Wolf Runner

What do I do?

Lord Elronds point of view
As the camp came into view I smiled slightly. It was set up almost like a small village. There
Stood 12 small mud huts standing proudly amongst the forest. " Welcome my lords and lady " I heard kaleb say as he walked towards us smiling slightly. Ellorhir got off his horse and clapped him on the shoulder " it is good to see you again my friend " he replied. The rest of us got off the horses and greeted him in a similar manner. " I hear that you have a baby daughter. Kasa is her name if I can recall" I say looking around "where is she and Ria". He suddenly looked grave " Ria is trying to get the elders to agree with splitting the pack in two" he said. I frowned "why would she want to do that" I ask confused. " The past few weeks we have seen more orcs and goblins moving around attacking villages and farms, Ria reckons that if we split the pack in two we'll be able to cover more ground" he explains. I nod thoughtfully " how's she settling into the role of alpha " asks elladen. Kaleb shrugs " okay. But lets just say that not all the elders think she's right, not living within the pack the whole of her life. But you know Ria she made a promise to arron to try and she doesn't plan on going back on that promise" Kaleb says. " Well I think we'd better go see her and finally meet your daughter. " Arwen says excitedly. We all nod and kaleb motions for us to follow.

As we walk through the camp a wonderful sight meets us. Sheep are watched by men who sit smoking and relaxing. Woman sit spinning wool and weaving linen. Young boys play with wooden swords pretending to be in fierce combat. Young girls chase each other or playing with small rag dolls. " The pack has grown in number I see" says ellorhir happily looking around. Kaleb nodds "yes there's now 35 of us" he states proudly watching a group of boys play sword fighting. It is a strange sight but they seem so focused that their eyes glow yellow and the black veins are showing on their necks.
We approach a slightly larger mud hut and hear some sort of argument happening. Three men exit muttering among themselves. "And stay out" ria yells and then a boot flys out of the open door and the men quicken their pace. I hear ellorhir and elladen chuckle slightly but Arwen looks slightly concerned. "Knock knock" says Arwen. And the rest of us walk in after her. "We hear they're giving away boots literally throwing them at you" say ellorhir. Ria looks at us surprised then flings herself at us giving us each a hug. " It's good to see you" she says happily. " Not as good as is to see you" says Arwen. " We hear you have a new addition to your family" I promt her. She walks over to a small crib next to a makeshift bed and carries over a small child. " This is kasa my daughter" she tells her. We all give small coos of delight and smile at the baby girl in Ria's arms.

We settle down outside sipping coffee a hot drink similar to tea and talk about what has happened in the past few months. Kasa sits by her father drawing in the dirt. " Is it alright if I hold her" asks Arwen suddenly. Ria nods and quickly hands her over. The child smiles at Arwen and giggles in delight as Arwen tickles her under the chin. " I wonder where in the family she got her hair and eyes" she asks nobody in particular looking at Kasa bright blue eyes. Ria shrugs " probably from either kaleb or I's parents. We'll never really know" she says regretfully. I sigh taking a sip of my coffee. " I'm guessing that kaleb has told you about my plans to split the pack in two " she asks. I nod " it seems like a good idea. The more orcs and goblins there is the less control we have over the lands of middle earth. It would also mean that if one of the pack was killed there was also a back up pack" I say thoughtfully. " However you mustn't force these things if the pack starts to dislike you they could easily rise up against you" I say wisely. She nods " I'll go and apologise to the elders tomorrow for throwing my boot at them, I really need their support in this otherwise the pack will never agree". So what are you're arrangements for tonight says kaleb noticing that the sun was getting lower in the sky "we'll be more than happy to let you camp here with us" he adds. We look at him gratefully "thank you. We don't want to cause any problems in the pack, but we won't mind sleeping here tonight " I say. " Don't be silly. The pack will be fine with you here. They haven't growled at you so they know that you're friends" Ria says happily.

A gong rings throughout the camp and Ria stands up stretching. " That'll be dinner. Kaleb do you want to go and see if you can get us about 6 serving and I'll go get kasa fed" she says contentedly. He nods " I'll see what I can russel up" he says and walks off.

Ria and Arwen head into the hut and talk quietly between themselves. I take this moment to look around the camp curiosily. People sit outside their huts eating bowls of what looks like stew, talking to each other about the day. Men sit smoking their pipes, Women sit knitting or sewing and children talk animatedly to each other making guestures with their hands. It is strange to think that if I didn't know any better I would simply think that they were simply travelers, ordinary men, women and children.

As Ria and Arwen sit back down with us kaleb aproches balancing 6 plates of steaming hot stew and half a loaf of bread. " Be careful" says Ria. Kaleb chuckles " always am" he replies setting the bowls down on the ground and we pick one up each. "Well you can be the one to explain that to keri when you go to her complaing about your burnt hands. " she jokes poking him in the ribs playfully. Kasa giggles at their antics and claps her hands egging them on. We all smile at her as she grins.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

" Thank you for that lovely stew" compliments elladen as we start to clear up after dinner. Ria smiles " glad you liked it" she says. She has put kasa to bed in her crib by singing her a lovely lullaby. We sit there laughing and talking for a while but eventually everyone settles down as we start to talk business. "Ria, kaleb, I have seen your daughters future" I say seriously. They tense up visibly 'what did you see" Kaleb asks worridly. " I cannot give you any details but I can say that your daughter will have a key role to play in the survival of the free people of middle earth. " I say. " In my latest vision of your daughter I heard a voice at the end". Ria bites her lip "what did this voice say exactly" she asks calmly. " It said 'She will be different. She will not fear fire like other children of the moon. She wil have better hearing than anybody in middle earth. She will be a friend not just to other children of the moon but with men, dwarfs, hobbits and elves alike. She will be able to speak not just common tongue and wolfblood but elfish and dawarfish as well. She will doubt her self as a leader because she does not have the qualities of her mother but she is a natural born leader. The earth will always guide her'. " I look at them wanting to see their reaction to this news. "Well in a way it makes sense. Kasa ability is that she can control earth but the rest of it makes no sense to me. " she says. I nod thoughtfully " I guess we'll just have to see how things work out" says elladen thinking aloud. " That's exactly what we'll have to do. " she says.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As we say our goodbyes to the pack. I look around the pack. They will follow Ria and have agree that the pack will be split appart from that odd objection. Ria walks up to me holding kasa "good luck" I says smiling and ria gives a watery smile and I quickly pull her into a hug. " I think you're aware that our lifespan is decreasing" she says quietly. I look at her shocked "how did you-" I start. "Well about 5 people have died in the last 2 year all of them were still about 120- 130 years old which is kinda young compared to how long a wolfblood should live" she said cutting me off. I nod reluctantly "I was aware that this could possibly be happening" I say. " There a prophesy sent by the valar at the beginning of the second age" I say hesitantly. " Go on" she prods. I sigh " it states that as the magic starts to decrease so will the children of the moons lifespan. It states at the end of the prophecy that as the the elves leave for valionor then the children of the moon will be left with a choice, to follow the elves or stay in middle earth and live a mortal life" I state. She bites her lip " When will this happen" she asks. I shrug " there isn't a given time or date" she nods.

As we leave I think about what choice they will make. I'm sure that some of them will choose to stay but how many and who? That us a question that will need to be answered another day. Until then we must make use of the time that is given to us.

So thats the end of the first book. I can't believe that I've finished it. I think I'll take a break from writing for now but keep your eyes open for the second book of the series 'running with the pack'. This book will finally be set in the war of the rings and will focus on Ria's daughter kasa. As Elrond said she will have a role to play in the survival of the free people of middle earth but in what way?
I would like to say a big thank you to
DayDreamer2025
FlyingMonkeysAreReal
For helping me bring my ideas to life and encouraging me throughout the writing of this book.