"And you're sure you'll be fine?" Lorelei, a mother of two very reckless elves, asked her eldest, her son. Arcturus smiled at his worried mother and nodded his head, proudly.
He was, for the first time, leaving Mirkwood on a journey to Rivendell to visit his two best friends, Cassiopeia and Adreanna.
He was going alone, with no guards- or well he hoped for no guards at least. Either way, he was excited for the road ahead of him and couldn't wait to meet up with his dearest friends. He hasn't seen either of them for decades, merely a few letters here and there.
"Yes, I'll be fine. It's only for a few weeks. I'll be back without a scratch." Arcturus grinned at his mother, dearly. Lorelei shook her head, a smile on her face as she folded her arms. Remi, Arcturus's little sister, came running down the stairs- as she always does to come and see her big brother.
Remi ran and jumped into her older brother's arms, snuggling her face in the crook of his neck in a tight embrace.
Remi had her mother's bright blue eyes and her father's dark brown hair that flowed to her shoulders. She had light freckles and the most energetic personality you could ever see. She was curious about everything on Middle Earth and often asked her big brother to tell her stories of his adventures.
Arcturus also had his father's dark brown hair, it wasn't all that traditionally long, only reaching halfway down his neck with little curls. He had his father's emerald green eyes, with little flecks of brown here and there. Like his little sister, Arcturus had freckles but his were more apparent and darker. He had quite a few scars littering his body from fighting giant spiders that roamed his home forest and other accidents he managed to get himself in.
Lorelei, their mother, had ash blonde hair that went to her waist and nordic blue eyes with specks of green. Unlike her children, she did not have any freckles. She had scars all over her body, her more known scar being the one across her face from an orc during battle. It started from her left eyebrow and ended by her right jawline.
Respen, who was their father, had dark brown hair and emerald green eyes. He had freckles that dusted his face and many battle scars. He was the most generous person Arcturus had ever met. Respen was there most of Arcturus's childhood- however, Remi never got to meet him as he was killed during a small war against the dwarves after a broken promise a short time before Remi was born.
"Where are you going, Arty?" Remi asked, playing with her brother's hair. Arcturus smiled and set Remi down onto her own feet and ruffled her dark hair.
"I'm going to go see Dre and Cas in Imladris. But I'll be back in a few weeks and then we can play all you want." Arcturus kissed little Remi's forehead. Remi smiled up at him and stood on her little tippy toes to give her big brother a small kiss on the nose - who had to kneel down for her to do so.
"Have fun! Say hello to Elrohir and Elladan for me!" Remi giggled as she ran back up the stairs after bidding her farewells to her brother. Lorelei shook her head in amusement.
"You best be off if you want to get there before dawn." Lorelei kissed her son's forehead and handed Arcturus his bags and weapons.
"Goodbye, Naneth. Bye, Remi!" Arcturus bowed his head before walking out of the door that led to his family's chambers. He walked down the hallways, heading towards the stables where he kept his horse, Satin.
He hadn't been paying much attention to his surroundings, it was only when he ran straight into a familiar red-headed she-elf that he snapped back into reality.
"Tauriel." Arcturus grinned down at his friend, Tauriel smiled back with a roll of her green eyes. Arcturus turned to the blond elf in his presence.
"Prince Legolas."
Legolas looked confused as he studied the other elf in front of him. He thought he knew everyone in Mirkwood but he's never seen this elf that stood before him now.
"Hello, Little Star." Tauriel smirked as Arcturus turned to Legolas, the smile never leaving her face even for a second.
"I apologise for running into you both." Arcturus smiled sheepishly, bowing swiftly. Legolas smiled back at him, taking his hand within his own and kissing it softly.
"There is nothing to forgive. It's a pleasure to meet you." Legolas replied, Arcturus raised his eyebrows. He had a smile on his face as he, very slowly, took his hand back.
Arcturus wasn't too sure how to react to the prince kissing his hand- usually it's a bow in respect but kissing of the hand? He was a little unsure.
"The pleasure is mine." Arcturus smiled up at Legolas. He could get lost in his eyes, he would've if it wasn't Tauriel suddenly appearing in between them, a smirk on her face as she raised her eyebrows at Arcturus in a suggestive way.
"We're going to train Aduial, the young Dúnedain that Thranduil adopted. Care to join us?" Tauriel offered, she had a hopeful glint in her eyes as she looked up at Arcturus.
"I would love to, Tauriel. But I really must be going. I'm supposed to be heading to Imladris soon." Arcturus said. He would've loved to stay and train Aduial with Tauriel. He hasn't had the chance to meet the young Dúnedain, though he was always busy training on his own or on patrol, he had no time for anything else.
Arcturus preferred being on his own or with Tauriel. He was sure he would love to meet this young Dúnedain in the future and train with Legolas and Tauriel but in the meantime, he really needed to talk with Cassiopeia and Adreanna.
"Oh, I heard Daena and Aerin were going to Imladris today as well, maybe they can accompany you so you have some backup to help in case you're ambushed by orcs." Legolas smiled, warmly down at Arcturus. He smiled back, glancing at Tauriel's still smirking face.
Arcturus didn't really think about being ambushed at all really, it slipped his mind completely due to his excitement to see his best friends.
"I'm sure that would be lovely." Arcturus replied, Tauriel walked forward and embraced her friend.
"I'll see you in a few weeks, Little Star. Stay safe, and say hello to Arwen for me." Tauriel said as she let Arcturus go. Arcturus nodded and bowed in respect to both of them before running off towards the stables, now late.
"How come I've never seen him around?"
"You'll find out soon enough. I'm sure he'll tell you if you just ask him."
"I'll speak to him when he returns from his trip."
~~~
Arcturus had finally made it down to the stables, he walked up to his impatient horse, Satin, giving her an apple while he saddled her up.
A young she-elf, around Arcturus's age, also walked into the stables and began to saddle up her Appaloosa horse.
Arcturus didn't think anything of it as he mounted Satin and walked out of the stables. He had made out of Mirkwood's borders when the young she-elf from before came cantering up to him, followed by a rather good looking elf.
"Hey. I'm Daena, this is Aerin. I was told you were also heading to Imladris and I was wondering if we could accompany you on this journey." Arcturus pulled the reins, slowing Satin down to a complete stop before he turned and looked over at the she-elf.
Daena had gorgeous black, silky hair that flowed just passed her waist. Her eyes were a dazzling brown colour. They reminded Arcturus of the earth, or chocolate. She was quite slim, quite like an inverted body figure, her skin was fair, only slightly dusted with freckles.
Arcturus now turned his gaze and glanced over at 'Aerin', taking note of the stern look on his face. Aerin had brown hair, like milk chocolate that looked overgrown and long- it reached just passed his ears and gave a fluffy effect. His eyes were a stormy grey, that seemed to darken with his mood. He was quite lanky but Arcturus wouldn't underestimate his strength just by how he looked, his skin was a little more tanned and freckled.
"Oh, I'd love for you to join me. I'm Arcturus, by the way." Arcturus smiled before the three continued on their way, towards Imladris.
It was usually a two day journey but the three of them collectively thought it would be faster if they galloped there- which it was but that meant they had to camp longer as their horses would be exhausted.
"So- what brings you to Imladris?" Daena asked, they were all seated in front of a fire, their horses were unsaddled and grazing- wandering free.
"I'm visiting a couple of friends. What about you two?" Arcturus answered, before looking up at Aerin and Daena. Daena looked back at him, with a small smile.
"I'm running errands for Lord Thranduil. Aerin here was a little worried about us travelling on our own when he heard." Daena replied in a heart beat. The three took turns on night watch, Aerin being the one to wake Daena and Arcturus in the morning when they had to leave.
However, before they could leave, a young dark brown haired dwarf came tumbling out of a tree. He stared at the elves with his hazel eyes, and the elves stared right back at him before Daena stuck her hand out slowly.
"Uh. Daena from the woodland realm. You are?" Daena gave a small smile while Aerin and Arcturus half-glared at the poor guy.
"I'm Rae. I was supposed to be travelling with my company but I was separated when we were attacked by orcs." The young dwarf replied, shaking hands with Daena, he turned to the other two elves and smiled.
"Hello. Don't worry, I'm not going to attack you but I do need help finding my company. There's fourteen other dwarves and a small hobbit." Rae smiled up at them. "Please? I don't know what I'd do if something happened to them and I couldn't have helped them- they're like my family."
Arcturus lowered his bow, his face softening. He sighed before stepping forward, holding his hand out to shake, in which Rae seemed to do so happily. He knew exactly what it was like to feel completely helpless and lost without his family.
Daena had to lower Aerin's bow herself since the elf soldier refused to trust the dwarf.
"I'm Arcturus, we'll help you find your company." He muttered, quietly but he knew Rae heard him. The four of them packed up the last of the camp - Rae wanted to help them, he thought it was the least he could do since they were helping him find his company- and saddled the horses. Daena mounted Scout (her horse), Aerin mounted Rian quite reluctantly while Arcturus mounted Satin with Rae on the back with him.
They took off, towards Rivendell, also in hopes of encountering Rae's company.
~~~