Disclaimer: The Lord of the Rings and all associated characters are not owned by me. No money is being made off this fic; with the possible exception of Insanity. During the production of this story, he won a rather unfortunate yet hefty bet against his saner counterpart.

Authoress' Preamble: Very short one-shot; a by-product of my twisted imagination. My first venture into fanfic, with a cheesy title...but hopefully enjoyable regardless :)

Call of the wild

It goes beyond pleasure, really; watching him. Watching that smooth, pale skin as it ripples over lean muscles, basking in the radiance of eternal luminescence. Watching the long, silky hair cascade over those broad shoulders; almost touching that ethereal, unsuppressed beauty as it flows over my captured senses; almost tasting the forbidden sweetness of a wonder that spans beyond all mortal comprehension.

I watch as he turns his head and looks right at me; a manifestation of Nature; an extension of the forest. His eyes gleam strangely; eerily knowing, and I can't help that feel-nay; wish-that he sees my desire. That he feels my desire as it is; burning; lusting; hoping…

Ai…how I yearn for him…how I ache to feel his name slip from my tongue, no longer as the royalty he his, but as my equal; my own.

And then, he turns away, slowly; tantalizing…and it takes all my strength to keep from crying out right then and there:

I want you! I need you!

In his presence, my entire heritage seems to dwindle; thousands of years of nobility shrinking to nothing before such unrepressed freedom. I feel dwarfed; insignificant, although my heart mocks this childish conclusion. And I know I will never have the courage to confess my true feelings, suppressed as they have been since I first laid eyes on him. Should he comes to me, however, I doubt I will have the resolve to deny them…to deny him.

Though I loath myself for my weakness, I avert my gaze, inwardly chiding myself for such a fruitless fantasy.

You are not even his kind. The harsh voice of Reality mercilessly cuts across my train of thought, He can do with better.

I bite my lip, my heart throbbing in accordance with my burning soul. My blurred vision comes to rest on the gift I had intended to present to him. It was not expensive, or rare, but I knew it would have been appreciated.

Would have been…

I gradually unclench my fingers, one by one, feeling blood rush back eagerly into numb digits.

The red, juicy apple finally slips from my grasp.

"You're a selfish Wizard, Gandalf." I grumble sullenly, viciously kicking the hapless fruit down a hill. "Shadowfax should have been mine."

oo00()00oo

Ok…all who thought alleged "slash victim" was Legolas, say "Chocoboto Hobbits!" and touch your elbow with your tongue.

Kudos to anyone who managed to guess who Aragorn was talking about. Congrats-you're about as random as I am! Feedback is very much appreciated; I'm sure the obese purple monster that currently resides in my email inbox won't mind giving up some space…

And happy CNY to all who celebrate it! Whoo! Gong xi fa cai, wan shi ru yi! May you have a great cluckin' Rooster Year! XD