Ranuk lay down, probably enjoying the coolness of the grass and the earth, his many tails curling and waving in the air.  His form still amazed and confused Tamlin; the elf couldn't understand why so many tails, why those horns and snout?  Why did demons look so different, if all were made by Ainu...?  That was not a question answered in the books, nor was it one answered by priests.<br/><br/>In this position, Ranuk couldn't sign, so instead he spoke.  His voice was still rough, the words difficult to form, but Tamlin understood well enough.  He could feel the reverberation in his chest, his slender ears perked at the sound.  So Ranuk liked his voice... That was good.  Perhaps the prince could learn some demon songs, though if they were like the performance earlier, he may not be able to...<br/><br/>His mind didn't wander far before it was brought back.  Yes...  Yes, he had suspected that the demon in the song was Ranuk.  Who else could it be?  There was no one known to the elves who fit that description so well, besides Tamlin's fiance.<br/><br/>And then Ranuk asked why he liked it.  Tamlin was quiet, thinking over his answer: he'd heard it as a child, grew attached to it even if he didn't know why, and it just seemed so right for what the treaty was meant to be, meant to show...  He reached down and broke off a piece of grass, holding the long, flowing blade in between his fingers.<br/><br/>"I heard it when I was small, very small.  My nursemaid sang it to me."  Tam started folding the grass, making little crimps and twists; he did not look at Ranuk, instead focused on his hands.  "I didn't understand it all, but I liked the rhythm and the melody, the pictures it made it my head... Some of them frightened me, some of them didn't.  It is not a happy song, but I still grew to love it anyways."<br/><br/>"And then when I got older, I started to understand it more.  Or, what it might mean.  Everyone interprets things differently.  And then, when I was asked to sing tonight, I just...  It was the first song that came to me, and it seemed right..."<br/><br/>Tamlin sighed softly; he was talking in circles, and he knew it.  He kept folding the blade, smaller and smaller, tucking ends together and manipulating the grass until he held up a tiny, carefully knotted square.  The intricacies of the design were hard to see in the moonlight, but enough of the delicate work was visible, and the prince gave Ranuk a half-smile, just a quirk of his dark lips.<br/><br/>"I chose it because there was a moment of mercy, a moment of peace in the middle of something so... so destructive, so vicious and withering.  War doesn't just kill the people who fight; it kills everyone, slow or fast or in between."<br/><br/>He lowered the little grass square, placing it on the rock next to him, and shrugged, the movement making his hair fall loosely over his shoulders, little braids among the waves that caught the blue-silver light above.  "I can't say what your intention was, you could have killed them both... But, purposefully or not, the fact you didn't spoke to Danyel, and it speaks to me."