Celeborn's Nine - Riders of the Night

How does one begin the end of a story? Tiger had her cub...her son....Rua, and Haldir got the boy named quick to keep Tiger from calling him Boy, which had been her first choice. But knowing the end was close, whether a day or a thousand years, it didn't matter, made every moment precious to him.

When Rua turned five, he entered his home to find mother and son sitting on the floor in thier tigerskins talking to each other. It was an interesting moment to say the least. Until then Rua had been simply an elfchild with long golden hair and heartbreaking blue eyes. Now here he was talking to his mother looking like a perfect little tiger.

Rumil was the one who decided they needed to go get Orophin's son for a visit. Wouldn't that be fun? A tiger and a wolf? Orophin wasn't certain that was a good idea, but curiosity got the better of him and off they went to bring the boy back with them.

Only Orophin's son was not a child anymore. An immortal white wolf, perfect of face and form with a proud arrogant bearing that made Haldir seem shy and timid. But the Snow Queen thought it was a good idea for her white wolf lover to attend to his father's business for at least a year. Tark agreed to go back to Rivendale with him, and because his mistress told him to pay attention to what Orophin did, Tark paid very close attention, although wearing clothes was not something Tark took to right away. He particularly had difficulty with the concept of leggings. He had never had anything over his groin before and this made leggings very uncomfortable. And unlike Tiger who could shape shift with her clothes on, Tark couldn't do it. He had to be nude to put on his wolf skin, and since he wasn't riding, he had to be nude most of the time.

It wasn't until they reached Gondor that Orophin insisted he wear clothes and ride on the horse behind him. Tark obeyed, although he and the horse were not on the best of terms. To the horse, he still smelled like a wolf.

Tiger was particularly thrilled to see Tark again, and he professed to remember her smell. Tiger understood and did not take offense. Tark would remember how they all smelled.

Glorfindel found it all entertaining, although he suspected Tark was a little overwhelmed by everything. And he didn't know what to think when he first encountered Tiger and Rua in their tiger skins playing in the river. Stripping out of his clothes, he joined them in the river.

Their adventures took them farther and farther out of Rivendale, but no one paid any attention because it was a perfect summer and all was quiet. Sometimes in their human skins, sometimes in their animal skins, Tiger, Tark and Rua would entertain themselves in the woods, occassionally hunting deer or small animals that Rua could catch.

What they did not count on was running into orcs. Orcs! Lone survivors out of the mountains, desperate for food and wares. Tiger roared defiantly and sent Tark and Rua scampering back for home. Armed with a bow, one of the orcs fired. It struck Tiger full in the chest. Blind with rage, she attacked.
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Haldir felt that something was wrong, and ice clutched his heart when Tark and Rua, running hard on his small cat legs, hurried up to him. Shifting into his human skin, Tark said the words that Haldir dreaded more than anything. "Orcs!"

Running as fast as he could, shouting for his brothers, for anyone to come help him, Haldir grabbed his bow out of his home and told Tark to take him back to the last place he had seen Tiger.
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In a killing rage, Tiger could not be stopped, but the rage was over and she was terribly hurt. Afraid to shape shift, fearing she would die before Haldir got there, she closed her eyes and panted desperately for air. The orcs were all dead, but her body was pierced by a half dozen arrows. There would be no magic this time, she feared. She just wanted to live long enough to see her beautiful master again.

"Tiger?"

She opened her eyes and looked up at Prometheus. Tigers don't cry, but jinn tigers do. Tears welled up under her lashes as she tried to lick his hand. "Tiger has cub," she whispered softly to him.

"I know. He's beautiful," Prometheus assured her. He was stroking her head when Haldir and the others arrived.

Haldir took one look at the Titan and knew what was happening. The promises were about to be fulfilled. Prometheus was going to take Tiger from him to save her life; he would not do it otherwise. That was his damnable promise.

Haldir knelt by Tiger and looked at the horrible wounds on her. Prometheus had removed some of the arrows but not all. There were some that would kill her instantly if he removed them.

"Tiger?" Haldir whispered and caressed her golden head. She opened her eyes and looked at him. She was past speech now.

"I WILL NOT HAVE THIS!"

Everyone turned in surprise and fear, their eyes falling upon a woman that only one of them knew. "I will not have this!" she repeated sharply, her anger directed more at Prometheus than the elves. "How dare you negotiate this creature's life?"

Prometheus, who was agonizing himself, looked at her and said, "Mother, it is all I can do. I love her."

The woman, the goddess' face softened. "I know, son. But this is not the way to do it."

The goddess came over and knelt beside the jinn tiger. "There has always always been two Tigers, the immortal and the mortal. There's no need for this." Stroking Tiger's head, she said, "Tiger, you are loved by two and there has always been two of you. I'm going to seperate you now, my sweet. You will give up nothing except the power to change shapes. That's the only thing I can not leave with you."

Haldir didn't understand but Prometheus did. With wonder on his face, the goddess removed the arrows and smiled into the tiger's face. "There has always been two of you. Now there will be two individuals. Rise up and see to your son."

A light that was so brilliant the elves had to turn away from it lit up Tiger. Magic crackled over the air and something incredible happened. When the light had faded, the goddess and Prometheus was gone, and Haldir's Tiger was sitting on the ground whole. Relieved to the point of tears, he embraced her.

"I can not be a tiger anymore," she told him sadly.

"I know, but Rua can, and he still needs you," he said and brushed a strand of golden tiger hair out of her face.

"I still don't like snakes," she said and then glanced back at the orcs. "or them."
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Prometheus, Tiger and Gaia stood on the beach watching the sun go down. He held her hand and every so often brought it up to his lips and kissed it.

"I have loved you for ages," he assured her.

"I know," she said softly and brought his hand up to her lips.