A First Hunt

Aragorn’s feet moved quickly as he sped along between the trees and brush that seemed to huddle in around him. It wasn’t mid day yet he knew even though the heavy leaf laden canopy only allowed small rays of sunlight to poke through thick, green and gold leaves in small clusters. It was always dimly lit here but that didn’t account for his poor, hasty shot. His arrow missed it’s mark and only wounded the deer in it’s flank that he now followed. Breathing hard he paused to kneel down and examine a few drops of blood that found their way onto a small stone that was half embedded into the thick, green grass. Aragorn was only 10 then and he wore a dark brown leather tunic and black wool slacks that were bloused over his dark brown boots. He held an arrow nocked into his bow by his side and his dark hair barely touched the tops of his shoulders. Gray, keen eyes searched the path before him and he paused his breaths to listen to the sounds of the forest around him.

He was taught that it was always important to kill cleanly and quickly thus the animal would suffer unnecessarily. He hadn’t needed to go hunting today and infact he had decided ‘not’ to attend his daily sword lesson this morning and wondered if he’d attend another at all. Yesterday, Vanya, one of his tutors...the one he disliked the most, embarrassed him thoroughly by using a small, thin branch to deflect his blows and his pride as well as his bottom was still quite raw about that. Raw enough to come out here alone when he knew he shouldn’t. He had gotten quite good at being stealthy and it took a good deal of effort to avoid the guards to be able to just be alone for a while. Living amongst elves was not always easy, being a human.

Always there were tutors and guards and never anytime to just be by himself. He didn’t care about who or what he was right then. There was only himself and the stag. A chance to do something that didn’t have any real purpose. Only that he needed to put the deer out of its misery. A misery that he caused and perhaps shared with it at least to some degree. In many ways he envied the deer and wished he was one. Free to live and run how it wanted without always needing to be something more than it was. The blood felt warm to the touch as he dabbed his fingertip down onto it and then lurched back into a run once more.

He was one of the last Dunedain left but elves were elves. He excelled at the physical things but teachings of the mind took him longer to learn than the elven children. When he felt frustration at failure, elves took it all in with patience. He was convinced however that Vanya had become angry with him for acting out and sought to belittle him for it.

Vanya had been surprised that Aragorn was not in her class that morning. This was unlike him. He enjoyed learning swordsmanship and always seemed anxious to learn more. That, among other things, was also unfortunately why he was not excelling he way he should be. The talent was there. Vanya could see it clearly, but Aragorn lacked patience yet to fully master a move before learning something else. He became frustrated easily and yesterday she had been forced to teach him a lesson in front of the rest of the class, one that she had hoped he would take to heart. However, instead it appeared that he had simply disappeared. She knew she needed to find him. Though Lord Elrond had asked her to come to instruct the whole group, in reality it was really Aragorn that she was focusing on.

Vanya did not live in Imadris, at least not all the time. She was a Ranger, though she no longer distinguished herself as a Ranger of the North or South. Her father had been human and of pure Dunedain blood. Her mother had been an elf of Noldor descent. Her mother had died when she was young at the hands of a group of orcs and she had been raised primarily by her father and the rest of the Rangers of the North. When her father passed away, Vanya began to wander Middle Earth alone and for a time also lived with the Rangers that resided near Gondor in the South. During her travels she met and befriended Lord Elrond and upon learning, and seeing first hand, her skills with a sword and bow he began to invite her periodically to teach. With fewer and fewer elves being born in Middle Earth Lord Elrond's letter of invitation had surprised her, but when she arrived he had told her the true purpose of her coming there. She had been shocked to learn of Aargorn's lineage, but upon seeing him she knew that Dunedain blood ran through his veins and that he was very important to the future of Middle Earth and the kingdom of men.

She agreed to stay and instruct him and immediately saw his true potential. He could be a great swordsman...possibly one of the best in Middle Earth, but he was young yet and lacked the patience and discipline he needed. She had been trying everything to get through to him, and her lesson yesterday had not meant to belittle him. It had meant to make him better...to make him always strive to do better.

After dismissing the remainder of her class, she walked from the outside area designated for her classes back into the city to look for her young student. Along the way she spotted Lindir, an advisor of Lord Elrond, and she approached him.

"Good Day Lindir. I was wondering if you had seen Aragorn this morning? He was not at my class this morning."

Lindir was in deep thought when he heard the voice behind him. He turned and bowed to the woman he knew as Vanya. His dark eyes took her in and upon hearing her query his eyebrows rose in surprise. He ofcourse knew of Aragorn, he was one of his tutors as well. The young lad had some difficulty with elven literature but he hardly expected anything different...from a human. Some of Vanya’s features were distinctly human as well but he had gotten used to such things over the years and so he paid it no mind.

With his hands folded calmly in front of him he greeted her. “Ah, Vanya...of Aragorn I can not say though I did see him earlier this morning. He had a bow and appeared to be...skulking about as if he assumed no one would notice him,” he said as if he had eaten a bad berry. He felt Lord Elrond was being far to accommodating as far as Aragorn was concerned and Lindir’s outspoken opinion of that was known by more than a few people in the city.

“I can accept that he is human but the lad needs to apply himself. Elsewise I fear we may be wasting our time with him,” He said in his usual arrogant tone.

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Running again Aragorn just barely ducked beneath a low hanging branch before he ran into it. He knew he was close now, he could hear the deer’s hooves and it grunted in pain as it staggered on through the trees. Aragorn winced at that knowing full well that its pain and fear was entirely his fault.

Vanya sighed a little when Lindir informed her that Aragorn had been spotted early that morning with his bow. She glanced out towards the forest and knew where he was. She would have to go find him.

"Thank you Lindir for your information."

Vanya retrieved Aragorn's practice sword and her bow and quiver before heading back out of the city. She was able to pick up Aragorn's trail easily. She was an expert tracker and Aragorn had not yet learned how to properly cover his trail. As she tracked him she spotted drops of blood on the ground and dripping from a few leaves. She dipped her finger in a bit of the blood and brought it up to her mouth. She could taste that it was deer blood, and not that of Aragorn. The blood did not pool in any one area and she could see that there was a trail of it indicating it had not been a direct hit and that the animal may still be alive.

Vanya picked up the pace. Being half elf and a well trained Ranger she walked far quieter than humans and was therefore able to come up behind Aragorn without him realizing it. She spotted the stag and saw it was still alive and clearly in pain. Suddenly, an arrow would come sailing over Aragorn's right shoulder, striking the stag right in the chest and through the heart. It sagged and then dropped to the ground as it quickly died.

The disappointment was visible on Vanya's face as she walked towards Aragorn. "Why did you hunt this animal? A life should not be taken just because you can Aragorn. All life is to be respected and not hunted for sport or fun or because you are simply angry at me."

As the animal halted, likely because it could no longer run, Aragorn pulled out his belt knife. He had taken a moment to look at the animal and he wanted to cover his ears to guard himself from the horrible sound that came from its throat just then. He and his mother had been hunted. His people in fact to near extinction. He wished he could have known his father. If he were there now though he wasn’t certain what he’d have said to him. That fact made tears well up in his eyes and he lowered his gaze down to his feet and wiped his nose that had been running for quite some time. He felt the knife handle in his palm and began to prepare himself for the grizzly deed that lay before him. He had to put the animal out of its misery but his heart was not at all prepared for that. He was sad, and lonely and angry and all sorts of things right then. The stag staggered before him and then he felt a brush of wind past his ear.

In stunned shock his eyes grew large as the arrow that shot past his ear struck the deer in the side. It staggered once more then fell dead almost immediately. Aragorn whipped himself around then saw where the arrow had come from. Vanya stood there before him and as she lowered her bow he saw the look of clear disappointment in her face. That and her words made his cheeks bloom with color but it all had made him angry too.

“I hate you!” He said in a pained whimper as he fought to stem the tide of tears that were on the verge of falling from his eyes. His only thought was to flee but doing so would legitimize her claims against his actions and he didn’t want to do that. “You had no right! The duty was mine!” He said angrily and sheathed his knife. He could feel her eyes upon him and he hated the feel of her acute scrutiny. In fact he could barely recall a time when he wasn’t being scrutinized in some way by elven eyes. Arrogant indifference, disapproval or pity he hated it all! “I don’t WANT to be a KING!” He shouted finally and then took off in a run away from her once more.

Vanya slowly lowered her bow after she was certain that the stag was dead. She had hated killing it, but she had been left little choice. Aragorn had been hesitating and the animal was clearly in pain. She could see the shock in his eyes fade away to anger that was partly aimed towards her and partly not. She stood quietly, listening to him as he yelled at her. He was being disrespectful, but she did not speak. She knew he needed to get out what he was feeling. He was mostly human, with only a little elven blood in his veins. Being part human herself she knew the intense range of emotions they experienced. Her two halves were almost always battling against one another and sometimes she was unable to keep the emotional, human side of her at bay and those feelings would come crashing out...just like they were with Aragorn.

She sighed and watched as he turned and ran away. She let him and did not follow him. He needed to be alone for a time and she knew he would return when he was ready. She wasn't going to push him. Pushing him would only drive him farther away from her. This was a critical point for him, but he needed to figure a few things out on his own. He was safe within the Rivendell borders and she knew he would not be able to go far. And so she let him go and instead turned her attention to the stag.

Aragorn paused in his stride to kneel down and take a closer look at the tracks that kept him on this heading. They were obviously orc tracks but there was something else too. He couldn’t put his finger on what it was but he had an odd suspicion that something else was either with them or also following them. Another ranger perhaps? He couldn’t say, whomever it was was very good at hiding their passing as well as their scent. Besides, Orcs smelled horrible and he doubted his nose would be able to detect anything else anyway. He had come a long way since that incident with Vanya and the deer but for some odd reason his mind kept going back to that and back to her. He had come a long way since that boy in his memory. He had become a ranger himself and these orcs had been rampaging across the countryside unchecked for far too long.

It was not yet midday and the sky was filled with thick, gray clouds. The terrain was sparse and rocky but easy for the purpose of tracking. That and orcs cared little to hide their passage. With an arrow nocked in his bow he cleared his sword in its scabbard again as if by habit then started off once more in that tireless stride he could hold for hours. He needed to catch these creatures before they made it into the forest. No one went into the Trollshaws unless they were either crazy or had a deathwish.

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Aragorn didn’t run for very long. He soon stopped panting then looked back to see if he were being followed. He felt fairly safe in these woods and knew that he was likely being watched anyway. Elves patrolled the forest relentlessly and no evil creature that came into them survived for long. Feeling a fool for running away he choked down his feelings and turned back toward the way he had come.

It didn’t take long for him to return to where Vanya and the stag was. She had gutted it and was in the process of skinning it as he walked up. “Do you hate me because I’m human?” He asked though his words weren’t exactly what he wanted to say. They just popped out and there was no taking it back now.

Vanya had been tracking a small group of orcs for almost a day now. She knew she was gaining on the them. Her half elven blood caused her to have far more endurance and energy than they had and she was able to run long stretches without needing rest or growing tired. She moved almost without any sound and left almost no tracks, although another Ranger might be able to pick them up after a time. She was nearing the Trollshaws and she felt a bit of anger swell up inside of her as the memory of her mother's death returned to her. She had been young, but old enough to remember her and what happened. Her mother had been beautiful and the love between her mother and her father was apparent in everything they did. Her mother had given up her immortality for her father in order to be with him and had been rejected by the rest of her family for marrying a human, even if he was Dunedain. That day they had been near the Trollshaws, traveling towards Rivendell, when they had come across a group of orcs. Her mother had been injured protecting her and had died in her father's arms. She still could hear the horrible sobbing sounds he made as he held her body against his own. It had been difficult for her to watch him check her body over and over to be sure she wasn't still alive before finally giving up hope and burying her there. When her father had died some years later Vanya had managed to preserve his body long enough to bring him to the site of her mother's grave and bury him with her. The only thing indicating the grave was a large rock.

Vanya knew she was close. She paused in her tracking and turned course for a moment. She walked for a few minutes before she found it. The rock was overgrown with moss, but it was still there. It was large and grey in color and leaned to the right. Vanya knelt down beside the rock and placed her hand on the ground directly in front of it. She missed both of her parents greatly and desperately wished she could see them one more time.

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By the time Aragorn returned, Vanya had already removed the arrow and gutted it. She had just begun to skin it, knowing that at least she could use that, when she heard Aragorn's question. She turned and looked at him a long moment before finally speaking.

"I'm half human Aragorn. My father was Dunedain. And I don't hate you. I never have and I never will. I'm trying to teach you...that's all."

If Aragorn could have seen his own face then he might have found it funny. As it was her words made his mouth hang open in utter shock. ‘Vanya’...one of his tutors...was a half elf? His eyes blinked as his mind tried to comprehend that. But, wasn’t Elrond a half elf as well? Why should learning this shock him so? Several times he opened then closed his mouth as he tried to think of a response.

“You make an example out of my failures...I’m not an elf yet you expect me to learn like they do,” He said awkwardly as if he had to force the words out. “I try as hard as I can and it's never enough. I feel as if I can not please you no matter how much I try to,” Aragorn said plainly as he scrubbed his arm across his soiled face. If his father was alive he’d likely learn the sword from him and more besides. The other elves always looked down upon him as well as his tutors but now perhaps he had been wrong about Vanya.

In truth Aragorn had a certain arrogance about him. He was prideful, willful and stubborn much unlike the elven children. Most elves took to their lessons in a quiet, serious, respectful manner. Never happy, never sad or emotional. Aragorn smiled often at his successes and got angry at his failures and rarely gave up on anything. He often spoke up and challenged his instructors views on things and whispered words of encouragement and praise at the others when they did well during a lesson. Despite the bland looks he received most of the other elven children liked Aragorn. He had a presence about him that drew them to him though they’d never show it outwardly which is why he thought that they only just tolerated him. Aragorn swallowed his fear right then and prepared himself to say what he felt needed to be said. What he could never say in front of the others.

“Then teach me Vanya. Teach me what I need to learn to survive what’s coming,” He asked. “I deam of...a…’him’...sometimes,” He said softly and hoped she’d know who he was talking about.

Vanya could see the shocked look on Aragorn's face as she revealed the truth to him. It actually surprised her that he had not noticed. Her ears were not fully pointed like a full elf's were and her face had more human features. She had never hidden this from him, but he hadn't seen it. He had started to become wrapped up inside of himself and she wanted him to look beyond himself and at the world around him. She knew that was difficult within Rivendell, which is why she had already made a decision and one she knew Lord Elrond would agree with.

"I am teaching you Aragorn. You just aren't being patient. You aren't looking beyond yourself at the world around you. I never hid that I was half human from you. You just failed to notice what was right in front of you. But I have realized that I cannot teach you here within these walls. You and I will go out into Middle Earth and I will teach you there. In order for you to make decisions about the world around you, you must know that world and all of its inhabitants. I can teach you and show you the world if you are willing. But you must be ready for a long, hard journey. You must learn from your mistakes. You must learn something completely before moving forward. You must learn patience and to open your eyes and heart fully. Will you do this?"

OOC-You are welcome to bring older Aragorn into the future part again with Vanya if you want and have him find her at the grave site.

As he continued on he became aware of an odd feeling. Like an itch he couldn’t scratch that appeared in the center of his back between his shoulder blades. He knew the orcs were ahead of him but something, he couldn’t tell what, pulled his attentions west, away from the orcs. He stopped and knelt again to scrutinize the tracks he saw. After a few moments he saw the shallow indent of a booted heel and he knew.

He still stepped as if enemies were not only ahead but behind as well. All rangers did that so it was no surprise when he saw Vanya huddled in amongst the trees. Where she was, it was only the fringe but he approached her warily just the same. He made presence of his coming to her ears though. She could fire an arrow quickly and he didn’t really feel like dodging her hasty shot just then. Vanya was a very good archer after all.

It didn’t take much to know what those markers meant. This was the final resting place of...someone. Her mother or father? There appeared to be more than one...both of them? He could not be certain and she barely acknowledged his presence right then. He remained silent and a few paces off and went to a knee. He stuck his arrow down into the soft, forest floor and leaned his bow, grip down against his hip as he took out his belt knife and a bit of dried rabbit. He sliced off a small piece and then replaced the meat and knife and brought the meat up to his mouth. His hair was damp and shaggy down to just below his shoulders and he shook off his dark hood as he began to chew.

Aragorn did not expect Vanya to be out here, it had been quite some time since he last saw her they did not depart one another's company in the best of terms. But he owed much to her and so out of the deep respect he had for her he waited patiently not wanting to intrude or interfere.

Vanya knew of Aragorn's presence long before he began to make himself known to her. She hadn't seen Aragorn in almost three years since they had parted company. She had taught him all that she could and, as she had thought, he turned out to be a great swordsman. He was still young and brash though and still lacked the patience she wanted from him. She knew it would come in time and she finally just let him go out on his own. In the time they had been together she had taken him all over Middle Earth...from the beautiful, lush green Shire to the open plains of Rohan. She taught him the sword, archery, how to hunt, fish, track, and heal. She taught him Elvish and some Dwarvish and she instilled in him a respect for all creatures and species in Middle Earth. She imparted whatever knowledge she had to him. What he did with it now was his own decision.

She saw him come closer to her, but he kept a respectful distance and remained quiet. She could see his hair had gotten longer and he was starting to mature into a young man. There was a rugged handsome quality to his face now and he was alive, which meant she had taught him well. She looked back at the grave site and after a moment she finally began to speak.

"My mother was injured here by an Orc when I was very young. She was protecting me and died in my father's arms. We buried her here and whenever we were close by my father would come and visit her. His love for her was unlike any love I have ever seen before. He never looked at another female the way he did her. When he died, I brought him here and buried him with her so they would always be together."

There was perhaps another reason that Vanya had taken to Aragorn. They had both suffered the death of a parent. It was one more thing that they had in common and if he didn’t know better, he would have thought that she felt like crying. An odd sentiment considering how long they were dead and who and what she was. There was little time for tears out here. Little time for much of anything but the constant balance that teetered upon life and death. A life where one mistake could cost you everything. And yet his heart went out to her. Perhaps for the first time he saw her as not just his teacher or fellow Ranger. She was a woman. A woman with feelings and regrets.

Where he had always seen hard muscle and bone he now saw the soft, slight curves of her shape. For she was a woman though he knew she had never married. He wondered what it would feel like to kiss her right then and his mind began to wander.

……………………………

The bear had definitely came through where he and Vanya slowed to check for more tracks. It had killed 2 people and wounded a small boy. Now that it knew human flesh it would not only lose his fear of them he might consider them prey. Bears, if pressed to it would eat anything including people if they came to it. This large bastard had and they were dispatched to find and kill it. There was an odd sound coming from a small pond just beyond the next clearing. As they approached he and Vanya crawled up to look over the small grassy ledge that overlooked the pond. They both knew bears liked fish and this pond was a frequent stop for many different animals and wildlife. As they peaked over the edge however, there was not a bear but 2 young women who wore not a stitch as they splashed one another and giggled. Aragorn had never seen a woman’s body like this and his face nearly split in two from his wide grin. He turned to look at Vanya who grunted softly and began to already pull back from the ledge. He only turned back to continue watching them and his body definitely reacted to the view. Their pale flesh captivated him and he couldn’t pull himself away for some reason. Not until Vanya tugged on his boot. Aragorn was barely 15 years old then.

…………………………..

“Why have you not married Vanya?” He asked before he could stop himself. Such personal questions were not usually appreciated by elves and Vanya was a very secretive sort. That and it might allude to what he may have been thinking about right then. Hardly appropriate for the situation.

Vanya knew that they had to find that bear quickly now that it had killed two people. From its tracks, Vanya could see that it was a large, male bear. They had been tracking it for close to two days. Vanya was allowing Aragorn to lead this tracking expedition and she remained silent and allowed him to figure out his mistakes. She only spoke up if he asked her a question. He was doing well and led them to a clearing where they could hear some strange sounds. Vanya could hear the distinct sound of water being splashed, but it did not sound like a bear was making those sounds to her ears. Instead, they sounded human like and indeed as they peered down from a grassy ledge she could see two, young naked women playing and splashing in the water. Aragorn was at the age where she knew this was going to interest him and from the corner of her eye she could see the big grin on his face. She rolled her eyes and sighed and began to move away, focusing again on finding the bear, but Aragorn needed a little encouragement to move away from the ledge. He was getting older and she knew that his human male needs would eventually come into play, but she hoped that that would not distract him from things that needed to get done.

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Vanya was holding back tears as she spoke about her parents. She had never cried in front of Aragorn, or even shed a single tear. There were very few things that evoked that kind of emotion in her, but when it came to her parents she always felt like crying. She missed them both, especially her father. She remembered very little about her mother, apart from how beautiful she was. She also remembered her voice when she would sing to her. But she had grown up with her father and they had developed a strong bond. He had taught her everything she now knew and had passed on to Aragorn. He had not only been her father but also her friend. Without him she felt lonely.

"Who would want me as a wife?" she responded to Aragorn as she looked over at him. "I am not exactly wife material. I have no interest or intention of settling down in one place, keeping a home, or bearing children. I belong nowhere and everywhere. A man doesn't want a Ranger as a wife."

A small smile came to Aragorn’s lips as he regarded her. He had a feeling she’d respond this way. Though he had only know her a few years he knew what she was about. Duty meant so much to her, to them both but that wasn’t ‘what’ she was about. Not really. For them being a Ranger was their occupation. What they did. How they did it though spoke volumes of who and ‘what’ they really were. He rose and stepped toward her.

“Being a Ranger is what you do, not who you are Vanya. We are different you and I but our thirst for adventure and the hunt keeps us vigilant and alive. You are a beautiful woman Vanya even though you don’t really see it, and you have much to offer a man.” He said not really realizing the softness of his words. That and he spoke her name as if caressing her cheek with an outstretched finger. He had never said anything like that to her or anyone before and definitely not like that.

“Elves are long-lived so if you do not desire a quiet life that may not be always so. The world grows more complicated however and waiting to have a child or a family might mean it may never happen at all,” he said. Her large, deep blue eyes and thick, dark hair were at odds with her pale skin but it all just seemed to make her all that much more attractive...well, to him at least. Elves were often more concerned about things like ‘heritage’ and other things that did not matter to Aragorn. If his look had been timid a moment ago it was different now. He was looking at her now like a man who was looking at a woman he found attractive and didn’t seem to care that his thoughts were obvious and open right then. Aragorn didn’t like seeing Vanya sad or distraught and he felt like saying more to her but finally he did hold back only now realizing that he had said too much already.

Vanya was surprised by Aragorn’s words. Not only by what he said, but how he said them. He had never spoken with such softness and affection towards her before. His words and the look in his eyes was not that of a boy, but of a young man. And as her eyes met his she felt a feeling of desire rise up within her. It had been a long time since she had taken a lover and it felt nice to be spoken to in such a way. Aragorn had clearly come a long way since they had parted company.

“I live on the fringe of two different worlds Aragorn. The world of Elves and the world of men. I am both and neither at the same time and do not belong fully to either world. My life is complicated enough and I enjoy the freedom I have. Perhaps one day the desire to travel the world and fight orcs will disappear, but that day is not today.”

She paused a moment and looked him over slightly before looking into his eyes. “You have come quite a long way since I first met you.”

And just like that the teacher he knew well was back. He sighed and looked back toward the east. “Well, the orcs made it to the forest, our choices are to wait for them to come out again or head back,” He said though he knew she knew that as well. Going into the forest was not an option. Over the last few months orcs have been conducting raids quite frequently. And he had been having dark dreams of late as well. That and every once in a while he’d get a feeling as if he were being watched or something was seeking him but could not seem to find him. That something was malevolent as well. That he knew to his bones.

He nocked an arrow but just held it with his fingers and tilted his head and looked at her. “Its a long run back...you up for it?” He teased. Knowing full well that she absolutely HATED that! But he did it anyway.

Vanya sighed and looked towards the Trollshaws. Had Aragorn not been here she would have gone into the forest, but she would not risk his life in that way when she knew he would follow her if she went. He was too important to Middle Earth's future. She felt it deep in her bones that one day he would be King of Gondor and would reunite the world of men. He needed to stay alive. The orcs would live for now.

She looked over at Aragorn again and once again their eyes met. She was struck by how beautiful his grey eyes were. He was only a young man, but they already seemed wiser. They seemed to draw her in. However, the moment quickly passed when he began to tease her. She furrowed her brow and narrowed her gaze at him. Then, suddenly, her expression changed to a grin and her eyes seemed to light up as she smiled.

"I'll see you there," she teased back as she turned and began to run...