Rowen had to admit she hadn't thought much about exiting the city, only what would take place afterwards.
"I'm afraid word may be out about my disappearance as well. I'll do my best to play your sister, if you think it will help; I tend to think that our main concern should be avoiding recognition." They continued on toward the gate.

_________________
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?

Radiel smiled, blushing a bit. She did not exactly realize that they were getting futher away from Minas Tirith, with every step they took. In fact, she did not even bother to think of Minas Tirith. No one would understand her back there, except, perhaps, her teacher. But Rinkemen was not in Minas Tirith either. No, he was on an exciting adventure, one of which Radiel would have to figure out.

Summer was upon them, but here and there lay green leaves, as if they were attached to the ground. Now and then, they took a quick dance with the wind. The sun was standing high, warming every revealed spot on the face of Middle-Earth. Birds were chirping while a deer or hare ran past every once in a while. Radiel enjoyed every second of her freedom.

_________________


^/^^ Thanks to tulk.

Airain was rather glad the girl didn't ask her anymore about what it felt like to be an Elf, because she really had no idea how to respond to that. Airain looked over at the young girl, she seemed so innocent, but yet so determined. Airain began to wonder why she was even out here at all.
"You still have not told me, why are you out here? What is a young girl like you doing out in the wilderness?" Airain inquired of her.

_________________

Radiel frowned. "Well," she said, thinking it over. She was still in doubt, whether or not she could trust the Elf. "I already told you, that I am heading to Rohan." She paused, not exactly sure how to explain her situation. "Have you ever grown tired of living somewhere? Needing to get away?" She looked up at the sky. "Feeling that every breath you take is noted..." She sighed. "Minas Tirith has been my cage for sixteen years, a cage of which I had to break free of." She looked at the Elf, whom was listening with interest. Radiel continued, choosing her words carefully. "My chance has come now."

_________________


^/^^ Thanks to tulk.

"Yes, I know what you are feeling. But please, that's not the only reason you're leaving. What about your family? Your friends? You'd leave them all behind for nothing? What is the real reason to which you have left your home?" Airain asked her. She knew she was hiding the real answer. The girl probably still didn't trust her, which she was well in her rights not to.

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Radiel pondered her answer. There seemed to be no way to escape that question. Radiel, however, decided to use another option. "My father," she said. "My father is musician. A very well known one at that. He travels Middle-earth with his art, which is why I rarely see him." She paused for a few moments, thinking it over. "My mother recently passed away, leaving me as an only child. Having nothing left in Minas Tirith, I decided to go seek for my father." Lying was not something Radiel enjoyed, however, she was fairly good at it. She attempted to look sad, succeeding, while awaiting the Elf's respond.

_________________


^/^^ Thanks to tulk.

Airain rolled her eyes, making sure the young girl did not see her. She was lying, Airain could tell. Airain was no idiot, but she knew the girl would not tell her the truth, at least not now. So, Airain decided to just let it be for now.
"Very well.." Airain said, which was her only response. She turned away from the girl, looking up to the sky before she quickened her pace and began jogging through the wilderness once more.

_________________

Rowen and Liran made their way to the gate. There really wasn't much they could do, so, after glancing at each other, they walked through. Luckily, the guards were apparently not looking for anyone of Rowen's description and they passed without incident.

Once they were outside the city, he started to look for any tracks that might be Radiel's, but quickly gave up. He really wasn't good enough at this, and it had been rather rash of him to think he could help Rowen find her friend. As it was, the best he could do was to see her through this safely.

So they headed off towards Rohan, at a brisk pace. They were not only following, but would be followed as well. As the day wore on, Liran could see that Rowen was getting tired, despite that she tried to hide it. He slowed down a little. No point having her collapse on the very first day.

The traveling group pushed on and had a restfull night. The next day they went on forward, only a day away from Edoras. Rinkemen kept looking behind him at something, it had bothered him during the night and it still did. It couldn't be... No that's impossible.
He lit his pipe and continued glancing behind him. Was someone following them? He had to know, it had been playing on his mind since the first day.
"Borum stop at that small clump of trees and go on ahead, i'll catch up."

_________________

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

[!*#_:]

Rowen was tired, but she didn't want her companion to see it. She tried to keep up the pace, despite being sore. To take her mind off her present situation, she thought about Radiel. Where is she? Rowen wondered. She'd already spent one night outside of the city..maybe by this time she'd realize how foolish it was to run away.

_________________
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?

"Sure Rinky..."

Borum laughed as they left Rinkemen to his business, what ever that was Borum had no idea, but knew that the man would probably be able to take care of himself.

_________________

Let him curse my name
On these blood stained pages of misery
Let him call me a tyrant so cruel
Let him curse my name, but remember the truth!

Rinkemen jumped off the wagon and waved them onward.
"Wait for me at Edoras, I have a feeling I may require your assistance again!"
He watched them go and walked into the woods. He hid behind a tree and peered out on the fields. He was looking for any sign of movement.
He spent a few hours watching when he noticed far in the distance two people moving toward him. He lent forward further when he heard a twig snag.
Rinkemen spun around and was confronted with a warg. He looked around desperatly for some way to escape.
The warg growled. It's teeth, sharp and yellow, were revealed to Rinkemen. He slowly reached for his sword.
"Slowly, slowly."
As he reached the handle the warg pounced. Rinkemen fell to the wargs claws. It begin hammering into him.
Rinkemen finaly unsheathed his sword and thrust it through the warg's jaw. It fell to his side, dead. He breathed heavily and sighed when he realised the threat was over. He got to his feet slowly with a groan. He cringed in pain and looked at his arm. There were three cuts, obviously from the warg's claw. He took to bandaging his wounds, completly forgetting the two strangers aproaching.

_________________

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

[!*#_:]

Radiel and Airain moved with a quick pace, leaving behind many miles. Radiel found her mouth dry as sand. She dared not tell Airain, however, as she was still afraid to lose respect from the Elf.
The two approached a gathering of trees, a small forest almost, and Radiel hoped that Airain decided for them to rest a bit there. Suddenly, though, Radiel heard a noise from within the forest. "Airain?" she said and stopped, nodding towards the trees.

_________________


^/^^ Thanks to tulk.

Rinkemen heard a voice and stopped dead. He swoped down and picked up his sword and ran to a large tree. He hid behind and held his blade up against his chest. He couldn't be sure who it was and dared not look. He waited for them to enter the small wood.

_________________

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

[!*#_:]

Airain raised her index finger to her lips, motioning to Radiel to stay there. She hoped the girl would actually listen to her. She then turned towards the small forest and entered it quietly, making no noise as she moved along the leaves and twigs, none breaking beneath her. Her Elven eyes searched the forest frantically until she could hear the fast panicked breath of a human in the distance. She followed the sounds of the breathing until she was behind a large tree. Airain slowly gripped one of her swords and lightning quick she unsheathed it, suddenly having it collide with another's sword. Instantly, her eyes jumped upwards, looking into the eyes of an older man.

Airain looked at him for a moment before she slid her blade down and sheathed it.
"I'm not going to kill you, trust me, it'd be a waste of my time. So put away your sword, old man, and perhaps we can talk." She said.

_________________

Radiel raised an eyebrow. "Stay?" she thought. She rolled her eyes. As Airain entered the small forest, Radiel followed quietly. She hid behind a tree nearby as she heard the two blades clash. Radiel heard Airain speak, but went closer to try and get a glimpse of the stranger, and a glimpse she got. "Rinkemen!" She exclaimed inside her mind. She adjusted her bag on her shoulder, turned around and walked away in silence. She had to get away. If Rinkemen saw her, her adventure would come to an end and she was up for a lot of trouble.
Suddenly a twig crunched under her feet. She stopped and everything went quiet. Radiel took a deep breath. She forgot about her dry mouth, about her hunger and about weariness. She ran. She ran as fast as she could. Away.

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^/^^ Thanks to tulk.