Aspen (Ah-S-Penn)
Aspen is a tree found in northern climates, often referred to as trembling aspen because of the way it's leaves fall. It has long been associated with communication, the wind, and enduring hardships.

Carnation squirmed where she lay, putting her hands over her cattle-like ears.
Now, she couldn't hear whatever was making that loud sound, but the loss of that sense heightened the others, and she felt the floorboards creak below her.
Floorboards..?
Carnation pushed herself straight up off the floor, narrowly avoiding splintering her hand on the old wood.

Her eyes opened and took in the sight. She was in a warmly and dimly lit room, wooden walls and floors, and elves of all types were scattered throughout, each smiling and conversing with a drink in hand. This was a tavern.

"Hey! You're awake!" A man exclaimed, as though he weren't quite sure how loud he was speaking. It was loudly. Either drunk or deaf, and Carnation didn't want to judge which one.

"Y-yeah um...where am I..?" Carnation asked.
"See, I haven't been to a tavern in...my life. So I'm certain I didn't knock myself out here."

"You didn't." The man stated.
"I saw you in the middle of the road, bleedin' like you ain't gonna see another day, so I brought you here an' got you cleaned up."

Carnation stared at him for a second, then, her hand shot to her chest as she remembered the stab wound and how it had hurt so bad...The blood still stained her blouse, but a make-shift bandage had been applied, and if not for that...Carnation didn't want to think of what could've happened.
"Thank you, sir, that was...really nice of you." Was the only thing she could think of to say, but it didn't convey her true overflowing greatfullness.

The man had long orange hair and tanned skin, no painted markings on his face to provide insight on his element. He was humble about saving Carnation, he shrugged nonchalantly.
"Mixes look out for mixes."
Sometimes a statement hits too hard, sometimes it comes out of seemingly nowhere. That's what this felt like.
The public mention of being a mix was something scary. If this man were a mix, he should've known that.

"Sorry! Sorry, ain't no need to worry. Out here in the middle 'o nowhere there's plenty mixes. I'm sure you can see that. I'm Aspen." He said.
And he was right. Almost every patron wore rolled up sleeves that revealed markings of all different shapes and colors, dancing beautifully up their arms.
All such lovely designs, but it felt odd to see it so shamelessly displayed in a public place.

"It's beautiful." Carnation said.
"But...dangerous. I mean, what'll you do if a high-brow Earth elf walks in? They'll know in a second that your parents...betrayed their beloved empire."

"No elites ever come here." Aspen said, leaning back in his chair.
"Don't worry about it."

SLAM!
The door to the tavern slammed open with a bang and a man strode in, head to toe in embellished and laced clothing no one here could dream of affording.
His head was tilted upwards as if inhaling some nonexistent scent, and his green eyes scanned the room unimpressed.
He was an elite -a high brow Earth elf for sure. Ironic.

This strange and sudden visitor pulled off a purple waistcoat and dropped it onto a vacant table, immediately making his way to the bar, where he kept a generous distance from the other visitors.

Carnation and Aspen both leaned as far forward as they could to watch the man, he had pale skin, well kept violet hair and painted markings of flowers below his eye, but it was the posture, the way he walked, and the disgust in his eyes that really gave away his origin of wealth.

"So," the elite began in an accented and annunciated voice,
"Is this a...quality bed and bar? I mean, do people care to stop by, or would they rather drink from a bucket and sleep in a haystack?"

The barkeep stared, a mix of surprise and anger.
"Well, ungrateful lad, you stopped here. So are you here to drink your whining away or what?"

The man glared down at the barkeep. The elite was tall, but not as tall as Carnation, however, a person of her abnormal height was hard to find.
He looked around her age too, give or take a few years.
She wondered if she could take him in a fight. The answer was yes.

"Thorn of Fyta." The man said loudly.
"I'm not here to drink amongst the likes of you, I'm looking for a woman. A Princess."

"Do I look like a princess to you?!" The barkeep asked.

Thorn snapped some reply, but Carnation was far too deep in her thoughts, Princess...Princess...the thought that the veiled water elf could be a princess was...probably laughable. Impossible. There was no way.

Her eyes stayed fixed on Thorn and she nearly jumped out of her skin when he turned around and made eye contact.
Worse yet, he began walking towards her and Aspen's table.

Aspen's eyes widened and Thorn's brow furrowed, he looked from Aspen to Carnation.
"You both..." his hand flinched involuntarily at his side, before turning away from Aspen to face only Carnation.
"You're...alive." His gaze slipped to the bloody bandages across her chest.
"Please, allow me to escort you to the capitol."

"Is this cad hitting on you?" The barkeep called out from across the room.

"No!" Thorn snapped back, then reverted again to his soft tone that threw Carnation for a loop.
"We'll get your injuries cleaned, and your sleeve..."
Carnation hadn't noticed until he'd mentioned it, her whole sleeve had burned off from her flames.
"It will be fixed. Let's get going now rather than later. The very late bird gets the next moderately early birds worm, right? Right." He tugged her up, underestimating her muscle mass.

Aspen grabbed Carnation's other hand and scowled.
"I have no clue what you're planning but-"

There was no chance to finish his sentence, Thorn slammed a closed fan from his pocket straight down onto Aspen's arm, it didn't look like it hurt, but it was certainly disrespectful.
"Keep your filthy hands off the Princess! No respect, I swear." He slipped the fan back into his pocket as Aspen rubbed the mark it left on his arm.
Thorn's hands jittered again but he scoffed
"Filthy mix."

Carnation was too shocked at the princess comment to react, but her hand jittered too -difference was, it was because of the instinct to punch Thorn's snobby face in. He deserved it for treating her friend that way.

Thorn turned with Carnation towards the door, smiling as though he hadn't just snapped at the bar patrons.
"M'lady, this is the best possible outcome, the lives you'll save- remarkable!" Thorn grabbed Carnation's hand tighter and tugged her outside to the dirt road that pulled through the trees.

"The lives I'll save?!" Carnation shrieked in confusion, forcing her hand away from his firm grip.

Thorn gave an almost quizzical sort of look.
"The challenge to be the last alive. Tsunami killed Raven, you killed Tsunami. Last princess alive, your majesty."