Disclaimer: I don't own LOTR, Tolkien does.
I STAND ALONE
"And then this... giant beast came swooping down on me when I had reached the hill top. I was so petrified, that I couldn't look up to see what had caught me. Then, it dove down into the lake, and threw me off into the passage you found me in."
Some of the dwarves nodded, while others raised eyebrows. Gimli took a sip of ale in his metal tankard before turning to Naheka, who sat opposite of him in the circle they were all sitting in. There was no campfire in the center of them, as it was too dark and much too damp to even light a spark. The paper lantern from last night had finally died out, but luckily, a troop of scouting dwarves had located Legolas, Elenwe, and Naheka's previous site. They brought their packs back with them, which included a glass lantern with a fresh flame in it, although it only provided an immature glow.
"What about you?" Gimli asked gruffly, taking another sip, "How did you get here?"
"I found this underwater passage through the lake," replied Naheka in a matter-of-factly tone. She was merely reciting what Onikunshu had told her to explain, "However, there was a strong current, and I was unexpectedly swept up and out of the pool."
"Perhaps the current was made by that monster in the lake?" suggested Elenwe, wrapping his woolen blanket closer around him.
"Most likely." said Legolas.
Gimli took his last sip of his ale, set the tankard aside, and stood up.
"Enough lying around here!" he exclaimed, picking up his own leather sack of possessions, "We have a whole mountain range to cross before we reach the Golden Wood!"
The dwarves cheered a short chant in Kuzdul as they too, picked up their luggage and marched off through the rocky tunnel. Naheka and the elves simply followed their new companions through the route, as they seemed to know exactly where they were going. Legolas took the lead next to Gimli, while Elenwe and Naheka were scattered amongst everyone else.
"Are you having some kind of affair with her or something?" inquired Gimli suddenly to Legolas.
"No!" said Legolas, rolling his eyes, "What gave you that idea?"
"Well, it just seems that you two have changed in how you deal with each other." he replied, "You two can actually be together in a room without attempting to either wound each other, or shout nasty names and taunts. I remember when Naheka was seventeen. You and her used to fight a lot."
The Fellowship of the Ring, Naheka, and her friends sat with each other over another fire that danced on the wood cheerfully. Though their simple dinner together in the wilderness was so gleeful and merry, that even Aragorn and Boromir could agree on a topic involving Gondor, two members were dreadfully sour and bitter, glaring murderously at each other in their exact opposite positions over the fire. The brightness of the fire cast shadows about everyone's faces, yet the darkness of the shadow was most emphasized on the faces of Naheka and Legolas.
Naheka took a deep breath before muttering, "Prissy elf."
Legolas heard her insult with his sharp ears and did not hesitate in retorting, "Stupid mortal."
"Girlie hair."
"Barbarian."
"Brainless."
"Thoughtless."
"Radioactive."
"Insane."
"Abnormal!"
"Paranormal!"
"Moron!"
"Jerk!"
Everyone stopped midway through their conversations to witness the roaring banter that raged between Naheka and Legolas, who were now starting to rise from their seats, shouting even louder.
"Bastard!"
"Foul language!"
"Weird language!"
"No language!"
"Pointy ears!"
"Dull senses!"
"Ugly!"
They screamed at the same time, "Jealous!" They both gasped, "You take that back! No, you! You! You! Stop saying everything I say! You say? You stop! You! I hate you! Me too! Shut up! Stop it!-"
"What's the count total, C-chan?" asked Megan, one of Naheka's friends as she snatched Naheka by the wrists to restrain her from assaulting Legolas, who was held back by Aragorn.
"Let's see," said C-chan, scratching a tally on a piece of parchment, "That's their eleventh skirmish this...day."
"They're like firecrackers," said Sam, allowing Frodo to step behind him, "Light one off and they all explode!"
"Just because we aren't nagging at each other anymore," said Legolas, interrupting Gimli in his reminisce, "doesn't mean we're in some kind of relationship! We don't have a relationship!"
"Sure you don't!" he drawled, now grinning devilishly, "You just happen to ask her to come on this particular journey. The one journey where you get to freely decide who you want to be with for the rest of your life! You ask Naheka. The one girl you have never been able to forget! After dealing with at least five hundred ladies in two thousand years, you select her. Now, you probably don't know this, but the old Fellowship crew and I have been discussing this for the last two years. We all know you have strong emotions for her, and they all seem to be hate and despise. But now, I can clearly see it must be something else!"
Legolas looked down at Gimli and simply blinked with an very unconvinced look on his face. "You sound like a person in their tweens when you talk like that, did you know?"
Gimli snorted and shook his head. Legolas could hear him muttering under his breath "Don't lie, Legolas! Don't lie!"
I STAND ALONE
"And then this... giant beast came swooping down on me when I had reached the hill top. I was so petrified, that I couldn't look up to see what had caught me. Then, it dove down into the lake, and threw me off into the passage you found me in."
Some of the dwarves nodded, while others raised eyebrows. Gimli took a sip of ale in his metal tankard before turning to Naheka, who sat opposite of him in the circle they were all sitting in. There was no campfire in the center of them, as it was too dark and much too damp to even light a spark. The paper lantern from last night had finally died out, but luckily, a troop of scouting dwarves had located Legolas, Elenwe, and Naheka's previous site. They brought their packs back with them, which included a glass lantern with a fresh flame in it, although it only provided an immature glow.
"What about you?" Gimli asked gruffly, taking another sip, "How did you get here?"
"I found this underwater passage through the lake," replied Naheka in a matter-of-factly tone. She was merely reciting what Onikunshu had told her to explain, "However, there was a strong current, and I was unexpectedly swept up and out of the pool."
"Perhaps the current was made by that monster in the lake?" suggested Elenwe, wrapping his woolen blanket closer around him.
"Most likely." said Legolas.
Gimli took his last sip of his ale, set the tankard aside, and stood up.
"Enough lying around here!" he exclaimed, picking up his own leather sack of possessions, "We have a whole mountain range to cross before we reach the Golden Wood!"
The dwarves cheered a short chant in Kuzdul as they too, picked up their luggage and marched off through the rocky tunnel. Naheka and the elves simply followed their new companions through the route, as they seemed to know exactly where they were going. Legolas took the lead next to Gimli, while Elenwe and Naheka were scattered amongst everyone else.
"Are you having some kind of affair with her or something?" inquired Gimli suddenly to Legolas.
"No!" said Legolas, rolling his eyes, "What gave you that idea?"
"Well, it just seems that you two have changed in how you deal with each other." he replied, "You two can actually be together in a room without attempting to either wound each other, or shout nasty names and taunts. I remember when Naheka was seventeen. You and her used to fight a lot."
The Fellowship of the Ring, Naheka, and her friends sat with each other over another fire that danced on the wood cheerfully. Though their simple dinner together in the wilderness was so gleeful and merry, that even Aragorn and Boromir could agree on a topic involving Gondor, two members were dreadfully sour and bitter, glaring murderously at each other in their exact opposite positions over the fire. The brightness of the fire cast shadows about everyone's faces, yet the darkness of the shadow was most emphasized on the faces of Naheka and Legolas.
Naheka took a deep breath before muttering, "Prissy elf."
Legolas heard her insult with his sharp ears and did not hesitate in retorting, "Stupid mortal."
"Girlie hair."
"Barbarian."
"Brainless."
"Thoughtless."
"Radioactive."
"Insane."
"Abnormal!"
"Paranormal!"
"Moron!"
"Jerk!"
Everyone stopped midway through their conversations to witness the roaring banter that raged between Naheka and Legolas, who were now starting to rise from their seats, shouting even louder.
"Bastard!"
"Foul language!"
"Weird language!"
"No language!"
"Pointy ears!"
"Dull senses!"
"Ugly!"
They screamed at the same time, "Jealous!" They both gasped, "You take that back! No, you! You! You! Stop saying everything I say! You say? You stop! You! I hate you! Me too! Shut up! Stop it!-"
"What's the count total, C-chan?" asked Megan, one of Naheka's friends as she snatched Naheka by the wrists to restrain her from assaulting Legolas, who was held back by Aragorn.
"Let's see," said C-chan, scratching a tally on a piece of parchment, "That's their eleventh skirmish this...day."
"They're like firecrackers," said Sam, allowing Frodo to step behind him, "Light one off and they all explode!"
"Just because we aren't nagging at each other anymore," said Legolas, interrupting Gimli in his reminisce, "doesn't mean we're in some kind of relationship! We don't have a relationship!"
"Sure you don't!" he drawled, now grinning devilishly, "You just happen to ask her to come on this particular journey. The one journey where you get to freely decide who you want to be with for the rest of your life! You ask Naheka. The one girl you have never been able to forget! After dealing with at least five hundred ladies in two thousand years, you select her. Now, you probably don't know this, but the old Fellowship crew and I have been discussing this for the last two years. We all know you have strong emotions for her, and they all seem to be hate and despise. But now, I can clearly see it must be something else!"
Legolas looked down at Gimli and simply blinked with an very unconvinced look on his face. "You sound like a person in their tweens when you talk like that, did you know?"
Gimli snorted and shook his head. Legolas could hear him muttering under his breath "Don't lie, Legolas! Don't lie!"