A/N: Well it's been a very long time since I've updated this story, and truthfully I almost gave up on it, but yesterday I got an alert that somebody had favorite and followed it and I got a sudden rush of inspiration. Please read the note at the bottom of this chapter when you are done. Also please review because I have no idea how I feel about this chapter its been a long time since I've written anything for LOTR
Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings
Anra eventually slowed to a stop, she had been running for almost two solid hours now and she knew she had to head back to the camp to get some sleep. 'Boy, they are not going to be happy with me when I get back,' she thought glumly. The Nightstalker knew she shouldn't have run off like that without any explanation, but she had felt like she was drowning in the pain and fear of the visions and she had needed to get her mind off them.
'Gosh, I hope this sort of thing doesn't keep happening or 'cause it's already getting real old real fast,' Anra shook her head and picked up her pace towards their camp.
As she neared the area where they had set up for the night she heard angry voices a couple paces away from where everyone was sleeping. She crept silently towards them, according to her nose the people who were arguing were Aragorn and Boromir. She slipped around a bolder just in time to see Boromir stalking away from Aragorn clearly still very angry about whatever they had disagreed on.
Anra shifted into her human form and walked up behind Aragorn. "Do I even want to know what that was about?" she asked trying to keep her voice light and playful.
If the ranger was surprised that she was behind him he didn't show it, instead he simply said, "You shouldn't run off like that."
She rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly as she searched for something to say that wouldn't reveal anything. Aragorn turned around to face her as he waited for her response. The two of them stood in silence for a bit just studying each other's faces, ironically both looking for the same thing and yet both unable to find it. Reassurance was what they were so desperately searching for, reassurance that they would forgive each other: for Aragorn, that Anra would forgive him for the mistake he thought he had made the previous night, and for Anra, that Aragorn would forgive her for whatever was going to happen in the future. And also reassurance that they would not leave each other, both of them had suffered from abandonment before and both were terrified of losing the other.
The problem was that they both were masters at hiding their emotions, so well that they were unable to see what should have been so plainly in front of them in the other's eyes.
Unable to hold Aragorn's gaze any longer Anra looked down at the ground, she didn't care at the moment if that breaking the stare first made her the weak one, she just couldn't bare the pain of possible uncaringness.
Aragorn's heart broke when she looked down at the ground; she looked so sad and lost and he wanted to do nothing more than to wrap her up in his arms and tell her that everything would be okay. But he didn't, 'she doesn't care for you that way, it would only further push her away,' he chided himself sadly.
"Yeah, I'm sorry about that, it won't happen again," she said referring to when she had run off.
The Dunedain gave a curt nod then said, "You should probably go to sleep."
The she-wolf nodded and headed over to where the rest of the Fellowship was fast asleep. Anra shifted into her wolf form and then trotted over to where the hobbits were pilled haphazardly together. Careful not to disturb any of them she curled her body protectively around the four young hobbits, taking comfort in their warmth and fell promptly to sleep, rather exhausted from not only the running and swimming she had done that day, but more from the torrent of emotions she had felt.
The next morning Anra sleepily blinked her eyes open when she felt the hobbits beginning to stirring next to her. She opened her jaws in a wide yawn as she pushed herself to her feet and shifted. Still rather tired form the previous night Anra helped load the boats in silence, glad that no one was asking about why she had run off. None of the Fellowship really said anything as they worked seamlessly together getting everything prepared for their departure.
Just before they got into their separated boats Pippin turned to Anra and asked, "So, how are your feminine problems this morning?"
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The Fellowship paddled along the river in virtual silence, each member wrapped in their own thoughts and worries of what was to come next. Not much distinguished that day from the previous one on the river, Anra took turns paddling with Gimli and Legolas whenever one would grow weary of the task.
Towards the end of their journey on the river they passed between two gigantic statues of kings that stood on the river banks who were apparently Aragorn's ancestors. Craning her neck, she gazed up at their somber expressions and looked for a family resemblance. There wasn't anything really that distinctive about them, just a generic human face with a long beard. The she-wolf spent the rest of the boat ride amusing herself by imaging what Aragorn would look like with such a long beard, though she did decide that if he were to grow one that wasn't too long he'd actually look pretty damn good with it.
Not too long later they were steering the boats to the shore again to where they'd spend the evening. Once the boats were unpacked they began setting up the camp and preparing some dinner, when Sam realized that Frodo was unaccounted for.
Panic ran through the Fellowship at the realization that they were missing their ring bearer, when Anra noticed something even more worrisome.
Boromir was gone too.
Her wide eyes flicked up and met Aragorn's; he had noticed that the Gondorian was gone as well. With a grim look on his face he gave her a small nod showing her they were on the same page.
"Okay, Anra's going to help me track Frodo. Legolas, Gimli, I want you two to stay here with the hobbits on lookout in case he comes back." 'Keep them safe,' his eyes said silently to them as he strapped his sword on and nodded at Anra to lead the way.
The two of them pushed their way through the forest, Anra in her wolf form with her nose close to the ground following the hobbit's scent through the undergrowth. Aragorn walked closely behind her, his eyes scanning through the trees in search of either of the missing members of their Fellowship.
After a while, Anra stopped walking and stood stalk still for a moment before shifting back into her human form. The ranger looked at her with expectant, trusting eyes, waiting for him to tell him why she had stopped so suddenly.
"Both Frodo and Boromir where here not long ago, but they seem to have gone different ways for some reason. Boromir it appears went that way," she said gesturing down the hill, "while Frodo continued north, up the hill. Aragorn, something's wrong, I can smell Frodo's fear." She turned towards him, her worried green eyes seeking comfort in his usually steady gaze, but he too seem anxious from her report.
Sensing the Nightstalker's unease Aragorn reached out and wrapped his arm around her shoulders giving her a gentle squeeze as he decide what to do. Coming to a decision that he really didn't like, but couldn't think of a better one, he released his grip on her shoulder and turned towards her.
"I'm going to go after Frodo, I want you to follow Boromir and bring him back to camp, but I want you to promise me that you'll stay in your wolf form. We don't know what's going on, but until I get the full story from Frodo I don't trust Boromir and I don't want you to be around him in your human form, okay?" Anra opened her mouth to protest and say that she could talk care of herself in either of her forms, but Aragorn cut her off. "If he does anything even remotely suspicious or aggressive I want you to run back to camp and get either Legolas or Gimli to help you."
Anra narrowed her eyes in annoyance and opened her mouth once again to object, but her voice caught in surprise when Aragorn reached out and gently cradled her face between his hands. "Please," he whispered, leaning his forehead down against hers, "I know you can take care of yourself, but Boromir may be under the Ring's influence right now and I need to know you'll be safe. Please, promise me."
unable to find her voice, Anra mutely nodded her head. Aragorn's breath fanned against her face as he let out a sigh of relief at her compliance. He let his hands slide away from her face and down her arms to where they gripped her hands for a brief moment as he pressed his lips to her forehead before turning and hurrying up the hill to where she had said Frodo went.
She stood there for a moment starring dumbly after his retreating figure with her mouth slightly parted in confusion. With a shake, she tore her eyes away from where the ranger had disappeared into the undergrowth and shifted so she could follow after Boromir.
It didn't take her very long to catch up with him now that she didn't have to worry about Aragorn being unable to keep up with her running on all four legs. The she-wolf lowered her body into a crouch as she slowly stalked the man through the undergrowth, assessing his every move. He seemed extremely agitated, pacing back and forth, occasionally running his hand through his tangled hair that for some reason had a bunch of leaves stuck in it.
Despite Aragorn's warning, she felt silly hiding in the underbrush like some scared pup; besides, he didn't seem violent, just upset. Taking a deep breath, Anra shifted and started walking towards him, making sure to step on some twigs so he heard her approach.
The Gondorian's snapped around towards her upon hearing her. Several paces away from him she could already see his rapidly rising and falling chest along with the sheen of sweat across his brow.
That should have been her first warning.
"Anra?" he called out to her in wonder.
"Boromir, what is going on?" she asked as she continued towards him, stopping when she was only a few feet away. "Both you and Frodo were missing from camp, we were worried," she conveniently left out the part where they thought he had done something to the hobbit.
"Frodo…" he mumbled as if just remembering something. "Did you find him yet?" Standing this close to him she could see that his eyes seemed clouded and strangely unfocused.
Warning number two.
"No, not yet, Aragorn went to find him," Anra explained softly.
"Aragorn," the red haired man growled quietly, "and he sent you, alone, to find me?"
The small girl narrowed her eyes slightly in confusion at the man's question. "Well yeah, I mean it's still the middle of the day and it's only you." But he did not seem to hear her explanation, he started to walk towards her until she was forced to start backing up till she bumped into a large boulder and could go no further.
Three strikes, you're out.
"He sent you, something he finds so precious, holds so dear," he sneered. "You know what I hold dear, what matters to me? My Kingdom, my city, but you see the only way to save it is to take the Ring to it, to use the Ring to defend it. But you see, your darling Aragorn won't let me, he rather let my city crumble than trust his own people."
Anra's whole body was shaking; Boromir had placed his hands on the boulder on either side of her, effectively caging her in. Standing this close to him she could smell that something was off, underneath his usually scent she was picking up on something else, something dark, like sulfur and death. Fear rolled through her and her breathing was becoming erratic, but no matter how hard she tried, she could not shift, she couldn't focus enough.
"Boromir?" she whimpered.
Aragorn had been right; this was not the man she had so recently befriended. The Ring had its hold on him and was not about to let go.
"And so, if Aragorn is going to take that from me, then I will what I want from him," his voice had dropped down low and became soft as silk. Taking one of his hands off the rock, he trailed it down her face, similar to the way that Aragorn had earlier that day. When Aragorn had done it though, she had felt safe and loved, whereas now, she felt sick to her stomach and was fighting off tears.
His hand was now gripping her shoulder hard, making it impossible for her to wiggle away. He lowered his head and pressed his mouth roughly against hers causing her to struggle even harder, trying to get away from bruising force. His other hand left the rock and ran up and down her several times before squeezing her side and hip painfully. His mouth left hers, allowing her to gulp several mouthfuls of air before whimpering in fear and pain, as it travelled down her neck.
A loud roar ripped through the air, causing Boromir jump away from her and loosen his grip on her as he looked around for its source in surprise. Not really caring at the moment what made the noise, Anra was able to pull her arms from his weakened grip and shove him away from her. Then, without giving him a moment to process what she had just done, she pulled back her fist and punched him as hard as she could in the face.
The strength of the hit caused the man with the clouded eyes to stumbled backwards and fall down. Sitting there stunned for a moment, he blinked slowly and his eyes cleared. Starring up at the young Nightstalker he asked, "Anra?" his voice back to normal, but full of confusion.
As he took in her frightened, disheveled appearance and the tears streaming freely down her cheeks, his own eyes widened in horror as he realized what he had just done.
"Anra," he whispered as she slowly backed away from him, her eyes still wide with fear. "Anra!" he called out after her as she turned, shifted, and fled as fast as her paws could carry her away from him.
Her mind was almost completely blank from shock; she relinquished her control completely over to the wolf within her, allowing her most basic instincts of flight to take over. Unfortunately, she was unable to continue this for very long because she came across the creature that had made noise that freed her.
She wasn't for sure what exactly they were; they looked a lot like orcs, only they were twice as big. Still allowing the wolf full power of her mind and body, she leapt right into battle without giving it a second thought.
Jump, tackle, pin, rip.
Jump, tackle, pin, rip.
She repeated the motions over and over, killing as many as she could. The wolf was telling her she needed to find her pack-mates so they could fight alongside each other and watch each other's backs, but Anra had no idea where any of the rest of the Fellowship was.
Jump, tackle, pin, rip.
Jump, tackle, pin, rip.
She continued fighting as she made her way back towards the river shore, where she hoped to find the others. The number of enemies for her to attack was slowly dwindling till it got to the point where she was able to break away and run.
The scene that she came upon made her come to a complete stop.
Legolas and Gimli stood with their heads bowed in mourning as Aragorn crouched over the fallen form of Boromir. From where she stood she was unable to make out what he was saying in his last moments to Aragorn, but once she saw him press a kiss to Boromir's forehead she knew he was gone.
She leaned back and sat on her haunches, starring at the two men wondering what she was supposed to feel.
A/N: Okay before anyone starts sending me hate mail I just want to say that I love Boromir's character and the only reason he did what he did was because he was under the influence of the Ring and was not himself, when Anra hit him he came back to himself and realized what he had done and was horrified, he never ever would have done anything even remotely close to that if it weren't for that stupid piece of metal