Delay

Sorry it's been a while. A couple of days ago, I woke up with a pretty nasty stomach virus that put me in the emergency room for three hours. Now, I was actually feeling better while I was there, but they gave me this stuff called neptopril, I think, that was supposed to help the nausea. And, yes, it did help the nausea, but it also knocked me out pretty well. I could hardly sit up, let alone stand, and the doctor had trouble waking me when he came back to discharge me. So, basically, I came home, slept for twelve hours, woke up and reassured a friend of mine I was alright, then slept for another eleven hours, after which I was rather out of it and not good for anything all day. But, this morning I'm feeling pretty much as good as new, minus the bruising from the i.v. But anyway. I figure I owe you all a little something. So here goes nothing.

"Do you have to keep following me around like this?" Toryn was rather fed up by now. This pesky little girl had been tagging along for days now, insisting she was going to help him, when so far all she'd done was get in the way. Sure, she was cute, but she was rather over-enthusiastic about things. He hadn't caught a rabbit in too long, and the nuts and berries she was bringing him were starting to sit wrong with him.
"Well it's certainly better than you traipsing around through my wood on your own."
She had referred to the forest as her wood ever since she so rudely woke him up from his nap under a weeping willow. "It's not -your- forest, Rhia. And I'm certainly capable of navigating a spruce forest like this without your 'help'."
She gave a gasp and hurried around in front of him, forcing him to stop. "It's not spruce! I was giving the little guys a chance to grow!"
His eye twitched some, dropping the reins of his horse which he'd been leading in order to grab her shoulders. He shook her a bit. "What are you talking about??"
She shrugged out of his grasp, pouting at him. God, she was cute. "I planted this forest. I made sure all the trees were spread out so that when their children start to grow up, they have plenty of sunshine."
"Rhia, elves planted these forests thousands of years ago. You aren't older than me, and I'm not even five hundred yet!"
"I am too older than you!"
"No, you're not!"
"Yes I am!"
"Nuh-uh!"
"Uh-huh!"
He opened his mouth to deny her words again, but only stopped himself, letting out a loud sigh. "What am I doing?" He picked up his horse's reins again and pushed past Rhia.
"Where are you going? Hey! I AM older than you! That means you have to listen to me!" She ran along behind him even after he mounted his horse and urged him into a trot.
"No, it doesn't! You're crazy, Rhia! Just leave me alone!"
"But!" Her eyes widened behind his back and she leapt up into the trees. There, she was far quicker than on the ground, and was within moments alongside him. "Toryn!" She leapt from the tree, one hand pulled back to the bow resting on her shoulders. As she landed on the horse's neck - which he was none too pleased about, but didn't complain - her free hand would raise to catch an arrow that had been aimed for Toryn's throat. In one swift motion, she turned around to face the way the arrow had come, drew the arrow into her bow, and fired. A moment after the twang, there'd be a thud, followed by a louder one as someone fell from a tree a few dozen yards ahead and landed in a heap on the ground.
Toryn's eyes were huge as he stared at Rhia. "How did-" But his words would stop as Rhia turned to look at him. Her curious eyes had grown quite serious, and she suddenly seemed plenty older than he would ever be.
"I am older than you, Toryn. And I will help you get through my forest."
"You're...an ancient..."