Ma sa'lath ENG

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Large, blue-gray irises watched the familiar surroundings in excitement. Every muscle of his was taunt, and his body was ready to react immediately as soon as the time came.

He loved it.

THIS moment - the moment of 'just before': the anticipation of approaching the end, and – paradoxically - expectation renewing and it felt like an eternity to him. He felt confident, he knew that this time he'll get lucky and she would not escape him. That he would be better than her. He just knew it. The corner of his mouth lifted up involuntarily.

He really loved it.

His sensitive ears finally picked up the awaited sound; he quickly rose from his knees and stretched the bow’s string in the penultimate stage of his future victory. His heart was beating wildly in his chest and the adrenaline was starting to kick in.

Just one more moment, just a little longer, just...
...there she is!

An extraordinary doe, which he had tracked until now, when she finally emerged from behind the trees. Juicy, moist air worked in his favor –  the stimulating and intense aromas of the forest herbs that grew in the area made it difficult to distinguish between other - including his - odors. The animal was very beautiful. Her golden fur shimmered in the rays of the sun, which escaped through leaves of the trees and, - as always in such moments - he felt shade of regret that he would have to kill her. He thanked Andruil for the gift she had provided him, then flexed his muscles further to finally release an arrow and..

... he froze in mid-motion, completely losing interest in the doe.
He frowned, his heart skipping a beat - but this time, he sensed danger.

He didn’t hesitate for a moment – instinctively he turned around and knew that he would not have time to aim his bow properly, this time he used his weapon in a slightly different way than usual. He allowed the arrow to fall uselessly into the forest undergrowth and almost at the same time, hit the shaft of his bow straight into the face of his attacker, who was lurking behind him. A petite figure, moaned loudly. She lost her balance and landed on her back. His blue-gray eyes widened in a mixture of surprise and sudden realisation. The feeling of threat dissipating completely. He immediately threw his bow to the ground and worriedly bent over to inspect the groaning figure.

“... Lethal'lan, ir abelas! Are you okay? What are you doing, for Mythal’s sake ..?”

He didn’t even have a chance to finish the question, because the recumbent person unexpectedly made one move down and slashed him. He suddenly found himself on top of her. He only just had enough time to support the arms on either side of her shoulders, before he could crush her fine form with the weight of his body.

He gasped in surprise when he saw the face of the elf lying beneath him.

Her eyes were the noblest, opaque, and the most steel-like eyes that he had ever seen. They could give the impression of being strange and unnatural, if they weren’t full of warmth and sincere amusement. Thick, black hair, that was usually pinned up in a loose ponytail-bun combination, was cascaded around her in a crumbling mess. He returned his gaze to her eyes and slipped further into her intricate, yet delicate vallas'lin adorning her temples and forehead.

“’Lethal'lan'?” - a sonorous and mischievous voice broke his observation. “ I thought that our bond is something beyond friendship. We don’t have to hide it when we’re out of the clan’s ears reach.”

He snorted softly and shook his head with feigned resignation, then leaned over and kissed her. At first gently, which quickly changed into a more passionate kiss. Her involuntary hiss and a metallic taste in his mouth, sobered the elf. He raised himself slightly and saw her apologetic eyes. He glanced at the right corner of her mouth and leaned on his knees on either side of her thighs, allowing him to move more weight on his left hand. He lifted his right hand to gently brush her split lip with his fingertip and ran his hand over her right cheek, where - despite a swarthy complexion - began to clearly distinguish the track of his blow, in which he had provided.

He cursed under his breath.

“Tish ...” he softly spoke her name, and after a moment he added: “Ir abelas, Tish, I should have known..”
“Don't apologize to me, emma lath, because I could say the same thing” a mischievous tone crept in her voice once again. “ You must work on your divisibility of attention, my dear. I surprised you far too easily.”

“I could say exactly the same thing, ma sa'lath” he snorted sarcastically, then he rose swiftly and firmly pulled her up, helping her to stand. He watched Atisha for a moment, as she brushed off the foliage that clung to her and combed her fingers through her hair. He couldn’t refrain himself from making an angry remark. “You should be glad that I hadn’t had an  opportunity to use my throwing knifes, otherwise you might of ended up.. in worse condition.”

She paused and turned her gaze to him , searching for something in his blue-gray eyes. She frowned, moved closer and stood on her toes – then she touched his lips with hers apologetically.
“Don’t be mad, emma lath. It was just a joke.”
“Which could have been less of funny punch line” he said, but he felt his sudden anger leave him as quickly as it came. He could not hold a grudge against Tish , of which she was perfectly aware .
“Oh, come on now, don’t be a grumpy, old elf”  she kissed him noisily on his mouth and tapped his shoulder. “I'm the one who takes the relative safety precautions and you are master of mischief, remember? Come on, don’t curve up. As an apology, this time...I’ll let you win.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“Let me win what?”
She grinned broadly.
“Do you really need to ask, emma lath ? In the hunt, of course! Everyone knows that I'm better than you.”
He snorted in feigned mockery again. The anger had completely dissipated at this point and the elf began to protest, rather loudly.  He stopped when Atisha turned around and gracefully, walked away.

Well, she was right about one thing for sure - Although he was considered to be a pretty good hunter, he was no match for her in tracking. They were well matched, as he was incomparable archer.

He watched the slowly retreating figure and smiled.

He believed that he had great luck. Everything was going perfectly. He had no doubt that Tish felt the same as he did and soon he would ask the ha'hren and Keeper Marethari  permission to be bound with Tish officially. Who would have thought that the friendship of two children would transform over time into something so ... surprising, breath-taking and exciting. He was hers, and she was his. Nothing more, nothing less.

Atisha looked back and exclaimed jokingly:

“ ‘Let win’ does not mean ‘bring prey to the hands.’ Move your ass, Tamlen!”

He shook his head in amusement. He picked up his bow and stuck the arrow into the quiver on his back and followed Atisha.

They were happy.

What could possibly go wrong...?





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Ir abelas – I’m sorry
lethal'lan – sister as clanmate/friend
emma lath –my love
ma sa'lath –my one love
ha'hren – Elder
vallas’lin – dalish tattoo