oh how i wish for soothing rain -- SAMWISE

[ERAN LINWELIN]

It was a straight shot from the west coast to Rivendell through the Shire. Usually Eran tried to avoid the Shire, simply for the fact that, among Hobbits, she felt tall. She was not used to it, already being very short for her race and constantly having to talk up to everyone. It simply put her out of her element to be the tallest one in the room.

But, as long as she did not intentionally stray into a city, she should be well out of the way of the general population. She rode with a loose rein down the a long, dirt road cutting through the south farthing of Hobbiton.

Her big stallion, Genisus, pranced restlessly between her legs, made anxious by the wonderful weather. It was warm, but not hot, the sun kissing her face and a gentle wind floating through the trees around her. It was wonderful weather to be traveling in, the grassy knolls lining the road inviting her to simply come lay down for a spell and ready in the sunlight.

She pulled the black leather reins, forcing Genisus to come to a stop and she smiled, closing her eyes and inhaling the scents of spring: fresh grass, apples, and an oncoming rain on the horizon. It was a beautiful picture, perfect ease and perfect serenity.

Her senses immediately went on high when she heard a twig snap. Immediately, her bow came off of her back and was loaded in the blink of an eye, pointed in the direction of the noise, waiting in silence.

[samwise]

This time, Sam’s walks have taken them even further away from the Hill than usually: He found himself in the middle of the South Farthing, on a small path that led him alongside a forest and a beautiful green meadow. Not far away he could hear water gurgling – probably a small rivulet that made its way through the Farthing.

Actually, Sam only had wanted to go pick a few spring flowers for good old Mister Bilbo’s hole, to put in vases and make the rooms look nice and fresh. But once our dear Samwise was out in the nature, his feet just would not stop from moving. And now that he had been on the roads for a handful of hours already, he had only picked a few daisies.

Now, Sam had seen a nice mushroom standing in the forest, so he left the path to fetch it. And from there on, he saw another mushroom, and another, and another – and it took him a while to get back to the path, where in the meantime another person had arrived, riding a horse.

He had never seen elves before. All he knew about this strange folk came from Mister Bilbo, who enjoyed telling stories of his adventures to young hobbits. To Sam, elves were immensely beautiful creatures, tall and fair, with the power to entrance someone already by simply seeing their beauty. To him, they lived far far away, too far to imagine. So, of course, Sam was entirely unprepared for meeting one in the middle of the Shire.

At first, Sam thought she was a human. After all, humans and elves looked alike, at least in their stature, and humans were far more common to meet in the Shire. But then, Sam thought, this lady did not look at all like a human. And the ears were pointy. Realizing this made him drop three things: the mushrooms, the daisies, and his jaw.

Last of all, Sam noticed the elf’s bow and arrow. Quickly, the young hobbit lifted his hands, showing he was not armed. It was more of a reflex out of fear. Sam was rooted to the spot, unable to move.

[ERAN LINWELIN]

What Eran saw next surprised her far more than she had expected anything to. Off to her side was a hobbit, still rather young it seemed, with his hands in the air, apparently as startled by her as she was by him. Once she could tell me was unarmed, she slowly lowered her bow to point at the ground.

After a moment's hesitation, she unnotched the arrow and slid it into the quiver on her back and then put the bow back over her shoulder. She forced a small smile onto her features, trying to ease the other's ease. He had no need to be afraid of her, unless he meant her harm, of course. "Good day." Her voice was soft, with the sing song tones that elves often possessed.

She moved gracefully, dismounting from her big stallion with apparent years spent on horseback, and turned back towards the hobbit. While she was not tall among her people, she towered over the hobbit, and cut an intimidating figure in her black, knee high boots, black breeches, and long riding coat. "You have nothing to be afraid of, Master Hobbit." She assured him softly.

She then dipped into a curtsy, slow and graceful, before rising. "I'm Eran Linwelin, of Rivendell." She glanced around them briefly, as her warrior instincts suggested, looking for any possibility that this was an ambush before she glanced back to her company.

[samwise]

Sam knew not if to consider himself lucky or doomed. He was stricken both by fear and by admiration. Each time one met something unknown, someone one could not place or assume to understand, it causes a certain mixture of these both – the fear of the unexpected and unknown, while at the same time there’s curiosity that draws one closer. Currently, this feeling made him unable to move at all, and thus he kept his hands uplifted, just staring.

Even after Eran put her arrow and bow away, Sam stayed this way. It was as if he was in a trance, he just kept observing every move, her foreign clothes, her style of hair, and the noble horse. Only when the she-elf began to speak to him, and dismounted her horse, did he drop his hands to his side, and took one single step closer, cautiously. Sadly, he thus trampled one of the mushrooms, without even noticing.

When she introduced herself, the trance suddenly was lifted. ”Oh, then you must know mister Bilbo Baggins, perhaps?” He blurted out at the word Rivendell. ”He was a guest in Rivendell some fifty years back. I’m his gardener, you see.” He told her in his down-to-earth fashion, his eyes lighting up.

The mere mentioning of Rivendell had caused Sam to forget any danger that might radiate off of Eran. He even forgot about these arrows. Instead, it remembered him of Bilbo telling him his stories, which always gave Sam such a nice warm comfortable feeling. Nothing at all to do with fear. And so, Sam forgot all caution toward the elf, and brought naught but friendly feelings toward her instead. Like a click, he was himself again, out of trance, eager to converse with this elf and thus learning more about elves in general.

[ERAN LINWELIN]

Eran tilted her head slightly in amusement when the hobbit mentioned Bilbo Baggins. She had never had the pleasure of meeting the elder Baggins, but she had heard many stories of the halfling's bravery in the faces of the most horrible evils. While most underestimated the hobbits, the stories Eran had been told taught her to respect them. After all, they had survived all the trials that they had been put against, and only the most supreme of the races could say the same.

"I have never had the pleasure directly meeting Master Baggins, but I have heard great stories about him." She replied in the same soft tones, the corners of her lips turning up in a smile. She then moved into a crouch, so she was eye level with the hobbit, one brow arched slightly in an amused sort of admiration. "I was actually on my way back to Rivendell. I find it hard to stay in one place for a long time, so I tend to travel."

Behind her, Genisus snorted and Eran's face snapped to the side to check the area around them, almost as if she were expecting to need to pull a bow at a moment's notice. However, she found herself satisfied with the safety of the silence and turned her eyes back to the halfling. "Have you ever traveled outside of the Shire?" She asked, pure curiosity in her words and nothing more.

Most who had never traveled did not understand the beauty of the world beyond the borders of their country. There were a great many things to be seen that many had not had the chance to see. The West coast was a beautiful thing, as was Fangorn Forest and the plains of Rohan. They each were beautiful in their own way, giving an allure that made Eran understand why people chose to settle down. But she had no desire, and instead wished to see it all.

[samwise]

It was difficult for Samwise to believe that this really was happening: An elf, standing directly in front of him, together with her horse, and he was jovially conversing with her. She even had told him her name – Eran. What a beautiful elvish name. Such luck was hard to take in. After all, he had wished for something alike to happen for a long time before – and now the moment was here. And while he was babbling about Bilbo Baggins, he was feeling incredibly nervous deep down in his stomach, all his insides seemed to bounce up and down, and his skin was quickly changing from feeling hot and cold the entire time. Sam was certain that by now, sweat beads must be making their way down his forehead, and his hands must be very watery, too. But in fact, from the outside he seemed very collected and calm.

”Oh.” He made that sound, probably being a little disappointed Eran did not know Bilbo. They would have had something in common then. But he nodded politely when she told him about her travels. ’On the way back to Rivendell…’ Sam quickly thought that this meant she came from the west, perhaps even from the Havens he heard the elves had there. Sam could not believe what an ocean look like, an endless sea of waves. The best he could compare it to was the lake, not far away from the Hill. And that lake was not endless at all. One could see the other shore, and it did not take long to row over to the other side. In fact, it even was a very comfortable afternoon walk to stroll all around that lake.

”Oh, no, lady. I have never before been outside of the Shire. In fact, I’ve never even been on the other side of the Brandywine River! But I heard many stories from other lands, from Mister Bilbo.” Sam told Eran, and a gleam appeared in his eyes, thinking of how wonderful he imagined these countries to be. ”Oh, tell me more about Rivendell, please! That is… if you have time to spare. Mister Bilbo told me about it, and it seems such a magnificent place!” He begged.