Lost and Found Again

Chapter 1 - Varyannë

The ground was warm, warmer than anything Varyannë had felt it a long time, the kind of heat that flows through your skin, and kisses your soul until it grows dizzy. She let out a soft sigh, and relaxed into the warmth, not wanting to move. There was light somewhere above her, brilliant and causing her eyelids pulse blood red with her heartbeat. It hurt, but everything hurt when you were alive. She slowly became aware that she had fingers, toes, arms and legs and that they could move. She could feel something moving over one of her arms but was in no manner interested in opening her eyes to discover what it might be that crawled on top of her body.

Her body. Her eyes flew open, and Varyannë bolted upright, the light momentarily blinding her. A wild look quickly cast around the clearing proved to her that she was alone, a fact that in itself calmed her a little; When you were alone there was no one to disappoint or hurt. A cynical huff escaped her lips at that thought, how far she had come, how far they all had if that was the first thought to appear within her mind.

Glancing around, she took in the clearing in which she found herself, a small space with slightly browning grass and fiery leaves overhead. There was little to nothing unique about this place, no indicator that could hint to her where she was or in which direction one should travel should that one wish to survive. Beneath her bare feet Varyannë felt the light poking of dying grass, an ever so slightly painful sensation cleverly designed to remind he who traversed it that they were living and prone to loose that privilege at any moment. She let out a humorless laugh at the Valar's idiocy, for indeed they could give her these reminders, yet with no weapons nor shoes, nor any idea of where in Arda she was, it would do very little good and she would see herself back before Námo within two weeks. Casting a glance above her at the brilliant rays of sunshine filtering through the golden and red leaves, Varyannë grimaced, soon Arien would disappear and if intuition was any sign, there was little chance that she found herself anywhere safe or familiar. Choosing to follow the trajectory of the sun's descent, she set off, seeking to keep it within her sights as long as possible and the darkness at her back. West always had been the direction of home, and she hoped it proved as much in this moment.

The sounds of life enthralled Varyannë as she made her way steadily in the wake of Arien, the light rustling of leaves and the creaking of branched against one another, a language that long ago Turko might have translated proudly, the light and happy songs of birds as they made their ways to bed, and the quieter less obvious noises, the sound of her feet brushing against the grass and moss, and the quiet rustles of other, larger animals around her, ones that regularly made her jump and wish once again that she had been sent with anything as vital as a weapon. Indeed, Varyannë thought wryly, better to be naked and armed than to be clothed and unarmed. Lots of good it would do her to be speared straight through the golden dress resting lightly on her frame. In fact, the dress would prohibit any running, the original reason Varyannë had abandoned the ridiculous clothing in the first place favoring instead the less restrictive hunting clothing of her brothers.

A glance upwards into the sky sent a frown across her lips, the light fading much more quickly from the sky than she had anticipated and remembered. The purples, oranges, and pinks streaked across the sky now like a painters canvas. She had counted on not seeing these for an hour more at least, and still surrounded by the monotonous trees that would offer her no landmarks, nor even an unobstructed view of the sky and horizon, Varyannë sped up her pace, hoping to find a clearing similar to the one which she had awoken in.

The last rays of sunlight had long disappeared before she allowed herself to rest, scooping leaves into her arms to use as a pillow despite their slight molding and scratches she knew were likely to form from dream induced movement. Varyannë closed her eyes, blocking out the faint light of the stars above her, a reminder if nothing else had been that the Valar were ever watchful, however distant and cold they seemed from her position on the ground.