The Protector in the Shadow

*So, another update! I'm really hungry right now to be honest, but I love you guys so much I'll totally starve for you okay? Just because I care! I hope you enjoy! Thank you all for the story alerts, and for everyone who favorite my story! It means so much to me! To all my reviewers I would like to express my deepest admiration for all the encouragement I've gotten for you! I haven't given you the glory you deserve lately and I feel bad, so I just wanted to send out a special thank you! - Ze*

Disclaimer: Kay so I don't own this, and accept the fact I more than likely never will! But be jealous I own a pretty cool plot line and character!

*Fate*

*Normal*

Chapter Six: A New Name

The second she stepped foot into the hall of Silence overtook it; she quieted the entire room, which made her quite proud. She got a wolfish grin on her face as she allowed her tongue to lull out of her mouth in a relaxed dog-like manner, causing Lord Elrond to smile brightly at the creature. "Alidre, fetch our new guest some dinner if you would please." He was the first creature to speak as he opened his arms gracefully motioning to the Hobbits in the corner who soon ran to greet her. The Elf and the men stared with distrust in their eyes; The Dwarf was to content with his ale not caring enough to look up from the drink. She bowed gracefully to Lord Elrond before padding towards the hobbits nuzzling each one gently to apologize. The only creature she ever spoke with was Frodo, so none of the other creatures could hear her soft apologies.

"We're not mad at you!" Frodo chirped softly to her with a gentle pat.

"How could we be?" Pippin said with a smile that seemed to brighten her mood, "We're just sorry we didn't know." His smile did not vanish, but his voice dipped slightly.

Lyavain gently nuzzled into his cheek, puffing air into his sensitive neck causing a string of bubbling laughter to erupt from the boy, silence fell around the room again, but as she kept puffing and nuzzling his neck and stomach, soon all the hobbits were in on the joyous fest.

Her meat arrived she looked at the Lord of the city and motioned to the terrace only a few steps away. He nodded and silently instructed for Alidre, the helper of the kitchen, to put the raw meat out on the terrace, so no one was made sick by her vicious eating habits. She stopped bothering the Hobbit after a moment when she knew her dinner was sat down, and the server had gone away. She stepped back and bowed before turning and moving her way out to the terrace. "Where are you going?" Frodo inquired with a tilted head causing her to chuff lightly.

"I dare not eat in here master Hobbit. I'm far too protective of my food I've been wild for hundreds of years." She spoke lightly, her lyrical voice keeping calm and cool to him before turning. Her graceful strides hesitated when she looked back in the building, her heart race in creased as her pools brushed across the faces of the creatures behind her. She had felt someone watching her, the sixth sense of a wolf was much more intense than one would think. It was the Elf in her, and the beast that made it even more heightened. Her eyes landed on the Mirkwood Elf whose pale eyes were watching her with wonder. She pulled her harks atop her head back a bit as her lip rose in a silent snarl before she managed to push the heavy doors closed half way. Pools moved to the pitcher of water which would be used to clean the carnage.

She couldn't stop herself; she dug wildly into the food before her, licking her lips to clear the blood every now and again. It was so different not having to hunt for herself, the Elves didn't want blood spilt on their soil so they insisted they buy her fresh meat and heat it long enough to warm and give the illusion. Well to the Valar it worked, it was different eating on the marble terrace, she had made sure to eat as silently as possible compared to her normal feasting that was loud and violent. Hunting always won over eating heated food, but she was still completely fine with eating such a thing. A noise caused her harks to swivel as her skull snapped quickly to view the intruder. Blood laced her normally white canine teeth as her lip curled up at the male before her.

"I wanted to see if it was true, the reason you would not eat with us." Frodo said daintily with a small smile. He shut the door behind him as he walked out to the other side, walking a wide circle around the bloodied mess which was her dinner. A snarl unintentionally escaped her rumbling chest before she calmed down slightly. Knowing he was going nowhere.

"I am much more behaved then I once was Master Frodo." She mused quaintly with a small amount of amusement in her voice, he always made her calm down, she didn't know what she would do if they were forced to separate sooner than intended.

"I am quite glad on that subject, if your manners were worse; I could just weep at the thought." He teased blatantly with a smirk on his handsome little face.

She scoffed ignoring his comment with the shake of her head. For a hobbit he seemed a bit bi-polar, one second he was bright and vibrant, the next he was distant and lonely. She knew he wasn't himself because of the Ring, and that didn't help matters in the slightest. Her meal soon was finished and she dipped her maw in the pail of water before each paw lightly cleaning her dark body off, she didn't like being covered in filth when she had the choice. She was normally a clean kept beast when she had the opportunity, she never had the chance to keep clean as a child, Elves were normally extremely proper folk, but they couldn't have cared less about the wild child of the beast, and she will never forgive her people for the way she was treated during her childhood.

"Could you dump the pail in my stead Master Baggins?" She looked up at him helplessly with a small sheepish expression, "I hadn't considered the fact it could dump the wrong way. I would not like this gore to roll into such a grand banquet hall." She finished finally looking around awkwardly. Her eyes downcast until she heard the slight slapping of Frodo's bare feet stopping before her.

"Of course I will, Lyavain." He said the name with little thought as he lifted the small pail full of discolored water and spilled it, allowing it to carry away all of the gore from the perfectly white marble. The discoloration was gone from the floors, and though the scent still lingered, the floral scent of the plants and the scent full of earth echoed the loudest. Soon enough the other hobbits came rushing from the building to tackle Ava, she staggered for a moment before tumbling to the ground, she hadn't the slightest clue what had happened until the hobbits started to run their fingers across her stomach, she soon labeled this motion as a sensitive action causing her to yip in surprise and trash wildly, being careful of her talons and of her teeth as she playfully snapped. When they finally let her go, she stood, her plume wagging behind her en excitement as she lowered her head to growl playfully taking a step towards them. They knew what this entitled; she was giving them a head start.

The Hobbits yelled in surprise before taking off back through the door they had entered through. She scoffed nodding for Frodo to help and he gladly obliged taking off after the hobbits, calling to them about their death and how soon they would wish their birth had never happened. She then exploded from the terrace her body was ridged but it was clear she was playing around. "Frodo, think of where you are and I shall see." She said in a whisper even if the others could not hear she would not take a chance for fear they could. A flash of a dark place with white ghostly apparition beside them, whispering hobbits a head. They were under one of the oak tables. The question which one, out of the three she could tell it was not Elrond's table, his daughter's face was stark, uncaring as if she had lost something much more than her appetite. The table the hobbit's had been sitting at was empty, so she checked their first. Growling violently to scare them. Her claws clacked on the hard slippery surface underneath her elongating the situation further.

It was Aragorn who had caught her attention, the Dwarf beside him mumbled loudly about mines, about women, and about rock and stone which he loved so. The Elf beside him did not seem as pleased as the heir to Gondor, and Boromir seemed entertained with whatever was going on between the Elf and the Dwarf. Aragorn locked eyes with the wolf that started stalking towards him slowly, his stormy eyes dropped their gaze to the table before returning to the wolf before him, and a smile pasted itself onto his graceful face. She chuffed in thanks before her movements turned to silence in the middle of the hall. Her talons no longer clacked as they had before. She was in predator mode another vision of where the hobbits were flashed into her active mind as she mumbled thanks to Frodo. It was sudden, and rash, but wasn't all of the movements she made? She leapt forward with a loud roar, startling everyone, including a hobbit who smacked his head loudly off of the table.

They scrambled quickly out from under the table, Pippin speaking first. "You! You are a cheater!" he exclaimed, doing a bit of a tap dance as he moved in place before running off down the hall. Each hobbit cursed her playfully as she charged after them, nipping playfully at their heels. She slowed before she exited, dipping low into in respect to the Lord of the hall before looking at Aragorn whose eyes were still on her. She winked at him watching as his mouth fell agape, before taking off after the hobbits, howling and yapping after them. Listening to their squeals and laughter as she did such.

They ended up getting trapped in her den and they all collapsed panting and laughing as they looked at the stars. All more than aware of the fact that this would be one of the last times for play in a very long time. They cuddled up to Ava's warmth in the chill of the night. She accepted their closeness with open arms, her mind drifting off into a world where she didn't have to dream of being accepted, where she didn't have to worry about the future. She had started to ignore the sounds of the hobbits as the entire world quieted, her eyes glanced at the full moon, it's grace was just like that day in the meadow so many years ago. That day where she met the creature whom changed her life.

The wind had a cold voice on it, a chill ran up her spine as she stared at the full moon, her head cocked back as she let a rogue howl rip from chest, the shrill chilling howl that caused the hobbits to look at her for a moment before shrugging, they soon allowed themselves to howl along with her. Playfully of course but still the sound could have chilled the bones of any creature in the area that wasn't aware that it was not in fact a fierce pack of wolves, but four hobbits and a lone wolf.

Soon enough everyone went silent, and one by one, the hobbits fell into a soft comfortable sleep. All except Frodo who stared thoughtfully at Ava's binds, playing with the thick chain as his head rested on the paw. Lyavain whined quietly, as he did so. "They bound you?" Frodo questioned knowing the answer; she didn't speak into the hobbit's mind, only nodded with a small sigh at his questions, "Why?" the word was so simple, and his motives so innocent yet she could not answer it.

"My mother said long ago it was because they did not understand me," She informed him gently laying her large skull just behind him exhaling heavily, "but after she went to the heavens I soon found out it was because I was terrifying, and I was far too wild and easily angered. I used to go days when my body could not control what from I was in. They fought for dominance. Literally warring in my body." Her eyes drifted to the woods with a huff attempting to calm herself from getting too upset.

"Still, that is not a proper reason to keep a beautiful creature locked up…" His voice trailed off as a blush crossed his cheeks. Causing Lyavain to chuckle warmly, the rumble causing one of the hobbits to stir, but quickly passing back into a deep sleep. She could read the expression on Frodo's face; he quickly searched his mind for an idea, something else to speak about with the wolf before him.

"What will you call me Frodo Baggins?" She questioned, chuckling when he took a sigh of relief. She relay her head over her paw so it was wrapped around Frodo's small frame he leaned into her neck.

"Fëa, I shall call you Fëa." He said with a muse.

Clearly even though he had the world on his shoulders, he still was tired, he had tried and tried not to sleep, but he couldn't help it. Soon it overcame him, she found him clinging to the thick shadowy fur on her neck, causing her to smile slightly, she felt warm at the moment, and she felt alive again having the small creatures depend on her.

Fëa seemed fitting to her for some reason, normally would have hated hit, but she liked the ring of it, how easily it slipped from her master's tongue. Her smile soon faded as she remembered the task ahead of them, which way would they make for Mordor? She had seen the mines of Moria in her visions, but she knew Gandalf would not take those passes unless they hadn't another choice. What would become of them? She couldn't silence her mind, not that she ever wanted to. She was renamed Spirit, Lyavain no longer existed; she was not that creature anymore. Not until they found out what she was at least. She would not break character of the wolf she was. She had no part of immortal or mortal in her. She was just a very old wolf, protecting her master. She needed to remember that she could not lose it; she had to stay strong for the Fellowship. She needed to grow close to all of the creatures even Boromir, perhaps she could change him. Change the future even?

With a bright outlook in life she closed her eyes, allowing her mind to rest for a few moments before they opened again, she watched the sun rise above the mountains, she watched the colors explode into the sky, the Onyx morphed with the orange and blue creating s beautiful piece of artwork in the sky. With one thought in mind. "I am not who I was." She hadn't realized she had projected those thoughts until Frodo rolled his head back rubbing his eyes.

"What do you mean, Fëa?" He questioned with his head tilted pale pools locking with azure oceans.

She smiled lightly looking down at her hands. "Nothing Frodo. I was just thinking aloud again." She somewhat whispered with a cool look in her eyes. Gently spinning her head she nudged the other hobbits with her nose to wake them up. "We must wake them Frodo, your breakfast should be soon, and we must be going."

Eru knew how long it would take to "rally the troops".

*I hope you liked it! I was pretty happy with it, but I have to say, I'm attempting to become more expressive and descriptive in my writing. Just not sure how it's working for me. Any who, R&R let me know what you think! I'm interested to hear! Once again thank you to all my followers, thank you to all of my reviewers! Thank you all who take the time to read! Things are going to get more interesting, I have big plans for this story. I'll be editing and updating older chapters soon so any typos, any random run-on sentences, and anything I just don't consider good enough shall be fixed! Oh, also for anyone wondering why I chose the name Fëa, I felt it was very close to her old name which was Lyavain, or Wolf Spirit, Fëa translates to Spirit in Elvish, and I felt that it was simple, easy to remember and rather cute. If you don't like it, shoot me, or suggest something better! Or both, though hopefully not in that order. - Ze*