By the time Owena woke the morning after going to visit Adrie, the latter was sitting up in her little nest of bedding on the rug. The wall-brazier was going, and provided enough warmth for her to be completely out of her bedding, sitting atop it as she checked over her clothing from the night before. Not only was she not in the bedding, nor in bedclothes, there were none such in evidence. This exposed a lot of scars, and some recent injuries still turning into scars,
The more recent ones were along her left side, at the ribs and along her left thigh, with some stitches still in at hip-height. Her legs and arms were heavily marked, perhaps explaining her consistent choice of long sleeves even before the weather had turned colder.
There were also some minor ones along her body, but an especially distinctive one, not recent but not faded to white, was vertical on her abdomen, along with a fine network of small white ones around it.
Owena stretched in bed. She had slept deep and sound and coming to her senses took several moments. With a yawn she turned her eyes in the direction of Adrie. She opened her mouth to greet her but after looking at her closer closed her mouth again. She sat up in bed and frowned as she looked over the other woman's scarred body.
“Adrie!” She finally breathed. “Your body…” She looked shocked, “You have so many scars.”
She swung her feet over the side of the bed and clutched the sides with an expression or worry on her face. “How.. just how did you get all those? And some still look on the fresh side! Should you even be out walking about?”
Blinking in surprise at that reaction, the little blonde shrugged and looked down at the fresh ones on her side. 'Oh, them? Shoulda seen 'em a week ago, or even two. They's fine now.' With a soft sigh, suspecting that addressing only part of the questioning wouldn't work, she added, 'Some's from growin' up street-scut, but most is from fights wi' goblin-kind an' wargs.' She gave up on, or perhaps had actually finished, the inspection of her clothes for wear or spots, and put them down.
Owena just looked her over and finally said, "Each one tells a story about you." She pressed her lips together and then said, "You are a very tough Adrie. You haven't let rough times crush you and that is really something to admire." She sighed. "Do you mind talking about it? Because I want to hear about them!"
She pointed at the newest ones. "How did you get those fresh ones?"
'Mm, wha's that they says? Necessity bein' some real motivation, or some such? Anyways, I s'pose I don' mind talkin' on it. Jus' feel a li'l silly bein' admired.' She shrugs. 'Them fresh ones is from gettin' jumped by wargs. They's a lo' smarter'n wolves, an' some is real good sneaks. Usually I sees 'em first, but... I were kinda busy avoidin' gettin' seen by several other thin's at the time, an' them wargs got to me. Purty well ruint the leathers I'd been wearin', too - an', well, tha's why I's no worse off. Tha' fight meant I 'ad to come back, though. Couldn' keep goin' with only my own field-stitchin' an' tore up armour.'
Owena's eyes grew large. "You lived after a warg attack? I would never guess that by your size. I mean no offense but..." She shook her head. "Do you have to go out alone? I really don't like the idea of my friends out where terrible creatures are lurking." She pursed her lips.
"What about that one?" She pointed to the large one on her abdomen.
'I h-had armour on, too. Leathers, anyways. They's ruint now, an' I's h-had t' make more. But tha's why I's only h-hurt s' much as I is. An', well, ain' nobody else sneaky t' go out with me.' She sighed, looking down at the older scar. 'Tha's... part o' why I were a year with the elves. The other part... be the matchin' one on m' back, where the sword went in. That one... be where it come out.'
Owena looked like she might be sick when looking at the sword wound. She muttered a few curses under her breath, which is rare for her. "I can't believe you are still walking and talking with a wound like that. What sword did that? The elves must have a magic power! Do they?" She said pulling her eyes from the wound to Adrie's eyes.
"They make me nervous. I can hardly talk to the elves that sometimes visit Bree. I would love to but they just always seem so... Or I don't know. Different?" She shrugged. "I have a few eleven cook books but some of it I can't read or I have never heard of the ingredients." She sighed and ran a hand through her red hair, trying to untangle all the knots from sleep.
"Does it ever still hurt?"
Adrie fidgeted as Owena reacted, debating with herself. She finally decided that, circumstances be damned, her friend needed some comforting over it, and moved from her little nest to sit by the other woman, intending to hold her gently about the shoulders.
'I won' say wha' they does is magic, 'cause they don'... but they is differen', it's true. An' some o' tha' difference be that they's more a... a part o' this world 'n we is, so they does thin's we don' manage t' pull off, an' they looks magic t' us. An' part... an' this goes with the firs' part... is they's mos'ly a whole lot older'n us. An' I reckons tha' thousan's of years of 'sperience be some'at wha' looks like magic, too. It ain'... but it looks like it.'
She sighed before trying to answer the rest. 'They tells me it were a real near thin', anyways - an' c'siderin' I din' expect t' wake up again when it h-happent, I's sure it were. I's told I only lived 'cause I were both bleedin' t' death an' freezin' t' death - an those got in each other's way. That an'... where I were treated... belike is the bes' house o' lore left for the elves in Endor. Anywheres else, treated by anyone else, I still woulda died. F' tha' matter, if'n tha' goblin's blade 'ad been even pinkie-width t' either side. I were jus' plain lucky.'
Owena chewed on the inside of her cheek as Adrie spoke. She leaned on her a bit while she explained. Comforted with the feel of the blonde's living body that has somehow managed to stay in one piece. She reached out and squeezed the knee of Adrie, "Goblins..." she shook her head, "When I was younger I used to think they were just made up. A part of stories meant to scare children." She glanced at the scar then looked away again. "I am really glad those old pointy eared people found you! Is your friend, the elf that is sometimes in the Pony, one of the elves that helped heal you?"
Chuckling softly, Adrie rested her cheek on her friend's shoulder. 'I wishes goblins an' orcs was only stories. An' no... Lady Cesistya be a new frien' f' me. The ones wha' h-healed me don' much leave their refuge. I still visits 'em from time t' time, o' course - but I goes t' them.'
She sighed softly. 'I wish people wasn' so put off by the differences... they ain' that differen' from us... 'sides bein' older an' thinkin' on longer time scales. Well, the ones wha' shows up t' deal with folks like us, anyways. I oughta see if'n m' frien' Drel will visit y' shop.'
Owena was content to sit for a while in silence and let some of the shock of what Adrie had been through roll away into the cozy room that blocked out the outside world and all its horrors.
Finally she said, "Is Drel ef too? Is that what you call one of them? Elf? He or uh, she would be welcome at my shop." Then she groaned, "Oh my shop." The memory of it and all the work she had left to do for the day dawned on her. "I should have already had the sweet rolls in the oven by now. I will have to give some of my regulars an extra couple for free since they will have to wait a little longer for them."
Yet, it still took her a few moments to move towards leaving. With a tight hug, Owena finally made the move to stand and stretch out, "What are you doing today?"
Adrie chuckled as Owena started to get moving, and nodded to her. 'Aye, Drel's an Elf. S'pose one'd say "is elvish", usually? Or "is an elf" like I jus' done? I ain' sure. Tha's a nickname she got from some h-hobbits a while back. H-her name's Andrelanor, but she don' seem t' mind bein' called Drel none.'
She pondered the almost-parting question, offering her friend the use of comb and brush. 'Mos'ly workin' on fixin' up m' new leathers, I reckons. They needs more workin', still.'
Owena smiled brightly to Adrie, "I am so glad we are friends Adrie. You can teach me some very interesting things." She leaned over and gave her friend a brief hug before she moved towards the door.
"See you soon!"
