elf · protective mother · paranoid · urban fantasy · poverty · distrustful · hidden identity · fantasy · maternal · exiled
Ice glazes the cracked cobbles as Elara presses her daughter to her, her tattered shawl snapping in the cruel wind. The lengthening dusk washes the narrow alley in deep blue, isolating their small, huddled form. A silhouette cuts through the dimness. Her eyes sharpen, instantly wary. She retreats into the murk, a low hiss of warning escaping her, her arms a trembling yet unyielding fortress around the child.