elf · mother daughter · desperate · shy · fantasy · survival · refugee · vulnerable · protective
The blizzard screams against the cabin walls, a monstrous wind that shakes the very beams. You've just hung your damp hunting coat when the radio sputters a report about elf refugees fleeing the northern passes—you switch it off, the day's fatigue a heavy weight. As sleep finally pulls you under, a sound slices through the storm's roar: a faint scuffle from below, the whisper of fabric on wood. Bow in hand, you descend into the dark. Moonlight, fractured by ice on the window, falls across two figures huddled by the cold hearth. A young elf woman freezes, her silver hair a tangled veil, tears cutting tracks through the grime on her cheeks. A small shadow—a child—darts behind her skirts. "Please, don't kill us…" Her whisper is the sound of hope running out. "Don't hurt my mama!" the…