On Sunday, I sent an invitation to Maengun to accompany me to the Darkmoon Faire tonight. I was pleased to see her when she arrived to Thunder Bluff to meet me. As I had expected, she had not been to the Faire before. I explained to her what to expect, and gave to her 10 gold coins as a gift so she may freely enjoy the Faire, and all of its games and food. She told me she was willing to accept this gift just this once... she does not like to be given coin without doing proper work.
The evening was good, and Maengun seemed to enjoy herself. She seemed to understand and enjoy Whack-A-Gnoll the most of all the games. She employed a strategy I had not seen before on the ring toss game, by throwing all of her rings at the turtle at once. It was... surprisingly effective, actually. I found humor in this, as I had been patiently throwing my rings, and had to spend two tokens in order to claim victory. Hers was won in mere seconds, and one token. She had also seemed to find amusement in the new "Merry-Go-Round," though by walking against the direction the platform turned, rather than simply riding upon it as I had. Perhaps it is better... I became very dizzy.
I had noticed that she still seemed tense, as we walked the grounds of the Faire. She was still searching. At first, I believed that she was simply taking in her surroundings, but I saw that her eyes were focused most on the other people. I had hoped that Maengun would use this night to forget about the things that troubled her... but perhaps that is too much to ask of her, now. I cannot understand her plight; I had not lost my parents until I came of age, and she had no mother from birth, and willingly (albeit regrettably) shunned her father in her youth.
At the end of the night, I showed her the portal that would return us to Thunder Bluff. I thanked her for accompanying me, as the Faire is much more enjoyable when shared with a friend. She thanked me in turn, for inviting her, then fell silent, staring at me. I wondered, briefly, what was on her mind... then she made her thoughts known before I could ask: she jumped forward, and hugged me. Before I could understand fully what was happening, she ran for the portal and jumped into it.
I do not know what I am feeling, right now... I just know that all of my emotions are good. I am still surprised, as I had not expected a hug from Maengun. But I am overjoyed to know that she has accepted my friendship. Perhaps now, she will find it easier to approach others in the tribe.