There was a light breeze, but it was welcome in the growing heat of the day and nothing to interfere with Corinne's throwing or shooting. She had not practiced in a long time. She needed to. Oh, she was as fine a shot as ever with the knives and bow - she hunted boar and wolves, after all, though the wolves were for burning (foul creatures they were) and the boar for eating and making things from - but she had not actually practiced in several years. Almost a score of years, actually, which was a massive chunk of time for a human. Fortunately, Corinne Elendrelle was no human. She was an elf once more, reaccepted by the tribe and people that she was once a part of, and she should sharpen her skills if she was to rejoin them.

Striding across the grounds toward the archery and knife ranges, she heard and felt Spirit purr against her neck. He wasn't the largest cat, but he wasn't a light burden either. Nonetheless, the male tabby always seemed to manage well enough. She put him down on the ground gently as she reached the place she sought, kneeling and smiling at Spirit as she scratched his ears. The little guy screwed up his face in what would have been a smile if cats could do that. Sometimes, at least in the case of Spirit, Corinne believed they could.

She stretched and prepared. It was time. Faster than most humans could follow, her body became one fluid motion as she drew and loosed shaft after shaft after shaft. She split several of them the length of the shafts with other arrows, but that was quite all right; she'd brought with her a great many arrows, and she spent the morning expending all of them. Finally, satisfied with her training for both still and moving targets, she retrieved the intact arrows and added them to her usual stock; they would be extras until she rid herself of them, but extra arrows were always a welcome thing. And anyway, she could always fletch more arrows when she needed them. Spirit watched interestedly for a time, but quickly got bored and began chasing mice and butterflies alike. Corinne had to laugh lightly at the cute little feline fellow before calling him back with a twinkle in her eyes and a smile that said, "Welcome back, friend." She carried the cat to the other range, then prepared. She wouldn't lose these knives, of course, not like she did the arrows. These wouldn't split, and she wouldn't have made them to or tried either.

Throw after throw after throw. Then more throws. Moving targets, even fast-moving targets, fell to her knives quickly and efficiently. It was clear to anyone that was watching her hit bull's eye after bull's eye with lethal accuracy and even deadlier grace and speed that she was more skilled than most with such things as a bow and knives. Fortunately, she was an elf - which meant that she had a head start. She retrieved her knives, scratched Spirit's ears again with a smile and a look of pure love and affection for the animal, then prepared herself to throw again. She was getting into a combative stance, just as she would be were she in a real battle, when someone spoke to her.

Shelendri sat under a tree, cleaning her sword. Sharpening her skills had with it meant she could fight better, but she had to be careful with her sword. She didn't want to damage it with a foolish move. She pause in her cleaning for a moment, to study her reflection. If her father were still alive, would he recognise her now? She had changed a lot since leaving home. Most noteable of those changes were her turn more toward magic. Would he approve? He had been a mage himself, so she hoped he would. He had always been at her to practise and learn more. She smiled slightly to herself. He'd gotten his wish. She seemed to be learning more about magic and being a Druid every day.
Satisfied it was back to its normal gleam, she resheathed it and stood. The tree she had been sitting under sat on a slight rise, giving her a view of the training grounds. At one with archery targets, she caught sight of a familiar figure. Smiling, she headed that way.
When she neared speaking range, she noticed a small grey tabby cat playing with a butterfly. That widened her smile. It seemed Corinne had found herself a companion. She crouched down beside the cat to say hello to it, and then raised her voice. "Corinne, who do we have here? Got yourself a new friend?" Scratching the cat under its chin, she looked over at her friend and grinned. "It's good to see you, my friend. Anything new happened since we last spoke?"

She had heard the footsteps, but had blocked them. With so many training here, no one would dare attack anyone else, regardless of intent. It was far too dangerous. Groups of people as well as individuals trained here, and it was rare to see someone without some protection. Besides that, only the most skilled with weapons ever came here, or those learning to wield them with their masters or trainers. So when she heard the voice, she was a bit surprised, but pleased, and turned to see her friend with a broad grin.

"Humanfriend Shelendri! What a pleasant surprise! Yes, much has changed. And that's Spirit."

Corinne rehid her knives in a blur, as though they'd simply never been. She knelt beside Spirit and laughed lightly once again.

"He's so adorable, isn't he? And so friendly. He seems to have a sense about people, and only lets people pet him that he trusts. Clearly, he likes you!"

Her eyes took on a different twinkle, a different gleam, as she raised them to Shelendri's and spoke.

"I've returned to the Forests. I found peace and purpose in the Falls, and I returned to the Forests. Another has been raised to High Elf now, and he has accepted me back as an elf. I will never be a member of that tribe again," Corinne finished sadly, "But I am an elf once more, and I figured I'd best brush up on my training. I'm so happy! Words spread quickly through elven peoples, and already I have been tested and approved. Now I'm an elf again, and it's wonderful! The Forests are my home once more."

The soft smile on her pale elven lips was warm and comforting, but it was a smile of very deep satisfaction as well. Corinne stroked Spirit absently as she talked.

Joy for her friend filled Shelendri and she gave Corinne a quick hug. "That's wonderful! I'm so happy for you." Settling back, she grinned at her friend. Things seemed to be looking up. It made the progress she'd made with her skills all the better.
She smiled down at Spirit, who had started purring from the attention of his mistress and Shelendri. Rubbing the side of his face, she turned her gaze back to her friend. "I have some good news as well. Since I last saw you, I have gain more skills in magic. Now I can not only just protect myself, I can go on the offensive. I'm learning so much. And I also might have a lead in finding my father's killer. It's nothing certain yet, but I'm hopeful." Shelendri's heart lifted. Life was going well for both of them. Perhaps it wasn't fool-hardy to antisapate finding the man who murdered her father.

"Really? What is it? Please tell me, humanfriend Shelendri. I took an oath to aid you, and I really want to live up to that oath."

Breaking it would put her right out of the forests again, and this time she could never come back. It would be enough to slit her own throat. She really wanted to help her friend, though, and an oath was an oath besides. If she couldn't help Shelendri, it would mean more to her than merely losing her home and her people again - and she had to regain their trust as it stood - it would mean a sense of deep guilt for not having been able to keep her promise...

Shelendri nodded and settled herself more comfortably on the ground. Spirit took this as an invitation to climb up onto her lap. Stroking him, she looked over at Corinne. "It isn't much, just a rumour I heard, but there's a chance there's something to it. I heard that there's a man near the village of Estolad who possibly owns a dagger with the same eagle motif that was on my father's one that his murderer took. If it's true and that is my father's dagger, then either that man is his killer, or he can lead me to the real killer. Either way, it's a step forward." She shrugged. "I haven't really looked into it. I questioned the person I heard the rumour from as much as I dared, but word might still get back to this man that someone's looking for him. I don't want to tip him off, so I decided to wait a few days. And anyway, if I hadn't waited, I wouldn't have had a chance to come here and hear your good news." She smiled at her friend. The truth was that she was a bit afraid to go. What if this man was her father's killer. How would she react meeting him? Would she be able to hold herself back? The possibility that she wouldn't be able to control herself is what scared her, not the actually meeting of this man.

Corinne smiled and nodded, nearly laughing again at Spirit.

"He really likes you, then."

Her grin was one of pure joy. Then she gained a more solemn look.

"Well...I don't know how fast your wings can carry you, but...I can go instead, if you want. My legs can carry me faster and further than most. Or I can go with you. I will not aid you in fighting this man if he is your father's killer, or the man who is, unless you wish it of me. This is your fight, after all, and your decision. But I will do as I swore to you I would. I will help you find him."

Shelendri's expresion was grateful. "Thank you, my friend. I would feel better if you were there with me. And as I am able to shape shift into a dragon, we can go together, with you on my back." Her gaze drifted to the targets Corinne had been using and a thought occured to her. "But before we make any plans for that, do you think we could do some practicing? I have learned a new spell and I want to work on my accurasy(sp?)." Stroking Spirit again, she gently lifted him off her lap and stood. "And I have never had a chance to spar with an elf before. Perhaps you could give me some pointers?"

"I wouldn't mind," Corinne replied with a smile, stroking Spirit as she did so, "except that I have only my bow and my knives. Not a very good defense against that sword."

She pointed at the longsword hanging at Shelendri's hip as she spoke. While she probably wouldn't have had too much trouble defending herself against a master swordsman wielding her knives, it would be better to teach if she had a sword of her own - which she didn't.

(OOC: Just so you know, she keeps the sword strapped to her back.)

Shelendri shrugged. "I'm sure there's a sword somewhere around here you could use. If not, you have more than one knife, right? You could teach me how to knife fight. I don't know how to. But first." She turned to the targets and raised her hand to the sky. "Dealan." Two bolts of lightning shot down from the sky. One hit one of the targets she'd been aiming for, the other missed the mark by three feet. She sighed. "See, I knew I needed practice."

((Oh...sorry... :unsure: ))

She tried not to laugh at her friend's mistake. She finally allowed the small smile that was breaking through, though - but fortunately, no more. She didn't want to offend Shelendri.

"I'm sure you don't need much practice. And yeah, I have more than one knife. They're mainly for throwing, but I could use them to fight if I needed. Would you like me to teach you, humanfriend Shelendri?"

Actually, she thought it might be fun to spar with her friend.

Shelendri shrugged, well aware that her friend was trying not to laugh. It would be her own reaction in such a situation also, so she wasn't offended. Well, not really. "Anything you're willing to teach me. I don't know anything about knife fighting, remember?" Then her brows dropped into a frown. She couldn't just leave her attempt with her new magic like that. It would make her look bad. Raising her palm to the sky once again, she spoke the word Dealan again, this time with better results. Both bolts hit their mark. She turned to Corinne, her face glowing with triumph and her eyes alight with it. "I did it! I hit both of them." She felt a bloom of deep satisfaction. And now that that was out of the way, she could get down to the business of learning something about knife fighting.