good way to get in touch with their wilder instincts.
A week has passed, and Kili is helping to load the rest of Maddy and Emma's purchases after being paid for the cooker which was loaded first. When the last of the furniture is loaded, and the carpenter is paid Kili gets in the drivers seat next to Emma with Tauriel on the other side while Maddy has gone ahead to tell the rest of the pack that they are going to be having guests. When they get there they see Maddy stood there talking to the pack who look decidedly nervous, but they are encouraged by what Maddy told them about her encounter with the Blacksmiths wife. Kili gets out of the drivers seat, and unloads the cooker from the cart while Dan and Gerwyn unload the furniture. Kili looks around, and says.
"Where do you want this?" Kili
"That goes in the dinning hall. Follow me." Dan
Kili nods, and begins picking up the cooker when Dan gives him a hand. Kili and Dan are in the kitchen area of the dining hall, and Kili is installing the cooker including all the ducts and tubing required. Once the cooker is installed Maddy comes in, and says.
"Is the installation finished?" Maddy
"I just finished." Kili
"Good, because Liam and Rhydian just got back with some deer, and they want to know if we can cook supper, or if we are eating it raw?" Maddy
"No need to worry about that the cooker is ready to go." Kili
Maddy nods while Dan very carefully starts the fire with the left over chunks from building the dinning hall. As soon as the fire is going Dan closes the door on the cooker just as Emma is walking in with the steaks. Kili goes back to the cart, and gets out the pans and pot he included free of charge at Tauriel's insistence. Kili walks back into the dinning hall, and opens it before handing the appropriate pans to Emma. Emma smiles at Kili, and starts cooking supper for the pack and their guests. Maddy brings in the box of dishes and cutlery that she bought with the remaining five gold coins. Maddy sets the required amount of places at the table, and just as the food is finished cooking everyone pours into the hall ready for supper. Maddy sits down next to Rhydian, and everybody including their guests tuck into their food.
Kili is quite amused that these skin-changers have chosen to stay in one of the places they stopped on the Quest for Erebor. Kili decides to write a letter to his uncle telling him about these interesting and good heated folk. Kili manages to get some paper and a pen, and then proceeds to write the letter. Kili gives the letter to the raven, and pays him telling him to deliver it to Thorin King Under the Mountain. The raven flies off with the letter, and Kili sits back anticipating the response he will get from his uncle. Kili does what ever he can to help out while getting to know a few of them hoping to get rid of the lingering wariness that is still very noticeable in them. From what Kili can tell these people are on the side of all that is good and fair, and Kili hopes that he will get the chance to fight side by side with them against the growing darkness. At the end of the day Kili gets out his and Tauriel's bedroll, and they turn in at night fall.
The next morning after breakfast Emma walks up to Maddy, and says.
"Maddy I'm going to leave the territory to find out more about the world that is now our home." Emma
"Mam it could be dangerous out there." Maddy
"That is exactly why I have to do this Maddy. We need to know what kind of dangers exist in this world before they come here into our territory putting us all in danger." Emma
Maddy thinks this over, and says.
"You're right we need to know, but before I allow this you have to promise me that you will be careful. I don't know what I would do if something happened to you Mam." Maddy
"I'll be as careful as I can be pet, and who knows maybe I'll run into Jana while I'm out and about." Emma
"Yeah maybe, well off you go then." Maddy
Emma hugs her daughter goodbye, and wolfs-out before taking off running out of the territory. Maddy watches her mum leave hoping and praying that she will be alright in the world outside their home.
Emma has been running for many days, and finds herself near a rocky outcropping. Emma is resting when she smells an extremely foul stench coming towards her at an alarming speed. Emma figures that anything that smells that horrible has got to be bad so she stretches, rubs the sleep from her eyes, and prepares to fight the oncoming enemy. By the time she is ready to fight Emma sees a whole pack of extremely ugly monsters come into view, and as soon as one gets close to her she kills it immediately. Emma has killed quite a few of the monsters when she hears a horn sound, but she doesn't allow it to distract her from killing these things. As Emma is killing them she sees a party of armed horsemen also killing these creatures, and in short order all of the monsters are dead. Emma sniffs the air to make sure that there are no more of them, and once she is sure that they are all gone Emma changes back. The horseman in charge of the party comes up to her, and says.
"Who are you, and what are you doing so close to our borders being attacked by Orcs?" ?
"My name is Emma, and I was resting after having traveled for many days when I smelled an extremely foul stench in the air, and next thing I know these creatures are coming toward me. I start killing them as soon as they get close to me, and then you lot showed up making getting rid of those things all the easier. So thanks for that." Emma
"How is it that a wolf is fighting against Orcs?" ?
"I figured that anything that smells as horrible as they do has to be bad, and I want absolutely none of that." Emma
The leader raises an eyebrow, gets off his horse, and says.
"In that case I am Lord Elrond, and I invite you to come with us to refresh yourself after your journey, and the battle we just fought against these Orcs." Elrond
"I accept your offer Lord Elrond." Emma
Lord Elrond nods, and gets back on his horse before pulling Emma up behind him. As they are arriving Emma thinks over everything Lord Elrond said to her, and says.
"So those creatures back there are called Orcs." Emma
"Indeed." Elrond
"What other dangers are there in the world?" Emma
"There are Trolls and Wargs." Elrond
"Could you describe them for me?" Emma
"Trolls look like massive Orcs without pointy ears, and Wargs look like monstrous wolf-like creatures." Elrond
Emma's eyes flash, and she says.
"Is that why you were so surprised to see me killing those Orcs?" Emma
"Yes, because even ordinary wolves will steer clear of Orcs to avoid being killed or corrupted." Elrond
"So you were surprised that I'm no coward, and when was the last time that kind of thing actually happened?" Emma
"Not for an age the enemy no longer has the power to do such a thing, but if that fear keeps the animals safe there is no harm in it." Elrond
Emma chuckles at this, but says no more.
When they get into the city Lord Elrond has Lindir take Emma to the unoccupied guest room so she can refresh herself, and when she gets there the first thing she does is take a nice refreshing bath. After Emma is finished with her wash, and has gotten dressed Emma catches a whiff of Jana's scent. Emma takes off in the direction the scent is coming from, and when she gets to the source of the scent Emma sees her sitting in a library next to a man, and says.
"So this is where you've been Jana." Emma
Jana looks up, sees Emma, and says.
"Emma! Is Maddy here with you?" Jana
"Yes she is along with the rest of the pack." Emma
Jana smiles, turns to Aragorn, and says.
"Aragorn are my lessons at a point where we can go visit my friends?" Jana
"Jana you only have another week of lessons, and then we will be heading out again. I think you should keep going until you are done." Aragorn
"He's right Jana take the time you need to finish your lessons, and when you are done I will take you to the edge of the packs territory before carrying on with my journey." Emma
"What journey?" Jana
"I'm on a journey to explore as much of this world as I possibly can, and then when I have seen all I can I'll go home, and tell the pack all about it." Emma
Jana raises an eyebrow, and says.
"And Maddy just let you go with the dangers that are out there, and everything?" Jana
"We only just got here a few days over a week ago so we don't know much about this world." Emma
"So you convinced Maddy to allow you to go find out about the world for the good of the pack." Jana
"That is exactly what I did Jana, and so here I am." Emma
Jana smiles, and gets back to her lessons while Emma leaves to explore the city.
As soon as Jana is finished with her lessons for the day she finds Emma sitting in the garden obviously thinking really hard about something, and says.
"Hey Emma. What are you thinking about?" Jana
"I'm thinking that I would like to learn how to use Eolas, but I have no idea how." Emma
"I could teach you." Jana
"Thanks Jana." Emma
Jana gets in the position, Emma copies her, and Jana says.
"Ok what you need to do is feel all of nature around you, follow your instincts, and realize that you are a part of nature. You are wild." Jana
Emma lets go of the past, and does as Jana says. It takes a while to clear out everything that is in the way, but when Emma does she uses Eolas allowing her to see Dan building the bathhouse, and Maddy planting an herb garden she is glad the pack is doing well in her absence. Emma pulls out of it, and says.
"It worked I saw our pack thank you so much Jana." Emma
"Your welcome Emma I'm really looking forward to seeing everybody again. Thank you for following me here I can't imagine my life without my pack." Jana
"Your welcome pet. It is our pleasure to have you in the pack." Emma
Jana smiles, and hugs Emma overjoyed with how things have turned out.
A week passes, and Emma is escorting Jana and Aragorn to the edge of the packs territory. While they are traveling Aragorn is carefully studying his surroundings so that he will always find his way back to Jana, and as he thinks this he realizes that he has fallen deeply in love with Jana in the time they have spent together. He just doesn't know if Jana feels the same way about him, and he has no idea how he is going to talk to her about it. Jana is extremely nervous about falling in love with some one, but she can't help how she feels about Aragorn. Jana has no idea what she is going to do about these feelings, but she hopes that everything will turn out alright in the end. They reach the territory's border, and Emma turns aside traveling down the Great East Road in wolf form. Jana and Aragorn walk further into the territory, and are found by Tom and Shannon who are flashing their eyes at the stranger who is standing to close to Jana. Shannon looks him up and down before saying.
"Well who's this then?" Shannon
"Shannon this is my friend Aragorn." Jana
"Alright come with me, but you better be right about him." Shannon
Jana nods, and the two of them follow after Shannon with Tom walking behind them to make sure the
stranger doesn't try anything. When they make it to the public area Jana is in awe of what she is
seeing. Her pack is living a life that is a perfect balance of wild and tame, and Jana is happy that at least some of her people have been able to find the balance she was trying to achieve before everything went wrong. Jana notices that those memories do not cause her the pain she thought they would after everything that happened, and as Jana looks at Aragorn she finds that she could careless about what happened before.
Maddy has just gotten back from planting her garden, but is instantly on edge when she sees a stranger walk into camp with Jana. Maddy walks up to them, and says.
"Step away from the stranger he could be dangerous." Maddy
"Maddy Aragorn is my friend. He is not a threat to the pack." Jana
"I'll be the judge of that step away Jana." Maddy
Jana reluctantly steps away from Aragorn, but stays close by Aragorn so as not to abandon him. Maddy circles around him, and says.
"Do you know what Jana is?" Maddy
"Yes." Aragorn
"And how do you feel about that?" Maddy
"I have no problem whatsoever with skin-changers." Aragorn
"So you are saying that people in this world are more accepting of people who are different than where we come from?" Maddy
"Clearly that is the case, but surely it is not that bad from whence you came." Aragorn
"It was. Our people were nearly whipped out. It took centuries to recover." Maddy
"And so you lived in fear of Men doing something so horrific again?" Aragorn
"Yes." Maddy
"I assure you Miss Maddy that nothing like that will ever happen here." Aragorn
"I believe you, and welcome you into our home." Maddy
"Thank you Miss Maddy." Aragorn
"No problem." Maddy
Jana walks back to Aragorn's side, and takes his hand. Maddy sees this, and goes hunting for dinner while the rest of the pack gets to know their guest.
Meanwhile Emma is traveling down the Great East Road when she comes to a very sick looking forest, and as she is approaching the gate (after changing back) an elf comes up to her, and says.
"Who are you, and why are your trying to enter the forest?" ?
"My name is Emma, and I'm on a journey to visit as many places and meet as many people as possible." Emma
"Really? Tell me where have you been so far?" ?
"I've been to The Shire and Rivendell. My daughter even became friends with an Elf named Tauriel while we were in the Shire." Emma
"Tauriel is living in The Shire! I welcome you into the forest as my guest." ?
"Thank you Mr…" Emma
"My name is Legolas follow me." Legolas
Emma wolfs-out, and follows Legolas into the very ominous looking forest. When they get into the Palace Legolas has a maid take Emma to their nicest guest room, and goes to speak with his father. Legolas finds his father in his study, and says.
"Father I found someone who knows where Tauriel lives." Legolas
"That is very good news Legolas. I hope you didn't leave the poor soul wandering the forest." Thranduil
"No I brought her here as my guest." Legolas
"Good work Legolas. Arrange a welcome feast, and make sure our guest has everything needed for a formal dinner." Thranduil
"Yes Father." Legolas