Dilan and Aeleus

When it comes to character development and storytelling, I put a lot of what I know about David Dayan Fisher into Kort whenever I write about him (which isn't that often but still). Since reading one of his books, I realized I can use some of it to tell a story about another one of his characters, Dilan. I'm not taking anything verbatim from his life, just giving Dilan some traits that they would have in common, just like with Kort. So if you ever read my stuff, David, please forgive me. As with Even and Braig before, I made Dilan and Aeleus childhood friends as well.

As a child, Dilan would often go to the forest near his house to commune with nature. Most of the other kids thought he was weird because he liked cooking and going into the forest alone. One day, he discovered a trio of them antagonizing the animals that lived there. "Hey! Stop that right now!" he yelled. "This is their home!"
"You gonna make us?" one of them said.  The other two picked up rocks. Dilan picked up a stick to defend himself.
As they started pelting him with rocks, another boy came up behind them and grabbed two of them. "What do you think you're doing?!" he bellowed.
"It's Aeleus! Run!" the first kid shouted.
"Scary!" screamed one of the other kids after Aeleus let them go.
"You're Aeleus?" Dilan asked calmly after the three had run away. Aeleus nodded. "Thank you. I'm not sure I could've taken all three of them for long."
"Your name's Dilan, right? I've heard people say you can talk to spirits. Is that true?"
"No, that's just a rumor. I come here by myself because I feel at peace surrounded by nature."
"Those three were probably trying to get to you by messing with the animals. What a rotten thing to do, regardless."
"So what are you doing here? Did you follow them?"
"No, I just happened to be in the right place at the right time." Aeleus shrugged. "Actually, I was hoping I'd run into you, but not like that."
"Why? Were you hoping I could talk to spirits?"
"That's not...I mean, you seemed to have the right idea. Sitting in silent meditation is the way of the warrior."
Rather than sit quietly in meditation, they continued talking about their interests and common ground until the sun began to set. "Oh no! I forgot to gather the herbs!" Dilan exclaimed, remembering the other reason he'd come to the forest.
"It'll be dark soon. Let me help," Aeleus insisted. Dilan told him what to look for, and the two quickly got to work and then ran back to Dilan's house.
"Thanks again for all your help."
"No problem. See you at school." 
The next day, Aeleus was accused of bullying the three from the woods. Although he was being yelled at by the principal in the front yard of the school, he didn't say anything to defend himself. Dilan arrived and told their side of the story. "They were throwing rocks at the animals and then at me. Aeleus was only trying to stop them. It's not his fault everyone's scared of him."
Aeleus looked at him gratefully. "That's the first time anyone's ever stood up for me," he said after the crowd around them had dispersed.
"I couldn't let them get away with turning that back on you," Dilan insisted. "Why didn't you try to say something to defend yourself?"
"I...I've always been too strong for my own good. Sometimes I hurt people without even trying to. That's why I'm by myself all the time," Aeleus explained sadly.
"Not anymore," Dilan declared. "Someday, we're going to make everyone respect us."
"And we can protect those who need it, too," Aeleus added. "We can become members of the castle guard!"
When they were older, they decided to apply to the academy to become guards. Braig happened to be their senpai. The three of them got along well and kept that relationship when all of them became Ansem's apprentices.