Into The White

~ 3 Months Later

The trip south was slow going. The snow was coming heavily now and the carts and pack mules could only move so fast in low visibility. Brandt made a fur and leather hat, gloves and leg covers for Laenaya to help her resist the severe cold they would experience now that winter had come. A sickness had come over several members of the caravan which is why Laenaya had thought nothing of it when she had become sick again soon after she had woken up. Many men and women were ill but after a bout of vomiting they seemed to be able to go about their duties like Laenaya had. She had recently run out of the staybirth herbs her mother had given her, she had written and requested more, and only given into Brandts sexual needs once while they headed south along the western edge of Rhovannion. Each night he rubbed her feet to warm them and had been doing a fair job of making sure she was comfortable but the cold while riding was beginning to get to her.

Brandt continued to tell her that he loved her and he didn’t question her at all about her not returning the sentiment. He understood that she would say it when she felt it and not before. They had been heading south for almost 2 weeks and the outskirts of Rohan were not far. When they got a bit closer brandt would send scouts forth to make contact then wait until they knew where they were to go to conduct their trading. This time he would go and Laenaya would be with him. She would conduct the trade so she needed to be among those that made the initial contact. They could not have another incident here and now, they would likely not have enough food if they were forced to turn back.

The next morning, Brandt, Laenaya and 3 others left the safety of the caravan and headed south into the border of Rohan. However only after 3 hours a blizzard had begun and before ropes could be brought out to tether horses together, they lost sight of Neelin and his horse. He came up to Laenaya to talk to her.

“Have we lost Neelin...I can’t see him anywhere!?” He asked loudly. The blizzard made it difficult to see and to hear. Neelin was behind her and he had told her that each person was responsible to keep track of the person behind them. Somehow she had lost sight of him and he was angry with her now for certain sure. Two others rode up behind him then shifted up toward her. “You all stay here! I’ll go look for him!” He said angrily in a tone that would brook no argument. The cold seemed to be biting into her down to her bones so she might find it easy to just nod and accept what he said. After only a few steps his black horse and dark cloak were swallowed up into the wall of white that threatened to freeze them all.

5 minutes passed, 10...20 and he had not returned. Her horse frisked and she knew she had to move or she would get frostbite or possibly even die. She turned to look in the direction Brandt had gone however when she turned back she did not see the other two horses nor their riders. Tracks were filled as quickly as they were made and she lost her bearing when she had turned around. Visibility was only just feet ahead of her and unfortunately when she started out she went eastward back into Rhovannion. As she rode she came upon a steep hill, her horse tried to ride up it but it began to slip. When she did it reared and Laenaya was thrown backward off of her back. When she righted herself her horse was nowhere to be seen and the biting snow seemed to close in around her.

Laenaya had never been so cold in her entire life. Despite the extremely warm clothes Brandt had made for her the wind just went right through her. Most of the day her teeth chattered and her ears and nose felt frozen. However, somehow she managed to go on. For the past few days she had been feeling sick to her stomach as well. She had run out of the tea her mother had given her and had written for some more, but because other people were also sick in the group she figured it was just some bug that was going around. It weakened her, however, and some mornings she had to will herself just to get up and on her horse.

As they neared the border of Rohan, she and Brandt and three others left the group to head into Rohan on their own. However, a blizzard seemed to come up out of nowhere and before they could tether their horses together they lost sight of Neelin. She had been supposed to be keeping an eye on him, but had been distracted and now Neelin was nowhere to be seen. She frantically looked around for him and could see just how angry Brandt was with her. He had never looked at her the way he did just then. She felt she had let him down and Neelin. She wanted to help look for him, but one look from Brandt told her to stay where she was.

She waited...and waited...and waited. In this icy cold every minute seemed like an hour. She knew that if she did not move soon she and her horse would die of frostbite. She looked over in the direction that Brandt had gone and then turned back to look at the other two riders to tell them she was going after him, but when she looked back they were gone. She tried calling out for them, but she could barely hear her own voice over the wind. Believing she was going in the right direction she started riding, but did not realize she was actually heading Eastward. She came to a steep hill and as she urged her horse to start to climb it she began to slip. She reared up and Laenaya was thrown backward and rolled down the hill. When she looked up she could no longer see her horse. She began to yell for help, but no one would be able to hear her over the wind. Terror quickly began to grip her as she began to fear she might die alone of exposure and frostbite.

Snow crunched beneath her boots and she thought she saw trees here and there as she walked. It was still early, not even noon yet but all she saw was snow as it blew and blew around her. Her throat had grown hoarse from shouting and as she crested another hill she slipped and tumbled over and over down it and then further into what could only be a shallow valley between a few of the hills. Freezing, exhaustion beginning to take over her body she managed to lift up her head. Her vision began to narrow, she knew she was dying yet what she saw made her try to stand. The hills seemed to make the snow not as bad here and she saw an unevenness in the rocky, snow-covered hills around her. As she got closer to it she gasped realizing that it was a cave. Wasting no time she ran toward it and fell more than stepped over the small stones that were now frozen to the floor. Immediately she felt relief from the biting snow and ice but she knew that she was utterly alone. The cave saw dark but after a moment her vision changed and she was able to see clearly in the darkness.

Cobwebs and dust covered everything, apparently the cave was abandoned for some time. Her feet felt like frozen nubs and she knew if she didn’t find warmth fast she would not ever leave this place...wherever it was. Taking a quick glance around she found broken bits of boxes or crates and also barrels filled with all sorts of things. Quickly she fished out her flint and steel as she piled a few pieces of the discarded wood on one another. Within moments the sparks lit the dry, dusty wood and a small fire bloomed now in front of her. Slowly the warmth of the fire drained the cold from her extremities, she took off her boots to inspect her feet and surprisingly none of her toes were going to fall off anytime soon but they sure did hurt like they would. The wind still blew and whistled past the cave opening but as she piled more wood on the fire the small cave grew more and more warmer.

Brandt had made it back to the Caravan and it was all they could do to hold him back as he fought desperately to go back out and look for Laenaya. When the horses returned without their riders he groaned and hoped beyond hope she would be alive. He knew now that he loved her more than anything else in his life and he would find her if he had to die trying.

Laenaya moved as if by memory only. She was unaware that she was walking, and yet walking she was. She hugged her arms across her body and bent forward against the wind that was blowing into her face. She had given up on yelling. No one would be able to hear her and she would not be able to hear them. She had nearly lost her voice and her throat hurt now along with every other part of her body. Her thighs burned as she walked up yet another hill. As she crested the top her right foot slipped and she tumbled down the other side of the hill. Down at the bottom she lay there for a long moment, believing she was dying. For a moment she considered just lying there and letting the snow cover her, but she somehow willed herself to stand and start moving again. She found that she was in some sort of valley and thankfully the hills and rocks around her kept the wind from blowing quite so hard.

As she walked, her eyes scanned the area around her for any possible shelter. She was just about to give up hope when she suddenly spied an unevenness in the rocks. She moved closer and to her relief she realized it was a cave! She ran towards it as quickly as she could and nearly collapsed once she got inside. She took a moment to just lie there before forcing herself to sit up. She looked around her and found that the cave was littered with broken bits of crates and boxes as well as barrels. She suddenly realized she could build a fire with the broken bits of wood. She gathered them together into a small pile and used her knife and sharpening stone to light the wood. She then pulled off her boots, fearing what she might see, but to her complete relief her feet looked free of frostbite. They were cold and hurt, but they were going to be alright. She sat close to the fire and let the warmth slowly seep into her. She still felt frozen, but at least tonight she wouldn’t die. She could only hope that the blizzard would stop by morning and she would be able to find her way back to the caravan. As she sat there alone she thought about Brandt and how she had let him down and had disappointed him. She thought about how he had looked at her and yelled at her. She hoped that he had found Neelin and that they both were safe.

Brandt was inconsolable. The last words to her were spoken in anger and disappointment. Now they rang in his ears and wrongness toward them just filled his heart. He had failed her in the worst possible way, his mother and failed his people. He had been a fool to believe someone like her. Someone so beautiful, refined, intelligent and kind could ever think to love a foolish, mangy dog like him. All his dreams were of her, his future, everything revolved around her. Now she was lost….Lost! And the blizzard outside continued…

As feeling crept back into her toes and limbs, her skin itched terribly and there was pain in her hands and feet as the blood began to circulate again. She found that this cave wasn’t inhabited by an animal. With crates and barrels? Something else had lived here long ago. A faint memory of a story she had been told by her father. He and her mother, though not at the time, found a troll’s cave. They had never went back for the treasure they buried but described the cave in detail and how they had hidden the finest of their trove. Before she realized it, sleepily she had gotten to her feet and began to look around.

Upon looking around the cave she finds many things, weapons, armor, most are rusted or rotted but also herbs,

Arlan, a blue flower that can cure bruises and colds and provide respiratory relief, a small pouch.

Longbottom Leaf: A full pouch along with a bone pipe.

An unbroken bottle of wine though the cork smells oddly of berries and fish.

A Box of Grey Wood with earth inside of it.

A Dagger made of Green Laen.

Also she finds copper, silver, gold & mithril coins minted long ago, gems and jewelry, more than she can carry.

Laenaya stayed close to the fire for a long time as she began to be warmed. She felt extremely tired and hungry, but she had no food with her. As she looked around she thought more about the cave and came to the conclusion that no animal lived here. However, it was clear that at some point humans, or another species, had been here. She then began to remember a story her father had told her when she was young. She had enjoyed hearing about all of the adventures he had shared with her mother during the war. She remembered one story where they had come across a cave that was filled with gold, jewels, weapons, and other artifacts. It had been in that cave that her mother had found the black wood bow that she now carried.

Curiosity overcame exhaustion and she found herself rising to her feet, though slowly. She began to look more closely at the items in the cave and to her utter amazement she discovered, among many other things, weapons and armor and gold and jewels. She began to wonder if this was not the same cave that her parents had discovered all those years ago. There was a fortune here. Certainly enough to help the clan. She began to imagine Brandt’s face when she showed it all to him. For now, though, she took handfuls of gold and jewels and shoved it into her pockets.

The smoke made her eyes threaten to close and her limbs felt...heavy. Sitting down back by the small fire it wasn’t long before she fell fast asleep. With her deep sleep she dreamed. Dreamed of white and of the storm. Of Baign and her arrow piercing into her heart. Of Brandt looking desperately for her in the white that enveloped him like smoke. She dreamed of home and of her mother’s approving gaze upon her. Of her winning chess against Eldarion. She drifted without form across her many dreams, a small, white bird looking down upon world below and seeing the landscape from up high. She dreamed of Brandt and how he made love to her. He put all of himself into pleasuring her and yet remembered how much of herself she held back from him.

She dreamed of animals oddly, a bird, a snow fox and even a massive blue bear. She could see from their eyes and smell from their noses as if she were they though their thoughts were of a language she did not know. It wasn’t until she found a large Snow cat. A massive beast that prowled into the snow. She saw through its eyes and smelled wood smoke in the white that was the weather outside. It seemed surprised she was there and she found that she could understand its thoughts. It did not think like a human though, it spoke to her with imagery. The cat whose mind she had contacted did have a name. It showed her the image of its paw that looked nearly blue as she pulled it from the water. And it was female she discovered, a big one that had hunted these lands for years alone.

Something tickled her face. It felt….scratchy and moist as she felt it again. She giggled and then opened her eyes. Daylight crept in from the cave opening, and there was no sound of the blizzard any longer. But that was not what she was really interested in at the moment. It was the face of a large snow cat that looked down at her. Its eyes were gray and as she thought to go for her belt knife its jaws pulled back to reveal massive, pearly white incisors, each one that looked nearly as long as her knife. When she stopped that train of thought however its mouth closed again and then it settled back upon its haunches. Lazily it licked its paw and she noticed that the pads on the foot it licked were colored a deep blue as if it had been damaged by frost long ago.

From its mind she saw imagery of men it called two legs who carried metal fangs she interpreted as swords. It also showed her beasts with four legs that ran like the wind she interpreted as horses. It also asked her if her two legs no longer would carry her across the hills? She seemed to take her being able to speak to it in stride though and it seemed more curious how she could do this than anything else.

Laenaya felt something on her face. It tickled her and reminded her of Brandt's beard when he would kiss her. Perhaps she was with him now and this had all been a bad dream...She opened her eyes and they widened when she saw not Brandt's face looking down at her, but the face of a very large Snow Cat. She immediately started to go for her knife belt, although she knew that if this animal decided to kill her that she would stand no chance with her knife. The animal then opened it's mouth to reveal it's long, pearly white teeth and Laenaya immediately stopped. She couldn't breath for a moment and the only thing she could think of was Brandt and how she wouldn't see him again. Suddenly, the cat closed it's mouth and settled back and began to lick one of it's paws. Her mind was flooded with images of men and horses and she quickly realized that the animal was communicating with her. It was then that she remembered the belt she wore...the one that Brandt had given to her as a Bride gift. She remembered from the stories that one of it's powers was the ability to connect with the mind of an animal. She realized then that this Snow Cat must be her animal. Through the images she discovered it was asking her if she could no longer walk across the hills. She wasn't entirely sure how to communicate with this animal, but she knew that it wouldn't understand words. She then closed her eyes and began to show it images from the blizzard and how she had gotten separated from Brandt. It would see her being thrown from her horse and then walking almost blindly in the blizzard. It would see her slipping and falling down one side of the hill and then finding this cave. She attempted to tell it also that she wouldn't hurt it if it wouldn't hurt her.

The big cat yawned and laid down near her. It’s eyes followed her movements but it no longer seemed wary of her. It sent her an image of three two legs on three four legs in the snow. The storm was indeed passed and the sun shined down brightly. She would know it smelled men a few miles off.

Laenaya's hope grew when she saw the image. She looked at the cat and asked it if it knew where they were.

It sent her an image of a cops of trees and and two hills, Unfortunately the passage of time and distance was difficult to convey but it showed her a slight change in the sun and the general direction using the landmarks of the treeline which pointed her westward.

Laenaya looked outside and saw that the blizzard had stopped. However, there was several feet of snow that was going to make it slow going. She looked back at the cat and asked it if it would take her to them.

To your he? it asked. It showed her images of a two legs that looked like Brandt. It could smell her on him and knew which direction he was.

Laenaya nodded when she saw the image of Brandt. She was still exhausted and weak but knew this was her only chance.

I will take you to your He but the two legs will throw their long daggers, she said and it showed images of the two legs shooting their bows at her.

Laenaya sighed a little when she saw this. She looked at the cat and told it that she would protect it from them. When they got close she would go ahead and let it stay behind. She hoped that Brandt would be too distracted by her to notice it.

Once she was ready to leave the large snow cat led her out of the cave. The wind was still cold but nothing like the night before. The deep snow drifts made for slow going but the cat plowed the way for her, its thick fur seemingly impervious to the cold and snow. After a couple of hours of trekking it paused and looked back at her. Your HE is there, she told Laenaya. Over the next hill the caravan plodded along toward Rohan. It was slow but it always had been slow with all the carts and mules.

Laenaya was exhausted, cold, and hungry, but she followed behind the snow cat for hours as it led the way. A few times she nearly fell, but she managed to stay on her feet and always there was a slightly sick feeling in her stomach. It was starting to grow dark and the wind began to pick up. Snow was starting to fall again. Finally, the snow cat told her that Brandt was near. She looked at the snow cat and through her mind she thanked it for helping her and hoped that one day they would meet again. She then began up over the hill with the last of her strength.

Brandt rode slowly on his horse. Tethered with his black was Laenaya’s white. It’s saddle was empty now along with 2 other saddles. The caravan behind him moved slowly and he no longer cared if the trading went well or not. Laenaya was gone….his Laenaya, the woman he had come to love, his wife. After everything he had failed to keep her safe. He had promised the queen he would and he had failed, utterly. Ducerth plodded along and kicked the thick snow as they continued their travel south as they were about to enter Rohan. It was the sound of a voice that picked his head up. He looked left and then right.

“Snow Cat! Someone yelled and men on horses rallied around toward the east side. It seemed to stay low to the ground out of bow range and it moved oddly from what Brandt could make out. Then, behind it up on the hill he saw her. Laenaya! She was alive but between her and them was the Snow Cat and it was a big one. He wasted no time he peeled off toward her, the cries from the others for him to hold back had gone unheard. She was alive! He thought excitedly as his horse charged through the deep snow toward her. The Snow cat seemed to fade back as it moved toward her then it disappeared behind the hill she stood on. He didn’t understand what it was doing but it seemed not to concern itself with Laenaya. He charged up the slope then flung himself from the saddle when he was close enough to her. Digging his legs into the snow drift he ran up to her then flung himself at her, his arms going out around her, desperate kisses raining down upon her face as they both fell to their knees in the snow.

As Laenaya came up over the crest of the hill she looked down and saw the caravan. Her eyes immediately saw Brandt, but before she could yell to him, someone else yelled out 'Snow Cat!'. She communicated with it and told it to go quickly. As she looked up she suddenly saw Brandt on his horse charging up the hill towards her. She was too exhausted to walk any further and waited for him to come to her. She didn't realize it at the time, but tears had begun to trickle down her cheeks. Her legs just barely kept her up as he leapt from his horse and threw his arms around her. As she felt his arms go around her she knew she was safe. She felt his kisses on her cold face as they both collapsed to their knees in the snow. A sudden and strong, powerful feeling came over her then...unlike anything she had ever experienced before. She knew then that she needed Brandt, not because he protected her, but it was something far more. When she had believed she was going to die he had been the only thing she had been able to think about. She felt everything around her starting to go dark, but she managed to whisper something into his ear.

"I love you Brandt."

Then everything went black.

ooc-new thread