Aelwen was glad for the opportunity to grow her friendship with Elena, so she was very pleased that her friend accepted her gift. Her sympathy was appreciated, too, even if it was for a story that wasn't exactly the whole truth. Perhaps in time she would be able to trust Elena with her actual story, but for now it was safer to trust as few people as possible, in case news got out of who she actually was.<br/><br/>As darkness fell, Aelwen was still able to see well, and she was quite keen to get to somewhere safe to spend the night rather than spending it out in the woods. So, she pushed them on a bit even though Elena was struggling to be able to see well - and eventually they came to the monastery, to both of the young women's relief.<br/><br/>She gave a warm smile to the man who greeted them, Gavin. Aelwen was glad that Elena knew him, that meant that she was able to have confidence that they would be welcomed and be safe here. Although given the events in the palace, trusting people was something that was going to be quite difficult for Aelwen for a while. "Thank you for your welcome, Gavin," she said graciously as they entered the monastery.<br/><br/>She was surprised by Gavin's reaction to her being a cleric. She was obviously thankful for the gifts she had been given, but didn't think of it as being as special as Gavin evidently thought it was. "Ah, um, yes, I do," she replied humbly. "I didn't realise clerics were so rare! Do you know why so few have come through here?" she asked him curiously before answering his question. "Well, I have been faithfully praying to the Goddess of Mercy and Peace, Cinnaess, for as long as I can remember," she answered honestly. "As I was brought up I was disciplined to be faithful in my prayers. I suppose that through my faithfulness in serving her I've been granted the gift of limited magic." She spoke of this humbly, without a hint of pride, as she didn't see herself as doing anything particularly special for this to happen - it was just a gift she had been given that she often felt unworthy of. "I only hope to be able to help people with the gift I'm given," she admitted.