Chapter Three – I walked across an empty land (I knew the pathway like the back of my hand)
For the next two days, TigerLily wandered around with no real idea of where she was headed. At night, she slept in the trees on a sturdy branch that wouldn't break under her weight for finding a cave would be too painful for her. Her wandering feet were so she wouldn't walk back to her Pack and her Den Mother. The urge to do so was very strong and it was hard to stop herself; having never had to before. It hurt more than anything.
Soon, on the third day, her meandering around The Old Forest took her to the edges of some sort of village. It wasn't very big but seemed to have quite a lot of people passing through it to journey somewhere else. Hiding in the foliage, TigerLily watched as the varying races – mainly just Men, Hobbits and Dwarves – made their way in through the gates of the town. It was interesting seeing other people interacting with each other, especially the ones who didn't like one another. Their arguments, the sounds stilted and filled with fury, were mainly just noises to her keen ears as she hadn't exactly learned the language of Men yet. Her mother had been in the beginning stages of trying to teach her. Although, considering the fact her mother had no human vocal cords like TigerLily did, she really couldn't imagine the lessons being a success.
She watched a pair of Men argue with each other loudly on the dirt road, tilting her head as she tried her best to translate what they were yelling inside her head. For some reason, her mother had suggested that it was her Hobbit heritage, TigerLily was able to understand any Hobbit she would meet during her time in the wilds. While she had hunted for a meal some years ago, she'd come across a lone male Hobbit traveling to The Shire. He'd been singing to himself as he walked and she had stayed in her spot for the entire song, leaving only when he was finished. Her native language was strange indeed but she thought it was fairly pretty as well.
Perhaps she could find someone who would teach her the language of Men in that village but she would have to be careful. TigerLily wasn't naive; she knew that the people inside that town would more than likely try to hurt her if she suddenly tried to talk to one of them. She needed to have a reason for being in that village and casually ask someone for help. If she would be able to speak without barking or growling, that was. Her instincts were yelling at her, chastising her for even thinking about entering a human village but what else was she to do? She no longer had her own family and somehow, TigerLily knew that she belonged to – or at least around the area – either Hobbits or Men. It wasn't hard to imagine herself living among them but if that was to happen; she would need to learn their speech and ways of living. It wouldn't do well to make a terrible first impression and be thrown out of the town at first word.
Finally given a goal to strive towards, TigerLily crept away from the bushes and deeper into the forest. She needed to hunt; the slowly building excitement of her task would work perfectly as adrenaline to corner a large kill. For the next couple of days, she would have to find various animals and take their pelts. If there was a good enough reason to enter a town well known for its trading routes, having furs from many animals would be the best one. And possibly trading meat for what her mother had told her was 'money'. She had no idea what that was but if it helped her along in finding her own home; she'd take it.
Once she was away from any humans that could happen upon her by chance, TigerLily darted away into the clutch of trees. Her nose had caught the scent of a wild bear. The thought of battling such a proud and dangerous creature had her grinning fiercely. A large bear pelt would surely gain quite a bit of 'money' in that town.
With nary a sound, she disappeared into the brush.
And only seconds later, a loud roar of an angry bear echoed throughout the forest – accompanied by a shiver inducing howl.
The next two days passed with her working on the fur pelts of the animals she had felled. Three bears, four stags, six jack rabbits, and strangely enough; a Warg skin.
After journeying to the farthest side of The Old Forest, TigerLily had come across the young beast. At first, she hadn't wanted to try attacking the Warg as it hadn't done anything to incur her wrath but the moment it caught sight and scent of her, it snarled angrily, and lashed out. TigerLily wasn't known to charge a dangerous creature – one that was bread to kill in an instant – without knowing if it was friendly or not. But the Warg hadn't given her enough time to speak in defense, so she was forced to fight. She had no clue how long the dance lasted but it ended with her axes stuck inside its neck, the beast bleeding out on the ground.
Her pelts were nearly finished and she was currently working on the bear skin that nearly took up the space of the clearing she'd appropriated. Soon it would be ready and she could trade them in the village in exchange for something else. Hopefully she could ask for lessons in the languages of the different races. Learning just the language of Men wouldn't be enough to get her through life. It was a feeling she had, along with the longing in her heart that called out to her One Mate. The sensation of heartache was new and strange to her but it wasn't an altogether terrible feeling. It burned in her chest and images of her love remained inside her dreams at night, often taunting her with what she could have but was unable to claim as her own. Yet it held no true pain.
She knew that one day – one day – she would find the one meant for her.
TigerLily was done by the time the sun had reached its middle point in the sky and grinned at the pelts that lied on the ground before her. They were gorgeous in color and style, clean of any leaves, dirt or rocks that had been stuck inside the fur during the animals' lives and they practically glowed in the afternoon sunlight.
Satisfied with her work, she quickly gathered them and walked over to the stream that was nearby. She needed to bathe before heading into town tomorrow. Setting the pelts at the bank of the river, she began the task of undressing. Among the Pack, there hadn't been a need for clothing such as hers – clothed or not, she was still a member of her Den Mother's family – and for some years, she had remained naked. Only when she had seen some wee Hobbit children wearing clothes that she decided to gain some of her own. She was not ashamed of her body, far from it.
Her mother had always said she loved the color of TigerLily's blood red hair but she herself thought her body was the most appealing feature. It was both soft and hard; muscles lined her shoulders, arms, back, and legs. They were much like stone beneath a flesh covering but her middle had a plump softness that she had seen on plenty of the gentle folk. Scars of every kind littered her body, a pale pink on the canvas of ivory skin. In her eyes, they didn't make her ugly – if anything, they told the tale of her struggle in the wild and she found them beautiful. She was proud of each one, especially those that lined her face.
Crouching in the stream, TigerLily gazed into the water and inspected her reflection. Many times the few Pack members that hadn't cared for her often spoke of how ugly she was, how human. At the time, it hurt and she cried many nights while cuddled up against her mother's fur. Then she gained the scars during The Maturing Months and respect for surviving such an ordeal was instantly given to her. She had been young and substantially weaker than she was currently but had fought hard with the soul of a true wolf. Quite a few hadn't come back and eve more had been cast out for arriving at the Den far too early. She and some others had been the only ones to last the entire four months.
She traced the four sensitive diagonal claw marks that ran across her right eye, remembering how they had scabbed over painfully. The long weeks it took for them to finally heal, though they never did fully, were harrowing and hunting had been very difficult. But it was nothing compared to the mark along her left eye. It was wider and longer than the others; it had come from a Warg during her months in the wild. She had been hunting small game, lying in wait until a few rabbits would come hopping along for her to grab them. In those days, her senses hadn't been the most keen and the Warg had crept up on her unannounced. She lived only by the skin on her back but the beast had taken her sight in that one eye, making it gleam a dull silver. TigerLily hadn't truly minded the fact she could not see out her left eye but hunting was more tasking with little to no depth perception. But having just the one eye, she practiced and soon became a keen shot, and an even better hunter.
TigerLily gently washed her hair, admiring the color as the afternoon sunlight shone down on her. The long tresses, having grown to finally reach her buttocks that year, changed color in the light as they glistened a golden red with the water. She rinsed her hair, laying down in the chilled stream and supressed a shiver as she sat back up to squeeze the remaining water out. Before washing the rest of herself, she quickly but efficiently braided her hair tightly and tied it off with a leather string. TigerLily pinned it to the top of her head and began to wash her body thoroughly. Once she was finished that, she rinsed off and stood up.
The wind had picked up a little and she would be dried soon. In the mean time, she grabbed her tunic and trousers to wash them of the dirt layering the fabric thickly. It took several passes through the water but they were eventually clean. She placed them on a low branch to dry and she laid down on the soft grass, watching the sunlight filter in through the leaves.
She'd never taken the time to simply lay down and enjoy the world around her. For years, everything she had done or would do was about survival. Never was there time to look at the stars or smell the wayward rose she passed by – staying on her guard was the best possible way to keep herself alive. And while the dangers of her abusers had gone, there was all the other detrimental creatures that were far more powerful than her that she had to worry about. Like fully grown Wargs or Orcs. TigerLily shuddered slightly at the thought of Orcs. They were disgusting and horrible things that slayed anything, and pillaged all they could find of value. How Orcs could see the value in sentimental items was beyond her.
She'd first seen Orcs during The Maturing Months. About two months in, when she had finally settled into a Den she liked. TigerLily had been exploring, scouting out the area and she'd come across them unexpectedly. They had been raiding a farm house that was near her temporary Den and were just finishing up, burning down the rest. It'd been too late for her to try and save the occupants that lived on the farm but she did manage to kill a few of the scavengers that stayed behind. Then, hiding the bodies, she investigated what was left of the house. To her surprise a room had been standing still and when she looked inside; it was filled with old weapons. Mainly axes that were used for chopping up wood or killing farm raised animals when it was their time to die. But they were useful in a battle against her enemies. That was how she acquired the multiple axes she carried around with her constantly.
A noise broke through her trance and she jerked up, sitting against the tree behind her. Her eyes roved over the river bank over to the other side, where the source of the interruption stood. It wasn't a person, thankfully – because while modesty wasn't something she could afford, she had it anyway – but a tall elk with towering antlers and beautiful russet fur. The buck stared at TigerLily intently, keeping eye contact until it deemed her friendly and ducked his head down to drink at the slow moving water. She watched for a few minutes, then stood up to get dressed. The clothes were dry and warm from the sun, making her sigh as she slipped on the shirt. The warmth of the sun was much different compared to that of a fire and it felt like she was cuddling her Den Mother once more. Tears came to TigerLily's eyes but she blinked them back, not because she was ashamed of her emotional attachment to her mother. She needed to be strong and prove to herself, as well as the people around her, that she could thrive without the help of her Pack.
After all; she'd spent four months alone and the first two without any sort of weapons until she happened upon the farm house.
TigerLily gathered her things, scooping up the pelts and slipping on the backpack underneath her wolf furs. She headed out, casting one last glance at the beautiful elk before she was swallowed by the thickening brush around her.
She walked through the forest leisurely, knowing she'd have time to trade before night would fall. Hopefully the people wouldn't respond to her appearance with fear or disgust. She wasn't worried about losing a fight but it would impede on her trading opportunity and most likely have her banned from the village permanently. That would ruin any chances of gaining the 'money' she needed, which she was still unsure about the reason for obtaining such a thing. Images of her starlight love filtered through her mind and the resolve to gain the strange item or items strengthened.
The village came into view and the sight of people meandering around the entrance had her pausing in hesitance. TigerLily wasn't sure about how they would receive her – either with fear or suspicion. Both of which were the right instincts to have around her, as she was dangerous. But none of the towns folk needed to fear her; if they kept to themselves and didn't start any fights, she wouldn't either. The thought was a nice one, though it might not play out that way.
Taking a deep breath, she left the edge of the forest and strode up to the entrance.
It was closed during the night, which was something she'd noticed over the last couple of days but while the daylight was still around, it was open to new races and people. TigerLily glanced around at the tall Men, stout Hobbits and the occasional Dwarf moving about the walkways. As soon as she passed through the open gate, all eyes and attention turned towards her. The human wolf froze for about a millisecond before continuing on her way, doing her best to appear meek and unassuming. It was difficult, considering her height, wolf pelt and blazing red hair. She walked past the stares and over to a tall stall that held a multitude of furs. The vender had several of each beast but only deer, elk, wolf, and rabbit. None of them held any bear or Warg.
TigerLily grinned and knew that the trading would go as planned. She stepped up to the open face of the stall and waited patiently for the human to notice she was there. For a moment, she stood on the ridges of the walkway until the male jerked in his spot and stared at TigerLily in a daze. She tilted her head and resisted the urge to growl in slight annoyance. It wouldn't do well to scare off the man, would it?
Neither of them spoke; the vendor too shocked and TigerLily didn't have the best vocabulary.
The son of Man cleared his throat and spoke.
"Ah... h-how can I help you?" he stuttered, eyes darting over her face. She knew her looks weren't very pretty by human standards but that didn't matter to a wolf. The scars were a sign of strength and courage. She was proud of them.
"Trade." TigerLily stated curtly, inwardly grumbling at how angry she sounded. That wasn't a good start. The man jumped again, then coughed.
"T-trade? All I have are furs here– " His sentence was cut off when TigerLily took off her backpack and pulled out a beautiful, clean bear pelt.
He blinked rapidly, eyes shining like he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Dark blue eyes flickered between her and the pelt, a look of consideration on his face. A few seconds passed as he deliberated what to do and the grin that wanted to slip over her face was smug when he nodded.
"How much?" TigerLily asked as softly as she could, not wanting the human to shut down his service simply because she was vocally aggravating him.
"F-for a bear pelt as gorgeous as that, I would say... fifty coin?" he suggested, a small frown on his face even as he spoke.
She wasn't sure about the price, considering how much everything else seemed. The nicest deer pelt had a sign in front of it that had strange scribbles – writing, she had to guess. There were three odd things on the plaque and the man had only spoken two.
"No, no, that doesn't seem right." he muttered, and TigerLily tilted her head again as he argued with himself. Strange, she'd only seen two Men do that. He huffed and looked at her, "How much coin would you give for this pelt?"
TigerLily blinked and stared at the bear fur hard. In her head, she began calculating the price of what she thought someone would pay. Things ran through her mind and she inwardly gasped as weird symbols passed in front of her eyes. Those... those would be numbers? Perhaps she was going insane already. The man gave her an expectant wave of his hand and TigerLily blinked again.
"One hundred." she stated, wondering inwardly how much that was and why she knew that.
The vendor hummed over the price and nodded in acceptance, turning around to dig through something hidden from her view. He turned back and held out a small bag of dark brown leather to her. She rose a brow, taking it from him and handing over the beautiful pelt. He grinned in genuine appreciation and hung it reverently on the wall. TigerLily opened the bag curiously and saw round pieces of metal that were the same color as her Den Mother's eyes. That was 'money'? It was odd that something so small could buy such large things. She counted the pieces, grunting when there were the said total of coin and tightened the leather ribbon. TigerLily placed it inside her bag and was in the middle of pulling out the Warg pelt when the vendor spoke.
"Thank you for doing business with me. Have a nice– " He choked on his words when he caught sight of a familiar, frightening fur. TigerLily splayed out the Warg skin on the counter top, smoothing out the glistening pelt with a smug smirk. It was definitely worth the scars that were forming on her ribs.
"By the gods." he uttered in shock and awe, "How in Arda did you find such a thing?"
TigerLily shrugged, motioning to the axes on her belt, "Killed."
His eyes bugged out and his mouth gaped open, "You! Y-you killed a Warg?!"
People roaming by stopped in their spots when he practically yelled for all to hear. She frowned heavily, not liking the looks in some eyes that focused on her and leaned forward to the vendor.
"Quiet." she growled, emerald eye flashing. He flinched and sunk low in his seat, "No yelling. Or no pelt." Her vocabulary was short at best and she couldn't even say full sentences yet but the eavesdropping on Men or Hobbits was helping quite a bit.
"A-apologies." he squeaked, shaking a bit, "H-how much are you wanting for t-that, then?"
TigerLily contemplated the question. If the bear had been a hundred, then the Warg would obviously be more expensive. Possibly two or three times. She had no clue and wondered how much coin the man had to offer.
"Three hundred?" she questioned softly, and the man instantly broke into stuttering. She heard about half his words before she made a growling noise to shut him up. His mouth snapped shut so fast his teeth clacked together. The sound echoed sharply in her ears but she made no indication it hurt.
"Three... three hundred coin?" he stumbled through his question, face paling at the amount of 'money' she was demanding. "I... I don't even know if I have that much left..."
She pondered that and decided to be merciful on his coin bag, "One-fifty."
His shaking stopped and he thought about that, nodding, "A-alright. You have a deal."
He reached into his coin purse again and poured the coins into her hand, her palm large enough to hold it all. In return, she handed over the beautiful Warg pelt and nearly smiled at his gleaming eyes.
Nearly.
She ignored his excitement over having the Warg skin and put the allocated coins in with their brethren. If she counted right, her brain was having troubles re-aligning itself with her usual mindset, there would be two hundred and fifty coins in her small leather bag. It would be enough to buy some supplies from other vendors, possibly. TigerLily wanted to find the things she heard the Hobbits call 'books'. The human wolf wanted the chance at being able to teach herself how to speak the language of Men properly and also how to read. The squiggles on the signs in the vendor's stall was unfamiliar to her and it posed a problem for further trips into the village. If she was uneducated and animal-like (well, more animal than usual at least), then no one would be willing to teach her anything.
She sighed and turned away from the stall, gazing around at the still staring towns folk until she caught sight of a vendor that carried square items. Ignoring the eyes on her, she walked between the milling people deftly, managing to avoid bumbling drunkards and stopped in front of the stall. The woman sitting at the makeshift counter looked up from the book she was reading and widened her eyes as she saw TigerLily standing still as a statue in the sunlight. The pelted Hobbit simply stood there, brow with the scars running through it arching as the young woman took her time staring. But soon it became quite annoying and TigerLily's lip rose in a slight snarl that had the woman jumping back.
"H-hello... how can I help y-you?" she stuttered as well, causing TigerLily's eyes to roll.
"What reason could I be here other than to purchase one of those 'books'?" she mumbled to herself, the growling and barking language of the Old Forest pack. The woman of Man frowned, most likely due to confusion but TigerLily didn't pay her any mind.
Taking a moment to peruse her limited vocabulary of the language of Man, she cleared her throat and pointed to one of the 'books', "Want buy. Learn. Speak."
The woman was still frowning but the expression cleared when she finally understood what TigerLily had meant, "Oh. You want to learn how to speak Westron?"
The she-wolf nodded, glad the human female knew what she wanted.
Glad she could actually help, the woman began gathering on learning the basics of Westron and different languages, "Alright. These are beginning guides of the Westron language. It will help you slowly teach yourself to speak like that of Man and will branch out to others. Is that alright?"
TigerLily processed what she had said, then nodded. It would be enough for her to learn the basics, probably. Den Mother had always said she was bright and fairly smart – she'd taken to the Wolf language quickly – so learning the language of Man would be easy as well. Hopefully.
The vendor took a moment to add up the amount of coin in her head, "That will be fifty gold, please."
TigerLily counted the books, noting there were only five and reached into the small leather bag to bring out fifty pieces. The items were exchanged and TigerLily pulled off her pack to put the books inside. They were slightly heavy but she had only recently dragged a fully grown bear to a clearing on her own. The 'books' wouldn't be much of a burden.
She tightened the leather strips holding the flap closed and shouldered it once again. Knowing she had nothing left to purchase, TigerLily nodded gratefully at the woman of Men and went on her way out of the village. Eyes followed her as she left but she ignored them easily enough. The gazes of Man and Hobbit didn't bother her too much, despite her initial wariness at entering the village. As long as none of them tried to approach her with dangerous intent, she would be on her way without a fuss.
As she walked back into the forest, TigerLily noticed night was falling quickly and she would need to gather wood for a fire soon. There were no clouds in the sky above and knew it would be chilly that night. Without the warmth of her pack members and Den Mother, TigerLily would freeze in the forest if she didn't make a fire. She set down her things and quickly gathered enough wood to keep a fire going well until the morning. Efficiently and without much fuss, TigerLily had a roaring campfire within minutes.
The Hobbit sat down next to it and fished out the tome she had bought. It was very thick and when she opened it, a single page was filled with countless words.
Oh boy.
TigerLily sighed and began reading, surmising it would be a long night.
True to form, the night had been long but not without results.
Her Westron was not nearly as terrible as she had believed but that wasn't to say it was good by any means. Most sentences she could read somewhat properly, though the definition was a bit distorted since some words could have multiple meanings. The moment she tried to say any of the strange new words aloud though; her voice was grating and diction was a bit too thick. Her tongue couldn't properly form the vowels, too deeply ingrained in the wolf language of her childhood.
She was getting better but also knew it was going to take several months (three at most) to be fully fluent in Westron. TigerLily wanted to learn other languages as well; such as Rohirrirc, Sindarin and possibly Khuzdul if she could find anything about it. From what she had heard from her Mother, it was a very personal language heavily guarded by the Dwarven culture. But perhaps TigerLily could acquire a tome or something similar a some point.
(finding one was unlikely but she'd look anyway)
She woke to songbirds chirping happily as the sun rose and rolled onto her back. Two toned eyes stared at the pale blue sky absently, wondering if this was how life would turn out for her. A Hobbit wanderer that appeared scarier than the predators in the Old Forest, frightening off people that she might have to socialize with later on. She certainly didn't mind it much but at some point, she'd need to find or create a more permanent home; a base of operations so to speak.
Decision made, she stood up swiftly and tossed dirt over the still smoldering fire. She could do without breakfast for the time being; she had things to do and only several months to do them in. Winter would soon be upon her, despite the fact it was late spring. What she intended to do was going to take time and effort. Months would pass by relatively fast while she worked and TigerLily aimed to be in a cozy, warm den by the time Winter showed its ugly mug.
Gathering her items, TigerLily left in search of better forestation.
It took several hours – and a few breaks – to find the best tree with the thickest trunk and softest soil. TigerLily climbed the tree easily, muscles bulging noticeably underneath the wolf pelt, and stopped at the top. She swayed precariously on the slimmest branch but was sure footed as she took in the scenery.
Gods, it was beautiful.
The Shire was a few miles to the left of her; all rolling hills and Spring green grass. With her keen eyesight, she could clearly see Hobbits strolling about their wee hamlet casually and smiled somewhat bitterly. She might have had that life, if Fate hadn't intervened but no matter what; TigerLily loved everything she was and everything the she-wolf her Den Mother made her to be. Sure, the easy living those Hobbit had sounded nice but TigerLily wouldn't give up the muscles or scars gained by toil and hardships throughout her life for anything.
Maybe now, though, she could calm down and live peacefully for the first time in a while. That would be nice. Ignoring the hollowed ache in her chest at not leaving immediately to find her One Mate (because what else could be more important than that?), TigerLily jumped down, tucking into a roll as she hit the ground. Once at her pack, she took out her Tomahawks and began chopping away at the wood.
Anyone nearby would be able to hear the sound of her taking large chunks out of the tree, layers upon layers of wood being stripped off the trunk quickly. But she had a feeling no one would come to investigate; most people knew the sound of axes chopping wood. That wasn't at all strange, though the sight of a redheaded Hobbit dressed in a wolf pelt doing her best to create a hole in a huge tree would be a bit odd. Not many Hobbits could say they had killed an (enormous) animal with their bare hands and worn their skin afterwords.
Hours passed, afternoon turning into evening and TigerLily found herself extremely hungry. Thankfully, she'd stashed a pouch full of berries and nuts that she'd collected a few days ago. And she could hunt down a rabbit to have with them.
Stomach growling, she darted off into a collection of bushes with her axes and disappeared between the leaves. Minutes later, a squealing sound that would have made anyone else flinch was heard before the noise cut off prematurely and TigerLily reappeared with a dead rabbit (about two and a half feet long) hanging in one hand. The kill had been ridiculously easy, not like the bear had been days ago but at the moment, she just wanted to eat.
Besides, killing needlessly just because she could wasn't really she had been taught. Her Den Mother always said, 'Death is a part of life; everyone and everything eventually dies. But none should leave before their time'. TigerLily understood that murder was wrong, despite having the supposed right reasons and would never kill someone unless it was in self-defense. Every death by her hand was necessary; for survival or food.
After skinning and gutting the rabbit, TigerLily ate enough to sate her hunger then returned to chopping. She was about less than a quarter through it but that wasn't quite her intention. She wanted to create a home in the tree, then shovel out tunnels underneath in several directions so she could have multiple exits. Having a back-up plan was always a good idea; having more than five was better.
TigerLily had thought about meandering into The Shire to find a suitable home but she was pretty sure none of them would want her in town. Besides, creating her own was something she wanted; needed to do. Since being ejected (gently but firmly) from the only home she'd ever known, the urge to find a stable abode was strong. But the distinct need to make one was bigger.
Thankfully, the desire to procreate (with anyone besides her Mate) hadn't showed up – yet.
And TigerLily wasn't so sure she wanted it to at all.
Panting ever so slightly from the prolonged effort, she returned to her furs and lied on them, facing the sky. The stars were twinkling softly in front of a canvas of midnight blue. It was beautiful and a part of her would regret not being able to sleep under the stars once her home was done. But the comfort and warmth of a cozy Den was a prospect she couldn't ignore. It would take hard work and time but it was worth it in the end.
Sleep came to slowly take her and she went willingly.
End Chapter 3