Val, less serene, wondered how soon the clan would make its displeasure known. He himself had felt and resented the slight distance between himself and the other elves of the clan, and even so, the other elves had always treated him kindly enough, until last night when Garad had stepped aside to avoid him. Lahti had never known how it felt to be set apart from her own people. He silently vowed he would do everything in his power to keep her from feeling that pain. By unspoken agreement they spent their morning together in the hut, avoiding the rest of the clan.By midday, however, the hut had grown warm in the late spring heat, and Val was already growing tired of the dim light and unchanging view. It was Lahti, however, who finally suggested that there was no point in hiding.“We’ll visit my mother,” she decided. “She may need meat. Her hut’s only a short distance away. Then we can go hunting, if you like, or go to the waterfall to bathe.”Val had to concur. They couldn’t cower in the hut forever like a mouse in its burrow; soon enough they’d be snapping at each other out of restlessness alone.When they reached Kella’s hut, however, they found that the door flap was tied closed, and there was no answer when Lahti scratched at the door and called out.
