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Raven was sleeping peacefully. With only so much to do and nowhere else to go, there had been little reason for either of them to even pretend at keeping anything resembling a 'normal' schedule. If so accused, LeShana might have admitted to helping him along towards reaching that peaceful state, she only really hoped that there was no reason to face any kinds of questions. It had been days since they had been forced into seclusion, and while some part of her was only too grateful to push everything else off to the side to be forgotten for the days and weeks that lay ahead, she did wish that they had been able to enter their peaceful state of non-interference in a more planned fashion. It was perhaps just as well. Destin and Solair had decided that having endured many of the same stresses that had driven LeShana and Raven to such a poor state, that they were only too happy to push their own bonding ahead just a few weeks and extend their stay in seclusion just because they had the excuse to do so. As for Sarath, she, like LeShana, had spent longer than a year on Earth and was just as grateful to have even a small amount of time to be on a world that was less backwards and out of touch than the newly-rediscovered little planet had been. She had already gone off-world for a much needed vacation, so LeShana could only hope that Sarath would be in her hotel room and able to answer a concern that was burning in the back of her brain.
Walking across the floor to the com-panel, she turned down the volume before dialing her number. Raven, for his part, had taken the news of their exile quite well, considering it gave both of them all the time in the world to learn about each other, and no compelling reason in the universe to wear clothes while they did it. He had also expressed his hopes to 'catch up' on his textbooks and studies, but the truth of the matter was, he had spent most of the past six days assimilating vast amounts of information. She might have been impressed if he could read one text book in two days, but he was already reading the advanced magical textbooks and finishing each after only a few hours. The previous day, LeShana had tested him, jokingly, with the intermediate written magic test. Not only had he passed the test, but had received a hundred percent, and even went as far as to correct one of the questions that was incorrect. Such reading and retention skills were not normal for a human, and he had been going through a thousand pages a day with perfect retention. With such thoughts firmly in mind, LeShana waited for Sarath to answer the number that she had left with them when she called three days previous. LeShana waited patiently as the call was routed through an interplanetary server, and when it connected, Sarath's tanned face appeared. LeShana held her finger to her lips to forestall a loud greeting, and Sarath's smile dimmed when she saw LeShana's face.
"It's all right, Sarath, I just had some questions that I don’t want Raven to hear." LeShana assured her.
"Is this a sex question? Because I am pretty sure you'd know all that by now." Sarath asked her teasingly.
"No, I just wanted to ask if you told us everything about Raven? He has being reading like a fiend with perfect retention, at a rate and percentage that is just not human. And as he adjusts more to magic, his appearance is changing, and not in the way other humans have in the past."
"What's changed about his appearance?" Sarath asked secretively. She knew something but was not going to say until she was sure she had to.
"His hair is almost completely white, like yours, and his ears are acquiring small points, his profile is also becoming sharper. He is losing a little weight, becoming more lean." LeShana explained with a shrug. Sarath sighed and looked down for a moment with a clenched jaw.
"All right." She finally said after a few seconds of silence. "There was something I wasn't going to tell you two. Mostly because of Raven, we both know how obsessed people on Earth are about their life spans. In the negotiations, that was our biggest selling point." Sarath broke off and grimaced. "Raven isn’t human." She finally stated, and paused to let the news sink in. "If there is any human DNA in him, it is very distant. My mother, and his, were both elves. My father was an elf, but his was not. Raven's father was Anarian."
"An Anarian.." LeShana murmured in shock. "The third longest lived race in the whole of the Salak'patan!" LeShana exclaimed, making sure to keep her voice down.
"Yes." Sarath replied simply. "I only found out after talking to Nadia that night. Full Elves can expect two thousand years of life without any real old age, and Anarians, as you know can expect almost five thousand years. Anarians and elves are not typically compatible, which is why his parents worried very little about children, but it has happened before. Anarian/Elf crossbreeds, on average, have life-spans of about three-thousand years. People from Earth being so paranoid about life-spans, I did not want to tell Raven. I was afraid that if he knew what he might have to give up, it would put stress on the bond. After all, humans can only expect eight or nine decades of life with modern medical technology." Sarath explained in a rush.
"It explains why he has such a good memory." LeShana commented as her mind reeled. "Elves and Anarians tend to have very good memories and the ability to learn quickly."
"I'm sorry, LeShana. I should have told you." Sarath told her in a low voice.
"Good morning." A third voice added. LeShana turned to find Raven crossing the floor behind her.
"How much did you hear?" Sarath asked him nervously.
"All of it." Raven replied with a small smile, then casually began to tie his hair back as both of them stared at him.
"And?" LeShana asked him testily.
"And what? I already knew all of that." Raven replied with another smile.
"Since when?" Sarath asked defensively.
"Last night." Raven replied as he walked towards the replicator.
"How?" Sarath and LeShana asked on the same breath.
"Oo, cool stereo." Raven commented as he retrieved a cup of coffee. "I have not just been reading books about magic, you know. I read one about modern technology the other day. After that it was not hard to figure out how to connect to the planetary server on Earth and dial into my mother's home. I asked her and she told me. I use the mirror, after all. What, you did not expect me not to notice that I was changing?"
"And you're not upset?" LeShana asked him nervously. Raven snorted, then set his cup on the table and walked closer, resting his hands on her upper arms.
"What would be the point of living to be three-thousand years old without you to be there beside me?" He whispered, and LeShana bowed her head as tears started to slide down her cheeks. He lifted her chin with a gentle touch. "Life without you would be more than I could take." LeShana enveloped him and Raven held her. Sarath whispered a goodbye and closed the connection, making the screen grow dark right about the time she decided to kiss him, and not caring if that might lead the two of them right back to the bed.