Part two

Thanks for all the r and ring everyone who managed to get past my lovely authors note. I still don't own anything recognizable. Keep reviewing and I'll keep writing.

Kat opened her eyes to look up into the concerned faces of Boromir and Gandalf. She sighed and closed her eyes again.

"Kat?" Boromir questioned, worry threading into his voice. "wake up, we must go."

"Why don't you just carry her?" Questioned another voice, female and annoyed. The name danced forwards in Kats mind, Cissa, the annoying pest with the perm and the dye job.

"You must awake Kat." Gandalfs said poking her none to gently in the forehead.

"Oww!" Kat protested softly, trying to slap his hand away and succeeding only in hitting her own nose. "leave me alone." She muttered, turning her head to the side. "This is just some messed up dream, and I'll wake up in my bed and none of this will have happened." Cissa laughed at something and Kat winced. "Especially her."

"Kat," Boromir said, slipping a hand under he neck and pulling her to a sitting position. "You worried us, are you feeling better?" he offered her some water and she took a sip. "Can you stand?" He questioned.

"I guess I'm fine." Kat said, noting that everyone seemed to have one head and that there were no double images.

"This is no dream." Aragorn said gravely, "But you must deal with it for this is life, and we have much to do." Boromir pulled Kat to her feet, solemnly passing her the backpack and her little teddy bear.

"You dropped this," Boromir said, looking at the bear, "I have seen nothing like it before," he waved a strong hand at Cissa, "She said it was not but a children's toy." Kat blushed. "Will you tell me what it is?"

"Its just a bear," Kat said softly, "With wings, its like an angel.. bear. A friend of mine gave it to me. Its for luck." She tossed it into the backpack and slipped the bag onto her shoulders.

"And lucky it is, to have brought you to us." Gandalf teased, "but now we must travel, for we have far to go before we can rest." Gandalf smiled at the group while Aragorn took the lead and they moved out of the woods. Kat meandered to the back of the group, wondering frantically how the fuck she was going to get home. Ahead of her Cissa tripped over nothing and went sprawling to the ground with an animal sounding grunt.

Kat burst out laughing, and Boromir and Gandalf both let out suspiciously strangled coughs. Cissa glared at Kat from the ground, and then slowly got to her feet with the help of Legolas.

"If you can't laugh at yourself, I'll be glad to do it for you." Kat offered with a smile as she suppressed her laughter. Boromir let out another odd cough, and Gandalf turned away to scan the horizon.

"We have to no time for petty quarrelling." Aragorn announced, levelling a hard glare at Kat. "We must move." They set off again, Cissa aiming a kick at Kat's shin, which the doc martins deflected easily.

"Some people are only alive because it's illegal to kill them." Kat muttered darkly as Cissa skipped away to catch up with Aragorn. Boromir chuckled and fell back to walk beside her. "uh sorry." Kat apologized, "I didn't mean to say that out loud."

"No worries." Boromir said easily, "I often entertain some of the same thoughts."

"Yes but you don't actually speak them." Kat countered, causing Boromir to grin.

"I think that this will be an interesting journey." Boromir said slowly, tugging at one of Kats wild curls, he continued to smile down at her, "Now that you have joined us."

"Aren't you on a big quest thingy?" Kat asked looking away so she wouldn't blush. Blushing would ruin things, here was this good looking warrior type guy practically flirting with her, and blushing would only be a bad thing.

"We are on a quest of great importance to all of Middle Earth." Boromir replied, "But you are very easy on my eyes, and you words amuse me."

"Uh thanks, I think." Kat said, looking away as a breeze gently lifted her hair and moved it off her face. She sighed, it would be horrible tangled if the breeze didn't die. Ahead of them, she watched as Cissa's hair flowed gently in the breeze, and smiled knowing that the other girls hair would be just as tangled, and there was no way in hell that Kat was lending the little bitch her hair brush.

That evening they sat around a small campfire and ate. Kat was busy brushing the tangles out of her hair.

"why do you wear so much black?" Gandalf asked, finishing his food and smiling at Kat as she struggled with her hair.

"It's such a straightforward sort of colour." Kat said slowly, pulling the brush through a particularily nasty tangle with a wince. "I never stare at a black shirt, wondering if it goes with my black jeans. And black goes with anything."

"As long as the anything is black." Gandalf replied archly.

"Nu-uh" Cissa interjected. "Black goes with other colours too." Kat rolled her eyes as Cissa moved closer to them, shooting an dark glance at Kats hairbrush. Cissa waved her hand at herself. "My skirt happens to look wicked with my tops, black, red and white."

"Yeah anyways." Kat said, cutting herself off as the brush got stuck in a tangle. "Why do you wear so much grey?" Gandalf shrugged, smiling slightly as Cissa seemed to loose interest and wandered off to sit with the hobbits.

"It is a good colour, grey." Boromir interjected, gently tugging Kats hands away from her hair. "Let me help you."

"I have always thought," Gandalf said with a twinkle in his eyes, "That grey made my eyes look nicer. Don't you agree?" Boromir and Kat both laughed. "Tell me Boromir, how does your brother fare?"

"He is well," Boromir said slowly, "But all is not well with him and my father." He gently eased the brush through Kats tangled hair.

"Faramir would do well to stop looking to his father for what he needs." Gandalf said slowly, his eyes locked on the fire. "There is a shadow there." Boromir sighed.

"Faramir is ever second in my fathers eyes. "He said heavily, as Kat sighed and leaned back into the soothing motion of the brush as Boromir gently eased out the tangles.

"We should rest now." Aragorn announced, stopping all conversations, "we have many days travel before us, and we must keep up a strong pace." Kat tugged the brush out of Boromirs hands and moved away.

"I can finish myself before I curl up for the night." Kat said with a smile. "thanks for helping."

"You can borrow my cloak." Boromir said, placing his cloak on her lap. "I will be warm enough with out it." Kat blushed and quickly finished brushing her hair. She braided it, and tied it quickly. She tossed her hairbrush back in her bag, smirking slightly as she noticed Cissa's eyes following her every move.

"Thanks." Kat said again, standing to move away from the fire, bag and cloak in hand. Cissas hair would look like a large bush in the morning, she thought with a grin. Kat curled up on the grass, Boromirs cloak around her, the bag under her arm. As she fell asleep, she was unaware of the eyes that watched her, two sets admiringly, one set with menace gleaming in the depths, and one set wide with concern.

"Gandalf." Frodo whispered by the fire. "She unsettles me, and I do not like it." Gandalf gestured at Cissa with his staff.

"And I do not trust her." Was Gandalfs soft retort. "We must both walk with these burdens, but remember this, all is not what it seems with either of them."

"Kat is off putting." Legolas said softly, moving to crouch by them silently.

"and Cissa is far to open." Sam said gently, staring at now the sleeping girl.

"I'd rather open than off putting." Frodo said, running a hand through his hair. "Cissa is innocent, for all she would wish to appear other wise."

"Even the innocent have secrets." Legolas said darkly, standing again to walk into the darkness.

"Yes but at least we can see some of Kat's." Gandalf said to Frodo and Sam. "She does not hide the things she is unwilling to share, she simply does not share them." Kat twitched in her sleep, causing the hobbits to jump and eye her warily. "She only dreams." Gandalf added softly, "And I think it is time, you turned your thoughts to your own dreams." The hobbits curled up and fell asleep quickly, but Gandalf stared at the fire for some time. He sighed as Sam's gentle snoring filled the air. "Who knows what this will bring." Gandalf said softly, eyes locked on the flames.

End this part

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