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The elements are.... Blue A bee A healing (subject to interpretation) A surprising bond A nut This month’s story was brought to you by “May It Be” from the LORD OF THE RINGS soundtrack: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7MLT4MmAK8 And the scene with Stream trying to heal the human child is brought to you by The Foo Fighters and their song “Home” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jA4Mmk1nfPg As well as Eric Clapton’s “Tears in Heaven” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxPj3GAYYZ0 May it be the shadow's call Will fly away May it be you journey on To light the day When the night is overcome You may rise to find the sun. ___________________________________________________ Shadow looked at Foxhair, then to his cub, then back to Foxhair. “The human… he was… taking care of our cub.” After a moment he looked at her, “How? How are you here so quickly?” “My mother,” Foxhair replied. “I had a dream about her – a memory.” Just then Stream came into the cave and placed her hand on the human boy’s chest. “I brought her with me,” Foxhair answered Shadow’s unspoken question. Shadow dropped his sword and picked up his cub. He turned to Stream. “You have to save the human.” “I’m trying,” Stream screamed at Shadow. Foxhair stood up and embraced Shadow and Snowspring. “What have I done,” Shadow repeated over and over. “What have I done…” Shadow handed his cub to Foxhair and began pacing back and forth. “You must save the human, Stream.” Beads of sweat raced down Stream’s forehead; her hair drenched as she used her magic to reach outward, to heal a familiar, yet strange body. She was used to healing elves; their bodies were naturally receptive to the touch of magical healing; human bodies were not. She could feel the young child’s body fighting her healing, believing it an invasive infection of some kind. “Get… him… out…” she finally growled through clenched teeth. “Come my love,” Foxhair urged Shadow out of the cave. Shadow followed, shaking his head. “I was blind by rage,” he said. “I’m sorry.” He looked up at Foxhair, who simply smiled back at him. “You were forgiven long before you ever needed to ask,” Foxhair smiled. She followed Shadow’s gaze, which was focused on the mouth of the cave. “I am sure Stream will do everything she can to save the young human.” “I know she will,” Shadow whispered. He looked down at the bundle of joy in Foxhair’s arms. “Our peanut is alive… our cub is alive… alive… I cannot believe it.” “She’s a fighter,” Foxhair could feel the tears brimming in her eyes, then race down her rounded, blushing cheeks and landing on her cub, who seemed to coo and giggle at the feeling of the warm, salty moisture landing on her face. “She takes after you, my love,” Foxhair sobbed. “She will make a fine chieftess one day,” Shadow smiled, brushing back the black hair of their cub. “A chieftess who owes her life to that human boy. A chieftess I hope, who does what I have done – made attempts to understand the humans. I hope she can grow up to do more. To one day make peace with them. To be able to live side by side.” “No one has ever thought as you do, my love,” Foxhair smiled. “All the more reason, it is so easy to love you.” Inside the cave… Stream’s fingers burned. Dizziness swept through her mind, pounding aggressively in her skull, encouraging her to stop, to lay down, to rest, and let the human child die. After all, she heard some distant voice of doubt whisper, what have they done but brought death and destruction, time and time again? Save this child, and he will spawn more children, bred with the boiling hatred to see the “demons” killed. “No!” she screamed aloud, to no one in particular. She looked down at the young boy, watching his hands clenching repeatedly, biting his bottom lip, and drawing blood, as Stream’s magic attempted to mend not just the flesh wound; but to repair the organs within his body that Shadow’s blade had pierced. “You need to let me heal you, child,” Stream whispered. “You need to let me heal you, please.” Now tears mixed with the beads of sweat that drenched her face, making it impossible to tell the difference between the two. “I need you to live, child,” Stream repeated. “I need you to do it for my chief. He needs you to live. For the first time since your people attacked, for a very brief moment – I saw it in his eyes – the hope when he saw his child still alive. I saw him the way he was before your people came and murdered our tribe. I saw the Shadow that was alive and strong. Not the broken chief he has been since your people came. I need you to live, because if you do not, even with his child, he will live with the guilt that he has killed the one human who saved his child.” “Please don’t die,” Stream pleaded, feeling her strength sapping away rapidly. “Please live… for my chief…” Suddenly Buren’s eyes opened wide, and his sea blue eyes dilated as he took in a deep breath. “High Ones,” Stream uttered, before collapsing on top of Buren’s healed wound. Stream slowly came to consciousness. Her head was still pounding. Intense, sea blue eyes stared back at her. “Bales daran furel.” She blinked, uncertain if it was because of the headache that was screaming between her ears, or if she really couldn’t understand and comprehend what was happening. “You did it,” said a more familiar voice. She turned her head and saw Shadow crouched down beside her. “He says, ‘You saved my life.’” Stream began to weep madly. “No,” she wiped the tears away, “He saved our lives by saving your cub, my chief. I was so worried for you. My healing can not heal the soul – and your soul was broken by what his kin had done. But in the moment you saw your cub – I saw it – I saw hope in your eyes again. I needed the boy to live. I needed the boy to live. Because I needed you to live.” Shadow wrapped his arms around Stream and held her tightly for a very long, silent moment, broken only by the weeping each of them shared. The human moved his furs and showed Stream the small scar that remained. “Boalar ta dien.” Shadow pulled back and smiled, wiping his tears away, “He says it looks like a bee’s sting, nothing more.” As the others arrived to the cave, all sharing in their joy, Stream remained leaning against the floor of the cave; both because she was exhausted, but also for another reason. She stared at her hands. It was gone. She could feel it. Her magic to heal had burned itself out trying to save this human child. And yet, she would have it no other way. She listened to everyone’s joy and laughter. She would give up her powers. She would even give up her life. To hear the joy and laughter she heard in the cave. TO BE CONTINUED…