THE SEARCH

Legolas lounged in a tall oak tree, looking out over a field toward his father's castle. Below him Aragorn leaned against the trunk, sucking deeply on his pipe. Suddenly a shrill giggle erupted from him and floated up to Legolas's pointed ears. The Elf glanced down.

"Aragorn, what is in that pope?" he asked. Aragorn smiled up at his friend.

"Aragorn-" Legolas's voice was stern.

"Only Shire Weed!" Aragorn mumbled around the pipe, now willing to remove it. Legolas shook his head disappointedly.

"How many times have I told you..."

"But Legolas!" Aragorn pleaded.

"Aragorn, Son of Arathorn, you should be ashamed of yourself..."

"But..."

"Smoking 'Old Toby'..."

"I know, but..."

"Without sharing with me!" Legolas finally finished, with a disappointed frown. Aragorn bowed his head.

"I'm sorry, Legolas. Here." Producing a leather pouch, the Ranger tossed it up toward Legolas who caught it easily. He filled up his own pipe and dropped the bag back to the ground.

"Careful! Don't spill the weed!" Aragorn yelled, grabbing the pouch and possessively stuffing it inside his shirt. Taking a deep hit, Legolas leaned back against the tree.

"I need a woman." Aragorn declared from below.

"You have a woman. You have Arwen."

"Yeah, but she's an Elf. And I don't think Elrond likes me very much."

"So? Elrond's drunk half the time. Who cares?"

"Well, she doesn't put out."

"She doesn't? What are you talking about? She used to be this little slut! When we were, like, 200 she offered to sleep with me!"

"You slept with Arwen?" Aragorn almost yelled. Legolas smirked down at him.

"Did you? Oh. My. God. *I* haven't even slept with her!"

"Trust me, you aren't missing much." Legolas mumbled. Aragorn frowned and took a deep hit from his pipe, holding it in until his lungs felt ready to explore before letting it go in one large puff.

"I need a woman." He repeated.

"You aren't the only one!" Legolas answered, deciding to just let the Arwen thing go.

"You do not! I've seen all those Elf chicks that follow you when you go out! You can get shagged whenever you want!" Aragorn retorted. Legolas snorted.

"Bimbos who just want to be able to sleep with a Prince."

"You're not saying what I think you're saying, are you?' Aragorn demanded, sitting up to stare at the Elf above him. Legolas shrugged.

"Why not? It'd be nice to be with the same woman every night. Remembering their name wouldn't be a problem any more."

"But Legolas! Being with one woman for the rest of eternity?" Aragorn asked with dismay. Legolas frowned.

"You've been living around Elves for *how* long? We're not like you humans. We marry the one we love, but we do have...adventures. Other partners. Even uptight Galadriel swings!"

"Still, Legolas. Marriage?"

"You're going to do it."

"Maybe not after that last comment, I'm not."

"Aragorn."

"All right, all right. Come on. Let's find you a girl." Aragorn jumped to his feet began walking, trusting Legolas to follow.

"You're going to help?" Legolas asked, jumping nimbly from his branch.

"OF course. Maybe I'll get laid while we're at it."

"Well, let's get going then!"

*~*