((oops..i so knew that..))

Handion slapped his head and let out a laugh. "Well that ruins that approach." He whispered.

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Just became a college freshman; be on sparingly

Aramel stepped back as Aling came forward. "How do I know you mean that?" She pushed Mithian behind her with her free hand, the other held Eldarin to her chest.

Aling paused. "You're right, I guess you can't know for sure." He half-shrugged. "I don't have any way to prove it to you, except that my friend and I could have captured you by now if we wanted to." He pointed back towards the cave, disregarding Handion's former plan. "My friend's an Elf."

Mithain stood behind Aramel, but peeked past her arm to watch the stranger. <i>He seems friendly enough.</i> she thought, the corrected herself. <i>It could be just an act, to catch us off our guard.</i>

Aramel nodded, knowing that he would have done something to hurt them by now if he really wanted to. She came forward into Handion's view, the three of them now out of the forest. "We saw your fire from the forest. It appears that you have plenty of food. We haven't eaten for nearly a day and Eldarin is restless..."

Aling smiled and gestured towards the fire. "Help yourselves. I just cooked a rabbit, and Handion perhaps has some waybread he'd be willing to share."

Mithain moved towards the flames, drawn like a moth. The promise of food, warmth, and rest was too much to resist.

Handion smiled and bowed to the newcomers. "Yes, I am willing to share my waybread. Come, sit by the fire!"

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Just became a college freshman; be on sparingly

Aramel bowed her head and sat down on one of the logs by the fire. Eldarin was asleep again, thankfully. "What are two men such as yourselves doing out here?" She inquired, taking a bite of Lembas.

Mithain sat down near her sister, holding her hands out towards the fire. She quickly took a piece of lembas and started to eat it.

"We're hunting orcs." Aling answered the Elven girl. "Have you seen any?" Unfortunately, the words were out of his mouth before he saw the pang of sadness and hurt on Mithain's face.

Aramel did not answer, instead looking over at Mithian with concern. Her eyes drifted back up to Aling's and searched for some sort of answer. "Our parents were killed."

"We were travelling with our parents and some other Elves." Mithain added. "We were attacked this morning."

"Well, we could be hunting the same group of orcs." Aling said, trying to make up for his careless words earlier.

Dalria and Tolur had broken into a swift and silent sprint as the Goblins and Trolls picked up a scent and sped their pace. There was no telling where the horde of creatures would go, since they had been following a wandering trail in the first place, but now that the goblins had scented something, their movements had become unpredictable.

"Ach!" Dalria cursed quietly, when Tolur held a hand aloft in order to signal his companion to a halt. Tolur grumbled beneath his breath as he waited, obviously straining to see beyond the shrubbery.

"Why do we halt here?" Dalria whispered in question, though she could guess the likely motive.

"They have spread into two groups, and I am sure they have either scented us or spotted their prey... I believe the latter."

Dalria nodded her hooded head in agreement, her fingers eagerly waiting at her bow string, for even as they spoke, they witnessed the horde split and become silent. Not far from them, at the point of the goblins' interest, trained ears would be able to distinguish voices and a trained sense of smell would catch a waft of smoke as from a fire.

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I am a pro-cycling fan! Congrats to the Young rider of the Tour de France!
~Cyclist in Training~

Handion looked down and said, "I am sorry for your loss, you three." He said kindly. "But maybe...maybe my friend and I can bring terror to those who brought you sadness."

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Just became a college freshman; be on sparingly

((I'm really sorry for the absence! I've been super busy lately.))

Aramel gave a weak smile. It still hurt and no amount of revenge would make her feel better. "Thank you, Handion."

A rustling was heard in a near by cluster of trees - Orcs.

((it's okay...I'm really behind too...))

Handion nodded, and was about to say, "Don't mention it", but then, he also heard the rustling in the forest. He turned and looked at Aling, and in the same movement pulled out his bow and an arrow and notched it.

"Yrch!" He said, warning the group, though he figured they would know already.

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Just became a college freshman; be on sparingly

Mithain clenched her fist. Orcs again. She wished she had some weapons besides her hunting bow, arrows, and knife.

Aling nodded to Handion and stood, drawing his sword. He took a defensive stance a short ways away from the fire.

Handion listened and then with a quick movement, without warning, he shot into the darkness and a few seconds after the whizzing sound of the arrow ceased and the death cry of an orc was heard. Handion got another arrow and narrowed his eyes. "They are surrounding us."

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Just became a college freshman; be on sparingly