A figure crawled out of the river, dragging a body onto the banks.
"Again, again we pulls it out of rubbles," Gollum growled at the motionless body. He sniffed it over. "Its does not stink of elveses, now," He gave it a sharp poke and jumped back. It didn't move. Slowly he moved toward it again, "Where did it come from, my Precious?"
"OOoooohh!" It moan and rolled on its side, facing Gollum. Its pink mouth fell open and water pour from its lips as it coughed and hacked, trying to breath. Gollum watched with shining eyes. Something about the creature's soft form intrigued him. He had not seen this form for a long time (unless you include goblins). The form of a female. He crept forward and touched its long, long, soft, wet hair. "Frodo," it rasped in a fragile voice, " Why didn't you see me? Curse your blue eyes, Baggins," It hacked before lapsing back into silence.
"BAGGINS!" Gollum hissed, its eyes glowing a bright green. With a webbed foot, he rolled her on her back, "Where is the Baggins?? We hates the Baggins!!!" She didn't answer, her head lolled limply on the ground. "It tries to be tricksy, so we'll leave it alone, gollum, well we'll be even tricksier. Carry it till it speaks, yes, my precious!"
Gollum grabbed the girl underneath her arms and placed it on his back, securing it with an arm. Then it dove into the water, although it was a bit slower with the extra weight, Gollum swam fluidly through the water.
************************************************************************
"Oh, oooh, my head. 'Lanon, are we still in Middle-Earth?" I moaned sitting up. When I opened my eyes I saw two bulging eyes, gaping mouth, scaly skin. "FISH!" I yelped in surprise and fell back on my rump.
"Yess, fishess, good for eggses," Hissed the creature in front of me. Compared to it, the fish looked like a silver god. "Good for eggses in tummy," It crawled to me in a very frog fashion and placed it balding grey head against my stomach. If I wasn't so weak from hunger and being half-drowned I would have hit it. Instead I tried not to blanch. The thing placed its huge, tapered ear right above my navel and cooed, "Good eggses, gollum, Precious knows you're there. You are part of the precious, like poor old Smeagol," He rocked back on his heels with strangled laughter like it had forgotten how. "Now we eates fishes," It held out a fish to me and dove into its own,. When I gagged it lifted its face from the fish, meat hanging from its teeth and lips and blood dribbling down its chin. "What'ss wrong??"
"I usually like to know my grocer before I go eating his food," I said and the thing cocked its head. I sighed, "Who are you?"
The creature swallowed what little meat had actually gotten into its mouth and frowned. "What'ss wrong with fishes, gollum, Smeagol goes out and brings it food, drieses its clothes and draggs it out of nassty river away from orcss. Gollum, gollum, what'ss wrong??"
"Nothing, nothing!!" Meia said, afraid of getting the creature upset, "It's just that I don't have the same teeth and stomach like you, I have to have my fish cooked," Smeagol as he called himself, gave her a cold look and snatched the fish out of her hands and bit into it. "HEY!" Meia cried, her belly rumbling in protest, "I thought that was mine!"
"It didn't wants it," Smeagol said with an upturned nose.
"I didn't want it raw, not that I didn't want to eat! There's a difference you know Smaugle,"
"Smeagle, is the precious's name!" It spat and bit again into the fish.
"Fine!" I spat back and wobblingly got to my feet. I walk half a dozen steps when my knees gave out and my stomach roiled. I bowed my head and wretched. I must have been sick from being in that wretched cold water, I thought when Smeagle shoved a handful of herbs under my nose.
"Eat, but don't swallow," It frowned. I frowned just as severely and stuffed the weedy herbs into my mouth and chewed them into a pasty, chalky pulp. They were tasteless, but did something to ease my angered stomach.
