[Amanaduial the archer]

Arrelle slipped in and out of conciousness, almost carried between Hwesta and Tallin. Tallin was cursing her good nature and broadcasting it to the world; the elf was heavier than she looked, and was practically a dead weight. Jet was getting fed up and so, no doubt was Raye, but Tallin was taking the view that if she was fed up, they could all be fed up as well.

They stumbled for the umpteenth time and Hwesta almost fell. Tallin caught her arm, behind Arrelles back, but too late and they both fell in a heap. Tallin couldnt help laughing and soon Hwesta started as well. Jet looked at the pile, sighed and sat down heavily.4

"Oh brilliant." He muttered, but loud enough for Tallin to hear. She mock glared at him before bursting out laughing again. It felt good to laugh after so much sobriety.

They stopped after a minute and Hwesta sighed. "It does feel good to laugh."
"You took the words right out of my mouth."
"Hmmm. Its just...I feel so..." Hwesta stopped, sighing, her smile fading. Tallin knew what she meant.

"Berethion." She said the word softly. His sister nodded.

"I was so much closer to him than to my other brothers, to any man, to anyone. And now..." She swallowed and looked away. Tallin placed a hand on her hand and smiled at her.

"Aye. Me too. I never knew anyone as well as I knew your brother. The time I spent with him seemed so short..." She took a deep breath, forcing the tears back. "I found him in trouble in Mirkwood one winter, a...a couple of years ago." She shrugged as if it didnt matter about the date, as if it didnt matter that she knew exactly how long it had been. Exactly how many decades and years. "He was being worried by a few wolves, almost starving in the harsh winter. Looking back, I dont know who was actually starving more, the wolves or your brother." She smiled at Hwesta and the girl smiled back through her tears. "With the help of my own wolves, I managed to get rid of the troublesome wolves. Im not entirely sure if Berethion was completely happy about this- he said it was wrong that an elf maiden had saved him. He was too weak to argue with me, so I was able to take him home. He was practically collapsing, so I just looked after him for a while. After that he stayed with me for a while again, until the end of the summer. We travelled around Mirkwood and the surrounding areas, and went to one of the human cities as well, Gondor, a place I hadn’t even heard much about from the thoughts of my wolves.”

“You pick up thoughts from them about places? Had they been?” Hwestas curiousity prompted her to ask.

“Nay, they hadn’t been. They are not much older than me- true wolves live long. Their memories work differently from ours; they pass their memories onto their young. That was why Dia and Jet were so reluctant to go to the Shadowmountains; the night elves have no fondness for wolves, a reason to dislike me as well. The same reason Raye has, I wager. She doesn’t like me because I am so close to wolves, yet…yet she can also talk to them.” She paused for a moment, musing on why exactly Raye did hate her so much when they shared their gift. “But I will tell you this…your brother had a closer link with my wolves that any who do not possess the gift of speaking to them with the mind. I think if he had wanted to, he would have been able to do that as well.”

“Do you think I would also?” Hwesta seemed to be trying to joke, but Tallin looked at her seriously, a slight smile on her face. “Maybe.” She said thoughtfully. “Maybe.”

Hwesta smiled at the other elf and squeezed her hand. They had both got their thoughts out and felt better, and easier with each other for doing so. Tallin stood and pulled the younger elf to her feet. Between them they pulled up Hwesta and got back to the cave, at almost the same time as Dimithil, Raye and Dia.