Set in Stone - Haldir's Story -

Chapter 5 - Falling off a Tree

Daëra's lips twitched again as if she were about to smile, then she directed her eyes back onto the path with a swing of her head. Her hair brushed Haldir's arm in the process and he could just prevent himself from jumping out of the way – it was not that he was scared of the touch or thought her hair was dirty... on the contrary, her hair looked soft and it seemed all shades from blonde to brown when the sun was shining on it. Yet for some reason he had the feeling something like this had never happened before. All elves had long hair, females usually longer than men, and they too swirled around quickly which had to send their hair flying – yet somehow Haldir could not remember that hair had actually brushed him like that before. It was probably because elves were usually controlling their every movement to a great extend – even the swing of their heads. Daëra though never seemed to notice, so they just went on.

By nightfall they had un-blocked a pathway, healed several ill trees, harvested some winter-apples and put a suffering deer out of its misery. Thilion had never exactly known where they would be going next, he had "followed an inner feeling", as he had described it. Haldir guessed this was what Daëra had been talking about, the being familiar with a forest. She had told him that by now she could slightly feel it as well. To Haldir, Lothlórien was still a forest beyond his grasp, but in the evening he was sure he wanted to grow familiar with it. Furthermore, it would give him something to fill his days with until he and his brothers would have to set off for Mirkwood. So when Thilion asked at the end of the day whether they'd be joining them again tomorrow, Haldir didn't hesitate to answer.

Haldir's brothers decided to stay with the caretakers as well, even though – or maybe just because – this was "the most non-hazardous thing they had ever done". On their third day, Thilion – when he met the group at the gates – was followed by an unknown woman. She was heavier armed than everyone else: she was wearing a sword like Haldir and most of the others did, but she had also a bow slung around her shoulder and several knives tucked into her belt. As well she was dressed in trousers and not the traditional tunic for females. – "This," Thilion gestured towards the woman behind him, "is Cirya. She is a warden and will be accompanying us today, since we will have to go close to the border." – "What will we have to do there?" Daëra asked. – "Some of the trees near the outside have grown too high for the wardens in the raised hides to watch the immediate surroundings of Lórien. I am talking about the northern boundary, so we had best set off now and walk briskly."

Walking briskly obviously meant running, since Thilion was dashing off without making sure the others could follow – and there was no need to. Haldir was used to running through forests; he jumped the roots and ducked away from low branches without thinking about it. This was how they usually covered distances in Mirkwood. Haldir started to feel strangely at home, his senses filtered what they absorbed and put it together to a diffused, unconscious picture of the Wood. Haldir could feel its boundaries and knew all the time where he was within them, he felt the animals and heard the noises, but as long as there wasn't anything suspicious they just added to the image of the forest. He was flowing and almost before he knew he was shoulder to shoulder with Thilion. Haldir could've easily outrun him, yet he knew he needed his guidance as to where they were headed. Even though the group's pace was that quick, it was noon before Haldir felt they were coming close to the border.

Daëra felt hot needles and pins every time she took a breath, yet she did not allow herself to slow down. It looked so easy and light when elves ran, but if people thought it was as easy as it looked and that elves never got exhausted, they were clearly fooling themselves. At least for Daëra it wasn't exactly a piece of cake. Maybe the stitches also resulted from her irregular breathing which was mainly caused by her secretly watching Haldir and at the same time trying to prevent herself from doing so. He was at the very front with Thilion and somehow Daëra knew that for him running was indeed as easy as it looked. He jumped over roots without ever looking on the ground, he rather felt than saw what was about him. It was clearly visible now that he had grown up in a forest. It looked quite similar with his brothers, only they weren't running as fast.