the joy of it all ...

   Now that the four of them were free to travel during the daylight hours, they were making better time than they previously had.  On the second day, they could see a village in the distance, and the smell of food being prepared was reaching them occasionally on the breeze.

  Naturally, Eldrin was the first to remark on the scent in the air.  "Oh, my goodness, I can't believe how much I've missed real cooking.  I hope they invite us to stay a night.  No offense, Lyri, but purple beauty berries and weeds just don't fill me up like a good rabbit roast does."

  Lyri side-eyed him, "Umph.  See if I try to cook for you again."  When she had been born, the fairies had given her the gift of conviviality which had served her well as she got older.  Others in their forest community, not just Kael and Thalion, had developed an adoration for her, and whether she knew it or not, she'd often been protected from harm by the forest animals.  It was taking Kael a great deal of willpower on this journey to not speak of his feelings for her because he could clearly see that Lyri and Thal cared deeply for each other although neither of them showed it in front of him or Eldrin.  It was as it should be, and the change in Kael kept him from speaking out and risking his newfound friendship with both of them.

  The closer they got to the village, the more they could hear the mellow, gentle sounds of a guitar.  "Perhaps it is a celebration?" Lyri remarked.  "It would be nice for one night to relax and dance, don't you think, Thal?"

  "Hmmm.  Perhaps.  We will have to see what kind of a reception we get from them when we arrive.  These are unfamiliar woods, and we don't know if they are wood elves who would welcome us or something else.  I think it would be wise to observe from a distance before we just waltz into their village."  Vondran's warning to him that not everything in the forest was friendly to wood elves was still on the back of his mind.

 [This is an ongoing chapter a week story that began with the first Words for Wednesday for 2025 on 1 January. I'm hoping to continue it through 31 December, the last Wednesday of the year. To start from the beginning, click on the Words for Wednesday 2025 label to the right and it will pull up all of the weekly posts, beginning with the most recent. To start from the beginning, continue to click "Older Posts" at the bottom of the page until you get to 1 January 2025, then click "Newer Posts" to read the next date. You can thank Blogger for the inability to list them by chronological order under the labels.]

This week's Words for Wednesday prompts can be found here.