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"Moon dammit it all! Move!"
Runaan had just finished his shopping at the market and was starting on his way back home when a loud clatter and an even louder curse caught his attention. It was certainly none of Runaan's business, but he found himself pausing hesitantly in his step, and drifting to the side of the cobblestone path in the direction of the irritated voice. Whoever they were, they sounded like they were in quite a state, and Runaan wasn't due back to the assassin compound until later that evening anyway. Grocery parcels in hand, he drifted through the gathered crowds, past the last few set up booths of produce, until he located the source of the disturbance.
It took the form of a large cart, its wheel half buried in what appeared to be a small sinkhole of some kind, and a very flustered and upset looking young elf trying furiously to dislodge said wheel.
He looked to be in his early twenties or so, about Runaan's age, with deeply tanned skin laced over with swirling violet marks, his hair tied back in a short ponytail between his horns. He was dressed in the durable yet practical attire of a craftsman, and it was then that Runaan remembered the hearsay that had been traveling in the Silvergrove about a Journeyman metalsmith who had been traveling from village to village looking for work. Could this be him?
He certainly seemed the type, Runaan thought, his gaze scanning unbidden from him his firm grip on the wagon wheel's edge and up the line of his arms to the powerful, flexing muscles of his back that were not entirely covered beneath the sleeveless top he wore. Runaan swallowed hard, feeling somehow hot despite the fall chill on the air. Oh, moon help him.
He managed to drag his traitorous thoughts away from this elf who he did not even know and who didn't know him as he set his bag aside and quickly stepped closer.
"Care for a hand?" He asked, already coming around the opposite side of the wheel to push on it as well.
The young craftsman jolted at his approach, his hands slipping on the smooth wood, "Shit!" He gasped, scrambling for purchase on the wheel again, and Runaan had to quickly lunge to one side in order to help him balance it again lest it tumble back into the hole again completely.
By the time they got it back where it had been before, they were both slightly breathless, both their shoulders braced on opposite sides of the wheel to keep it in place.
"Ah," the elf huffed, eyes wide, "sorry about that! But moon and shadow, you scared me!"
"I'm sorry," Runaan apologised quickly, feeling uncharacteristically sheepish, "I didn't mean to. It was just that I heard you shout, and I thought I might offer some help."
The elf, whose name Runaan would certainly have to learn at some point in this ordeal, laughed on a breathless exhale, leaning to rest his head against the side of the cart, "Well, who am I to refuse an offer from such a handsome stranger?"
Runaan blinked, feeling the back of his neck heat from more than just exertion as he tried to formulate words. Handsome. He thought Runaan was handsome?
"I-" he stumbled, "Runaan."
The craftsman's brow ticked up a fraction in confusion, "What?"
Almost immediately, Runaan realised the absurdity of what he had just said out of context. He had intended to introduce himself in the hopes of easing any worries at receiving help from someone unfamiliar. The idea had been that, if he offered his name, it might feel less like a cursory encounter than things might otherwise, but he had hardly made that clear, had he?
He cleared his throat and tried again, "You called me a stranger, which reminded me that I should introduce myself. My name is Runaan. Of the Silvergrove."
Confusion melted into delight as a smile bloomed on the young craftsman's face. "Well, I wasn't particularly worried about that," he said, "but it's a pleasure nonetheless, Runaan of the Silvergrove. I'm Ethari. I'd offer to shake your hand, but I'm rather occupied at present, you see." He chuckled and inclined his head with a knowing look toward the cart at their backs.
Ethari. Runaan was terribly embarrassed to find that It was all too easy to turn the name over and over in his mind like some lovesick fool. He had only just met this elf, and yet he was all at once entranced by him. By Ethari.
Unaware of his internal turmoil, Ethari shifted his body to press both his hands to the back of the cart, "Hm, but I really could use your help, I'm afraid. I've collapsed in an old cavern of burrowbear tunnels, and I've been trying to get this old thing back on flat ground for far too long now!"
That, at least, was safer conversation territory that Runaan could work with. He coughed to clear his throat and nodded, "Well then, it's fortunate I stopped by."
"Aye," Ethari beamed, "so it is! "
They tried a few different configurations of shoving to try and force the cart wheel back out of the sinkhole, but each time they tried, the rain-loose earth only caused the burrowed tunnel system to collapse further, creating a larger and larger hole for them to work around.
It did not take long for the frustrated owner of the cart to heave a great, exasperated sigh and lean himself against the cart once more, using his body weight to leverage it in place.
"It'll be dark by the time I make it out of here at this rate," he groaned, then tilted his head to the side to look at Runaan, "You don't have to let me hold you here hostage, you know. I would hate to keep you from anything important."
Runaan felt a bit embarrassing to tell someone who he had only just met that ensuring he made it on his way safely was actually quite high on his list of Important Things at present, so he simply shook his head, "I'm not due back to the village until after dark. I don't mind helping."
"Generous of you," Ethari panted with a wry smile, his eyes sliding shut as he caught his breath, "Generous and handsome. It's my lucky day."
A flurry of moon moths stirred in Runaan's chest. Yet another irritating physical response to being spoken so higly of by someone so especially charming. He…didn't know what to say to that exactly, which was an oddly disarming realisation to come to. He prided himself quite often with his eloquence in speaking, however when he opened his mouth to reply, what ended up coming out was…
"Well, except for your cart wheel."
A loud, deeply enchanting laugh burst from Ethari's lips, and Runaan, despite his initial humiliation, found himself quite satisfied by that reaction. Ethari was lovely when he laughed, which Runaan was beginning to realise he did quite often.
He watched until at last Ethari's laughter had faded to a manageable chuckle and he replied, "That's true. Except for my cart wheel."
In just the next moment, a chilling gust of wind reminded the two of them that it was both rapidly growing dark and also nearing one of the colder parts of the year. If they didn't get out of this soon, then…
Runaan frowned, his gaze flitting between the cart itself and the sinkhole it had gotten stuck in. Pushing it out had been a fruitless endeavour so far, and the earth was too soft to effectively put a platform beneath it to wedge it out, but perhaps there was another way?
"I have an idea," he said slowly, "It…may be a bit of a long shot, but…"
Ethari straightened, "Shoot away! I'm willing to try anything at this point."
Runaan had to agree. He turned so he was able to brace the back of the cart with both hands, just near the bottom so he could lift it a bit if he needed to, then he turned his head to speak, "Try pulling it from the front. I'll push from back here, and maybe the distributed weight will take some pressure off the edge of the sinkhole."
Ethari raised a hand to his chin, contemplating for a moment and most likely assesing Runaan's propsal for chance of success. "It's worth a try!" He said at last, before jogging around to the cart's front side
"Ready?" Runaan leaned just a bit to the side to try and catch sight of Ethari's position.
"If this works," Ethari's voice came a bit muffled by the wooden structure between them, "I'll owe you a world of favours!"
Runaan felt the corner of his lips tick up in amusement, then he drew in a deep, steadying breath and began to count, "One!"
"Two!" Ethari called.
"Three!" Runaan leaned against the cart with the entirety of his body weight, groaning with exertion as he tried to lift the back end of it while pushing it forward.
At first, nothing happened, then, with a jolt that almost sent Runaan stumbling, it popped over the edge of the sinkhole and rolled at last onto solid, even ground. He let out a long sigh of satisfaction, resting his forehead on his arms where it was still leaning against the cart back. Ethari dashed from around the front of it, eyes alight with a joyous sort of triumph.
"Brilliant!" He cheered, breathless from the exhaustion of their efforts, "Just brilliant! You're a lifesaver!"
Runaan had never been the best at receiving praise at the best of times, and certainly not from a very kind, very entrancing elf who he had just spent possibly the better part of an hour in very close proximity to. Internally, he begged the heat in his cheeks and the tips of his ears not to show on his face, though he was almost certain it was.
"It was nothing," he replied, pushing off the cart and folding his hands behind his back so he could squeeze them together into fists without it being too obvious.
"Hardly that," Ethari replied, "I'd still be stuck in a sinkhole without your help!"
Well, that was…possibly true. Surely he would have managed to get it out somehow, with or without Runaan's aid. Still, the compliment made something in his chest warm as he retreated to pick up his groceries once more before he bid his new acquaintance goodbye (though he did so hope this would not be the last he saw of him).
"I will leave you to your evening," he said, with a polite inclination of his head.
Something flickered across the elf's face that Runaan couldn't catch. He pulled at his bottom lip with something like disappointment in his eyes before he answered, "Ah, well…I…yes. I suppose that is the next step, isn't it?"
Runaan tilted his head at the blatant discontent in his tone. They had gotten along in their very brief encounter, but surely he was looking forward to going on his own way now?
"Yes," Runaan nodded slowly with the raise of one eyebrow, "Is something wrong?"
A flash of alarm, so quick Runaan almost didn't catch it, "No, no," Ethari put his hands out reassuringly, "Just, ah…"
He seemed to struggle to find the words. Worry, then frustration, then a split second of resignation before Ethari's eyes widened in delight, as if he were coming to a realisation.
"You're headed back to the Silvergrove, aren't you?" He asked with a growing smile, "I'm on my way there myself. You're…ah…welcome to walk with me if you'd like."
The last bit was said with the barest trace of hesitance, as if Ethari were nervous to offer such a thing. It made Runaan feel a bit better about the swift onset of flustered heat in his cheeks and his chest. Something about that seemed oddly intimate to Runaan. It felt like something that crossed the line between simple acquaintances to almost friends. Did Runaan want a friend?
'If it is him?Yes.'
"I would not mind the company," he replied, "if you're willing."
Ethari positively beamed. "Well, I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't!" He stepped around his cart to take hold of the frontmost handles, "Let's be off then, Runaan of the Silvergrove!"
And Runaan, as if drawn to him by some invisible thread, was helpless to do anything but follow.