Hello all! Welcome back, there's just a little blurb here before we get on with it. Tie in: why you anonymous post? So furniture-gnawing to not be able to reply when I can't address your query to you. (Shakes head) Anyway, my blurb. A guest reviewer raised issue with Sakura's height, thinking I had shifted her size to four and a half feet tall, and found this cliché and overdone. Here is the reply I drafted and could only respond with here:

(flat look) in regards to Sakura's height and your pet peeve, Sakura is five to five feet-two. I am working in movie-verse (book-stuff only dribbling in on the edges) where, in the second movie extended edition, Merry and Pippin are stated to being 3'6 to 3'8 feet tall. This puts Sakura, a foot and a half taller than hobbits, just at or over five feet. In regards to the 'childlike boot size', this is a lot like illusion. Part small feet, part optical illusion; she wears a large cloak, her boot style is slender and close fit. I could have easily said 'dainty' but I didn't. In Middle Earth, men are rather tall, elves taller still, hobbits are the shortest, dwarrows are next, and if you go off the book, there's really no one between 4'8 to 5'9 tall adult wise. The movies (where I parked my bike) give some leeway to this but for the most part, this is still the truth. Going by this, to Aragorn, Sakura would appear childish in size, he would have had to really see her to say anything else and she was wrapped in her traveling cloak at the time this comparison was made so he wouldn't classify her elsewise.

I realize these are not details included in the story. These are the things that go on behind the curtain, where I world warp in peace. I would like to say, in a fit of pique more than anything, that there is nothing wrong with being a short adult. I'm 5'7, tallest female in my family, many of whom are Sakura's height and lower and they are scarily fierce and, to me, a viable height for an adult.

If you continue to find odds and ends that shake up your enjoyment of VoCL, you are welcome to go on your merry way, no insult taken, no harm done. If you choose to keep reading, and risk possibly wandering into other things you might not like, I can only say: you ain't seen nothin' yet.

It's fanfiction, the random realignment of the universe is inherent in the genre.

I admit to being grumpy about it. I make no apologies. Not everyone's gonna like what I'm gonna write and I accept that; I can be as grumpy as I like, they're my feelings.

Now, before I start ranting like my inner drama queen wants (and she's waving that scepter like it's about to go out of style), let's get on with the show!

Chapter Twelve

Leopard Lionne

There was nothing more familiar to her than the journey. The coming and going of new destinations, the way the world changed as distance gave way to different lands; the sense that there would always be something to see everywhere she went. Sakura was a creature of the open skies and endless paths, and it could be said that it showed most plainly in the way she seemed to melt into the environment until no one could separate her from it. Indeed, on the morn of departure she had drifted back in careful silence until she could not be seen by her companions and, with a twist, vanished into the shadows. All of which was done so masterfully that no one noticed right away.

The somberness of their departure did not shake loose until after they had exited the Valley of Imladris, taking the same path as Bilbo had during the Quest for Erebor, something Frodo shared with the group as they passed by a waterfall on their way out. Sakura had heard of the Quest for Erebor from the hobbit himself during her stay; she now understood about the trolls. It reminded her of her own journey across Middle Earth and she felt a bit of kinship with the old hobbit for being brave enough to explore where he'd had no familiarity. It was heartening to know that hobbits were the adaptable sort; maybe Frodo and the others would not be so endangered while out of their depth.

Sakura was following along in the trees, silently wandering up and down the trunks while she listened to the hobbits below her asking innumerable questions of the other members of the Fellowship. Pippin was by far the most inquisitive as he turned his head left and right as his attention bounced from one companion to another, throwing questions at everyone enthusiastically. She was glad she was not down there amongst them being interrogated so thoroughly; she would have hung him from an overhanging branch out of irritation.

..o0O0o..

The group set up camp as the sun started to set in the distance and Sam lit up a small fire. He looked curiously out into the encroaching dark.

"Where do you think Sakura went?"

Merry looked around as well, just now realizing the female had slipped away. Pippin was sneaking the last tomato out of Sam's pack.

"When did she leave?" Merry questioned just as Gimli approached the fire. The dwarf grumbled.

"Probably fell behind sometime this morning. I haven't spotted her since dawn."

"You're opinion of my endurance is quite low." Sakura's voice came from the trees. When they looked over, Sakura was carrying a large, bloody bag in one hand and a length of recently cleaned and treated animal fur in the other. Her expression was satisfied, easing the somberness to something less harsh on her features. She wandered past men and elf both to kneel next to Samwise and revealing her catch.

Thick, juicy slabs of blood red meat were carefully arranged in the sack to make the best of the space available; it looked like it could feed all of them easily. The hobbits gathered around as Samwise ran a curious finger over a slice.

"I'm not familiar with this meat. What did you catch Sakura?"

Aragorn and Boromir hunkered down to take a look themselves, but it was only Aragorn who knew what they were looking at. He gave the female a surprised look. The fur rolled up under one of her arms only made him more certain of it.

"A mountain lion?" Aragorn asked before thinking about it.

Sakura unrolled the fur to show how large the animal had been even as she looked to Frodo to size him up. The fur was thick but short, and a pale yellow that was nearly a creamy white.

"The lion to feed us while the fur would be handy in making Frodo a warmer cloak." She glanced at Samwise again, "Maybe you too. I can catch something else in the coming days so that Merry and Pippin won't be without either."

"You don't have to do that." The hobbits said but Sakura waved them off.

"It's going to get cold soon. In a few weeks at best, but really, we're looking at days. It's better to be prepared." She informed them as she settled herself on a rock, pulling out a soft leather bundle. When it unraveled in her hands it revealed itself to contain a set of scissors, needles, thread, and little bits and bobs for needlework. She looked up at Pippin who was peering over her shoulder in curiosity. "Lend me a hand Pippin?"

"Sure." the hobbit said gamely and Sakura directed him on what to do while the rest of the group looked between her and the meat before getting on with business.

That night something fell out of the tree Frodo was resting under, startling everyone in camp until they realized it was some of Sakura's lion pelt, cut and sewn into a hobbit sized cloak. A noise from Sam had everyone looking to see the rest of the fur being pulled off his head where it had landed, scaring the wits out of the gardener.

It was two days later when Sakura had another length of fur and bag of bloody meat in hand, followed that night by two hobbits jumping as each were hit in the back of the head by brand new fur cloaks, this time a golden brown rather than crème.

She was carving something out of bone the next they saw her.

..o0O0o..

Sakura spent the next three days in silence as the Fellowship moved out of elven territory, keeping to the back of the group and almost dropping out of everyone's thoughts, reminding them of her existence only at night when they they stopped to rest and she stalked through camp to ruffle Frodo's hair, straiten his cloak, and climb into the nearest tree where she seemed to melt into the dark. The Fellowship were all a bit flummoxed by her behavior, especially those who had seen how she had been when in the elven city of Rivendell; Boromir especially, recalled the wry sense of humor that defined the unusual female during their encounters. He liked her to his chagrin, not having expected to like much of anyone on this trip. Get along with someone, sure, it was politics after all; the good graces of outside kingdoms was never a bad thing. But to meet someone that he genuinely wanted to spend time around was not what he was expecting. He'd even been looking forward to this in her case.

But so far she'd done an amazing job of being invisible and untouchable, he was questioning what he'd seen so far.

Even the wizard seemed a bit flummoxed by her behavior and the silence wouldn't be broken until one evening where a single oblivious hobbit decided his questions could wait no longer.

"Are you sure you aren't magic?" The little figure asked when he popped up by her side. Sakura looked down at him in surprise, finding the question odd until he clarified, "you followed Frodo when we couldn't. I've never seen anything like it! Fast as the wind you were."

She smiled at Pippin, understanding. The rest of the Company had tuned in to the conversation, tension leaking out of their figures now that one problem was solved and curiosity set in. A minute ripple went across her cloak in the breeze and she swept her bangs out of her face.

"Not magic Pippin" she assured the hobbit as he fell into step with her, "I think I said so back in Rivendell once everyone was safely within city limits. Something to that affect anyway."

"But then how did you do it?" He persisted from her hip, brow scrunched in confusion, "Merry was trying to figure it out but he kept tripping when he tried to sprint in his cloak."

"Hey!" Came from the red faced Merry.

Pippin ignored the shout and everyone else failed to hide their mirth.

Sakura looked at Merry and laughed; the hobbit looked so embarrassed.

"You know, the way anyone else gets really good at something." She told him coyly, before a flare of her cloak hid her sudden movement and it looked like she vanished, only for the group to hear her on the other side of the fire next to Merry, telling them the answer to her cheeky non-answer, "Practice."

Merry jumped a foot in the air at the voice over his shoulder and Sakura laughed brightly.

"Can anyone become as fast as you?" Sam asked from where he was passing out metal plates with meat and bread. His tone was curious. Her smile took on a wry look, one Boromir recognized the second it crept across her face and his attention shifted fully to her.

"I don't know. I've yet to meet anyone who can." She replied easily, the hood she wore to distort her features cast all but her smile into shadow.

..o0O0o..

Amusement filtered through her as she fingered a throwing knife hidden in one of her sleeves. They had hunkered down for the night and she was on third shift, having taken over for Gimli several minutes back. She tracked the sounds that the wind brought to her and kept her eyes off the fire. The others slept, their bodies like little hills covered in a combination of traveling capes and scratchy blankets to keep out the chill.

The round of questions from Pippin had been followed by all members of the Fellowship, everyone having at least one thing to ask her. Is the pink really natural? Where are you from? How old are you? How did you catch the mountain lion? Your bare hands?! And on it went, a spat of lighthearted bickering from the hobbits, "her age? Merry, please, she's too young for you", had Merry and Pippin rolling around on the ground making the rest of them laugh and forget that she hadn't had a chance to answer before another question filled the space.

A small huff of laughter left her, slipping her knife back into place. A voice from the slumbering group had her turn her head to see Boromir approaching her. She smiled at him and gestured to the empty patch of grass next to her.

"Doctor." He said with a half smile she could easily make out in the dark. She had excellent night vision after all.

"Well met, Storyteller," she said softly so as not to wake the others, "I would not turn away such an excellent font of information."

"Charmed." He said dryly as he sat, settling his cloak around her, "So glad to be of service."

They chuckled together and relaxed in their seats.

For a little while they simply sat in silence. The night sounds lent the moment an air of peace, at odds with the danger that followed them, and was very pleasant.

"Winter is coming." Boromir said, scanning the dark with his eyes, "The hobbits will appreciate the fur you gifted them twice over in the next few weeks. I'm still a little in awe," he shook his head, "at the sheer size of the lions you killed."

He saw her teeth gleam white when she grinned.

"It was good hunting, I admit, but they are not the largest creatures I've chased down for food. The bears of the Forodwaith reach nearly fifteen feet tall and their claws are longer than my forearm. The first time I saw one my first thought was 'he is going to make a nice coat'."

Boromir's brow was quirked high. Sakura kept talking.

"It was when I was tracking my first bear that I met the people who dwelt in the frozen tundra. They were on a seasonal hunt for snow leopards two weeks journey from home and I offered them shelter in the igloo I built."

"A what?" Boromir asked.

"Ah. An igloo is a dome of square ice blocks that block out wind and allows a small fire to burn in a pit dug in the ground in the center of the space inside. My igloo was large enough to house the hunting party and myself comfortably for the week they were in the area." The sound of nostalgia crept into her voice as she remembered that phase of her life. "When the week was over and it was time to return home, they took home five leopards and two bears. The bears were from me since they invited me to join the hunt, which I was flattered to accept. The next time they came through they had permission from their chief to ask me if I wanted to see their home and I said yes."

"What was it like?" Boromir asked curiously, turning in his seat to better see her.

Even in the dark, her eyes shone with happiness.

"Great. Their homes were made of wood and ice and stood one to three stories tall. The people moved large cargo with great furry oliphaunts called mammoths, and large wolves pulled sleighs that individuals used to get between towns."

"They sound like fearsome beasts," the Gondorian man said. Sakura shook her head.

"No doubt they could have been, but the people treated them so well and the animals had such mild tempers, I often saw children playing with both when the work was done." Sakura had a fond memory of running with the wolves as children cheered behind her, leaping up and down as she smoothly hopped onto the back of the lead wolf and steered the pack into a merry chase in the snow.

"Do you miss it?" He asked.

"Oh, sometimes." she affirmed, "I wasn't there very long. I stayed long enough to share medical tips and take notes on their medicinal plant life,.. learn the language,.. before it was time to go. But I enjoyed my time there. The people were kind."

"Yes," he said, looking down in his lap, "Kind people are hard to come by."

"Not really," she disagreed, nudging him with her shoulder, startling him, "it's more about being kind yourself. People respond when you treat them with equality. People only need the opportunity to show compassion, which you have to be willing to give them for it to work." She turned those shining eyes to him. "Kindness can change the world."

Boromir felt paralyzed by those green, green eyes. A part of him realized that this was the first time since they left Rivendell that she had taken off her hood, showing off that petal pink fall of hair and allowed the moonlight to reflect off her eyes; that had to be why the green seemed to glow in the night.

The moment passed when Sakura looked away at a sound in the woods but she didn't look worried. He saw something move in the dark but it wasn't very large.

"Fox." She said, tracking it. They watched until it left. Boromir took a moment before speaking again.

"What made you leave the Forodwaith?"

"Nothing really, except for the desire to travel. The world is vast and there are so many things to see and experience; I want to see everything I can." He heard her laugh a little, "I was actually on my way to see the ocean when I ran into Gandalf. I'd never seen it before."

"And now here you are," Boromir said lightly, gesturing grandly at the clearing their group slept in, "sitting in the dirt in the middle of nowhere while on your way to the breeding ground of true evil. Truly, you are every bit as reckless as the rest of us to go on this fool's quest."

Sakura nudged him again, almost sending him into a tree trunk, much to her amusement.

"The gods favour both the foolish and the brave, Storyteller." She watched him readjust himself in his seat, "We are both, so we must be doubly favoured." Boromir looked thoughtful. Sakura leaned back into the rock she was sitting before. "And whether or not we are being reckless can be decided after we return victorious."

Boromir had to grin. They spent the rest of the watch quietly conversing, forming the first bond she had within the group.

..o0O0o..

After three-ish weeks of traveling, they came upon a resting spot on the path to Rohan. Everyone had spread out along the little clearing, resting their feet and waiting while Sam cooked up the last of the meat; dried rather than links after Sakura had railed about rot and illness in bad meat and chucked the sausages into the distance ("Never eat meat that's been left out in the heat, I don't care how well you wrap it!").

She was watching Pippin and Merry practice their burgeoning sword work with Boromir who was working in tandem with Aragorn who offered tips from her right. They're not bad, she thought as she watched, with practice they could be very good in short order.

"Move your feet." Aragorn said, teeth holding his pipe in place.

"That's very good Pippin." Merry complimented his friend.

"Thanks." Pippin grinned, distracted. Boromir made quick work taking advantage and Pippin went down. He made a startled, hurt sound and Boromir -not sure of how gentle he needed to be with hobbits- gave a panicked "Sorry!" and moved to help Pippin up. Sakura saw the moment where Pippin's eyes met Merry's, and she laughed along with Aragorn when the hobbits grabbed Boromir's legs and pulled them out from under him.

"Alright, gentlemen, that's enough." Aragorn called as he stood to pull them off Boromir but they did that look again and Aragorn hit the ground too.

"A hand," Boromir grunted up to her as he struggled under Merry, who had -to Boromir's horror- discovered that the man was ticklish. "If you wo, would?"

Her laughter was her response as she deliberately stood and walked away, leaving the men to the mercy of hobbits.

She'd been about to ask Gandalf when they would be moving on when something prickled at the edges of her awareness. She turned in a circle searching their surroundings for the source of her unease, but not spotting anything coming from the ground. Something is watching. Her pulse picked up as the feeling grew, the world narrowing down to instinct. The voices of her companions were easily dismissed as she sorted through all that her senses were trying to tell her. She turned again, facing the direction Legolas was looking, and her eyes zeroed in on the only anomaly in sight. A flock of black birds.

"..thing, just a whisp of clouds.." Gimli's voice pierced the adrenaline fueled fugue she had entered, just as she shot towards Frodo and dragged him with her between a large rock and dense shrubbery. The hobbit in her grasp made a noise of shock at the sheer speed Sakura moved him with, but whatever he might have said was lost as she raced to grab Sam.

"Doctor" Boromir called, "what is it? What did you see?"

"HIDE!" She barked at the same time Legolas was identifying the swarm, Sam being unceremoniously shoved into the shadows cast by overhanging stone. In little more than a blur, she gathered all of their things, dumping them with Sam while Boromir and Aragorn grabbed Merry and Pippin. "Hide now!"

Gandalf and Gimli jumped into action, fast and efficient but Sakura couldn't help but rue the minimal cover their spot provided. She did a last check of the camp, and realized even with their things hidden, their tracks were everywhere.

"Doctor!" Boromir was gesturing for her to join him in his hiding spot.

Sakura lifted her foot and stomped, a conjured wind blasting out from the impact point, erasing foot prints and shaking leaves off the bushes as a bonus. Then and only then did she join the man, crouching down in her cloak to watch the birds close in. Boromir was giving her a look but hunkered down next to her.

Green eyes focused up. Flipping through options in her mind, she discarded them all. Too many birds; if she killed the majority of them, she could still miss one and one was all it would take to warn the enemy of her presence within the group. If it was revealed that she was exceptionally lethal, a walking, talking weapon, their enemies could rachet up their assault; the whole fellowship was better off if she remained unknown and underestimated.

The wait lasted bare minutes. The birds passed overhead at impressive speed but rising to circle back the way they came. Sakura's hand clenched around the fabric on Boromir's shoulder when he tried to rise, but let go once she could no longer make out details on the flock's bodies.

"The passage south is being watched." Gandalf said as everyone gathered in close. He looked to a snow capped peak. "We must make the pass of Caradhras."

"Is he serious?" Merry asked Pippin in a whisper.

His best friend nodded.

"Right." Merry sighed, "Wizards."

The other hobbits murmured agreement.