Comments: Repeat with me: Rough. Draft. Rough. Draft. *g*
~*~
Without bothering to pick up his jaw from the ground, Pippin stared at the sickly pale body in shock, Aragorn following his overt example. "Oh. Fucking. God. Holy shit, I cannot believe this…"
"M… maybe Ian, this really isn't Lord Elrond. I mean, it could just be an unidentified body someone dropped over here after a really bad live role- play war thing, I mean, it really can't be him…"
Aragorn desperately checked the soil around the freezing, alive body, patting it with expert hands. "No, no, Pip, this soil has been untouched for thousands of years until I moved it," he trailed off, slicing his finger on something terribly sharp jutting out from the black dirt.
While Aragorn cursed and started digging more to the left of the body, Pippin was busy stuffing his pipe into his bag and heading out. "I don't know what's going on here, Ian, but I've got an inkling that someone's gonna find us like this. I'm getting a body bag, I hope we brought some along, dammit," he wandered off muttering, leaving Ian with his own thoughts and bleeding hand. Aragorn didn't even notice him leave.
Eyes flicking back to Elrond's motionless form every few seconds in fear of it moving all of a sudden – despite that pulse he found – he picked his way through the dirt to reveal a long slightly curved Elvish sword cloaked in dried blood and dirt with the tip of the blade facing Elrond's chest. Lifting it gingerly in his hands, Aragorn inspected the runes on the handle.
Though he had been reincarnated, he was fortunate enough to remember who he was in the past, and had been blessed with the talent of reading Elvish runes as well. Thanking whatever Valar was still left, Aragorn read the lord's name and the valley he ruled over on the golden handle. Looking around in a scared wonder, he bluntly affirmed that this was indeed the ruins of Rivendell, and its master had died with it.
Or so it seemed.
Pippin returned hoarding a bag nearly twice his size, looking over his shoulder like a hunted fox. Dropping the bag in his partner's lap, he whispered, "The others are up and they think somethin's goin' on. If they see us carrying this back to the camp they'll want to know what it is, and there's no way in hell we're going to show them… *him*!"
Snapping out of his daze, Ian sharply looked up at Pippin. "Then what do you propose we do?! Dress him in one of my extra pairs of jeans and shirt, snip off his hair and throw him over our shoulders, saying it was a confused hunter who lost his way during a rainstorm?! NO!"
Peering over his shoulder abruptly, Ian continued in more hushed tone. "No one can know of this. We *must* get him back to the city."
"The city," Pippin cried. "Are you out of your fuckin' mind?! And do what with him?"
"Drop him off at the flat and haul ass back down here."
"Oh, sure, and just how are we gonna do that?"
Pause.
"I'll phone Legolas." Pippin rolled his eyes, glancing down at Elrond's body, and swiped the cell phone away.
"Elf-boy can't help us in this, Ian." Jumping back and muttering various swears, Pippin stomped his foot impatiently and threw the cell at Aragorn's knees. "God dammit, Ian, just do something with that body! It's totally freaking me out, I thought I just saw him move!"
Aragorn shoved his cell back into his pocket, glaring at the smaller man. "While I do this, think of a way to smuggle him out of here. You *know* we can't leave him here. The others will find him and the existence of Elves will be ruined! You know what would happen."
"Yes, yes, I know… gods, I hate dead bodies…"
"What a wuss." Gently lifting the armoured, lean form from the muddy soil, Aragorn carefully placed the figure on the body bag, flicking away some dirt from his face and armour, gazing in awe at the Elven lord. "I think I've waited all my stupid reincarnated life to see him again…"
"This is *not* a time to get mushy, dreamy, and poetic," Bryon snapped. Eyes grazing the trees, he began to panic when he saw dark forms looming through the brush. "Holy shit, Ian, they're coming," he hissed quickly to him. "Do something, do something, do something!"
Aragorn fumbled around like a skittish rabbit, grabbing the sheets, towels, and covers from inside the bag and wrapping them all around Elrond's body, concealing him in a clumsy manner. Quickly the other men neared, and harder it became to wrap the Elven lord so it didn't seem *too* suspicious (really – who's going to think there's something fishy going on when there's a life-like form lying on the ground in bright child's Care Bear bed sheets and a towel that could easily be mistaken for a flattened Pokemon?)
"Bryon? Ian?"
Brad blinked slowly at the two men who stood side by side, almost glued together, looking as if they'd seen a ghost, and mysteriously like they were hiding something. "Are you two okay?"
"PERFECTLY JOLLY HAPPY!" Bryon chirped out a bit too enthusiastically. "Nothing's wrong around here, everything's in tip top shape! NOTHING HERE, BOYS!!"
Checking to see if his ears were bleeding, Ian calmly said, "I think we're both okay. Just wanted to get a head start, y'know?" Seeing them nod, he continued, "By the way, how's the coffee?"
Brad wrinkled his nose. "Tastes like cat poo. Why?"
"Oh, Bryon was just telling me about how he has several other packages of the stuff in the back of the car."
Pippin stared up at him. "But I don't…"
"No, you don't have a coffee maker, silly dolt, but you *do* have some cappuccino bags in the trunk for us just in case the coffee tasted like crap, right?"
"'Ey, wot's that," Jerrie interjected, peering around the both of them. "Wot's be'ind ya?"
Nervously looking behind him, Ian responded, "A bird."
"Neh, lyin' on th'grawnd thayer."
"It looks like a body," Brad exclaimed, paling immediately and looking squarely at Ian. Aragorn shifted uncomfortably, getting an idea and nodding vigorously.
"Yes, yes it's a body. We just found it here, lying there, when we came. Looks about two weeks old, say, I've heard of a missing person thing going about! Must be him. We've got a body bag, and Bryon and I were thinkin' that maybe we should drive back to the city and deposit it at he police station, maybe someone can identify him!"
Bryon bobbed his head up and down, grinning broadly. "Yeh! I mean really, they're prolly lookin' for them now!"
Brad, skeptical as ever, retorted, "I'm sure you're hiding something else. What did you *really* find? Fess up, boys, what's going on?"
Chirp. Chirp. Chirp. Squash.
Wiping his shoe on the ground, Ian muttered, "We found a dead body, Brad, Jerrie, William. And we just need to do a good deed and take it to the city, or would you rather hang about with it for awhile?"
"Point taken. Fine, take that thing to the city and come right back, you two. You know how the boss is about getting our work done."
Bryon grinned again. "Great. C'mon, *IAN* let's go." As Aragorn picked up the body, Bryon bounced over and lifted the heavy sword, pulling a lopsided grin at the shocked looks. "Murder weapon.
"I'm sure.
~*~
Bryon slapped Aragorn's back, climbing into the passenger's seat. "Great one back there, Gorny. Couldn't be betta."
Eyes nervously looking at Elrond's body through the review mirror, Aragorn sighed, "We got fuckin' lucky that there had been some mysterious murder three weeks ago and the person was last seen around close to here." Driving off, he continued, "Oh well, Pip, I just hope… y'know…"
"Yeh." Flicking on the CD player, he quickly lowered the volume as Enya came bursting out of the speakers. Silence passed through the Jeep, the only sound of Enya wafting through the air. It was a five hour drive back to the city, and a long one at that.
After awhile Pippin climbed into the back seat to check on Elrond. Pressing the back of his hand to his cheek, he could slightly feel warmth rising to the pale face. Setting tufts of hair back around the pointed ear, Pippin met Aragorn's gaze through the mirror. They affirmed their thoughts silently before Pip climbed back to the passenger's seat.
Hours flickered by like molasses in winter.
Pippin, reaching behind his seat to grab a beer, caught a glimpse of Elrond's body shifting slightly. His heart leapt to his throat, but then he realized how bouncy the road was, so he thought nothing of it. Grabbing his beer, he froze again when low moans came from those pale lips; he grabbed the sleeve of Aragorn's shirt roughly, tugging it frantically. "Aragorn! Aragorn! He's waking up!
"Shit!" Aragorn looked behind his shoulder briefly, just in time to see Elrond throw his head to the side wearily. Unconsciously pressing on the gas, he speeded towards the flat, mind only on the lord in his back seat. Pippin surveyed the body before turning around to see an intersection looming ahead, and a green light switching to an orange, then to red. Aragorn seemingly didn't take notice of this and was speeding down the street (it was a downhill) just as it turned red. Three cars were going through as the Jeep lurched forward toward them. Pippin's eyes turned into saucers.
"ARAGORN!"
~*~
Without bothering to pick up his jaw from the ground, Pippin stared at the sickly pale body in shock, Aragorn following his overt example. "Oh. Fucking. God. Holy shit, I cannot believe this…"
"M… maybe Ian, this really isn't Lord Elrond. I mean, it could just be an unidentified body someone dropped over here after a really bad live role- play war thing, I mean, it really can't be him…"
Aragorn desperately checked the soil around the freezing, alive body, patting it with expert hands. "No, no, Pip, this soil has been untouched for thousands of years until I moved it," he trailed off, slicing his finger on something terribly sharp jutting out from the black dirt.
While Aragorn cursed and started digging more to the left of the body, Pippin was busy stuffing his pipe into his bag and heading out. "I don't know what's going on here, Ian, but I've got an inkling that someone's gonna find us like this. I'm getting a body bag, I hope we brought some along, dammit," he wandered off muttering, leaving Ian with his own thoughts and bleeding hand. Aragorn didn't even notice him leave.
Eyes flicking back to Elrond's motionless form every few seconds in fear of it moving all of a sudden – despite that pulse he found – he picked his way through the dirt to reveal a long slightly curved Elvish sword cloaked in dried blood and dirt with the tip of the blade facing Elrond's chest. Lifting it gingerly in his hands, Aragorn inspected the runes on the handle.
Though he had been reincarnated, he was fortunate enough to remember who he was in the past, and had been blessed with the talent of reading Elvish runes as well. Thanking whatever Valar was still left, Aragorn read the lord's name and the valley he ruled over on the golden handle. Looking around in a scared wonder, he bluntly affirmed that this was indeed the ruins of Rivendell, and its master had died with it.
Or so it seemed.
Pippin returned hoarding a bag nearly twice his size, looking over his shoulder like a hunted fox. Dropping the bag in his partner's lap, he whispered, "The others are up and they think somethin's goin' on. If they see us carrying this back to the camp they'll want to know what it is, and there's no way in hell we're going to show them… *him*!"
Snapping out of his daze, Ian sharply looked up at Pippin. "Then what do you propose we do?! Dress him in one of my extra pairs of jeans and shirt, snip off his hair and throw him over our shoulders, saying it was a confused hunter who lost his way during a rainstorm?! NO!"
Peering over his shoulder abruptly, Ian continued in more hushed tone. "No one can know of this. We *must* get him back to the city."
"The city," Pippin cried. "Are you out of your fuckin' mind?! And do what with him?"
"Drop him off at the flat and haul ass back down here."
"Oh, sure, and just how are we gonna do that?"
Pause.
"I'll phone Legolas." Pippin rolled his eyes, glancing down at Elrond's body, and swiped the cell phone away.
"Elf-boy can't help us in this, Ian." Jumping back and muttering various swears, Pippin stomped his foot impatiently and threw the cell at Aragorn's knees. "God dammit, Ian, just do something with that body! It's totally freaking me out, I thought I just saw him move!"
Aragorn shoved his cell back into his pocket, glaring at the smaller man. "While I do this, think of a way to smuggle him out of here. You *know* we can't leave him here. The others will find him and the existence of Elves will be ruined! You know what would happen."
"Yes, yes, I know… gods, I hate dead bodies…"
"What a wuss." Gently lifting the armoured, lean form from the muddy soil, Aragorn carefully placed the figure on the body bag, flicking away some dirt from his face and armour, gazing in awe at the Elven lord. "I think I've waited all my stupid reincarnated life to see him again…"
"This is *not* a time to get mushy, dreamy, and poetic," Bryon snapped. Eyes grazing the trees, he began to panic when he saw dark forms looming through the brush. "Holy shit, Ian, they're coming," he hissed quickly to him. "Do something, do something, do something!"
Aragorn fumbled around like a skittish rabbit, grabbing the sheets, towels, and covers from inside the bag and wrapping them all around Elrond's body, concealing him in a clumsy manner. Quickly the other men neared, and harder it became to wrap the Elven lord so it didn't seem *too* suspicious (really – who's going to think there's something fishy going on when there's a life-like form lying on the ground in bright child's Care Bear bed sheets and a towel that could easily be mistaken for a flattened Pokemon?)
"Bryon? Ian?"
Brad blinked slowly at the two men who stood side by side, almost glued together, looking as if they'd seen a ghost, and mysteriously like they were hiding something. "Are you two okay?"
"PERFECTLY JOLLY HAPPY!" Bryon chirped out a bit too enthusiastically. "Nothing's wrong around here, everything's in tip top shape! NOTHING HERE, BOYS!!"
Checking to see if his ears were bleeding, Ian calmly said, "I think we're both okay. Just wanted to get a head start, y'know?" Seeing them nod, he continued, "By the way, how's the coffee?"
Brad wrinkled his nose. "Tastes like cat poo. Why?"
"Oh, Bryon was just telling me about how he has several other packages of the stuff in the back of the car."
Pippin stared up at him. "But I don't…"
"No, you don't have a coffee maker, silly dolt, but you *do* have some cappuccino bags in the trunk for us just in case the coffee tasted like crap, right?"
"'Ey, wot's that," Jerrie interjected, peering around the both of them. "Wot's be'ind ya?"
Nervously looking behind him, Ian responded, "A bird."
"Neh, lyin' on th'grawnd thayer."
"It looks like a body," Brad exclaimed, paling immediately and looking squarely at Ian. Aragorn shifted uncomfortably, getting an idea and nodding vigorously.
"Yes, yes it's a body. We just found it here, lying there, when we came. Looks about two weeks old, say, I've heard of a missing person thing going about! Must be him. We've got a body bag, and Bryon and I were thinkin' that maybe we should drive back to the city and deposit it at he police station, maybe someone can identify him!"
Bryon bobbed his head up and down, grinning broadly. "Yeh! I mean really, they're prolly lookin' for them now!"
Brad, skeptical as ever, retorted, "I'm sure you're hiding something else. What did you *really* find? Fess up, boys, what's going on?"
Chirp. Chirp. Chirp. Squash.
Wiping his shoe on the ground, Ian muttered, "We found a dead body, Brad, Jerrie, William. And we just need to do a good deed and take it to the city, or would you rather hang about with it for awhile?"
"Point taken. Fine, take that thing to the city and come right back, you two. You know how the boss is about getting our work done."
Bryon grinned again. "Great. C'mon, *IAN* let's go." As Aragorn picked up the body, Bryon bounced over and lifted the heavy sword, pulling a lopsided grin at the shocked looks. "Murder weapon.
"I'm sure.
~*~
Bryon slapped Aragorn's back, climbing into the passenger's seat. "Great one back there, Gorny. Couldn't be betta."
Eyes nervously looking at Elrond's body through the review mirror, Aragorn sighed, "We got fuckin' lucky that there had been some mysterious murder three weeks ago and the person was last seen around close to here." Driving off, he continued, "Oh well, Pip, I just hope… y'know…"
"Yeh." Flicking on the CD player, he quickly lowered the volume as Enya came bursting out of the speakers. Silence passed through the Jeep, the only sound of Enya wafting through the air. It was a five hour drive back to the city, and a long one at that.
After awhile Pippin climbed into the back seat to check on Elrond. Pressing the back of his hand to his cheek, he could slightly feel warmth rising to the pale face. Setting tufts of hair back around the pointed ear, Pippin met Aragorn's gaze through the mirror. They affirmed their thoughts silently before Pip climbed back to the passenger's seat.
Hours flickered by like molasses in winter.
Pippin, reaching behind his seat to grab a beer, caught a glimpse of Elrond's body shifting slightly. His heart leapt to his throat, but then he realized how bouncy the road was, so he thought nothing of it. Grabbing his beer, he froze again when low moans came from those pale lips; he grabbed the sleeve of Aragorn's shirt roughly, tugging it frantically. "Aragorn! Aragorn! He's waking up!
"Shit!" Aragorn looked behind his shoulder briefly, just in time to see Elrond throw his head to the side wearily. Unconsciously pressing on the gas, he speeded towards the flat, mind only on the lord in his back seat. Pippin surveyed the body before turning around to see an intersection looming ahead, and a green light switching to an orange, then to red. Aragorn seemingly didn't take notice of this and was speeding down the street (it was a downhill) just as it turned red. Three cars were going through as the Jeep lurched forward toward them. Pippin's eyes turned into saucers.
"ARAGORN!"
