Morning rises after the taste of fresh salad for breakfast.

  Swords, shields, maces, and halberds all lean against the fence of the Reklan's backyard. Finely made armor of iron also sits in a pile next to the weapons on the grass.

  Faylin is hammering a well crafted sword, pounding each hit with focus. Hammering stops, then another hit to be careful not to spill the liquid gallium inside the hot iron of the blade.

  She turns over to the grinding wheel, steps on the pedal to let the circular motion start. Whetstone is spinning and the blade contacts the wheel letting the sparks fly.

  A bump jolts her sword flashing a rain of sparks everywhere. Scrunching her face in frustration, Faylin slams the sword on the ground, spilling the liquid gallium in the iron, "damn this stupid wheel!"

  Faylin lands a blow to the wheel with her boot, kicking hard whetstone. She holds her foot in pain, hysterical from her anger, "ah! Damn!"

  Aleena, who is sitting on a tree stump, bursts with laughter at the sight of Faylin hoping on one foot, "Hahaha! Faylin, that was so dumb, it was actually funny. Sometimes I do feel like I'm keeping two human pets."

  "Why don't you mind your own business elf?"

  Aleena gets serious, "what are you so mad about?"

  "These tools are of no good! They keep breaking the things I make," Faylin complains, picking up the broken sword.

  "Then be more careful."

  "I would've had everything done way sooner at my shop. Quality of tools is important to making quality weapons for nobles and armies of kingdoms," says Faylin with a finger.

  "You know, I was only trying to help you. If these tools are such a pain, then don't use them. I don't know what you expected, wood elves are not nobles nor do we have kingdoms," Aleena lectures proudly.

  Faylin ignores her lectures and puts the sword back on the anvil. She sighs and turns to Lyrian, "it needs more."

  Lyrian puts a hand on her shoulder for comfort, "we're almost there Fay."

  Rock is tough on the callouses of her hands, picking it up. Cubic crystalline metal shines between the rock. Faylin rubs the small stone to make heat between her hands, and gallium starts to melt.

  Lyrian holds the blade on the small anvil. Fragile liquid metal is sprinkled on the blade, each drop separate from each other.

  Lyrian focuses a green energy over the blade, soaking liquid gallium inside the thin pockets of the blade. The thicker middle side of the iron blade makes room for it to be a tad hollow, hiding gallium inside.

  Faylin sighs with relief, "thanks. I can't believe I messed that up."

  "Don't sweat it, enchanting is a hard practice," Lyrian says with a smile.

  "You know I feel like I cheat with you around," she smirks, pounding hammer once again on the blade.

  ding, ding, ding.

  Lyrian sits and waits patiently for her to finish hammering. He stares at his book while flipping the pages. A couple hours pass of dinging metal clashing together.

  Afterwards Aleena yawns, watching the crafting process all for a couple of peaceful days.

  Finally after the work is done, Lyrian brings the supplies and finished products outside to Faylin in a small wagon.

  She is holding her hand just above the blade, making her way up and down. Nothing is happening but Faylin can feel a tingle in the palm of her hands, acting out something spiritual.

  Aleena watches her with her arms crossed in confusion, "is this some call to a human God?"

  "Sort of, Ailrun, the blacksmith God. Helps with enchanting. Though I'm not all crazy religious. But he does help me," Faylin explains.

  Aleena smirks, "and yet nothing is actually happening."

  "Not yet, the enchanting process isn't done."

  "How can you enchant? You're not a mage."

  Faylin turns to her, "mineral enchantments are different Aleena. Humans use magic and minerals to enchant. Not just magic like you."

  "That's blasphemy," she scoffs.

  "There's still magic involved Aleena. Faylin is using it now," he grins.

  Faylin continues the ride her hand above the blade, "come here Aleena, hold out your hand above the blade."

  Aleena walks over to her and feels the invisible aura on the sword. Tingles of static in her hand make her mind envision a flash of noise, wincing to pull her hand back, "gods! What was that?"

  "Mineral and metal enchanting," Faylin drops the aura. "I made something special with that Gallium."

  Faylin hands Lyrian the iron sword with the handle wrapped in leather strips. Its design appears sharp, smooth, and glimmering.

  He grabs it's grip, pulling it out of it's scabbard, revealing a silver blade. Lyrian tests it and spins it around. Liquid starts emerging from the blade as Lyrian focuses, and morphs the blade into a hammer. "Nice! The magic properties of gallium!"

  The hammer's flat surface reflects his image like a mirror.

  Faylin beams a bright smile, proud of her hard work.

  "This is amazing," Lyrian hands it back over to her. "I've never seen anything like it."

  Faylin blushes, "well thank you."

  "Go ahead, try it out," Lyrian suggests.

  Faylin takes the weapon and holds it firmly with two hands.

  She focuses and melts the tip of the blade into a spearhead shape. With one quick motion, she thrusts forward. Suddenly, her momentum carries the rest of her body forward until the entire length slides through its target with ease.

  "Gallium isn't the best and most expensive enchantment, but this will enhance our allowance a little. The sharpness of the blade is permanent and will never dull as long as you morph it right," Faylin grins as the spear returns into the sword's shape. She swings the sword overhead, cutting down a leaf parachuting down in front of her face.

  "The material can change form with willpower," Faylin adds.

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  "You still amaze me Fay. Maybe we can sell these," Lyrian says.

  "To humans?" Aleena scoffs. "Humans would probably end up killing innocent folk with these weapons."

  "We'll make our living though Aleena. My mother will have a roof over her head. She's paralyzed and can't take care of herself," Faylin argues.

  "Just be mindful Faylin," Aleena adds.

  "I understand your concerns, and I don't sell to criminals," Faylin replies softly as Lyrian places the last batch of the products into the wooden crate. The box gets picked up by the pair of them, carrying it over to the carriage.

  Aleena, Faylin and Lyrian drop off some supplies by the cart, and Aleena looks around the camp. Children run playing tag, and elves are hard at work nearing the crafting circle. Archers practice their aim on hay stuffed dummies.

  The elf crafter comes out to them, Reklan and his small elf daughter. He is slender with blonde hair. His pale skin and delicate facial features are common among elves. He has the same kind of ears as Aleena, sticking out upward. He wears a simple brown tunic.

  "Thanks for letting us use your workspace and tools," Faylin says.

  "Happy to help, any friends of a wood elf is a friend of mine," he smiles and waves goodbye.

  His little girl seems shy, peeking from behind her dad. Faylin notices the little girl wearing ragged clothing, but it's apparent she does her best to keep the fabric clean of dirt and grime.

  Faylin sighs, looking towards the blue sky, "at least there's one positive thing out of today. Making useful tools out of limited resources. Hopefully we'll earn good money off of em."

  "I wouldn't count on it," Aleena says solemnly, heading back into the crafter's area.

  Faylin kneels down to the girl and pulls out her toy dragon. She shows the tiny device to the little elf and activates a wind up key on the contraption. It starts walking in struts and puffs tiny bits of smoke.

  "This is for you," Faylin smiles at the timid girl and hands it to her.

  The young child gasps with delight, "really?" The girl hesitantly accepts the trinket.

  "Yeah! For you," Faylin's expression brightens as the child squeezes the small figurine tightly in her hands.

  The elf girl plays and hugs with the dragon before turning away quickly. Reklan smiles and nods a thank you to Faylin.

  Lyrian folds his arms as the little girl walks off back into the crafter's tent, playing with her toy.

  Birds chirp in the fields, filling the air with sound. Already everyone is preparing for the next meal together as a family.

  Everyone settles into tents and prepares for slumber. The dim campfire casts soft light across everyone.

  Lyrian reads the book sitting on his lap while Aleena stares into the firepit. Aleena turns to Faylin, "thank you. For making that little girl happy."

  Faylin lays down on her bed roll. "Oh it's nothing," Faylin stretches and yawns.

  "There's a lot we disagree on. About our world views. But I am grateful for you," Aleena says furrowing her eyes with a bit of vulnerability.

  "Nothing's perfect Aleena. Not even me. But thanks. That means a lot."

  "And Faylin, sorry for doubting you," Aleena confesses. "I think I finally see you as a friend."

  Faylin smiles, pulling out a small sheathed knife. The knife is held out to Aleena, "here then, a token of our friendship. A gallium survival knife."

  Aleena crawls up closer and grips the knife, "you're joking. I thought you could sell these odd metal made weapons."

  Faylin stays silent and just smiles with half closed eyes.

  "You made this for me?" she asks in disbelief. But looking at it, it's shape is exactly to be a survival knife size, evidence that Faylin was thinking of her.

  Faylin takes the survival knife, "look you can morph into anything small."

  Faylin shows a string of possible tools, running hands on the blade, morphing into a pair of clippers, pliers, a small hammer, a small drill, a corkscrew, a bottle opener, and a saw blade.

  She hands it back as Aleena takes it with a heart of glee, "Faylin, this means the world to me that you would think of me. I didn't know humans were capable of those sort of things."

  Aleena lays on her bedroll next to her, "but thank you. This will prove very useful to me."

  "Goodnight Aleena," she closes her eyes, happy for Aleena, and ready for a goodnight rest.

  Aleena is walking with Maiwyn in the forest as they gather healing herbs and mushrooms. Aleena gathers and picks a green plant growing out of a tree bark. The stalks of the plant snap off.

  Bark peels away from a rotten log near the base where fungi grows wild and abundant in many shapes, sizes, and colors. Maiwyn searches underneath fallen logs.

  "These mushrooms hold many uses. From antidotes, medicines, to poison and even food," Maiwyn looks up. "You know much about them?"

  Aleena nods. "My father was a farmer. He knew a lot about plants. That was before I was a wood elf though, many years ago."

  "Do you miss him?" Maiwyn asks, snapping off a mushroom at its stem.

  "I do. Even when we would argued about my career goals," Aleena snaps off some other medicinal herbs from branches hanging on trees.

  "Do you ever miss the city?"

  "Are you joking? Of course not. Although, I never really lived in the city as much as the outskirt farms. So I guess it was more of a human life than anything," she says.

  Maiwyn frowns upon a tree covered in mistletoe. Branches of puffy parasites hang on the wood with almost no leaves. It sways, tapping the next tree over, and she recognizes the potential of it spreading, "this poor tree."

  She touches the bark. Her hands are glowing green and magic light of lime, trails up the trunk, blossoming new leaves and the parasites falling to the ground.

  Maiwyn smiles at the newly revived tree, sheltering above her head.

  "That's amazing," Aleena has been watching her magic.

  "It's my job now Aleena. This is what I do."

  "Isn't it lonely?" Aleena's voice is soft with worry and sorrow.

  Maiwyn waves to her to come walk with her. The heat is pushing on them, as they walk deeper into the forest. Rays of sun peak through leaves and openings, very dry on their skin.

  She answers, strolling through the dirt trail with Aleena by her side, "I rather like the seclusion. The animals are peaceful, and I am surrounded by nature, watching it's every move."

  "Then why is it so hot? Why is the forest hurting so much?" Aleena's eyes almost get watery.

  "I can only speculate Aleena. But I do see the evolution changing with new breeds each day," Maiwyn explains through the buzzing of bees and tweeting of small sparrows.

  The chirping of another unknown species, a distance away from them, another dinosaur calls to the wildlife around. High pitched trills blow between the trees. Although Aleena listens as her ears move to the direction of the call, she recognizes it, but not fully, "a dilophosaur."

  "A what?" Maiwyn asks curiously, continuing to hike.

  "That call was a dilophosaur, they hunt in packs. They attacked my clan when I first met Faylin and Lyrian."

  "Are you sure that was a dilophosaur?"

  "No, it was, saturated. The call is supposed to resemble a low flute, or an owl, this one sounded, broken," Aleena is still unsure to the new nature around, but she remains calm.

  "Could be the monolophosaurs that attacked the red leaves. They are apart of the same family, and they're around here somewhere," says Maiwyn.

  "How do you know so much?"

  "Enough about dinosaurs, it should be any minute now," Maiwyn leans on a rock to rest and crosses her arms, focusing her hearing once again. Aleena waits and closes her eyes, knowing to listen to nature once again.

  Drumming of wood pecks at bark of the tall tree trunks. An easily recognizable species of the forest is known to them, a woodpecker. The drumming of bark is slightly off, only recognizable to wood elf ears. Wood is not hollow in the trunk, or at least not enough.

  "She'll be pecking for days to reach the food," Aleena worries.

  Maiwyn reaches in her bag and brings out a steel stake. Aleena nods and yanks her body up the tree branches with the stake and a rock.

  Up top, she swings to another branch, and through the oily leaves to land on another. She walks along, scaring the poor flapping creature to another branch.

  The glimpse of where the woodpecker was hammering is focused. Her fingers rub along the hard wood to find small splintery holes within the bark but nothing hollow.

  With a rock in hand and the stake pointed one of the holes, she pounds the steel deeper in with each hit.

  Finally, the last hit forces the stake all the way in and small clear bugs, a termite colony, all scatter around the bark. The woodpecker flaps it way next to Aleena, pecking at the small termites on the tree.

  Aleena giggles with joy, seeing the small bird enjoy it's meal that would've taken days. The termite colony is large, hiding in crevices and wandering on the bark, burrowing back in and out. It was a great accomplishment of them both for finding and working to get too.

  Aleena takes joy at the work, helping the small bird, and allowing the mercy of nature. She makes her way to Maiwyn again, to continue their healing walk.

  "That was beautiful," Maiwyn smiles with blank eyes.

  "Thank you Maiwyn, just like old times?" Aleena smiles back at her.

  A screech next to them, a wild lizard hiss, bellows right near them. Aleena winces at the sound, and prepares her bladed bow.

  Only one green lizard on two legs is in the distance, walking on a bed of leaves, and not even paying attention of their presence. It has a size of a dilophosaur, but it is facing away. Aleena crouches below a bundle of bushes, pulling back an arrow, eyeing the back of it's head.

  Maiwyn grabs her arm in concern, "Aleena, leave him be. I must be going soon, will you walk with me?"

  Aleena notices her eyes are in much worry, begging her to leave the dinosaur alone. It is a rare sight to see from Maiwyn's natural dull face.

  "Why?" she whispers softly and slowly, her voices wavers at the thought of leaving the abomination to his own will of nature. Tears protrude from the corner of her eyes at why Maiwyn would even think to leave it alone.

  She puts down the bow, thinking that something isn't right, and continues the walk.

  Faylin Trying Out The Morphing Gallium Sword

  Aleena Feeding the Woodpecker

  

  Otomania's version

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