----
Chapter 15
----
"She had been crying? I wonder whatever for...." Pippin trailed, looking past Frodo to Azura, whom sat a ways away, holding Faile in one hand, and feeding her meat strips with the other. Sam sat next to her, smiling and watching her feed Faile.
Frodo also stared at Azura, whom was smiling brightly now, but the night before, she had been so dreadfully sad. Part of him wished he had questioned her, so he would at least now the reason of her sorrow. "I feel guilty for not asking her why she was so dreadfully upset...."
"You do care for her alot, do you not?" Pippin inquired, grinning boyishly.
A mischievous smiled played across Merry's lips, and he spoke up, "I am disappointed You and Azura haven't been caught kissing! You two are so obviously infatuated...."
Pippin errupted into laughter, alongside of Merry, whom doubled over in laughter.
A scarlet blush crept across Frodo's face and he fidgeted for an answer, but could not find one. "Uh..-ur..Please, Merry, don't be so childish!...Azura...I...well.." Frodo stuttered and stumbled over words, and fell silent, blushing.
After Pippin and Merry had recovered from their bout of laughter, Pippin fell serious, and said, "I have took notice that Azura's mood has become more and more depressed and aloof than the cheerful girl we met back so long ago. Something is upsetting her, but she will not show it to us."
"Yes, she has not been truthful to us, and I am worried about her. She is a wonderful friend, and very caring, but how can we protect her as she has protected us if she does not tell us what is wrong?" Merry questioned, a darkened sadness clouding his features.
The three sat silent, staring at Azura from a distance, each perplexed. One moment, Azura would be grinning with a child-like glow in her eyes, the next, she was grim, as if the weight of the world were on her shoulders. They had never encountered such a complex person before with so many secrets.
Faile jumped from Azura's hand to Sam's shoulder, and squawked loudly, before nuzzling her beak against Sam's ear, whom laughed.
Azura laughed, and stood, smiling down at Sam, blinking slowly, then she turned her gaze toward Frodo, Pippin, and Merry. Her gaze grew thoughtful, then she smiled sweetly, and slowly walked over to them. She brushed a few stray golden locks from her cheek, securing them behind her ear, and said, "Why do you all look so sad? Smile, my hobbits!" She then laughed, and sat on a rock near them, propping her elbows on her knees, and her chin upon her palms. She grinned silently at them, causing grins to form on their faces.
Pippin began to laugh, and said, "Thanks heavens we have you to keep us merry on our trip!"
Azura's eyes sparkled with her smile, and she replied, "No, I'm am happy I got to meet you all! You are such wonderful friends to me."
Sam came up, carrying Faile on his arm, grinning. The bird swayed from Sam's quick steps, but kept her balance.
Azura jumped up on the rock and made a loud, shrill whistle, and raised her hand high above her head.
Faile leapt from Sam's arm and into the air, clumsily taking flight, and flapping wildly as she rose through the air to Azura's hand.
"Come on, Faile, you can do it, " Azura said as the bird landed on her wrist, clutching her glove with it's talon's. "Good girl....Good girl..." Azura cooed, then stroked Faile's neck with her finger, and cooed softly at the bird.
"She's slowly learning her flight, but she is doing well, I do think." Sam said, crossing his arms behind his back.
"Come, Azura, Hobbits. We are continuing on." Gandalf called from a ways away, gathering up his belongings.
"Alright!" Merry called, as they began to gather their own belongings.
---
A week and a half had passed fairly quickly to Azura, and soon, they had come upon the gates of Moria.
Azura stared at a pool of dark, murky water that lay near the gates of Moria. Something about it sent chills through her, and she did not trust the water. The day was nearly spent, and a few evening stars shined dimly in the twilight, and the sun was sinking behind the mountains, and it's last rays painted the clouds pink and fire-red in the twilight blue sky.
Sam had fussed quite a bit over them having to leave old Bill behind, and was sullen, and tears flowed down his cheeks as he was undoing the straps to Bill's saddle and reins, and was holding in each sob, but his shoulders shook lightly in silence. Azura felt a sudden pity for him, and also, she would miss Old Bill as well.
Azura walked over to Sam, and laid a hand on his shoulder. He turned to her with tears in his eyes, and embraced her fiercely, sobbing into her shoulder. Azura patted his back and hugged him softly.
Merry and Frodo had esympathetic looks on their faces for Sam, and Pippin look a bit sullen as well.
Gandalf had told them he had to figure out the word to enter the gates, but he did not know what the word was.
"What are you going to do then?" Pippin asked, clasping his hands.
"Knock on the doors with your head, Peregrin Took," Gandalf said, "But if that does not shatter them, and I am allowed a little peace from foolish questions, I will seek for the opening words."
Azura had let go of Sam and now stood staring at the dark pool, animosity for it grew inside her, and she did not know why.
"Mellon!"
Azura turned, wondering why Gandalf had shouted the word, then gaped as she saw the Gates of Moria open out of nowhere. The black lines of the carvings on the wall turned silver and began to glow as the stone moved aside revealing a opening leading to stairs.
"Quick, let us enter and continue on!" Gandalf cried as he strode forward and up the stairs.
One by one, they followed into the mines.
Azura froze and spun on heel when she heard Frodo stumble and cry out behind her. Sam had leapt at Frodo to help him, and she gasped as she saw that the nce-still lake had began to bubble and ripple and black, snake-like appendages had shot out from the water and entagled about Frodo's ankle. They were slowly draggin Frodo to the water, and Sam desperately slashed at them with his knife.
The snakes recoiled and retracted, and Sam and Frodo ran past Azura to the stairs and Gandalf boomed something from behind her, but all she took heed of was twenty more appendages forming and rising quickly out the water.
White-light energy crackled about Azura and a silent wind whipped about her and swirled and tossed her hair about and lifted her off her feet.
"Not now, child! There is a time to fight and a time to run!" Gandalf snapped, as he grasped Azura's wrist, pulling her out the air and towards the stairs and up.
As they ran up the stairs, a booming sound came from behind as Gandalf sealed the doors behind them.
The white energy faded from around Azura and she stumbled on a stepped and cried out when her knee slammed against a stone step, sending a hot, searing jolt up her leg.
An arm encircled her's and pulled her up, and she saw Frodo's blue eyes staring back at her's as he helped her up.
"Can you walk?" Frodo asked, holding her up.
Azura snorted a laugh, and said, "Of course I can," but as she tried to walk on her own, she nearly buckled, feeling a grating, searing pain in her leg, and cried out, even as Frodo again took hold of her, helping her up.
"Foolish child! Foolish, foolish child. Let us find a place to rest and I'll make a splint for Azura." Gandalf said, in annoyance.
--
"Careful!"
"Oww! Oww! Stoppit!"
Azura cried out as Aragorn set her leg straight and surveyed the damage. Azura had been moving too fast and hit the step at an angle, and Aragorn feared she had broken her leg.
He set his fingertips at different points, feeling for the break, and when he felt just above the knee, Azura cried out, and her good leg kicked him roughly in the shin out of reflex.
"Ow! Stop touchin' my leg!" Azura griped and sat, grumpily holding her knee.
Strider walked off the pain in his shin, annoyed she had kicked him, but he didn't blame her.
Frodo sat next to her, an arm entangled around her waist, and he was talking softly into Azura's ear, but no one culd quite hear what he had said to her.
Pippin stood over the hole in the middle of the room, curiously attracted to it. He groped for a loose stone and bent over the edge of the hole, looking down into the darkness. He let the stone drop, feeling his heart beat numerous times before there came a distant, soft 'plunk' sound.
"What was that?" Gandalf cried, looking about.
Pippin shied away from the hole, his hands behind his back a look of guilt on his face, and lightly muttered, "I dropped a stone..in the well..."
"Fool of a Took! This is a serious jounrey, not a hobbit walking-party. Throw yourself in next time, and then you will be no further nuisance. Now be quiet!"
Azura was sitting right on the edge, and talking softly to her knee, as she ran her finger tips up and down the area, trying to heal herself, to no avail. Frodo had moved further away from the hole, feeling uneasy by it.
Pippin picked up a bandage wrap, and headed for Azura, wanting to help her. As he neared her, his foot hit a large stone and he toppled forward.
"Ahhh!!"
"Help!!"
Everyone had jerked and looked to the middle of the room at Azura and Pippin's shout, only to see Pippin and Azura disappear over the edge.
--
Author's note:
This will be it for awhile, I am going away for the summer to my Mom's and to a friend's as well. When I have time to write and post, I shall. Thank you to all who have been reading so far. I appreciate it. :)
..: Sarah :..
Chapter 15
----
"She had been crying? I wonder whatever for...." Pippin trailed, looking past Frodo to Azura, whom sat a ways away, holding Faile in one hand, and feeding her meat strips with the other. Sam sat next to her, smiling and watching her feed Faile.
Frodo also stared at Azura, whom was smiling brightly now, but the night before, she had been so dreadfully sad. Part of him wished he had questioned her, so he would at least now the reason of her sorrow. "I feel guilty for not asking her why she was so dreadfully upset...."
"You do care for her alot, do you not?" Pippin inquired, grinning boyishly.
A mischievous smiled played across Merry's lips, and he spoke up, "I am disappointed You and Azura haven't been caught kissing! You two are so obviously infatuated...."
Pippin errupted into laughter, alongside of Merry, whom doubled over in laughter.
A scarlet blush crept across Frodo's face and he fidgeted for an answer, but could not find one. "Uh..-ur..Please, Merry, don't be so childish!...Azura...I...well.." Frodo stuttered and stumbled over words, and fell silent, blushing.
After Pippin and Merry had recovered from their bout of laughter, Pippin fell serious, and said, "I have took notice that Azura's mood has become more and more depressed and aloof than the cheerful girl we met back so long ago. Something is upsetting her, but she will not show it to us."
"Yes, she has not been truthful to us, and I am worried about her. She is a wonderful friend, and very caring, but how can we protect her as she has protected us if she does not tell us what is wrong?" Merry questioned, a darkened sadness clouding his features.
The three sat silent, staring at Azura from a distance, each perplexed. One moment, Azura would be grinning with a child-like glow in her eyes, the next, she was grim, as if the weight of the world were on her shoulders. They had never encountered such a complex person before with so many secrets.
Faile jumped from Azura's hand to Sam's shoulder, and squawked loudly, before nuzzling her beak against Sam's ear, whom laughed.
Azura laughed, and stood, smiling down at Sam, blinking slowly, then she turned her gaze toward Frodo, Pippin, and Merry. Her gaze grew thoughtful, then she smiled sweetly, and slowly walked over to them. She brushed a few stray golden locks from her cheek, securing them behind her ear, and said, "Why do you all look so sad? Smile, my hobbits!" She then laughed, and sat on a rock near them, propping her elbows on her knees, and her chin upon her palms. She grinned silently at them, causing grins to form on their faces.
Pippin began to laugh, and said, "Thanks heavens we have you to keep us merry on our trip!"
Azura's eyes sparkled with her smile, and she replied, "No, I'm am happy I got to meet you all! You are such wonderful friends to me."
Sam came up, carrying Faile on his arm, grinning. The bird swayed from Sam's quick steps, but kept her balance.
Azura jumped up on the rock and made a loud, shrill whistle, and raised her hand high above her head.
Faile leapt from Sam's arm and into the air, clumsily taking flight, and flapping wildly as she rose through the air to Azura's hand.
"Come on, Faile, you can do it, " Azura said as the bird landed on her wrist, clutching her glove with it's talon's. "Good girl....Good girl..." Azura cooed, then stroked Faile's neck with her finger, and cooed softly at the bird.
"She's slowly learning her flight, but she is doing well, I do think." Sam said, crossing his arms behind his back.
"Come, Azura, Hobbits. We are continuing on." Gandalf called from a ways away, gathering up his belongings.
"Alright!" Merry called, as they began to gather their own belongings.
---
A week and a half had passed fairly quickly to Azura, and soon, they had come upon the gates of Moria.
Azura stared at a pool of dark, murky water that lay near the gates of Moria. Something about it sent chills through her, and she did not trust the water. The day was nearly spent, and a few evening stars shined dimly in the twilight, and the sun was sinking behind the mountains, and it's last rays painted the clouds pink and fire-red in the twilight blue sky.
Sam had fussed quite a bit over them having to leave old Bill behind, and was sullen, and tears flowed down his cheeks as he was undoing the straps to Bill's saddle and reins, and was holding in each sob, but his shoulders shook lightly in silence. Azura felt a sudden pity for him, and also, she would miss Old Bill as well.
Azura walked over to Sam, and laid a hand on his shoulder. He turned to her with tears in his eyes, and embraced her fiercely, sobbing into her shoulder. Azura patted his back and hugged him softly.
Merry and Frodo had esympathetic looks on their faces for Sam, and Pippin look a bit sullen as well.
Gandalf had told them he had to figure out the word to enter the gates, but he did not know what the word was.
"What are you going to do then?" Pippin asked, clasping his hands.
"Knock on the doors with your head, Peregrin Took," Gandalf said, "But if that does not shatter them, and I am allowed a little peace from foolish questions, I will seek for the opening words."
Azura had let go of Sam and now stood staring at the dark pool, animosity for it grew inside her, and she did not know why.
"Mellon!"
Azura turned, wondering why Gandalf had shouted the word, then gaped as she saw the Gates of Moria open out of nowhere. The black lines of the carvings on the wall turned silver and began to glow as the stone moved aside revealing a opening leading to stairs.
"Quick, let us enter and continue on!" Gandalf cried as he strode forward and up the stairs.
One by one, they followed into the mines.
Azura froze and spun on heel when she heard Frodo stumble and cry out behind her. Sam had leapt at Frodo to help him, and she gasped as she saw that the nce-still lake had began to bubble and ripple and black, snake-like appendages had shot out from the water and entagled about Frodo's ankle. They were slowly draggin Frodo to the water, and Sam desperately slashed at them with his knife.
The snakes recoiled and retracted, and Sam and Frodo ran past Azura to the stairs and Gandalf boomed something from behind her, but all she took heed of was twenty more appendages forming and rising quickly out the water.
White-light energy crackled about Azura and a silent wind whipped about her and swirled and tossed her hair about and lifted her off her feet.
"Not now, child! There is a time to fight and a time to run!" Gandalf snapped, as he grasped Azura's wrist, pulling her out the air and towards the stairs and up.
As they ran up the stairs, a booming sound came from behind as Gandalf sealed the doors behind them.
The white energy faded from around Azura and she stumbled on a stepped and cried out when her knee slammed against a stone step, sending a hot, searing jolt up her leg.
An arm encircled her's and pulled her up, and she saw Frodo's blue eyes staring back at her's as he helped her up.
"Can you walk?" Frodo asked, holding her up.
Azura snorted a laugh, and said, "Of course I can," but as she tried to walk on her own, she nearly buckled, feeling a grating, searing pain in her leg, and cried out, even as Frodo again took hold of her, helping her up.
"Foolish child! Foolish, foolish child. Let us find a place to rest and I'll make a splint for Azura." Gandalf said, in annoyance.
--
"Careful!"
"Oww! Oww! Stoppit!"
Azura cried out as Aragorn set her leg straight and surveyed the damage. Azura had been moving too fast and hit the step at an angle, and Aragorn feared she had broken her leg.
He set his fingertips at different points, feeling for the break, and when he felt just above the knee, Azura cried out, and her good leg kicked him roughly in the shin out of reflex.
"Ow! Stop touchin' my leg!" Azura griped and sat, grumpily holding her knee.
Strider walked off the pain in his shin, annoyed she had kicked him, but he didn't blame her.
Frodo sat next to her, an arm entangled around her waist, and he was talking softly into Azura's ear, but no one culd quite hear what he had said to her.
Pippin stood over the hole in the middle of the room, curiously attracted to it. He groped for a loose stone and bent over the edge of the hole, looking down into the darkness. He let the stone drop, feeling his heart beat numerous times before there came a distant, soft 'plunk' sound.
"What was that?" Gandalf cried, looking about.
Pippin shied away from the hole, his hands behind his back a look of guilt on his face, and lightly muttered, "I dropped a stone..in the well..."
"Fool of a Took! This is a serious jounrey, not a hobbit walking-party. Throw yourself in next time, and then you will be no further nuisance. Now be quiet!"
Azura was sitting right on the edge, and talking softly to her knee, as she ran her finger tips up and down the area, trying to heal herself, to no avail. Frodo had moved further away from the hole, feeling uneasy by it.
Pippin picked up a bandage wrap, and headed for Azura, wanting to help her. As he neared her, his foot hit a large stone and he toppled forward.
"Ahhh!!"
"Help!!"
Everyone had jerked and looked to the middle of the room at Azura and Pippin's shout, only to see Pippin and Azura disappear over the edge.
--
Author's note:
This will be it for awhile, I am going away for the summer to my Mom's and to a friend's as well. When I have time to write and post, I shall. Thank you to all who have been reading so far. I appreciate it. :)
..: Sarah :..
