Lost And Afraid In Each Other's Arms

Merry and Pippin wander into the woods as the Fellowship nears unknown lands, and they become hopelessly lost. Even if they were separated from
their friends, they always had each other. But a terrible illness falls upon one of them, and they realise they might not always be together. Very
Light Slash in later chapters. M/P

******************

Author's Note: My very first Lord Of The Rings fanfiction! I hope you all
enjoy! Later chapters will be up soon! Please review!

*****************

Chapter One: Orbs Of White

****************

Cold rain slashed the dawn as the solar star rose from it's hidden darkness in the sky. Warm sunbeams oozed across the darkly blue, ruby and electrical yellow spilling across the fading backdrop of brilliant stars. A new day was born, their fate awaiting them with eerie silence, with the exception of the trickling raindrops in the distance.

"Pippin...Pippin wake up," Merry whispered through the lashing of the rain. Pippin was curled up under a single thin blanket, softly snoring while his whole body trembled with cold. He didn't stir as Merry gently shook him, for he was in a very deep sleep. 'Sleep is a rare treasure nowadays,' Merry thought in despair, 'Perhaps I should let him sleep a little longer...'

The Fellowship had been travelling wearily and with little hope, to Rivendell. Legolas had mentioned that if they return to Rivendell then they might discover the "answers" they were seeking. The four hobbits, Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin had no idea what he was speaking of but Aragorn, Gimli, and Gandalf seemed to understand. The hobbits trusted them with their lives, so they asked no questions and voiced no arguments.

Last night was a night of pure exhaustion. After only a miniscule supper, they set off for the towering forests beyond. And hours of trudging along the mountains had worn out the little hobbits. After Pippin collapsed during the agonizingly long walk, they decided to stop for the night, taking shelter under a thick ceiling of trees on the side of the mountain.

*****************

"Pippin... come on, make haste!" Frodo called back to the lone figure slowly ambling towards the group of three hobbits. Merry, Sam and Frodo wandered aimlessly behind Aragorn's horse, but they had satisfactory speed. Pippin, however, was far behind the group and was getting slower.

Merry looked concerned. He glanced worriedly at Frodo and Sam, who were also sharing expressions of anxiety. Before Frodo could protest, Merry raced back to Pippin.

Merry wheezed for breath as he sped towards Pippin. When the moonlight shimmered on Pippin's tired face, Merry released a gasp. Blood was smeared across Pippin's porcelain skin, even more blood gushing from his painfully split lip. Before Merry could ask what happened, Pippin's emerald eyes rolled to the back of his head as he fell limply to the ground, unconscious.

************

"How is he, Merry?"

Merry spun around in surprise. Frodo was sitting beside him on the soft dirt as he caressed Pippin's slightly bruised face.

"Frodo! Don't scare me like that again! What are you doing up at this early hour? You must get your sleep, Frodo. It shall be a long day today." Merry scolded him. Frodo chuckled slightly and spoke. "Then why are you awake, Merry? You need sleep as much as I do."

Merry sighed. "I'm really worried about Pip. He hasn't woken since he fainted last night, and he seems terribly cold. And it's raining! Pip's soaked to the bone! I can't do anything about it, though, because this is the best shelter we have! What should we do?" he exclaimed frantically, warm sweat sliding down his temples. He stroked Pippin's cinnamon curls lovingly as tears formed in his chocolate-coloured eyes.

Frodo shook his head dourly. "I don't know, Merry. I just don't know." He traced his fingertips softly across Pippin's cheek, avoiding his swollen lip, encrusted with dry blood.

Pippin groaned. Merry and Frodo's heads shot up to see the shocked and fervent expressions on each other's faces, then they looked back down to Pippin. Pippin stirred slightly, his legs stretching outwards almost kicking the slumbering Sam. Suddenly, Pippin's eyes shot open.

The beautiful emerald green colour had faded from his eyes.

They were moonbeam white.

Orbs of white.

*********

Blah, I have major writer's block right now, but what do you think of it so
far? Please review!

****************