Dear Inkdrops,

I have not forgotten this story, so after two years here comes another update. I lost the original manuscript of the stpry, so the plot might deviate from what I have originally imagined.

TW: Hunting - though non-graphic. And discovery of a dead animal - slightly more graphic.

Chapter 6: The Woods

The three of them spoke little while they were riding, especially Elladan didn't bother to talk to her at all. Which was fine, as far as Tauriel was concerned. Her sourroundings were beautiful, a healthy forest squeezed in between the mountains, making it necessary to ride slowly. The group was following a mountain path that was clearly used from time to time - the main route for most hunters coming from Imladris, as Elrohir had explained.

"Before the war, we would go further up the mountains, treck for two or three days in small groups," he added. "Up in the mountains, we would shoot a couple of ibex, mainly for their horns, but mainly hunt for orks and wargs. Now, there are thankfully very few dark creatures left and getting animals down from where we hunted them is a hassle and not really necessary for the few eldar that are still dwelling in Imladris, so we don't do it very often. Instead, we focus more on the lower region, shoot a couple of deer and check for suspicious prints."

Tauriel had only nodded, there had not really been much to say. As they arrived at a kind of corral after riding for an hour, Elladan spoke for the first time.

"We stop here and leave the horses. Get ready to go!"

The elleth nodded, internally rolling her eyes at the authority he pretended to have. Plinn seemed happy to be able to hang around in the enclosure with the other horses, munching on a bit of hay that was laying on the side. Elrohir was going first again as they now left the path on foot, both men sandwiching her in the middle. It made sense, she supposed, after all, she did not know the territory well. Suddenly, she heard a thud behind her, wipping around so fast that her hair almost hit the turning Elrohir in the face. It took her a couple of moments to pierce together the picture of Elladan, bow still in hand, and the deer that had fallen to the ground further away in between the trees. She neither had heard nor seen it coming nor had she heard him taking out an arrow, he had been too quick and quiet. Tauriel was impressed, she was used to that kind of stunts from Legolas, but she had not expected it from one of the Imladris-Princes. Even though they obviously had a reputation, especially Elladan had seen far to aloof to give that much thought. A mistake, as she had to admit grudgingly. She would have hit her Woodland guards over the head with her bow for such a rookie mistake! Could she herself have done that shot - probably. Would she have bragged like that in front of a stranger - definitely not. As Elladan went to collect the deer, Elrohir and Tauriel went a bit further. They had not walked for long as they suddenly heard a crying noise from somewhere to their right, deep in the bushes. It was the sound of an animal in need, or in pain. Without waiting for Elrohir, Tauriel walked into the direction, taking care to make as little noise as possible. Sure, she was here hunting, but a woodelleth would not let an animal suffer.

As she pushed through the shrubs, she felt the brumbleberry bushes sticking to her clothes and did the best to shrug them off, getting more and more annoyed when they pulled at her braids. Suddenly, the ground in front of her feet started to become red and she noticed the destinct smell of blood, heavy and metallic in the air. Pushing aside the last plant, only her centuries of practice kept her from reeling back. It was a massacre, blood and fur and turned over soil everywhere, so it took her a moment to piece everything together. Suddenly, she felt a presence behind her, it was Elrohir.

"Warg," Tauriel commented, pointing towards the claw structures on a tree across from them. Both elves looked around, but there was nothing, no sound, no warning sign, that indicated danger. At the foot of the tree a mass of red fur caught her attention. A quick look confirmed that it was a fox, or what was left of it, certainly very dead. But where had the sound come from? As the whining started again, she looked to the right, and sure enough, a cub had hidden under the thorny covers.

"There is a cub," she breathed out, kneeling down in front of it.

It was her luck that it could not move further back, it had manouvered itself in a kind of messy situation and judging by the bloody streaks all over its fur, hurt itself by trying to hide. The eyes seemed unharmed but were wide from fear, the little teeth bared in what was meant to be a threatening growl. Tauriel was very happy about her thick leather gloves as she pushed her hands through the thorns. Elrohir was at her side in no time, helping her as good as he could to keep the plants away from the little animal. It squirmed a little in the uncomfortable grip of the elleth, trying to bite her several times, but finally gave up when it realized struggle was pointless. She held it at the neck like a kitten, trying to touch as little of the injured skin as possible.

"Well, the mother is dead," Elrohir noticed, "but where is the rest of the litter?"
Tauriel shrugged her shoulders. "Probably a snack for the warg. But look around, please."

The ellon did her the favour without asking any furtehr question, shaking his head after a couple of minutes.
"THere is certainly no other animal here. What about him?" the elf asked, "he likely will not survive."
"The cub comes with me,"she decided, holding her new charge closer to her chest.

Elrohir just shrugged in a "suit yourself" gesture as they started to make their way back. Apparently, he knew better than to argue with a determined elleth. They met Elladan halfway on their path to the horses. He heard the report about the warg with understandable worry, but was decidedly less delighted about the fox than his brother.

"He is not coming!" he declared, "a fox in Imladris will only cause trouble."
"It is just temporary," Tauriel argued, "and then it can go back to the wild."
"Yes, and come back any time since it will know people! Hunt our chicken! No, Lady Tauriel, I forbid you to take it!"
She frowned.
"Since I am not one of your people, I do not think you have any authority about me."
"I can decide about what comes into the city though," he declared.

Tauriel tried very hard not to roll her eyes. That man sounded very much like Legolas when he tried to get on her nerves, very obnoxious. Must be a prince-thing, this sense of entitlement. Unfortunately, he was not wrong and she ahd the feeling Elrohir would not herlp her in this conflict.

"Well, it will stay outside Imaldris then," she declared, "are we done here?"

She casually walked past him, not waiting for an answer. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Elrohir laughing, slapping his brother on the back. When she reached Plinn, the fox had snuggled into her arms, apparently totally exhausted. She managed to built a sort of carrier out of the bag she had brought for prey, ignoring the blood which she got all over her clothes. While she seemed nervous at first, Plinn started to calm down soon as Tauriel talked to her, accepting the lady and the horse on her back. As they rode back, she noted Elrohir let his horse go slower than before, making it easier for her to deal with the cub and the reigns. Nevertheless, she was very happy as they finally reached the stables where Lindir was waiting. She thought she noticed something flitting over the ellon's face when the group arrived, but it was gone as quickly as it had arrived.

"Lindir, if you would help the Captain, please?" Elrohir asked him.
He nodded. "What can I do for you?"
"Uhm, could you take my horse, please, and find someone to get the saddle off, please? I need to take care of this cub here?" She motioned towards the fox. "I am afraid the reigns got a bit bloody. If you would leave the headpiece somewhere out for me, I will come back and clean it later."
"Of course, Captain. You might want to look for Istaril in our Houses of Healing. She is Linwen's best friend, so she will certainly help you and that little beast here," he told her quietly as they stood next to each other, out of Elladan's earshot.

Nevertheless, Tauriel could feel herself being watched by Elladan as she walked towards the houses of healing as gracefully as possible (which was not very much so, in the current circumstances). Thankfully, the room was nearly empty, there were no hurt ellyn in the beds, only a young lady mixing salves and cutting herbs. She seemed startled as Tauriel barged in, as if she did not get visitors often.

"Istaril?" Tauriel asked, "Lindir has sent me, I need some help for the little fox I found."
The elleth's eyes widened in recognition as she saw the Captain but her face lit up as she saw the little fox.
"Of course. Please!"
She motioned towards a chair.

Istaril seemed to be just as calm and slightly shy as Linwen, with mahagony hair which had been braided back in a practical style. After cleaning the wounds with a athelas-water, she gave the cub a couple of poppy seeds to calm down while she stiched up the worst of it, dressing everything with arnica and willow bark and wrapping the fox in bandages. It looked absolutely ridiculous at that moment, with the cut hair where she had done the stitches and the white bandages, but also very cute. After that, Istaril insisted on taking care of a cut a brumbleberry ahd left on Tauriel's cheeks, carefully cleaning and dressing it as well.

"The cub is a male, Captain," she mentioned casually while she was washing her hands, "he needs a name."
"I will think about it," Tauriel decided, "I thank you very much. Since I am not allowed to leave him in Imladris, do you have any idea where I could keep him for the night?"

The other elleth pondered for a moment.

"Well, there are some little ponds which are used...," she turned beet red.
Tauriel laughed.
"You can tell me, you know. Woodland elves are not as... strict in these things as most other folks."
Istaril sighed.
"Well, Imladris has a bathing house. But there are also hot pools at the Eastern end Imladris, which are technically still part of the city but also very much at the border of the dwelling. I know, for a fact, that there is a little shed there. It is actually a storage for weapons, just in case, but also sometimes used as a meeting point. I guess it will be fine for some nights though since so many eldar are already gone."
"Thank you so much, I will take your advise. I hope to see you again soon Istaril."

Tauriel took the fox in her arm again, carrying it outside and towards the edge of the dwelling. Most eldar who passed her seemed to stare more at her than at the bundle she was carrying. No wonder, she was a stranger, with obvious fire-red hair, breeches instead of dresses and a scratch in her face. It would be good to leave Imladris as qquickly as possible, she decided, but she would make sure the little fox was well before she did that.