A/N I always forget how much I love posting tell I miss a week, just saying. :) Thanks! I hope you enjoy and please read the below!
You guys ready! Ok. for this collection of one shots, I want to give you guys the chance to tell me some ideas that you would like to see happen. I know that there is stuff out there that I wish more authors would do, or that it is hard to come by. (For instance, I always enjoy a good almost drowning (that sounds sooo wrong :) ) but they can be hard to find.) Well, this is your chance to tell me exactly what you want!
However, I am going to put some rules down. I will not write any slash or anything that would have to be rated M. I also would appreciate if you guys stuck to Aragorn and or Legolas (please nothing OC related). It doesn't have to be angst or h/c related, but I would full heatedly aprove them. ;) One last item is that it needs to be be able to be done in one chpater. Thanks!
Besides that, you guys can give me pretty much whatever you please. It dosn't have to be detailed or it can be. I don't really care. They can be as simple as "I want a drowning Legolas". Then just leave your idea behind in a review or a PM. First come, first serve!
Oh, one last thing and then I will let you read. I will only be updating this one about once a month instead of the usual once a week. However, I will be posting True to the End also, so you should have something from me every week for a while. :)
Disclaimer: not mine.
The Adventures of a Life Time
Chapter One
Aragorn paused mid-stride, turning to face the Legolas with a slightly annoyed expression on his handsome face. They were walking through a forest on a bright spring morning, one of the prettiest so far that year, The trees new leaves glistend lightly from the sun and the constant chattering of animials filled the air.
"Do I have to knock you back to reality?" he called over to his friend, who had once again stopped with his hand pressed against the smooth bark of a tall tree. His face had gone vacant, as it always did when the prince was communicating with nature.
Legolas didn't respond to the future king's words and the human sighed dramatically as he dropped his pack and stalked back good naturally towards his friend. Grabbing the elf's arm, the human pulled him away from the tree with a small tug.
Legolas started, giving Aragorn a sheepish, though half annoyed, glance.
"What?" he asked defensively as the human continued to drag him forward by the arm."We are in no rush."
"No," Aragorn agreed, a faint smile pulling at the corner of his mouth as he shook his head with exasperation, "But you don't know how frustrating it is to try and have a conversation with someone who keeps breaking off in the middle to have a silent conversation with a tree!"
The prince rolled his eyes as he allowed the man to lead him, one hand still lightly brushing the bark of the trees as they passed.
"Alright, alright, I'll try to stop," he agreed. However, a few minutes later he had been drawn back into the world of trees and once again Aragorn had to bring him back around.
"I am never, never, brining you into a forest again!" the man snorted, a teasing glint in his grey eyes, "You are worse than a child who has just been presented with a new toy." Legolas turned to face the human, aiming a mock glare at his direction while arching an eyebrow. This was a move which he seemed to have perfected in his many years of walking on Middle-earth.
"I'm confused. Am I the child, or are you?" he retorted, taking the bait that the man had thrown out deliberately in front of him. "Because you are the one pinning away because I'm not paying you any attention, such as a child does."
Aragorn grinned out right, though he quickly stifled it.
"I'm not quite sure what you mean, mellon-nin," he jested," Are you saying that I am dependent upon you for any sort of social life?"
"Right now you are!" Legolas exclaimed loudly, giving the man a smirk, "Because, if you haven't noticed, it is just you and I — and you happen to be unable to talk to trees." He poked Aragorn lightly in the chest at the last word.
"I hate you." The man said jokingly, shaking his head as Legolas laughed. Quickening his steps, he waited to see if Legolas would follow his actions. When the elf didn't, he continued on, a small smile on his face.
Legolas knew that his human companion was leaving him behind, but didn't worry because he also knew that the man would wait for him to catch up ahead. He trained an ear towards the man's almost inaudible footsteps, however, knowing that it would not end well if they were to become separated.
Maundering along slowly, the elf let his hand skim the rough bark of the trees once more, taking the time to enjoy nature at its best as his elven heart rejoiced in it all.
Reaching a small hill, Legolas frowned lightly. He could no longer hear Aragorn's footsteps, but then again, there was a small meadow to his right. Maybe Aragorn had just stopped to wait for him there. Climbing the hill easily, Legolas paused, turning to face the meadow and scanning the long grass.
Out of the corner of his eye, the prince saw a flash of movement as something large hurtled at him like a whirlwind and instantly realized his mistake. Spinning around he just had time to yelp a started, "Estel!" before the man seized him around the waist, knocking him off his feet and down the hill. Together they fell, hitting the ground and rolling once, twice, three times, before coming to a halt at the bottom in the long grass of the meadow.
"What was that for?!" Legolas wheezed in protest, for he had landed on the bottom and Aragorn's heavier weight had winded him. He pushed the man roughly off of him, trying to resist the smile and appear annoyed. The human laughed heartily, and lunged at the prince again, trying to pin him to the ground with a wild grin on his handsome features.
"Get off!" Legolas grunted smartly as he struggled against his friend in the tall, dead grass that almost completely covered them. Flipping the human over and straddling him, he had just a moment to celebrate his triumph before the man cuffed him around the head, hard enough to get him to release his hold, but light enough that it didn't hurt.
Rolling him over, the two began to wrestle in earnest much like the children they had just been comparing each other two, laughing as they did so.
Suddenly, Legolas stopped, his head shooting up as his eyes grew wide, his mind whirling alert as his senses tipped him off that something was wrong. Aragorn didn't appear to notice anything and slammed the unresisting elf back down.
"Listen, Estel." Legolas ordered, grabbing a fistful of the man's tunic and pulling him to a halt. "Listen…" he breathed out again, holding his own breath as he rolled out from under Aragorn. The man froze at the command, stilling his laughter as he tried to hear what danger Legolas' superb hearing had caught.
It was then, when silence had been restored to the clearing, that a soft, angry hissing came from very near them. Turning his head a fraction, Aragorn slide his gaze down and felt a thrill of fear shoot through his chest.
There, in the dead grass, lay a furious snake. It lay in a tight coil,, its upper body raised as it made eye contact with the human. The scales of his long body where bright green, and obviously poisonous, though how deadly Aragorn did not know.
Its tongue flickered out between sharp fangs with another hiss and Aragorn dimly reflected that Legolas had managed to stop them right before they would have rolled over the possibly deadly reptile.
"Back away slowly." Legolas whispered into the man's ear. Aragorn was closer to the snake and the elf wanted him out of there immediately. The human did as directed, beginning to scoot back as Legolas shifted forward, ready to make a lunge at the snake if it was to try anything.
The snake hissed again, raising its head and spitting angrily at the pair as its pink tongue once again flickered out, tasting the air. Aragorn jerked back reflexively, starling the snake. Drawing its flat head back, it struck.
Legolas and Aragorn barely had a second within which to react. Just as the snake shot forward, ready to impale the human with its fangs, the prince's hand jumped outward. With the lighting fast reactions bestowed upon his race, the elf grabbed the snake by its head, a mere hair away from Aragorn's exposed face.
"Ha!" he cried gleefully, and Aragorn, who had had only enough to time to squeeze his eyes shut, reopened them with surprise. Legolas flashed him a brief smile, still clutching the thrashing snake's head tightly, "Once again I have saved your life, human," he jested, watching the snake continue to try and break free from him with fascination. The creatures long tail came up and curled itself around his vambrace with an iron hold, trying to squeeze it captor.
"And you court with danger the longer you hold onto that snake Get rid of it!" Aragorn insisted, getting to his feet and backing up. Legolas, however, shrugged and brought the incensed creature closer, examining its complex pattern with interest. Now that the snake was no longer an immediate threat to either of them, Legolas relaxed and took the moment in his stride.
"Legolas, stop that! Get rid of it before it has a second chance." Aragorn pleaded, his voice pitched higher than normal with fear covered up by annoyance.
"He's a beauty," The elf murmured, but upon catching sight of Aragorn's face, quickly added, "I'm setting it free!" Taking his free hand, the elf began to unwind the snake's tail from his arm, jerking the hand holding the reptile back away from him as the snake twisted itself violently and tried to sink its fangs into his face.
"See! It's dangerous! Put it down and stop playing with it." Aragorn complained, watching with a mixture of worry and amusement as Legolas continued to lightly stoke the snake as he unwound it, always keeping out of biting range.
Suddenly everything went wrong.
Aragorn said something, and Legolas look up, averting his concentration from the writhing snake right when the creature went limp. The move surprised the elf and he wasn't quite able to squeeze fast enough, which allowed the reptile to slip through his fingers.
Legolas still had a strong grip on the tale, however, and before his mind had comminuted with his fingers that he had to let go and just let the snake fall, the dangerous creature reared up. It sunk its glistening fangs deep into the soft flesh between the elf's thumb and forefinger.
Both the prince and the reptile stared at each in shock, the snake sinking its teeth in a little harder and Legolas' eyes widening in surprise, and then the elf's hand atomically released its hold on the snake's tail. It hit the ground with a thud, blood now shinning on its fangs as it once again hissed loudly. Aragorn leapt forward, his heart pounding from the unexpected turn of event, with a knife suddenly clutched in his right hand.
The snake seemed to realize it was in danger and began to uncoil, narrowly being missed by human's knife as it hit the dirt with a thud only a few centimeters away. Before Aragorn had time to try again, however, the snake had disappearing into the long grass and the human knew it would be pointless to chase after it.
Throwing his hands up in the air, Aragorn gave it up and stooped to pick up his knife. He swiveled around only to find Legolas slowly sinking towards the ground. The elf was cradling his hand tightly to his chest with that look of surprise still etched on his face. The human hurried over; alarmed by both the blood staining the elf's hand and the way he was rapidly losing several shades of color.
"Grip tightly, elevate it." Aragorn ordered, unbuckling his own belt and taking the prince's arm to help him recline back before he clasped to the earth. The prince nodded his thanks, though he was sucking air in through large, hurried gasps. "Slow it down, breathe slowly and try to relax." The man suggested, tugging the elf's injured hand free from his hold and examining it quickly.
"It burns…" Legolas said through gritted teeth, trying to do as his friend had asked.
"I understand, but I did tell you not to play with it." Aragorn reprimanded, swiftly undoing Legolas' vambrace.
"It was a —a natural reaction." Legolas quickly defended even as he lost another shade and grew taunt with the pain from the poison that was now flowing into his blood stream.
"It don't believe you, I don't believe you!" Aragorn voiced, though his eyes never lost their concentration as he swiftly eased back Legolas' sleeve and wrapped his belt around the prince's forearm tight enough to stop circulation and, hopefully, the poison.
"It was my fault." Legolas muttered just loud enough for the man to catch as he squeezed his eyes shut, the fingers of his good hand reflexively clenching and unclenching.
Aragorn snorted in agreement as he moved back to the wound with a frown on his face. The prince's hand was already swollen to twice its size and the skin around the two puncture holes had turned a nasty bluish color under the blood.
Lifting Legolas' hand to his mouth, Aragorn began to suck, trying to draw out the poison. Spitting the contents out, he pressed his lips back to the skin. Legolas' hand jerked once at the pain but Aragorn stilled the movement with ease as he gripped his friend's wrist with enough force to bruise it.
For several long minutes, both where silent as Aragorn continued to work. When at least the man deemed he had drawn all the poison he could forth, he leaned back, the worried look not leaving his face.
"Your right, it was your fault." He agreed going back to the conversation from before after he had washed out his own mouth. Rummaging through his pack he brought out his healing bag and began to swift through his many herbs, "You don't play with poisons creatures." He scolded once more, before looking down with surprise as Legolas tugged feebly on his tunic. "What?"
"Help me up?" the elf murmured, holding out his good hand in a silent plea.
"Do you feel up to it?" the man asked, then shook his head, "That was a stupid question. If you had glass in your feet you would insist on walking, you stubborn elf." Still, he took the Mirkwood Prince's hand and pulled him gently up into a sitting position, bracing his other hand under his elbow till he was sure that the prince would be able to stay up on his own.
Legolas heaved a breath, making a face as everything seemed to swirl around him and his hand throbbed forcefully at the movement. Gripping his friend's shoulder hard for support, Legolas closed his eyes.
Aragorn, meanwhile, began to dab a yellow slave of some sort onto the puncture wounds, glancing up to see how Legolas was doing every few seconds. He wrapped the wound in soft, off white, bandages, his fingers gentle and tender around the blue tinged swollen skin, though both had gone down some.
"I still don't understand. That snake was dangerous. Next thing I know you'll be taking home giant spiders as pets and insisting to your father that it is not their fault that they kill elves." Aragorn teased, tucking the end of the cloth in and gripping Legolas' hand comfortingly for a moment.
"Spiders are pure evil." Legolas began, looking crossly at the man, "The snake was just a snake." He sighed loudly with contempt as Aragorn checked his temperature with one hand and his pulse with the other.
"Well, next time admire them from a distance." Aragorn stated with a little shake of his head.
"I would've!" Legolas protested a small grinning creeping over his face and taking over the grimace. Now that Aragorn had cared for the injury, the pain had faded to a dull throb and it was easy for him to push it even further back, "But you needed saving!"
Aragorn rolled his eyes and got to his feet, keeping a steadying hand on Legolas' shoulder just in case the pale elf toppled over.
"Be glad that you are an elf, for you should be feeling more like yourself in a few days of rest." He said not unkindly, "I managed to stop the venom before it got too far."
"I don't need to rest, though," Legolas complained, scrambling to his feet only to take a nose dive as his world spun out of proportion and his vision grayed. Hitting the ground hard with a thud, Legolas let out a low moan and stayed where he was at, feeling slightly nauseous now.
"Legolas?" he heard Aragorn question and then a warm hand was pressed against his back. A slight tint of expiration was heard in the human's voice and Legolas had to smile, despite how miserable he was feeling. He never failed to annoy whichever healer was tending to him.
"Come on," Aragorn grunted, getting his hands under the elf's shoulders and hauling him back up and onto his feet, easily supporting him when Legolas began to waver. "Keep that hand elevated." He ordered as he looped an arm around the elf's slim waist and ducked under his good arm. "I remember a spot not to far back that will work as shelter for the next few days."
Legolas nodded wearily, no longer protesting as he brought his bitten hand up and clasped his opposite shoulder. Leaning most of his weight against his friend, the two began to move slowly forward.
"Can I talk to the trees?" Legolas asked, grinning again even as Aragorn was forced to tighten his grip on him as they climbed the small hill that they had rolled down not so long ago.
"As long as you don't while I am trying to talk to you." Aragorn compromised, also smiling.
"I'll do my best." Legolas said waspishly, flexing and clenching the fingers of his bitten hand into his shoulder in an attempt to rid it of the tingling that had become present ever since Aragorn's belt had cut off his blood circulation.
"Good." Aragorn retorted smartly and began to laugh as Legolas tossed him a special glare that was reserved for such occasions, "At least the snake has not hampered you're ability to drill a hole through me with your eyes." The human remarked, eyeing the elf out of the corner of his eye to see his reaction.
Legolas' melodic laugh echoed through the air, and soon the two friends had disappeared into the trees.
THE END
A/N Well, that was my own prompt for myself! Now it is your turn! If you want to that is... you certainly don't have to if you odn't want to. I just thought that it would be fun to try! Thanks!
As aways, feel free to tell me good or bad. :)
Next story will involve a young Legolas and twins withThranduil!