Desert Refuge [Warnings Inside]

Wafa's own eyes followed the man as he walked toward the oasis, a worried expression upon his face. What had happened...? He'd find out from Hassan.

Hassan seemed miffed all right, as the silver haired elf entered the tent.

"Hassan...?" Wafa asked the man's name gingerly, not wishing to disturb any line of thought the man might have.

"Hm...?" he responded lightly, indeed sounding to be lost in thought.

"What...happened...?" he asked, fidgeting a moment. Hassan looked up at the younger elf.

"Nothing. I'm fine." he said, giving a smile along with the answer. It was a lie. He was beginning to doubt. To wonder. He didn't want those feelings. They were complicated...not worth the time and energy that would be spent on them. He knew Wafa would see past the lie. But he also knew the man's tendency to be very nosy at times. Thankfully this time...he put it to rest.

"Just...don't let it bother you too much." he said, concluding the conversation quickly. "I'm going to keep watch on you...Damien wanted me to." he included. Hassan nodded and quietly put the pipe down. Even it seemed dull to him now... he needed to think.

Walking through a village where everyone seemed to distrust you was very odd. Damien understood why they distrusted him, but hadn't he proved that he wouldn't hurt anyone? He even carried their Elder to his tent, for crying out loud! But, apparently that did no good for him. Ah, well. Let it pass and all that.

For now, think flowers. And what a lot of flowers there were. He'd finally made it toward the greenest parts of the oasis, and there were flowers everywhere he looked. Yellow flowers, pink flowers, purple flowers, blue flowers, orange flowers, and flowers of shades in-between. It was so beautiful to him, all of those wonderful flowers just waiting to be turned into something new. It was relaxing, and he began to gather as many flowers as he could, focusing mainly on the pink ones. They seemed to be the most common type here, and while they were beautiful, they weren't exactly favorites to him. They were kind of...well, a little too odd for him. These would look good in Wafa's hair.

That pale hair would look amazingly good with the light pink, so Damien settled down in the flower patches, his back toward the village, and began to weave the stems of flowers together, trying his hardest to make sure not to bend the petals. This one has to look good...hmm, I wonder what Wafa will think of it...or Hassan...I should make one for him...maybe one of thsoe blue flowers...

"How pretty...!" a familiar voice chirped, a wave of silver coming to sit down next to the man. "I could never do that kind of thing...I'd just break the stems..." Wafa said. Another familiar figure, tall and willowy walked slowly, and steadily to the oasis. Wafa seemed to already know he was in trouble with the man, and was quick to explain.

"He kicked sand in my eyes and told me to bring him..." Wafa whispered quickly before Hassan arrived.

"..." When someone came to sit beside him, Damien immediately hunched over, trying his hardest to cover up what he'd been doing, even though there was no use of it. Wafa had already seen, and Hassan already knew. "..."

Didn't elves have any concept of privacy? Didn't they understand that some people wanted to be left alone when they did things? Didn't they? "...why are you two here?"

"I was bored. And wanted an apology." Hassan said, walking up to the edge of the oasis and dipping his feet in, enjoying the cool water. Wafa immediately seemed to catch the idea that he should leave...and did it with a bit of flare. He whipped off his tunic, and took a bounding dive into the oasis, not failing to splash the elder. Hassan chuckled and shook some water from his cascading curls.

"I was bored. And wanted an apology." What did Damien have to apologize for? Hassan had been the one to drive him off. Hell, why was he still here? It was obvious that the man was fine, so he coudl go back home, no problems. But he was staying because he'd been worried.

"I don't have a thing to apologize for." He stated as he continued his work on the pink crown, glad that he was far enough away from the water so that Wafa's dive didn't wet the petals. "I didn't do a thing."

"..." Hassan said nothing. He'd come out here for nothing. He was risking opening his wounds, bearing the desert heat...for nothing.

"Do you...think at all that what you say might hurt people...?" he asked, sitting down next to Damien with a pained gasp.

"And try to come up with an answer that isn't 'you do it too.'" he advised. "Because everything I say isn't meant to be aggressive." He looked over. "From the beginning...I've only wanted to help you. You've done nothing but throw my hospitality back in my face...and been rude. Perhaps...I'm not understanding your way..." he muttered, turning his gaze to watch Wafa play in the water.

The gasp of pain hit Damien, and so did a large wave of guilt. Really, what the other said was true: he was rude, difficult, but he had his own reasons. Hassan hadn't allowed him to go home, had never given him a reason for that. If he'd just been given some water and food, he would've been able to leave and the entire thing with his sister would never have happened. Even if the man didn't realize it, he had insulted him back in the tent.

"I hurt every person in my life. I've hurt my mom and dad more times than I can count. I've hurt people I don't even know." His fingers eased another flower into the crown, making it almost half-complete. "I know that I hurt people. Sometimes, I don't try to. Othertimes, I do. There are times when I feel hurt that I just have to feel someone else hurt. Sometimes, I'm a sinner, sometimes I'm a saint. It all depends on what's happened before and what will happen after."

Poetry again, sinking into his words. "I don't mean to hurt you. I do it because, in some ways, you hurt me back. You don't realize it, but you hurt me in ways, Hassan. It happens in life. That's just how it is."

Hassan turned his eyes, gentle and unaffected.

"That is true...but what matters is whatever attempt you make to rectify it. If you acknowledge you do these things...fix them. Otherwise you'll simply mak yourself miserable..." he explained, trying to stand again.

"I...could you help me...?" he asked, obviously a tad embarrassed.

"...you're actually asking for help?" Damien's tone was incredulous, but there was a niceness in it. He wasn't trying to be a bastard this time, and he finally finished off the pink crown. Carefully he set it beside the pile of blue flowers, standing up and leaning down to help the other. "I'm surprised...I thought you would've told me to stop being a bastard and do what you say. But, you don't have to worry, remember? I'll be out soon, I promise. You won't have to worry for very long."

Hassan winced slightly as he was helped into a standing position. He quietly thanked Damien and crossed his arms lightly to hear him out.

"...I've enjoyed your company at Melenish. I would ask you come back...sometime." he said, looking aside a moment. He didn't seem to be able to make eye contact when he said it...but his voice was certain.

He wants me to visit? Damien tilted his head at Hassan, wondering if this was for real or a fake. There was always the chance he was just saying to to make Damien feel bad...

"I wouldn't mind coming back." He said, smiling slightly. "But...well...if you'll let me, I'd like to stay until you're better. I don't have to, but...I want to make sure you're okay."

Hassan smiled back, a different one from his usual slight smirk. It seemed genuine.

"You may stay as long as you like." he said, taking the pipe to his lips and taking a small drag off it. His eyes darted off again, skittish almost. And maybe...was it the desert heat...? Or was there a slight tint of color in the man's tanned cheeks...? Either way, it would have been hard to tell, for the man had turned and started back toward the village .

Hassan was unpredictable. One second, he felt like Hassan would hate him, the next second, the man was smiling in a way that--

No. He wouldn't think of that. Damien would not think of Hassan like that, no way. His smile didn't make the human's heart race, no way. It just...it was just the heat. That was all. Maybe he should join Wafa in the water. And speaking of Wafa...

"Hey, Wafa, come here for a second!" Damien called, waving for the other. "I want to talk to you about something!"

Wafa's head perked up out of the water, his hair covering his face in a way that he had to part with his hands to see though.

"Huh...? Whatcha need?" he asked, coming to the edge of the water. "What's up? Did you guys fight again?"

Damien chuckled, walking over to the water's edge, hiding the pink crown behind his back. "No, we didn't fight. He went off for a little bit, and it looks like I might be staying a while. So, I decided to get on the right track."

Here, he pulled the crown out from behind his back and settled it onto Wafa's hair, giving a small smile to the other. "There you go. Hope you don't mind it."

It wasn't like he'd done too much, really. It seemed quite cute on Wafa's head, actually. "It looks good on you."

"Oh...!" Wafa bowed his head down slightly to recieve the crown, a boyish smile on his lips. He raised a hand to gently touch the petals, glancing up at the traveler with knowing.

"I think you two will get along fine. I'm no psychic...but I think something good will come from your staying. Just be patient." he said. "And thank you! You did a lovely job...!"

Patience might've been a virtue, but Damien didn't really have it. He couldn't stand the thought of being patient, especially not about a few things...he was able to be patient while working, and he could be patient while raising his roses, but with people, it was more difficult.

"Getting along with people isn't something I do very well, Wafa. Flowers, I get along with. People...meh." He wrinkled his nose, smiling down at the other. "And you're very welcome. It makes you look adorable."

It really did: the pink flowers matched somehow with the boy's pale hair and dark skin, making him look beautiful. Maybe blue wouldn't be a good idea for Hassan's flower-crown. Maybe the orange blossoms...or the purple ones...

"What's Hassan's favorite color?"

"His favorite color? Rich reds and golds mostly. He doesn't wear them much nowadays though." Wafa said, wringing some water out of his hair.

"I think you'll come to learn that 'people' and elves are very different. Humans are commonly...stupid. Forgive me for saying so. They live only a small while compared to us...and spend a great deal of it denying themselves the simple pleasures of life. Food, freedom, sex, expression...you're so all limited. And for no real reason other than to cultivate power you don't need. Wanna know why we're 'savages'? It's not because we fight a lot. Hell, your people fight more than we do...it's because we typically don't see any difference in love. A man could love another man freely, and not be rebuked in the Tahir. But if a man held anothers gaze in the mainland...he might be killed." Wafa said, adjusting the crown of petals and standing before Damien.

"Elves...we live longer. And that in and of itself is an advantage I wish humans had. I've only lived 72 years...but Hassan...he's seen so much in eight hundred years of his life. And even yet, he's still flawed. He's lazy, stubborn, he won't talk about himself until you make him....he still acts like he was only 18. But in the mind...he's...well. I admire him a lot. I'm blessed to be his apprentice." he said with a smile. "I just wish...he'd talk to others more. And it seems he likes to talk to you. Maybe you could become friends...?"

Seventy-two!? This kid was over seventy years old!? That was...was....shocking. Amazing. An oddity! How could it be--

Ah. Right. Elf.

"Friends? ...I don't know about that. Friendships take a while to build, Wafa, and I don't know how long it'll take for him to get well. As soon as he does, I guess I'll be out of here." Damien didn't mention that Hassan had said he could visit. No need to get hopes up. "...but you're right about a few things: he's flawed. Everyone is. Everything is, no matter how much you want to believe differently. But that's how life is. All flaws. If things were perfect...well, why would we care?"

Wafa smiled and stared up at Damien.

"Exactly. Which is the reason you two should be friends. Nobody is more flawed than you two!" he said with a grin before dashing off towards Melenish again, escaping a cuff from the traveler.

Damien blinked when Wafa ran, though his expression was soon overtaken by a grin. Really, when would the next time come that he could chase a boy just for fun? Like an old game or something.

"Get back here, you little elf!" He shouted out playfully as he started to run after Wafa, pausing only to gather up a few of the blue flowers he'd picked, deciding to work on Hassan's crown later. Blue just wasn't working for him, and he could pause along the way to give some of the children the flora. "Wafa! Get back here, you!"

Now he was running after the male elf, playful determination in his face. "I'm going to get you for that remark!"

Wafa had speed along with his size, and quickly made his way back to the village, weaving in and out of tents and people. He continued this way until he ran head on into a man, carrying a bow and arrow...the same kind that Kalena's men had.

"O-Oh..." he stepped back, wary of the visitor.

Damien had run as fast as he could toward the village, the flowers still in his hands as he continued to go on, looking about for the elf with the pink flower crown on his head. "Wafa? Wafa!? I'm going to get you, you know!"

He was going to get that boy. He just had to, and he didn't know what he would do when he caught him. Maybe tug on his hair again and laugh, just to have some fun? It'd be interesting...And there he was!

"Wafa!" The blonde boy raced up toward the other, though he drew up short when he noticed who was in front of him: an archer. He wasn't as good at guessing who they were, but with Kalena's recent visit, he could guess. The flowers dropped from his hands and he froze, just watching the archer nervously. He should've run and hid, but that wasn't his style. Stubborn human that he was.