~Bird songs~

by Ola

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A/N~ in case the italics don't show up, *…* means that the elves are talking in elvish. At first I wanted to say it in another language, so it would feel more like you didn't understand, but then I decided against it, because I don't like scrolling down the page to understand something, so I guess it would annoy you too. Hope you're still hanging on! =)

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Part 4~

            Their long strides quickly took them over the pass and into the next valley. I wanted to ask them many questions, but I did not really know how to begin so instead I discretely looked at each one of them, trying to figure out a bit more about them. They didn't look like murderers. And what would they be doing in the Canadian wilderness? They could have killed me lots of times by now. And anyway, why would they go to all the trouble of carrying me to their camp? An answer to that particular question came to mind, but I quickly blocked it, preferring not to think about it too much. It made my stomach heave.

            The sun was still on its way up, although it was near its zenith, when we stopped. At first, the little space under the trees seemed empty, "unlived in." but one of the men kneeled and rolled open a mottled green blanket, and then another, and another. A few other objects appeared out from the underbrush, previously hidden by their earthy coloring. The man carrying me put me down on the surprisingly soft seeping blanket.

"Too bad Haldir did not come with us. He is an excellent healer." I suppose he was speaking English to put me at ease. "But I will do my best, lady."

One of the other two had build a fire and boiled some water. I had no intension of thinking about or talking to them as 'the tall one,' 'the one who had carried me,' and 'the one who had first spoken,' so I asked them what I should call them. 'The tall one' looked at me for a moment before answering.

"I excuse myself lady. I am named Legolas. This is Mirime, and that (pointing to 'the one who had carried me') is Alrovir…and what should we call you, lady?" he asked with a lightly raised eyebrow.

"I, err, I'm Alexandra, but you can call me Alex." I felt my skin burning a little, which made me feel even more stupid.

"That is a beautiful name. We are pleased to make your acquaintance, Lady Alex," said Legolas in that bizarre way of speaking of his.

"As am I," I managed to say. I couldn't fathom these guys.

"Would I now look at your wound, Lady Alex?" asked…Alrovir? (I still had some difficulty telling them apart). I nodded, as he crushed a few leaves into the bubbling pot, and kneeling beside me, began to tend my wounds. Either to distract me from the pain or simply for information, the other two began asking me what I was doing here, so I explained about my research and the birds, not seeing the glances shared between the three. I kept on talking until I bit my tongue, unwanted wetness gathering in the corner of my eyes, and I chocked a scream as Alrovir tried to set my tibia with a quick thrust of his hand. Silence descended on this part of the forest until Alrovir profusely excused himself.

"My abilities unfortunately do not extend to such wounds," he said both to me and to his companions. "The least I can do is to bind the gash close."

"*We should bring her to Rivendel. Alone she cannot make it back to her camp. And it is our fault the she broke her leg. We cannot leave her here,*" said Mirime in that strange musical language. Legolas sharply turned his head toward him, eyes flashing, before answering something in turn. I felt left out, as I was sure they were talking about me. Alrovir listened to the exchange before giving me a cup of something that looked like tea.

"It will help with the pain, Lady," he said, after again apologizing for unnecessarily hurting me. I drained the bitter liquid thankfully, since my whole leg had started to throb to the rhythm of my heart. Although my head was spinning with unasked questions and the sun had only began its descent from its heavenly summit a few hours ago, I felt tired, and my eyes began to close on their own accord. I tried to fight this sudden apathy, realizing that the "tea" was probably much more than that, but the drugs were strong, and I could not stop my body from reacting to them. Finally, exhausted, I gave up and slipped into dreamless sleep.

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A/N~ sorry that the chapters are so short, but it lets me post them more often =)

Please review and tell me what you think. (or bet on the outcome of this story)

~ola~