Prescient

Chapter Ten: Patrol

Following after Lendor, Anna made her way back to the pavilion where the other patrol members waited, each of them standing by their chosen horse for the journey. Some elves weren't as fortunate as her to have a horse to call theirs and only theirs. Lossenloth had been a wild one, and it had taken her five months of determination and broken bones for the wild white mare to acknowledge her as her rider. It had also taken five months' worth of horse treats too, but Anna didn't like to think on that. She liked to think it had been all her hard work and skill rather than persistent bribery.

"You are Anna, are you not?"

Blinking, Anna turned, spying a similarly dressed elleth standing a short ways away from her, holding the reins of a bay mare. "That would be correct. I am afraid I know not who you are though..." she said, staring intently at the brunette. There were a lot of brunettes in Rivendell, hair colours such as hers and her lord's being that much rarer than they were in Gondolin.

"My name is Gwestriel, well met," she spoke. "I am happy to have another elleth on this patrol. More often than not it is solely me and the rest of these fools..."

"You still call us fools?" Another brunette peered over at them. "How mean, Gwestriel... we have saved your life more than once."

"And I have saved yours a similar number of times," Gwestriel declared, flicking the speaker on the forehead. "Anna, this is Renion."

Renion waved weakly, eyes flickering almost instantly onto Lossenloth. "A pleasure to meet you," he spoke, silvery grey eyes glancing between her and her white steed. "I see Baralindir chose you out a troublesome companion for this patrol."

Her brow furrowed in confusion. "Troublesome?"

"Were you not aware?" He stared at her, eyebrows raised. "Lossenloth is rather finnicky about who her rider is... though you do share some similarities with the people she has allowed to ride her before."

Of course... how could she forget? "I shall be fine, I believe," Anna said, petting her horse yet again, glad to be back with her. A memory of older, happier times.

"If you believe it so," Renion mumbled, looking as though he did not believe her in the slightest. "Come, let us introduce you to everyone."

There were fifteen of them in total, almost twice as large as the usual force of eight. It wasn't quite as large as the groups of twenty who'd left Gondolin though. She could put names to faces for six of them so far. Only eight more to go.

In the end she only managed three more before swinging herself up into the saddle. Lirion, the best singer out of the group, Mîchon, who was rather small for an ellon, and Therion, the scariest looking elf of them all – coincidentally the best marksman out of them all too. He was in charge of hunting for their meals whilst out on patrol, usually taking the two other black-haired elves with him when he went, or so she had heard from Elladan.

"Are you ready for your first patrol?" Elrohir glanced over from where he rode next to her, hooves clopping against the tiled roads as they made their way towards the very edge of Rivendell.

"Of course," Anna said, relaxing with the familiar weight of bow and blade as Lossenloth carried her smoothly into the forest much to the surprised glance of Renion.

"Scared?" Elladan asked from her other side as they rode at the very front of their group. Elladan and Elrohir were both in charge of this particular patrol, which might've been how she'd ended up on it. They might've picked up on her hesitancy around Glorfindel... but Anna could only really be grateful for that. She would rather be on patrol with the troublesome twins rather than slinking about at the back of the patrol desperately avoiding his eye.