Edited 4/6/16

Leaving the Familiar and First Impressions

Once her father had agreed that she could go, the two of them worked out the details. She would be leaving in two days' time with two guards accompanying her. She would take only a small bag with her that would contain some spare clothes, a small ration of food, and a water skin; she would hunt for the majority of her food.

She spent the rest of the day in her father's study with him and the two who would be her guards, Sut and Jag, poring over maps and deciding which they'd routes to take to get to the elven city. They also spoke about what they would say to others once they arrived.

Anra became so wrapped up in the preparations that she didn't even think to tell Isla and Eron what was going on. No, she didn't remember them until later that night when she dropped down on her bed in exhaustion. 'Some friend I am,' Anra thought darkly, 'I completely forgot about them!' Shaking her head she climb out of her bed and walked over to her mirror. She gazed into it and thought about what her father had said early about her being like her mother.

She didn't really remember her that well. In fact all she could clearly remembered about her was her scent. All wolves remember their mother's scent; it is the first thing they experience as a pup. According to her father and everyone who had known her, she was a dead ringer of her mother, she had the same mid length thick, auburn hair full of wild curls, the same small build, fair skin, and face full of freckles. She even had the same pure white fur when she was shifted. The only thing that was different were her dark, vivid green eyes, those she got from her father.

Her father had also said she had her mother's spirit, she wondered if her mother would have forgotten her friends like she had. Anra didn't understand how she could have forgotten them, they were her best friends. The three of them had been inseparable since they were small pups.

She ran her hand through her crazy curls and resolved to talk to them first thing in the morning; she would get nothing else done tonight. She left her mirror and crawled back into her bed, ready to go to sleep.

The next day came much too soon for Anra's liking, despite her decision to talk with her friends first thing in the morning she found herself dragging her feet. The three of them had never been away from each other for more than one or two days at a time before and she had no idea how they'd react to her leaving for something that would probably take over a month, possibly two even.

So instead she found herself standing in front of her wardrobe taking her sweet old time deciding what pair of trousers she wanted to wear that day. All Nightstalkers wore pants and tunics, no matter if they were male or female. It just made more sense to them, dresses were extremely inconvenient and most of the time quite uncomfortable. Now that didn't mean the females in their pack never wore dresses, if there was some sort of formal or political event happening they may wear a dress, but rarely for everyday life.

When she couldn't stall any longer she slowly made her way towards the kitchen where they would be eating breakfast since it was their day off from training. Anra gathered her hair into a bun as she walked into the room and plopped down in her usual seat next to Isla and across from Eron.

"Hey, what happened to you yesterday?" Isla asked as soon as Anra sat down. "Were you in trouble?"

"Yeah," said Eron, "you put that perfectly good stew to waste, 'cause you told me I couldn't eat it since you were supposed to come back."

The eggs that Anra had been eating seemed to get stuck in her throat as she tried to swallow, forcing her to take a big gulp of water before she could reply. "My father had received a message that he had needed to discuss with me." She looked up to see her friends staring at her waiting for her to further elaborate. Anra looked around the kitchen that was slowly being filled with more of their pack mates looking for breakfast. She sighed, "I'll tell you guys more about it, but not here. Meet me at the old willow when you are done eating." With that Anra got up, her appetite gone, and left her two friends sitting at the table wondering what on earth was going on.

Not too long later, two wolves, one black and one silver, pushed their way through the forest's undergrowth towards a big old willow tree. As they walked into the small clearing that surrounded the grand tree they gently touched noses with the white she-wolf that was already there waiting for them.

The three of them shifted so that there were three young adults standing there instead. "Okay Anra," the girl who had been the silver wolf started, "what's going on, what's with all the secrecy?"

The other girl fiddled with a dagger that hung from her belt as she decided how to tell them she was leaving. "Come on Anra, spit it out already!" Eron snap, her hesitation making him nervous.

"Okay, so you know that message I was telling you about earlier?" they nodded. "Well it was from the elves." Her friends' eyes popped in disbelief, so she hurried on before they could cut in. "It was a request for a representative from our pack to go to Rivendell for a secret meeting of some sort. And before you ask, no I don't know what the meeting is about."

"The elves," Isla whisper, her eyes shining in amazement, "I wonder what they want, we haven't acknowledged each other's existence in hundreds of years?"

Eron seemed more hung up on the other part of what she had said, the part she hoped they wouldn't have really thought about. "Who's going?"

Anra swallowed, "I am."

"WHAT?" they exclaimed in unison.

Anra rushed into explaining why it had to be her who went because the other ones who would be in the position to go were unable. She went on to reassured them that she'd have two guards with her at all times and that she'd only be gone for a few weeks. Isla looked sad, but she was nodding in understanding, whereas Eron just looked angry.

"I guess I get why you have to go, but I wish you didn't." Anra nodded her thanks to her friend for understanding then she turned to Eron.

He was glowering at the forest floor with a fierce scowl etched upon his face. "Eron?" she said cautiously. But before she could say anything else he had shifted and was galloping away into the surrounding wooded area, his black tail streaming out behind him.

Anra looked at her feet sadly, as she felt an arm go around her. "He'll come around, don't worry just give him some time. When do you leave?"

"Tomorrow at sunrise," she said in a small voice as a ball of nerves unraveled in her stomach.

"Okay, we should probably head back then so you can finish getting ready. And don't worry, I'll talk to that bone head and make him see reason."

"Thanks Isla," Anra said leaning her head down on the other girl's shoulder as they walked back towards the camp.

The girls had spent the rest of the day together, getting Anra ready for her journey. The next day had once again come much too early for her liking. She dressed in a simple white tunic with trousers, a sturdy belt to hang her two daggers from, brown leather boats, and long hooded grey cloak. She carefully braided her hair, shouldered her pack and headed out of her chambers down to the main clearing where she would meet the others.

Her father was there, as was his beta, her two guards that were accompanying her and Isla, but there was no sign of Eron. She tried not to feel hurt by this, but it was hard, he was one of her best friends. Her father said they would be coming with them up to their border, but then they would be on their own. That was good she thought, she wasn't ready to say goodbye quite yet, even if it was just temporary. Now that she was actually leaving her nerves had come back in tenfold, making her nauseous.

They ate a quick breakfast, and then shifted and were off running through their territory side by side, as if they were just a regular patrol. Once they reached the boarder her father gave them some last minute instructions, then pulled her into a hasty hug, and whispered in her ear, "Good luck honey, you'll do great, takem' by storm."

Once he released her she turned to Isla, after a swift glance around in hopes of seeing a familiar black pelt. "I'm sorry I couldn't get him to come, the idiot wouldn't see reason."

"Hey it's okay, I'm sure you did you best," Anra replied with a tight smile. "This is it."

"For now, this is it, for now," Isla corrected.

"Yes, for now," she amended.

"I'll miss you, and so will he, even if he is too stubborn to admit it."

"I will miss you guys too."

"Anra," called Jag, "we've got to get going."

"Okay," she called back.

Isla pulled her into a tight hug and gave her a kiss on the cheek, "Take care of yourself out there Anra, you can never be too careful."

"I know, you be careful too," she said returning the hug.

"Just make sure you come back to us in one piece."

"I will, see you in a few weeks," she said as she turned and started walking away with the guards.

"Anra, remember what I said," called her father, "keep your head up and be proud, you are an alpha, don't you forget it!"

She nodded as she shifted and started to run after Jag and Sut who were already leaving. She threw one last glance over her shoulder and saw the disappearing pelts of her pack mates vanishing back into the forest.

'You'll be fine,' she told herself, 'you'll be back in a few weeks.'

If only she knew how wrong she truly was.

Anra slowed to a walk as the three shape shifters approached the border into elven territory. They had been traveling for a little over two weeks, only stopping for a few hours every day to sleep and hunt; they did the majority of their running under the cover of night.

Anra shifted then gestured for the other two to do the same. She stretched out her limbs and straightened her clothes, they hadn't been in their human form since the day they left their territory behind. It felt strange to be on two legs instead of four all the sudden.

As they marched on, the elves' pungent odor filled their senses. Anra shook her head trying to clear it and made note to try not to breathe too deeply through her nose while she was there.

They had been walking for about an hour when they were suddenly encircled by about six tall dark haired elves who had their bows out, arrows notched, pointing at them. One elf stepped out of rank towards them and said in a flat voice, "Who are you and what is your business in Rivendell?"

Anra raised her chin and stated, "I am Lady Anra, daughter of Reigh, of the Nightstalkers. We are here in response to Lord Elrond's message." She disliked referring to herself as Lady Anra, it sounded so uptight and formal, but it was her proper title so she was to use it as long as she was in Rivendell.

She must have said the right thing, because the lead elf gave a nod and the others lowered their bows. She felt Jag and Sut relax on either side of her, while she herself suppressed a deep sigh of relief. Other than a couple small skirmishes with some orcs back in the Fangorn, Anra had never actually fought in a real battle, and having all those bows pointing at her had been a bit unnerving.

"Allow us to escort you to the city and to where you will be staying Princess Anra," requested the elf in the same flat tone her had used early.

She nodded, feeling like she didn't really have a choice anyways. 'Escorting us? Seems more like guarding us,' she thought as the elves remained surrounding them in a tight uniformed formation. 'I wonder if they were waiting for us, I guess even after all this time they still don't trust us.'

As they walked up into the city Anra couldn't help but gape at the beauty of it, with its elegant bridges, and graceful waterfalls. Their escorts lead them down a hallway to three rooms that they indicated to them as their temporary chambers for the duration of their stay.

Anra excused herself from her guards and entered her room. She dropped her bag on the floor and collapsed on the bed, deciding to take a quick nap before she explored a bit.

As soon as she opened her eyes she knew she had slept longer than she meant to, the sun had set and the moon was high in the sky. 'I guess I needed sleep more than I thought, at least I should be caught up on it now, hopefully.'

She yanked a brush through her tangled mass of curls, then put on a green cloak and slipped quietly out the door to explore. She walk silently down one hallway then up another, not really sure where exactly she was going.

It didn't take long till she was completely lost and just wandering through a garden of some sort. She felt more comfortable out here than she had inside the buildings, to her it felt more like home outside surrounded by the plants, even if they were flowering ivy and herbs instead of the great big oak trees she was used to.

She strolled through the garden, enjoying the feel of the cool grass between her toes, when she heard something. It sounded like a sigh, a human sigh. 'Damn this elf stench, it keeps masking all the other scents.' She peered around a willow tree and saw a man sitting on the ground against a tree reading.

Anra couldn't help but stare a little; she hadn't seen that many humans before and certainly none this close up. Now that she was aware of him she could pick up his scent, it was a strong, musky, distinctly male odor, with an almost spicy undertone. He actually didn't smell that bad.

She found this strange, having always been told that humans, the males especially, smelled horrible and look just as bad. But this human, well he wasn't too hard on the eyes either, with his dark hair, tan skin, and the most beautiful grey eyes she had ever seen.

He looked so peaceful just sitting there reading, Anra leaned against the tree she was hiding behind, not really paying attention to where she placed her feet. That was her mistake, she was resetting one of her feet so she was more comfortable, but she failed to notice the twig she was about to set her foot on.

The twig snapped painfully loud in the silence of the garden. Anra dropped behind a bush as soon as it snapped, and prayed he hadn't seen her, 'Valar, this is so embarrassing. Oh, hey don't mind me I'm just standing here staring at you, just continue on what you're doing.' After this horrifying thought she shifted and quietly ran back the way she came, following her own scent for direction.

When she got back to the hall where her chambers were, she saw Sut and Jag standing there waiting in their human forms, with scowls fixed on their faces. Anra shifted and prepared for the tongue lashing she was about to receive for wandering off in the middle of the night without having them with her.

"Where have you been?"

"Oh, you know, just wandering around, exploring," she replied airily with a wave of her hand.

"In the middle of the night?"

"Well yeah, that's the best time to do that, it's less crowded," even she could hear how thin that was.

"Is that so?"

"Yep."

Jag rolled his eyes, well Sut kept his scowl firm on his face. "How exactly are we supposed to protect you when we don't know where you are?" Anra shrugged at this. Jag sighed in exasperation, "Just don't do it again."

"Of course not," she said with a sweet smile, already thinking about how she could give them the slip tomorrow without them catching on till it's too late.

"Go to bed Princess, we'll have a long day tomorrow I'm sure," Anra winced at the title, but complied with his wish.