'I think the thief fits the best,' Sam said, crossing his arms. The
hobbits were preparing breakfast while the girl watched and the others
tried to fins traces of the fight.
'And what would your problem be?' the girl asked.
'I want my pot back!' shrieked Sam. He was slightly neurotic about his pots. Frodo just laughed and shook his head.
'Fine,' she said, holding up her hands. She brought the pot out form beneath a bush and threw it to Sam. 'It would have been too hard to travel with anyway.' After brushing the pot off of dirt, Sam went to give back the pouch of nuts but Oirebian shook her head. 'Keep them. They might go well with your breakfast.' Sam looked at the nuts suspiciously while she looked up suddenly, as if she had seen something at the corner of her eye. She took a step away form the hobbits.
'Ai!' Legolas called after her just as she came back to the camp.
She turned and then smiled seeing the elf. 'Do not worry yourself. I will not go far.' She took only a few more steps before turning around and speaking into her hand. The whispers could not be heard by anyone but Frodo could tell it was not of the Common Speech. After a moment of her being silent, her mouth opened but no sound came out. She looked up, Gandalf and Aragorn coming back to the camp. Her fingers relaxed. She held a moth before her face. Gandalf recognized it. Her tangled hair framed her hand and her mouth was still open.
She turned her back to the Company and chattered something to the moth that was untranslatable. The creature flew off and she walked directly to Gandalf. 'You are the wizard that was trapped on my master's tower.'
Gandalf's lips went into a line as he 'hmmd' to himself. He blinked and kept listening. 'You did not ask for food but for a way out, an eagle.' Without wanting to show it, she looked up at him in wonder.
'What else did you pet say?' Gandalf asked, already knowing the answer.
'He told of a troupe and their.quest. The message said I should give whatever aide I can.' Without even a breath, she said, 'I had him stop the other messages from going out.' The less experienced of the group did not see any good that could have come from stopping the messages. They would no longer receive aide. 'You should be careful of who might get these messages. I sent a new message: The fellowship has broken. Many have died and the rest have gone into the mountains to certain death.'
'Will she now make these prophecies come true?' Gimli asked.
Gandalf ignored Gimli's comment. 'Maybe you can give us some aide in breakfast, Anna,' Gandalf suggested. Aragorn clenched his jaw at her name.
'I do have some berries from Hollin and maybe some bread left,' she said, shrugging her shoulders. 'But I would aide you better by following you. You are an enemy of the white wizard. That alone redeems you of your suspicions.' She took a look at Aragorn, then went on, more persistent. 'I know my master's ways. I know how you can hide from his spies, to escape his magic. I can help you.'
'She will lead us straight to Saruman. She will tell him of all that we do,' Aragorn told Gandalf.
'She is not the one leading us, Aragorn,' Gandalf said. 'And as for telling him of what we are doing, we do not tell her where we are to go and we do not let her send messages out. You can let her listen to the messages but scare them off before she can tell them anything. Her pets may be able to tell us something.' Gandalf sat down by the fire, letting the silence allow the others to think.
'So you mean to allow her to follow us,' Aragorn said resignedly.
Between the restrictions the wizard had just put on her and the way the others looked at her with suspicions, Aragorn's sigh was the last straw. 'I will follow you whether you allow it or not!' Anna interjected. A grey cloud passed across the sun, thin but on a collision course with another, the threat of a storm at hand.
'I had made the decision long before she suggested anything,' Gandalf assured. 'When I saw the moth. We will be able to keep an eye on her if she follows us in the open.' He gave soft grin to the girl which she returned with a crossing of the arms. She wondered what was going on in his head.
'What of the wolves?' Pippin asked. They had been gone awhile looking for the bodies of the wolves. Gandalf explained there was no trace of the fight except charred trees and the arrows of Legolas lying on the hill-top.
'It is as I feared,' said Gandalf. 'These were no ordinary wolves hunting for food in the wilderness. Let us eat quickly and go!'
'For what else would they be hunting?' asked Anna. The innocent question would not receive an answer, though it was in everyone's minds.
'And what would your problem be?' the girl asked.
'I want my pot back!' shrieked Sam. He was slightly neurotic about his pots. Frodo just laughed and shook his head.
'Fine,' she said, holding up her hands. She brought the pot out form beneath a bush and threw it to Sam. 'It would have been too hard to travel with anyway.' After brushing the pot off of dirt, Sam went to give back the pouch of nuts but Oirebian shook her head. 'Keep them. They might go well with your breakfast.' Sam looked at the nuts suspiciously while she looked up suddenly, as if she had seen something at the corner of her eye. She took a step away form the hobbits.
'Ai!' Legolas called after her just as she came back to the camp.
She turned and then smiled seeing the elf. 'Do not worry yourself. I will not go far.' She took only a few more steps before turning around and speaking into her hand. The whispers could not be heard by anyone but Frodo could tell it was not of the Common Speech. After a moment of her being silent, her mouth opened but no sound came out. She looked up, Gandalf and Aragorn coming back to the camp. Her fingers relaxed. She held a moth before her face. Gandalf recognized it. Her tangled hair framed her hand and her mouth was still open.
She turned her back to the Company and chattered something to the moth that was untranslatable. The creature flew off and she walked directly to Gandalf. 'You are the wizard that was trapped on my master's tower.'
Gandalf's lips went into a line as he 'hmmd' to himself. He blinked and kept listening. 'You did not ask for food but for a way out, an eagle.' Without wanting to show it, she looked up at him in wonder.
'What else did you pet say?' Gandalf asked, already knowing the answer.
'He told of a troupe and their.quest. The message said I should give whatever aide I can.' Without even a breath, she said, 'I had him stop the other messages from going out.' The less experienced of the group did not see any good that could have come from stopping the messages. They would no longer receive aide. 'You should be careful of who might get these messages. I sent a new message: The fellowship has broken. Many have died and the rest have gone into the mountains to certain death.'
'Will she now make these prophecies come true?' Gimli asked.
Gandalf ignored Gimli's comment. 'Maybe you can give us some aide in breakfast, Anna,' Gandalf suggested. Aragorn clenched his jaw at her name.
'I do have some berries from Hollin and maybe some bread left,' she said, shrugging her shoulders. 'But I would aide you better by following you. You are an enemy of the white wizard. That alone redeems you of your suspicions.' She took a look at Aragorn, then went on, more persistent. 'I know my master's ways. I know how you can hide from his spies, to escape his magic. I can help you.'
'She will lead us straight to Saruman. She will tell him of all that we do,' Aragorn told Gandalf.
'She is not the one leading us, Aragorn,' Gandalf said. 'And as for telling him of what we are doing, we do not tell her where we are to go and we do not let her send messages out. You can let her listen to the messages but scare them off before she can tell them anything. Her pets may be able to tell us something.' Gandalf sat down by the fire, letting the silence allow the others to think.
'So you mean to allow her to follow us,' Aragorn said resignedly.
Between the restrictions the wizard had just put on her and the way the others looked at her with suspicions, Aragorn's sigh was the last straw. 'I will follow you whether you allow it or not!' Anna interjected. A grey cloud passed across the sun, thin but on a collision course with another, the threat of a storm at hand.
'I had made the decision long before she suggested anything,' Gandalf assured. 'When I saw the moth. We will be able to keep an eye on her if she follows us in the open.' He gave soft grin to the girl which she returned with a crossing of the arms. She wondered what was going on in his head.
'What of the wolves?' Pippin asked. They had been gone awhile looking for the bodies of the wolves. Gandalf explained there was no trace of the fight except charred trees and the arrows of Legolas lying on the hill-top.
'It is as I feared,' said Gandalf. 'These were no ordinary wolves hunting for food in the wilderness. Let us eat quickly and go!'
'For what else would they be hunting?' asked Anna. The innocent question would not receive an answer, though it was in everyone's minds.