Fic A Day - Day 4 - Into The Woods
Aug. 4th, 2021 11:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
grundyscribblingTitle: Into The Woods
Author: Grundy
Rating: FR13
Crossover: LotR/Silmarillion
Summary: Anariel is on her way home, and no pesky relatives are going to stop her.
Word Count: 1250
Note: This was meant to go a bit further, but I'm out of time. (Someone dropped a preview of Nature of Middle-earth and there was much discussion. I got a bit distracted.)
Anariel breathed a sigh of relief when she left the road from Valimar behind and made it to the relative safety of the trees. There would be other times to gawk at the city like a tourist. She fully planned to be touristy at some point. After she got some quiet quality time at home with her parents.
She waited until she was far enough into the forest to not be visible from the road to remove her cloak. She shouldn’t need it in here anyway – her grandfather would be utterly embarrassed for her if any of the Amanyar could find here in here. Thranduil might be as well, given he’d taken an interest and had some of his people teaching her after her parents had sailed. Though he was less likely to go with ‘embarrassed’ than ‘disappointed’.
She took a few minutes to get used to the look and feel of this forest before she got moving – it was not the ones she knew from Ennor. Every forest was its own entity, and there was no point in expecting this one to be Lórien, the Greenwood, or Fangorn. These trees were at the same time older and lighter than many in Middle-earth. They had not known the Shadow.
Then she cast her mind toward her brothers. As she’d hoped, they weren’t far off – deeper in the forest. She headed toward them.
She hadn’t gone far when she realized she was being followed.
Taking to the trees was second nature by now, but trees weren’t very good at distinguishing between elves, so they weren’t much help in figuring out who was following her. Though she might not need it - she could tell for herself that the elves following her were kin, which almost certainly meant either Uncle Angrod or someone who had been with him. (Not Finduilas, though. She’d know her.) Evidently she hadn’t gotten away unnoticed after all.
She paused, trying to focus on who it was. Uncle Angrod, definitely. If it had been just him she might have waited, just to assure him she was fine. Not that she could see why he should really think otherwise – even if he hadn’t heard about Sunnydale yet, elves didn’t award an epessë like Slayer for no reason. But there was someone else with him, and she really wasn’t up for another interesting night, so she wasn’t keen to meet whoever it was.
Unfortunately, losing them would be tricky. They were probably following their sense of her feä as much as anything physical. But she was willing to bet Uncle Angrod hadn’t learned a ton from the Iathrim – he hadn’t been there long enough or often enough. And she doubted whoever else was with him knew much more. So as long as she kept moving and got to her brothers first…
Aikanaro sighed.
“I really don’t think this is a good idea, brother.”
“She shouldn’t be wandering around on her own,” Ango retorted. “She doesn’t know her way around here any more than we did in Beleriand when we first arrived.”
Aikanaro forbore to mention that Aman was not nearly as hazardous as Beleriand – and that even if it had been, Anariel was considerably better equipped to face it than they had been.
“I think had she wanted our aid, she would have asked for it,” he said patiently. “If you recognized her, she will have known you were there as well.”
“How often do you recall Artanis asking for help?” Ango retorted. “Regardless of whether she needed it?”
“She didn’t actually need it all that often,” Aikanaro pointed out. “And we’re trying to help Anariel why exactly?”
“Do you want to explain to Artë how we let her granddaughter get lost practically as soon as Estë released her?”
Aikanaro stopped protesting.
That was the only point that could have gotten him to go along with what he was fairly sure was trouble. He still suspected it was a terrible idea. But if Ango hadn’t listened when Finduilas told him that, he was unlikely to listen now. (Admittedly, it hadn’t helped that Lotë was more inclined to Ango’s view – though she didn’t know much about Endorë and was apparently giving Aunt Anairë stiff competition for who was the most overprotective these days.) Unfortunately, they hadn’t been out here long enough for Ango to admit they weren’t going to find the girl and retreat just yet.
“This will not end well,” he muttered.
An hour later they were no closer to catching up to the girl as far as he could tell – though he had the impression they were nearer to her. But only because she’d stopped. That didn’t help much, though. No doubt Celeborn had trained his grandchildren to the same standard as the Iathrim. They could walk right past her and never notice. He remembered several of their cousins proving that was possible in Doriath.
So it was a surprise when they found the two boys that could only be Elrond and Celebrían’s eldest cooling their heels in a steam.
“Well met, sons of Elrond,” Ango called.
The twins looked slightly startled.
“Well met,” one of them replied. “You have the advantage of us, friends – you know us, but we do not recognize you.”
“We are your grandmother’s brothers,” Ango explained.
“You will need to be a bit more specific,” the other twin snickered. “I’m told we have quite a few of those.”
“Angarato and Aikanaro,” Aikanaro clarified. “The brothers of your mother’s mother.”
That did at least merit a small smile, though it did not get them any indication which twin was Elrohir and which was Elladan.
“Well met, uncles. This is rather unexpected.”
“We could say the same,” Ango said. “We were looking for your little sister.”
The twins traded a glance that appeared to be surprised.
“As are we,” the twin on the right said mildly.
“We have not seen her,” the one on the left added.
“We should join forces,” Ango suggested.
“We thank you for the offer, Uncle,” the left twin smiled. “It is kind of you.”
“But we must decline,” the right one told them with an air of finality. “We have no doubt Anariel will join us in her own good time.”
“Very well,” Aikanaro interjected before Ango could say anything. “In that case, best of luck to you.”
His brother shot him a look, but Aikanaro pretended not to see.
“I’m sure we will meet again before long,” he said, steering Ango firmly back in the direction of Valimar before he could argue.
Anariel waited until she could hear their uncles actually moving away before she dropped down from the canopy.
“Thanks for that,” she sighed, joining her brothers.
“Any time, little sister,” Elrohir agreed cheerfully, ruffling her hair. “Though I do not see what harm it would have done for you to tell them yourself that you’re just fine.”
“None at all,” she replied, perhaps a shade too quickly. “Just not ready for people yet.”
“That is unfortunate,” Elladan laughed. “We did convince Tinu to allow us to go on ahead, but her patience will only hold so long.”
“We should also warn you she is part of a matched set these days,” Elrohir added.
Anariel looked from one to the other.
“No need, Grandmother mentioned she had married,” she said. “Though she did not tell me who...”
“Ah ah ah,” Elrohir said firmly, shaking his head. “She’ll be furious with us if we ruin the surprise.”
Author: Grundy
Rating: FR13
Crossover: LotR/Silmarillion
Summary: Anariel is on her way home, and no pesky relatives are going to stop her.
Word Count: 1250
Note: This was meant to go a bit further, but I'm out of time. (Someone dropped a preview of Nature of Middle-earth and there was much discussion. I got a bit distracted.)
Anariel breathed a sigh of relief when she left the road from Valimar behind and made it to the relative safety of the trees. There would be other times to gawk at the city like a tourist. She fully planned to be touristy at some point. After she got some quiet quality time at home with her parents.
She waited until she was far enough into the forest to not be visible from the road to remove her cloak. She shouldn’t need it in here anyway – her grandfather would be utterly embarrassed for her if any of the Amanyar could find here in here. Thranduil might be as well, given he’d taken an interest and had some of his people teaching her after her parents had sailed. Though he was less likely to go with ‘embarrassed’ than ‘disappointed’.
She took a few minutes to get used to the look and feel of this forest before she got moving – it was not the ones she knew from Ennor. Every forest was its own entity, and there was no point in expecting this one to be Lórien, the Greenwood, or Fangorn. These trees were at the same time older and lighter than many in Middle-earth. They had not known the Shadow.
Then she cast her mind toward her brothers. As she’d hoped, they weren’t far off – deeper in the forest. She headed toward them.
She hadn’t gone far when she realized she was being followed.
Taking to the trees was second nature by now, but trees weren’t very good at distinguishing between elves, so they weren’t much help in figuring out who was following her. Though she might not need it - she could tell for herself that the elves following her were kin, which almost certainly meant either Uncle Angrod or someone who had been with him. (Not Finduilas, though. She’d know her.) Evidently she hadn’t gotten away unnoticed after all.
She paused, trying to focus on who it was. Uncle Angrod, definitely. If it had been just him she might have waited, just to assure him she was fine. Not that she could see why he should really think otherwise – even if he hadn’t heard about Sunnydale yet, elves didn’t award an epessë like Slayer for no reason. But there was someone else with him, and she really wasn’t up for another interesting night, so she wasn’t keen to meet whoever it was.
Unfortunately, losing them would be tricky. They were probably following their sense of her feä as much as anything physical. But she was willing to bet Uncle Angrod hadn’t learned a ton from the Iathrim – he hadn’t been there long enough or often enough. And she doubted whoever else was with him knew much more. So as long as she kept moving and got to her brothers first…
---
Aikanaro sighed.
“I really don’t think this is a good idea, brother.”
“She shouldn’t be wandering around on her own,” Ango retorted. “She doesn’t know her way around here any more than we did in Beleriand when we first arrived.”
Aikanaro forbore to mention that Aman was not nearly as hazardous as Beleriand – and that even if it had been, Anariel was considerably better equipped to face it than they had been.
“I think had she wanted our aid, she would have asked for it,” he said patiently. “If you recognized her, she will have known you were there as well.”
“How often do you recall Artanis asking for help?” Ango retorted. “Regardless of whether she needed it?”
“She didn’t actually need it all that often,” Aikanaro pointed out. “And we’re trying to help Anariel why exactly?”
“Do you want to explain to Artë how we let her granddaughter get lost practically as soon as Estë released her?”
Aikanaro stopped protesting.
That was the only point that could have gotten him to go along with what he was fairly sure was trouble. He still suspected it was a terrible idea. But if Ango hadn’t listened when Finduilas told him that, he was unlikely to listen now. (Admittedly, it hadn’t helped that Lotë was more inclined to Ango’s view – though she didn’t know much about Endorë and was apparently giving Aunt Anairë stiff competition for who was the most overprotective these days.) Unfortunately, they hadn’t been out here long enough for Ango to admit they weren’t going to find the girl and retreat just yet.
“This will not end well,” he muttered.
An hour later they were no closer to catching up to the girl as far as he could tell – though he had the impression they were nearer to her. But only because she’d stopped. That didn’t help much, though. No doubt Celeborn had trained his grandchildren to the same standard as the Iathrim. They could walk right past her and never notice. He remembered several of their cousins proving that was possible in Doriath.
So it was a surprise when they found the two boys that could only be Elrond and Celebrían’s eldest cooling their heels in a steam.
“Well met, sons of Elrond,” Ango called.
The twins looked slightly startled.
“Well met,” one of them replied. “You have the advantage of us, friends – you know us, but we do not recognize you.”
“We are your grandmother’s brothers,” Ango explained.
“You will need to be a bit more specific,” the other twin snickered. “I’m told we have quite a few of those.”
“Angarato and Aikanaro,” Aikanaro clarified. “The brothers of your mother’s mother.”
That did at least merit a small smile, though it did not get them any indication which twin was Elrohir and which was Elladan.
“Well met, uncles. This is rather unexpected.”
“We could say the same,” Ango said. “We were looking for your little sister.”
The twins traded a glance that appeared to be surprised.
“As are we,” the twin on the right said mildly.
“We have not seen her,” the one on the left added.
“We should join forces,” Ango suggested.
“We thank you for the offer, Uncle,” the left twin smiled. “It is kind of you.”
“But we must decline,” the right one told them with an air of finality. “We have no doubt Anariel will join us in her own good time.”
“Very well,” Aikanaro interjected before Ango could say anything. “In that case, best of luck to you.”
His brother shot him a look, but Aikanaro pretended not to see.
“I’m sure we will meet again before long,” he said, steering Ango firmly back in the direction of Valimar before he could argue.
---
Anariel waited until she could hear their uncles actually moving away before she dropped down from the canopy.
“Thanks for that,” she sighed, joining her brothers.
“Any time, little sister,” Elrohir agreed cheerfully, ruffling her hair. “Though I do not see what harm it would have done for you to tell them yourself that you’re just fine.”
“None at all,” she replied, perhaps a shade too quickly. “Just not ready for people yet.”
“That is unfortunate,” Elladan laughed. “We did convince Tinu to allow us to go on ahead, but her patience will only hold so long.”
“We should also warn you she is part of a matched set these days,” Elrohir added.
Anariel looked from one to the other.
“No need, Grandmother mentioned she had married,” she said. “Though she did not tell me who...”
“Ah ah ah,” Elrohir said firmly, shaking his head. “She’ll be furious with us if we ruin the surprise.”
no subject
Date: 2021-08-05 03:18 pm (UTC)*cringes* Also, the thought of Anariel getting Maeglin sprung on her unawares is not at all a pleasant one. That encounter will take her quite a while to process I'm afraid, since he had it worse at Morgoth and Sauron's hands than she did, even if only because he was there for the entire thing whereas Anariel at least got to tag out with Sineya here and there. This is going to be one of those times Anariel is going to seriously regret being such a solitary stoic and not letting people know what's up.
Thank you for this, August is definitely my favorite month in large part because of your updates to this series. :)
no subject
Date: 2021-08-07 03:49 am (UTC)It's less believing they know best than believing that older relatives should be looking out for the young ones who don't know their way around...Angrod meant well. (And also doesn't know just how well equipped this particular young relative is to take care of herself.)
no subject
Date: 2021-08-05 04:50 pm (UTC)Editing to add, after a little thought -- I do hope that meeting Maeglin won't be a booby-trap in the way her meeting Feanor was intended to be. I expect we will find out soon!
no subject
Date: 2021-08-07 03:50 am (UTC)Maeglin is not a booby trap the way Fëanor was.
no subject
Date: 2021-08-30 02:14 pm (UTC)“She shouldn’t be wandering around on her own,” Ango retorted. “She doesn’t know her way around here any more than we did in Beleriand when we first arrived.”
Aikanaro forbore to mention that Aman was not nearly as hazardous as Beleriand – and that even if it had been, Anariel was considerably better equipped to face it than they had been.
*g* Very true!
“Any time, little sister,” Elrohir agreed cheerfully, ruffling her hair.
Aw ♥
no subject
Date: 2021-09-07 01:36 am (UTC)