everything-is-black-and-white - yes, rocks would definitely be something they would stick in her pack, unfortunately we'll have to wait to find out once she returns to Rivendell...I'm still working on that bit lol
ro781727 - I'd like for her to go back to Erebor again sometime in the future but haven't planned it just yet. Meeting Dis might make an interesting read.
Welcome to part 2 of Shyloh's journey, and thanks for following along. Going to try to post replies to your reviews/messages on the top instead of at the bottom for easier viewing.
- S
.o.O.o.
- Strange Gifts -
Book 2
- Chapter 1 -
Light and soft padded feet leapt between roots and shaggy bushes, winding their way through the thick underbrush. Bull frogs croaked and crickets chirped around the small creature as she made her way in search of dinner. The stench of the marshlands lingered on the breeze but she didn't care. With another hop, she cleared the small lump of ground in her way and continued on, diving under a rotting log and along a bridlepath made by creatures not her own. Always her long ears were alert and listening, and as she moved quietly her round eyes searched constantly for any sign of danger.
She took cover under another bush, having thought she spotted a moving shadow from above, and took a moment to clean her whiskers. Sniffing the air, she smelled nothing but the foul lands around her, and scampered ahead under another bush; her hind legs stretching out behind her with powerful thrusts. Another rotting log, once a beautiful tree in its day, lay horizontally on the ground. The small space under the trunk was wide enough for her little frame to fit through, and the moment she squeezed under it, she sprang out into the open, her senses on high alert.
An ear twitched at an unfamiliar sound and she tensed, ready to dive for cover. Gathering herself to leap across the small clearing, she never saw it coming. In an instant her world went dark and the rabbit lay still where she sat; the shaft of an arrow protruding from her side. A clean shot indeed, and the hare suffered not.
Light footsteps approached the small heap and after saying a silent thank you to those watching over, the elf reached down and stroked the soft fur of the hare with light fingertips. Slowly, she pulled the arrow out from the side of the hare, and with the back legs gripped in her hands, she stood and turned back towards her camp.
She stepped over nasty logs and attempted to keep her feet from treading in the murky water that collected in pools around her. The edges of the marshlands of the Gladden Fields was where she and her company stopped for the night; but despite the stinking water and lack of a fresh water source, supper had been found with ease.
A small murky bowl of water in the ground was where she cleaned the arrow and returned it back to her quiver for another use, then proceeded to clean the hare for supper. It was a familiar act she had repeated throughout her lifetime, but even as she worked she kept her ears open for any sound that might snag her attention while she skinned and gutted the small creature.
It was not a big or fat hare, but it would be enough to fill the bellies of three elves for the night.
Already a small fire was crackling by the time she finally returned to camp, and one tall, brown haired ellon crouched low towards the flame, feeding the fire with dried brush grass and small sticks. It was almost hot enough to cook over.
"What took so long?" he asked quietly, and she gave him a sour look.
"I was not gone for more than an hour," she said with slight annoyance, but he looked up at her and his eyes fell on the skinned hare she held.
With silent approval, he took the kill from her and put it on a makeshift spit. It would not have any seasonings or fancy side dishes to go with it, other than the dried fruits and roots they had in their saddlebags, but it would be hot and plentiful for the three riders.
She returned within her allotted time frame for finding dinner, so she was spared from his overprotective hovering tonight. It wasn't like she went far anyway before hunkering down in the underbrush and waiting; having seen the tracks in the mud easily. The tracks had been a dead giveaway though, and she knew the hare traveled back and forth down the same trail before. All she had to do was wait patiently.
Tracking through the underbrush of the open plains was a different story, and while she was learning how to tell the differences in bent blades and shallow markings, she was nowhere near as good as her brothers.
Turning back to the murky pool near their campsite, she tried not to grimace with dislike when she washed her hands in the water. Straightening, she patted them dry on her leggings and sank down to the ground across from Elladan, who was now setting the hare over the flames to cook.
"Has Elrohir not returned yet?" she asked, looking around. The younger twin was nowhere to be seen, and he didn't have to reply for her to know the answer. His horse was still gone.
"No," he said anyway, then leaned back and kicked his long legs out in front of him. He stuck a handful of dried berries in his mouth and stared into the flames as if they were hypnotizing.
She curled her legs up under her, and pulled her cloak around her shoulders just as an east wind bit through their camp, bringing with it the smell of fresh rainfall and forest. Elladan's eyes narrowed and he turned his back to the wind and stuck another piece of wood on the fire while the flames danced and flickered.
"That rain better hold off until tomorrow," he said grimly and she looked up at the darkening sky.
Frankly, all she cared about was Elrohir returning from scouting, the thought of rain far from her mind. Her prayers were answered when the steady beat of hooves on marshy ground caught their ears, and Elladan instinctively gripped his bow; preparing for the worst. However, his keen elf eyesight told him who it was despite the dimming light of the day long before the horse and rider even approached camp.
Elrohir's hooded frame sat hunched over on the back of his horse, his sour face telling her something was amiss, unless he too, was thinking about the pending rain storm. Checking his mount, he brought his steed to an abrupt halt next to the other horses, who grazed on the spindly marsh grass. They picked their heads up in unison to greet their shortly departed friend, then turned their muzzles back to grazing, enjoying the rest from their long day while they could.
"What news?" Elladan asked without looking up at his brother. His eyes already determined long ago his twin was unharmed. His brother did not come urgently or frantically from his patrol of the surrounding landscape, telling Elladan there was no immediate danger.
"Spotted tracks just south of us along the edges of the Anduin, where the Gladden Fields join together. Looked like the boots of men. A dozen or so passed through earlier today."
"Men of Rohan?" Elladan asked, looking to his brother with new interest, but he already knew those chances were slim.
Rohan was further south than their destination, and seeing the men of those lands this far north wouldn't have been normal.
Elrohir shook his head. "Unless they have suddenly decided to travel without horses, I think Wildmen. There were deer kills left not too far from their initial trail, stripped of the good meats then left to rot."
"A waste to leave good food behind," Elladan muttered unhappily. "And to not bury their kills to keep predators away."
"I think they moved on quickly after that, heading further south. I did not trail them too far, for I had seen and determined enough."
"We shall head further east then, and ride closer to Mirkwood," suggested Elladan. "The lands widen towards the Narrows, we might be able to go around the men."
"Unless they are heading for Dol Guldur."
"I do not think a band of Wildmen would head to that foul place. The orcs have no tolerance for men of any kind, and would spare them little mercy even if they are on the same side."
"Two against a dozen Wildmen does not appease you?"
"Two?" she quipped, perking up at his silent suggestion. "Sure, I'll just sit on the sidelines and watch, maybe take a few notes."
Elrohir rolled his eyes to her. "I would not have you in any fight on the road."
She rolled her eyes to him in return. "I would not have any of us in a fight on the road, however, I am not exactly incapable."
"She's right," Elladan said, interrupting whatever reply his brother was about to say. "Which is why we should ride closer to the trees until we are sure we've gone around them. They would provide us with more cover should we need it."
"If we ride closer to the trees, it could set us up for an ambush," she added, and Elladan gave her a sour look. "I'm just saying, I actually have to agree with Elrohir on this one."
The younger brother looked fairly smug about this, and a grin crept over his face. She didn't know if her opinion on the subject mattered or not, but spoke up anyway.
"We can't ride too close to the river because there are too many places to hide and the footing is too treacherous for the horses. We can't ride too close to Mirkwood especially once we reach the southern edges. It's flatter lands and hills between the Narrows and the Anduin, so we have the advantage of seeing our surroundings better. Until we reach a place to cross, we should stick to the middle."
Elladan and Elrohir exchanged looks, then Elrohir stretched out his legs much like his brother.
"Well done," Elrohir said, seemingly satisfied.
She rolled her eyes dramatically. "Not another test," she snipped and Elladan chuckled.
"How else are you going to learn the safest routes?"
"Perhaps we should have made her do the scouting," suggested Elrohir but Elladan clearly disagreed.
"She is not ready to do any scouting," he said.
She rolled her eyes again, then reached forward to spin the rabbit on the spit.
"Caught that all by yourself did you?" Elrohir said but she could hear the teasing in his voice.
She huffed and shot him a dirty look. "You make me sound so incapable. I've hunted before you know, both here and back on Earth."
"I said nothing about your abilities," the younger twin said.
"You implied I needed aid."
Elrohir laughed. "So testy tonight."
"I am not testy."
The twins exchanged a knowing glance. They could tell she was still trying to adjust to understanding the feelings that flowed between herself and the Prince of Mirkwood, often times channeling his as her own.
"You are not separating your emotions from his," Elladan said gently. "Keep the thread in the back of your mind, do not feed off of it. He is in a bad mood, that is no reason for you to sulk."
She groaned, then let herself collapse backwards on the ground. "This is so frustrating," she sighed. "I feel like I have someone else in the back of my brain. Just what I need. It's bad enough I'm hearing voices, now I'm feeling emotions too!"
The twins heads snapped towards her simultaneously, alarm written across their features. She didn't see as she squeezed her eyes closed.
"Hearing voices?" Elladan asked quickly.
She snapped her mouth shut and could have kicked herself. She hadn't told anyone of the voice she'd heard during her stay with the Wood-elves, fearing it would be some sort of bad omen or something. Strange voices in your head that were not your own was probably a good indication you were going bat shit crazy, wasn't it?
"Whose voice is it exactly you are hearing?" demanded Elrohir.
"And what have they been saying to you?"
Tension flowed between the twins and she grimaced, then rubbed the balls of her fists over her eyes in frustration. Why hadn't she kept her mouth shut?
"I've heard this voice a couple times -,"
"A couple?"
"Okay, three times," she admitted, then sat up and crossed her legs under her.
"What has it said?"
"And who is it?"
The flow of questions was making her even more irritated so she sighed.
"I'm not sure who it is, but it's a woman. That's all I know about it. I don't know who or what it's coming from but it's like this soft, silky, silvery voice that comes in like a thread. I've only heard it three times," she said, then she had to explain each time she'd heard that voice.
The brothers listened carefully, their faces set like stone while she talked. When she finished, they sat quietly for a moment then Elladan shook his head.
"I do not like that she is meddling with your decisions," he said.
"I do not like she encouraged you into a dangerous situation," snapped Elrohir angrily. "If those Gundabad orcs overtook you..." He didn't even finish his sentence and he rubbed his forehead
"Who?" she asked, almost pleadingly. "And how do you know who it is?"
Elladan frowned heavily and shook his head. "You will meet her soon enough," he said, then would say no more about it.
Elrohir was much the same, and he took to rummaging around their packs for something to snack on.
Irritated with the both of them, she shot to her feet and crossed the camp unhappily, heading straight for the only one out of their entire group that would bring her any comfort.
"Hey Bossy Boy," she cooed as she stepped out of the firelight. Placing a hand on the big, grey horse's neck, she let her arms wrap around him while he tucked his nose towards her and nudged her backside. Breathing in deeply, the smell of horses was one of her favorite scents, despite the lingering stench of the marshes.
Entwining her fingers in his mane, she said nothing while she leaned against him, seeking comfort instead of answers to her problems. He wouldn't tell a single one of her secrets, she knew that, but she could hardly confide in him while her brothers were so close. They would hear everything she said and she couldn't have that happen. A week already the two of them had been reunited, and she breathed in deep again, allowing her frustration to melt away.
Her brothers had not been overly crazy about spending a night and day resting at Beorn's house just north of here, but when she gave them a pleading look, they agreed, although they didn't rest at all that night while Beorn patrolled the outer edges of the property and nearby woods in his great bear form.
Their road lead south after that, and heavy rains slowed their progress between Beorn's house and the Old Forest Road. The long stretch of dirt road was suspiciously quiet and thankfully they met no unsavory characters when it came time to cross it. Elrohir and Elladan took to scouting when time allowed, searching for the safest road and keeping their eyes peeled for anyone they might encounter. Up until now, their travels had been quiet and lonesome and they hadn't ran into anyone they didn't want to.
Now, the thought of Wildmen lingering somewhere south of their camp was unsettling. She had no problem killing an orc, deciding they were no better than the devil himself, but the thought of taking a man's life did not sit well with her at all, even if it was self defense. She prayed to whomever was listening that they would have no trouble the rest of their journey to Lothlorien.
Boss blew a breath through his nose, then went back to grazing quietly alongside the other three horses. He clearly determined her problems had been solved, and paid her no mind as she leaned against him.
The thread in the back of her mind shifted again and she shoved the feelings aside. They were distracting and she needed to focus on the present situation. Whatever was happening in Mirkwood was not something she could help with, so she took a few steadying breaths to lessen the tension. She did not feel he was in danger, or injured, and it struck her as weird how she would know that. She could see how there would be benefits to having a bond like they did in instances like those, but there were also consequences, because she could feel the tension and anger or frustration come through, along with the more calm emotions and she was still trying to figure out how to keep them in the back of her mind.
"It's frustrating," she whispered to the horse. With one final stroke of her hand, Elladan announced dinner was finally ready and she peeled herself away from Boss and trudged back to camp.
Dawn broke over them with a sharp cold wind from the west as the riders mounted and set out after breaking camp. They spoke little as the horses hooves squelched over the soft ground and the wind blew hard, carrying with it the stench of the marshlands. They had a ways to go yet before they would be past the smelly landscape, and steered southeast for a ways to more solid ground. In the distance, the tall trees of Mirkwood rose against the eastern horizon, specks of reddish brown and gold against the cloudy grey sky and the dull green plains of grassland that stretched between them.
She felt exposed riding out in the open like they were, but the thought of riding closer to the Wildmen Elrohir spotted last night didn't sit well with her at all. She didn't like the thought of riding closer to the trees either, knowing that orcs and spiders lingered under their eves. The tall browning grasses danced around the horses' bellies, and she knew even an enemy could be lurking in the tall reeds. They would have to be careful.
Boss tossed his head and pranced; his ears drawn forward and he pulled on the reins, anxious to run but she kept him in check until they hit solid ground and pulled away from the marshlands even more. Then, they let their mounts choose their own speed and let the winds whip past them. They checked their mounts as the terrain dipped down a steep crest, then let them run freely up the opposite hill, stretching their legs until they crested and came once again to a flat stretch of land. Jagged boulders and pointy rocks littered the landscape the further west her eyes looked, and the roar of the rushing Anduin met her ears on the wind that cut across the open plains, making the tall grasses look like a sea of brown flowing reeds.
They rested the horses midday while they ate Lembas bread drizzled with honey Beorn gifted them and then they were off once more, keeping to a steadier pace as they reached a stretch of hills the closer they got to the Narrows. By evening, the trees were no longer visible to the east and the roar of the river had dimmed despite the relentless wind that followed their every move. However, the twins saw this as an advantage despite the bitter cold blasts, and kept their ears open for unusual sounds that might drift to them from the west.
Always the thought of the Wildmen lingered in the back of her mind. Elrohir snagged a couple of hares during their ride, shooting them swiftly and silently as they rode with such ease and practiced precision that it made her look like a complete amateur. She was a good shot, even they had to admit, but she was still learning how to hone her new elvish abilities and that included her eyesight. She'd only known what she could and couldn't do as a human, but as an elf her skills were still developing despite her heavy amount of training. The twins had no problem keeping themselves entertained by having her practice on their rides, telling them what she could or couldn't see or hear and it was no doubt frustrating to them in return.
They grew up elves; these abilities were naturally part of who they were. But for her, even though she was getting better, still had a long way to go before she was anywhere near their skill level.
Elrohir tasked her with cleaning his kills, a task she found annoying but one they deemed an important skill to know. She already knew how to clean the kills, having hunted rabbits with Mack, but she wasn't going to argue.
"I believe you were slightly pampered during your stay with the wood-elves," Elrohir said with a mock stern look. "It'll do you good to get your hands dirty once again."
"I was not pampered," she snipped.
"Okay, sheltered," Elladan offered.
"I was neither pampered nor sheltered," she grumbled but they only grinned and left her to her task once they stopped to make camp for the night.
Elladan went ahead and scouted the surrounding area on foot, his elvish cloak helping him blend into the darkening landscape around them and his enhanced eyesight allowing him to see their surroundings without drawing too much attention to himself. Elrohir tended to the horses and she buried the cleanings once she finished with the hares, using the short knife on her hip as a digging tool. They weren't buried deep, but it would help deter the smell and keep predators away for the night.
Just as Elrohir was about to light the fire, Elladan returned with grim news that the Wildmens trail was spotted not too far south from their current location, which meant no fire and no hot dinner. With a sour look, she went a short ways away from the camp and buried their kills, knowing that the meat would spoil before tomorrow night and they couldn't risk a fire during daylight hours, should the smoke draw unwanted attention.
"Such a waste," she muttered unhappily as she patted the mounds down firmly, burying the poor creatures in the earth. "My apologies dear rabbits. Trust that your life was not ended in vain."
Returning to camp, she dumped some of her water from her skin over her hands to wash away the lingering smell of the rabbits and dirt from burying them. She would take the first watch, so after a quiet supper of Lembas and honey, the brothers took to resting while she sat wide awake in the dark with only the comforting sounds of the horses munching on grass to fill the silence.
The wind was ever relentless even through the night as she stared up at the stars, keeping her ears open to any sound that might drift to them on the breeze. She gathered up her hair and rebraided it, her fingers forking through the white tresses until she tied the end of the fresh braid off and drew her hood to keep the cold out.
Clouds drifted over the sky, pulled in from the west and the promise of rain still lingered above them. She prayed they wouldn't get rained on but when she awoke the next morning it was because the fat raindrops on her cheeks startled her from slumber. They packed up camp quickly and mounted just as the sky opened up above them, coming down in sheets over the plains.
Elladan and Elrohir were clearly upset by the deluge because it meant they were now blind to the direction of the Wildmen. The trail Elladan spotted last night was long gone no thanks to the rain, which just meant they had to be even more careful as they rode. The pack horse she ponied alongside Boss plodded along quietly, head bowed low against the howling wind and rain. For the first time since leaving Dale, she wished she was back inside her tent.
