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Everlasting Road ch. 21
Liria strode off in the opposite direction of Gimli. She spanned the grass ahead of her carefully, taking pains to notice a sign from Legolas. There was none. But she had been going in the right direction before she had lost his tracks, so she tried to stick to his original course and hope he had not turned to the side anywhere. One thing was made clear, though, Legolas had gone very far, very fast.
Liria wondered at his taking off like this, no doubt after he had seen her home. Could what Gimli had said be possibly true, that she had been the one to drive Legolas off? No, Liria shook her head slightly, trying to rid herself of the idea, that was ridiculous. Gimli was simply trying to rid himself of the blame, when he probably knew that it was all his fault. Why, he had been the one to first cause Legolas unhappiness. The dwarf was selfish, that was all.
A sudden howling arose in the distance. It was faint as it was far away, but not far enough to escape Liria's sensitive hearing. She froze, trying to read the cry. She had a sudden fear that they had come upon Legolas, alone and unarmed. But the cry was not one of a hunting cry, more of a challenge. Liria tried to analyze the sound, as she was able to decipher some animal codes, but found that it was confused. Most likely because of the warg mixed with natural wolf. Whatever the reason for the cry was, Liria desperately convinced herself it was not a hunting cry. Legolas was safe, for the moment. She had to wonder if he had heard the same thing, most likely. Unless he was even further than she thought.
Legolas halted in his progress away from Mirkwood. He stiffened as he listened to what had stopped him, howling. And it sounded like a large pack that was howling, and not just any kind of wolf pack. The cries were mingled with something else, something that had been heard outside of the gates of Moria. There was only one explanation of course, wargs.
But why were there wargs here? And why were they mingling with the natural wolves? Such a thing hardly ever happened. Legolas reasoned that desperate times called for desperate measures. The wargs had suffered a set back in their numbers during the war of the ring, they needed to multiply once again. And if that meant mixing their blood with that of normal wolves, so be it.
Legolas continued on, but now he turned his feet back towards Mirkwood. The pack sounded near to him, too close for comfort, and he realized for the first time that he was weaponless. He had not even thought about any weapons, not even the dagger that he usually always kept inside of his boot. Perhaps it would not be such a bad idea to go back to Mirkwood. He also thought about Gimli, who might start off without Legolas if Legolas did not return soon. Then Gimli would be alone with wargs running about, and that could prove to be disastrous. Gimli, stout though he may be, was poorly equipped to fight such creatures.
A new thought came to Legolas as he walked back to Mirkwood. He left one problem right into another one, and then returned to the original problem. Was there to be no peace left for him? Certainly there would not be any as long as both Liria and Gimli were alive. Once again, Legolas' feet strove to point themselves towards the sea, away from all of the ongoing problems. But he could not do that, not now anyway.
Legolas started off again towards Mirkwood, the howls raising again. They seemed to be getting closer. Legolas fought down a tiny point of fear. There was no reason to panic yet. Surely the wargs would not follow and get too close to Mirkwood. He would be safe as soon as he came close to the borders. Legolas suddenly realized that getting close to the borders was not going to happen as quickly as he hoped, he had gone surprisingly far in so short a time. Of course, he had been running. But he could not run now, especially with wargs near by. If they saw him run, they would give chase, it was as simple as that. So no matter how slow it seemed to him, walking now and paying attention to his surroundings might actually save him time in the long run, and keep him alive.
Gimli muttered angrily to himself as he stomped through the forest. He hated forests, and being alone in one did not help. Plus he was extremely mad over what that she-elf had done to him. The cut in his arm flared up renewed as he remembered it, and he winced in pain. The wound was not even that deep, but it had been an elvish blade of course, and had sliced through his thick clothing and into him as easily as if he was paper. The bleeding still had not stopped.
Gimli shook his head and muttered some more. As soon as he found Legolas, they would leave immediately. Away from that she-elf and all elves for the rest of their days. He was sure Legolas would give no more hesitation in wanting to stay with Liria as soon as Gimli told him what had happened. Liria was obviously very unstable. She could not be trusted.
As long as he got to Legolas first, everything would be fine. Gimli could only imagine the kind of lies that Liria would tell him to get Legolas to stay with her. This would be the final decision for all of their futures, and now it was a kind of race to get it done.
Gimli forgot all about the wargs and any dangers to him as he concentrated on only beating Liria and finding Legolas. He even forgot why he had come out here in the first place. As it was, Gimli was the only one who did not hear the howling of the wolves and wargs, as he was the farthest away and had the worst hearing. Gimli's thoughts pinpointed only to one single desire, beat the she-elf and leave this cursed forest.
Legolas continued traveling into the night. He wanted to reach the borders of Mirkwood as soon as possible. He was pretty sure that the wargs were not tracking him, as he had been very careful all day to not leave any trails or signs, but they were getting closer to him anyway. It was almost as if they were making for the borders as well, but that did not seem right. Why would they want to near an elven city?
Legolas was tiring. He had spent the entire day moving at a great speed and distance, and had not had any rest the day before. Now he staggered along. He forgot his other problem, his only concern was to get back to Mirkwood. If he stopped for the night, the wargs would catch up to him and they might sniff him out.
Legolas halted suddenly. He leapt up into a tree above him after a moment's hesitation. With one mighty leap he found himself hidden in the dense foliage of the tree. Once situated, he peered back down at the earth. A giant warg had been making its way up the path towards him, its nose to the ground, as if scenting out a trail. Legolas held his breath when the warg passed beneath the tree. It obviously came upon the scent of Legolas that had been on the ground, for it paused.
The wargs lifted its head, peering about with great yellow eyes. The bright moonlight gave sharp detail to Legolas. The beast was huge and ugly, much bigger than any natural wolf, and with denser fur to help deflect injuries. Spittle hung from its gaping jaws and the color of its teeth matched that of its eyes.
The warg continued to look about before putting its nose back to the ground. It circled about, finding that the scent was stronger on one side then the other. Obviously something had been here and had not crossed, but it was no longer there. The warg was baffled. It had a very fresh trail with nothing nearby to create it. The warg suddenly sat down and threw its muzzle at the sky and let out a great howl. The noise was horrendous and Legolas clapped his hands to his sensitive ears. He nearly fell out of the tree with taking his hands off the branch, but he steadied himself with his legs. If he fell now, it would be right into the jaws of the warg.
Normally, this type of situation would not even phase Legolas. But as he had nothing to shoot the warg with, or even fight it for that matter, Legolas sat helpless, hoping it would just go on its way. But the warg lay down at the base of the tree Legolas was hidden in. It had given a call for more of its kind to show up. When they all got here, then they could figure out what to do. A mystery had presented itself, and wargs were more curious than cats. He would not be satisfied until it was solved.
Everlasting Road ch. 21
Liria strode off in the opposite direction of Gimli. She spanned the grass ahead of her carefully, taking pains to notice a sign from Legolas. There was none. But she had been going in the right direction before she had lost his tracks, so she tried to stick to his original course and hope he had not turned to the side anywhere. One thing was made clear, though, Legolas had gone very far, very fast.
Liria wondered at his taking off like this, no doubt after he had seen her home. Could what Gimli had said be possibly true, that she had been the one to drive Legolas off? No, Liria shook her head slightly, trying to rid herself of the idea, that was ridiculous. Gimli was simply trying to rid himself of the blame, when he probably knew that it was all his fault. Why, he had been the one to first cause Legolas unhappiness. The dwarf was selfish, that was all.
A sudden howling arose in the distance. It was faint as it was far away, but not far enough to escape Liria's sensitive hearing. She froze, trying to read the cry. She had a sudden fear that they had come upon Legolas, alone and unarmed. But the cry was not one of a hunting cry, more of a challenge. Liria tried to analyze the sound, as she was able to decipher some animal codes, but found that it was confused. Most likely because of the warg mixed with natural wolf. Whatever the reason for the cry was, Liria desperately convinced herself it was not a hunting cry. Legolas was safe, for the moment. She had to wonder if he had heard the same thing, most likely. Unless he was even further than she thought.
Legolas halted in his progress away from Mirkwood. He stiffened as he listened to what had stopped him, howling. And it sounded like a large pack that was howling, and not just any kind of wolf pack. The cries were mingled with something else, something that had been heard outside of the gates of Moria. There was only one explanation of course, wargs.
But why were there wargs here? And why were they mingling with the natural wolves? Such a thing hardly ever happened. Legolas reasoned that desperate times called for desperate measures. The wargs had suffered a set back in their numbers during the war of the ring, they needed to multiply once again. And if that meant mixing their blood with that of normal wolves, so be it.
Legolas continued on, but now he turned his feet back towards Mirkwood. The pack sounded near to him, too close for comfort, and he realized for the first time that he was weaponless. He had not even thought about any weapons, not even the dagger that he usually always kept inside of his boot. Perhaps it would not be such a bad idea to go back to Mirkwood. He also thought about Gimli, who might start off without Legolas if Legolas did not return soon. Then Gimli would be alone with wargs running about, and that could prove to be disastrous. Gimli, stout though he may be, was poorly equipped to fight such creatures.
A new thought came to Legolas as he walked back to Mirkwood. He left one problem right into another one, and then returned to the original problem. Was there to be no peace left for him? Certainly there would not be any as long as both Liria and Gimli were alive. Once again, Legolas' feet strove to point themselves towards the sea, away from all of the ongoing problems. But he could not do that, not now anyway.
Legolas started off again towards Mirkwood, the howls raising again. They seemed to be getting closer. Legolas fought down a tiny point of fear. There was no reason to panic yet. Surely the wargs would not follow and get too close to Mirkwood. He would be safe as soon as he came close to the borders. Legolas suddenly realized that getting close to the borders was not going to happen as quickly as he hoped, he had gone surprisingly far in so short a time. Of course, he had been running. But he could not run now, especially with wargs near by. If they saw him run, they would give chase, it was as simple as that. So no matter how slow it seemed to him, walking now and paying attention to his surroundings might actually save him time in the long run, and keep him alive.
Gimli muttered angrily to himself as he stomped through the forest. He hated forests, and being alone in one did not help. Plus he was extremely mad over what that she-elf had done to him. The cut in his arm flared up renewed as he remembered it, and he winced in pain. The wound was not even that deep, but it had been an elvish blade of course, and had sliced through his thick clothing and into him as easily as if he was paper. The bleeding still had not stopped.
Gimli shook his head and muttered some more. As soon as he found Legolas, they would leave immediately. Away from that she-elf and all elves for the rest of their days. He was sure Legolas would give no more hesitation in wanting to stay with Liria as soon as Gimli told him what had happened. Liria was obviously very unstable. She could not be trusted.
As long as he got to Legolas first, everything would be fine. Gimli could only imagine the kind of lies that Liria would tell him to get Legolas to stay with her. This would be the final decision for all of their futures, and now it was a kind of race to get it done.
Gimli forgot all about the wargs and any dangers to him as he concentrated on only beating Liria and finding Legolas. He even forgot why he had come out here in the first place. As it was, Gimli was the only one who did not hear the howling of the wolves and wargs, as he was the farthest away and had the worst hearing. Gimli's thoughts pinpointed only to one single desire, beat the she-elf and leave this cursed forest.
Legolas continued traveling into the night. He wanted to reach the borders of Mirkwood as soon as possible. He was pretty sure that the wargs were not tracking him, as he had been very careful all day to not leave any trails or signs, but they were getting closer to him anyway. It was almost as if they were making for the borders as well, but that did not seem right. Why would they want to near an elven city?
Legolas was tiring. He had spent the entire day moving at a great speed and distance, and had not had any rest the day before. Now he staggered along. He forgot his other problem, his only concern was to get back to Mirkwood. If he stopped for the night, the wargs would catch up to him and they might sniff him out.
Legolas halted suddenly. He leapt up into a tree above him after a moment's hesitation. With one mighty leap he found himself hidden in the dense foliage of the tree. Once situated, he peered back down at the earth. A giant warg had been making its way up the path towards him, its nose to the ground, as if scenting out a trail. Legolas held his breath when the warg passed beneath the tree. It obviously came upon the scent of Legolas that had been on the ground, for it paused.
The wargs lifted its head, peering about with great yellow eyes. The bright moonlight gave sharp detail to Legolas. The beast was huge and ugly, much bigger than any natural wolf, and with denser fur to help deflect injuries. Spittle hung from its gaping jaws and the color of its teeth matched that of its eyes.
The warg continued to look about before putting its nose back to the ground. It circled about, finding that the scent was stronger on one side then the other. Obviously something had been here and had not crossed, but it was no longer there. The warg was baffled. It had a very fresh trail with nothing nearby to create it. The warg suddenly sat down and threw its muzzle at the sky and let out a great howl. The noise was horrendous and Legolas clapped his hands to his sensitive ears. He nearly fell out of the tree with taking his hands off the branch, but he steadied himself with his legs. If he fell now, it would be right into the jaws of the warg.
Normally, this type of situation would not even phase Legolas. But as he had nothing to shoot the warg with, or even fight it for that matter, Legolas sat helpless, hoping it would just go on its way. But the warg lay down at the base of the tree Legolas was hidden in. It had given a call for more of its kind to show up. When they all got here, then they could figure out what to do. A mystery had presented itself, and wargs were more curious than cats. He would not be satisfied until it was solved.