~The Hatching Journey~ [PR]

She lined up with Voron next to Aimon and Rhaenys. They walked with a medium quick pace yet it felt as though they were moving very slow. Or at least according to Thélowên. She wasn't exactly used to walking around at a normal pace. The wind rustled the leaves in the trees. The sky was turning dark and soon stars would appear. Around them thick tree trunks stood fast in the ground as they had done for thousands of years, creating a dense forest where life could grow and evolve.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Thélowên exhaled after having dragged in a deep gulp of air in her lungs. The pace was not her Favorited one but it did have it's advantages - like giving her a chance to take in the scenery. Something she had never had the chance of doing before, at least not like she was doing at that specific moment.
"I've never really had a chance of taking it all in before, not like this anyway. I've always been on short-term missions when travelling this way and speed was always important." she continued as her deep dark eyes took as much of the sight in as possible while her strong slimmed hands sometimes touched different tree trunks. Just to feel nature for a moment. Nature was after all a big part of who they were, as elves.

Rhaenys glanced at Thêlowên as she spoke. Rhaenys had never heard her speak of the nature, and especially not the beauty of it. Rhaenys looked around; it was still beautiful in even though the darkness had embraced it.
“It sure is. The nature is a beautiful thing” she agreed and kept her hand in Aimons mane.
“It is needed to enjoy in a peaceful pace once in a while” she added. But maybe not in the dark, she finished her thought in her head. She looked over at Thélowên again. They were so different, but drawn together by the same goal, the same destiny. It was quite strange actually, but somehow Rhaenys was sure that both of their different strengths would be needed to be able to get to Mount Doom in one piece.

Thélowên nodded, Rhaenys was right.
"I just feel more alive in a forest, you know?" she laughed at how corny her words sounded.
"I don't mean, like, I don't mean it in a corny way or anything. I think it just has to do with our roots. We are people of the forest after all." She stepped over a tree root and with a push of her feet she jumped up, grabbed a branch and swung around so she landed with her feet on the branch in a crouched position.
"It's amazing to be out here." she continued and jumped gracefully to the next tree before doing a controlled back flip and eventually landing on her feet without a sound on the ground. Voron barked and jumped once in excitement but winced and then stopped. Thélowên petted his forehead, "be still silly." she whispered.

Rhaenys laughed.
“I am the last person you need to convince that we’re more alive in the nature” she said and smiled as she watched Thélowên move gracefully up in the tree and then down again, quiet as can be. The perks of being an elf; moving smoother and quieter than any other race. Rhaenys looked at Voron as he tried to jump, but winched in pain.
“You poor thing. It’s too bad I don’t have any of the healing water from the Healer’s spring left. You would have been well in the matter of seconds” she said, thinking back on the stream with light pink water she once had stumbled upon. She had collected a little in a vial, but it had been used up since. She hadn’t found it again; it was said to only be found when needed the most.

The blood was dripping from her head, making it hard for her to see on her right eye. Rhaenys listened, it seemed as they hadn’t noticed her being gone just yet, or they would have been after her right now. She halted on her right leg, trying to get forward as fastas possible. Her hands held firmly around the red egg, as if it meant more than her life, which it actually did. She stumbled forward and landed on the ground, hard. She looked in front of her, and heard the sound of water purling. She crawled to the little stream, and saw the light pink water flowing. She put her cupped hand in the chilly water before putting her lips towards the pink water, feeling it run down her throat as she took a sip. Instantly, the pain disappeared from both her leg and head.

Rhaenys shakingly picked up a tiny glass vial and filled it up before putting it in her pocket. She stood up, and started moving towards the forest when an arrow almost hit her. The sound of galloping horses was heard, and Rhaenys started to sprint. They had discovered her empty cell. She didn’t know where to go, she had never been here before. There had to be somewhere to hide, right?

Rhaenys turned her attention from Voron to the road ahead. It was dark, the only light sources were the moon and some fireflies flying around like small stars around the trees. They were beautiful creatures, they lit up even the darkest of places. Rhaenys smiled and looked over at Thélowên.
“It seems like we don’t need our night vision just yet” she said and nodded towards the flying light.

Thélowèn smiled towards the companions. Indeed, they would probably not need their night vision at all. The moon will shine bright and the stars will twinkle above them. Hopefully at least. It's a strange feeling, to be out in the wild again - like she's used to - but knowing that this will not be a quick or easy trip.
"You're right, probably won't need it at all. The moon will shine bright tonight and we are almost at the cave." she said with a light voice as they kept on moving forward.

"There!" she suddenly calls out as some large trees part and a shallow little creek is shown with a small cave entrance behind a small little tree.
"We're here!" Her steps turn lighter and Voron walks up to the creek to sip its fresh spring water coming from inside the cave. Little twinkling fireflies twinkle in the night air and the wind has died down a bit. Above their heads the moon shines bright and strong, making the creeks water look like sparkling glitter fluid since the bottom of the creek has crystals in blue and green colours which reflects the light. It's breathtaking. Stunning. And Thélowèn can't stop the grin playing on her lips. She hadn't been back here for a while, but, before she heads in to the cave she stops and turns towards Rhaenys.
"I think you should go in first. You only get one chance to see something for the first time." She hold out her hand towards the caves entrance where you can see a very dim golden light shine from. Not from fire, but from golden crystals and streaks of gold that are reflected in the light from fireflies and the bouncing moonlight.

Rhaenys followed Thélowêns gaze, and saw the entrance of the cave. As her friend offered for Rhaenys to go in first, she took a few steps towards the entance. As she crossed the invisible line between the forest and the cave, her eyes grew big. Thélowên had been right – it wasn’t a normal cave. The light was beautiful, a golden shine embracing the whole cave, making the water from the spring look like it had spots of gold together with other colours refecting from the bottom. The light which felt like magic, almost brought her memories from the beauty of Rivendell, her homeland.

Rhaenys looked around for a bit before kneeling down in front of the spring, observing the water. She put her hand down in it, feeling the chilly liquid. She cupped her hand, looking at the water in her hand. Rhaenys turned her head towards Thélowên briefly before looking down at her hand. It was quite amazing what the transparent liquid could do.

It had now been two weeks since the day Rhaenys fell through the gates of Harlond. She had gotten a room to stay in, in the house of the Army. Rhaenys sat in her bed, curled up with the red egg in her lap. She stroked it while she looked around the room. On her bedside table stood a bowl filled with water and a cloth next to it. Rhaenys had refused to let anyone help her bathe, it had only resulted in screaming and panicking from her side. She had almost knocked out one of the handmaidens, who had run of the room, terrified. The only way she could get clean was if she, herself, carefully and slowly wiped her body with a damp cloth. And even then, she could hear her heart beat faster and feel her mind spin. She managed to keep herself relatively clean this way, but it was still hard.

A knock on the door made her rise from the bed, with a hard grip around the egg. She moved towards the wall, and stood near the doors to the balcony, which were always wide open. If she closed them, she would be back in the dungeon. She pressed herself towards the wall, as if it would swallow her for protection and to quickly flee via the balcony if she had to. Her ears picked up the sounds of the waves shifting in the lake below her balcony. The beautiful lake she could only look at from a distance. The door to her room opened, and Master Eyodes entered. He wasn’t alone. He had a woman with him. The woman had brown hair and brown eyes, a very unusual colour for an elf. Master Eyodes cleared his throat.
“Dragon Master, good evening” he said with a smile, and Rhaenys eyes flickered between the two people in her room. Master Eyodes had been very patient with her, considering that she couldn’t even tell him her name. Rhaenys hadn’t said a word since the day of her abduction, she had somehow turned mute, a state she had continued having even after she had regained her freedom.

Master Eyodes gesticulated towards the woman.
“This is Thélowên Duilin. She is a General in the second archery here in Harlond” he said and Rhaenys nodded, to show that she was indeed listening.
“She will help you prepare for the journey to come. Together, you will train and prepare you until you’re ready to do what the prophecy told” he continued, and his eyes fell on the egg in Rhaenys hands.
“We’ll leave you for now, I believe you’ll start tomorrow” he said and Thélowên nodded, confirming his statement. Both of them left the room, and the door closed behind them. Rhaenys put the egg in the bag, and moved out to the balcony. She watched the lake move and looked at the moon’s reflection on the surface. It was truly beautiful.

A knock on the door made her flinch, and she turned around as it was opened yet again. The brown-haired elf had come back. She walked into the room, and Rhaenys watched her face, which was stern, but at the same time looked sweet. She came out to the balcony and looked down at the lake.
“I can help you” she said, and Rhaenys met the brown eyes with her amber coloured ones. Somehow, she knew that this was something she should agree to. Rhaenys felt herself nod, and she didn’t even flinch when Thélowên carefully took her wrist. They walked together out from the room, down the stairs and out to the back of the enormous house. As they walked towards the lake, Rhaenys heart started beating fast, and her body started to resist. Thélowên turned towards her.
“Trust me” she said and Rhaenys, surprisingly, relaxed. They moved towards the water and Thélowên took both of Rhaenys hands and moved backwards into the water, looking at her the whole time. When Rhaenys was a few centimetres from the edge of the water, she took a deep breath and felt the cold water wash over her bare feet. She gasped, and her heart started beating even faster. She could hear the blood pump through her veins and she had a hard time breathing. She didn’t hear it, but Thélowên spoke calmly with her, and whatever she said made Rhaenys take another step into the water.
“That’s enough for today” the brown-haired woman said and led Rhaenys back to her room.

The exercise became a tradition. Every day, Thélowên first trained Rhaenys in the art of archery so she could be able to battle in another way than the way Rhaenys was used to, close combat. Every evening, the knock on the door was heard, and with Thélowêns help, Rhaenys moved deeper and deeper into the lake, one step at a time. They managed to work around the fact that Rhaenys didn’t speak. Thélowên used her words, and Rhaenys her body language. It took a long time, but one day Rhaenys found herself in the lake, with water to her neck. She refused to put her head under the water, but she watched her dress and hair float in the chilly water. As they got out of the lake and moved towards the house, water was dripping, creating a trace behind them. They made their way into the house and stopped in the entrance. They were just about to part as usual, when Rhaenys opened her mouth and spoke for the first time in months.
“Thank you. My name is Rhaenys Yllaris”.

The memory flashed in Rhaeys brain, and she smiled as she let the water fall from her hand back into the spring. She stood up.
“So, you weren’t joking about this cave” she said with a little smile.

Thélowen smiled lightly,
"Well, I don't do that - you know that." she said with a chuckle. Sha really wasn't the type to joke about natures wonders and she also knew that it was an expression. Remembering how much Rhaenys had struggled with water a long time ago when they first met she couldn't stop the smile that played on her lips. She was happy for her friend and happy about their friendship.

"We should get going with some food. If you build a fire I'll go hunt?" She spoke while she was looking around at the cave. A true wonder of the world. She never wanted to lose that view of nature. Hopefully she never would. Yet, she ahd a feeling that her view of nature might shift, or change, during their travels. Dark lands laid ahead and what nature would throw at them she couldn't tell. But she hoped it would merely shake her, not break her.

Rhaenys nodded as she stood up straight.
“Sure, as long as I don’t have to eat any dead animals” Rhaenys said with a crooked smile.
“I’ll just need a moment“ she continued as she turned towards the spring again. She kneeled on the ground, placing her hands on her thighs. She took a breath and closed her eyes. She put her right fingertips over the left ones, and placed her hands on her forehead. She moved her hands to her mouth, and then to her heart. She did it twice, before placing the hands on her thighs again, with the palms of her hands facing up.
“Eywa; et beatus est, creator mundi, exaudi orationem meam. Et nos et custodies nos a procidens in tenebris. Parce mihi pro peccatis meis ut benedicat itinere fatum meum.”
(Eywa; the blessed, the creator of the world, hear my prayer. You guide us and save us from falling in the darkness. Forgive me for my sins and bless my journey to fulfil my fate)
As Rhaenys finished speaking, she did the same movement twice again with her hands, starting at her forehead. When she was done, she opened her eyes and stood up.
“Hopefully I’ll be able to find wood close from here” she said as she put her quiver and bow on her back. You never knew what could lure in the darkness. She looked at Thélowên.
“Good luck” she said as she walked out of the cave.

Luckily, she didn’t have to go far. There were plenty of wood which could be used to build a fire. Rhaenys picked up as much as she could carry, and moved back to the cave. She put some of it in the middle and build a steady foundation for a fire, and lit it. Soon enough, the flames warmed her face and Rhaenys sat back, waiting for Thélowên to come back.

She had left the cave mere moments after Rhaenys.
"Time for some hunting." she said and grabbed her bow, removing it from her back.
"Let's see..." she headed of following the creek with it's steady stream of water. The forest was rather silent yet hummed with life in every direction. From little crawlers to buzzing creatures in flight. She found tracks of a moon hare that she followed for a bit. It was chewing some grass a few meters from the creeks edge. She lowered herself and found her centre. Her arrow flew straight and true. Killing the animal without giving it pain. She picked it up and tied it to her belt with one of it's loops around the moon hares legs

"Something for Rhaenys, my picky little friend." she mumbled out with a light smile. Hunting animals and killing them was not wrong if it was for the purpose of food and survival - any other hunting was however. She looked around, it there was a moon hare in the are there should be rich grounds with berries not too far off. And how right she was. She found bushes carrying hango berries. Little yellow cloisters of them. she grabbed them with light fingers and placed them in a bag of cotton fabric and tied that to her belt on the other side of her body so as to keep them away from the hare.
"There, all set."

She returned to the cave where Rhaenys was waiting for here with a fire in full blaze.
"Found food." she said with a smile as she walked inside holding up the hare and the bag with hango berries.
"This is for you," she handed over the bag, "and this is for me." she licked her lips and sat down with the hare in her hand. She grabbed a knife with her other hand at the same time.
"Do you have any smaller stick? So I can use it for the meat?" she asked and looked towards the pile of wood laying a little bit away from the blazing fire. She was hungry and the thought of grilled moon hare meat made her mouth water. Her father had once told her that they, her family, ate more meat than most other elves. Something with their genes, and that it had something to do with the colour of their hair and eyes, different from the usual blond and blue. Thélowen didn't care about that. she liked meat and she would eat it. Of course she loved berries, fruits, vegetables and regular food for elves as well but meat as well.

Rhaenys looked up when she heard Thélowêns steps. She took the bag from her with a smile.
“Thank you” she said and looked inside. Her eyes went to the dead hare when Thélowên asked about a stick.
“Sure” she said and picked up one from the cave floor. She held it out to her friend, eyes yet again on the dead animal. It wasn’t uncommon for elves to eat meat like any other race, but it was just as common to not eat it. Especially the more spiritual elves such as Rhaenys. For her, killing an animal for food was just as bad as killing it for sport. She put her hand into the bag and picked up some of the berries. She put them in her mouth and smiled.
“Really ripe, best season for hango berries” she said and popped another in her mouth. Luckily, she loved to eat everything green that, of course, was edible.

Rhaenys leaned towards the cave wall, looking around. It was really beautiful, and most importantly, it was light in there. It felt good, she would not have been able to cope with a little, narrow, dark cave. It was quite unfortunate, because it would probably not be very common for them to stumble upon places like this to set up camp. But Rhaenys just had to deal with those problems later. She put her hands in her bag and picked up the egg. She placed it in her lap, holding her hands on the, for her, tepid surface. It was one of the ways the egg protected itself; it was burning hot for anyone else touching it with their bare hands.
“We’re on our way now” Rhaenys told the egg and looked up at Thélowên with a smile.
“I’ve read that it’s good to speak to it when it’s unhatched” she said and laughed a little, it probably looked really silly.