A/N: Are you reading the 'wheel of time' series Emmithar? I have read three books, but then lost interest because I was so annoyed of the continues 'fight' between the men and women and at the long time it took for something to happen. Good luck reading!
Well ThE iNsAnE oNe, you wanted him sick, probably so you have an excuse to hug him! *bg*. Btw, I nearly died from laughing when I read chapter two of 'Two men and…'. I am grinning like an idiot now that I think of it again :)
Caroly, I would be nervous too if faced with such overwhelming personalities and I am feeling much better now, thanks!
I do wish to point out to you that I have changed Faramir's hair colour from blond to dark. Acacia was so kind to tell me, that in RotK it is written that the man has dark hair. It was just one little sentence and I had forgotten about it. So thank you again acacia!
So to end this, to long, note I wish to say: this chapter is mainly from Orophin's POV. My plans to make Haldir a sort of friend to Faramir, have gone out of the window. His little brother was way too curious about the man and I couldn't drag the elf away from him with ten horses.
*looks at the earlier mentioned written draft in her lap* I guess I will just have to burn this…
All speech is in Sindarin.
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9.
Orophin managed to catch the young man before he fell to the ground. At first puzzled by this sudden faint he then felt Faramir shiver against him while at the same time he radiated warmth. Shifting a bit, so he had a better hold, the elf carefully lay the man on his back. And after a short battle with the blankets, covered him up. He then wanted to hurry out to find a healer, but bumped into one of his brothers on the way out.
"Why the haste little brother?" Asked Haldir, taking note of Orophin's worried expression.
"It's Faramir, he looked fine one minute and the next he collapsed. I was on my way to get a healer."
"Stay with the man Orophin, I will get a healer," and took of just as suddenly as he had appeared.
The younger elf just stood there, wondering what had just happened, then went back inside. He sat on the edge of the bed and looked at the man, who looked very young all of a sudden. Orophin wasn't an expert on judging age, since the only other man around had been Aragorn…and even that wasn't a good comparison, since that man had a longer life span because of his heritage!
Faramir hadn't told them how old he was, but his face, which didn't hold the lines or the weathered look of someone more experienced, showed his youthfulness. The elf did think he was old enough to be legally considered an adult, but young enough to have to prove his worthiness as one.
Stroking some dark hair out of Faramir's face, Orophin noted the warmth that radiated from the man. He remembered the pitcher he had seen standing on the table and walked to it. While pouring some water into the bowl with one hand, he took the small towel and gave it a firm shake to unfold it.
Taking both the bowl and towel with him, he sat on the bed again. The elf wetted the towel and put the bowl on the floor, careful not to knock it over. He then gently swiped the cloth over the man's face, trying to cool him a bit.
Faramir shivered and turned his head away from the coldness, earning him an amused smile from Orophin, whom put the towel away for a moment to pull the blanket over the man up to his chin. He left one corner of body uncovered, wanting to take a better look at the wound on the young man's shoulder.
At first the elf had thought the wound was very badly inflamed, but on closer inspection it wasn't very severe. The skin around the wound was very warm and red, but not so much it would render someone unconscious. When Faramir started coughing, Orophin thought of the man's condition when they had first tracked and followed him; he had the same cough then as he did now.
Was Faramir sick? Aragorn had explained to him that men could get sick for no apparent reason. And that when there was someone sick, another nearby could get sick too. While pondering this strange idea, a healer came in being followed closely by Haldir.
Orophin didn't recognise the dark-haired healer, even though he knew every elf in Lórien at least by face. His brother took him aside, while the healer went to Faramir.
"This is Almare, she has just arrived from Imladris. She has experience with sicknesses of men."
"Thank you brother, I really don't understand why he is…sick." Orophin said the last word a bit awkwardly. Haldir shook his head.
"I am not sure either, but healer Almare will find out. I am sorry brother, but I have to go now. There has been some disturbance again in the south."
"I will come with you," the younger elf said.
"You do not wish to stay here?"
In truth, he did want to stay and help Faramir. He did not know how he could help the man, but there must be something he could do! On the other hand, he did not want to abandon his brother either. Orophin shuffled with his feet and looked at the bed. Haldir took the decision for him.
"Stay here Orophin. I already have enough men to take with me, including Rúmil. You can watch over the young one."
"Thank you Haldir," he said, while giving his elder brother a quick hug. "Just be careful out there."
Haldir raised an eyebrow at that and snorted.
"You warn me to be careful? Do I need to remind you of the time when you…"
"NO!" Orophin interrupted with a smile.
"Really? To bad…" his brother said with a smile as well. "I don't exactly know when we will be back, but it will not be long. Take care little brother!"
"Aye, I will. Bye!" The younger elf said, while Haldir made his way out of the room. He then turned and went to stand next to the healer. She glanced at him and nodded her greeting.
"What is wrong with him?" Orophin asked with curiosity and worry. Almare appeared deep in thought before answering.
"Well, I believe it are a number of factors that made him lose consciousness. At first he is exhausted, look at the dark circles under his eyes. Second; he is to thin, I will have someone bring light food for him which he should eat once he is awake. You can manage to get some food in him?"
"Sure," he said with some amusement, while thinking briefly of getting a recovering brother to eat. "I have a bit of experience with that."
The healer nodded.
"Good. I believe you will need it, cause he is not going to ask for help." At Orophin's puzzled look she continued.
"I say that because he has not asked for help before. His airways are infected and must have caused him a lot of discomfort. He has a fever and the wound on his shoulder isn't healing well enough. A few herbs, found in lots of places, could have saved him a lot of trouble. If only he had told you of the pain with breathing before this, he wouldn't have had a relapse with his health."
The silver haired elf sighed.
"He already had that cough when we first found him and his shoulder wound…we didn't exactly know how long it would take to heal, it wouldn't be as fast as our wounds."
"No, I agree. But it doesn't take this long to at least see some sort of healing. I will bandage it for now, with some stronger herbs that I have taken with me from Imladris. The only thing that can be done now, however contrary it may seem, is to keep him warm. I saw you cooling his head with cold water, keep that up. It should lessen the chance of a headache when he wakes up."
"To tell you the truth," Orophin started, "I feel a bit helpless. I like him, even though we speak different languages, and I don't like it to see him like this." He sighed again and came up with something he just wanted to know. "Can you tell what his age is?"
Almare studied Faramir for a minute, while at the same time bandaging his shoulder.
"I believe he is in his early twenties, probably just reached his majority as far as I can tell. He is considered an adult in the reckoning of man, so don't baby him. They hate it when we do that. So, need more advice?"
"No, I think I can manage with this."
"Alright, his fever isn't very high. If he starts getting restless, just talk to him, he knows the sound of your voice and that is often enough. Should his fever rise, call me immediately. When he wakes up, he will within the next few hours, make sure he stays in bed and let him eat." The healer tied the bandage, then gathered a few of her belongings and left.
Orophin pulled up a chair and sat next to the bed.
"Well," he softly said to Faramir, "you certainly have a tale to tell when you get home."
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A/N: The healer Almare is just a passing character, so don't worry. It just struck me that few writers give their (mostly one-chapter) healers a name, but I was in a good mood and didn't mind searching for a name. Almare is a Quenya name derived from Anna (from where my name comes from :) ).
