If Only{{Kina/Ardell Dark Mabinogi}}You Could Have Looked Like That Sooner

Everyone knew the giants and elves hated each other. The two races always had their members fighting it out over even the most petty things. Elves would ambush resting giants with their lifted bows and soaring arrows. Giants would find a sleeping elf and stomp on him with their bone crushing strength. Even humans would often find themselves siding with one race or the other.

But no one thought it would come to anything more than these small skirmishes and silly arguments. Both sides always seemed to have a common interest in political rest- none would officially declare an attack on the other, despite many elves and giants wishing for the opportunity to display their hatred for the other through fist and arrows. Humans especially took care to remain neutral, and flat out refused to help in even the most minor of ways to the other countries.

One day the giants decided to change this.

The attack was entirely without warning. Morning came and the Elven capitol, Filia, faced an army of ten foot giants marching into their lands. Elves screamed and fought. Humans, feeling little commitment to a country of a different race, fled. By noon, the city was covered in corpses and the wounded.

The city did not fully fall until the day after. They had little soldiers -as most had gone to Tailiten to fight off Uladh's increasing emergency- and suffered the fight with civilians. It was quite a feat that they had lasted so long.

Adding insult to injury, the elven civilians were taken back to the frozen wasteland of the giants. There they were kept as prisoners for a time, then sent to the demeaning life of enslavement in the Sulfur Pits. All were branded by a chosen mark- on the left cheek of the face.

The work was difficult, with the beaming sun mercilessly beating down on their bare backs. Some didn't survive. The giants were careful in keeping any possible weapons well away from the elves, and spiked their supplied food and drink with a potion to heavily reduce their mana reserves. It was a rather hopeless matter for the elves.

Years passed under these conditions. Other elven cities fell, and the pool of workers increased. As did a spark of a rebellion.

Eventually an escape attempt succeeded -but only, sadly, by a small portion of the captured elves. Three individuals led thirty elves out of the mines, but lost five more on the way to freedom. The way was hazardous with unfamiliar territory, with few to none of the elves having ever gone into the Zardine land before the giants' attack. They had only one goal in mind- to reach their homeland, the desert. Maybe there they'd be able to rest.

They moved on south, leaving the comfortable warmth of Zardine for the harsh cold of Physis. It was, perhaps, even more dangerous than Zardine, but would need to be crossed in order to get home.


Bright light fell down on the white snow of Physis, highlighting the small camp of refugees. Tents of scavenged materials were splayed out in a circle, their center occupied by a single fire. Smoke wafted up to the sky from its timid flames, two figures working to keep it alive. Food laid to the side; it was a small amount, considering the amount of people it needed to fill.

A third figure stood a small ways from the camp, still visible by the fire tenders and any other residents. It was a male figure, with long, golden hair reaching to his shoulders, and his skin tanned to a bronze from unhindered exposure from the sun. His elven ears were tense, alertly listening for any approaching parties.

The fear of recapture was ever present.

She had never allowed herself to stop.

Ever since the sight of the ruined town- the bodies in the streets, the wounded moaning for help, the burned buildings. Ever since she realized he was not among them. She refused to stop moving.

The young woman hardly slept or rested, moving through rugged terrain on foot for the most part- (though summoning her griffin or eagle on occasion when walking any further became impossible)- not allowing herself the slightest of luxury. Her frustration and guilt had boiled into un-restrained rage and hatred towards anything that wandered into her path. He constant killing and fight-picking had earned her a well shaped, worked body-- but one riddled with horrible, deep and painful scars. She ignored the pain-- she could only imagine what kind of suffering Ardell could be going through. Perhaps hers didn't even hold a candle to his. As long as the possibility was there, she took no mercy on herself.

It wouldn't have happened if she hadn't left. This was the mindset she had sunken deeply into ever since she returned from her short training journey and saw the mess- the only thing left of her lover in that ruin his cheeky spirit bow. No lead. No rumor. Nothing to indicate to her that he was even still alive. Just the word of slaves in the north-- slaves taken from the elven villages. It gave her the smallest bit of smoldering hope.
But it had been years now. She had trained for many of them- forcing herself to become strong enough to face those that were at least twice her size- if not even larger. She had needed those years, true- but it had sacrificed precious time.
Time, in which, that could have swallowed Ardell whole.

As she trudged through the snow in a weak, numb, persistent haze, she noticed a dancing light off in the distance. Fire. Every stubborn and self-loathing bone in Kina's body was turning her away from that site- but every survival instinct that had ever been in her from birth spurred her towards it. And so she kept a steady pace towards the light-- perhaps she could walk through, catch a waft of the heat and then keep moving. She was almost to the volcano anyway.

The watching elf turned with a sudden jerk, handmade bow aimed to the approaching form. "Stop right there!" he ordered, the string of the bow crying as it was bent back. His skill with a bow and arrow had always been his greatest asset in a fight. None in the camp possessed his talent.

As the form drew closer, however, the elf's eyes began to make out the features of the woman. He recognized her staggered walk, and the manner in which she huddled to herself to keep warm. She was likely freezing.

His bow slowly lowered as he registered the low threat, but his eyes did not leave her. Nor did he move to help her get closer to the warmth. "Hey," he called out over his shoulder, the two elves near the fire looking up immediately at the sound of his voice. They too picked out the approaching woman, and made to their feet. For a long moment, they merely stared.

The female of the two elves stepped forward, gracefully but also sternly landing next to the blond male. Her hand was at her side, hovering over a found weapon that somewhat resembled a hammer. Violet eyes joined the brown eyes' stare.

Kina glared at the crowd with frighteningly fierce eyes for such a tired stature- the red color glinting in the firelight from the distance. She continued to walk, not bothering to slow down. The wanted to fight- she'd fight.
"Out of my way, bastards." She snarled, "I'm passing through. This can either be quick and easy or I can cut you all to pieces- up to you. You step to me and I kill you- that's the bottom line." Her hand hovered over the sheath of her sword. "So your best bet is leave me be."
In truth, most of her worn, exhausted body prayed they wouldn't produce a threat to her. But her venomous pride left no room for weakness in her outward facade- nor was she going to lie down if they tried to face her.
She knew elves. The second she could get close it would be over in seconds.

"Just try it," the woman elf growled. Her stance was aggressive, mouth bent into a near snarl.

"What do you want? Are you with the giants?" the male elf from the fire had come closer, hands empty. His blue eyes were wide, but not with any sort of frightful emotion. The look of them seemed almost as though he were seeing something other than just this encounter.

The blond elf did not lower his bow anymore at his friend's question. Other residents of the camp had begun to catch on to this disturbance, and were peeping from their tents. A child began to speak loudly, only to be shushed by someone much older.

"I want to get through." Kina growled, now glaring at the woman, "Better get a muzzle on that one- or you won't have her for much longer." At the question of allegiance, the woman shot a chilling glare at the elf.
"Hell. No." She hissed in a ton almost completely different then the one before. She quivered with rage at the sheer idea. Her hand was getting closer and closer to her sword. "Now get. Out. Of my way."

The blond elf stared at the woman's reaction, the belief of her being with the large brutes slowly slipping away in his head. The other male was doing something similar, but with a slight tilt of the head.

"The nerve..!" the female elf exclaimed, beginning to raise her weapon. She seemed very likely to simply jump out and strike out at the other woman.

"Wait," both the male elves spoke at the same time. The wide eyed one turned to face his companion, while the blond continued his lengthy watch on the woman. "Let's see what happens..." the second male elf suggested, blinking once.

All three stepped aside.

Kina now continued towards the fire, into the camp. She neither looked at nor addressed anyone, just walked forward- eyes on the embers. Though when she finally drew closer and she could feel the heat on her body, she suddenly felt a wave of exhaustion and her body immediately fell limply to the ground. On her back, the bow that had been strapped on slipped off into the snow.

The three elves glanced among each other in silence.

~~~~

While nowhere close to warm, the tents were at least somewhat less chilly than the bare outdoors. Each one was coated in animal furs, mostly those of buffalo. The insides were dim, with little light seeping through cracks and holes in the makeshift walls.

This sort of place is where the elves put the woman after her collapse. While paranoid, they weren't heartless. It would have been such a horrible thing to simply leave her outside in the cold, to freeze to death.

Of course, a stranger in camp called for a guard to watch her. No one wanted to take chances. So this is how the blond elf, who should have been done with his guarding shift by now, ended up sitting inside the semi-comfortable tent. He decided to make the most of this time by working on needed clothing and blankets- it was very fortunate for everyone in the escaped group that he was widely familiar with such needlework.

Up to now, the woman had merely slept. It was clear that she had worked herself to exhaustion...with whatever it was that she was trying to achieve.

Kina's body had lain motionless for several hours, taking in the much needed sleep against her will. Suddenly, however, the woman's eyes opened and her body shot up in bed. The quick motion made her head spin horribly, and she gave a groan of pain before falling back in bed.
"I..can't...just...lay down....like this...." She huffed, "...I....I have to..to find him..."

The elf quickly laid down his needlework and stood, alert and rather jumpy from the awakened stranger. As she fell back onto the bed, he stepped next to her, brown eyes looking down at her. He couldn't help but note the various scars on her face, but his notice was little else.

"..You're looking for someone, out here?" he asked, arms crossed over his chest. He seemed curious under the wariness. The paranoia was easy to ignore at the moment, as the three elves had stripped her of her weapons before taking her into the tent. The confiscated items were currently being kept in the woman elf's tent.

"I have to find him...and...kill those...damned...giants...." She continued, trying to force herself up again- but her body would not let her. The littlest bit of warmth she had felt had taken away her tough, numb facade and left her totally weak and vulnerable.

He blinked. "...If you're planning to take on some giants, you should rest first." the elf assessed. "Not that I'd stop you from leaving, but I hate seeing so many people getting killed trying to fight them." seeing her struggle again, he began to make his way back to his seat, and his needlework. He had quite a mass of pelts to turn into clothing.

"I can't." The human whimpered pathetically, "I can't just stop- they're working him. Killing him. He..He can't survive on his own-- I..I need to help him..." Her eyes welled up with frustrated and guilty tears. "I wasn't there.....it's all my fault...I wasn't there..."

By now, he had gathered that the woman was searching for an elf, or at least an elf supporter. One of the many that had been stolen from their homes and forced into slavery in the mines. He frowned lightly. "If you were to die on the way there, you'd be of little help, don't you think...?" he asked, carefully pulling the needle through some leather. His own bow lied next to him, ready for any situation.

Kina glared at him, still trying to stand. "Screw you." She hissed, "I was just fine all the way here- no damned weather or animal is gonna knock me out- i'd like to see 'em try!" She clawed at the pelts, pulling them off of her and making to stand.
She immediately fell back down.

"Damn it all!!" She barked loudly, throwing her arms down in frustration and gritting her teeth. More tears escaped her as she thought of the petite, fair blond elf being whipped- or worse.

At that, the tent flap flipped open to reveal the other male elf from the earlier trio, wide eyes staring out in front of him. "What's going on?" he asked, eyes directing themselves to the blond elf, then the woman. They had that eerie look to them that he wasn't really seeing them, but seeing through them.

"Enoch? Aren't you guarding the entrance?"
"No, Con' is." the wide eyed elf stepped inside, head tilted at the human woman. A scar was gleaming painfully on his face- a branding that went quite wrong. It was misshapen, unlike the other elves', and had an unfortunate leading to his left eye. He was lucky that the searing metal had not actually touched the important organ.

"You look ill," Enoch commented, reaching out to the human woman. He wished to check on her...perhaps use his magical affinity to help heal her, despite Concepcion's disapproval in aiding a stranger.

Kina pulled herself away from the elf, growling at him in the manner an angry dog would if it's food was being stolen. "Don't touch me." She snarled, now trying to stand again. "I don't have time for you people."

Enoch pulled his hand back, blankly blinking in a stunned, almost hurt manner. He didn't respond otherwise.

"Just don't mess with her..." the blond sighed, having never stopped in his work. "If she can manage to stumble out of here, there's no reason to stop her." his ears gave a short twitch, as though something tickled them in the freezing air.

The other elf seemed saddened, but turned away from her nonetheless. He began to head back to the tent's exit, but paused to say one last thing.

"Oh, Ardell- Con' wants you to lead some of the others on a hunting trip." his head did not even turn to see the blond elf, but merely stared ahead.

Ardell nodded. "I noticed that we were running low on food...yeah, I will, when the sun's higher. We'll all freeze out there if we went now."

Enoch gave his own nod, then left.

"Better listen to the bastard." Kina snarled at the other elf, "I'll tear you apart if you try to stop me." Though she could hardly back up her words. However, something that was said by the guard made Kina stop all of her motion. She gave a wide-eyed stare at the blond, her heart feeling to have stopped for a moment.
"......A.....Ardell...?" She huffed out in disbelief, her body shaking and tears trickling down her cheeks. She looked him over frantically, ".....N-no...no...you...you can't be him...!" She shook her head and, feeling a surge of rage revitalize her, she lunged for the blond elf and held him against the wall. Her body shook with the power she bubbled up from nowhere, that shouldn't have existed, and she looked him over once more with wild eyes.
"Ardell?!" She exclaimed, "Ardell-- that is your name?? Answer me, dammit!" She slammed him against the wall again, "Is that your REAL name?! Did you come from Filia?! A shop in Filia-- a clothing shop in Filia!" She shook more rapidly now- a combination of shock and excitement and anger all spiking within her at once, "Are you really Ardell?!"

Ardell didn't know how to respond right away, the assault taking him off guard. His needlework fell to the ground, eyes almost as wide as Enoch's. "Woah!" he exclaimed, shoving back against the woman. Whether or not that would do any good against the excited woman was debatable- he was short for his age, and not the strongest in the camp.

Understanding this, he went for a hidden knife, bringing it out and pointing it towards the woman. "Let me go." he demanded, staring at her face. Why was she reacting so harshly to his name...? He didn't have any idea until she started going through the details of where he'd lived, and the realization struck him hard. She knew him. Must have. But who was she?

"Who are you!?"

"I'm Kina!!" She barked hoarsely, tears flowing like rivers down her cheeks. "I'm Kina you ass!!" She shoved him again, but noticeably weaker. "Is it you...? Is it really you...? It can't be...it just can't be...!" She shook as she continued to cry.

"...Kina...?" Ardell whispered, face drawing blank. The knife dropped from his hand. His eyes studied her face, and, yes- there it was! The similarity was quite literally staring at him in the face. And her hostility- why had he not noticed how very Kina-like this woman was?!

His hands drew up to her shoulders, his expression astonished. "Oh my God....Kina!" he exclaimed. "You're here- what are you doing here?! Why didn't you tell me it was you!?"

Kina shook even more, feeling her legs grow weak again. She wrapped her arms around him- partially for an embrace and partially to keep herself from falling- and whimpered, "It is you...it is you..." She sobbed loudly as she clung to him, "I finally found you...!"

"You were looking for-..." the conversation a few minutes ago jumped into his head. "-...Oh...Kina...." he wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace. Tears fell from his eyes as they clung to each other.

Hearing the commotion, an elven head stuck itself through the flap to check on the two. The scene she found was a confusing one. She could only stare blankly before stepping away and heading back to her post, planning to ask later. It seemed a bit private.