Prescient

Chapter Two: Imladris

Blood trickled down from her temple, and Anna swore under her breath, smearing blood away from her eye for the third time that minute. The sounds of wolves howling was growing fainter and fainter, but she wasn't too sure it would last. Not if they picked up the scent of her blood. Judging by her luck, there was little doubt they wouldn't find the trail. She hadn't exactly had the time to cover it up, what with dangerous creatures being in the area. Either way her luck would've gotten her into trouble. For what had to be the thousandth time.

"Today is not my day," she muttered, hitching up her dress as best as she could as she ran through a wide, shallow river. "It just had to be wolves... why could it not have been bunnies... or kittens..." Blood dripped down onto the white fabric she wore, and her shoulders sunk. That would most definitely be a pain to get out. Anna tilted her head, staring at the small rips and dirt stained all over the nice dress. Well, if there was any point in getting it out. She was fairly sure the only clothing she had was ruined. Her heart pounded in her chest, and she continued in her headlong run, blinking as the treeline fell away all of a sudden, and her bare, torn feet met the dirt road. Her head snapped left and right, mind frantically trying to work out which way she should go.

Howls behind her had her running left before she could stop herself. She didn't pay attention to the ache in her feet, only running as fast and far as she could. She'd just been... reincarnated... she didn't particularly want to die so soon after. She didn't think she could handle a third death, nor another trip to the Halls of Mandos. Her lungs ached, her head pounding, ears twitching as they caught the sounds of... hoofbeats? Anna blinked, eyes snapping up from the ground, her feet skidding to a stop as she spotted the riders. Two of them. There was no point in hiding in the bushes, either. They'd seen her. Besides, they were of elven kind, and she sorely needed some assistance, no matter how much the thought burnt at her pride.

Not that her pride had ever helped her.

She eyed them up, biting her lip at their unfamiliar armour and visage. Whoever they were, she had no clue who they were. Their armour was too light... Her eyes narrowed. Any metal plating was thin and sparsely placed, their legs lacking the polished greaves she was so used to seeing. Well, before she'd died the first time around. They weren't even wearing helmets, instead allowing their long brown hair to flutter in the winds behind them as they rode. Easy pickings for orcs and balrogs, but fortunately there weren't any in the nearby vicinity. Only wolves.

Anna blinked a couple of times, rubbing at her sore head, knowing she was most definitely going to have a headache after all of this insanity. But it could wait until she was somewhere safe. Her body relaxed of its own accord as they brought their horses to a halt only meters from where she stood. They were kin, and they most certainly were not Fëanorian.

"My lady, you are injured..."

Anna withheld her snarky response, reminding herself she was eldar and as such had to try and speak like one. She wasn't of the edain.

The other elf, undeniably the twin of the first, stepped closer. "There are many wolves in this forest. We were sent to ensure they do not encroach on our lands. May I enquire as to why you are this far out from any settlement?"

Anna's mind went blank, her lips parting, eyebrows knotting together as she struggled to work out what the hell she could say without lying her teeth off. She wasn't comfortable admitting she'd been reborn as it was. Reborn elves were meant to stay in Valinor. She didn't want to think about her death... her deaths. It was all too fresh. But she couldn't lie to save her life. She was never any good at lying. Partial truths were her best friend. Yet she couldn't come up with any half decent reason. "I, well, just woke up here?" she said, swiping more blood away from her eye, noting how their grey eyes, so similar to her own, darted up to the wound on her head.