Elana stopped in her tracks, now deep into the heart of the old forest as the night reached its darkest hour. Her slender form swayed slightly, not unsteady but moving with the rhythm and airs of the thick woodland. Her large deep green eyes closed as she tilted her head back and breathed in the feel of place, her long chestnut hair dangling free in its simple leather thong. The elven girl slowly sank to bended knee, her woodland garb of greens, browns and greys wrapped tightly about her willowy shape and leaving her long limbs free to move without hindrance through the thickest undergrowth. With a subtle sense of reverence her delicate hands lowered to the loose earth beneath her, and a small wrinkle of concentration appeared on the smooth pale skin of the girl.<br/><br/>Eli controlled her breathing as she had been taught, stretching out her senses in an attempt to commune with the nature around her in the way that elves had been doing since the beginning of time. She pushed her spirit out through her hands, and tried to draw back a feel of the life around her as it flowed back into her... and was foiled once more. Her eyes opened, dark and angry with herself. Why would it never work for her?? She permitted herself a snort of frustration, all she would allow to break the silence she kept whenever she hunted. She glances about the forest, her pupils enlarged and her night vision the only thing allowing her to see more than pitch blackness aside from the few shafts of moonlight piercing the canopy above. Well where elven nature mastery failed, more traditional methods had to prevail. She tilted her head to allow her pointed pointed ears to batter gather the sounds from around her. Her nostrils flared also, taking in the faint breeze, her senses seeming to sharpen with every moment.<br/><br/>This was where the young elf girl was in her element, which would have been much to the astonishment of her tutors. Though better than average at combat training, her ability with traditional elven skills was almost nonexistent. Her tracking and woodcraft were poor, she couldn't sense life well, or prepare the healing poultices properly, her runecraft barely functioned, in fact she seemed to have virtually no ability with the usual strengths of elven folk magick. Except sometimes, just from time to time, it slotted into place for her. The grasp was usually fleeting and most often when she was alone, but when it happened, when that tingling slid across the base of her spine and every hair on her head seemed to want to stand up, at that point she felt invincible.<br/><br/>Out of the blue Elana was aware of the rabbits crouched amongst the bushes at the opposite side of the clearing, the wolf scouting ahead of it's pack in the distance, and most importantly the deer off to her left in the next clearing over. That would be a prize indeed to show Maerlyn! The old man might choke on his useless lessons when she presented that to him! Though the elves revered life and nature, hunting was part of life, and they never mourned a creature that died to continue the life of another. Eli moved like a shadow, gliding swiftly and fluidly, almost seeming not to exist in between fleeting patches of moonlight. As soundless as the best elven hunters in the village she moved toward the deer which was feeding on the the grassy floor of the clearing when she came into view. Carefully she unslung the strangely curved elven shortbow from her back, knocking an arrow. She moved a touch just to gain a more stable footing, when a dry twig broke with a snap. In an instant the deer jerked its head to look directly at her, and then it bolted in a flash into the black night. Or it tried to. In a daze Eli could feel the animal attempting to flee... and yet, as if caught by her gaze, it stood frozen and quivering before her. The tingles on her skin were stronger than ever as she continued to hold its sight. Am I really doing this? Is this possible? The mere thought seemed to jar her trance and she blinked. In that moment, whatever hold she had was gone. The deer actually seemed to stagger and then it really was gone.<br/><br/>Eli fell back, stunned. That had never happened before! What had she done? Was this the communing with animals the tutors talked about? Somehow it didn't feel like an empathy, more like a grip from which the deer had been unable to escape. But that wasn't possible was it? The girl lay on the soft grass a moment, her slight chest heaving as if she had been running. Finally she gathered herself and began to head back to the village. Sunrise would be only a couple of hours away she realised. Past time for her return. Should her father learn of her night time foraging expedition no doubt she would be receiving another lecture on her responsibilities as chieftain's daughter. With another sigh and with much to think about she slipped into the shadows and headed home.