SUMMARY: Six different lives. Six difficult pasts. Six reluctant journeys that will soon become united for one greater purpose.
Alagos has avoided the Rishten for most of his life, but now finds he can't escape the bond-pull or the person it is insistently trying to connect him to - Gwelutarien. He's run from his past for so many years and held on to bitterness for so long...is he even capable of finding peace or forgiving? As the shape-shifter grows closer to his destination and fulfilling a demand given by his gift, it is inevitable that he will soon find out...and perhaps figure out his fate as well.
Gwelutarien - Gweltari - is being pulled to Alagos by the Rishten and while she is fine with this, she knows he is not. Her family thinks she is making the wrong choice trusting the damaged shape-shifter and trying to make him open up to her, but the ranger woman knows better. She has secrets of her own and knows what it is to be afraid to reveal them, even to her family. But will her perseverance pay off and will she think the results worth it if it does? After all, trust extends both ways. If she wants to hold Alagos' secrets, she must also be willing to reveal her own...
Kahilnar has never been more confused - or scared, though, he won't admit it - in his life. The dragoness Sharpmist has revealed to him a bond between them that he despises, a bond he does not want. He struggles to simply understand what is going on and why he suddenly finds himself in the middle of a destiny bigger than he could have ever imagined. And if those two situations were not bad enough; his own younger brother is out to kill him for the right to the throne, a right that Kahilnar doesn't even want. Caught between his family and the Northerners, the enemy of his people, Kahilnar has to learn very quickly to trust those around him...no matter how foreign that trust feels and how reluctant he might be to listen to what is being told to him.
Sharpmist has always been stubborn and has always fought for what she wants. Being Rishten to Kahilnar is no different and she has found that the approach works well for she and the Easterling. A deeper call, however, urges her to grow in ways she has not expected to be called to do and the dragoness is unsure she is ready for it. Love has never come easy to Sharpmist and she can barely admit that she cares for Kahilnar. Besides, could she really come to love - in any form of the word - someone of human blood, someone who professes to hate dragons?
Renegade is an enigma to even those who know him well and is viewed as a danger by those who don't. He rarely gives anyone any reason to think he possesses a heart and seems not to care for anyone around him unless it be his Second. As the Commander of an elite group of fighters, he is well respected and clearly trusted, but even his men are wary about him and during battle everyone stays out of his way. Everyone but the newest addition to this group of fighters; Noruiel, an Empath Renegade clearly hates and a woman nearly as stubborn as he is. She has Renegade questioning even himself as she persistently aggravates him just by her presence alone and has many others wondering just what lays in their Commander's past to make him the way he is? And does his past have an influence on why he is constantly targeted by the enemy for capture?
Noruiel is a powerful Empath in her own right, but it is a power she would rather not have. It took her away from her family and has seemed to cause her nothing but grief her whole life. She now finds herself, unwillingly, at the center of an elaborate plot and not knowing who she can trust. Sent to watch over Renegade's group of a elite fighters, she wonders as to her purpose among them and when her superiors will destroy the fragile sense of belonging she has managed to find. And ever making her already difficult life harder is the Commander who appears to hate her for no logical reason she can decipher. His loathing seems to stem from the fact that she is an Empath, but Noruiel can not understand why as she has done nothing to him, can't do anything to him. It only makes her all the more curious to find out what he is hiding...while at the same time trying determinedly not to reveal her own past.
And to the East... A dark menace, as yet undetected, blooms slowly like a flower after the rain, stealthily stretching its arms over the land and suffocating all in its path...
DO NOT READ THIS WITHOUT READING Muinthel, Maethor, Mellon AND Herves ar Iell AND O Emlyg FIRST!
Disclaimer: Come on, this is my fourth Lord of the Ring's story on FANFICTION. Do you honestly think I own Peter Jackson and Tolkien's work or make money off of it? No. No I don't.
Warnings: This story is AU! If you do not like this, don't read. This story will contain dragons, Anikrrn, Tsubasa and places that Tolkien did not mention in his books along with some places he did. There is romance, but no hint of slash or heavy romantic material. Mild violence may occur as I do tend to write about battles. Very mild cursing may occur. There is implied past abuse with two of the characters, but nothing of a sexual nature and nothing explicitly graphic.
Acknowledgments ~ A HUGE, SINCERE thank you to dreamingfifi who brutally went through my chapters and corrected my horrendous elven and Japanese! Admittedly, I kept some of it (like the names and certain words I could not give up) but the rest is all her doing and I am extremely grateful for her help! Be sure to check out her website for great, accurate elven in both Sindarin and Quenya plus much more! http: / / www .realelvish. net /
A/N ~ Thank you for reading!
Bold is mind-speech.
Rhûnic
Nahisya = Shy One, Special One
Taeg ~ Boundary
Gweltari glanced over at the white wolf who kept pace with the Rangers just a few lengths away. Since running into her brothers, the shape-shifter had shied away from everyone, including her, staying on the outskirts of the quiet group of humans when they'd joined the rest of the Rangers about four hours ago. The woman really couldn't blame him. For one reason or another, the twins had terrified him and the ranger woman knew that the fear wasn't going to simply disappear because Thalbor and Taurnar were now acting much more civil - well, as civil as could be expected of the twins. It helped that they were still worried she was furious at them.
She let a small smile curve her lips at the thought. Perhaps that would work to her advantage for a short amount of time. Long enough to get a conversation in with Alagos without them hovering at least... Gweltari found her smile growing slightly as she looked at the white canine once more. He'd chosen her. The thought still brought a trill to her heart. Despite his reluctance, his shadowed past and his fear of her kind...he'd still come. He was still following her. He didn't like the Rishten between them, that much she could still tell, but...he'd come after her and his amber eyes while holding a strong, mysterious terror for something only he remembered, had also held trust. A small trust for HER. It was enough to make her steps lighter and her voice softer when she spoke to the others in the group.
Green-gray eyes suddenly found amber in another side-glance and the two held the others' gaze. Gweltari reached with her mind on impulse toward his, but didn't get far as the shape-shifter shot her a look that clearly said, 'Don't push it' and kept his mind closed from her own, his ears going back against his head in agitation. He was coming with her. He'd endured her brothers. He was enduring the stares and the disturbance to his solitude, but enough was enough for one day and he was making that very clear. Gweltari only smiled again, the expression verging on a grin as she looked away in amusement.
Alagos felt the look more than he saw it and he snorted, bounding further ahead of the humans until his paws took him beyond their sight and into the thick trees. It was only then that the shape-shifter relaxed slightly. An unexpected shiver of both fear and relief raced under his fur and the canine shook it out before standing still once more and sniffing the air. It smelled the same as it had ten minutes earlier, but Alagos knew that could change very quickly.
Satisfied that the forest was still safe for the time being he brought his attention back to the situation at hand. Not that he wanted to, but it really wasn't just going to go away...and recent experience was showing him that he could no longer just run from things he didn't like either. He wanted to, but...it just wasn't possible anymore, especially not with HER. The wolf snorted softly once more and looked back over his shoulder, ears cocked before leaping away and further into the woods. He would be able to find the humans well enough when they camped. It wasn't like they were THAT quiet and their scent would be trail enough even if he couldn't simply sense where Gweltari was at all times. He'd stayed long enough to show the woman that he was committed to staying, but that didn't mean he had to travel with the Rangers the entire way. At least not today. He wasn't up for it today.
The shape-shifter was soon far away from any humans sounds at all and with the absence of this came a sudden feeling of loneliness. It hit him unexpectedly and the wolf stilled in the small clearing he'd found himself in, blinking. Alagos' form slowly changed until he was able to run his hand through white hair with a sigh of confusion. When he closed his eyes, he could feel her, wanted to go back. When he just closed off his mind it was almost impossible to understand why he wasn't going back right now, but his mind wouldn't stay quiet for long and it was still in control of his body at this point, not his heart. Frustrating as the struggle was, it was also comforting in a strange way, too.
The shape-shifter couldn't help glancing back the way he'd come, though, and it occurred to him that this was the reason he felt alone. It was her absence. Alagos found it no easier to dismiss the feeling now that he knew why he felt it.
He growled under his breath and walked toward the trunk of a tree, pulling himself up into its branches. The shape-shifter settled himself and took a deep breath, his eyes closed. He just needed to gain some control over his frayed emotions. He wasn't sure what had possessed him to try and stand up to Gweltari's brothers, but it had certainly backfired. Badly. Alagos looked down at his hands and clenched them into fists to stop the subtle tremors that were still going through him. He was angry at his own reaction to the twins, to the humans in general. To Edonar and Sakalthor. To any human that crossed his path. He should have been able to as least talk to Thalbor and Taurnar, but...the way they'd cornered him, even without planning any intentional harm...it had set off an alarm within him. The memories, long buried, but still potent, had risen then and he hadn't even seen Thalbor and Taurnar anymore. He'd only seen the men who had imprisoned him when he was younger. He'd only seen the dungeon walls and felt the pain and despair that had been his constant companions in that place, that time.
Humans. He couldn't be around them. The fear, coming at unexpected times, the constant tension in his body that he couldn't control, the high-alert his mind slipped into...it wasn't something he could deal with for long periods of time without something giving. Elves, dwarves...while he didn't particularly enjoy being with either species, he also didn't fear either of them which was nothing short of a blessing. Dragons were a whole different story, but looking back on these last few days, Alagos had to admit that being back with his kin hadn't been terrible for the most part. In fact, there were a few young dragons that he'd found some hope in. That had given him some reason to believe that the next generation might be better than the first.
The shape-shifter didn't truly register the smile on his face, small as it was, but he did feel the faint start of surprised emotion that came from Gweltari - wherever she was - as she felt the small flow of happiness from him. Alagos rolled his eyes and looked at the sky. It was almost dark. The happy feeling bled away as he jumped from the tree and shifted, heading toward the ever-present pull that would take him back to the Rangers and to Gweltari.
Gweltari jumped nervously as the fire popped to her left and Thalbor gave her a small, lopsided smile. "Relax, Tari." She nodded absentmindedly, her mind wandering away again, back to worry for Alagos and Taurnar quietly spoke into the silence this time, glancing at his twin. "He'll come when he feels safer, sister." Gweltari's eyes snapped to meet her brother's gray ones and both twins smiled somewhat sheepishly, nervously. The woman found her own mouth curving upward and sighed, turning slightly to face them better. Her emotions softened toward the two men as she looked at them. Large, handsome and hot-tempered they were more like big children than anything. Big children with weapons and she loved them for it no matter how frustrating they could be.
Technically she was the younger sibling by five years, but even from a young age, she'd known that her twin brothers were more like children than she was. It was funny really. At home they had both Annaelen - older than them by seven years - and their mother to worry about and coddle them and they had Gweltari and Lirianen to watch out for. When they were at home, it wasn't so bad to feel that over-protectiveness from the two men. There were plenty of people to share it. But now...well, Gweltari had always been their shadow, their pet project. She was special to them in a way the other two girls were not. Annaelen was thirty-four and happily married with two children of her own. She didn't need that much looking after and was more like a mother-figure anyway. She always had been. Lirianen was only fourteen and ladylike, just as their mother was. She would never think to run through the woods or catch frogs or practice with a sword. No, that was Gweltari and always had been. She had been the twins' first baby sister and they adored her and she had looked up to them. There was a strong bond between the three, but it had started to stretch as the woman got older and started wanting to be known for who she was - not just as her older brothers' shadow.
Taurnar and Thalbor simply found it hard to move aside and let her step out on her own. And to move aside and let her step out on her own when she appeared to want to do so with a strange dragon-like man who seemed more feral than not? No, that wasn't easy for them to do at all. Gweltari looked at them now and her voice was soft when she spoke, remembering this, remembering warm sun and laughter, pranks and hunting, archery practice and stories by the fire. She remembered her brothers and the love came through in her voice, bridging some of the gap her capture and then the aftermath of said capture had caused. "I am not angry anymore. Annoyed, yes, but not angry."
Both males nodded, looking down and it was Taurnar, the twin who always cooled off the fastest, who spoke, scratching the back of his neck. "We're sorry." His gray eyes came up to meet her green-gray ones. "We were worried for you, are worried for you, but that does not justify what we did."
Gweltari raised a brow, tilting her head and sweeping curls back as they tickled her arm. "What exactly did you do?" Her eyes scanned the forest again with faint worry and her next words were soft. "I've felt him scared before, but not like that. It was different in a way. I want to know why."
"We just spoke to him." It was Thalbor and he finally seemed ready to admit that maybe they'd actually done something wrong. In his mind, they'd done very little, but Thalbor usually followed Taurnar's wisdom in matters like this. His twin was much more of a thinker than he'd ever be - though, that didn't mean Thalbor was less than bright - and where Thalbor would see nothing wrong in their actions, his twin would be able to ponder the details of the situation. "We only told him to stay away from you, that you didn't need to be hurt again." Thalbor could see the annoyance rising in his sister, but she didn't say a word and he knew she wouldn't at this point. He almost wished she would, but Gweltari tended to keep her anger inward until it finally HAD to be let out.
"We got too close to him."
Two pair of eyes blinked at the quiet statement and Taurnar looked between his sister and brother. "He was fine until we closed in on him. It was intentional intimidation on our part, but...I think it worked more than we thought it would and in a bad way. We didn't intend to hurt him, Gweltari."
Gweltari crossed her arms and snorted, snapping out a retort before she could hold it in. "Perhaps you should have taken into account what's happened each time you've tried to interact with him." She sighed a moment later and uncrossed her arms as she looked into the fire, regretting the words. "Thalbor, Taurnar you can't corner him. He's...he's been hurt by our kind in some way. I don't know how yet, but...just be careful when you are around him. Be careful like you were when we caught that injured raccoon when we were younger. Do you remember?" She smiled as both twins nodded, paying close attention to what she was telling them. "Well, just like that raccoon, Alagos is both in need of help and dangerous. You were understanding and careful around the raccoon. Can you not try to do the same for him?" She didn't get an answer as both her brother's heads snapped up to look at something behind her. Gweltari turned to see amber eyes looking back at her from within a white face.
The white wolf's eyes glittered in the firelight, but the woman was struck by the lack of emotion in them. It both irritated and saddened her that there was nothing there to see. There should have been something. Even anger or hurt would have been better than that blank look. And yet, she could still feel him just fine. Not always clearly, but there were emotions that went on behind the mask and the ranger woman was well aware that Alagos hated that she could feel them just as much as she hated his refusal to show anything outwardly. It was an impasse that neither was willing to bend to at the moment.
Alagos watched with some surprise as both twin stood and moved away from the small fire toward another one where their father sat. He hadn't expected them to do that. Grudgingly let him come closer, sure, but not move away completely. The wolf felt more than heard Gweltari's amused chuckle and his eyes came back to her, unsure, before he stepped forward and out of the trees. He was aware that some of his fur stood on end, but he couldn't help it and the woman didn't comment as he came closer to her, just out of arms reach and at least two arms length from the fire she sat near. Gweltari drew her knees up and tilted her head, studying him for a long moment before speaking. She wanted to ask where he'd been, if he was all right...so many questions she wanted to voice, but in the end she chose none of them, choosing something different instead.
"You don't like fire." It wasn't a question, but there was some surprise in the statement and Alagos just gave her a sidelong look. "Yes." The word was simple, but it contained a message of reluctance to talk about the topic that Gweltari would have been deaf to miss. The woman wasn't deaf though, she just decided to ignore the warning and twirled a strand of dark brown hair around her finger. "Why? Do not dragons breath fire?"
Alagos growled and swung his wolf-head to look at his bonded directly. "Does the word 'silence' mean anything to you, Human?"
"I'm not sure. Does the word 'trust' have any true meaning for you, Dragon?" was the quick retort and both glared at the other until the shape-shifter finally looked away, down at his paws. Gweltari resisted the urge to sigh with frustration and was glad she didn't when Alagos suddenly spoke, catching her attention and her fast-rising temper, cooling it. Her brothers weren't the only one with that problem.
"I don't like to be called 'Dragon'."
"Why not?" Her words were soft. What might have seemed like a diversion in conversation to others, Gweltari understood with clarity. He wasn't trying to distract her - no chance there and he knew it - no, he was giving her another piece of trust and she was willing to take it for what it was, but she was also willing to push him a bit, challenge him. Alagos didn't reply at first, but the woman waited patiently. Or at least she did so on the outside. Inside she was bursting with curiosity - and she knew he felt it - but if there was one thing she was learning with Alagos, it was that he would not be rushed and if you tried to do make him speak before he was ready, he'd fight you the entire way. He wasn't all that different from her in that regard. If you tried to make her do something she was not ready or willing to do, Gweltari would fight you tooth and nail. She would probably win, too.
"It..." He seemed to struggle to find the right words..or maybe just the words at all and Gweltari moved closer smoothly, slowly, without thought, just knowing she wanted to be closer to him. And Alagos didn't move away. He simply growled low in his throat as he laid down, settling on his stomach with his paws before him and his back legs under him. There was a tension between them that crackled like the fire they remained by, but under the current of buzzing electricity was a comfort and a sense of safety that neither would fully acknowledge. It came through in Gweltari's sudden need to be closer to the wolf. It came through in the way Alagos suddenly felt safe enough to lie down when he'd been taunter than a bow string a moment before. Still, neither said a word about it and the shape-shifter finally seemed to find the right words to say to her question.
"It is a name from my past that causes me pain to hear. It was not used kindly." His voice had faded into more of a growl at the end than anything. Not a harsh growl or even an angry one, but a simple sound that came from the form he currently resided as; a wolf. It was a natural canine-like sound and Gweltari smiled slightly, liking it. She nodded slowly and spoke only when amber eyes met her green-gray. "I will not call you that again. I promise." Her eyes gleamed for a moment as she continued. "I have a name too, though, Alagos. I don't like to be called 'Human' anymore than you like to be called 'Dragon'."
She watched the canine blink and then a slow grin come to his face, a very wolf-ish expression, but a smile nonetheless and the shape-shifter sighed, laying his head back on his paws as he looked at the fire before him. "I understand." It was all he was going to say about the matter right now and Gweltari knew it. She accepted the fact easily, but her sharp mind had not yet given up on the original question, the one he had yet to answer. "Alagos, why do you not like fire?"
The woman watched him carefully. She watched the way his body stiffened slightly, the fur the rose along his neck and she reached her hand out, this time without hesitation to settle it right above his neck, but not quite on his head. Her hand was running comfortingly through his fur before either of them fully registered what was happening, but by that point...neither of them was actually startled by the contact. Alagos' body slowly drained of tension and with it went much of the electric current that had existed between them. Gweltari was grateful for the fact, but she couldn't help wondering if it was just the canine part of him that liked the caress of her hand or if it went deeper than that. It was hard to tell at this point.
Gweltari's hand stopped once more where it had begun and she spoke again, unaware that her hand had grabbed a fistful of white fur on instinct alone. It was not a harsh grip, only one of security and perhaps of some fear of her own that he'd leave. "Why are you scared of it?" What she really meant was, 'Why are you scared at all?', but the woman knew better than to voice that thought. It was bad enough that the shape-shifter could feel every shift of emotion in her the same way she could with him. It would seem that right now, though, neither of them was willing to press the other mentally, to cross that line. So instead she waited for his answer, feeling the crackling tension returning.
Alagos didn't raise his head from his paws, didn't look away from the flames before him - safe flames - but his ears did go back, almost flat against his head and his fur started to rise again as memories surfaced. Confusing, terrifying, blurry memories of when he'd first became scared of flames that even now were hard to make out with complete accuracy. Still, they held a reason for fear and he *did* know that reason. He just couldn't remember precisely every detail of every memory. There were complete ones, though, and those were bad enough. He cursed his voice for shaking when he started and steadied it with control. "I..I am a dragon talented with wind, not fire. I can be badly burned even in dragon form. In other forms I am just as susceptible as you are to fire."
"That does not explain why you fear it so much."
The canine finally moved, sitting up and forcing Gweltari to release her hold on his fur. The shape-shifter's expression was hard, no longer willing to be open and the woman knew he wouldn't be talking further after he spoke again once more. "When an enemy finds a weakness they use it against you, Nahisya. The more it might hurt, the better." He stood and walked away, tail low, ears pressed to his head and Gweltari watched his form until the night swallowed it. She wasn't sure what to feel right now and clenched her teeth to keep from cursing. Anger and grief were the greatest feelings that warred inside her chest. What had 'they' done to him! The more she learned, vague as it was, the more she felt like simply going after the ones who had caused her bonded pain no matter how illogical the notion might be.
The smaller, but no less powerful emotion in her heart was joy.
Nahisya. She didn't know what it meant. She didn't know if it had the worst meaning in all of Arda, but she did know that when he said it...it was said with affection. An affection she didn't think even HE was aware showed. Nahisya. It was warmth and comfort. It was Alagos without the bitterness and wariness. It was something she could cling to, a hope that he'd given her seemingly without even thinking about it. Gweltari was grateful for the small miracle. She would take it.
Alagos cocked his head in interest as a whisper ghosted though his mind. His gift. It was strangely silent, subdued and he found himself just waiting for it to flare, to rage out of control. It had been contained now for far longer than he'd ever been able to keep it on his own. Gweltari...he knew it was her presence, her will that kept the voices, the information at bay. She didn't even seem to realize she was doing it half the time and the shape-shifter had to wonder when the pressure, the constant use of a dormant power, a strength she was oblivious to would crack, give in. It would be painful for him when it did, but at least he would know how to handle it. It wouldn't be the first time after all.
The shape-shifter was now slightly surprised that this voice had gotten through at all with their combined shields, but it had and he listened, curious. It was almost amazing how simple curiosity could return to him now that he wasn't constantly hearing more than he wanted to know. It was amusing really and his lips curled upward as he looked down at the camp a few feet off. Zainaben and Niluphel were sleeping, having drifted off an hour or so earlier. Erthor, Zainaben's father, and Gimlan, Niluphel's father, were seated around a good-sized fire, talking with Thalos. Gweltari was leaning against her father, seeming to blink back weariness. She seemed to be losing the battle as she looked at the fire, only half-focused on the conversation. Her gaze would occasionally look in his direction, to his exact tree, but she never rose and Alagos knew she understood that he was there, but that he didn't want company. It was a relief, really, that she understood him that well. It was also unnerving.
Thalbor and Taurnar were sitting as guards off in the shadows across the camp, but they had yet to detect where the shape-shifter was - something Alagos found great amusement in. His amber eyes scanned the camp once more and he found himself missing both Edonar and Sakalthor. The Rohirrim had become a friend in their travel together. Surprising as the fact was, he found that while he didn't like Edonar closer to him than any other human physically, he didn't really mind the man's presence. And Sakalthor...the little boy had been too much a talker, wanting a hug too often, but...the shape-shifter still felt that the camp wasn't right without the child. Sakal and Abrazan, his father, had gone with Forestwalker though and they would arrive in Rivendell at least two weeks before the Rangers here would.
Alagos wasn't particularly concerned with this information, though, even as it passed through his thoughts. No, he was much more curious about his gift's nudge to listen to the conversation at hand.
"Winter is going to come fast this year, Thalos. We need to find a village to purchase some good horses from soon if we plan on going over the passes. We'll never make it on foot." The voice belonged to Erthor, a man with friendly hazel eyes, a large build and dark brown hair and beard. Alagos couldn't help but think that Zainaben looked nothing like his father so naturally he probably took after his mother.
Thalos nodded slowly and the shape-shifter studied the man. Thalos was much older than the other men here, perhaps the oldest. He gave off a quiet wisdom when he wasn't aggravated and when Alagos thought about it, Thalos hadn't really been the one to ever touch him or speak to him. It had always been the twins. He listened closely to what the man might say.
"I agree, Erthor, but we both know better than most that any village we encounter will be loathe to give up their horses even for a great sum of money. And a great sum we do not have."
"With winter approaching as fast as it is, people will need their livestock for work and travel just as much as we need them to get home." Gimlan, a thin man with reddish-brown hair and gray eyes gave his opinion as well and the other two men nodded. A silence fell over them until Gweltari's soft voice spoke. "We are not going to get to Rivendell in time, are we?" She said it with no fear or panic, just a faint sadness that Alagos wasn't sure if he was feeling or merely seeing. Either way, it hit him like a blow and he felt his breath freeze in his throat. It was strange reaction to such a small emotion, but he couldn't stop it.
Thalos hugged his daughter's shoulder gently. "Perhaps, Tari, but we will try." Gweltari nodded, images of seeing her mother and sisters fading away. The men were trying to be gentle about it, but she was as much a Ranger as they were and the woman knew what they spoke was true. With horses they might have a chance of getting over the passes before the heavy snow came and blocked them off, but on foot...it would be impossible. She smiled in a small way at her father, dipped her head to the other two men present and rose to go to her bedroll. She felt the shape-shifter's eyes on her the entire way, but she didn't find it odd, only comforting to know he was close. She slid into the blankets with a sigh and resolved herself to a winter apart from the female members of her family. At this point, it was going to happen and she knew it.
Alagos watched his bonded's green-gray eyes slip shut and then stayed silent as the rest of the camp settled down for the night. It was as Gimlan went to the twins to change the guard that the shape-shifter jumped softly from his tree and slipped away. He either didn't land quietly enough or he just didn't take into account how observant the Rangers really were because his departure did not go unnoticed by the three humans and it was with a nod that Gimlan watched the twins go silently after the shape-shifter, disappearing into the trees.
A friendly, playful wind whipped and pulled at his white hair as Alagos stepped out on to the wide plain. Very few knew of this place because very few people expected to find a vast plain, well more of a treeless valley, in the middle of the Ered Mithrin. But he had been here many times, had discovered places others knew nothing about and Alagos also knew what he would find here. It was probably why his gift had drawn his attention to the conversation between the Rangers. It was one reason that he'd never doubted that his power came from his Creator. It worked too well, in too many 'coincidences' for it to come from anywhere or anyone else.
Alagos smiled, unable to help it as the wind, his element greeted him, scolded him for being away for so long. He was always surrounded by it - when he wasn't that was worse than death in a way - but there were certain places, wide open places that his connection to the wild element was strongest and he hadn't visited many of these places in a while. The shape-shifter was sorely tempted to take wing and fly, enjoying the wind in its own home, but he resisted, knowing his task couldn't be completed from the air. He reluctantly informed the wind of this, but it didn't mind, simply pulling at his hair again teasingly. Alagos swatted it away in a playful manner, literally pushing the breeze back and it returned from a different angle, blowing his clothes around until he couldn't help but let a small giggle escape, a childish sound that the wind loved.
The shape-shifter shook his head, a smile firmly in place now and spoke softly in a whispering way, a language no one but the wind and he understood. Other dragons, wind-element dragons, would have understood, but there were none near and they wouldn't have been able to teach the language to anyone else if they tried. It simply wasn't possible. It wasn't even speech really, it was a gift, a connection that spoke with thoughts or maybe with desires of the heart. It was impossible to explain, but it was both powerful and yet light, easy. It was comfort and safety to Alagos. He could tell the wind anything, could request anything of it and it didn't turn on him.
He spoke with the wind now, giving his question and he watched as only a wind-element dragon can as the breeze swept away, dividing, splitting, searching for what he needed. All he had to do was wait and he did, standing very still and very patiently, a small breeze constantly pulling gently at his hair and clothes, caressing his skin. He wasn't entirely aware of being watched. Sure, there was the small tug in the back of his mind that suggested it, but he wasn't paying attention to that warning, too busy focusing on the task at hand.
Both Thalbor and Taurnar were very quiet, too, having stayed in the shadow of the trees as they watched the strange white-haired male. They had watched as a sudden gale had ripped at his hair and clothes, but the significance of it was lost on them. What they were trying to understand was WHY the shape-shifter was here, standing motionless. They couldn't say they weren't curious more than cautious now. The smile that had settled on Alagos' face, the bubble of small laughter they'd heard...it didn't add up with what they thought they knew about the dragon.
They were getting used to his feral-like nature, his need to be alone and distanced. They didn't understand the reason, but they could keep their distance well enough most of the time. It was something they were going to make sure Gweltari knew. She'd requested it of them and they were ready to give in to that request. They had not understood the fear Alagos had shown them earlier, either, but at least they now knew it existed and in a way, it did fit with the wildness that surrounded the shape-shifter, but this? Happiness? They didn't know how to make this fit with the picture they had in their minds. Yes, they were very curious indeed.
Taurnar nudged his twin with his elbow, a movement barely visible to the eye and Thalbor brought his attention back to the open grassland. His gray eyes widened, much as his brother's had at what he saw.
Horses. A whole herd of them, galloping wild across the land they were born to. Their long manes rose and fell with the wind that grabbed at them playfully and they tossed their heads as if they heard something no one else did. Their powerful legs brought them ever closer to where Alagos stood and both brothers' eyes widened further as they glanced at the shape-shifter. He was now a white stallion, pawing at the ground as he watched the herd draw closer. A shrill whistling sound pierced the air and Thalbor and Taurnar knew it for what it was; the challenging call of another stallion. Their eyes were drawn to the powerfully built roan that led the herd, his coat shining in the moonlight and Alagos' eyes followed their own, though, he knew it not.
Another shrill call echoed over the grassland. An answer to the challenge.
The shape-shifter leaped forward, his movements matched by the brown stallion of the herd and the pounding of their hooves was the loudest thing in the valley as they neared one another. They met on their hind legs, lunging with bared teeth and striking hooves, two bodies crashing together. Squeals of rage, of challenge could be heard from each and blood was streaked down both their hides soon. The males broke away from each other for a few brief seconds before crashing together again, more ferociously and yet more slowly than before. Each was tiring, but who gave in first would win this battle.
Alagos almost felt sorry for the other stallion. The roan was an intelligent horse who had protected his band for many years, fighting off younger stallions and keeping his mares safe. He was the king of this valley, but he was no match for a dragon and the shape-shifter knew that. He wasn't here to take over the herd, though, and that thought helped ease the guilt he felt as he gave a heave and sent the other horse tumbling to his side with a crash. Alagos hooves were soon after the large body, striking in short clips until the roan stallion let out a defeated sound and stilled. The shape-shifter immediately stopped, breathing heavily. He had no desire to kill the other male and the roan stallion soon sensed this, looking up. There was a sort of sadness in his gaze that the white stallion knew most humans never caught when they looked into an animal's eyes.
He stepped back, allowing the other horse to rise, but when the roan would have walked away, abandoning his herd as was the natural way, Alagos stopped him with a short, clipped whinny. The brown stallion stilled, ears swiveling forward and Alagos knew now was as good as any other time to reveal himself. He let his body slowly change, settling into his human form with ease. The stallion reared, startled, scared, but the shape-shifter only tilted his head, white hair falling into amber eyes.
"Why is it you are scared of me now? Did you not smell the scent of a dragon on me?" The speech, spoken in his own language, surprised the stallion and he stilled. Horses don't talk the same way humans or even dragons do. Their speech does not come out as neighs or snorts, but rather their speech comes through their souls, through their eyes and their body language. They are not nearly as intelligent as some animals, but there were certain herds, certain horses like the Mearas who had learned to think more like men and communicate in a more understandable way for any who understood their language.
"Smell is strange. Dragon?"
Alagos tossed his head in a very horse-like move that seemed to relax the stallion slightly. "I am a dragon. I don't want to lead your herd, but I have beaten you in a fight and there is something I would request of you."
A hoof pawed the ground and the roan looked toward his mares and the few younger stallions among them, watching as they ventured closer, curious. "You win fight. What want?" He was acknowledging that Alagos was stronger than he, reluctantly, but that was fine with the shape-shifter and he smiled. A closed-mouth smile so as not to seem like a predator, though, that was what he was in both chosen form - human - and birth form - dragon. "I only want the service of eight of your herd. If they choose to return at the end of their journey that will be allowed."
The brown stallion laid his ears back, unsure, but he stepped back as his lead mare approached, deferring leadership to Alagos as was natural after a duel. The roan had lost, Alagos was the lead male until he decided to back down. It didn't matter that the white stallion he'd battled was now a white-haired human that professed to being a dragon. Alagos had won all the same. The lead mare, a dappled gray, snorted as she came closer, curious, but confused as she studied the strange being before her. What had happened to the white challenger? She shook her head in agitation and snorted, extending her nose slightly to sniff him.
"Dragon!" She gave a shrill neigh of surprise, but Alagos moved faster than her dashing hooves, grabbing a hold of her mane. The mare stilled in surprise more than anything else. She could have yanked him off his feet, but with the strong smell of dragon and blood in her nose and the simple strangeness of the creature before her, one she'd never seen before, her flight instinct suddenly quieted, leaving her frozen, terrified. The shape-shifter's amber eyes looked into her dark ones and the tongue he spoke was one she knew.
"I will not hurt you. I have a request to make of you and yours."
He let her go and the dappled mare took a step back before stopping and looking at him. She called her mares over a few moments later and shook her mane out. Alagos waited until they had gathered before making his request known again. He watched as they seemed to converse among themselves, many whinnies, squeals and moving bodies making up much of the argument. An argument that Alagos waited out patiently.
It was a good half hour later that the lead mare returned, eight horses following nervously behind her. Her dark eyes met his amber, a difficult feat for a wild horse. "You ask, Dragonson. We do." Alagos dipped his head and approached the largest horse of the eight. It was a dark brown stallion with a star and the horse danced on agitated feet as the shape-shifter neared his side. Alagos gave no warning before simply vaulting on the stallion's back and he held on to a fistful of mane as the dark brown horse reared. He only spoke when the stallion was back on all four hooves, shaking.
"This is how you will bear a rider. You will do this every day and you will learn the commands they give you." He looked at the others who had scattered, but were now coming slowly back, their ears cocked as they listened to him. "If you cannot bear this thought then leave now." There was a bit of dancing and head-tossing, but none of the horses left and Alagos nodded, satisfied.
Both Thalbor and Taurnar, still hidden, watched the entire situation, understanding very little of what was happening at first, but the truth of the matter soon dawned on them as they watched the number of horses in the group and the way Alagos sat on one of their backs. Their wide, gray eyes followed the shape-shifter and the small herd with him as they sprang into a gallop and separated themselves from the main herd, heading for the forest. The two brother looked at each other with amazed smiles, but also a shared shock and headed back into the trees themselves, heading back for the camp. They arrived before the horses, but that was to be expected considering how many of the animals there were and the fact that they would have to travel different paths than a human would for their size.
The twins were surprised when the first horse, Alagos on its back, suddenly appeared from the woods, silent as a phantom, but they suspected that Gimlan was more shocked than they. The older man hid it well, though, as he watched seven more horses appear from the dark woods. The shape-shifter dismounted and seemed to speak quietly to the horses that had gathered around him before moving away. He didn't go far, though, meeting both Thalbor and Taurnar's eyes from across the camp, almost challenging them with his amber gaze. They readily rose to the task, walking slowly toward the group of quiet wild horses that waited at the edge of the camp.
Taurnar reached them first and it was he that was closest to Alagos, though, a distance of a least six feet separated them. The man extended his hand to the nearest mare and she calmly sniffed it, her eyes rolling back to Alagos briefly for approval. She seemed to get it in some unspoken way and Taurnar smiled as the horse pressed her forehead into his hand, enjoying the unfamiliar, but gentle caress. The Ranger looked up once more, ready to give thanks were it was due, but Alagos had already disappeared back into the forest.
Gweltari woke to the sound of neighing and a sudden exclamation of surprise. Her brother's laughter soon followed and she blinked her eyes open to find out what was going on, confused. The woman sat up and she blinked again, astonished by what she saw. Eight horses stood in the clearing! She found herself standing quickly, a smile coming to her face as she took in her brother's laughing expressions and the other Rangers' shocked faces. Well, all except Gimlan. He seemed to have some idea to what was going on. Gweltari's eyes didn't stop their search, though, until they'd landed on the white wolf who sat calmly, observing the slight chaos. The woman extended her mind and felt a brief flash of amusement before his amber eyes connected with her own green-gray.
Her smile widened as an image, swift, but clear came to her. He had done this! The knowledge that he'd taken the time to, despite his reservation toward her kind, toward humans, gave the woman a surge of happiness that made her laugh softly. She held the shape-shifter's eyes and her message was a clear 'thank you' that he couldn't help but understand. Alagos merely tilted his head to the side and Gweltari wasn't sure she could define the emotion she felt coming from him. It was jumbled and she was unsure if even he understood it.
The shape-shifter watched as his bonded walked toward the horses and felt a sharp sense of loss that made him stand without thought before he got control of his actions again. He shook his head irritably as if to shake the feeling away, but it refused to leave and it only grew as the Rangers prepared to depart. Every one of them knew he was the one who'd brought the horses - Thalbor and Taurnar had been more than willing to provide his name and simple deduction proved this fact - but no one was quite sure how to approach him, how to thank him or even talk to him and Alagos was fine with that. The wolf merely watched as the camp was disassembled with a quickness that most humans didn't bother with and the supplies loaded onto the backs of the wild horses creatively.
The Rangers were careful when they moved around the skittish animals, well aware from unshod hooves, long manes and no marks of bridals that the horses they were dealing with had probably never been ridden. There were doubtful glances shot Alagos' way, but he didn't respond to them. If they weren't going to trust him then they could walk. He didn't care one way or another. Or at least that is what he told himself. It was Thalbor, meeting the shape-shifter's amber gaze, who mounted first, quickly and quietly, acting as if it were the most natural thing in the world. The young stallion under him danced slightly, but soon settled. It was the only confirmation the other Rangers needed and they too were soon mounted.
Alagos was startled by the surge of complete jealousy that flashed through him when Gweltari swung up onto a gray stallion's back and he bit back the growl that threatened his throat. Her green-gray eyes snapped to meet his, just as surprised by his emotion as he was and their stares held. An unspoken question was in the woman's eyes, but Alagos shied from it, both mentally and physically, breaking eye-contact as he sprang to his paws and started loping beside the horses and men who were already trailing into the woods. He could feel Gweltari's eye on his back, feel her frustration and disappointment, but the fear that resided deep within him was stronger than any feeling of possessiveness that the Rishten might be encouraging him to feel at this point.
He didn't look back at her and she didn't call out to him as they started the day.
Alagos wasn't sure why he didn't realize they'd moved so close, but by the time he did notice, both Taurnar and Thalbor were riding to either side of him and the white horse shied violently, unable to stop the reaction born of his own fear and the natural instinct of the horse part of himself. His movement had taken him closer to Thalbor - not that this had been his intention - and the shape-shifter side-stepped again, his amber eyes showing white as he caught sight of the human's hand reaching out on impulse to try and calm him. It was a reaction that many had to horses and Thalbor, for the moment, was thinking of nothing more than calming an agitated horse. It was only when that horse spoke, sounding like a hissing snake that he remember just who he'd been about to touch and why he shouldn't have been doing that.
"Don't touch me."
Taurnar spoke quietly, but quickly, carefully directing his own horse to the side with his knees, giving the shape-shifter space. "We didn't mean to surprise you." In fact, now he wished that he and Thalbor had chosen a later time to talk to Alagos, in a place more geared toward conversation. On an open plain, when both he and his brother had to be on either side of the white horse in order to both be heard, and Gweltari riding ahead of them, in deep conversation with their father was probably not the wisest of places to choose from, but it was really too late now. Still, he watched Alagos carefully, seeing the way the white horse's skin shivered and raced, observing the way Alagos' eyes showed white and his steps were more than jittery. All this Taurnar noted with a feeling of unease. Had they really scared the shape-shifter that badly?
He knew his brother didn't think so. It was Thalbor who had pointed out that Alagos had never taken to them. He'd been snarling and wary of them from the beginning. Sure, he had never shown outright fear, but most animals - and Alagos did react very much like a wild animal - usually went aggressive out of fear, not because they could. The twins were now starting to see some of what their sister had known from the bond all along: the male beside them was not vicious because he could be. He was dangerous to keep others away and he kept others away because he was scared of them. Why he was scared? Not even Gweltari seemed able to answer that question.
Taurnar's comment didn't seem to register within the shape-shifter's mind and Thalbor frowned, much more impatient than his twin. "We have yet to hurt you, dragon. Your response is unwarranted." Taurnar could have smacked his brother and knew Gweltari would have if she'd heard as amber eyes snapped to meet his brother's gray, blank as a sheet of parchment. "When do you plan on bringing me pain, human?"
Thalbor blinked, not having expected that and his twin sighed, rescuing him. "My brother's choice of words was a mistake. We are not going to harm you." The white horse seemed reluctant to look away from either of them for a long period of time and Taurnar knew that talking this way had been a mistake as well, but there wasn't much way he could remedy that now that they'd started this. He kept the frustration out of his voice as he spoke, thinking of his sister and the approval that would be in her eyes when she found out. He hoped Thalbor was doing that same.
"We came to apologize for our behavior. While you haven't been friendly with either me or my brother, you also have done nothing to make us think you would hurt Tari and we were wrong in our words to you." The three of them had stopped and both the twins were now slightly turned and in front of the white horse. It seemed to give Alagos some relief as he could now look at both of them and bolt if he wished. The shape-shifter didn't, though, simply watching both of them. He appeared calmer, but was still clearly agitated and even Thalbor seemed to notice as he kept his voice low. It was still rough, almost harsh-sounding, but it wasn't loud and Taurnar was proud of his brother for that.
"I can't say I like you, dragon, but you make my sister happy. Gweltari trusts you so I will, too." A smile came to his face, small, amused, but there. "And I will stop trying to touch you. I think I prefer to keep my arm."
Alagos snorted at that, amused despite himself and he studied the two men before him. They seemed sincere if not a little awkward, but could he really trust them? His head screamed a resounding 'NO!' and his body was half inclined to agree, but a smaller part of him, a small voice was encouraging that he at least try, just as he was with Gweltari. Alagos was past wishing he could beat the voice out of his head. Now he was just wondering if he could trust that small voice. The shape-shifter found himself nodding slowly, more a bob with his horse-head, but the message was clear enough and it amazed him when he realized it.
He forgave them. Did he trust them? Not yet, but he'd forgiven and the startling part was he actually felt that emotion. It was a strange, but freeing feeling and his tremors slowed. They didn't disappear, but they did slow, something that had never happened around humans. He watched the smiles that came to the mens' faces and merely snorted again, before whirling and running, well aware of when they chuckled and kicked their mounts after him, catching up with the others now ahead of them.
With forgiveness came a freeing feeling, but for Alagos, it also brought a sense of vulnerability that he wasn't sure he was ready for. He also realized that he was much too far into the situation to have control over that anymore. It unnerved him.
The white horse skidded to a slow trot as he neared the other humans and Gweltari, letting the twins pass him as they galloped by, bring their own mounts to a fast walk when they'd joined the other Rangers. Alagos approached slowly, his mind in turmoil and his bonded looked over as if her eyes were drawn to him by a magnet. The connection when their gazes met was instant and the shape-shifter was sure he forgot to breathe when her mind suddenly brushed his own. It was unexpected. It was wanted. It was terrifying. It was soothing. It was like nothing he could describe in words.
"Alagos."
His body gave a shudder and he stilled, tremors anew going through him as her voice washed over his frayed mind. It was warmth and comfort and affection in one intoxicating wave and he knew with absolute clarity that she'd breached his walls now and forever. There was no going back from this and he was beginning to understand, truly understand that he didn't want to. The shape-shifter wasn't aware that he spoke until the words left him and entered her own mind, gentle, aware that as a human, she wouldn't have the kind of mind he did. There was also a deeply rooted instinct brought on by the Rishten itself that shrieked in protest of every hurting his bonded.
"Nahisya, don't. Please."
She drew back in hurt. He could feel it like he could feel his own heart and the shape-shifter immediately wanted to take the words back. He didn't, though, struggling with the reason why himself, and he felt her mind slowly retreat from his, saddened and unsure. Alagos finally opened his eyes, surprised to find that he was much shorter than he had been and was seeing from eyes that were not other either side of his face. Sometime during this interaction, he'd shifted into his human form and now the male ran a hand through his shaggy hair, trying to still the shaking as he watched Gweltari and the Rangers around he grow smaller in the distance. He couldn't help but feel relieved knowing he wouldn't have to face her eyes, her face right away.
Alagos changed his form quickly and the white Tsubasa took to the air.
Gweltari watched the white creature that was Alagos disappear into the clouds and clenched her good fist, her teeth gritted. She'd felt him! Talked to him! She'd finally felt like she was where she belonged and then he'd pushed her away again! It was enough to make her want to scream and sob at the same time. The tension radiating from her body caused her mount to side-step nervously and her father looked at her with a raised brow. He had known something was happening the moment he'd seen the amber tint in his daughters eyes and now was curious as to what had gone wrong. She'd been smiling one moment and then on the verge of tears the next and the Ranger had told himself not to jump to conclusions. Still, he was pretty sure that the shape-shifter was the cause.
"What is wrong, Tari?"
Green-gray eyes sparked with anger as she shook her head, dark brown curls bouncing slightly. "He just frustrates me, father. I KNOW he wants to trust me, but...there is something that keeps him from doing so completely." She sighed, blowing hair away from her face and Thalos merely listened, knowing that was what his child wanted right now. "He won't talk to me, though! I know he is terrified of humans and fire, but he won't tell me why for either. I know that his gift hurts him, but he won't tell me how much. I know that he's lonely and hurt, but he pushes me away when I try to help!" The woman growled under her breath. "I want to smack him. I think I might even begin to hate him." She didn't mean a word of it and both the woman and her father knew it.
"You care for him. You don't hate him and there is a difference, child." Thalos couldn't help chuckling when he said it, though, his heart was tightening in worry for his daughter. The last time she'd spoken even remotely like this... It hadn't ended well. His older gray eyes met her younger green-gray ones. "Tari, just be careful how much of your affection you give to him. I know you have learned to choose whom you will trust and give care to wisely, but know that even your heart can betray you, my daughter."
Gweltari looked away, fighting tears and nodded. "I understand, father." Yes, she understood very well what he was saying and even though the situations were very different, the potential for hurt was the same. And this time, she wasn't sure if she would recover. Not if the hurt came from Alagos. "I don't think I can escape him, though." It was whispered. It was a confession and Thalos took a steadying breath before he replied, knowing he had to trend carefully now. "I know. Just be careful. I do not want to see your heart broken again."
The woman could only nod, her mind and her heart already knowing she was far too gone, far to bonded to ever think of being careful if not being careful would help. She couldn't be careful if doing so could cost her Alagos, cost her the chance to know more about him, to help heal him. She was not going to lose him and she knew there was hope in this situation somewhere, even if she could not immediately see it.
Review! It's the first chapter! The first chapter is always nice to get reviews on...*gives you pleading look*
PonyInsane ~
Thank you so much for your review on O Emlyg (I am writing this here in case I miss you on that story since I don't know if you've read all of it or not)! Though, I have to wonder if you meant to review Herves ar Iell since O Emlyg, while in the series, doesn't have Legolas in it at all. Confused me a little, but I appreciate your feedback all the same! I would be more than happy to email you, but your email did not show up in your review as FanFiction(dot)Net does not put links or email addresses in reviews or chapters. You have to put spaces between your words, the 'at' icon and periods.
Thank you again for reviewing! I hope you enjoy the rest of the series!
~ Kaisaan