bonniebeast- LOLs nice! (I do the same thing.) It feels great to get reviews like this, 'cause it's exactly what I'm going for. I don't want to sound cheesy or anything, but I did some deep soul-searching awhile back, and I realized that I don't particularly care what job I get later on in life, so long as I can be the reason someone smiles. At my old school, I used to be bullied a lot, and for me the best escape was to draw cartoons or read books. You know how sometimes you'll have a really bad day, and then you see or hear something that makes you feel like everything's alright? I want to make that something. (Sorry if this sounds too preachy-therapeutic or anything, just tryin' to 'keep it real with my home dogs, fo' shizzle'. …You get what I mean.).
Unbeausaumon- Thank you for the suggestion! I'll check it out.
(.com is garbage. Never use that site. EVER.)
…...
Alright, just felt like letting you know, so you aren't confused later on.
I feel as if this story is getting a bit dull. So, to shake it up a bit, Rima is really a dragon in disguise, Aragorn isn't with them, and Merry and Pippin are actually seven-foot-tall multicolored flower children dressed as penguins. Oh, and Legolas is a frog. With two heads. Enjoy!
HAHAHA! Did I get'cha? No? Oh, well. I had my fun. On with the real story!
(Ignore me, I'm insane.)
…...
Ugh. Running for days and nights with hardly a rest… Oh, how I wish I had flight!
Rima sprinted hurriedly after Legolas' silver-green form, accompanied by Aragorn. Through her delicately curved ears, she could hear the gasping breaths of Gimli behind her.
It must be difficult, running all this distance while bearing mail so cumbersome. Doubly so paired with short Dwarvish legs! It is a wonder he can keep up at all. The Dwarves truly are a stubborn race. This one especially.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a burst of speed as the company turned on the dusty grass, encompassing a large mountainous rock.
Rima looked back as a loud series of metallic clunks sounded at her back.
Her trailing glance caught sight of Gimli stumbling back to his feet after a particularly comical roll.
"Aargh! M' up! M' up!"
"Le innas cuia, gond'anc.", You will live, boulder-teeth Rima muttered peevishly, for although she was normally in complete control of her outward emotions, the last few nights had taken a toll on her temper. It was not in Avien nature to be uncovered in the darkness, and she longed for a leafy tree of which to rest under. She was not alone in this regard; even Aragorn with all his meditative calm had been showing a bristly distemper towards their increasingly frantic task.
Rima's feet stumbled underneath her as their pace slowed suddenly. Only Legolas' quick grab of her shoulders kept her from toppling head over heels, straight into the path of a great host of horse-riders.
"Legolas?" He turned his head towards her.
"R-roch…echil?" Horse… Humans? she whispered, a slight tremor in her voice.
Legolas nodded, uneasy by the obvious worry in her expression.
What is it about this land that makes her so nervous? It cannot be the terrain, nor the horses.
Before he could vocally question her fears however, Aragorn gave them a signal to follow.
As they stepped into the open, the man gave a cry to the Rohirrim.
"What news of the north, riders of Rohan?"
Rima frantically covered herself with the Elf's cloak, covering her wings before flicking up the hood to shadow her vivid purple eyes.
The horsemen turned in perfect symphony towards the foreign figures, arching in a great circle to surround them with spears at the ready. A tall man with golden-brown hair, likely their leader, spurred his mount foremost of the host to face the group.
"What does a man, an Elf, a Dwarf, and a cloaked wanderer have in these lands?" he demanded, the sound of his command resounding as one who is not used to being ignored.
"Speak quickly!"
Gimli straightened, annoyed by the tone.
"Give me your name, Horsemaster, and I will give you mine."
Rima groaned inwardly.
He is going to get us killed. A pox on his mulish stubbornness!
The infuriated rider turned to the offending person, dismounting.
"I would cut off your head, Dwarf, if it stood little higher from the ground."
Faster than even Rima's eyes could follow, Legolas' bow was fitted with an arrow and pointed between the Human's eyes. The already-close spear tips raised higher.
"You would die before your stroke fell."
Moving carefully, Aragorn put his hand over his friend's bow and gently but forcefully pointed it to the ground, giving him a look that all but spoke. Tread lightly, we are on thin ice as it is.
"I beg your pardon. Perhaps once you learn more of our situation, you may understand my companions' temperament. I am Aragorn of Gondor, this is Gimli Gloin-son, and this is Legolas son of Thranduil, king of mirkwood. Our fourth companion goes by the name of Rima."
"Rima?"
The other man stepped forwards.
"An odd name, boy. Be you Human or Elf? Dwarf, if not them?"
Rima glared out from under her hood in annoyance. She did not comprehend his quick manner of speech, but she did not fancy his arrogant stance.
"Legolas, Im av-henia Roch-echil. Man cered e ped?" Legolas, I do not understand him. What does he say? she asked, her position rigid.
"He questions your name, your gender, and your race." he answered in common.
Rima was familiar with his slower, flowing speech, and untangled his words without too much effort.
Lowering her hood to reveal her aquiline face, she spoke haltingly in accented common. She was sure to keep her violet irises fixed on the ground.
"I… not-Elf. Not man, female. Rima no-guardian. West from come me. Myself."
Aragorn kept his eyes pinned on the taller man, looking for a reaction.
"A woman? Traveling with men, across the plains of Rohan? I shall not question your reasons. I am Eomer, sister-son to Theodin, our king. Again I ask, what business do you have in these lands?"
"We have been tracking a band of Uruk-hai moving swiftly through the eastern plains." Aragorn answered.
"They have taken two of our friends captive. They are Halflings, although perhaps only children to your eyes. Have you heard speak of such a band?"
With this question, Eomer's stature seemed to diminish slightly, and his eyes grew darker.
"We came across only one group of such creatures, not two days ago . We piled the carcasses and burned them, as is our custom. 'Twas not three leagues from here."
He faced them gravely.
"We saw none but orcs."
The four travelers turned silent.
"Dead, then?" Gimli ventured, hardly daring to wish otherwise.
Eomer shook his head sadly.
"We left none alive."
Rima muttered a quiet luck-prayer in her native tongue.
Quiet numbness filled the moments.
Eomer lifted his head, and called out to one of his lieutenants. A brown-bearded man in rusted mail circled 'round with a pair of stallions, one pale grey and the other a deep woody brown.
"You may use these steeds on behalf of their previous masters. May your fate prove more fortunate than their own."
The accepted the horses in quiet gratitude, and bid farewell as the great host turned and rode off.
Rima mounted the grey steed and said nothing as Legolas lept on behind her. The Elf's slender arms wrapped around her to grasp the reins, and she gripped the saddle to keep seated as he whispered the creature into a steady gallop.
The Eomer-man mentioned orcs, and burning. The orcs must have been slain and burned. What of the Hob-bits? They may still be alive.
"Le-golas?" she mumbled.
He looked down to her face, curtained by a length of dusty-brown hair.
"Hob-bits… sad-hain-nedh… haeron?"
The corner of his mouth lifted a fraction at her hidden question.
"Al hae." Not far.
"Oh."
She stared blankly at the horizon.
Legolas chuckled.
Rima marveled the sound.
Like bells, but without the harsh metallic sting of the notes. Almost like reed-pipes and bird-trills.
Still grinning softly, he nudged her shoulder with the in of his elbow.
"It will still be awhile. You may sleep, Gwael." Gull.
She nodded slightly and relaxed, leaning until she was comfortably perched between the horse and his lightly armored chest.
The two horses thundered on across the plains, moving steadily closer to their distant destination.
Rima smiled as she drifted off, rocked to sleep by the thunder of hooves on firm grasslands and the muffled da-dump of a steady heartbeat.
…...
I was in a fluffy mood. :D Again, all requests, ideas, thoughts, philosophies of the cosmos, any input is welcome. Thanks for reading!
(Oh, and unbeausaumon ? C o u n c i l o f e l r o n d . c o m worked well. Thanks again for the help!)