Yvenna held Siv by the hand as she ran lightly around the tree. She was elegant and graceful, and whenever she cast a smile back at Siv he felt his face turn red.
She laughed as he stumbled and nearly fell, tripping on one of the myriad of roots stemming from the willow tree. They had left their weapons behind, and came up out of breath to wherever Yvenna had led them.
Looking up as he supported himself on his knees, chest heaving, Siv saw a pool behind the tree. The water was completely reflective, almost metallic. There was not a ripple on its surface.
Siv, exertion forgotten, walked to the edge of the pool in curiosity. He had never seen something quite like it. Yvenna walked to his side, hands behind her back as she looked to him for his reaction.
Yvenna, pushed ahead of him, and gave him a smile. She leaned over the pool. Ripples formed, showing fragmented reflections that were not with them in the real world. Yvenna could be seen in some of them, both older and younger versions of her. There was scenes of blood, of tenderness, and everything in between.
All of it flashed by so quickly that Siv could not comprehend if there was any sort of timeline or reason to it. The pool seemed to choose randomly what scenes it showed.
"Whoa..." Siv said, marveling at the images. He had not failed to notice that Yvenna would mature very gracefully. "Can I try?" He said, once the ripples slowed and the water was still once more.
Yvenna smiled, stepped back and gestured for him to try. Siv walked to the bank. He wondered if he would see himself when he was older.
He stopped at the edge of the water, then leaned out over it. Instantly the water turned black. Pure black. Siv was overcome with a ravenous hunger. It took every ounce of willpower he had to not dive into the water and drink until he burst.
The water writhed and thrashed against the force containing it, seeking to consume Siv right back. His eyes were glued to it. He could not look away. He felt bile rising in his throat, and finally ripped himself away from the pond. He collapsed to his knees, vomiting into the grass.
Yvenna's hands were over her mouth, and she looked horrified. Siv crawled away from the horrid pool, which was still pure black and writhing, trying to get at him.
"Gods..." Yvenna whispered. After a moment of hesitation, she came to Siv's side, squatting next to him. She put her hand on his back.
Siv's lungs were burning. It was as if he could not retain any oxygen no matter how much air he gulped in. He clutched his chest, feeling a horrid pain coming after the ravenous hunger. He vomited again.
Finally, he collapsed on his back in the grass, chest heaving. Yvenna sat next to him, looking at the once-again placid water.
"What the hell is that?" Siv asked.
Yvenna pursed her lips. "I don't know. I've never heard of it before. But whatever happened when you looked into it... can't be good."
Siv coughed out and spat. "Yeah. No shit." Yvenna looked at him askance. It seemed she didn't approve of swearing.
Siv sat up now, looking hatefully at the water. "So you get to see your future and past, and I see nothing and throw up?" He grimaced.
She whipped her head up to look at him. "You know what I saw? Every time I look I forget it immediately afterward... What did you see when I looked into it?"
Siv frowned, returning her look. "Uh, I saw you as an adult..." He blushed a bit. "And I think as a little girl... then a bunch of random scenes that were sort of like a dream. I couldn't really make sense of them."
She grabbed his arm. "What else did you see? Did you see any other people?" She gripped tighter.
"Ow! No, it was only ever you in them. I saw some stuff that looked like blood, and got other general sensations like... uh, I don't know, love? from it. But otherwise, nothing." Siv was confused. She had forgotten everything after looking at her reflection... did that mean he had seen something in the water?
Siv was displeased. He did not like the idea of something meddling with his memory. But more than that, an uneasiness had taken hold. If the pool had shown Yvenna her past and future, then it must have shown the same for him... but whatever he had seen had been so horrible that it caused that reaction.
Not to mention the overwhelming sense of hunger. Like he had to consume every drop of liquid in the pool.
"Siv? Are you okay?" Yvenna was looking at him with concern. Siv snapped back, realizing he had been staring at her face while thinking. He blushed and looked down.
"Yeah, I was just thinking that if you forgot what you saw then I must've forgotten what I saw..."
Yvenna nodded. "That makes sense. But how come you could see the pool while I was looking into it, but I couldn't see when you were?"
Siv shrugged. "Maybe has to do with me being human and you being an elf. Or maybe with me being Marked."
"You never told me what you were marked by." Yvenna said.
"Yeah, the old man told me I shouldn't tell, but what the hell..." Siv sighed. Yvenna seemed trustworthy, though, and she seemed knowledgeable. "Marked by Death."
Yvenna's brows furrowed. "I've never heard of such a thing. Sounds ominous, though."
They sat for a moment, thinking on the experience.
"I, uh, was also really, really hungry for a moment. I remember the overwhelming desire to consume whatever is in the pool." Siv said.
Yvenna looked thoughtful. "Maybe the pool was... scared of you. Death is the end of all things, after all, and you are Marked by it. Whatever it showed, maybe it was as afraid as you would have been, if you remembered it." Siv looked at the silver surface of the water.
"I'm just a kid, though. Why would a magic pool of questionable origin be afraid of me?"
Yvenna smiled gently. "I don't think you're just a kid anymore, Siv. I mean, you are the disciple of Taln the Oathbreaker, Marked by Death, and the chosen of Eiranhal." She laughed a little as she said the last part. "If the pool really does show past and future, maybe it was afraid of your future."
That ominous note quieted them once more. 'Huh. Good going, pool. Made me look like a real badass in front of Yvenna. Except for throwing up and falling over.' He scowled a bit. Bastard pool.
Yvenna stood now, gesturing for him to follow. Casting one last hateful glance at the silver surface of the water, Siv followed the girl.
...
Yvenna, over the next couple days, showed Siv around the cave. They ran around the field of beautiful flowers, climbed a ways up the trunk of the great willow, ate some of the fruits that Eiranhal brought back, and generally had not a worry in the world. Well, maybe Yvenna didn't.
Siv wasn't worried about Taln, per se, as he definitely knew how to handle himself. And he definitely wouldn't die. If he really had lived thousands of years, he must have come across far more powerful beings than the Wendigo.
Nor was he worried about Ilrien. That guy still kind of creeped him out. Plus, if he was also a supplicant of the Bound God, he probably wasn't easy to kill, either.
He was worried that he would never escape the cave. While he was happy to spend time with the elf girl, he was beginning to wonder how long this fragile equilibrium could stand.
Eiranhal had come back a couple times, but spent most of his time outside of the cavern. Siv didn't know what the great stag was doing. He didn't seem quite intelligent enough to converse with, but he did seem to have some measure of knowledge.
Siv brought his attention back as Yvenna delicately weaved together blades of verdant grass into a lattice. The blades were robust and fairly long, and she had a practiced hand. She appeared to be making some kind of bracelet or charm. Occasionally, she would bring the structure up to her lips and whisper a word.
The world itself seemed to stir around her as she did, responding to her summons. It was quite similar to the effect Eiranhal seemed to have, albeit far less powerful.
She had been working on it intermittently, it seemed, for a the last couple of weeks. She would occasionally walk around the tree and pick up fallen leaves from the willow. The ones she had chosen were about five centimeters long, and tapered to a point.
The light blue leaves were deftly woven into the lattice of grass, and she brought it up once more to whisper something into it. Beads of sweat appeared on her brow, and she furrowed it in concentration. She spoke again, this time a phrase into the lattice. As he watched, he could see the lattice draw itself tighter, and the leaves incorporated themselves perfectly with the grass.
She held it out in triumph, a smile beaming across her face. Siv smiled as well.
She looked at him, and held out the charm. With a smile, she said "For you. To remember me, and this place."
Siv started. "I can't take that, you've spent so long on it!"
Yvenna laughed a bit. "It is a common charm among elves. Really, I can make more. Although, this one is a bit special." She looked at the tree curiously. "I think the grass and willow leaves had an effect I didn't necessarily intend."
She looked for a moment longer.
"But, anyway, I want you to have it. So please, take it. I'm not very skilled in lifeweaving yet, but I tried my best." She held it out to him once more. Siv took it. Immediately, he felt a strange warmth emitting from it, similar to the one that had emitted from Eiranhal's horns.
The bracelet expanded to allow his hand to fit through, then tightened around his wrist. He held it out with a grin, admiring it.
"Thank you, Yven." He blushed a bit. He wasn't much for nicknames but she called him by his so...
Yvenna laughed. "That's a cute nickname. And you are welcome. Siv." She smiled at him.