Eli nodded as Zaxis repeated her name, noting how foreign it sounded coming from his tongue. His accent was hard to place, seeming to come from nowhere in particular one minute, and then to be strangely thick but in a non-specific sense.  She still sensed an air of supressed danger and power emanating from his form, and she wondered if she had made the right choice inviting him into her home. Her still sleepy head was rapidly clearing now, her usual quicksilver thought processes beginning to fire. Her sharp eyes watched the man intently now, standing aside to let him into the ground floor of the dwelling. As she did so she noted a smirk appear on the lips of the man. He disguised it quickly, and yet not quickly enough to escape the notice of the elf. In an instant her bearing was changed. No longer the sleepy girl which had rushed from her bed half dressed. Her own movements became wary, guarded. She wasn't blatant about it, and yet Eli was ready for combat at a moment's notice. She mentally cursed herself for leaving her hunting knife by her bedside. Again, she didn't suspect imminent attack, and yet she would have felt better with it to hand.<br/><br/>Careful to cover her change in mental stance, as well as physical, the only change an outsider would note was a tenseness in her face. A change had occurred, from elf girl to chieftain's daughter in truth. She took the man's cloak, a quick glance revealing his lack of weaponry beneath and the travel stains on it. No surprise there. Wherever he had come from, there was no human territory within many leagues of the village. Eli also noticed the tone of the man's body, evaluating him as much as appreciating the physical appearance.<br/><br/>The elf girl gestured deeper into the parlour. The simple stonework of the building belied the smooth grace with which it had been built. The lines of the floors and walls were not complex, and yet curved sinuously and pleasingly in ways not indicated by the exterior. High windows welcomed the sun into the open ground floor, a doorway leading out to the courtyard where the heartree of the house stood. "Please be seated" Elana said, pointing to the arrangement of chairs, mats and cushions arranged around a wooden table near the unlit fire. She hung his cloak on a hook hear the door. "Please excuse me one moment, I will fetch some tea for us both".<br/><br/>Eli moved with measured pace, walking gracefully into the kitchen area around the curve of the building. Grace was abandoned as soon as she was out of eyeline however! She scurried to the kettle, quickly swinging it back over the fire to boil. The she rushed to the nearby spiral staircase, her deceptively powerful legs carrying her up the tight curl of stairs up the back way to the upper floors. Her heart pounded as she dashed into the wash room, splashing spring water across her features and scraping damp fingers through her hair to finally push it into neatness. She quickly tied it back from her face, racing back through to her room and grabbing her knife. It went quickly beneath her tunic, concealed but in easy reach should it be required. She rattled back down the stairs again, flying agilely on bare feet, pausing to pour the now heated water into delicate silver tea pots, and left them to infuse as she raced further through the house to the opposite side of the courtyard. There she scribbled a note and dispatched a bird to find her father at the earliest opportunity. She didn't know if this Zaxis was as important as she feared, but she felt she should take no chances.<br/><br/>Elana reappeared in the parlour, carrying a tray with the two pots and mugs for two. The tray also had a selection of freshly chopped fruit. "Forgive my absence if you will, it is not the way of our people to leave guests by themselves. My father's retainers will be at the council meeting with him, and we are not a large household. I have heard that human lords have many servants. Here we mostly tend outselves." Setting the tray down she indicated the pots "May I pour you mint tea, or the spice fruit blend? And please feel free to help yourself to the fruit. I believe the Blue Demberry is all but impossible to find in human lands, yet it carries the most delicious flavour" She watched for his choices with interest, observing his reactions. Whatever this man's purpose, Eli knew she didn't trust him entirely.