DISCLAIMER: lotr not mine

Thanks for any and all reviews. Here's another chapter:

"Speech"

'Mind speech'

(twin signing)

Chapter Six

Six years later, I lay under a table in the corner of The Prancing Pony in Bree. 'That will kill you one day,' I spoke to Strider, who was sitting above me at the table, smoking.

'Hasn't yet,' he retorted. 'And at least I'll have some pleasure before I die. Putting up with you for six years doesn't count as pleasure.'

'Awww, you know you love me,' I pleaded, keeping up the old argument. 'If you didn't, you wouldn't have kept me with you.'

'As if I had any choice in the matter. You would have stayed anyway,' Strider sent back. 'Every single one of my friends have tried to kill you at some point or other. And always when you first meet them.' Laughter coloured his tone. 'Yet it hasn't managed to drive you away yet.'

I couldn't help but agreeing with that one. I remember the first time I met Gandalf. It was about four years ago ...

"Natalie! Get out of there!"

I turned and looked over my shoulder to see Strider waving frantically from the back of his horse. The other rangers were pulling out. Giving a last bite towards the man I was facing I leaped over his head and ran towards Strider. Seeing I was coming Strider turned his horse and followed his friends.

Seeing that we were giving up, the men we were fighting grabs the reins of their horses and took up the chase. Damn, I thought to myself. There was no way I could outrun horses. I could damn well try though, I vowed, and ran faster. The rangers were pulling away from us. All except Strider. He was waiting for me, I realised.

'Damn you! Get going!' I yelled at him.

'No way in hell am I leaving you, you stubborn mutt!' Strider retorted. 'We have this argument every time. You should know by now that you won't win.' He sent a mental grin with that last.

'Stupid human,' I thought quietly, although deliberately making it loud enough for him to hear. He just laughed.

'You might want to hurry it up a bit,' he suggested.

'Can't,' I puffed back. Looking over my shoulder I saw the men were only a couple of metres behind me. 'Um shit!' I thought, and tried to push myself harder. Problem: I was already running all out.

'Keep it going Nat,' Strider urged. I looked up at him and saw him nocking an arrow to his bow. Before he could shoot however, a bright energy beam smack into the group behind me, coming from a staff an old man was holding. Since they were so close to me the beam also connected with me and threw me ten metres along the ground.

'Ouch!' I thought, rolling to a stop.

'Nat! Are you alright?' Strider's mental tone sounded worried.

'Sure,' I thought back. 'Only a few grazes.' Looking around I saw him talking to the old man who had sent the beam in the first place. 'How come all your friends try to kill me?'

Strider laughed. 'Gandalf wasn't aiming at you Nat. He was helping take down the Basala Riders. You just happened to be in the way. So for once it wasn't deliberate.'

'Yeah yeah, they're your friends,' I grumbled. Strider let out another chuckle and continued his conversation with Gandalf.

Despite that painful beginning, Gandalf and I get along now, although he doesn't know I can talk. He just thinks I'm a rather intelligent mutt. Which is true about the intelligent part of course.

We'd seen him again recently when he'd galloped through and handed Strider a message saying to meet someone here and take them to Rivendell since he didn't have time to do it himself.

So here we are, in Bree, waiting for someone unknown ... or rather, unknown to me, since I think Strider knows what he's doing. He only told me the bare essentials though: We're taking some hobbits to Rivendell for Gandalf and we have to keep them safe since they're carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders.

'So what does a hobbit look like?' I asked Strider, as I lay there under the table.

'Short, hairy, looks like a child really,' Strider replied absently. I noticed his gaze had travelled from the door to the front desk. My eyes followed and I saw four children talking to Butterbur.

'THAT'S a hobbit?' I said incredulously. 'THEY are the ones who are carrying the fate of the world?'

Strider nodded.

'We're doomed,' I thought at him, hiding my face under my paws.

'Hush,' Strider commanded. 'Not everyone is as they seem. We'll find out if the hobbits are worthy soon enough.'

I went back to watching the hobbits. I snorted with laughter when I heard Butterbur say that Strider was one of them 'ranger folk' so the hobbits had better say away from him.

'He's warning them away from you coz you're DANGEROUS,' I sniggered at Strider. Strider just sighed and continued puffing on his pipe.

One of the hobbits went over to the bar. I couldn't hear what was said but one of the others suddenly dashed over and grabbed the other's shoulder. Strider suddenly stood up. I could see why.

One of the hobbits had fallen to the floor and completely disappeared.

-----------------------------------------------------

I know it's short. I also know I haven't updated in a while. Will update again soon hopefully.

Please review coz I love reviews!

Stay fuzzy,

TheWall