"Oh, I can't wait to show you around!" Elisha said, spinning in a circle. Her dress spun around her legs, momentarily making a full circle. She proudly marched forwards, while the two Watchers stayed a bit behind her. If Xelqua was alone, he would have kept pace with her.

However, he wasn't — Miesall was there, studying her every move. He had brought his wings in as he slinked behind, almost as if he were a thief in the shadows, ready to attack. On the other hand, maybe he was a cat that was about to get a bath. His eyes darted about wildly, inspecting every elf to ensure his and Xelqua's safety.

Out of habit, Xel also looked at every elf, but he found nothing notable among them. Many of them had resumed their normal duties, if they had been interrupted at all. A few ran into their houses and returned wearing a mask to cover their mouths and sometimes their noses. (What this meant, Xel wasn't entirely sure.) Their eyes narrowed, and their ears twitched, but eventually they went back to work as well.

"Say," Elisha said as she turned around, walking backwards now. "What are your names? You never told me."

'Do not answer that.' Miesall scolded, shooting Xel a look. He knew exactly what was going through that head of his.

Xelqua had seen him of course, but deliberately decided to ignore it. Trying to hide all information they could would only further bring tension between them and the elves. He wanted to show that the elves had nothing to fear and that by doing so, the still prying eyes would relax.

"My name is Xel—" he began, but Miesall gave him a good kick in the shin. He hollered in pain. "-qua." He looked to Miesall, frowning. 'You didn't need to kick me!'

"It's nice to meet you, X-eye-ow-a." Elisha giggled, finding humor in the situation. She turned towards them momentarily, flashing a rosy grin that covered her full face. "Your friend is silly!"

'Such obscenity at such an age!' Miesall recoiled, nearly growling. 'These bastards have clearly been corrupted by their higher species.'

Xelqua tried to laugh it off, and did so with very little success. 'Miesall, that's not what she meant. She just realized that we are together.' He tried.

'Together?' Miesall inquired, frowning even more. Needless to say, he was not in a good mood.

Xelqua flushed, waving his hands. 'I mean, traveling together!' He quickly clarified. Miesall relaxed a little at this, though it was clear that he was still in a sour mood.

'You must be more careful. Any information about us can and will be used against us.' Miesall warned again.

'What wrong could telling our names do?' Xel inquired, frowning now as his blush faded.

'I wish to not find out.' The creature shivered darkly, his gaze locked onto the skipping girl ahead of them both.

~🌤~

Xelqua loved wandering around the village, seeing the ins and out of it. There was a cute little bakery, in which they were given free samples. The delicacy — an elven kiss, it was called— was a sugar cookie with a drop of chocolate in the very center. It was melty, evidently fresh from the oven as scents wafted from them.

Xelqua gladly took the offering from the baker, finding from the very first bite that the cookie was almost sickeningly sweet. More than used to the plain simple foods they had the last few days, along with the same palate back on Evolution, he welcomed the taste gladly. He couldn't believe that players (well, hybrids he supposed) could now craft such an amazing food without any help of villagers.

Miesall, on the other hand, refused to try a bite. Even when he could see Xelqua's reaction, a part of him deep down insisted that the treat somehow had been poisoned, or that it was a trap of some kind.

Eventually, after some back and forth, the former human decided to drop it and continue on, witholding a sigh.

~🌤~

Next, Elisha took them to a tailor shop, wherein an middle aged couple sat side by side behind the counter, stitching away. The area was full of mirrors, outfits and designs surrounding them.

The man got up from his seat, setting aside the trousers he had been working on. He frowned as he got up and walked over to the counter.

"Elisha, who have you brought here?" He asked. Underneath his tone was a sort of sharpness like a needle: thin, delicate, hard to be detected at first glance, but most certainly there. Miesall saw it immediately, frowning even more than he had been. Xelqua saw it too, but instead of frowning, he tried to smile regardless.

"Oh! They're people I found in the forest!" She exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "Eldar told me to show them around!" Straightening her back, she lifted her head in pride. She was a big girl, having been assigned a big girl task.

The man's wife, who pretended to be focusing on her own design, visibly relaxed at that. The man wasn't so easily pleased, however.

"What does Eldar think he's doing?" He muttered under his breath. From underneath the counter he grabbed a scrap of fabric that had been lying there. He quickly and skillfully draped it across the lower half of his face, tying it behind his ears so it wouldn't fall down. He made sure to continue staring at the Watchers the entire time, studying their every move. Out loud, he demanded, "what business do you two have in our village? Have you come to destroy it?"

His wife gently set aside the garment now, coming behind him. She gently laid her hand on his shoulder, a silent reminder that if their leader had made the choice in welcoming these two, then he must have good reason for it.

"We accidentally fell into this world." Xelqua explained, trying not to cringe at the insult he had just been given. Miesall gave him about the hundredth glare for that day, but he had long since decided that he would talk to the village folk like normal people. Even if some seemed prejudiced, they were normal, everyday people after all. Standing there refusing to speak wasn't going to do them any good, as it would only allow their false conceptions to be confirmed in their minds. He was still determined to show Miesalt that elves were just ordinary people, unworthy of all the scorn he had been giving them.

The elf hummed, his eyes moving rather shiftily as he seemed to looking for something. "You can't just go back?" He asked, a clear frown in his voice. "Aren't Watchers supposed to be able to create portals at will?"

Xelqua shook his head. "I'm afraid not. Miesall says that this is some kind of void, which apparently means we're stuck here until we can find the portal back to spawn."

Miesall slapped him with his wing at this, still wanting any information on them to remain a secret.

"Miesall!" Elisha exclaimed, turning to the Watcher with stars in her eyes. He nearly jumped back, realizing she had taken some sort of special interest with him. "What a pretty name! Like some kinda warrior princess!"

'Princess?!' Miesall signed, nearly throwing his hands as he felt himself turn a little purple. 'What kind of nonsensical idea is that from?! That sounds nothing like a princess name! That is more like, Sparkles or something!'

Xelqua only laughed, patting him on the back. 'She's just a girl. Kids come up with the strangest things.' This did not make him feel any better. 

"Miesall..." the tailor repeated, his eyes narrowing further. He turned away from the others before saying, "The youngest one, if I am not mistaken... you are not welcome here. Leave this place." With that, he walked into the door behind the desk.

His wife looked from him to the Watchers, giving a frown — torn between the actions of his lover and the decision of their leader. She submitted to him, gaze turning away.

"But—" Elisha began as Miesall already began heading for the door. He knew that he hadn't been welcomed here from the beginning, and he didn't care to be.

"Not now, dear." The woman said, her voice soft but with a backbone to it. Xelqua frowned, but he didn't argue. Like always, he followed Miesall out like the semi-obedient student he had been, and Elisha followed him in turn.

"I'm sorry," She said as she closed the door behind her. "We've heard bad things about Watchers. My mommy told me they were evil, but you seem really nice, honest!" She spread her arms, gesturing to the two of them.

'She is rather misguided.' Was Miesall's only reply.

Xelqua frowned, looking from one person to the other. Opposite sides in a strange sort of face off. He had wanted Miesall to see that elves were just regular, normal people, but they had been greeted with mixed reactions. As much as he hated to admit it, if he were in Miesall's shoes, he probably wouldn't lower his guard much either, seeing as they clearly were not welcome by all. By most, in fact.

"It's not your fault." He replied, forcing a smile. "You've been a great host."

Elisha gave a small smile as she tucked a lock of hair behind her pointed ear. "Thank you." She said before continuing her tour through the village she called her home.

~🌤~

They see you when you're sleeping

They know when you're awake

They know when you've been bad or good

So be good for goodness sake!

...Also, they give gifts and if you're bad you get coal.

So fun fact, both Taurtis and Martyn have pointed out this song about Santa fits the Watchers perfectly. I'm even happier now that I made Miesall's birthday on Christmas--

On a more serious note, however, I will say that the holiday season is coming. That means I've been a lot busier and updating less. I do feel bad about that, but I also don't want to stress myself out more. I might not update next week with Thanksgiving and everything; who knows. (I still love this series and you guys as well though; promise!)