"I'm Iril." The girl said.
"That's a beautiful name. What does it mean?" I asked.
"Um... well you see, the 'il' denotes that I'm female." Iril said. It was obvious that she was embarrassed,
which must be difficult for wood to convey.
"And the 'Ir' part?" I asked.
She sighed. "My name means... sexual desire."
"Oh, well that's nothing to be ashamed of. It just means that your parents thought you would be attractive." I
said, trying to diffuse the situation a bit.
"Well they were wrong. In fact, I'm so unattractive, and so few men wanted me, that the rangers just assumed I
was a lesbian." Iril said, seeming increasingly upset. She sounded on the verge of tears, if it had been
possible for her to produce any. Looking her over, a task I never believed I would do, I thought her name was
fairly accurate. She had long slender legs that led up to a round behind, which was topped by a narrow waist
with a mid-sized bosom, most likely C Cups like mine. Her face was fair, a typical trait among elves, and her
hair was long and flowing. Even in her wooden form, Iril was very beautiful. She giggled.
"I'm flattered, but I wasn't inviting. Enough about me though, your name is Sara correct?" She asked. Had I
not been admiring her body, I would have taken offence at her implications.
"Yes, my name is Sara." I replied.
"Your parents were much more realistic. They named you something they knew you would be." Iril said.
"They did? What does my name mean?" I asked. It had only just occurred to me that I never bothered to find
out.
"It means princess, which you are." Iril said, sounding even more dejected than she had before.
"Oh come now Iril, don't be upset. I'm sure the boys all find you attractive. In fact, it's likely they only
never asked because they were too busy drooling over you." I said.
"That's nice Sara, but we both know I'm fairly plain. And if I am pretty by human standards, it's likely yours
are different than ours." Iril said. I was sure that she hadn't meant it as an insult, but I was still curious
what she meant.
"Different standards? Men have always seemed just as vulgar no matter where they come from to me." I said.
"Yes well, elves tend to focus on different things in other aspects as well. Just as we prefer the bow to the
sword, we prefer the voice to the behind." Iril said. It made sense when I thought about it. Elves had
naturally sharper hearing, which is part of why they excelled at hunting. It would make sense if they decided
attractiveness based on sweetness of voice.
"Well then it should be obvious to you what your name means. Your parents thought you had a beautiful voice."
I said.
"Yes well, that doesn't quite fit either. You see, my mother is human, and she picked the name." Iril said.
There was simply no winning with this girl.