[Feanor of the Peredhil]

Though Tasa chatted merrily with Malris, he could see that her mind was not truly on her words. Though friendly and interesting, as always, the distant look in her eyes betrayed her to him. By no means offended, he did however wonder what it was that drew his friend away.

She had unthinkingly jumped into the water, laughing at the cold bite of the sea, and smiling when her friend reached the shore in a single bound.

"Ah, but Malris, whatever is the point of a great leap, when you are already soaked to the skin?" They had both laughed and efficiently done their work, joining the group a little further inland. Now she thought quietly, speaking when spoken to, but not entirely in the moment.

She had wandered alone through the tall golden trees of Lorien and felt that no being could ever truly understand her. Now that she was with friends, she realized that she had simply been away too long. She looked with wonder at these Elves she had known for years beyond count, and saw the toll the ages had taken, resting heavily behind their dancing eyes. They had changed. She looked to herself... she had changed as well, but how?

Tasa thought of the days... the old days. She had fought brilliantly; deadly strokes of her twin blades dancing through the air like butterflies caught on the breeze. Those days she fought side by side with her companions, defending them even as they saved her. She fingered her scar unthinkingly... so many had died in that battle, and she blamed herself. After all, without her foolishness... without her haste, they would have realized the ambush.

She had seen Malris, his soldiers around him, flanked by the enemy, fighting desparately against seemingly endless lines of orcs. The road had been clear... she drove her soldiers forward, anxious to break the lines, when the attack came. It had been so tidily planned, she still grimaced at the thought. Orcs before them... trees on both sides, and in she rushed, swords drawn, her fury nearly tangible. They had reached the orcs and, like a great wave, came crashing upon them, and in their glory, the trap closed... hundreds more orcs closed in from behind, catching the troops swiftly. They fought desparately, with Tasa yelling commands over the deafening sounds of battle.

She had been struck down near the end... death would have claimed her, had it not been for Malris. As an enemy blade soared through the air, perfectly poised to catch her neck, the Elf cried out and Tasa turned. The metal sliced along her jawline, spraying blood and scraping bone, and she responded with a swift kick to the chest and a mercy stroke. It was a short time later, after Malris and Tasa combined troops, that she fell, her armor cloven asunder. She had been surrounded by enemies and she fought beautifully; a picture painted in crimson, with silver birds slicing through the surrounding air, as blackness drove ever onward; but in the end, she could not win. When she fell, Malris had made his way to her, ruthlessly slaughtering any who would have harmed her body, unaware that she still lived.

It was after that battle that she met Galadriel... the wounds had not kept her abed for long... she was healthy; young. Though her body healed with time, her heart was torn. Her love for Malris had driven her to lose sight of the lives in her control. Many innocent had died that day for her lack of judgement... for the fact that her thoughts had been clouded with worry for a friend. It was thus that the Golden Lady had found her, and a bond had formed. Tasa opened her heart to Galadriel and the lady offered her a place beside her; away from fresh reminders of what Tasa would always see as her greatest failure. She had accepted the offer and run from her fears... she had deserted her comrades.

She looked now at every face. These men had fought bravely, never admitting defeat. She had run away. Did she even truly deserve a place beside them, sharing a warm fire? Would she ever forgive herself those poor lives gone... She did not know. In the shadows, she brushed away a tear, and felt colder than she had ever felt before.