a spit to cook on?" I ask looking at his surprised face.

"Over there," he grins, pointing to the corner of his kitchen. I nod and get it all set up, soon the smell of roasted meat filled the room making my stomach growl.

"You are a very knowledgeable female and very efficient," Torin grins at me. I smiled back, he was right, I was an awesome female.

"Why do you call me female and not my name?" I asked him with a frown. He chews on his lips looking into my eyes.

"I apologize Roisin, I meant no disrespect," he sighs, looking away. He was a strange elf person.

"Are there others like you, in this place?" I ask. He glanced at me and nodded his head. Okay, he wasn't much for conversation. I turn the meat to cook it evenly.

Once it was finished and cooled, we both sat together at the table and began tearing pieces off to eat. It was delicious. I sat chewing and watching Torin. His eyes were morphing different colors in the low light and it intrigued me.

"You have really pretty eyes Torin," I smile, looking at him. He gave me a side glance and a slight grin graced his lips. He blushed slightly and then frowned. He was definitely an odd one.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to cause you any discomfort," I mumble, watching him avoiding my eyes.

"I'm full, thank you, this was delicious," he mumbled and went back into the kitchen. I watched him, disheartened by his sudden strange behavior.

"What should I do with the rest of this rabbit," I frown and watch Torin go to his door and whistle a high-pitched noise into the darkness. Adrit appears and Torin gives him the remaining meat. I cleaned up the mess and paused when Torin walked back in.

"I insist that you sleep in the bedroom in the back, I'm going to wash myself," he states and leaves. Well okay, mister uppity, I think to myself, he was very strange. I shake my head and continue to wipe down the countertop. Finished with the chore I stretched to pop my back and went to the furry couch. I was worn out and nodded off, falling asleep on the couch. I felt movement in my sleep and rubbed against the warmth pressed against the side of my face, I wouldn't realize it had been Torin's bare chest until the morning when I woke in a fluffy comfortable bed. My half-opened eyes widened in the darkness when I realized where I was. I sat up and grin, mister uppity had a heart after all. I move the thick cover and head to the restroom to do my business and also unpin the braid in my hair, the red wavy strands cascading around my head. I shook out my hair and wandered down the hall to the living room. A large candle flickered dim light across the small area. I see Torin spread out on the couch, one arm covering his eyes, the other laying over his bare tan chest. My eyes admired his fit form and I was curious about what the cover hid from my eyes as my view stopped at his muscled V. I smirk at my naughty thoughts.

"Can I help you?" Torin grunts. My eyes widened and I turned red at getting caught being a perv.

"Nope," I squeak and turn to the kitchen. I hear him chuckling and getting up off the couch. I glance his way and am shocked to see he's wrapped the bottom half of himself in the blanket. I exhaled and grabbed a drink of water.

"If you're finished using my bed I'm going to return to it," he grins walking past. I nodded my head watching him leave. Wow, he's a tall glass of yummy I grin to myself. I fan myself and go to the couch, it was still warm from Torin's body. I smile and lay down. I might as well get more rest, I fall back to sleep with thoughts of the strange elf in my mind.

When I woke the second time Torin was kneeling before me staring at me in confusion. My eyes widened and I stared at him.

"You were making odd noises," he frowns, standing quickly and walking away towards the kitchen.

"There are extra clothes in the dark wood closet in the hall if you'd like to change," he mumbled over his shoulder.

"Okay, thanks," I sigh, sitting up and blushed, remembering my dream and the noises I was sure I had made. I rub my face and head to the closet for a change of clothes. I was surprised by the amount of clothing that filled the small cabinet. I chose another pair of the soft leather pants and a dark gray button-up shirt. I changed in the restroom and headed for my backpack. The sun was shining brightly and I wanted to listen to music on my dead phone, so I put the small solar panel in the direct rays and hooked up my phone to charge it. Grabbing my journal and a pen I settled on the floor and began to draw. I drew several pictures of Torin, wishing I had colored pencils to capture his unique eyes. I chew on the end of the pen, deciding on details to add. I was lost in my craft and didn't realize Torin had been watching me intently. He must have grown bored and left back to his room, I was too engrossed in my art to notice. I checked my cell and smiled as I scanned through my music selection, I turned up the volume and pressed play, relaxing to the soft sounds of music. I settled back and continued my drawing. Torin rushes into the room with his eyebrows raised.

"What is that sound," he grumbles. I drop my journal as he grabs my phone.

"What is your problem, it's only music," I snap grabbing his hand with my phone held in it. He glares down at me and then looks down at my journal and the picture of him I drew. His eyes traveled back to mine and he shook his head.

"Get your head out of the clouds female, there is never going to be a you and I," he sneers. My mouth drops open and I scowl. "That's rather presumptuous of you. I never wanted anything to do with you," I scoffed. His brow raised and he chuckles. "Bullshit," he smirks, his eyes twinkling. His eyes traveled down to my drawing and I followed his gaze. I looked hard at my drawing and realized it was a little too obvious, my interest was clearly readable in the strokes of my pen on the drawing of him sleeping bare-chested on the couch. I heard the crunch of glass, pursed my lips, and released his hand, letting him have my broken phone. I just walked out the door and ran through the branches, my mind not carrying where my feet took me. I ended up where we had hunted before and I made my way down the trunk with the makeshift ladder holes. I had tears in my eyes because I had feelings, unlike that uppity asshole elf. I wipe my eyes and head to the apple tree. I pulled a ripe one off and sat in the grass and ate it. I heard the high-pitched whistle and rolled my eyes. I cover my brow to block the sun from my eyes and survey my surroundings. I walked around as my mind wandered in thought.

The strange sky had grown dark and I shivered from the chill that had come with the lack of sunlight. The light shirt I wore didn't help much. I frown looking up at the night sky. He was right and didn't care at all about me. I curse and kick my bare feet in the tall grass. I look around for something I can use as shelter. I curled myself into a tight ball and used the tall grass as a makeshift blanket. My eyes start to water again. I don't know why I was being so emotional, I'd blame it on my period but I no longer had a uterus due to cancer. I eventually fell asleep with tears running down my cheeks