Chapter Sixteen: The Importance of First Impressions
The closer they got to Imladris, the more emotional Arwen got. She seemed by turns excited and nervous, and spent much of her time walking quietly, deep in thought. At first, Buffy and Willow tried to bring her out of her reverie, to no avail, so they eventually decided to give her space. Together they discussed the changes that had occurred since arriving in Middle Earth, and went over their one brief conversation with the Guardian repeatedly. They both felt a little lost, even after having spent the past year investigating their powers. Buffy in particular was uncertain about Galadriel's words to her before their parting. The vague charge to aid a nameless someone in Imladris deal with his or her spanking new destiny was not very helpful. She could only hope that Lord Elrond had a clue.
Three days had passed since their crazy parent discussion when they came upon a river meandering its way across the land. Its waters were clear and deep blue, and the westering sun reflected off the shiny, colorful rocks that lined its base. They decided to stop for dinner, and Arwen silently headed off into the forest to gather berries and other various edible plants that she was an expert in identifying. Buffy and Willow shared a look of concern as they set up the campsite and gathered fallen branches for a fire.
"She's barely said a word in three days," Buffy said.
Willow sighed. "I think she's just nervous about going home."
"Three hundred years," Buffy murmured. "I don't care if she's an elf, that's still a wicked long time."
"Isn't it strange that we might get the chance to know what three hundred years feels like?"
"Totally strange," Buffy replied. "Especially since I was expecting to check out at any time. I went from practically no life span to a life span I can't even imagine."
Willow grinned. "I like this new version better."
"The PTB made me a cynic, so I'm still waiting for the other shoe to drop. The Valar probably gave us all these cool powers just so we'd fight and die in this upcoming war."
"Buffy," Willow said reprovingly. "We were never promised that we wouldn't die, but I don't think all this was meant as a cosmic joke."
"Alright alright, I give up," Buffy waved a branch in submission. "Let's build a fire and then take a bath in the river."
"Ooh!" Willow squealed. "Awesome idea!"
They returned to their belongings and built a natural fire (with just a little help from Witchy Willow) next to the stream. Munching on lembas, they grabbed their Lorien soap from their packs and undressed. Buffy dipped a tentative toe into the water and winced.
"It's so cold!" she complained. "I was hoping the sun warmed it up, but no dice."
Willow turned to laugh at her and caught an eyeful of lightly tanned flesh. Inwardly she groaned. This new, close quarters, free nakedness thing they had going was wreaking havoc on her sanity. The flirtatious side of their relationship that had grown steadily since their arrival in Middle Earth was worrisome. She shook herself out of her thoughts, noticing that Buffy was watching her with concern. "That's not how you do it," she smiled. Then, she dashed forward and leapt awkwardly into the river. Her head emerged a moment later. "This is how you do it," she said.
She grinned challengingly at Buffy, droplets of water running down her face, hair streaming out behind her. Buffy gulped. Willow looked beautiful, and happier than she'd seen her in years. Blushing furiously, she giggled and followed suit. Plunging into the river, she came up gasping. "Wil, it's still freezing!" She shoved a wave of water at her friend.
"Buffy!" Willow shrieked, and splashed back. And just like that, a war was begun.
Arwen wandered through the woods nearby, gathering berries and roots in her cloak. She could hear the screeching of her friends as they splashed around in the stream, and she smiled to herself. Their ability to set their pain aside and find joy in the smallest things was a good example for everyone. This, more than all of their separate and combined powers, was the reason they were here. She was sure of it. There was much on her mind as they neared Imladris, not least of which how her father was going to deal with them. Though they were no longer strictly mortal, they were still of the race of Men. And now they were her dear friends. They had accepted her without question, and if Lord Elrond wasn't willing to aid them in the coming trials, she would.
Defying her father was not on her list of things to do. Despite their recent difficulties, she loved him unconditionally. And he loved her. Excitement at seeing him again after such a long time away rose within her. She was imagining their reunion when she first heard the quiet shuffling through the woods around her. Elves, she could sense them, but nevertheless she whipped out her bow and notched an arrow, at the ready. They stepped out of the forest and she settled into a defensive stance. Taking in their features and voices, she saw that they were indeed elves of Imladris, so she relaxed. And two of them, twins, were now grinning at her. She put her bow away and stared at them in shock.
"Elladan, Elrohir!"
They swooped in and took turns swinging her around in circles as they murmured endearments. "Arwen!" Elrohir greeted her happily. "It has been far too long, sister." Elladan just grinned some more and winked at her.
"I did not know you were in Imladris," she replied. "I might have come sooner."
"Nay, we have not been there long," Elladan spoke up. "We came there one year past to collect Estel and bring him orc hunting. We returned several days ago at Adar's request. When we learned that you were due to arrive, we insisted on coming out to meet you."
Arwen looked confused. "Who is Estel?"
Elrohir smiled at her. "Much has occurred in your absence. Now, where are the Lórien warriors? Did you give them the slip?"
"Nay," she replied sheepishly. "I am just out gathering berries and roots to eat."
"And the rest of your party?" Elladan asked.
"They are over by the river."
"Then let us go and greet them. We are not that anxious to get back, so we can stay here tonight," he replied, exchanging a glance with his brother. They were both wondering why they hadn't sensed a large group of elves moving through the forest. It was the merry shouting coming from the direction of the water that had drawn their attention here.
"I should go first," Arwen hedged, "and tell them you are coming."
"Nonsense, sister," Elrohir replied, and the two twins quickly followed the voices through the forest, Arwen at their heels. She made an authoritative motion for the rest of the elves to stay where they were. They were so surprised that they obeyed without question.
"The voices are human," Elladan said, confused.
"That's because they are," Arwen replied shortly. She cringed, hoping against hope that her friends weren't still swimming. As they stepped out from the forest's edge, the twins stopped short to gape at the scene before them. Two young, mortal women were swimming and playing together in the river. Two NAKED young, mortal women. They were laughing and joking with each other as they bathed. The one with golden-brown hair tossed a bar of soap onto the riverbank and murmured something to her friend, who was shaking out her burnished-red tresses. The redhead burst out laughing and splashed water at her companion. Just then, the light haired woman sensed them and turned her head sharply in their direction, body tense and ready to fight. The redhead followed suit and they looked back and forth between Arwen and her two brothers. Suddenly realizing that they were naked in the river, they both blushed profusely.
"Shit," the light haired woman muttered. The twins didn't understand the expletive, but they got the idea.
Arwen spoke up at that point, gently nudging her brothers' jaws closed. "Aarion, Taserë, these are my rude and impatient brothers Elladan and Elrohir." The redhead dropped her head shyly while the other stared defiantly at them, and grinned at their stunned expressions.
"Good ta meetcha, boys," Buffy purred. They gulped. "Mind turning around so Tas and me can get decent?" Arwen grabbed their arms and swung them around to face the trees. They stared at her in shock, but she refused to speak. Five minutes later, they heard two sets of feet following a rock pathway across the river. They turned to face the two (now fully dressed) women again as they squeezed excess water from their hair.
"Who are you?" Elrohir demanded shortly, trying to cover his reaction to the river scene that kept replaying itself in his head.
"We would be the, uh, escorts," Buffy replied, cheeks still pink with embarrassment. "I'm Aarion, by the way."
The brother's mouths dropped open again. "Where is the rest of your party?" Elladan sounded confused.
"There is no rest of the party," she explained. "Just me and Tas." She looked to Willow for support, and the redhead nodded in agreement.
The twins turned their attention to Arwen again. Elrohir looked deadly serious, but Elladan was grinning wickedly at her. "The three of you traveled from Lothlórien alone?" Elrohir asked.
"Galadriel felt that we would attract less attention that way," Arwen defended. "Besides, Aarion and Taserë are more than capable of protecting me."
They turned their identical expressions of disbelief back at the young women. "Crap," Buffy said. "You're not gonna make me kick your ass to prove it, are you?"
"I could shoot something with my crossbow," Willow offered perkily. They glowered at her.
Arwen tried to diffuse the situation. "Elladan, Elrohir. Gather your party and bring them out by the fire where we can all rest this night." They saw through her tactics, but reluctantly agreed. Nodding tersely at the young women, they returned to the forest, grumbling all the way. Arwen grabbed Buffy and Willow and dragged them back to their campsite. "It starts," she muttered, sitting heavily by the fire.
"I was hoping to make a better first impression than that," Buffy commented dryly, and they began to giggle helplessly.
Arwen's brothers returned and crossed the river, followed by the group of elves that had been waiting in the forest. They all greeted Arwen politely, and stared curiously at Buffy and Willow. Apparently Elladan and Elrohir had apprised them of the situation, so they didn't ask any questions. Continuing a small distance beyond their campsite, they settled down quietly and shared out their food rations for the night. Some time later, Elladan and Elrohir approached and joined the three females by the fire.
"I am surprised that Adar only sent twelve to retrieve me," Arwen said softly.
"There are nine other parties like to ours on this side of Imladris," Elladan smirked. "And he was not expecting your own party to be so small."
Buffy spoke up, addressing them seriously. "We really are capable of protecting her. If you don't trust our word, know that Galadriel would never have allowed this if she hadn't thought so."
Elladan smiled at her, but Elrohir looked angry. "Lady Aarion, she is our beloved sister. Your words are wise, yet how can we believe them?"
"Aarion is a warrior," Willow rushed to explain, seeing that Buffy was getting angry. "She's a lot stronger than she looks. And I'm a witch." Off their glares, she continued nervously. "A GOOD witch. And we're here, right? We made it, and nothing bad happened." She gulped, "Well, a couple bad things happened, but… we handled them." She smiled uneasily.
Elrohir continued to glare, but Elladan's face eased and he chuckled at Willow's rambling speech. "It is strange, true. But we have seen many strange things over the years. Our sister is obviously well, so for now I will believe you." He nudged at his brother pointedly.
Sighing, Elrohir forced himself to relax. It was true. Arwen was here, and well, and was nodding to validate the young woman's statement. "You must have been traveling for a long while now," he said finally.
Buffy smiled tentatively at him, relieved that she wasn't going to have to kick their asses. "Yeah, about a month."
Both brothers looked shocked again, and she inwardly grimaced. "A month! That is impossible!"
Arwen sighed. "We took the pass over the mountains."
For a long moment there was stunned silence. "Adar is going to lock you in your room for a century and skin your escorts alive," Elladan finally commented wryly.