Celeborn's Nine - Riders of the Night

Longma eased into the sleeping elf's room with a new suit of clothes, now a mix of dark blue and deep scarlet. Agazmanahn had used him hard, and with the other psychic energies he had been subjected to, he had needed some time to rest. She was about to ease out of the room, when he said, "I'm awake. How long have I been asleep?" He sat up. Even disheveled, or perhaps because he was, with the heavy weight of sleep still about him, he was breath taking. Longma made herself look away.

"Two days only," she answered easily and smiled.

"Two days?" Looking around, he asked, "Where's Tiger?"

"Annoying Glorfindel, I think," Longma said with an even brighter smile. "She has become inquisitive, and everyone has told her to ask him her questions."

Haldir smiled and got up to dress. He wanted to see her. He remembered her coming to him just before he fell asleep, and she seemed all right, but he wanted to make sure. He was so anxious to see if Tiger was all right, he didn't notice Longma's blush or the way she turned away from him.

"I'd try the hall first and then outside," the dragonwitch answered. "Wait and I'll walk with you."

Tiger was not supposed to be on the table in her human form, but Glorfindel was writing something on a piece of paper and she wanted to watch. Since she wouldn't have understood it even if she had been facing the right way, she just admired the way he drew the pretty words. Glorfindel was certainly the smartest elf alive, next to her master of course. She lked Glorfindel and leaned forward to sniff his hair. He smelled nice.

Glorfindel stopped writing as Tiger and her bosom got even closer. He really didn't mind her curiosity, but did she have to be such a ravishing female when she was female?

Haldir needed to explain to her that males found her attractive, and she needed to be considerate of their feelings. He wasn't worried about her being abused, Tiger had some nasty claws as he had seen earlier, but........

"Tiger, what are you doing?"


Once he had his boots on, he asked, "Where are they?"
"Master!" Tiger exclaimed and jumped up. Glorfindel grabbed his paper before it went flying. Tiger ran up and threw her arms around Haldir's neck and kissed him, then she touched his face and even looked inside his tunic. "Master is well," she stated joyously.

"Master is well," he agreed and looked past her at the grinning Glorfindel. "What are you doing?"

"Longma took me up last night," Glorfindel answered. "We're leaving as soon as your able."

"I am able now." Haldir replied.

"Tiger is going, too," Tiger announced. "I have already told Lord Celeborn that I was going."

"We'll see," Haldir replied and kissed her on the forehead before going to see what Glorfindel was doing.

"It's a disctription of the keep," the slayer replied as Haldir peered over his shoulder. "Celeborn and I have put our observations together and this is what we have." The slayer had even drawn a picture of the keep.

"It looks impressive," Haldir said. "We're definately going to need a plan for getting in and out."

Longma stepped forward and said, "I do not plan on sitting here and not helping, so you might say you will have air support." She smiled at Glorfindel who had chosen not to mention that she had shown him there were more things to do on a flying dragon's back than look at dark keeps and starlit skies.

When he left the hall to see to his horse, she went with him. "Tiger is going, too" she announced firmly.

"It will be dangerous," he told her. "you might get hurt."

She looked at him incredulously and said, "Only one being here is stronger than me and that is Celestial. Tiger can help."

"I don't want to lose you," he said and drew her close for a kiss. That usually worked with subborn females in the past. Only it didn't work with Tiger. The kiss and her objective were two different things in her mind. She simply didn't associate them as one and the same thing. Yeilding to his mouth, she reached for him and Haldir realized he suddenly had an amorous tiger on his hands. And he wasn't ready to be amorous yet.

"No," he said and drew back, completely confusing her.

"I displease you?" she asked anxiously.

"No...no, you don't," he said with what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "Come, let's see to my horse." He made a mental note to note to not be overly affectionate with Tiger when HE wasn't in the mood.
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Longma fed them well and then watched as the riders readied to leave at dusk. Tiger was standing beside her and Tiger was not happy. Her Haldir was leaving, and in her tiger brain that meant forever, which was driving the jinn tiger crazy. One last desperate attempt to sway Master's mind had her clinging to his leg pleading with him that she would be good and listen to him. He kept telling her that it had nothing to do with being good or listening, that he was not leaving her. None of this settled in her mind. Tiger could only understand that he was getting on a horse and riding off without her, and that she was not going to get to sleep beside him tonight or any other night. Once the gate was closed behind the riders, she started pacing back and forth in front of it, talking to herself. Master was leaving her. Master was not mad at Tiger; he would come back. Master was leaving her. There were dangerous things out there. Bad things that could hurt Master and his friends. Master needed Tiger. Tiger needed Master. Tiger had to protect Master.

Longma was surprised that it had taken several hours for Tiger to work herself into a frenzy; she had expected it much earlier. Tiger could stand it no longer, and no one tried to stop the magnificent striped cat from leaping on the battlement and over the wall. With a flash of her tail, Tiger slipped into the darkness on the trail of her beloved master. He had several hours head start on her, but she was a jinn tiger and could follow him anywhere.
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Haldir knew the moment Tiger left Longma's keep; he had felt her shape shift and then the exuberant surge of power in her as she started after them. He wished now he had just let her come along. "Tiger's following us," he announced to no one in particular. He didn't want her to come up on them and get an arrow in the heart. BUt he would have to have a serious talk with her about listening to him.
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The riders followed the river as long as it went east, but once it dipped back south, they left its constant roar and entered a semijungle world of constant sound. Some of it was similar to the sounds found in their forests, crickets and frogs, but some of it was so strange as to make them stop and listen. For the younger elves and men, it was a first time for them to see monkeys.

Haldir kept glancing back looking for Tiger, but she never made an appearance. He suspected she was afraid to show herself, but he didn't like knowing she was out there by herself, even if she was a jinn tiger and only weaker than a celestial dragon. He put his small tent up but decided to stay outside in hopes that she would show herself. Legolas told him that he thought he saw her once during the night, but then it could have been a real tiger, too. Real tigers were common where they were riding.

Telling himself there was nothing to worry about, Haldir stretched out on his bedroll with his hands behind his head. He tried to will her to him, but if she thought he was going to fuss at her or tell her to go back, she wasn't going to respond.
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Celeborn decided that Rumil and Orophin needed to supply the meat for their daily meal. Monkeys and anything that looked disgusting was off limits. If they happened upon any fruits or nuts, they were free to bring them back as well. The brothers decided they had a better chance of finding something if they split up. After all it was not like they going to face orcs or wargs or anything else. Right?
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The dark naga rested with his head low in the tall grass and sensed the elf's presence in the air by the occassional flick of his tongue. In a sense he was tasting the elf in the air, tasting his warm blood. The dark naga was not in a hurry and if the elf came close enough, he would strike him and have a decent meal. If the elf did not come close enough, the naga would continue to wait. But he wanted he wanted the elf to come nearer; he was tired of waiting. Slipping his tail slowly through the grass, he waited.

Tiger watched Orophin from a safe distance and smiled at her Master's brother. He was almost as wonderful as Master. He was hunting and didn't know that there were no animals near him. And this gave her pause to wonder. Why were there no animals in th area. She could not smell any, even when she curled her lip and really sniffed. Then she saw the movement in the grass. Orophin saw it too. Tiger stared and stared and couldn't see anything. Nor could she smell anything warm but Orophin. What was hiding in the grass? She jumped off her perch in the tree and started towards Orophin. This was most puzzling.

The dark naga knew the elf was coming closer. He couldn't feel his footsteps, but he could taste the warmth in the air increasing. He could also feel the tread of the tiger, but it was farther way. Confident that the elf was now close enough, the dark naga rose high out of the grass, it's great hood opening as it hissed its warning. The elf stared up in horror at the enormous cobra. Even an elf could not get away from a cobra when it attacked.

Tiger roared at the cobra, distracting it enough for Orophin to break and run, but the huge snake whipped around and tripped him with its tail. Orophin fought to get back to his feet, but the dark naga lashed him again, throwing him through the air.
The elf hit the ground hard and didn't move.

Tiger rushed the huge snake. It lunged at her, its gaping maw when fully open larger than she. Putting all of her strength in the leap, Tiger sprang upwards as the naga's head shot beneath her. Twisting in midair, Tiger came back down on the naga's back just below the hood. She bit down and dug in. The naga twisted and turned and whipped its body over the ground in an attempt to free itself from the tiger. But she held on for dear life. Jinn tigers were not immune to dark naga poison.

Orophin raised his head and shook it as the naga lashed by him. Tiger! Tiger was clinging to the huge snake as it beat her against the ground and rolled and twisted and tried to free itself of her. She was taking a terrible beating and was too far down the snake's back to get a killing bite in. All she was doing was making it mad, and keeping it off Orophin.

Orophin didn't know if it was possible for him to kill the horrendous snake, but he had to do something before it beat Tiger too death. Readying an arrow, he aimed and fired. It struck the snake in one glittering eye. It reared high and struck at him, but it was too far away to make contact. He released another arrow and caught the monster in the mouth. It threw itself on the ground and started rolling. Tiger made her escape as Orophin fired another arrow into its belly. But just to be sure, he dropped his bow and drew his sword. Taking an enormous risk, he sliced open the snakes white belly when it appeared.

Finally the dark naga was dead, and Orophin sat in the grass to catch his breath. Tiger crept to his side and said, "Orophin, all right?"

Orophin smiled at the beautiful woman's face and said, "I am all right. How are you?"

"Sore?" she asked.

"Sore, yeah," he agreed. Gazing back at the dead snake, he considered getting a souvenier, just to prove they had fought a big snake and not each other.
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Celeborn looked up in amazement as Orophin arrived in camp looking like something had beaten the hell out of him. He had a huge snake fang in his possession and Tiger, in her tiger body, was following. She was walking gingerly and cowered when her master finally noticed her.

"You are a bad tiger," he said. "I told you to stay at the keep."

Orophin stopped him with a hand on his shoulder and said, "She saved my life."

Haldir looked down at the remorseful tiger and said, "All right, I'm sorry I fussed at you."

Tiger leaped up and threw her arms around her Master's neck, and then she winced. "Tiger is sore," she said with a grimace. Haldir then noticed the black and blue places on her arms. Taking her back to his tent, he lowered her robe and saw the extent of her bruising. Tiger was indeed sore. Taking her in his arms, he lay back and held her head against his shoulder. After awhile her hand slid provocatively over his silk tunic. "Does Master want to make love?" she asked and caressed one nipple that hardened beneath her fingers.

"Tiger needs to rest," he said and moved her hand away. "Tomorrow, I promise."

"Master?"

"Yes."

"It is four days now since I have made love to you."

"One more day won't kill you."

She raised her head and moved over him so she was looking down into his face. "Master?"

Nose to nose with Tiger, Haldir asked, "Yes?"

"Is Master mad at Tiger?"

He smiled and shook his head. "No."

"Is Master sure he doesn't want Tiger to make love to him?"

Master wasn't sure about anything except that he didn't like seeing her beautiful body scratched and bruised. "Tomorrow," he promised again and hoped she didn't push it.

"I will make Master keep his promise," she purred and laid her head back on his shoulder. She then tried to make Master's other nipple stand up beneath the cool silk. Master had to move her hand away.