Elysia knelt down beside the little girl who had tugged at her cloak, her violet eyes soft with warmth. The child, clutched a ragged doll to her chest, her wide eyes filled with a hesitant sort of hope.
"Alright," Elysia said, tucking a loose strand of silver hair behind her ear as she shifted to sit more comfortably in the dirt. "What game are we playing?"
The children erupted into excited chatter, their small voices overlapping in a cacophony of ideas.
"Tag!" shouted a freckled boy with a missing front tooth."Hide-and-seek!" a girl with unruly curls chimed in, bouncing on her toes."Marbles!" called out a shy-looking boy with pointy ears, holding up a handful of smooth wooden spheres.
Elysia chuckled, raising her hands in surrender. "One at a time, one at a time! Hmm, why don't you all decide together?"
