Celeborn's Nine - Riders of the Night

Author's note: Thanks to all for reading and my two muses....I look forward to your comments.
sex, lies and video tapes (oops wrong story) sex and lies? What else are you going to
do during a blizzard? Fight a monster? hhhhhhhmmmmmmmmmm??????
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Scopias led them into a canyon that his people had used for ages as shelter from storms. A cave that disappeared into the mountain offered even more shelter, and with two fires going, the bitter cold that descended on them was not so bitter.

By late afternoon the snow was so thick that if one had walked into it he would have immediately disappeared. Tiger, fascinated by the sheets of cold white, sat at the mouth of the cave and watched it come down. Snow was by no means alien to her, but this was incredible. She could have spent the rest of the day and all of the night watching it if Hal-dear had not summoned her to his side.

He had something in his hand, something very pretty and blue. "What is it?" she asked curiously, the pretty blue stone catching the firelight and sparkling.

Melanippus who was also learning elvish peered down at it and said, " It is a sapphire."

"Topaz," Glorfindel countered as he heated some water in a container over the fire.

"Tiger does not know," she said and smiled. She liked the way the firelight reflected off her beautiful master's face. Because it was not polite to enjoy each other infront of the others, she was missing him.

"Whatever it is, it is yours," he said and gave the pretty stone to her. The part of Tiger that was the tiger liked it because it sparkled. The part of Tiger that was a woman liked it because it came from him. She smiled and held it up to the light so she could see it better. He leaned closer and whispered in her ear, "Tonight Master will show Tiger how much he misses her."

Tiger cut her eyes sideways, and her heart almost stopped beating. Master was giving her that look, the one he has when he wants to play. She turned to him and whispered back, " Tiger wants to play."

"So does Master," he replied just as softly.
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The storm howled savagely as Gortha stood in its whiteness and watched. She would not be able to enter the cave, but there were things present that could be summoned from the bowels of the earth in hopes of driving someone into the whiteness.
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Rumil wanted Tiger to be tiger so they all could share in the warmth, but Tiger sent
a warning growl in his direction that said 'not tonight'. Rumil threw up a hand and hissed at her and then made himself a bed close to the fire. Those with sleeping partners were allowing those without to have the fire; Rumil was one of the without.

Haldir laid his blankets along the cave wall not far from the horses with the saddle for a pillow. Tiger had his shoulder as her pillow, and for the longest time was content to soak up his warmth and share her own. He drew his cloak over them and whispered, "We must be quiet."

Tiger knew how to be quiet, and with the horses making their own little noises close by, no one was going to hear them. She slipped her hand under his tunic and felt the hard plane of his abdomen. He was warm, very warm, and her cool hand brought out the goose flesh. He closed his eyes as she ran her hand farther up his body.

She climbed over him and planted a warm kiss on his mouth. It was slow and sensuous, a sharing of breaths and a caressing of tongues. Tiger liked it when they had to be quiet. It meant things went slower, softer, smoother. It meant Master had to fight the noises that swelled in his throat. But so did Tiger when his hands claimed her breasts. She flushed with fire and rubbed against him. When they had to be quiet Master liked to prolong the release because they were only going to do it once. That meant they had to savor the fire, enjoy the throbbing of their bodies, tease each other until they could stand it no longer.

No noise when Tiger wanted to growl, no noise when she wanted to hiss, no noise when her hands found the ties to his leggings. No noise when he untied hers and slipped a hand inside. Tiger closed her eyes and hid her face against his throat;some noises can be muffled but not stopped entirely.

She freed one of her legs and mounted him. The feel of him sliding deep within her was sweet madness. No noise. No rapid movements, no......she lowered her face over his and kissed him. His skin was hot, his eyes melting into the fire of passion. Slowly she moved against him, slowly until she couldn't take it any more and pressed herself hard against him, slowly until his back arched and forced himself deeper into her.

Then in sweet silence, she collapsed against him while he stroked her head. And she stayed like that for hours, laying on top of him, listening to his heart beat. She would have dozed off if Horse hadn't wickered nervously along with the others.

Everyone sat up and looked at the horses who were deeper in the cave. They were snorting and stamping their feet restlessly.

Haldir moved Tiger off him, quickly adjusted his clothes and reached for his sword. He was on his feet as Melanippus and Glorfindel entered the remuda and tried to quiet the animals, although their ears and eyes were attuned to what lay beyond them in the darkness. Scopias and Tomy also joined them, their hands rubbing the heads of their own frightened mounts.

"What is it?" Elladan asked, looking from Glorfindel to Celeborn. "Trolls? Ogres?"

Scopias looked back at Melanippus and said something that made the centaur shudder. Glorfindel frowned and waited for an explanation.

"It's the darkness," Tiger whispered, her eyes wide with fear.

Glorfindel looked up at the centaur. "The darkness," Melanippus said and glanced back at the fire. "A demon without shape."

"What do we do?" Glorfindel asked quickly in Hellene. "Quick, what do we do? If we ride out into the snow, some of you may die."

"If we stay," Scopias said, "we all may."

That was all Celeborn needed to hear. "Saddle up."

Leaving the warmth and shelter of the cave was disheartening, but whatever was lurking in the shadows, whatever was making its way towards them seemed the greater evil. The horses, terrified of what was coming, were rolling their eyes white and trying to bolt before the saddles were on.

"Stay together!" Glorfindel said and grabbed up a burning branch to act as a torch. "Stay with me!"

The cold bit into their skins and slapped at their faces as they rode back into the storm. The remuda, huddling together with their heads lowered, followed the other horses without the need to be driven. Scopias, at the point, kept them moving until just before daylight when they entered a forest. It was at this time that they found one of the Saka men missing, although his horse was still with them.

"Kethes would not have fallen off," Tomy said grimly, her eyes following the gray line of clouds that was moving to the west. "Something evil has attached itself to us."

"What kind of evil?" Celeborn asked, glad to be in a forest as opposed to an open grassland.

Tomy shook her head. Evil was evil to the Saka.