Rigel was a statistic. A pregnant, teenaged girl statistic. Not that she was proud of it, it just was. While not proud of being pregnant, but she wasn't as ashamed as some of her friends were of it.

Rigel's parents, while not proud of her actions, decided they didn't want to loose their daughter. They offered her as much support as she could want.

Rigel looked at herself in the mirror. A slightly pudgy version of herself stared back. Her pregnancy showed only if you saw her from the side. Otherwise, you'd just think she was pudgy. She sighed and pulled her brown hair back into a long braid.

Today, Rigel was taking her little brother and her friend's son on a hike. One of her older friends became pregnant a couple of years ago. Rigel was very proud of her friend for all that she had been through. Rigel tried to help out her friend as much as she could. In turn, her friend helped her as much as she could.

"Rigel," her little brother, Orion, knocked on the door. He was six years younger. He looked much like his sister. He walked into her room and plopped on her bed. "When are we leaving?" he asked.

"Soon," she answered. She pulled out her backpack and stuffed a few extra things in. "Alright, let's go pick up Grim." She slugged the bag on her shoulder and opened the door. Orion followed her out the door. On the way, Rigel stopped in the kitchen to pick up their packed lunch.

Soon they were in Rigel's car, going to pick up Grim. Grim was only two, but he was trouble. Rigel loved to spend time with him anyway. She could only wonder what her child would turn out like.

"Wait up, Orion, I've got to get Grim out of his seat," Rigel called after her brother.

Orion turned and waited impatiently. He wanted to count how many slimy things he could find.

Rigel placed Grim on her hip, pulled out her bag, and locked the car. Grim was still sleepy from his afternoon nap. He put his head on her shoulder and dozed off. Rigel caught up with her brother. The three then set off towards the trail.

An hour and fifty-three slimy bugs later, Grim was happily running ahead and giggling with Orion chasing him. Rigel followed the two at a leisurely pace. Grim came running back to her and he put his arms up. Orion soon followed.

"I'm hungry and so's Grim," Orion announced.

Rigel rolled her eyes at her brother, "Well, if you would help me find a place to eat, we could stop."

They walked on and came to a clearing. There was a bent tree that Orion could sit in perfectly. There also were a few flat rocks that Rigel could rest her feet on. The three settled down for lunch.

Orion ate his sandwich while telling his sister all about the bugs that he had found. Grim tried to fling his food at a bush. Rigel was listening to her brother while trying to stop Grim from flinging his food at the bush.

All the while, many figures watched the three.

Orion suddenly stopped talking and stared at something over Rigel's shoulder. "Rigel," he stuttered. "There's someone behind you. I don't think they're happy, either."

Rigel turned around, fully expecting to see a park ranger yelling at her to pick up her garbage. She turned around to see someone who didn't look like a park ranger at all walking towards them. He was holding what looked like a bow in one hand. With a start, Rigel realized that the bow was drawn.

"Orion, get over here, now!" she turned and hissed at her brother. Orion obeyed immediately and ran to his sister. Rigel held Grim to one side and Orion to the other. All the while, the man walked closer.

He stopped a few yards away and called out, "Ya naa lle?"

Rigel stared at him blankly. "Who're you?" She asked rudely. "And what's with the bow?"

The man called out again, "Ya naa lle?" He pointed his bow at them again. After hearing no answer, he said, "Mallen pelu e' n'alaquel en' sen."

The three heard a noise from behind them. They turned quickly to see more men coming out from the trees. The men appeared to be making a circle around them, with bows drawn.

"Shit," Rigel said quietly. She shoved everything into her bag and zipped it shut. She slung the bag on and stood up. She grabbed Grim and held him close. Grim was watching the people with curiosity. Orion stood up and pressed himself close to his sister.

The man that had called out came closer to the three. He spoke again, "Ya naa lle? Manke naa lle tuulo'? Mani nae lle umien? Lle quena i'lambe tel' Eldalie?"

Orion pulled on his sister's shirt, "Look at them."

"I am looking at them Orion," Rigel muttered.

"I don't think they're human," Orion hissed.

Rigel looked at them. They walked, or rather stalked, towards them gracefully. Their hair was long and done up in many braids. Their clothing looked a lot different from what Rigel was used to.

"Great," Rigel muttered, "Now we're dealing with genetically altered freaks." Louder she said, "Look, we were just having a harmless picnic. I promise we'll clean up everything. Now, can we go?"

The man-thing lowered his bow slightly. This caused everyone else to lower their bows. He walked towards them. He made a "follow me" gesture and said, "Khila amin. Ela sen."

Rigel looked at Orion. He shrugged. Against her better judgment, Rigel decided to follow them. Besides, she didn't have much of a choice with the bows pointing at her back.

"Great," Rigel muttered. "She's going to kill me and we're being dragged around with weirdoes." She was Grim's mother.

I sincerely hope that this isn't infringing on anyone's ideas or stories. Tell me if I am, please. And, on another note, Tell me of any faults or inconsistencies you see. That includes turning this into some romantic Mary-Sue type story. And please forgive me if I have mauled the Elvish language.

I only own Rigel, Orion, Grim, Grim's mother, and Rigel's baby.