From Oaks To Pines - An Inheritance Cycle Fanfic

Chapter 2: First Meeting

Her trousers came up to her calves and were made of seemingly tough, dark blue fabric. Her ill-fitting garb made it seem as though she had donned a child's clothes.

The two bags of luggage that lay abandoned on the forest floor were anomalous. He noticed a dark blue and black pack made of an alien fabric with strings in a criss-cross manner on the front. The seams that held it together were very fine yet odd. There were two thick, black loops which seemed to be the straps for wearing it. He discovered another bag of a strange shape. It was round and wide at one side while slim and long at the other. It also had two black straps for carrying it.

Other than that, they both seemed to share a few features.

While Blӧdhgarm's dark fur had a bluish tinge, her fur was absolutely black and shone in the dim light of the approaching dawn. At first he thought that she was wearing the fur of an animal, but then he realised it was her own fur.

Like him, her fur covered her face as well but it only seemed to accentuate her features. Beneath the fur, he was certain she had a flawless face. Her hair hung down to her waist in soft waves and was as glossy as her fur. The only thing that allowed Blödhgarm to distinguish between the two was the contrast between obsidian black of her fur and the rich brown hue of her hair.

The woman's claws were curved, sharper, longer and present on all her fingers and toes while he only had claws on each of his middle fingers. Blӧdhgarm's nails were of a dull yellow colour while those of the female's held a charcoal hue.

Her mouth was slightly open and he could make out two pairs of fangs. He could see the sharp tips which must protrude from her lower jaw and the thick base of long canines from her upper jaw. The elf saw the same confusion and curiosity on the female's face that he himself felt. She scrutinised him just as he took in her appearance.

When she met his gaze, Blӧdhgarm was transfixed by her eyes. They were golden, much like his own, but those strange eyes were glowing. Their glow was so alike the glow of the eyes of the creatures of night. Those intense eyes stared back at him unabashedly.

Blödhgarm could not forget how her mind had felt earlier. Now that she stood before him, the elf found that he was all the more confused as to who, rather what she was.

One thing was certain, this foreigner was not human, dwarf or elf. Her mind was far too alien. Briefly, he entertained the idea of her being a werecat or a Shade. These thoughts were soon dismissed. The threat that she could be a spy, or worse, from the Empire remained.

No one from the Varden was expected in the elven kingdom and Blӧdhgarm highly doubted an ambassador or messenger would reach out with their minds or wear the kind of garb that the female did.

That she was a powerful magician was evident. Her consciousness had managed to touch him despite the physical distance. Her features could only be the result of appearance altering spells. But he could not think of an explanation for her heartbeat. It was still beating steady and fast, so fast that he was almost concerned for her well-being.

Yet, how could someone have breached the wards around the forests without anyone finding out? Let alone the possibility of someone coming so close to Ellesméra.

More moments passed and neither shifted or spoke. The tension grew. Blӧdhgarm could no longer endure the deafening silence. He pushed aside elven manners and out of frustration blatantly asked her, "Who are you and what are you doing here?" Out of habit spoke in the Ancient Language.

The black fur on her face shifted and rippled as her eyebrows knit together in consideration or anger, which one of the two, he wasn't sure. She replied, or rather growled, "What did you say?"