Long Lost Leaves

[The last sane person]

While sitting under a tree and mending his gear, Carnehillion was more or less minding his own business, humming to himself and occasionally glancing up to check the camp. Hedrim and one of the newer elves, Ye gods, they got thick all of a sudden... I thought they were supposed to be waning, had gone down into Dol Guldur, not something he was relishing doing.

Oh well, if it must be done, it must. I guess Hedrim isn't too bad, tacky as hell and still arrogant, but eh. He's good enough to have in a fight. He returned his thoughts to patching the shirt infront of him, when soft footsteps alerted him to Ellysa's approach. Beneath his bandages he grinned. Ah, the pretty woman with the nice hands. She also seems to be doing better than expected. He glanced up when she addressed him.

"Uhm, Carnehilion? I wanted to thank you for allowing me to ride with you. And... ehrm, I uhm, I wanted to thank Bahar as well, but..." she trailed off a bit before whispering: "but I don't know how and he's a bit scary."

Redplate chuckled a bit and nodded. "The pleasure is mine. You'll learn soon enough to control your own mount. You have good natural balance."

Indeed! And you also keep my back nice and warm!

"Come, Bahar is a gentle soul. She might be a bit on the large side, but she has no quarrel with anyone. If you want to thank her, I think she would appreciate a brushing. Don't be scared."

Carnehillion grinned in earnest now, and picked up a soft body brush and watched as Bahar's ears perked up in interest. "She'll love you forever if you brush her, she stands perfectly still for it. Do you know how?"

[Mari]

"Oh, Bahar, you are female! I'm sorry!" Ellysa bowed apologizing for her mistake.
"Thank you Carnehillion, that's kind of you." Ellysa smiled at Carnehillion before continuing: "She likes brushing? What, erm, how do I do that?"
She looked a bit edgy, but at the same time she looked determined.

[feawen]

After a while Nami had decided to find Tabril and take up her new role as camp guard. Nami liked being kept busy so she had trottered off around the camp, looking for possible good places to stand watch, places that where weak to attack or a good place to defend from.

Thus occupied Nami spent the rest of the day running after Tabril's orders.

[Acalewia]

Aelfwine watched as Ellysa apporached Carnehillion's mount. Don't be afraid of her. She won't hurt you. She willed the fear from Ellysa, knowing it wouldn't work. She made a brief glance toward the mouth and smiled when she saw Quickleaf and Hedrim had returned. One of them had something in his hand and soon were heading toward the wizard. Aelfwine walked across to Carnehillion and Ellysa.
"The first pair have returned," She gave Carnehillion a smile. "How are you feeling?" She knew the injury wasn't serious, but she couldn't help but ask.

[The last sane person]

"Well, its not that difficult; just relax. This is a soft body brush, so called because it is used on the main body of the horse and the bristles are soft. It's used for smoothing down the hair and catching whatever the fine bits of hair the curry comb and hard bristle brush missed. Here," Carnehillion put the brush in her hand and her other hand on Bahar's side and shoulders "use long strokes and go with the hair not against it."

While Ellysa quickly got the hang of it and Bahar was much enjoying it, Carnehillion started grooming her legs as Aelfwine approached. Oh? More of the women folk saying hello? Hurrah! Let's see what this one has to say.

Carnehillion nodded amicably when Aelfwine came over and asked how he was. "I am well enough, it was not serious, and my skin has mostly healed. Can't wait for my beard to grow back..." He grumbled a bit; looking at his own reflection in the stream had him confused for a second. Only his mismatched eyes assured him that it was indeed his own reflection he was looking at.

[orithil]

Hedrim took the book off Quickleaf and held it out to Radagast "Quickleaf found this manuscript, I've seen some of the symbols but cant make anything out"

[feawen]

Nami was bored. Tabril was to take the first night shift of patroling so Nami had nothing to do. So she decided to walk around the camp pretty much tidying it up. While bending down to pick up some of the fire wood that had fallen off its pile, a relatively small spider dropped its way down its silver tread in front of her face. Pulling her self back a bit Nami blow on the spider causing its tread to fly about infront of her face. Nami stood up, pulling a face, "uh, spiders."

Hedrim and Quickleafs arrive caught the camps attension, as something was presented to Radagast. "The evil writings of an evil lord found in his evil lier. Nothing goods going to come of this" Nami muttered as she continued her way around the camp.

[Coffeehouse]

Quickleaf let Hedrim do the talking with Radaghast. No doubt the wizard would be curious as to their expedition into Dol Guldur.
Feeling fatigued and tired, and a little odd, Quickleaf wandered off to the campfire and greeted the others
"Good evening all. How is everyone?" then he slumped down on to the grass and lay there just watching the stars and taking a rest.

Quickleaf also caught sight of Nami patrolling the borders and smiled to her but he didn't know if she saw. He didn't even know if she was still mad at him, they'd not talked in a while.

[feawen]

Nami turned to see Quickleaf smiling at her. Having nothing better to do until her shift in the partoling begain Nami walked over to Quickleaf, sitting her self down next to him.
"I am Tabril's new lackie!" She said as she sat down. "I am sorry." she said after a while, "I know your only trying to help, its just...its complicated. It was a bit childish of me to walk off like that." Nami thought about asking about how Dol Guldar was, then she thought better of it. The less she know about it the better.

[Coffeehouse]

Quickleaf was glad to have some company and that Nami wasn't mad anymore.
"So what have you been up to today then? You're a lackie now? To Tabril?" What had Quickleaf missed he wondered, watching a shooting star pass on the darkblue horizon, tinkling as it vanished behind the edge of the world.

[feawen]

Nami laughed. "I dont know why but she wants me to help her guard the camp. Someone has to look after this place while you lot go running off! And it keeps me busy and out of mischief! I'd ask what you've been up to but i don't think i want to know the answer."

[Coffeehouse]

Hearing Nami's words Quickleaf took up his water flask and drank. "No worries, I have no need to talk of it. Black were those dungeons, death filled many rooms, and I feel unwell thinking about it. But I think I will go back. That library was truly large, filled with thousands upon thousands of books"

Quickleaf smiled watching the beautiful starry skies, "But now we're out here in the open, beneath the gentle trees. I like that alot more. So how are you then Nami? Is all well?"

[feawen]

"I thought you said you where not going to talk about and there you go talking about it dark and death."
Nami nodded at Quickleaf's next question.
"I'm ok. There's not reason i should not be ok right?" It was plain to see that something was on her mind, but she was not going to admit it.

[Coffeehouse]

"Sorry!" Quickleaf frowned, I was only thinking aloud. Then looked at Nami and wondered. Her answer was strange, deviating..
"Well if anything does darken your mind then don't hesitate, I will listen." He could sense something deep, down in her eyes. But Quickleaf felt it best not to ask too much. He lay back on the grass and sang an old tune of Lorien.

[Earniel]

Radagast was just enjoying a cup of tea after a long but fruitless trawl through Dol Guldur's underground when Hedrim and Quickleaf finally emerged from the tunnels. Radagast was already beginning to wonder when they would return, they must have gone on to the very end of their torches. All the others that had volunteered to go underground had returned already a while ago, before evening started to fall, possibly all feeling instinctively that they did not want to spend much time in Dol Guldur when the sun set.

He had been about to sent either Borin or Seratili back in to look for the two missing explorers, although the problem would then be to get the Dwarves back out. They did take their tunnel exploration seriously.

Hedrim approached and handed him a manuscript to look at. At the first glance, Radagast was somewhat disappointed. He had seen a great number of papers today and none of them had turned out to be interesting. Only Eru knew how many papers were actually down there, Dol Guldur's library was quite extensive.

But a second glance told him there might be more to this document than he had thought.

"Thank you, Hedrim," he said. "I think I shall have to study it for a while to make out things myself."

[Willow Oran]

Haldis had spent the day silently, extracting the pontentcy from the medicinal plants she had gathered the previous evening. Now finished and she smelling like an herbalist's workroom, despite having done all this out of doors, she had packed the medicines away had prepared the evening meal (sans ceremony this night), and with the explorers all returned, she called all in to eat.

[feawen]

As Quickleaf lay down and Haldas called people to eat, Nami sat looking out into the tree line letting her mind wonder as the night grow darker. Her eye's lost their focus on the tree line as her day dreaming mind wondered.

The sun was bright and warm as it reflected on the forest river. It was a dangerous time, but not one without joy, laughter and beauty. A beautiful summer's day, a day for a mother to take her child out to enjoy her home. The child and mother played together around the water's edge. The hours passed and the sun's shadows had lengthened when the mother finally picked the child up into her lovely arms for the walk home. Close to her mother and after a long day's play the young girl's eyes started to close until she finally fell asleep in her mothers arms.

There was a chill in the air when the girl was jolted awake by a hiss and a scream. Big red eyes stared out at her from the forest's trees, hunger visible in every one of them. The world stood still, the mother held her child tighter, then the eyes jumped, legs and body lunging for the mother and child, a nice
tasty snack for the spider and her children. The mother span around, protecting her child. A force from behind knocked her down, but mother's love and instinct kicked in. She stood up and ran, ran for the life of her child as much as for her own.

The forest a blur with fear the child buried her small face into her mother's breast. After what seemed like hours, the running stopped and the girl looked up, tears running down her face, as she looked into her mother's loving eyes. But something was in those eyes, a look the girl had not seen before and did not understand - but soon would. The mother hushed her child, holding her tight, as she looked around the place that seemed to have saved them. A dark place, with the smell of damp and leaves. The mother sat down holding her child as she begain to softly sing a lullaby while stroking the girls hair. A song the mother sang to the child at night to chase away her fears. The girl closed her eyes as sleep come, faintly feeling the loving kiss on her cheek.


When the faint rays of sun that reached her hit her face the child opened her eyes to dark surroundings. Strange that her mother did not wake up as she moved in her arms. Strange that even as the girl cried with fear and lack of understanding still the mother did not move, open her eyes or make a sound. Finally the child lay down, curled up near to her mother in the dark of the cave where she found herself.

Gentle arms finally picked up the girl and brought her from her fitful sleep. Her father's worried face, holding her tight and taking her away from her mother. The girl fought against him, why was he leaving her mother, why was he too not trying to wake her up from the fateful bite of the spider, like the princes in the stories who kissed the beautiful maid to breath life back into her? What was death to a child who had never experienced it?


Nami had had this dream before and as a child has often awoke with a start, her breathing quick and her mind in a whirl, as she frantically looked around for her mother, a childish mind ready to call out for the loving mother she had lost, to be held tightly, to drive the nightmares away. Nami sighed, it was a memory, nothing more, she told herself. Thoughts and feelings thought long buried. Nami put her head in her hands as she rubbed the last of the images from her mind, as she silently prayed to the Valar to take the memorys away.

[orithil]

Hedrim bowed his head "Thank you master Radagast" he said. Hedrim heard Haldis call everyone for dinner and walked off towards the eating place, "Quickleaf!" Hedrim called. he walked over towards him "Radagast was quite pleased with your find congratulations" Hedrim smiled and walked off towards Haldis.

[The Sasquatch of Fangorn]

Borin mounted his warg. "Let's go!!!"

[Coffeehouse]

"Great Hedrim, maybe our trip was worth it after all!" Quickleaf smiled back and went over to dine with the rest. But where was Nami?