The story so far:

~ Bunny lives in her hometown, swallowed by seawater. To escape to the City, her cousin Ira has been arranged to be married to Dhir, who lives in the City. Bunny helps her cousin Ira to flee from her own wedding by planning a 'kidnapping'. Bunny has won the Talwar competition allowing her to attend the International Training Tour. Bunny and her family move to the City, helped by Dhir's family. She attends a new school. Bunny makes a new friend - Raaga, and an enemy - Aakhya, who bullies her all the time. Bunny has been suspended from her Training because she hit a contestant for personal reasons. She is upset, and now she cannot compete even in the next year's competition due to the duration of the suspension. Aakhya continues to bully her, and when Garg talks to Bunny, it infuriates Aakhya, and she pours paint on Bunny's hair as revenge. Bunny cuts her hair as she won't attend dance classes for a long time, and is sure her hair will grow back in that time.

~ Bunny's family is furious to see that she has cut her hair. After a fight, Bunny runs away to her hometown; her cousin Ishn follows her. When at her ancient family home, she comes across an old, locked room. Inside she finds a wooden box containing old, forgotten photos and jewellery. She finds a stone pendant, and later she is enveloped by a bright light.

~ Te'anor is a Ru'fnur on Ytèan. After solving a major case, he gets a promotion but isn't satisfied with it. He is back at home in Ri'lew, 8 years after he first left. His mother, Ruh'vi, prepares a feast for his arrival to be held after his father returns home. Te'anor's sister Ea'nir informs him of a Badh'wfr that would be held in a neighbouring town and asks Te'anor to go with her and help her stop it. When Te'anor disagrees, Ea'nir tells him that the bride being sold is human. So Te'anor plans to go, as helping save a human might give him a better promotion.

~ Te'anor and Ea'nir go to Ri'npr to attend the Badh'wfr along with two defenders. When they attend the event the human girl manages to escape from the venue. Te'anor chases after her.

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****6. Te'anor****

Te'anor caught a glimpse of An'ri running into the turfs of kipn.

He ran after the defender; he had to get to the human girl before other Ytai did. Te'anor leapt into the throes of the kipn; this time of year saw the reeds at its tallest and densest.

The reeds scratched his skin, reaching through his robes as he ran, parting them with his hands. He listened to every sound that made its way towards him, trying to catch An'ri's footsteps. He ran to An'ri on hearing his voice; he was asking the girl not to move in Ytèan.

Te'anor found them in a small clearing in the tufts of reeds around a stubby pond of water. The human girl was halfway in; her feet caught in the dense, wet mud. She still had managed to turn around, and she slashed her sword at An'ri as a warning for him to stay away. An'ri tried to get her to calm, and Te'anor was certain the defender was using compulsion. But it wasn't working on the girl.

Te'anor wished, now more than ever, that he was an Arh'ait; he would have learnt the language of the humans. The girl was from the Earth – she didn't know Ytèan, and he didn't know her language. And An'ri's compulsion wasn't working on her; it was getting difficult to get her to calm down. But there was no way to blame the girl; to her, everyone there posed a threat.

An'ri turned to him, "Do you know her language Ru'fnur?"

Even in the current situation, the man managed to instil as much contempt into his voice as he could. What was An'ri's problem with him?

"No," Te'anor admitted angry both at An'ri and himself. "Ea'nir can put a translation-rune, later."

"You mean that you can't?" An'ri raised a brow.

"No, An'ri, I can't rune," Te'anor's fury rose. "Now if you could move, I'll try to get her out."

"How? She clearly knows how to handle a sword."

"Afraid of a human, defender?" Te'anor smirked making An'ri scowl.

Te'anor surveyed the human girl, in the time he and An'ri had been spitting insults at each other, she had gotten one foot out of the deep, clinging mud, and was working on her other foot by digging with the sword. Te'anor advanced towards her, slowly, keeping his hands out to show he held no weapons. Her eyes found him moving towards her and she held the long-sword out at him; it was covered in wet mud. Te'anor put his hands up to indicate he meant no harm and stopped for a second. The girl held the sword steady in her hands waiting for him, but she made no moves to attack him. Te'anor continued to take slow steps to her; her breathing quickened, and he hoped the other Ytai didn't find them at this very moment, else she would bolt.

"I will not hurt you," he spoke in Ytèan, keeping the tone of his voice gentle. Even if people didn't understand the language, they did understand tone?

He offered his hand to her, holding it out hoping she'd take it. He motioned to her that he would pull her out; she kept looking between him and An'ri. They heard voices of other Ytai men and women running into the kipn, and An'ri moved closer to them, his hands holding two blades, his back towards Te'anor and the girl. The girl gave one long look at An'ri's stance, and her eyes fluttered back to Te'anor.

"I will not hurt you," he told her again and made exaggerated motions in his hands to show what he meant hoping she understood.

He caught sight of Xe'io right behind the girl, her figure looming behind in the tall reeds, ready to catch her if she fled.

He walked closer to the girl and held his hands out, "Come," he told her.

The human girl lowered her sword and put her left hand in his, and he sighed in relief. He helped pull her out of the pond, and Xe'io used her powers to take the sword out the girl's hand, from where she stood behind the pond. The human girl gasped in surprise and tried to pull out of Te'anor's grip. But he had her in his grasp; he wasn't letting go. Losing the sword frightened the girl, and she wriggled in his grip, wanting out, but Te'anor held her close to him. Xe'io reached them just as the other Ytai did. The girl tried to reach for the sword, grunting with the effort and failing.

This was a make or break moment for Te'anor, and he stood straight with the human girl secure in his arms. Every Ytai who reached them looked disappointed once they laid eyes on the girl in his arms. Te'anor had caught her, and there was honour in that. Not to mention, he was the youngest Ytai man there wanting claim on the wfr; catching her had to mean something in his entitlement for her.

**

Te'anor turned out to be right.

Ah'Vatei Ri'npr Eiva declared the human wfr Te'anor's and accepted whatever he would pay. Te'anor did pay the man whatever he had initially brought in terms of payment, making the man beam with unbound happiness. No one from Ri'npr would have seen that kind of money; it was a lot of his earnings and some of Ea'nir's savings. This would ensure good terms between the Ri'lew and Ri'npr for a long time to come, and it also got what he wanted – the human out of there, unharmed. He could earn back the money in no time, thanks to his current promotion and hopeful second one when he took the girl back.

Ea'nir offered to put a translation-rune on the girl, but An'ri refused, saying doing so, immediately, would raise suspicion of the other Ah'Vatei Clan Leaders. No one really wanted the human wfr to understand them; she was there only there to serve a specific purpose – bring the Ytai her so-called 'good luck.'

So, the girl sat in the corner of the room, hands tied. Te'anor hated that she had to be tied up, again, but until they could explain to her that they, honestly, meant no harm, they had no other choice. She would definitely try to escape again.

**

Yet another feast was held – this time in his honour. Though he hated it, he and Ai'r joined the celebrating Clans for some time. His presence was mandatory to show goodwill, but his thoughts were on Ea'nir and An'ri the entire time. Ea'nir stayed with the human girl; An'ri had come briefly with Te'anor and Ai'r to the feast and quietly made his way back with two plates of food – one for each of the girls. He'd come back to take two more and never showed himself at the feast again. Te'anor had spent the entire time tracking the defender with his eyes, much to Ai'r's annoyance.

About an hour into the feast, he took Eiva's permission to take off and stormed into Ea'nir's room with Ai'r on his heels.

Ea'nir and An'ri were seated side by side on the bed, talking, while the human girl ate at the table with Xe'io keeping watch.

"Ea'nir!" Te' anor yelled. "Go to my room,"

"Why?" she asked innocently.

The human girl and Xe'io stared at Te'anor. Ai'r stood leaning on the door, one foot over the other, arms crossed over her chest looking at An'ri, who had his eyes on her.

"Now!" Te'anor shouted.

"Stop raising your voice, boy," An'ri told him. "You'll attract unwanted attention."

Te'anor paid no heed to the defender's words. The human girl's attention wavered between him and An'ri, and then, she continued eating, uncaring towards the on-going drama.

"Te'anor, what is your problem?" Ea'nir asked, displeased.

"Mine? My problem? Ea'nir, come with me right now!"

"I'll go," offered An'ri and stood.

"Good," Te'anor stated, "now go."

An'ri walked out of the room, and Ai'r followed him.

Te'anor closed the door behind the defenders, "Ea'nir, stay away from him."

"Why?"

"Because I asked you to,"

"That's not a valid reason," Ea'nir stood, angry.

"We know nothing of them, those self-professed defenders, arrogant Ytai,"

"What really is your problem, Te'anor? You're not going to stay at Ri'lew anyway, what rights do you have to speak this way? I have seen An'ri and Ai'r with father for years; I can't help it if you don't want to stay home. They are more Ri'lew than you are."

Te'anor froze, shocked at her words. Ea'nir had never spoken of his choice to leave, she had never questioned him, never looked down on him for it.

He thought she understood, but maybe she hadn't. Perhaps she had only chosen not to talk about it.

Her words wounded him. She hadn't shouted, hadn't pointed fingers. She had spoken softly, meant every word. She had thought of it several times, in that very manner.

Te'anor cleared his throat, losing his ire; Ea'nir's words had burned it away.

She stared at him, indignant, eyes full of anger. Xe'io looked at him, concerned. Even the human girl had stopped eating, perceiving that something had gone wrong, although she didn't understand them.

Te'anor put his head down, and without another word, he left. He went to his room wanting to be alone but found An'ri and Ai'r there.

"Get out," he told them.

Ai'r and An'ri walked out, and An'ri stopped at the door.

"You can't treat her that way," he told Te'anor.

"It's none of your business," Te'anor snapped. "What you need to do, however, is stay away from my sister!"

"What if I choose not to?" An'ri challenged and turned to face him fully. "What will you do, Te'anor? You won't be at Ri'lew to stop me, will you? You'll shirk all your responsibilities and run away again. Have you tried staying and taking up the obligation, boy?"

This, again.

"Is that why you hate me?"

"I don't hate you, but I don't like someone who won't take up their duties," An'ri explained. "I have seen your father facing the humiliation of other Clans because his firstborn chooses to run away. What's it about the Cities that you crave that your family won't give you?"

"Choice," Te'anor proclaimed.

An'ri and even Ai'r stared at him, unable to believe his words.

"Over family?" An'ri asked, voice low, after a bout of silence.

"Over anything," Te'anor declared. "Besides, Ea'nir is much more capable than I am to handle the Clan. Why would you want someone who would run away at any point, at the top, when someone as steady as Ea'nir could take over? I trust in her capability more than I do in mine."

An'ri looked at Te'anor like he pitied him.

The two defenders left, undoubtedly back to the other room where Ea'nir was. Te'anor sunk onto the bed, feeling exhausted, defeated. He could take anyone feeling the wrong way about him, but not Ea'nir. Not his sister; the sweet girl, who understood everyone.

Everyone, but him he supposed.

A knock on the door distracted him; he didn't answer. It opened to reveal Ea'nir; she hung back at the door, wary of him.

"I'm sorry, dhi'er," she apologised, voice soft, regretful.

"Leave me alone, Ea'nir," he told her. "Get lost,"

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