Grief
Loki stared dumbly as the grass under his hands frosted over. 'This is a dream, it must be ! How can Gandalf be gone ? How can a wizard just die after helping so many people ? We couldn't do anything, I couldn't do anything, and I was most likely to help him. He helped me and what did I do in return ? I failed at saving him, if I had frozen that whip too, he would be here.'
Flashback
It should have been mid-day and lunch, but, for them it was morning and breakfast. Frodo walked over to him, it was the first time he'd really met the Ring-bearing hobbit.
"Mr. Niss ?"
"Yes, Frodo ?"
"W-would you want to listen to some Shire stories ?"
A hand landed on his shoulder, he half-turned to see the bearded wizard smiling at him, "Come now, Loki, you cannot avoid everyone forever. Join us and maybe have some fun, after all one story can't hurt you."
'Really, Gandalf ? Like the story that Father told Thor and I of the Jotnar being always evil ? It wasn't a surprise to him that I was a jotun, he knowingly told me that story. Told me unconsciously that I was evil and always would be by that I will say that one story can hurt.'
Gandalf's blue-eyes were warm and slightly sad, somehow he got the feeling that Gandalf knew about that story. The wizard sat beside Frodo and Sam, while Legolas lay in the warm grass beside Frodo, he joined the elven-prince.
It was odd to hear a story that wasn't full of blood and boisterous battles, the story Sam told was simply of a time his father or the old Gaffer as he was also called, had forgotten someone's, apprarently exceptionally fine, petunias. The old hobbit had had to go all over the Shire to find them because they'd been stolen. Said old hobbit had only found the flowers because Sam, Frodo, Merry and Pippin had been messing about at the Sackville-Baggins's house - where the flowers were found in the wide open in a flower-pot. When the old hobbit had tried to get them back, Ms. Lobelia Sackville-Baggins claimed that Sam had given them as a present. It took Pippin picking up a vase, and almost dropping it, before the woman would return the flowers.
When the story was finished, Gandalf raised bushy, white-eyebrows at him, "Do you see Loki, how even the smallest part can have the most impact ? If it hadn't been for Pippin the flowers would have been lost forever and if you hadn't helped Thor and the others all those times, they could have died. Without you, all those feats they like to brag about ? They wouldn't have worked out nearly so well."
End Flashback
A voice, "Loki, Loki, you're wounded.", faintly he realized it wasn't Thor or Boromir, but Aragorn's voice.
He looked up at the dark-brown haired man and heard the rushing of a stream near-by, the Silverlode. Pain made the numbness of shock disappear as an arrow shaft was unmercifully yanked out of his side. That pain made him fumble as he pulled his armour and tunic off by hand, instead of just willing it to disappear, for something to do.
Before he pressed a hand to his side and half-walked/half-staggered to fall into the shallow stream, it was only mildly chilly as it flowed across his skin. As he washed the wound, he willed the water that entered it to freeze and stop the bleeding, before ducking his head under to try to rid himself of the dull ache that had settled in the back of his mind. The Silverlode's water was colder than it felt, while it tasted bittersweet - like a mixture of particularly bitter yarrow leaves and honey - appropriate considering what had just transpired as he surfaced.
'We're alive and Frodo is safe for now, but the only one who knew all the secret dangers from Rohan to Moria is dead. I can't remember the map that well now, while Legolas' focus was split between myself and the map. Who still knows the way, but Aragorn or Boromir ?'
Slowly, he got up and turned from the mix of beech and fir-trees to look at the others. Gimli looked ready to turn and charge back into Moria, while Mother who was rubbing at a slash in her left side's armour looked ready to stop the grief-maddened dwarf. Thor was fine, but looked uncomfortable at the situation. Pippin and Merry were sat on the ground, staring into the middle-distance, at Thor's feet. While Frodo and Sam clutched at each other.
Aragorn crouched over Boromir a few feet away, he was telling the lighter-brown haired man something to which Boromir spat, "No, we're not ! Can't you see we're tired, Aragorn, we just watched Gandalf die ! Don't you care at all ?"
The Ranger turned and came up to him, "Loki, I know we haven't gotten along at all, but please help me. We need to get everyone out of here before the orcs decide to follow us. As I've known them longer, I'll help Frodo, the others and Boromir. You can take Legolas and help your mother with Gimli."
Part of him wanted to argue that he could help Boromir as well, but Gandalf wouldn't have wanted that. "Where are we going to go ?"
"We'll follow the Silverlode, until it turns into the Celebrant river and then onward to the Golden Forest called also the forest of Lothlorien."
If he answered he wasn't aware of it and found himself lifting Legolas' chin as tears dripped over his fingers. Grey-eyes were dull as he asked, "Legolas, love ? Gandalf wouldn't want us to stay here like this. We need to get Frodo and the others to Lothlorien, they'll be safer there."
He helped the elf to get up then Legolas leant on him with an arm around his waist as Mother, Gimli and Thor walked past. Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin followed listlessly after Aragorn and Boromir down along the stream. 'Didn't Gandalf say that Lothlorien meant 'Dreamflower' ? Surely, a place with a name like that will be safe, it must be.'