"Mother, is it really like this here in Caras Galadhon…?"

Meiou raised her rapier in front of her, and at the movement, Ranthoron took a bow from his quiver and positioned his bow, looking about warily. His mothers elven eyes were alert as she answered.

"No, Ranthoron." She said, scanning the trees around her, "Even when the Elves left this place, it wasn't this dark. Something foul has inhibited this place."

Ranthoron looked around, "Mother, something smells fetid here."

She stopped, and inhaling a bit, and she snorted, "I know that scent. I've smelled it before…"

"What is it?"

"Your leggings."

Ranthoron looked over to his mother to see her grinning while she continued to look around cautiously, "I can't believe you could make a joke during this time, Mother."

"Just trying to relax you, son." Meiou said as she continued to look around, "Your body is too taut and nervous. You will never to able to aim properly if you continue to stand like that."

Her son nodded, and a small sound made her stop in her tracks. She looked to her left to see a shadow move. She seethed, "Be wary, child… a Warg dwells here…"

"It's not just a Warg, elf."

Meiou raised her rapier just in time as an orc launch himself on her. She fell down to the ground, her sword blocking the orc sword ready to slash at her neck. Behind her, he saw Ranthoron aim an arrow at the orc on top of his mother when a Warg came out and charged her son down.

"RANTHORON!"

Meiou pushed the orc upward when she heard the snarling of the warg and Ranthoron's painful cry. She looked up at the orc and fought it with her sword as it parried and thrust at her, but with a graceful back flip, she tumbled up the air and impaled the orc with her weapon at its heart. The creature fell to the ground, and Meiou seized its sword and rushed to her son, who was being mauled by the warg a distance away.

"Ranthoron!" She screamed.

The warg stilled, and Meiou looked at its back to see an arrow poking through its back. She pushed the dead creature away, and found her son on his back, his armor covered in black blood while his shoulder bled red.

"Ranthoron!" She cried as she raised his head up, "Are you alright! Does it hurt! Speak to me!"

"I'm alright, Mother…" Ranthoron gasped out, "My wound it not too deep, but I'm bleeding and I think there's fang left in my shoulder."

"Hold on." Meiou said as she rummaged about her pack. Near them, the warg let out a gurgled cry, and she stood up and using the orc sword, slashed the creatures head off and killed it.

She returned to rummaging to her pack, and when she got her medicines, used it to pillow Ranthoron's head. She took one of his daggers and slashed her son's shirt off, as he let out a weak chuckle, "When did you become this violent, mother?"

Meiou chuckled too as she used water to clean out the black and red blood on his son's wounds. "Since I met your father." He chuckled again, as Meiou took one of her needles and a thin knife and poured some whiskey on it that she got from one of Ithilien's men. "Here, drink this. Drink many of it. It'll help with the pain."

Ranthoron drank the whiskey, and he coughed out, but she continued to push the liquor into his son's mouth. When he was done, Meiou took a drink of the whiskey and coughed like her son, "Ugh, this is horrible stuff."

Her son laughed weakly, "I think I'll settle with ale." He hiccuped, "But that's has quite a punch in it…"

Meiou smiled as she took the knife and positioned it to the wound. She took a steadying breath and slowly pushed the knife into her son's flesh. She heard his sharp intake of breath and gasp of pain. She shushed him, "Hush, darling… it'll be over in a minute…"

Ranthoron let out another pained cry as Meiou dug into the wound with her knife. Seeing something white in the wound and feeling something with her knife, she teased it out, and with a final cry from Ranthoron, she pushed out a large warg tooth from his flesh. Red blood immediately followed the removal, and Meiou poured whiskey on it again. She looked up to her son to find him fainted, and praying for his recovery, began to sew the wounds closed.