Chapter 3 Stuck In The Middle

A/N: Hey! Sorry, I'm really bad at updating! XD Chemistry has taken over my life with lab reports! DUN DUN DUN! *shivers* well this is the next one, the chapter title sucks, I know. And you will come upon the word 'Whoofed' I know it's probably not a word in most people standards, but I was reading a book called A Horse Called Wonder and they used that word a lot to describe the gentle snorting sound a horse makes. Like a really gentle or contented-ish snort. It can also be a 'not so harsh' snort that says "stop!" am I right? Can I get away with using that word? Please tell me... I hope I can get away with it. Because I needed a word that was like a snort, but not as harsh. I thought the word 'Whoof' fit quite nicely...

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Except my arrogant OC Faegon!

Thanks to my awesome Beta Reader BlackShaftedArrow! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH! She has the most amusing Beta Notes. Honestly I don't know if she meant them to be amusing, but I laughed... XD

The forest had grown significantly thicker since they left the borders of Imladris and headed towards the Trollshaws. They had never taken this route to the Troll infested lands before. Surprisingly, it was a cheerful and relaxing ride. They were able to move leisurely and watch the squirrels and deer running across the road and through the forest. The birds, robins, jays and chickadees flew through the cool air, whistling overhead as they searched for another branch. Then they would blast their cheery, rich songs through the dense trees. It made everything seem happier and the ride more bearable.

Yet, the ride had its downfalls. Even though they were small, they were still enough to irritate someone. Like the fact that it was crowded with tall beech trees. At every turn their way was blocked, causing them to have to go out of their way to keep on course. They had to stop several times and dismount in order to lead their mounts through, and they had to constantly be on watch. It wasn't a guarded realm, they knew. And even though it was unlikely someone would attack them, they could never be too careful. Another downfall was the forests oven-like appearance. If it were not for the coolness of autumn, the forest would have been hot. This was do to the fact that the green boughs overhead had grown so close together that they entwined themselves in the others branches. The result was that it blocked out most of the sun, light only escaping through small gaps in the leaves.

Elrohir, who was leading, was quite far ahead of his group, peering with difficulty through the branches to catch sight of the sun. From what he could see, it was slowly falling down the horizon in an orange, fiery ball, spreading a golden light on the pale leaves. It made the branches shimmer with the faintest heat, giving them an unearthly feeling. He shifted and looked around the peaceful, glowing forest.

He peered through the branches again and watched the sun. It looked as if they only had three hours till nightfall. Sighing, Elrohir stopped walking and stroked his young horse's neck, the animal whinnying in response. He would wait till the others caught up, then tell them that they would be stopping. It was too late to be moving on.

To his surprise, it didn't take the others long to catch up. He looked back through the trees, and could just make out their position in the thick forest. A small smile crept up on his face as he watched them approach. It was rather peaceful when nobody was talking. Or fighting, he reflected dully. Soon he could just see the outline of Elladan leading his horse, followed by Faegon and his white stallion. Shortly after that, the others followed.

"El, do you think we should make camp?" Elladan asked as he approached. The younger Elrondion tilted his head to the side, his silver eyes watching the group.

"No, let's keep going in the fading light, deep into this dangerous area, and walk right into a Troll camp," He said with a smile, lovingly patting his filly's neck. Elladan rolled his eyes.

Shrugging with another roll of the eyes, he turned back to his mild-tempered mount and grasped the brown leather girth firmly. Elladan heard more than saw his brother doing the same thing... at the same time. He bit his lip, fighting a mixture of mirth and anger as he worked the buckle loose. Elrohir was being extremely steadfast at keeping his nerves on him, rather than the brown-haired Noldor who was behind them. It almost made him laugh.

His saddle and its contents slid easily off and and he placed them on the ground. Elrohir looked up briefly and observed the others as they busily moved around the clearing. Sighing, he went back to work on sorting his things, his mind wandering. As he did this, the rest of the group began to do the same, working like ants to set up their camp. It wasn't long -in the darkening night- before the bedrolls and their various colored blankets were scattered around in an orderly fashion, a fire noisily popping and cracking in the night.

Two of the guards—a blonde and a red head—strode quickly out of the clearing, bows in hand as they gently teased each other. They were out of sight within a couple of seconds, vanishing into the blackness of the trees. They were initially picked beforehand to do the hunting for a late dinner, and the two had happily complied. Another guard also left the clearing, having been given strict orders to gather some more firewood to last them the night. It would be cold, even for an elf, and they didn't want to freeze. That left the twins and Faegon to keep watch over the camp. Wonderful.

Elladan stood stiffly on the edge of the small clearing with the horses, brushing his stallion with firmer strokes than absolutely necessary. The gentle horse shifted and grumbled, head craning back to stare at his master. The large animals big, kind orbs widened, and it pricked its ears forward. Stepping to the side with another grumble, the steed turned it's massive body to evade the next hard brush stroke. This caused the young Peredhel to glare at nothing while he went back to his work. Stamping one hoof solidly into the padded ground, the horses head bobbed once, and he nudging Elladan in the side. The half elf staggered, continuing to ignore his animal, too angry and worked up to care.

Shifting, the horse nudged him again and nickered in soft inquiry, almost as if to say 'What's wrong?' It was such a rich sound that it caught Elladan's attention, and the Peredhel turned his silver gaze to the gentle beast. The horse peered innocently at him, eyes gleaming in such concern that Elladan's heart melted. The stallion exhaled softly, it's breath showing white in the bitter cold air.

"It always seems as if you understand me..." Elladan commented softly with a small laugh, gingerly pulling his mounts thick, soft forelock to the side. "Sorry," he mumbled when he realized that he had been rough. The horse bobbed its head twice and nuzzled him with a forgiving whinny, making the warrior laugh.

Elladan's thin form was illuminated by the orange glow of the fire that sat across the clearing, causing his shadow to stretch far across the forest. Of course he had groomed the animal earlier that evening when he had unsaddled it, but he was doing it again. He wanted to be as far away from Faegon as possible. For as long as possible. Throughout the day—for some unknown reason—they had been on worse terms than usual. They had snapped at each other more than once and thrown venomous insults, despite Elrohir's heartfelt attempts to keep them cool. So he thought it best to stay away. For now.

However, it had not seemed to help. Elladan had only grown more annoyed. The fact was, once again, there was no real reason for them to be mad at each other. They had no need to fight in the first place, which made the argument all the more vicious. Both had yelled at each other during the ride, and neither one was willing to apologize. Neither were willing to admit they were being childish, or that the argument was completely unfounded. So, as it was, Elladan put his brush down and sunk into a sitting position, his back against the tree that his horse was tied to.

Across the shadowed camp, painfully aware of the massively thick tension, Elrohir sat nervously in a cross-legged position, only a few feet away from the fire that burned with a soothing heat. He looked rather cozy and comfortable in the warm glow of the flames, but it was all a facade. Every muscle in his body was as taught as a bowstring, silver eyes glancing hurriedly from both occupants in the camp. He was waiting for a fight to break out. To the young Peredhel, being the middleman in an argument was worse than being the person arguing. The awful thing was, he had already been yelled at twice by both Faegon and Elladan. It wasn't that his twin was mad at him, he knew. But instead of yelling at Faegon, Elladan had exploded at the nearest person, if only to vent his rage.

Far to the twins left, Faegon stood and paced busily in a circle, his body fully submerged in the shadows with only his natural glow to give him light. The brown-haired Ellon's face was twisted into an unreadable expression as he walked, his eyes focused on the floor. Shoulders and posture unhealthily tense, he looked ready for a battle. Same here, Elrohir thought bitterly. Faegon suddenly paused, his head craning upwards to look at the stars. Apparently not finding what he was looking for, he continued his mindless pacing, rage emitting off of him like a bad odor.

Over by the invitingly cozy fire, the youngest twin shook his dark head . A frown creased his young features as he shifted around in his seat and he finally—though hesitantly—asked. "Is something wrong?"

At the sudden sound of the Elrondion's voice, Faegon's head lifted to look in his direction, an unsteady gleam in his eyes. "Yes," he replied acidly, icily holding Elrohir's gaze. "But I wouldn't expect you to understand." His head dropped once more and he continued his pacing, ignoring Elrohir's long, heavy sigh.

Maybe that was the wrong thing to ask...

Brow furrowed, Elrohir pulled his legs to his chest and rolled his eyes, gently resting his forehead on his knees. It was a cruel fate that he was stuck here with no one to talk to. It was an even crueler fate that he was stuck with Faegon. What he would give to be collecting the firewood right now! The stressed son of Elrond winced when Faegon kicked something, creating a loud noise. He would have reprimanded him, seeing as they were in Troll country. However, he knew a simple warning would probably turn into a massive argument, with lots of shouting. That wouldn't do. So curling up into a comfortable position, the Peredhel shut himself away from the tension that floated in the air. It would be a long night, even when the others came back.

A/N: What did you think? PLEASE REVIEW! *puppy eyes* It would make my day. Tell me what I did wrong so I can fix it, and tell me what I did right so I can keep doing it.