Disclaimers and such can be read in the Prologue. ~ ... ~ indictates mindspeak, Zephyr to whomever, and ^ ... ^ indicates mindspeak, Estel to Zephyr. Note: This chapter is kinda short, and 'blah'ish. Next chapter, more stuff happens. ^^
Aragorn was taken aback. Silver eyes flickered from Eqil, to Priynel, to Legolas.
~ Speak, rider of mine, ~ came the clear tone: like twisted silver, gnarled as an ancient oak, the words twisted out, almost felt more than heard, the flashes of light reverberating in all of their minds. ~ /Now/ you choose to be bashful? Quite curious. ~
Legolas's eyes about popped out of his head, Priynel's jaw dropped, but Eqil, apparently, was well-used to this. |Zephyr,| he chided, |Where have your manners gone?|
~ Oh, yes, yes. Well, /he/ might be half-dead and lame, but I'm not, ~ the large stallion quipped. ~ Zephyr, my dear elves, am I. This one /is/ Estel, though he might not admit to it at first sight. ~
'Elrond sent you,' Estel suddenly stated, anger flickering over chiseled features, 'Didn't he? To /spy/ on me! He didn't think I could accomplish this, /did/ he?'
'Slow down, ye of the fast tongue,' Riyn drawled out. 'Just slow down, now. Elrond /did/ send us here, but not to spy on you.' Fastidious golden eyes implored the not-so Elvish prince. 'You are to guide us and guard us.'
'Indeed,' Legolas said, over the shock of the mental telepathy. 'We have a message from him.' The fair prince of Mirkwood turned, draping Mithril's reins over the pommel of his saddle. A scroll was procured from a saddlebag, and he thrust it at Estel.
The young Man didn't even tap at his mount's flanks: a mental word flickered through the Bond that they shared, and Zephyr strode forwards, so that his rider could take the scroll without looking undignified.
It was unrolled, and read, quickly, by Estel, who eventually glanced up. 'How could this--'
Eqil, who had kept Wyrd a fair pace away from Zephyr, finally spoke up. |I implore you, my lord, to either give us directions, lead us, or allow us to set up camp for midday meal.|
|Whatever course you wish to pursue, by all means, pursue it, Eqil,| Estel replied in fluent High Rohirrim.
And, thusly said, they continued to patrol the plains, as Legolas explained a little bit in depth.
Priynel eventually tired of riding Isilme close to Mithril, who was unearthly jealous of any mare who was too close to Zephyr, and rode, instead, with Eqil. The young, slightly brash Man incensed her at times, but he was good company. Even if he /did/ insist on calling her 'beautiful'.
They found out that they could get much more points across using plain common than anything else, and so thusly forth, reverted to using the language of Man.
"Your Wyrd couldn't throw a finer baby than my Isilme could drop," Riyn arrogantly stated.
"He could throw a faster one," Eqil was quick to counter. "I implore you to consider the possibility that speed might be more important than mere beauty."
"My comment of finery had nothing to do with beauty, and we both know that." The elf shadowed him with a wicked eye. "Why must you bait me so?"
"Because I like sparring with you, milady," the Rohirrim rider stated easily, leaning back in his endurance-specified saddle and chuckling deeply.
"You're.. you're.." Riyn. reading innuendo into that comment, launched into a fit of Elvish words of Mirkwood dialect, so heavily accented the Rohan rider couldn't understand it.
But Estel and Legolas, both, understood -- they stared at the Elvish warrioress in astonishment for a good long time, before Estel burst into hearty laughter, and Legolas dared to try a smile. "Why, Priynel, even /I/ had no idea you had so much knowledge of orc's lineage."
Estel, red-faced and wheezing, looked up, stared at Riyn for a long moment, and burst into more gales of laughing. Between heavy bursts of laughter, he wheezed out, "...what got... /me/... was the thought of... Eqil half.. horse!"
Eqil colored. "I am /not/ made up half of a horse's ass," he stated when Zephyr himself dared to explain. "And to hear such language from what I assumed was a lady.." He scowled at Priynel, and even Legolas laughed.
Privately, Zephyr commented to Estel, ~ You enjoy his laugh, ~, contemplatively.
^ He laughs little, even for a stoic prince of Mirkwood. ^
~ Well. I will make sure he laughs more, ~ the tall, muscled stallion stated stoutly.
^ That would be enjoyable, ^ Estel amiably agreed.
Privately, the stallion schemed, thought, and planned. This would be a.. most interesting trip, he decided.
A most interesting trip.
Aragorn was taken aback. Silver eyes flickered from Eqil, to Priynel, to Legolas.
~ Speak, rider of mine, ~ came the clear tone: like twisted silver, gnarled as an ancient oak, the words twisted out, almost felt more than heard, the flashes of light reverberating in all of their minds. ~ /Now/ you choose to be bashful? Quite curious. ~
Legolas's eyes about popped out of his head, Priynel's jaw dropped, but Eqil, apparently, was well-used to this. |Zephyr,| he chided, |Where have your manners gone?|
~ Oh, yes, yes. Well, /he/ might be half-dead and lame, but I'm not, ~ the large stallion quipped. ~ Zephyr, my dear elves, am I. This one /is/ Estel, though he might not admit to it at first sight. ~
'Elrond sent you,' Estel suddenly stated, anger flickering over chiseled features, 'Didn't he? To /spy/ on me! He didn't think I could accomplish this, /did/ he?'
'Slow down, ye of the fast tongue,' Riyn drawled out. 'Just slow down, now. Elrond /did/ send us here, but not to spy on you.' Fastidious golden eyes implored the not-so Elvish prince. 'You are to guide us and guard us.'
'Indeed,' Legolas said, over the shock of the mental telepathy. 'We have a message from him.' The fair prince of Mirkwood turned, draping Mithril's reins over the pommel of his saddle. A scroll was procured from a saddlebag, and he thrust it at Estel.
The young Man didn't even tap at his mount's flanks: a mental word flickered through the Bond that they shared, and Zephyr strode forwards, so that his rider could take the scroll without looking undignified.
It was unrolled, and read, quickly, by Estel, who eventually glanced up. 'How could this--'
Eqil, who had kept Wyrd a fair pace away from Zephyr, finally spoke up. |I implore you, my lord, to either give us directions, lead us, or allow us to set up camp for midday meal.|
|Whatever course you wish to pursue, by all means, pursue it, Eqil,| Estel replied in fluent High Rohirrim.
And, thusly said, they continued to patrol the plains, as Legolas explained a little bit in depth.
Priynel eventually tired of riding Isilme close to Mithril, who was unearthly jealous of any mare who was too close to Zephyr, and rode, instead, with Eqil. The young, slightly brash Man incensed her at times, but he was good company. Even if he /did/ insist on calling her 'beautiful'.
They found out that they could get much more points across using plain common than anything else, and so thusly forth, reverted to using the language of Man.
"Your Wyrd couldn't throw a finer baby than my Isilme could drop," Riyn arrogantly stated.
"He could throw a faster one," Eqil was quick to counter. "I implore you to consider the possibility that speed might be more important than mere beauty."
"My comment of finery had nothing to do with beauty, and we both know that." The elf shadowed him with a wicked eye. "Why must you bait me so?"
"Because I like sparring with you, milady," the Rohirrim rider stated easily, leaning back in his endurance-specified saddle and chuckling deeply.
"You're.. you're.." Riyn. reading innuendo into that comment, launched into a fit of Elvish words of Mirkwood dialect, so heavily accented the Rohan rider couldn't understand it.
But Estel and Legolas, both, understood -- they stared at the Elvish warrioress in astonishment for a good long time, before Estel burst into hearty laughter, and Legolas dared to try a smile. "Why, Priynel, even /I/ had no idea you had so much knowledge of orc's lineage."
Estel, red-faced and wheezing, looked up, stared at Riyn for a long moment, and burst into more gales of laughing. Between heavy bursts of laughter, he wheezed out, "...what got... /me/... was the thought of... Eqil half.. horse!"
Eqil colored. "I am /not/ made up half of a horse's ass," he stated when Zephyr himself dared to explain. "And to hear such language from what I assumed was a lady.." He scowled at Priynel, and even Legolas laughed.
Privately, Zephyr commented to Estel, ~ You enjoy his laugh, ~, contemplatively.
^ He laughs little, even for a stoic prince of Mirkwood. ^
~ Well. I will make sure he laughs more, ~ the tall, muscled stallion stated stoutly.
^ That would be enjoyable, ^ Estel amiably agreed.
Privately, the stallion schemed, thought, and planned. This would be a.. most interesting trip, he decided.
A most interesting trip.