~Memories~

By Ola

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A/N~ thank you for the reviews! =) Nothing new. Same disclaimer (which is somewhere in the first chapter I think). A actually, there IS something new =) a brand new chapter =) (mmm, as if no one noticed =) anyway, enjoy:

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Part 12~

Lanea glared at the floor, then at the silent forest. At first, although faint, the tracks had been visible if she carefully searched for them. A broken twig, a squashed blade of grass, and once in a while, even a clear footstep in the mud, hastily covered by a leaf, as its owner tried to buy himself some time. And then, she had come upon another track. Her own.

The asshole! He circled back to the original track.

Now, it was all muddled because since she had been tracking him, she hadn't thought about hiding her own passage. What a fool. That'll teach me. With a sigh, she looked around her. Yes, now that she knew it, she recognized that copse of trees over there, and that weird branch sticking out of the bush. With another sigh, she continued the search, her face near the ground, looking for any sign that would tell her that he had once again left the original track. It's hard, but not impossible. I'll get the bastard before time is called.

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She didn't. The horn sounded. The time was up. And Lan was mad. After learning about tracking, they had split up into their usual groups to test their newly acquired skills. At the first call of the horn, Sindarin had gone on ahead. At the second, Lan had went after him. She had been supposed to find him by the third sounding of the captain's horn, two hours later. But now, the roles would be switched. It's payback time, jackass, she thought as she glared at Sindarin's smug face. It was her turn now.

She took off at a run, not bothering to hide her passage as long as she was within his sight. The underbrush of the forest was dense, full of fronds and ferns and prickly bushes, but she didn't care whether Sindarin could easily track her up to this point. Actually, the easier she made it now, the more it would baffle him later. She only had to find the right spot to put her pl…

Yes! Right here! Ha!

She scribbled something in the moist earth, then very carefully, stepped back into her footsteps, making the way backward for a few meters, up to a tree branch she could use to climb on. From then on, she stepped from tree to tree, careful not to leave any indications as to her whereabouts. The point where she had climbed was especially crucial. Fortunately, the leaves hadn't lost their leaves yet, and would provide her a wonderful hiding place.

She heard the second horn. The game is on, pal. And I just wish I could see your face, back there, where…

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…the tracks suddenly stopped. What the heck? Though Sindarin. He looked around, then back at the ground, and noticed the sign. A smiley face and clearly visible words:

"And what now, idiot?"

He scowled. It took him a while to realize that Lan had re-stepped into the same footprints. They were only slightly less clear then the first ones. But the easiness of the track had fooled him. Again, he lost track of where she had gone, not knowing exactly where she had stepped off in a new direction. Because he had to, or I would have met him on the way. Damn little brat. He's so light his footsteps don't even sink in the mud. Arrgg! He spent the rest of the time circling around, trying to find some clue. He didn't realize what the trick was. Lan, safe in her tree, looked on, trying not to laugh her head off. At least he didn't give up. Lol, that was fun! At the sound of the third horn, she followed him to camp to report, making sure he didn't see her coming down her perch. Sweet revenge.

Hearing the other two groups, Lanea was surprised that they had all managed to find each other.

"And you two" the captain said "are either blind and stupid …or very adept at disappearing and hiding,"

"I know that he circled around and came back onto my own tracks to muddle his own sir," Lan explained. The captain nodded, then looked expectantly at Sindarin.

"Lan doubled back on his own footsteps too"

"Yes, and?" said Lan before the captain could nod.

Sindarin narrowed his eyes dangerously. If looks could kill, Lan would have been 6 feet under. The silence dragged on.

"You didn't find the trick." Lan sounded very satisfied as she rubbed it in. 12 feet under.

"Which was?" his voice was unnaturally cold.

"Ha, if I tell you, I won't be able to use it anymore." 18 feet under. Damn, that much ground's starting to get quite heavy. =)

"Grrr, you little…"

"Don't bicker." The captain intervened before there was bodily damage. "Ya're supposed to work as a group, not try to outstip each otha!"

And that was the end of that.

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The sun was high up; it's rays pierced the tree's canopy, to fall to the ground muted. As small yellow green spots of moving light. It won't last long now. The trees were in their full autumn display, and soon, after a few windy or rainy days, they would loose their splendor.

Sitting half in the sun and half in the shade, Lan wished she could have the leisure to look at the trees. But no. I have to fix those stupid arrows. She always carried her arrows in two equal bundles of twelve, and in one of those, she had lost three and broken seven. Since the bow was her favorit weapon, she needed to look after her ammunitions, and she couldn't simply go to the market and buy some in the next few days.

Argg! Why don't you stay in place stupid thing!!! Two more. Two more and I'll end it for today. Five arrows is a good number. And I still have the other, unused twelve if necessary anyway. And then, if it gets to that, there's always that cursed sword, that weighs more than it's worth. Sigh. With a clear view of the end of her set goal, she worked faster and with more concentration. Yeah! Finally done!

"Captain? How long until we leave again?"

"'Bout half an hour."

She nodded her thanks, grabbed a pair of pants, a shirt, her bow and newly mended arrows, than took off on her own, trailed by Sindarin's curious gaze.

The day had finally let go of the cumbersome heat, and become quite cool, especially at night, so Lanea didn't have swimming in mind this time, but her clothes needed a new face lift, especially her muddy pants. They had become so hard from the dirt and muck that had accumulated on them that they could have stood upright on their own. Fortunately, this whole region was full of little lakes like the one near which she had aimed at Sindarin. They had clear blue water, and sometimes even tiny sandy beaches among the tall grass. And they were excellent to sooth tired feet that had seen the inside of a shoe for a bit too long.

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Lanea heard then coming for some time, thinking they were Sindarin, and already thinking up a curt reprimand to tell him for following her. Again. That is, until she realized that whoever it was that was coming toward her was making a lot more noise than Sindarin ever would. Slowly, she picked up her bow, glancing at what now looked like a very empty quiver, and taking note of the numbness of her cold and wet fingers. She didn't have long to wait.

There they were, similar as brothers. When they saw her, they stopped, then the one in the middle yelled something. She didn't understand. And what's more, she didn't even know what language he was speaking. They're not Karsites or Rethwelanians. They don't sound or look like ones. Some tribe of northern barbarians? I've never heard of them this far south.

"Who are you!" ha! They probably just asked me the same thing. They continued in their guttural tongue, sounding louder and looking angrier. Oh oh…

"Don't come closer!" she made her strung bow clearly visible to them, but kept it pointing to the ground. For now. The three continued their yelling, oriented toward her, and from time to time toward each other. They took a few steps toward her, until she raised her bow and stretched the string.

"Don't move. Or go away. I don't want to have to shot you." Meanwhile, she did quick calculations, getting ready just in case.

Three of them, five arrows, or four if I want to send them a warning one first. If I do it quick, I should get them all before they come close enough to harm me. But still, I would have liked them farther away. But another little voice said inside her head: will you really kill them? Are you ready for that? Cold blooded murder? Maybe they're in need of help. She recalculated. One warning arrow. I've two arrows for one of them, and one each for the other two. Better make it count. The legs or the arms? Arms can move too quickly and are small targets, but leg wounds may not stop them from using those weird swords they have. And if I run? Not an option anymore. You don't know their speed. Plus, if they get too close, you won't be able to use your bow anymore. And you kind of don't have any other weapon. Damn woods. Can't see anything in them until it's too late.

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A/N~ so? You wanted longer chapter, so you got a cliffy =) what's gonna happen to her? Who are those guys? Actually, I could have ended it in an even worse part, a little later on. Mmm, maybe I will, in the next chapter. What do you think? We will see =)