The town was quiet, peaceful. Most people still slept, but one stirred, restless as always. She awoke before the sun and decided to go for a run. Something to clear her mind, to make her feel alive, and free. She felt trapped behind these walls--the gates that were closed to keep them safe from the things that lurked in the darkness. She supposed that to most, it was a comfort. It made them feel safe and protected, but she just felt trapped.<br/><br/>She glanced at Liliana, her younger sister, who slept in her room across the hall with the door open, deciding not to wake her. Lily looked to be at peace, unlike her. She briefly wondered what that must feel like, but quickly discard the thought. Perhaps one day she would know that feeling, but until then, there was no sense wondering over something she couldn't possibly answer. Instead, she dressed in a pair of black fitted capris, a loose black and red t-shirt, and some red running shoes, with a pair of earbuds around her neck, tying her long red hair back in a ponytail.<br/><br/>She left the house behind, slipping out into the darkness, blending in with the shadows, a skill she'd cultivated from years of sneaking out, or sneaking in, in some cases. She made her way to the wall, where she climbed up and over, a feat she'd grown accustomed to. Once she reached the top, rather than climb back down, she leapt over the side. She caught hold of a tall tree nearby and nimbly climbed part of the way down before dropping gracefully to the ground.<br/><br/>She grinned as she stared up at the wall from the other side. It gave her a strange feeling of satisfaction, which she took only a moment to enjoy before she put his earbuds in and began to run. She wasn't sure how long she was running, but eventually the sun began to peek over the horizon, signalling the start of the new day, at which point she, reluctantly, headed back toward the gates.<br/><br/>As she ran back towards the gates of the town, she saw something falling from the sky toward the ground.<span style="font-style: italic">What on earth?</span>she wondered as she hurried toward the object, which she soon realized wasn't an object at all, but a person. Her eyes widened slightly and she rushed towards the body, pulling out her earbuds and dropping to her knees next to the body, which appeared to be a male. She checked his pulse and watched for the rise and fall of his chest to indicate that he was still alive. He was. Unconscious, but alive.<br/><br/>She breathed a sigh of relief and took a moment to look him over, not seeing any obvious injuries. She did, however, notice a few things that were rather odd. His armor, for one. Not to mention his pointy ears. They reminded him of the descriptions she'd read, or the depictions she'd seen in books about the elves. That wasn't possible, though. Most people believed that to be fiction, rather than fact. Even if it were true and elves had existed, they'd died out long ago. Still, she couldn't help but wonder, or hope, really, that he actually was an elf.<span style="font-style: italic">Seriously. How cool would that be?</span><br/><br/>She lightly poked his cheek, "I guess you are unconscious." she confirmed. "Cute, though." she observed as a side note before shaking her head. "Not important right now, though." she stood up and glanced around at the people who had come to observe him. Everyone seemed curious, murmuring, speculating, but none approaching him. "Honestly." she mumbled, shaking her head. "Have you no decency?" she half murmured before flagging down one of the guards. She figured it was best not to just leave him here to be some kind of spectacle or something for people to look at. "Can you help me take him to my house?" she requested the man's help, knowing he was likely to comply, which he did, lifting the unconscious body into his arms and following her.<br/><br/>She led him to her home, where her mother seemed surprised, but allowed him in when Emory told her she would explain. She gestured to the couch in the living room, "You can put him there." she instructed the guard, who did so before leaving, after she had thanked him. She briefly explained what had happened and her mother looked him over, coming to the same conclusion that she had. He was unconscious, but otherwise appeared unharmed. Odd, considering he'd fallen from the sky.<br/><br/>There was nothing much that could be done, all things considered, so while her parents went off to work, Emory got herself something small to eat and then took a seat in one of the chairs in the room. She grabbed a book, lifted her feet up into the chair with her, and began to read the book while she waited for him to regain consciousness. She tried not to wonder too much about who he was, how he would respond to waking up in a strange place, or anything else that she couldn't possibly answer. She would just have to wait and see. Until then, she tried to keep her mind sufficiently distracted, which was next to impossible.