Hey guys new story :) I've been sitting on this one for a while and have a lot of it done, but I just know myself and I have a tendency to take long breaks from stories... I'm hoping putting this up will keep me motivated. It starts out a little slow mostly with character background and such, but it'll get more interesting, promise :) Please let me know what you think! I'm always down for ideas and suggestions!

"Curse this damned rain!" Elle swore as she sprinted towards sanctuary under a small grove of trees. Once she was under the shelter of the leaves, she wiped the water out of her eyes, and shook as much as she could from her cloak and small traveling packs. Her journey to Hobbiton had been a damp one, and she was happy for a moments respite from the torrential downpour. As she adjusted her hood, she looked out over the plains of rolling grass towards the glowing lights of the small hobbit holes only just visible in the dimming light of the evening heavens. Noting the hue of the sky, Elle was certain the clouds were dumping the last of their load over the plains of the Shire. She settled down in the dry grass under the tree to wait the rain out. Gandalf had mentioned the meeting would be a large one; it would be best to rest up first before dealing with many new faces. Before closing her eyes, Elle took one last longing look at the town in front of her, and noted with a small pang of jealousy that it would indeed be a fine place to call home.

OOOOO

Home had once held important meaning to Elle. From a young age, she'd learned that home was where the importance of family, simple comforts, and good food reigned over all else. Unlike many young girls, Elle grew up knowing that home meant love. Home meant safety from the dangers of the world. Home provided shelter from the disdainful eyes of those who did not understand Elle's family.

Elle's family was very unlike other families, for Elle's parent's union was based on love, not conventionalities. It was a love that had blossomed and continued to grow stronger since the moment dwarf and elf had met. Elle's mother, Adlanniel, was a famous elven warrior of Rivendell, who had led many battles against countless enemies. Elle's father, Bain, was a dwarven weapon-smith from Erebor, who's swords, axes, and hammers had once been the prize of all who had the fortune to own them. One fateful night, however, he fell in love with the visiting elleth, Adlanniel, and his fame and affluence had been taken from him in the blink of an eye. He was cast out by his people, and followed his lover back to her home in Rivendell. Unlike the dwarves, the elves were forgiving towards the couple. They were wise in the ways of love, and understood its irrational nature. Surrounded by the valley of Imladris, they were bonded forever in T. A. 2769. In the end, however, Bain and Adlanniel knew they could not stay in the elven city, so they traveled to the land just south of the North Downs. There they built a home where they could raise a child without being bothered or ridiculed by outsiders.

Elle was born in T.A. 2772, a year or two after the couple had settled. She was a beautiful baby girl with the dark, curly brown hair of her father, but the gentile facial features of her mother. As she grew, her elven features began to become more prominent, a fact which her father did not begrudge at all. He was glad to see the grace and beauty of his wife shine through in his daughter as well. The few signs of dwarfishness in her were the dusting of freckles on her face, her long curly hair, the layer of soft hair covering her arms, her shorter stature, and blunt ears. As she grew older, Elle longed for more company. Luckily, Bain and Adlanniel were well known amongst the Rangers of the North, who stopped by to deliver news and any goods the couple might desire in exchange for a hot meal and a bed for the night. They played with Elle as she grew, and taught her the ways of the land. Once, even, a wizard calling himself Gandalf the Grey showed up at the house in the late hours of the night. Despite the unexpected nature of the visit, Elle's parents treated him with the greatest respect, and he returned several times to check in on the family. He took a particular interest in Elle, and told her incredible tales about his travels. In his visits and the visits of the Rangers, Elle found some company at least, and so she was happy.

Anything Elle could ever want for was provided for her, yet she was not a spoiled child. Her parents showed her constant care, but she was independent from the beginning. At an early age, her father showed her the art of weapon-crafting, while her mother taught her to use the weapons fashioned in Bain's self-made forge behind their cottage. Before she could even lift a sword, Elle showed skill with a bow and arrow. Once she grew bigger, her mother introduced her to larger weapons. Perhaps it was the combination of both her parent's love for weaponry, or simply natural talent, but Elle took to every blade her father could create. At age 24 – a very young age for both dwarves and elves - it already looked like Elle would one day surpass her mother in ability. She had been blessed with the lightness and agility of an elf, along with the strength of a dwarf. Realizing this, Bain took it upon himself to create a weapon for his daughter that would suite her strengths. For her 25th birthday, Elle was given a double ended staff; one end held a long, deadly blade modeled after those of the elves, and the other end sported a spiked hammer modeled after the devastating weapons of the dwarves. It was not unwieldy, however, since Bain had taken special care to keep the staff balanced. This weapon suited Elle perfectly and it took her only a year to fully master it.

As the years went on, hunting became Elle's primary responsibility, and she found that both her arrows and her staff were suited to the task. The further from home she ventured, the larger the prey became, and it was useful to have her hammer and blade in case her arrows were not sufficient. In addition to hunting, she would often take trips with the Rangers of the North to make sure all was right with the land and its people.

One fateful night, not many weeks after Elle's 47th birthday, Elle returned from a particularly long trip to find her home in shambles, and her parents nowhere to be found. Calling frantically, Elle heard a noise in her father's forge. To her horror, she found Bain curled up in the corner with a gigantic wound across his face and chest. Surrounding him were the bodies of several Orcs and two giant wolf-like creatures Elle recognized as Wargs. Her father was barely conscious, but, as Elle held him to her chest, she learned that a band of three Orcs riding upon vicious Wargs had attacked the house without warning. They had killed her mother as she tried to fend them off, and one beast had run off with her body. The rest had chased her father into the forge, and it was a Warg's fang that had dealt Bain his fatal wound, but not before he was able to defeat all who threatened his family. As her father drew his final breath, Elle heard a noise outside the doorway to the forge. She turned to see the last of the hideous beasts slinking back to find the rest of his company. Elle realized this was the beast who had taken her mother, and a hot rage boiled in her chest. She screamed and rushed the Warg, smashing it's skull with her hammer, and spinning to slice its throat. The death of the Warg didn't stop her, however, and, along with her burning tears, Elle's hammer fell down upon the fallen beast again and again, destroying it completely. Elle learned that day exactly what she and the other terrible creatures of the world were capable of, and how exactly she was going to use her strength. She set out then with little more than her staff, her bow, and several of her father's throwing axes, to avenge her parents by using her strengths against the evil creatures bent on destroying that which was good. However, no matter how many villages she saved, no matter how much good she did, she would never forget how helpless she had felt that day as she smashed the body of the Warg. Nothing she'd done that day or the years following had made any difference. Her parents were still gone, and she was still an unwanted outcast without a real place to call home. It was an ache that haunted Elle, even in sleep…

Waking with a start, Elle shook her head free of painful dreams and noticed that the sky was dark and the rain had stopped. It was time she was off. Standing up, she brushed the grass off her leather breaches and set off across the field.