Liran waved a hand across the horizon.
"It is getting dark, and since we are following these tracks, we shall have to stop soon, anyway." He said, and smiled sympathetically at Rowen.

"Unless, he added, if you are gifted with the ability to see at night..?" He grinned playfully at Arinae. "However, I doubt that even elves can teach one so much.. "

Rowen nodded in agreement with Alyan (OOC/ when I'm writing about you, do I call you Alyan or Liran? Aaugh! Confusing! /OOC), grateful for an excuse to refuse the horse. With rest to look forward to, she felt energized, though she doubted she would sleep much on the hard ground.

_________________
I am a Shieldmaiden for Christ!

I was Nienor before Nienor was cool. *nods coolly*
Kudos to Kitoky for the fabulous signature set, and art credit to engelszorn.
Who wants to join me in bringing back the lady?

Arinae chuckled and shook her head at Liran. She sat cross legged on the ground and whittled away at a stick for a while with a small dagger. Her glance occasionally strayed to the two with her. "So, Alyan.... what has caused you to travel so frequently, for surely you are not inexperianced with the ways of the open roads..." she questioned quietly while she glanced towards him, then back down to the stick and dagger.

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I am a pro-cycling fan! Congrats to the Young rider of the Tour de France!
~Cyclist in Training~

He frowned at Airain and shook his head.
"I think you'll find, Radiel, that it was Thengal who preceeded Theoden. A man who spent some time in Gondor if i'm not mistaken."
He smiled to himself feeling proud of his knoweldge.

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"Rock N' Roll is the only relgion that never lets you down!" ~ Lemmy Kilmister

[!*#_:]

(When last I looked, Thengel, not Thengal, had been King of Rohan .. )


Liran watched Arinae thoughtfully for a while before answering.
"Truth is, I ran away"

He shook his head and grinned sheepishly. And now here he was, trying to help a girl catch her friend who'd run away herself and wasn't much younger than he had been. How ironic. What would Rowen think of him now? Nothing good, for sure. And he couldn't blame her for it.
Of course, he had fled in a more populated and less untamed wilderness, and he wasn't as ignorant as these girls seemed to be, but she wouldn't know that.

"I was placed under the protection of my uncle when my parents died. But he had a son of his own and did not want me." He sighed. "In the end, running away seemed preferable to the life I had."

"It hasn't always been easy since, but certainly not too bad." he added, shrugging slightly.

"Ah... I see.." Arinae mumbled slightly, keeping her eyes on the whittling. "I suffered much the same fate as you, it seems, though I didn't run away to solve any problems... or try to..." she spoke as she brought her eyes to him with a slight smile, as though amused.

"I was fortunate enough to be taken in by a kind elderly healer, but was seperated when I was young... and I don't mind confessing that I was very much scared... until the elves found me, then I was just amazed, mystified, and enthralled," Arinae laughed softly, shaking her head.

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I am a pro-cycling fan! Congrats to the Young rider of the Tour de France!
~Cyclist in Training~

Rowen looked up sharply at Liran's words. Alyan ran away? She'd never thought much about where he came from, but this was a possibility she'd never considered. How ironic, she thought.
Standing abruptly, she announced that she was going to try to get some sleep. Rowen walked over to the other side of the fire, as far away from the others as she could go, and lay down with her blanket over her and her bag as a pillow.

_________________
I am a Shieldmaiden for Christ!

I was Nienor before Nienor was cool. *nods coolly*
Kudos to Kitoky for the fabulous signature set, and art credit to engelszorn.
Who wants to join me in bringing back the lady?

"We can go faster, the ground is more even now." Amoniel said, pushing Hareth into a canter.

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<center>

[font=Times New Roman]
Hello, I'm Amoniel
[/font]</center>

"Yes, that is correct. Knowing the current kings around Middle-earth matters, Radiel, but in history you must know at least a few of kings predecessor's, for that is what history is all about." Airain said. She then kicked at the horse, making it go faster as Amoniel spoke.
"Thengel was the only son of Fengel, he was the sixteenth king of Rohan. Rinkemen is correct, Thengel came to Gondor in his youth to live with his mother's family. Eventually, Thengel met Morwen Steelsheen of Lossarnach and they married. Once Thengel's father died Thengel was called upon to return to Rohan where he was made king. As you should know, Morwen gave birth to Théoden and Théodwyn, the mother of Éomer and Éowyn." Airain explained once she found that Radiel knew naught of Thengel.

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When Rowen moved, Liran shifted his attention to her from Arinae and watched her go to the other side of the fire. He didn't quite succeed in suppressing a sigh. He had half expected an outburst like he'd seen that morning, but women were often hard to predict, he found.

He felt for his flute, took it out of the case and ran his fingers along the smooth metal distractedly for a minute. In a single day, he'd gotten himself taken along on some fool search for a runaway. He had managed to get one of his companions to truly dislike him, or so it seemed. They were out in the wild, without knowing whose tracks it was they were following. What a mess. Hopefully things would sort themselves out. No, they would, they had to! Only, he had this feeling they'd be getting worse.
He pulled himself out of his thoughts, and tossed his head to move some hair out of his face. Bringing the flute to his lips, he started playing a soft melody while peering into the flames.

Arinae paused in her whittling to listen to Alyan play. She dropped her gaze to the fire, but didn't seem to be quite at ease, despite the lulling tune. Suddenly she got the her feet, the small dagger still in her hand but she had tossed the stick away. "Silence a moment if you please..." she spoke firmly yet quietly and she glanced around the darkness. "Move back from the fire, and I'd suggest you retrieve Rowen and bring her closer, there's something lurking," she instructed. "Could be wolves... but could also be warg."

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I am a pro-cycling fan! Congrats to the Young rider of the Tour de France!
~Cyclist in Training~

At Arinae's warning Liran stopped playing and put down the flute, reaching for his staff instead. Things were worse. He wished he could be wrong more often about these feelings.. After pushing some more fuel into the fire, he moved to Rowen and shook her shoulder. "Something's out there" he whispered, then pulled her up and moved with her closer to Arinae.

He peered into the darkness and strained his ears. "I'm not seeing anything," he said softly, frowning. He took a deep breath and tightened his grip on the staff. "The elves have trained you well Arinae. Tell me what you can see or hear."

"I hear padded steps... no snap of a twig, but a rustle of the leaves, yet there is no breeze upon the air" Arinae replied, in a low whisper. "The elves may have taught me well, but they cannot make my sight like that of theirs..." but she tried none the less to see through the darkness. "There, a glint of eyes reflecting the fire..." she nodded just slightly with her head, her sword at ready.

The warg leapt out so suddenly and agily, it surprised even Arinae. She placed herself in front of Rowen, and made a quick thrust to ward off the beast.

_________________


I am a pro-cycling fan! Congrats to the Young rider of the Tour de France!
~Cyclist in Training~

Liran spun around and his eyes widened. He'd seen wolves, but wargs were .. altogether different. Quickly gathering his wits, he raised his staff over his head and brought it down hard on the beast's neck while it attacked Arinae. It turned its head and snarled at him viciously. "Rowen, he said urgently, try and think of something! Anything!"

Arinae whipped her head around while unsheathing a semi-long knife and handed it to Rowen. "Slash it's muzzle if it gets close to you..."

The warg had backed off for the time being, and was now circling its prey. Arinae turned, following its movements, and did her best to keep between it and Rowen. The warg leapt at them, going first after Alyan. Arinae put in a few hefty blows to its side as it brushed past her, but it barely shied.

_________________


I am a pro-cycling fan! Congrats to the Young rider of the Tour de France!
~Cyclist in Training~

Rowen stifled a scream as the warg leapt from the shadows. Shaking, she took the knife Arinae thrust at her and held it loosely in her hand.
The warg flew past her, headed straight for Alyan. Backed against the fire and forgetting the weapon she already held, Rowen reached behind her, grasping a piece of wood from the fire. In desperation, she threw the flaming brand hard, catching the warg on its side; the warg stumbled and fell, landing hard on the torch. Snarling with pain, it rolled on the ground, extinguishing its burning fur, then jumped up and limped away from the camp.

_________________
I am a Shieldmaiden for Christ!

I was Nienor before Nienor was cool. *nods coolly*
Kudos to Kitoky for the fabulous signature set, and art credit to engelszorn.
Who wants to join me in bringing back the lady?