Snippet #2343059

Finn managed not to cringe when Elliot called his name and put down his wooden spoon as she moved to sit beside him. Not because he didn't like her; everyone seemed to like the affable healer and Finn was no exception, but because she was perhaps the only person who knew the full extent of what had been done to he and Aleric during their time in the crypts under the castle and that in itself added another unwanted layer to the sense of vulnerability he was trying still to shake off.

"Like death," he said, sardonically. "But better for this," he added, waving his spoon at his breakfast.

Not wanting to discuss the minutae of the healing process he'd been undergoing in front of the ragtag group of people sitting at the fire, he rapidly changed the subject.

"Is that your brother?" he asked, nodding towards Carson.


"Like death," Finn replied, to which Elliot stiffened a little. It saddened her to see someone in so much pain, especially when the cause of it was so sick. "But better for this," He added, indicating the food. Rae smiled, glad he was able to stomach the food.

"Is that your brother?" Finn asked, nodding towards Carson.

"Yes," Rae replied happily, spotting her brother on the other side of the fire, engaged in a loud conversation with several other men. "His name is Carson; we joined the rebellion together. You'd like him." Running a small hand through her hair, Elliot flicked her eyes towards Finn, then back to the fire. "Were you and Aleric close, before everything happened?"


Resuming eating, Finn raised an eyebrow at Rae's question then glanced in the direction of Aleric's tent. He was certain that, if the two of them had been resident at the rebel camp for longer, or if they'd roused enough strength to spend more time in the company of the rebels, the answer would have been obvious.

"The last time I saw him before my uncle- the king, I mean- died, he was a boy, not a man. Play-fighting with wooden swords in the corridors of the castle... It must have been six or seven years at least," he said, in between mouthfuls. "So no, we were not close."

He set down the spoon into the empty bowl and luxuriated in the sensation of a full stomach. It was still a novel feeling.

"Anyway, once you know us a little better, you will see we are not at all alike," he added. "Much to my own detriment."


Elliot didn't know much about Finn at all, or if he'd grown up around his cousin, or what their relationship was like. Though she all but worshiped the King as a young girl (her father often told stories of his heroism and good heart), she hadn't cared much for the prince or any other royal family members. Her brothers used to tell her they were rich bastards that didn't care for people such as themselves. It was hard to remember thinking such things when seeing Finn and Aleric in such a frail state.

She had been hoping that he'd say yes, that they were like brothers. It was so awful what he'd been put through, Elliot had hoped Finn had someone to rely on; someone from his past that would help him through this whole mess. But his reply to her question confirmed he didn't have anyone, everyone he was close to was gone. Rae mumbled an oh, and looked away.

"Anyway, once you know us a little better, you will see we are not at all alike," Elliot looked back at Finn as he spoke. "Much to my own detriment."

"I do look forward to getting to know you both better; but you're perfectly lovely, Finn." Elliot considered him for a moment, then continued, "We'll be good friends. Then we'll take back this kingdom, put that son of a bitch Skorn in the ground - along with his army - and you'll have your life back." Elliot smiled, knowing what she was saying was a bit silly, but she hoped it would make him feel a little better.


Finn matched her smile with his own and cocked his head at her.

"Perhaps. And perhaps by then you'll have learned to take what I say less seriously too," he said. He opened his mouth to say something else but paused as the blonde wood-elf who'd been sitting at the table across the fire from them stood up and cautiously approached Rae. Sensing that this was not something he was supposed to be a witness to, he retrieved his dagger (given to him when he'd first been taken back to the camp) pretended to examine it closely before picking up a piece of branch from the floor and beginning to whittle it down.