Could elves freeze to death? Plinnlim had never heard of one of her kind being frozen to death, but then she was still young and there were many things she had not yet heard of. Although for some time she could withstand the cold better than the Gonhirrim she had watched from afar these last days, now the cold started to sink in. Maybe it was also the cold and lonely feeling deep in her heart - when thinking that with the departure of her parents she would be left without a family for the rest of her life - that spread out from there. She had been in the Misty Mountains for over two weeks now. After acquiring that blanket for Rochlim and making her new bow on the first day she had not talked to another talking creature. She had wanted to be alone. During the first days, she just did what she always did: Killing evil beasts. Only this time, her battle cries were also cries of pain.
But while back then she had been keeping away from the Gonhirrim and any other travellers by intention, she had not crossed the path of another friendly being for eight days now and started to feel lost. On the last few days she had not been paying much attention to where she was and how long she had been gone, but this morning it was as if a veil had been lifted; and suddenly she could see really clear. What was she doing? Her parents would have been preparing their departure these last days; but for sure now they would be more concerned about her. They would start worrying and maybe send someone to look for her. She should go back.
She had been sure it would be easy to get back, she could usually trust her senses or Rochlim to find the way home or to wherever she was heading without difficulty, but now everything seemed to be different. The cold and the snow had been preying on her heart and her mind, as well as the unhappy thoughts. Her senses had become numb somehow. She had lost her distinct feeling of directions and had no idea where to go. Imladris was south of the Misty Mountains, but going south could also lead into a range of mountains that allowed no further passage; and she might turn out to be trapped and have to go all the way back again. She knew there were more evil things here than just the snow beasts, so she had to be careful. As for now, she had her camp fire and her horse and enough Lembas for two more weeks. She also could hunt - although she disliked the taste of mammalian meat and she hated the thought of having to kill a hare, but she would survive. But she had to get out of this snow, very fast, and she had to see her parents and accompany them to Mithlond before they would depart. How could she get herself into such a stupid situation? It seemed she had still a lot to learn. Could she trust Rochlim to find the right way?
