Adult-FanFiction.org : Lord of the Rings

In a land of shadows	By : Nuredhel Category: -Fourth Age to Modern times and beyond > AU - Alternate Universe Views: 1448 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings, it belongs to Tolkien, and i do not earn any money from this work of fiction, it is solely written for entertainment and not for profit at all.I do not own Lord of the Rings, it belongs to Tolkien,

Chapter List
- 7
- 8
- 9
So, explaining the modern world to someone living in the stone age is going to be a rather interesting task, cultural collision? Oh-Yeah!
Chapter Eight: Shopping, meetings and plans
When worlds meet or collide
The result can be both good and bad
There are always new things to learn
There are always new things to consider
But a mess is always a possibility

The healers had arranged for transport back to Ravenne’s small apartment and it arrived just before it got dark that evening. She felt a little in doubt, Narriar hadn’t been out of bed yet and he was still weak but the healers insisted that it was good for him to start moving a bit. They had found some clothes and he was confused by them, not quite able to understand how to wear them. The driver who arrived had to explain it to him while Ravenne stood there with her back turned to the Ce’agar who struggled with the concept of pants. Back home a loincloth was all they wore. Since Narriars eyes were so sensitive to light they had to blindfold him and he did protest but Ravenne explained that he’d probably thank them for it, explaining what he would see without it would be very hard. They got him down to the car by supporting him on both sides, he was waddling around like he was drunk and complained that his feet felt funny. Ravenne just sighed and hoped that this wouldn’t end in an utter disaster.
They got him into the car and when it started moving he ended up having a complete break down from sheer panic. He was panting and shivering and whimpered like a kid, thrashing around so badly Ravenne had to throw herself on top of him for the duration of the ride. She felt a bit annoyed and almost angry but she did of course understand him and she did pity him. To him this sort of transport had to be extremely frightening. He was crying and whispered that he was dizzy and that he hated this world already. Ravenne was close to agreeing on that last statement. The drive wasn’t long but it felt like a thousand miles when she had to lay on top of a shivering swearing and panic stricken Ce’agar, she had no idea anybody could be that strong and he almost ripped the seatbelts from their attachments. The driver was close to panic too, he was very relieved when they reached their destination and they could help Narriar out of the car. He was covered with sweat and breathing like someone with severe asthma.
Ravenne took him by the elbow and lead him through the door and the corridor, she lived on the second floor of the small apartment building and she was glad it was within the colony for the sight of a seven feet tall long haired guy with strange tattoos would have caused some rather heated phone calls to the police elsewhere. The place was silent and she saw that Verya had to be there by now, the light was on and so she just went in. She had a very small hall where you could hang your coat and leave your shoes and she could hear the clatter of kitchen utensils from the small corner which was her kitchen. Narriar just stood there, his nose was shivering and she removed the blindfold. He blinked and rubbed his eyes, then he took a look around and his eyes were rather telling of how he felt. He was confused to say the least.
Ravenne discovered that Verya had done a marvelous job cleaning things up. The place did look almost tidy and there were no used clothes or plates to be seen anywhere. Verya was in the kitchen, she was trying to get the things she had bought into the closets and it was just not enough room. Ravenne stared in disbelief at the huge pile of shopping bags on the kitchen floor. “Verya, it is just me and him, not the entire last alliance?!”
Verya made a grimace. “I know Ravenne, I know. But it was just so tempting, I bet he never has tasted things like cheese doodles, or ice cream, or chicken legs?”
Ravenne had to laugh. “He is a guest from a strange world and you are planning on introducing him to junk food?!”
Verya looked very apologetic. “It is tasty? And it is just for a couple of days right?”
Ravenne sighed. “Yes, it is just for a few days so I guess it cannot do much harm. But damn, you have bought enough to feed an army!”
Verya blushed. “I got a bit eager.”
Ravenne just sighed. “Right, well I’ll have to help you put everything out of the way. Thanks for cleaning up by the way, appreciate it.”
Verya smiled widely. “It was just a pleasure, well actually it wasn’t because damn elleth, you should not leave unwashed underwear laying around like that but what the hey, I started this so I guess I owed you one.”
Ravenne blushed. “Damn right you were. “
Narriar just stood in the door looking bewildered, he watched as the two ellith put different items from the bags into the fridge and the closets and he didn’t know what any of it was. He was glad he was going home in just a couple of days, or else he would go mad, he was damn sure of it. Ravenne lifted one bag up onto the kitchen table and started removing the items from it, it was several bags of cookies, a bag of potato chips, several chocolate bars and a bag of grapes, a bag of apples and a bunch of bananas. She suddenly saw something else at the bottom of the bag and picked the item out, staring at Verya with a glance that was shocked to say the least. “Verya?!”
The elleth turned her head and she went beet red. “Oh no, no I didn’t buy those, I swear. It was some sort of campaign they are having now, they put a small bag of condoms into every customers bags, some new brand I think. “
Ravenne frowned, her eyes were still a bit angry. “I hope that is the truth Verya because if it isn’t then…”
Narriar noticed the tone between the two ellith, he became worried. “Has she done anything wrong?”
Verya was still blushing. “No, it is something I got for free, Ravenne didn’t ask me to get any of those just so you know it. But she thought that I had bought them, because…well because…Oh never mind!”
Ravenne was growling, as if she ever would need such items. Narriar stared at the small container, it didn’t look as if it could hold anything at all, it was so small. “It is not anything to be eaten?”
Verya shook her head rather vigorously. “Nope, absolutely not! Even though they do come with flavor, these are the strawberry sort I think.”
Ravenne just scoffed and blushed. Cultural collision indeed, this was rather the collision between galaxies. Narriar was curious. “So what is it really?”
Verya blushed even deeper than before, she bit her lower lip. “It is…ah, how do I explain this…it is something the humans here use, to avoid getting sexually transferrable diseases, and unwanted pregnancies.”
Narriar looked bewildered. “Unwanted pregnancies? Why wouldn’t they want children?”
Ravenne sighed. “Because they already are breeding like rabbits, this world is overpopulated and having children requires a lot here, you have to have time, money, a school they can go to and so on and so forth and so people try to avoid having kids until they are good and ready for it.”
She could see that Narriar didn’t understand the concept at all, to his people every child born was a miracle and most welcome. The entire tribe raised the young ones as a unit and so the parents weren’t that tied up. “Believe me, it is for the best, there are already too many humans in this world if you ask me. And the other reason is as I mentioned that they can get diseases if they jump into bed with someone they don’t know that well, some of those can be fatal.”
Narriar frowned, he stared at that small package. “How the heck can that stop anything?”
Verya grinned, she picked up a banana and Ravenne gasped and turned her back to the whole scene, sometimes Verya was a bit too impulsive for her taste. “Well, you see, it is like a very tight little bag which is very stretchy and they put it over their…”
She held the banana in a way that left very little to imagination, Narriar blushed, Ravenne saw that he actually blushed. “And when it is on they can do it and nothing gets through it and afterwards the male pull it off and throws it away. That’s it basically.”
Narriar was still blushing, she could see that his ears were burning red too. “Then I think these humans must be the strangest creatures I have ever heard of, who would put something like that onto their…damn!”
Ravenne saw that he was supporting himself on the doorframe, he was still dizzy and weak and so she grabbed him rather hard and pulled him with her towards the couch. She wanted to get away from the topic Verya had brought forth and she made him sit down, he looked a bit confused still and he sat down very carefully, as if he was afraid to break anything. “It is so light here, such bright colors.”
Ravenne bit her lower lip. “Is it too bright for you, should I turn off more light?”
He shook his head. “No, my eyes are alright, it is just so…vivid!”
Verya stuffed the last of the groceries into a shelf which normally contained Ravenne’s pots and pans. She wiped off her hands and grasped her handbag. “I’ll leave now, have to get back home. But there is some steak in the fridge and I bought some burgers and a whole chicken too and some sausages and…”
Ravenne just waved her off, Verya was giving her a headache. “Get home safely, and leave my card by the door.”
Verya just nodded and left and Ravenne was left in a very uncomfortable silence with Narriar. He sort of filled the room, he was so very present there. He was just an inch away from touching the roof with his head and she had to giggle, he looked almost like a normal person in a hobbit hole. He stared at the furniture, her livingroom was a bit naked, it was just a couch, a couple of soft chairs and a TV set in the corner. She had a couple of paintings on the wall and a cheap rug on the floor, it didn’t really look as if anybody was there that often and it was right. She didn’t spend much time in her apartment at all. The furniture was cheap, secondhand things which had been bought from the shops which sold used items and she had not thought about anything but practical use when she got them. To Narriar they had to be very strange indeed and he stared at the TV and lifted his eyebrow. “What is that thing there? Nobody can sit on that?”
Ravenne sighed. “It is something humans use to entertain themselves, it is hard to explain it Narriar but you can see things that happen elsewhere with it, and things that aren’t even real, just acting.”
She grasped the remote and turned the thing on, it was old and she didn’t have that many channels, just a standard packet which included some channels she sometimes watched and some she could have done without. It was the news, she saw the face of some well-known news reporter who enthusiastically spoke of the possibility of the cities football team making it to the finals. Narriar stared at the screen and he was pressing himself against the back of the couch. He looked as if he was about to make a run for it. “Easy, it isn’t here, it is somewhere else, we look at people who are somewhere else.”
He gasped and relaxed, his eyes were huge and he leaned forward, reached out and touched the screen very timidly. “How can this be, is it magic?”
Ravenne just sighed, well, it was magic as good as any for someone like him. “I guess you can say that yes, a sort of magic.”
She switched the channel and up popped a NGC show about the plains of Africa. She let out a sigh of relief, it was something they could watch safely. It was still too early to go to bed and she saw that the sight of the animals immediately fascinated him. She nodded. “That is a documentary, it is made to teach people of things. I will go make us something to eat.”
He stared at the screen with a distant look upon his face. “As long as it isn’t that porridge stuff!”
Ravenne had to laugh. “No, no such things in this house.”
She knew that he would want something he was more used to so she found the steak Verya had bought, it was large and she prepared it as fast as she could, she added some vegetables and a good sauce and she knew that she had to take it out of the oven before it got too well done. It had to be medium cooked and she found a box of ice cream as dessert. She was a bit curious of how he would react to that.
He was still staring at the TV when she returned with the food, eyes wide and his face told of a complete fascination, he looked like a child and she realized that he in some ways was just that, a child. Compared with the knowledge of her race his were primitive and their lives very uncomplicated and straight forward. They knew little of real evil, dangers yes but not deliberate evil set on destroying just for the cause of destruction. He grinned, his eyes were shining. “We have herds of animals in Lithui too, they are different but they act the same way, I can understand what I see here!”
Ravenne nodded. “That is great, now let’s eat!”
She placed the plates on the table and she had opened a bottle of wine to go with it, he looked at the fluid with confusion and she just smiled. “It is ok, it isn’t that strong.”
He looked at the plate, the piece of steak was rather large and almost bloody and she heard that his stomach growled, he blushed and she took up a knife and a fork. “Look, this is how you use these.”
He watched carefully and then he tried and he actually managed to eat without making an utter mess. She understood that he was a very quick learner, in fact he learned much faster than any of her own race would do and a heck of a lot faster than a human. His race had a great potential and she was a little stunned by that idea. He enjoyed the food immensely and he liked the wine too. Before she knew it the bottle was empty and she felt a bit tipsy but he was as sober as a rock. Ravenne then presented the ice cream, it was the type with mixed flavors and he stared at it with obvious doubt. “What is that? Such weird colors?”
She found two small bowls and filled them. “It is good, try it”
He swallowed and looked at her. “Nothing like that porridge stuff?”
She laughed, he looked a bit like a kid who has been made to eat something in his eyes disgusting to please a parent. “No, I think you will like it.”
He took a deep breath and filled a spoon, put it in his mouth and his eyes went wide. “It is cold, oh Lhekk so cold!”
She grinned widely. “Yes, it is called Ice-cream for a reason.”
He swallowed. “But it tasted good, very good.”
He started eating with obvious joy and she found some bottles of sauce to go with it. He started experimenting with different flavors and she was stunned by how much he could eat.
They finished the ice cream and she switched the channel again, the nature documentary ended and was replaced by one about the invasion of Normandy and she didn’t think that he should see that sort of programs. Instead they sat there watching an old black and white movie, it was a slap stick comedy and Narriar was laughing so hard he was crying. Physical humor was obviously something he understood rather well and he gasped for air and wiped tears from his eyes. “That is so funny, I haven’t laughed that much since I and Hithiar placed a Dhuznurr in the chiefs sleeping furs when we were kids.”
Ravenne looked at him with curiosity, so he had done naughty things as a kid! Good to know. “What is that?”
He grinned. “I think you have a word for them, salamander? But ours are a little bigger and very very slimy, he was rather pissed off afterwards.”
Ravenne giggled. “I bet he was.”
She went to her closet and found a bottle of scotch, she wondered if he would appreciate the taste of that liquid fire and she also found some chips and cookies. They sat there in the couch and she was surprised by how relaxed he had become. And she was even more surprised by how relaxed she was, sitting there with him felt just natural in a way, safe even. He got a small glass of the light brown liquid and she smiled. “My father loves that stuff, but it is very strong.”
He nodded and sipped at it, he gasped for air and coughed and stared at the glass with respect in his eyes. “Lhekk, that burns. It tastes like fire, and smoke. But I like it.”
She nodded. “Thought you would.”
He tried the chips too and they watched some show which broadcasted bloopers people had done and she could see that he found the very idea of showing others your own failures a bit incomprehensive. And the obvious pain and injuries made him cringe. He was empathic and she liked that. It wasn’t until she looked at her watch by chance she did notice that it was way past midnight. She gasped and then she laughed. “Time moves fast when you are having fun. I have to get your room ready, just stay here, you can change channels if you like with the remote, just press the arrows.”
He nodded and she went into the small guestroom, it was very tiny, it barely had room for a bed and it wasn’t all that big but if he curled up she hoped he at least wouldn’t fall out of it during the night. She found sheets and a blanket, a pillow and a bead spread and arranged it so it looked at least a bit welcoming. She took a look at the bathroom and it was ok, it didn’t look too bad, at least it was clean. She returned to the living room and noticed that Narriar had a peculiar expression on his face, he held on to the remote with a hand that was trembling and his ears were burning red. She saw that the TV was stuck on a channel that was showing nothing at this time of the day, it was just statics. Oh crap, it was after midnight, she hadn’t been thinking. He swallowed and his face told her beyond any doubt that he was very shocked. “Is…is it normal for…humans to watch each other…do that?!”
He finished the sentence with some hip movements that left no doubt of what he had seen. Ravenne snapped the remote from him and turned the TV off. “Ah, I guess you just saw what the humans refer to as porn, many look at such things here on earth, just for fun or as stimulation.”
He gulped and shook his head, he looked to be in disbelief. “We have few taboos but that is one of them, we never spy at others making love, that is strictly private. Watching such activities is regarded as sick! And that thing I saw was indeed sick!”
Ravenne made a grimace, she was afraid that he had gotten quite a shock if that movie he had skipped into was of the worse kind. “Ah, exactly what did you see?”
He blushed, could not look straight at her. “Well, it only lasted for a couple of minutes before I managed to switch again but first it looked normal, then another male came into view and…there were two males and one female? And do all human females have breasts like that?!”
He held his hands in front of his chest, indicating a couple of zeppelin sized hooters. Ravenne felt her own ears burning. “No, she probably had enhanced the size of them, it is rather common if a female thinks that her breasts are small. They operate them and put something on the inside that makes them larger. Some think that a female isn’t beautiful if she hasn’t got breasts that are as large as possible.”
Narriar scoffed. “My father always said that anything more than a handful is a waste! And I agree on that, she looked grotesque, and I think she had hit herself too.”
Ravenne frowned. “Hit herself?”
He nodded. “Her lips were so swollen, perhaps she had gotten stung by bees or something? And she had lots of color around her eyes too.”
Ravenne could not help it, it was just too bizarre, she started to laugh and Narriar stared at her, he looked confused. “Well Narriar, welcome to earth. Now you have seen what humans think that an attractive female should look like!”
He shook his head rather violently. “Attractive? I wouldn’t touch that thing with the tip of my sword, she looked like a Gwhyym!”
Ravenne knew that those were the Lithui version of dwarves and they were supposedly extremely ugly. She giggled. “Well, you have seen a little of what this world has to offer. And now, let me introduce you to the water closet!”
That explanation was done rather quickly but not without problems, Narriar had problems understanding the use of toiletpaper and she made it very clear that he was to sit down no matter what he was doing, she didn’t want to wash the floor too often and males spilled when they stood up no matter what they claimed to be doing. He was blushing and squirming but he looked relieved to have learned how to deal with that sort of natural needs.
Ravenne had no toothbrush to offer him but she knew that it wasn’t needed, the Ce’agar just like the elves of Aman didn’t suffer from cavities or dental problems of any sort. Their teeth were perfect. She did demonstrate how he should use the shower if he got up before her next morning and wanted to wash of. The plain blue jeans and black T shirt he had been given were rather boring but she hoped that he wouldn’t need anything else before he returned home. He was a bit more steady on his feet now and she was stunned by how fast he regained his strength. He stared at the bed he had been given and appeared to be pleased with it, she bid him a good night and then she closed the door behind him and went into her own room. She got into bed and tried to calm down enough to fall asleep, it wasn’t easy. The whole day had been just so utterly bizarre and she had to giggle to herself when she thought about his reactions to certain things. Thank the Valar he was to return back to his home soon.
Narriar stared at the bed after Ravenne closed the door, he still felt a bit embarrassed and slightly scared too. He realized that this world was so different from his own he really had no chance to understand it. He just had to accept that and focus on his return back home and the fight against those monsters. He remembered what he had seen again and sighed, he felt as if he had done something very forbidden and he was ashamed of himself. Humans were really peculiar creatures, he hoped he didn’t have to deal with them later on. He sat down on the bed rather slowly, it was so soft and he did see that it was a bit short but he didn’t think that its length would be a problem, he was used to sleep wherever he could whenever he could. He pulled the T shirt of rather clumsily, he wasn’t used to this type of garment at all and the pants were even worse. The driver of that terrible moving thing had told him to be careful when he closed the zipper and he understood why, it looked like a row of little sharp teeth and he didn’t want those anywhere near his private parts. He had gotten a pair of undies but it felt uncomfortable and too tight. He didn’t like them at all. He got the pants off with some grunting and swearing and then he removed the underpants too, he never wore anything in bed and he laid down and pulled the blankets over himself. It felt nice, he relaxed and felt how he was much better than he had been just hours ago. The healing process was speeding up as it went and he expected to be his old self again in just a couple of days. He wondered if his tribe had noticed that something had happened to him and Hithiar, they had expected to be gone for many days and it was possible that nobody was missing them yet.
He had to think about Ravenne again, she was the most stunning thing he had ever seen, so beautiful and so strong and he senses something within her, something wild and untamed that appealed to his own more savage side. She was nothing like those Aman elves they were used to, they were so controlled and so aloof. Ravenne was like a Ce’agar in many ways and he longed to show her his world and his people. He still had problems understanding this weird sensation he had gotten when they met, it felt as if though he wanted to be with her, forever. As long as she was there he didn’t want to even look at another elleth, and that was a very strange notion for him. He usually slept with any elleth who wanted him and did it gladly too. He just could not wrap his poor head around the feeling of belonging he got when Ravenne was around, the emotion that was filling his very soul and left him with a sensation of being whole, as if something very important had been missing his whole life without him even being aware of it and now it was finally there and he was complete.
He sighed, tried to fall asleep, he needed the rest now to recuperate and yet he could not get her out of his head. He had to smile when he thought of her, so lovely and so fierce, the lioness. He had seen lions in that TV documentary, she did remind him of the animal who’s name she carried. He could bet she was fierce in bed too but he had sensed something odd about her. The ellith he had encountered there had all been eying him as if he was some really tasty snack, she hadn’t. She was the only one who didn’t like him just because he looked good and it was in a way both a good feeling and one he didn’t quite understand. He off course appreciated that she seemed to see him for who he was but he wanted her to like him also in the other way. He wanted her to want him but she didn’t seem to care and that made him a bit confused. He sure as hell wanted her, she was gorgeous and he wished he could be with her and give her pleasure every day for as long as she wanted. He swallowed and turned over on his side, pulled his knees up and tried to sleep, he had to forget those thoughts before they got him into trouble. He knew that these Aman elves were different from his own people, that they chose one mate and stayed with that one person for the rest of their lives. Maybe she already had chosen someone? But why did he feel this way if that was the case?
He was frustrated and he sighed and closed his eyes, forced his mind to go blank and before long he drifted off into sleep. He slept well for some hours, then he started to dream, and it was such a weird dream. It wasn’t anything he had experienced or done as it usually was, he felt nervous, almost scared. He was standing on a hill not far from the current camp of his tribe, the skies were clear and the stars shone with a cold clear light and made the trees shine like silver. He turned around, felt as if something was watching him. He saw her, she stood at the edge of the forest and she appeared to be naked. He took a step towards her, confused and curious and she turned around and ran. Before he knew it he followed her, ran and tried to catch up with her but it was almost impossible in spite of his speed. She kept her distance and he was getting tired. Then she stopped, she stood on the edge of a deep pool, it looked like a black eye and he felt a sting of fear, as if that pool hid something terrible, something evil. She turned around, stared at him and she was so beautiful. He wanted to take her into his arms, hold her and never let go of her. He could not get close to her, it was as if some invisible wall was placed between them and he struggled against it but to no prevail. She smiled at him, a very sad smile and her eyes were glowing with an eerie glow that had nothing to do with the way his eyes reflected light. It was as if she was filled with some sort of fire. She lifted her arms up above her head and he wanted to shout, to call out, stop her. She could not dive into that water, it would kill her. She caught his gaze. “Remember this meleth nin, I may lose you but you can never lose me. The dark angel is my servant and will never be my bane!”
She tilted over and fell into the black water, it wasn’t even a splash and he screamed, hammered against the invisible wall with his hands. He woke up with a start, stared out into the darkness of the small bedroom with his heart hammering away and her name on his lips. He felt how cold sweat ran down his face and he lay back down and tried to catch his breath. He had never had a dream like that before and he started to believe that it wasn’t a dream at all but the spirits trying to warn him of something. There was more to Ravenne than what met the eye and he tried to breathe slowly and fall back to sleep but it was hard. He kept tossing around for a long while before his mind finally came to rest and he slept again.
The next morning Ravenne woke up rather early, it wasn’t even light outside yet and she stretched and yawned. The apartment was silent and so she guessed that Narriar hadn’t awakened yet, she decided to let him sleep and she took a quick shower and started to prepare breakfast. She saw that Verya had bought a lot of eggs and several packets of bacon and she started making scrambled eggs. She wondered if he was used to such food, she knew very little of his world and she was starting to get a bit excited by the idea of learning more. Narriar got up while she was starting to cook, he looked as if he hadn’t slept that well and he yawned and tried to smile. His hair looked like a mess and he was standing in the doorway with just his blanket around his waist. The sight was one to behold, his tattoos were so exotic looking and she wondered what they meant but she had to force her eyes away from him. He was both attractive and frightening, she had to compare him with some huge predator, at rest but able to turn into a killing machine within the blink of an eye. “I have made some scrambled eggs, you are used to eggs?”
He walked into the kitchen, his bare feet made no sound towards the floor and she felt a bit intimidated by the fact. He grinned. “Yes, I like eggs, but what is scrambled eggs?”
She held up the frying pan, showed him and he frowned. “We eat them raw, just crack them and drink them.”
Ravenne shuddered. “Raw eggs, do you cook your food at all?”
He nodded. “Yes, we do that for the children, the adults don’t have to, we can eat just about anything. “
Ravenne just sighed. “Don’t surprise me a bit. If you’d like to I can wait with the food until you have taken a shower, you still remember how to use it?”
He nodded and grinned and disappeared into the bathroom. She heard that he flushed the toilet and then she heard the shower and he made some sounds until he managed to get the temperature right. She had showed him the soap and shampoo and before long she heard a rather deep but not unpleasant voice singing something very sweet sounding but yet melancholic. So he did feel like singing in the shower, she had to shake her head and grin. After a while he stopped and just hummed, he emerged with his skin flushed from the heat and he wore only his jeans. The sight of him like that made her heart skip a few beats, his hair was wet and there were still droplets of water on his dark perfect skin. She felt herself blush and turned around, found some plates and cups and cut some bread. They sat down by the table and he stared at the food and looked a bit stunned. “What is it?”
He tilted his head. “How can it be that the people here have so much food? We rarely eat until we feel full more than once in a while, when there is a feast or something we celebrate.”
Ravenne sighed, she placed some bacon on his plate and made a grimace. “There are a lot of people here in this world who are starving to death every year, and there are also a lot of people who are eating so much that it kills them. They just know how to make a lot of food but much of it isn’t good for you.”
Narriar wrinkled his forehead and scowled. “Then there is little justice here, we always share what we have with the others, always”
Ravenne sat down and rested her chin in her hand. “True words my friend, there is no such thing as justice here, so be glad you are born where you are.”
He sighed and watched how she put eggs and bacon onto a slice of bread before he did exactly the same. “I am starting to realize that I am really lucky!”
They ate in silence, Ravenne had poured some orange juice and he liked that a lot, the bitterness in it appealed to him and he finished almost a gallon of the stuff. The bacon was something he liked even better and she had to smile at him, he looked so curious and eager to taste new things and learn new things. They finished the meal and sat down in the couch, Ravenne was curious to see if there was any interesting news and turned the TV on. He looked a bit nervous as if he feared to see something nasty again but he relaxed when the news reporter just kept chatting about the tornado which had leveled some small community, the increasing gas price and some politician who was caught with his pants down with his secretary. Then she talked about some pensioner who had gotten so mad at a counter clerk at a super marked she had hit the poor fellow over the head with her shopping bag causing a severe concussion and the elderly woman had to be restrained by two cops and a K9 patrol. Ravenne just laughed and described the situation to Narriar who laughed too when he understood. Then the reporter got serious, someone had caused a complete mess at a garbage dump, it was a rather large area where they dumped organic waste and something had been there during the night and removed huge amounts of garbage. Some vehicles were destroyed and the guard dogs had been killed, other from that nobody had seen anything but there had been some weird footprints seen. Ravenne tensed up, a garbage dump? Those places held a lot of food if you weren’t that worried about what you were eating and she immediately knew who this had been.
Then the reporter told of several cattle farms where almost every animal had been either killed or disappeared, it was talked about more than four thousand cows and steers. Even a pig farm had experienced the same thing and two huge silos of pigs food had been emptied. Ravenne felt a cold chill, she took a deep breath. “They need more food now, they have to be many.”
Narriar almost growled. “They have young to feed, I bet there will be thousands of them soon, and the problem will just grow.”
Ravenne got on her feet, she felt scared. “I hope those back home are safe, if those monsters have discovered the cattle farms it will keep them occupied for a while but not forever. And the humans will suspect something, thousands of cattle doesn’t just disappear. Oh gods, this is bad!”
Narriar saw how scared she looked, he swallowed, then he leaned forward and placed a hand on her shoulder, very gently. “I am sorry, I am sure we will make it, it will be alright in the end.”
She grasped his hand, held it tightly. “Oh how I wish that I could believe that.”
Narriar swallowed hard, he stared at her eyes, they were those of a Ce’agar, not of one of the elves of Aman. “Believe me Ravenne, I will never let you down.”
She sighed, stared back. He didn’t really know where the courage came from but he leaned even closer to her and kissed her lips, very gently and barely touching at all but it was a kiss and she gasped and backed away from him, her eyes were wide and filled with a strange sort of confusion and shock. He bit his lower lip, expected to be slapped in the face, it had happened before when he had been too bold when approaching a female. Ravenne just stared at the floor, she looked back up at him with something akin to utter disbelief and Narriar did not understand. “I am sorry, I should not have done that!”
Ravenne just sighed. “No, you shouldn’t, but I forgive you.”
Narriar was swearing to himself, he didn’t really have a chance now did he? She wasn’t interested at all. But he longed for her, he had never felt like this before, ever. He wanted her but in a whole different way than he had wanted any other elleth, he didn’t just want to fuck her, he wanted to be with her, protect and shield her, make her smile and laugh and be happy. He wanted to be only hers and it made his heart ache like nothing he ever had encountered before. It was a hunger, a deep burning yearning for something which to his people was almost unheard of and unknown. But he knew it, if he was allowed to touch her, to love her it would be like nothing he ever had done and this strange aching would seize, they would be complete. He sighed with frustration and leaned back towards the couch, he didn’t understand her at all. She did find him attractive, he could see that, her eyes did dilate when she looked at him and he knew how females reacted to him. Why didn’t she accept what she was feeling?
Ravenne had not anticipated that kiss, she had not thought that he would be that bold. But the touch had been so light it was almost no touch at all and yet it had left her with a sensation that shocked her to the core. She had felt it! Suddenly she knew what the other ellith had been talking about when they described the feeling they got when someone they wanted touched them and it scared the living bjeezes out of her. Her heart was hammering, her breath hitched and her skin tingled in a way that was nothing less than amazing. Some part of her wanted him to do it again so she could explore this strange and exciting new sensation while a whole different part was screaming at her to put the brakes on.
But what in the name of heck was this? Nobody had ever made her feel anything like this, never! She was cursed damn it, she was completely frigid! She had never been this confused in her whole life, wasn’t this her curse after all? Had she made the wrong assumptions? If this wasn’t her real curse then what was? She wanted to ask someone but who could she ask? Nobody knew anything about this. She missed her mother deeply, at least Nireariel did understand some of her problems and Ravenne sighed and closed her eyes, hid her face with her hands. “Look, Narriar, don’t be offended. It isn’t you right, it is me! I will explain this to you but not now, later. When I have managed to understand certain things”
He sensed that she was in emotional turmoil, that she was upset. He didn’t like that a bit but he nodded and tried to smile. “That is ok, it is just that I feel so weird when I look at you, it is more than just lust Ravenne, I just know it. It isn’t that I doesn’t want you because I do, desperately, but I want so much more, and I cannot explain it at all.”
She patted his hand, sent him a somewhat shy and sad smile. “That makes two of us, I cannot explain either and it makes me frustrated.”
He smiled back and was about to make a suggestion he was sure she would react to with anger when the doorbell rang. Narriar almost jumped out of his skin in shock and Ravenne cursed. “Damn, I forgot, we are going to hold a meeting about the expedition. They are here already. Get a shirt on, now!”
He got on his feet and ran into his room while Ravenne checked that the apartment was presentable. She opened the door and stared at an assembly of elves that made her feel a bit nervous. She instantly recognized Glorfindel and Haldir and then there were two warriors she didn’t know but they looked impressive enough. She saw an ellon who had to be Erestor and also Elrohir who stood at the back looking uncomfortable and an elleth who appeared to be rather strict. She had to be the groups healer and Ravenne took an instant disliking to her. Luin stood in front of the group grinning as usual and Ravenne put on a pleasant smile and let them in. the room instantly felt overcrowded and she knew that Narriar would become a bit claustrophobic from this. She just hoped that he would cause another scene like the one in the car. She had to use every chair in the apartment and some boxes too and still they sat uncomfortably tight together, Narriar returned from the room with his shirt on and the four warriors stared at him with eyes like dinner plates, their mouths were open and Haldir blinked hard. She realized that none of them ever had seen a Ce’agar before. The healer tried to hide a smirk and Ravenne understood that the cold façade was a charade, this elleth had a sense of humor and she believed that maybe her first impression of the female had been wrong after all.
Narriar was tense like a bow pulled to its breaking point, he was sitting down next to her and she could see that he was shivering a bit. Being confronted by so many strangers at once had to be hard on him. Luin smiled, he was as friendly as ever and Ravenne knew that many had the belief that he had become the leader there just because he was unable to stand his ground, he would back down for the slightest pressure and allow others to do pretty much whatever they wanted to. He hawked and bowed his head. “Narriar, Ravenne, may I present to you the group the council has assembled. I am sure that you Ravenne know who Glorfindel and Haldir are but to your information Narriar, they are among our best warriors.”
Narriar just nodded but she could see in his eyes that he didn’t really believe that they were much to brag about. Luin continued. “Then we have these two ellyn, they fought in the war of wrath and both are highly skilled and have stayed here on earth for some time to learn how to use the weapons the humans have developed. The dark one is Gwan, and the one with the red hair is Magon.”
They both bowed their heads and Ravenne knew that these two were professional killers, these would not hesitate for a second and it was good to know. She knew that both Glorfindel and Haldir was a bit old fashioned, they preferred to give their opponent a fighting chance but under these circumstances that could be fatal. Luin pointed at Elrohir. “He will be our communications officer and he will help out whenever he can, he has been to Lithui many times before. Ravenne, you know him I am sure?”
She just nodded and Elrohir grinned and sighed, he didn’t look as if he liked being there at all. Luin grinned towards the female. “This is Vayana, she is going to be your healer. She has studied all sorts of medicine and has long experience. She will be very valuable for the group.”
Ravenne noticed that Vayana blushed slightly and her eyes did shine a little extra for a few seconds. This elleth had a weak spot for flatter and Ravenne frowned and tried to determine what kind of personality this elleth really had.
Luin pointed to Erestor who sat very uncomfortably on a table, he looked as if he would have preferred standing if it hadn’t been seen as impolite. “This is Erestor, he is the expedition scholar and he is going to provide you with the information you need and he will also gather information for later use. He is also a good fighter and can do more than just hold a pen.”
Erestor sent Luin a rather angry gaze and Ravenne could see that he didn’t like Luin at all, in fact they all acted as if they already despised the ellon completely. Ravenne could understand them, Luin wasn’t able to understand the severity of the situation at all, he was too inexperienced and too full of himself.
Luin made a grimace. “So, there you have it, all nine of you, going into unknown territory to defeat our enemy, how heroic. I am almost envious of you!”
Ravenne rolled her eyes and Glorfindel scoffed. “Yeah, nine! I bet that is a coincidence right? I see no hobbits here, and no dwarves either. Nine or ninety, I bet our job will be no easier than that of Frodo, in fact I fear it will be a heck of a lot worse!”
Narriar looked confused, he probably knew naught of the ring and Sauron and that war fought against evil many ages ago. “I agree, it will be worse. Our ancestors did at least know who the enemy was and they knew the land too, at least most of it. We are going into unknown territory and we are facing an enemy who maybe is much worse than any Maia gone rogue”
Erestor’s voice was a bit tired and Glorfindel nodded. “Yes, we have heard the news, cattlefarms and garbage dumps raided? In Aman farms have been raided too and we heard that herds of buffalo have been slaughtered too, on the plains of Yvanna.”
Ravenne flinched. “That isn’t far from the forests of Orome, where New Greenwood lies, oh no, that means that my family may be in danger.”
The dark haired ellon who was named Gwan bowed his head. “That is the same for us all my lady, everybody is in danger until this threat can be stopped. I just pray that we will make it, and that the natives will help us.”
Narriar had listened with narrow eyes and a serious expression on his face. “We will help, in any way possible. We are in jeopardy too if this is allowed to spread.”
Haldir sighed and stared at Narriar, he still appeared to be in awe of the Ce’agars appearance. “So, what danger may we encounter on our way? Other than those monsters I mean?”
Narriar tried to find a more comfortable position, he twisted around a little and groaned. Ravenne stared at him. “Are your wounds hurting again?”
He just shook his head. “Nope, but I guess I am too tall for this place, I hit my knees on the table.”
Ravenne grinned and got on her feet. “Does any of you want something to drink?”
They all shook their heads and Narriar let out a sigh of relief now that his legs could be stretched. “The dangers of my world are many, and there are things there which may seem harmless but they are able to kill you rather easily.”
The warriors were listening to him with obvious interest and Narriar liked that, they would respect his commands and he knew that they stood no chance without his guidance. They needed someone who knew the land if they were to survive for more than a few days. Narriar closed his eyes and was thinking fast. “For instance, there is this very common plant which grows on clearings in the wood, it is harmless in itself but if you by accident should crush its stem and get the juice onto your skin it will make both skin and flesh dissolve within minutes. It is most dangerous to children but adults have died from exposure to it too.”
Magon sighed, he lifted a perfect eyebrow in very telling gesture. “A land where even a plant can kill you, how cozy!”
Narriar grinned and she saw that the expression within his eyes was a bit wicked. “And then we have the Fhegheem, they are among the worse things you can encounter”
Vayana made a grimace. “Some huge menacing carnivore?”
Narriar shook his head. “Nope, we can fight those, in fact there are few large dangerous animals in Lithui that cannot be kept away by force alone. No, they are a kind of bug, small and infernal and they bite, it feels like fire. They are poisonous and suck blood too. A swarm of those can kill a strong warrior in just a couple of minutes.”
Glorfindel swallowed hard. “Damn, I would prefer a Balrog I think, is there any way to defend yourself against those things?”
Narriar nodded. “My people have come up with defenses against almost everything, it is just that they sometimes fail. To avoid the swarms we rub ourselves with the feces of a Bhilak, a sort of huge plant eater. It smells just horrific and it makes the bugs shun you, at least until you remove it.”
Ravenne grinned. “Good to know, I might have to rub myself with shit, it will make my day I am sure”
Narriar laughed. “And then we of course have spiders, snakes, scorpions, a whole array of other poisonous creatures, poisonous bugs, plants, things that will try to eat you and things that are just plain mean and will kill anything that moves and the things that will kill you just because they can.”
Luin swallowed hard. “Oh by the Valar, I am impressed that your people have managed to survive at all, damn you are tough.”
Narriar just bowed his head. “We know what we are doing, that is the answer. Experience and knowledge, and a good portion of luck too. I have had some nasty encounters in my time but I have survived, and I hope that I will manage to keep you alive too.”
Glorfindel nodded. “So, what is your plan when we arrive in Lithui, how are we going to approach this?”
Ravenne liked this, Glorfindel had unofficially already made Narriar head of the expedition and he looked at the golden haired warrior with a friendly expression. He already knew that this calaquendi was to be trusted. “When we arrive I will send some of my men to the other tribes, they will seek out information and see if the others have encountered the monsters or if they have seen anything out of the ordinary. While they do that I will go to seek out a wise old female who lives in the mountains, she may know if something like this have happened before. That is information we sorely need if we are to beat this enemy.”
Erestor nodded, his eyes were distant. “Yes, that is wise, we have to know as much as possible before we do anything rash.”
Narriar smiled and stared at the group, he was already going into leader mode. “Then we go from there and use whatever we learn about them, the land is vast and they can be anywhere really. We have to move fast and with stealth and I hope that I may get some help from the gwhyym and the other races too. If they have lost anyone to the monsters they will be very eager to help, revenge is a thing they take seriously.”
Vayana sighed. “I have heard that there are three other sentient races in Lithui, the Gwhyym and two more?”
Narriar nodded. “Yes, the Hibbnat and the Erzhebel, the Hibbnat are small creatures and they aren’t really that smart but they are very curious and they are good at making things. They live in hollow trees and under the ground in burrows. The Erzhebel are almost plant like and they doesn’t like to be disturbed, they just stand in one spot and eat through their feet. But they can get terribly angry and they are very strong too, and their blood is extremely poisonous to everybody else.”
Gwan grinned. “Sounds like a nice bunch of neighbors, I can’t wait to meet some”
Narriar smiled, a grin that looked a bit dangerous. ”Just remember that they stink, all of them stink. It is a reason we stay away from them unless we have to. The Gwhyym make our weapons and we pay them with meat, hides and antlers and so on but they are so ugly they make a leech seem cute”
Ravenne had to laugh. “That bad?! Damn!”
Luin got onto his feet. “You will leave tomorrow night, we have prepared everything you need and you will be very well equipped. I just pray that it will be a success.”
Glorfindel nodded and got up to, the group was preparing to leave and Ravenne let out a sigh of relief. She felt as if she was suffocating in there. “So do we all, I just hope that those back home will be safe, the longer we use on this mission the more will probably die so everybody, keep calm, keep your weapons ready and pray!”
Glorfindel turned to Ravenne and smiled. “ Your father sends you his greetings, he wishes you to know that he is very proud of you but also very nervous, do not do anything stupid or rash and remember that they all love you dearly. They want you to return safe and sound”
She could only send him a faint grin, she missed them all so very much, and could only pray that they all would be alright.
Luin bowed for Ravenne and the group left the room, someone would come for Ravenne and Narriar and she knew that they had more than a day to spend before they could leave. It wasn’t going to be easy at all. She could not take him outdoors and so they just had to sit there and watch the TV. The door closed and she sighed and turned towards him. “With them gone I think it is time to remove your stitches.”
Narriars expression told her he wasn’t looking forward to it at all, he sighed and looked down before he followed her into the bedroom. She just hoped that she managed to do the job and that it wouldn’t hurt him too much. Damn, this was going to be interesting.
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In a land of shadows