Chapter Three
"Come on, Aragorn! Get up!"
"Mmff…Gerroff…" Aragorn turned over, halfway between sleeping and waking.
"Get up!" It was Legolas, and of course, it was still pitch black. The birds had not even started to sing yet.
The Elf gave the Ranger's shoulders a gentle shake.
"Go'way," Aragorn muttered, swatted at the Elf's hands, and went back to sleep.
"We've got Goblins to hunt!" Legolas was exasperated. He shook Aragorn a little harder, underestimated his own strength, and sent the Ranger rolling off his bedroll. "Whoops. Get up!"
"I'm up, I'm UP!" Aragorn growled. Legolas had succeeded. The Ranger got to his feet and brushed dry grass and prickles off himself. "What the hell was the meaning of that?" he demanded.
"An accident, but really, it's late."
"What? Late in the bloody night, maybe?" Aragorn groaned, "It's not even light yet, for the Valar's sake!" The Ranger was clearly in a rather bad mood.
"Not a morning person, Aragorn?" asked Legolas politely.
"Bloody hell, no! How long have you been up?"
"Oh, nearly an hour now. I've already had breakfast. I' thought I'd let you sleep a little." he winked at Aragorn, which did nothing to improve the Ranger's mood.
"Oh, be quiet! Elves can sleep on their feet or riding a horse, whatever. They sleep with their eyes open! We humans can't do that! We sleep lying down, with our eyes very firmly shut, thank-you-very-much!"
"Here." Legolas threw the Ranger's bedroll and blanket, neatly rolled up, at him. "Stop procrastinating!"
"Me? Procrastinating?"
"Well hurry up then, whatever you're doing, otherwise I don't care whether you're "with me every step of the way" or not – I'm going without you!"
Aragorn rolled his eyes and picked up his pack and bedding.
"You wouldn't dare!" He headed for the horses, and found both fully readied – all that remained was to untie them.
Roheryn eagerly greeted his master as the Ranger tied the pack and bedroll to the saddle. Legolas approached the horses, removed Nimros's halter, stowed it in his pack, and vaulted easily onto the stallion's back. Aragorn untied Roheryn and mounted with more care, as he had iron stirrups to aid him. The Elf also had simple straps on Nimros's harness that resembled stirrups, but he chose not to use them, preferring to ride with his long legs hanging loose down the horse's sides.
Legolas squeezed Nimros into a trot.
"Noro lim." To Aragorn, he said, "Let us go now – at last!" and gave the Ranger a look, "We have a good chance of catching the Goblins. They will still be out now."
"Aye," Aragorn agreed, and nudged his stallion with his heels, "Onwards, Roheryn."
Suddenly Legolas grinned, and Nimros seemed to sense his rider's joy, for he broke into a canter, and then a gallop, Roheryn hot on his heels. Both horses tossed their heads and neighed excitedly, their hooves pounding, tails held high, nostrils dilated, and eyes bright.
"Faroth Glamhoth!" Legolas cried. Exhilaration coursed through his veins. "Noro lim, Nimros! Noro lim!"
Aragorn pulled Roheryn back slightly, wishing to save the horse's energy. Legolas glanced back at him.
"Khil, Estel! Noro lim!" he encouraged.
Roheryn took matters into his own hands – if his master wouldn't, then he would! The stallion suddenly tore the reins from the unsuspecting Ranger's fingers, threw his head in the air, and raced to catch the white cloud – tail in front of him.
"Faroth Glamhoth!" Aragorn repeated, "YEEEAAARGH!"
TBC.
Author's Note: I thought I'd add some comedy to this chapter. Hope it was funny! I'm not planning on it again though. I wasn't sure whether to call the chapter Rise and Shine (Poor Aragorn!) or Hunt. I settled on Hunt though, as this is not really meant to be comedy. For those of you out there who don't speak Elvish, "Faroth Glamhoth" means "Hunt the Orcs" (or Goblins in this case), and "Khil" means "Follow".
– Windsong of Darkness –
P.S. Thank you for the good reviews!