At Edoras, in the Great Hall, a large assembly of soldiers and citizens (from teenagers to elders) were gathered in front of Theoden. Among them were Kopa, Aragorn (at the front ) Legolas, Gimli , Pippin and Merry (in the back). Vitani decided to stay with Ioreth outside the Great Hall. The brown haired girl wanted nothing more than to have some times with her beloved 'auntie' so it was a win-win for the two of them.

Anyway, back in the Great Hall, everyone watched when Eowyn approached the King of Rohan with a golden cup in her hands.

Theoden took it in acceptance as his niece bowed down before walking to his right side while her brother , Eomer, stood at the left side of his Uncle. Then the King turned his head to face the assembly , raising his cup in the air. The gesture caused everyone to stand up.

"Tonight...We remember those who gave their blood to defend this country... Hail the victorious dead !" Theoden said in a firm and respectful tone. He along with many people present were still grieving for the soldiers who died during the Battle of Helm's Deep. "Hail !" The crowd cheered back before drinking their own cups of whatever was inside.

Aragorn , at first, hesitated to drink but then followed their example. Kopa , for his part, watched everyone present with interest : he was intrigued by the traditions of the Men as it was so different from Lions'. He couldn't hold a cup as he didn't have thumbs and he didn't even want to try whatever was in because the smell only dissuaded him.

Some times later, the celebration of victory was now in full swing : many were feasting, drinking, dancing, singing… Happy that the battle was over. Kopa was crouching near Legolas and Gimli, feasting on a large haunch of deer a Rohirrim Soldier gave him. Speaking of the Elf and the Dwarf…. They were facing Eomer who was handing them a mug of ale "No pauses..." The King's nephew said as he handed on of the mug to Legolas before giving the other to Gimli adding "... no spills"

" And no regurgitation !" The Dwarf finished with a joyous look on his bearded face. At those words, the Rohirrim Soldiers (and Eomer) gathered around the two , laughed with humor. However the Elf seemed confused as he looked at his comrade before asking "So it's a drinking game ?" At this question, some soldiers cheered out before Gimli answered with a chuckle "Aye, Last one standing wins !"

Kopa couldn't retain a chuckle on his own when some Soldiers started to say out loud "What'll we drink to ?" "Let's drink to victory !" "To victory !" Just then everyone started to drink their ale except Legolas who took his time because he was hesitating. Gimli , for his part, wasn't retaining himself as he gargled down his first drink just as the Blond Elf finally started to drink his ale.

The Brown Maned Lion rolled his eyes with a deep sigh : these two will never stop challenging each other it seems… He turned his face to look at Aragorn who was not too far as the man was approached by the King's niece. "Oh Aragorn… How long will it take before you realize she loves you ?" Kopa thought to himself while shaking his head with amusement.

He saw Eowyn giving to his comrade a goblet but sadly he was unable to ear what she was saying because of the noises around him. Kopa watched as Aragorn respectfully took the cup from Eowyn who didn't stop smiling at him. "Eowyn… This man is already taken… and too old for you..." the Brown Maned Lion thought to himself with a soft laugh.

When he looked back at them again, he saw that instead of Aragorn, it was Theoden who was facing his niece. Frowning, the young Lion looked around but couldn't find his comrade. Shrugging, Kopa decided to look back at Legolas and Gimli who were still focused on their drinking-contest. The Lion's eyes widened when he saw how many mugs his Dwarf friend finished and was wondering how someone so small could drink THAT much.

"Here, here ! It's the Dwarves that go swimming with little hairy women !" Gimli said drunkly as he reached out for another mug of ale while Legolas looked at his fingers with a worried expression on his face "I feel something... A slight tingling in my fingers... I think it's affecting me..." At those words, Eomer looked at the Elf with raise-brows of surprise just as Gimli planted his next empty drink down, laughing in triump " What did I say ? He cant hold his liquor !"

But then suddenly, the Dwarf passed out , falling from his seat. Smirking smugly, Legolas looked over at Eomer before saying with a straight face "Game over…" Kopa this time coudln't retain himself and laughed to his heart content. He then got up before walking away from his drunken friends to approach a table where Merry and Pippin were singing.

The two Hobbits were no longer pale and scared like they were after their gentle talk with Vitani earlier. They were glad to not receive slaps or punches but still… Kopa didn't know what the Lioness said but seeing them this pale… Well… he still had shivers.

Shaking his head to get rid of those thoughts, he looked back at his two small friends with a smile , listening while standing near Gandalf who was also present "Oh you can search far and wide! You can drink the whole town dry!"Merry and Pippin sang with their arms over each other's shoulders while their other hands were holding a mug of ale just as someone was heard playing a violin-like music. The two Hobbits danced on the table as ,around them ,a large crowd consisted of Rohirrim slodiers and civilians were watching them while laughing and clapping their hands in enthusiam.

Then Merry kicked a mug who belonged to none other than Gamling right onto his owner. The gesture caused the man to humorously start throwing his hands and arms around complaining. The Hobbits ,however, ignored him as they kept singing "But you'll never find a beer so brown ! As the one we drink in our hometown !" The duo then started to hop on the table in a circle still arm and arm with each other. Then they stopped to resumed their dance.

"You can drink your fancy ales. You can drink 'em by the flagon"Gamling stood up and started yelling at them humorously, as not too far from them , Gandalf was watching while clapping his hands like everyone present. "But the only brew for the brave and true..."Pippin stopped dead in his sentence when he spotted the White Wizard. "Pippin !" Merry called him out to break him from his small trans to resume their singing… which they did " …But the only brew for the brave and true comes from the Green Dragon !"

The two finished by staring into each other's eyes , hitting their mugs against one another before drinking under the cheers of the crowd around them. Gandalf clapped his head and Kopa who was standing nearby smiled at the Hobbits but then he heard footsteps approaching and turned his head to see Aragorn who stopped at the right side of the Wizard.

The man was serious again and Kopa decided to step closer to ear better " No news of Frodo ?" Aragorn asked Gandalf who shook his head "No word...Nothing..." This time Isildur's heir turned his head to look at the Wizard as he said back quietly "We have time... Every day Frodo moves closer to Mordor..." then he looked away just as Gandalf looked at him "Do we know that ?" the White Wizard asked back. Kopa watched as Aragorn looked away with an unsure look on his face. He knew he had to step in and said quietly "Frodo and Sam might be small… But they are not weak… They survived the Mines of Moria without having proper training after all…"

Gandalf watched the young Lion as he spoke and when Kopa finished talking, the Wizard had a contemplative look in his eyes. Aragorn glanced at the Lion with gratefulness before looking back at Gandalf and saying softy "Kopa is right… We must have faith in them… Gandalf… What does your heart tell you ?" The White Wizard staid silent for a few seconds before saying as a small smile was now present on his old face "That Frodo is alive. Yes. Yes, he is alive..."

Meanwhile outside of the Great Hall, Vitani was chasing after Ioreth as the two of them were playing together. The brown haired girl was laughing whole heartedly and the sound warmed the cold heart of Zira's daughter who grew attached of this little one as if she was her own. She could hear the cheers and laughs coming from the Golden Hall of Meduseld and wondered how Kopa could stand the noises.

"Auntie Tani ?" Ioreth's voice broke her from her thought and Vitani turned her head to look down at the little girl who was looking up at her with concern in her sky blue eyes. "Yes little one ?" She asked her gently while lowering her head down. "What would happen to me when you leave ?" Ioreth's question shocked her and in fact terrified her : she never thought of it until now.

She knew she couldn't keep Ioreth even if she wanted too. She was a Lioness and this little one… while cute and all was still a human. It was impossible for her to have custody of her… Right ? "I don't know dear… But we shouldn't worry about this now…We have all the time of the world to do..." As she said those words, Vitani pulled the girl into a comforting hug , rubbing Ioreth's back with her right paw. The human girl returned the gesture as best as she could mumbling "I wish I could stay with you… I would love to have you as my Mommy..."

Those words both shocked and melted the heart of Vitani who licked the top of her head affectionately "I would be honored to be your mother… If there is a way to change you into a Lion… we will find it...so you can stay with me and Kopa~" Ioreth smiled as she pressed her head further into the Lioness's furry chest. She hoped it was possible… She wouldn't stand to be separated from those Lions who showed her nothing but love and attention since they first met.

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Far away from Edoras…

It was the night and Frodo , Sam and Gollum/Sméagol were sleeping peacefully but the thin creature was muttering in his sleep "Too risky, Too risky…. Thieves ! They stole It from us... Kill them, kill them, kill them both !" then he woke up with a scream before walking away.

" Shhh! Quiet ! Mustn't wake them ! Mustn't ruin it now !" Gollum said as he approached a pool of water. " But they knows! They knows! They suspects us !" Sméagol said as he looked down at his reflection. Yes… he was talking to himself… and more precisely to his darker side : Gollum. Before being the creature he is now, he looked like a Hobbit until he got his hands on the One Ring.

"What's it saying, my precious, my love? Is Sméagol losing his nerve ?" Gollum questioned his 'other-side' who responded by saying "No ! Not ! Never ! Sméagol hates nasty Hobbitses ! Sméagol wants to see them… dead !" However, the 'gentle' side of the thin creature seemed to hesitate at the last word "And we will... Sméagol did it once... He can do it again..." Gollum replied to his other-side with a growl.

A flash entered Sméagol's eyes as he seemed to remember an event of the past but then he said in an urgent tone but also with a bit of anger "It's ours! Ours! We must get the Precious! We must get It back !" "Patience ! Patience, my love...First we must lead them to her..." Gollum replied with an evil grin.

"We lead them to the winding stairs..." Sméagol said before his other-side took his place again "Yes, the stairs. And then ?" "Up, up, up, up the stairs we go...And then we come to the tunnel..." "And when they go in, there's no coming out...She's always hungry... She always needs to feed...She must eat...All she gets is filthy Orcses ! " Gollum added with a toothy grin to which Sméagol replied by " And they doesn't taste very nice, does they, precious ?"

However what they didn't know was that Sam was awake and was listening to their conversation (well more like Gollum's monologue) without making a sound nor moving. Still unaware he was being listened, the thin creature kept talking to his inner-side "No, not very nice at all, my love... She hungers for sweeter meats... Hobbit meat... And when she throws away the bones and empty clothes, then we will find It !"

"And take it for me !" Sméagol said in excitement which caused Gollum to look at his other-side with a scold "For us" Sméagol quickly changed his response at his other-side's tone " Yes, we meant, we meant for us !" "Gollum ! Gollum ! The Precious will be ours once the Hobbitses are dead !" Gollum said in evil excitement as he dropped a pebble in the pool. As the ripples cleared however, his excitement turned into horror as he saw the reflection of a certain Hobbit behind him…. The one who never trusted him in the first place.

" You treacherous little thief !" Sam yelled out as he hit Gollum's face with his frying pan , sending the thin creature flying to the side. Gollum's cries of pain woke Frodo who turned his head to see what was going on. The Ring-Bearer quickly went on his feet as Sam was strangling Gollum "Argh ! No ! Master !" he cried out as he was strangled by the Hobbit.

"No ! Sam ! Leave him alone !" Frodo yelled out as he pulled Sam away from Gollum. "I heard it from his own mouth ! He means to murder us !" The Blond Hobbit said to his friend before looking back at the thin creature who was crawling away. Of course, seeing he was caught in the act, Gollum tried to denied the Hobbit's words "Never ! Sméagol wouldn't hurt a fly ! He's a hobbit, fat hobbit who hates Sméagol and who makes up nasty lies !"

The the thin creature tried to hide behind Frodo for protection for Sam's anger as he yelled furiously "You miserable little maggot ! I'll stave your head in !" Then he attempted to attack Gollum who cowardly run away to hide behind a small tree with a terrified look on his horrible face. Sam ,however, couldn't go after the treacherous creature because he was restrained by Frodo " Sam !"he called out to his comrade who was still trying to lunge at Gollum while yelling angrily "Called me a liar ! You're a liar !"

Frodo then pulled Sam back before looking at him straight in the face "We scare him off, we're lost !" The Blond Hobbit turned toward him before replying back "I don't care ! I can't do it, Mister Frodo ! I won't wait around for him to kill us !" The second Sam was about to lunged at Gollum again, Frodo said something that stopped him dead in his tracks "I'm not sending him away !"

"You don't see it, do you? He's a villain !" Sam tried to reason to the Ring-Bearer who sadly stood there impassible as he responded back in a calm and neutral tone almost a pleading one "We can't do this by ourselves, Sam... Not without a guide... I need you on my side !" " I am on your side, Mister Frodo..." The Brave Hobbit responded to his friend.

"I know, Sam... I know... Trust me... Come, Sméagol..." Frodo said as he hold a hand out. Gollum slowly came closer, passing by Sam who was eying him angrily before grabbing Frodo's hand. Then the two began to walk away and Sam looked on as he began to follow the two. However, he then noticed Gollum looking at him with an evil grin on his face and he knew he had to keep an eye on this creature… for Frodo's sake.

(To be continued…)