Just a Friend- Chapter 10

Disclaimer: see Chapter 1

The morning sun was shining into the cottage through the open window, and Telan noticed how it glinted off Las' hair, making his blond hair shine. The more childish part of his mind tried to compare it to gold, before the rest of his mind, anxious to be grown up in front of Strider, told it to shut up.

Las leant on Strider as the man looked at him, his brow furrowed in worry for his friend. Las stumbled slightly as Strider took a step forwards, and Strider frowned. "Are you-?"

"I am alright," said Las, straightening up. A sudden spell of dizziness came over him and he swayed, leaning into Strider, who shifted, pulling Las further against him to allow him to lean on the man. Las looked up, his eyes flitting around the cottage. They came to rest on the weapons piled against the wall. "My bow," he murmured. "And my knives. You found them?"

"A patrol found them" said Strider. "That is how we knew you were missing."

Las nodded with a slight smile. He took a few steps forwards with Strider, but his legs felt heavy and he swayed forwards. Had Strider not been holding onto him, he would have fallen.

"I am sure you are fine," said Strider sarcastically before Las could speak. Telan held open the door as Strider carefully walked Las outside. He nodded at Henric and Alya as they went, and Cat gave a grin to Telan as he went out the door, the wooden swords in his hands. Telan grinned back, but he was suddenly excited and nervous at the same time. What if he wasn't any good at fighting? What if Strider, seeing how bad he was, decided not to teach him any more? He looked over at the man and was suddenly panicked, though Strider was not looking at him.

The man's eyes were half on the ground in front of them, and half on the elf leaning on him as he held onto Las' arm, slung around his shoulders. Las still looked pale and drawn, and Telan realised it was only yesterday evening that he had woken up. It had seemed so long ago, like the day had stretched out into a hundred days, and time, whilst not dragging, had been added to without him realising.

Strider glanced over at Las yet again, and Telan noticed the warmth in his expression, which only multiplied when Las, catching Strider's gaze, smiled softly and murmured something in the other tongue that they shared. A grin broke out on Strider's face, and he looked back to where Telan was walking behind them.

"Do you have the swords, Telan?" asked Strider as he walked with Las around the cottage to the back. Las breathed in deeply, and a deep light kindled in his eyes as he caught sight of the woods.

"I have them!" cried Telan, running along to come next to Strider and Las. He looked over at the elf. "Have you ever fought Strider, Las?"

Las chuckled slightly. Now he was outside he was walking straighter, and leant less on Strider for support, though the man's arm was still holding him up. "I have, Telan," he replied. "But only for practice."

"Who won?" asked Telan, swinging the wooden swords in his hands.

Las looked over at Strider. "Who has won most of our matches, mellon-nin?"

Strider sighed. "It usually ends in a draw," he said to Telan. "Las only wins through trickery and deceit."

Las shrugged slightly. "It is not trickery if you are a wood elf," he muttered. "It is simply good fighting skills."

They reached the edge of the woods, and Strider found a flat, dry area that would be a good place to practise. Carefully he lowered Las down so he was sitting up with his back against a tree. Telan watched in amazement as the tree's branches rustled, though there was no wind. Las placed one hand against the trunk and the branches stilled slightly. He smiled.

Strider smiled slightly at Las. "Let me guess," he said sarcastically. "The tree is overwhelmed with joy."

Las opened his eyes and looked at Strider. "Aye," he said with a smile. "He saw me being carried in by your mother, Telan."

Telan frowned. "How can you-?"

"He is a wood elf," said Strider as Las shut his eyes again and relaxed back against the tree. "He can speak with trees and animals easily. All the trees adore him back in his home. He only has to ask them to do something and they will all try and jump to his aid." He looked over at Las. "You are not to try and climb the tree, mellon-nin," he said sternly.

Las nodded sleepily, but he was still incredibly weary, and weak from the poison. He soon slipped into a light sleep, his eyes half open as he dreamed. Strider took off his coat and dropped it in a heap on the ground. He took the small dagger from his belt and stuck it in the ground next to Las, so it would not interfere when they were fighting.

Strider took one of the swords from Telan and put it on the ground. He turned back to Telan. "How do you think you hold it?" he asked.

Telan took the wooden sword in one hand and curled his fingers around the hilt, lifting it up in front of him. Strider studied his grip, moving his fingers slightly. "Good," he said. "Now turn sideways."

Telan turned. "Why?" he asked.

Strider grinned. "It's a smaller target." He picked up his sword and swung it in his hand. "Put one foot back," he said. "You want some purchase on the ground."

Telan obeyed immediately and stood ready, his body tense. Strider turned and faced him. "Fighting with a sword, Telan, is not about hacking and slashing, and hoping you hit someone. It is tiring work. Every move that you make must count. Do you understand?"

Telan nodded. "Don't hack and slash, and make every move count," he repeated. "But don't you need to hack and slash sometimes?"

Strider smiled. "If you have no other option," he said. "But in a fight, you always have to have another option. If you get to a point where the other person is leading the fight, then you have lost already. Now, try and hit me."

Telan ran forwards with his sword raised, but Strider neatly turned and Telan fell past him. He felt the tap of a sword between his shoulder blades. "No hacking," said Strider.

Telan turned to face him, but instead of running straight away, he balanced himself, the sword out in front of him. He studied Strider, who smiled slightly. "Are you going to try again?"

For an answer Telan moved forwards, but this time he kept his eyes on Strider. The sword made a resounding thwack as they connected, and Telan jerked backwards. The sword spiralled out of his hand and flew to the floor with a thunk. Telan stood still, blushing.

Telan paused as Strider levelled his sword at him. Strider smiled. "Don't drop your sword," he said.

"It's getting heavy," said Telan as he moved over to it. "What happens if you can't hold onto it any longer?"

Strider picked up Telan's sword and held it out to him. "This sword," he said as Telan grasped the hilt. "Must become part of your arm. It has to be part of your body. You can move your arm without thinking, can you not? You must be able to do the same with your sword."

"But what happens if I drop it?" Telan grabbed hold of it and shifted it in his hands. The weight was pulling his arms down, and a small part of him wanted to sit down on the ground and drop the sword. But a larger part of him was still excited, still giddy with anticipation. He was finally learning how to fight.

"You cannot drop part of your arm," said Strider with a smile. "Now, again."

Telan lunged at him, and Strider blocked the blow. "Relax your arm!" he called out as he easily parried Telan's thrust. "You must not slash. You must flow with the fight."

The short bout quickly ended when Strider thrust at Telan, who panicked and didn't manage to block it in time. He grinned, panting heavily. "How do you know all this, Strider?"

"I had good teachers," said Strider, glancing over at Las. Telan followed his gaze, and saw something that made him jump in shock.

"What is it?" asked Strider.

"His…his eyes!" exclaimed Telan. "His eyes are open!"

Strider frowned. "So they are. That is good," he said. "I was worried when he slept with them shut."

Telan's mouth hung open. "What?" he asked. Strider looked down at him, confused, and then began to chuckle.

"I am sorry, Telan," he said. "I didn't realise you didn't know. Elves sleep with their eyes open. It is only when they are incredibly tired or injured that they close their eyes to sleep."

"Oh," said Telan, feeling slightly foolish.

"Do not feel foolish," said Strider. "When I first saw an elf sleep, I screamed so loudly that I woke the elf and most of the household." He chuckled.

"Who was that elf?" asked Telan. "Were they angry?"

Strider paused, and the smile disappeared from his face slightly. "They were not," he said softly. "It was an elf called Elladan, my…one of Las' friends."

"Did Las teach you how to fight?"

"Nay," said Strider, shaking his head. "He taught me how to shoot a bow properly, but it was my…Elladan and his brother Elrohir that taught me how to fight. And then over the years I learnt a lot from the Rangers, and all the small skirmishes I fought in. I can fight like an elf, or I can fight like a man. It is up to me to choose."

Telan sighed. "I wish you were staying longer, so I could learn more," he said. "You are leaving tomorrow, aren't you?"

"Aye," said Strider. "I need to get Las back to Minas Tirith." He picked up his sword from where it had been resting against his leg. "Are you ready to go again?"

Telan nodded, picking up his sword and getting into the correct stance. Strider nodded. "If you keep practising," he said. "There will come a time when it is all natural. As soon as you pick up a sword, you will stand like that and not even think about it. But for now, move your left leg further back and put more weight on it. It will give you more power."

He raised his sword. "Ready?" Telan nodded, and the clash of wooden sticks began to echo throughout the woods.

To Be Continued...

I realise that there is not a great deal of action that has been happening in these past few chapters, but there should be some more coming soon, either next chapter or the one after it.

I know nothing about how to fight with a sword, so for anyone who does (lucky!) I apologise if this is not how you learn. I based this on Arya's lessons in Game of Thrones.