"Would you like to come with us?" Lord Elrond asked the next morning as elves began mounting horses and preparing to ride out. Apparently, a pack of orcs were travelling too close to Rivendell for Elrond's liking, so they planned on taking care of the problem. "We could use an extra pair of hands." He prompted.

"Why not?" Hunting orcs did sound rather fun, and this time Agarwaen would have a horse too. Having been annoyed with her dresses earlier this morning, she already donned elven trousers, paired with boots and a long dark green top. She thanked the Valar she didn't wear a dress today.

"You can take this horse here." Elrond told her after grabbing two horses. He handed her the reins of a tall bay one. She mounted in sync with Elrond, and they rode out among a good number of other elves.

It had been quite some time since she rode and fired arrows at the same time, but during her time in Rivendell, it was one of her favorite things to practice, so the skill came back easily. She still wasn't the best, but she could pull her own weight. They rode out onto a rocky plain where there in the distance, they could see quite a few orcs and wargs. One of the elves sounded a horn, and the pack slowed, turning their attention to the elves.

The wargs changed direction and bolted toward them but were taken out by a slew of arrows within seconds. The elves then charged the remaining orcs, firing arrow after arrow. The wind whipped Agarwaens braid in the air behind her, and she focused on both the strides of her horse and her target. Up and down, up and down, up and fire. The arrow lodged itself in the orcs chest, and she moved on to another. When they were too close, she slung the bow around her, and unsheathed her sword. Her heart was pumping with adrenaline and she felt overwhelmingly free as she slit a few orc's throats and finally managed to decapitate one. A few of the creatures tried to run off, so she took her bow back and slowed her horse. She fired along with Elrond and another elf, killing all of the runners. The yellow grass now had smears of black blood, as bodies and few heads lay bleeding out.

Agarwaen returned her bow to her back and looked over at Elrond who gave her a look of approval.

"Well done." He remarked as he turned his horse around. She smiled and did the same, following behind all the other elves. As the rush began to leave her body, her hands shook and she couldn't help but wish every day was filled with excitement like that.

As they neared the front gate, what caught their attention was the group of short surly dwarves gathered near the front staircase. So Gandalf was on time. Impressive.

As Agarwaen slowed down to not appear hostile, the other elves sped up and began circling the group from atop their horses. Agarwaen stopped on the bridge and watched the scene unfold. It was like corralling a bunch of angry rabbits. They all held out their axes and swords in defense to what they thought was an attack, and yelled at the elves surrounding them. Agarwaen dismounted and waited on the bridge for the elves to be finished with their little show. They all stopped when Elrond did, and she listened as he addressed Gandalf, who stood by Lindir. He explained that they had just come from an orc hunt, before dismounting and greeting the wizard.

"Someone, or something must have drawn them near." He said, handing off his sword.

"Ah, that may have been us." Gandalf admitted. Agarwaen wasn't surprised. Getting the dwarves to follow the hidden pass was a smart idea and left little room for opting out of the visit to the elven city. The elves then began to lead their horses away to the stables, and Agarwaen followed behind. There'd be time for her to be introduced to the party at dinner. She heard Elrond speaking to Thorin, and paused to look back. The dwarf that stepped forward had dark hair, and a cold look on his face. It made her shudder a bit, as if the air grew cold. Another dark haired dwarf, a young one, caught her gaze and narrowed his eyes at her. She nodded curtly and continued on her way.

"That one doesn't look like the others. Kili whispered to Fili, who followed his brother's gaze to watch the elf leave. It was the messy hair and smudged war paint around her eyes that threw him. She didn't look the slightest bit refined like the others.

"Looks like an elf to me" Fili replied, not quite paying attention anymore now that Elrond began speaking in the elven tongue.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Did you hear? There's dwarves in Rivendell!" Enthel whispered to Agarwaen when she spotted her in the halls. "The wizard brought them. But...you said you were meeting him here. Did you know about this?"

"Yes, I did." Agarwaen responded. "I'm accompanying them to their destination."

"And you didn't think to tell me? You're about to go travelling with a bunch of angry dwarven men, and you think that's okay?"

"Why not? Gandalf will be with us, and I'm getting paid a handsome sum for this."

"They'll kill you the second you're alone! They're barbaric! Have you seen them? They're in the garden pavilion, throwing food and dancing on the table! The table!"

"Yes, that sounds like dwarves." Agarwaen smiled. "Have you forgotten that I've spent two centuries wandering middle earth? I've seen my fair share of their kind."

"Still!" Enthel huffed. "Please, stay safe. If they threaten you with anything, just sneak off in the night."

"It'll take more than a few threats to scare me away, Enthel. Sometimes I forget that you haven't seen me fight or deal with threats. I'll be perfectly fine."

"If you say so. I have to go though. Please don't do anything stupid."

"I'll try." Agarwaen called after her friend. In an attempt to differentiate herself from the other elves, she changed her clothes again before going to meet with her travelling companions. She now wore a new plain elven tunic, pants, the same boots from earlier, leather bracers, and her favorite fur. She then fixed up her hair as much as she could, which wasn't much at all, and left her room.

Upon entering through the archways, she saw Elrond, Gandalf, and Thorin Oakenshield sitting at the main table, while the rest of the dwarves and the hobbit sat at another table.

"That's not an elf maid." Dwalin informed Kili, who'd just made a remark about an elf not looking too bad. The poor male elf harpist who'd heard the whole exchange just sighed and continued to play as the whole table erupted in laughter at Kili.

"W-well what about the one from earlier, with the horses? The blonde one?" He struggled to recover from that blow.

"Which one?" Bofur asked, still laughing.

"She had um, braided hair, and dark eyes. She--That one!" He pointed out as he noticed the elf approach the pavilion.

Agarwaen froze when she noticed the young dark haired dwarf pointing at her, and the whole table looked over to her. She wasn't expecting to draw that much attention at her entrance. Choosing to ignore the attention for now, she approached the main table. Gandalf noticed her and smiled. He stood up and greeted her with a hug.

"It hasn't even been that long, Gandalf." She laughed.

"I am in dire need of company without beards. An embrace is warranted." He muttered quietly for only her to hear. She smirked at his remark.

"Thorin, I'd like you to meet Agarwaen. She's a very close friend of mine." The dwarven king eyed her up and down, questioning her untraditional attire in his mind. He hummed gruffly in acknowledgement.

"A pleasure." He muttered, and then turned his attention away from them.

"Agarwaen, this is Thorin Oakenshield." Gandalf said loudly, to try and gain the king's attention once more. It didn't work. "Thorin, this is the guide I have told you about." That worked. His head turned so fast Agarwaen thought it would snap.

"Surely you joke." His voice was cold and held a bite to it.

"I do not. No one knows the paths we will be taking better than her, and she has my complete trust in getting you all there in one piece."

"Trust or not, I will not travel with her kind. You talked me into a woman joining my company. Not an elf." He sneered. "A woman was bad enough already." Elrond raised his eyebrows and took a sip of his wine.

"Curse this lifelong grudge of yours, Thorin!" Gandalf began to raise his voice. "What I told you before still stands. If you refuse her service, I will no longer help you!"

"Who ever said I needed your help, wizard?"

"She is taking you across the mountains and through the forest. It is not up for debate!"

"It is if I say it is. It is my company, and I have the right to refuse her services!" Agarwaen sighed. Her hope of Gandalf already telling the king of her race completely demolished. She hated just standing there and watching them argue, so she cleared her throat in attempts to get their attention. But they still continued to bicker.

"Would you two be ever so kind as to let the woman speak?" Elrond's voice was loud and cut through the air, causing both men to stop.

"Apologies, my dear." Gandalf apologized and sat back down. Thorin continued to stand and glare up at Agarwaen.

"My king," She addressed first of all with the formality, "I assure you I had no intent of causing a quarrel, and for that I apologize. I thought Gandalf would have informed you of my race by now." Thorin remained quiet, and glared daggers through her skull. He briefly wondered what was wrong with her voice before deeming it an unnecessary question. "I just would like you to know that I harbor no ill feelings toward your kind, and that I am merely here to serve you and your company, and lead you on the safest and fastest paths for the journey. I will leave your service upon arrival, and stay away from any business that is not mine to know. I do hope the shape of my ears will not drastically change your decision on me accompanying you, for many of the roads can be dangerous and slow you down. I have been wandering the wilds for over two and a half centuries, and know the way well. I respect your kind, and can only hope that we might arrive at an understanding." Thorin was quiet for a few moments, weighing his options. She presented valid points that he could not seem to argue with. They really did need someone who knew the paths well, and she did seem respectful. He appreciated that she addressed him formally as king, as not many even think to. As much as he wanted to tell her to ishkh khakfe andu null, it would be a foolish move.

"I must talk it over with my company, first." He ground out with venom in his tone.

"Of course." Agarwaen nodded. Thorin finally sat back down.

"Well, how about I introduce you to the rest of the company?" Gandalf offered, about to stand again.

"No, it's alright. You have more important things to discuss here. I can introduce myself."

"If you're sure..."

"Yes, Gandalf. Eat." she pointed to his plate of food. "I await your answer, my king." She bowed slightly, before starting toward the other table.

"Gandalf is right, master dwarf," Elrond started. "You will not find a better, more trustworthy guide than Agarwaen. Where most elves stay within their holds, she left, seeking adventure."

"Is she from here then?" Thorin asked.

"No. But we offer her sanctuary and a place to stay should she wish it. She's been through more than I can tell you.

~~~~~~~~~~

ishkh khakfe andu null- pour excrement on your head