-Shadows on the Snow-

By: Bill the Pony

Rating: PG-13

Spoilers: Rising Storm (my own fic), perhaps the trilogy.

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters do not belong to me, but to Tolkien or whoever owns them at the moment. I only have my muses and Fasse, Gorban, Ralamir, Falmarin and all other obscure characters.

Summary: Two months after the event in Dunland (told in Rising Storm) Aragorn and Legolas set out to escort Fasse to Rohan. Unfortunately, an early winter is not foreseen until it hits the three full force, bringing with it the danger of the wild.

Note: The poem at the opening of this chapter belongs to Robert Frost. I'm just borrowing it.

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Shadows on the Snow

Part 12

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~~~

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

~~~

Fasse had long since fallen asleep, his eyes too heavy to hold open. His contented snores echoed in the warm stillness of the cave, reminding Aragorn all too much of the summer night outings he and his brothers would take. Contrary to what many a mortal thought, elves could, and did, snore.

The Ranger sat near his friend, his back propped against the side of Roheryn who had finally relaxed enough to ease himself to his knees. There was no denying that he was worried for the well being of his elven companion, but something edged in the back of his mind, laying to rest most of his fears. However, it would have been completely unnatural for him not to feel even a degree of concern. After all, the elven race was not so prone to the feelings of mortal flesh unless of course he had been exposed to harsh elements with neither coat nor relief for some period of time. Adding a none too trivial wound onto the list didn't help matters at all, Aragorn thought dully.

He couldn't help but laugh darkly when he thought back to the conversation, one sided or not, he had engaged the unwilling Legolas in while they had been detained back in the Eregion town.

"So do you think that if you were out in, say, a really long snowfall and got caught in it with nothing but a cloak for let's say, a month, would that make you cold?"

"That would make me dead," Legolas answered wryly.

Thank the grace of Eru that it had not come to that! Aragorn sighed, stroking Roheryn's foreleg as he settled deeper into the niche he had positioned for himself against the horse's side. Roheryn's deep breaths pressed against his back and the horse's warm coat soothed his aches. He smiled, watching Falmarin's fussing as he nosed Legolas anxiously ever so often. "You needn't fear for him, friend. Your elf is too strong, stubborn as well, to give himself to a mortal feeling for too long." Wishing to ease the horse's honest worry he laid a hand on the grey neck. The reaction he received was unexpected.

Falmarin's head snapped around, his ears laid flat to his head. Not even with elvish reflexes could Aragorn have avoided the solid bite to his hand. He drew back sharply, clutching his hand to his chest trying to staunch the slow flow of blood. Roheryn drew himself to his feet in an instant, his body tense. Nienna and Gorban stood ridged beside each other as well. The three horses watched Falmarin closely. Nienna's eyes were slightly guarded, Gorban's were equally wary, while Roheryn's reflected defensiveness for his rider. But besides the protectiveness natural to his blood there was sympathy, an understanding that which only beasts of burden could empathize.

Never had Falmarin acted as such towards him. Either the horse was ill, or something darkened his spirit. Aragorn's brow knotted, momentarily forgetting the broken skin of his hand. He had a horrible feeling he knew what it was that possessed, or prompted the horse to act in such a hostile manner towards him at any unneeded contact. "Falmarin, friend, I am truly sorry that I have betrayed your confidences. But please," he held up a hand when the horse tossed his grey mane, "hear me out. I did not see him fall, if I had even you know that I would have stopped."

The short explanation did nothing, at least that he could tell, to gentle the horse's temper. In Falmarin's eyes, the man had not upheld his side of the friendship with his elf. For that, he would be no friend of his.

Falmarin probably would have bit one of his ears off if he did not feel the need to remain at Legolas's side. Aragorn looked to Roheryn pleadingly, hoping for some help in communicating his apology to Falmarin. The black only butted his head against the man's shoulder. Aragorn needed no elf to translate what the horse had meant: "You're on your own, friend. I'm not getting dragged into this."

Aragorn extended his hands disarmingly – and just out of the reach of Falmarin's sharp teeth. "Please, Falmarin, I'm sorry." He bent a knee, lowering himself to be at eye contact with the horse. "If you can find it in your heart, would you forgive me for my failure to see his fall?"

Falmarin sized the man up, his ears flicking forward, his nostrils testing the air about the human. Anger still bristled in his heart, but he was willing to give the man a second chance. He knew this mortal well, he was good and kind in his ways, he had been a good friend to his elf. Falmarin had decided long ago at his first meeting with his elf that any friend of his master's was his own to protect. Genuine were the human's words, and heartfelt was his regret.

Yes, he would offer him a second chance. After all, the man had found the cave and wrapped the elf in his own cloak. Still, he did not regret in the least the minor, yet painful, wound he had christened his elf's friend's hand with. Every mortal needed a bit of humbling from time to time.

Aragorn inched closer when he saw Falmarin's ears relax, the ragging fire in the horse's dark eyes reducing to a low flicker. Once he was within biting range and the horse did not strike, he allowed himself to relax a degree. "Then we understand each other again, Falmarin?" The horse blinked cautiously. Aragorn knelt again, his hand reaching warily out. Falmarin lowered his head, allowing the man to make good on his intentions with a good scratch behind the ear. Aragorn smiled, laughing at the sudden change in the horse's demeanor. There was still a guarded, chastising look about the creature, but forgiveness had been given. "I must thank you," Aragorn said softly, his voice turning serious. "Without you, our friend would have been lost."

He cast his eyes to where Legolas lay still in the safe harbor of Falmarin's side. As frightening as it was to see his friend's eyes closed in the manner mortal's sleep, he was assured of his friend's progressing recovering by the color already returning to the elf's face. Many a man would have been dead by the harsh furry raging outside, but thanks to elvish stamina and resilience, Legolas would recover in good time.

He was brought back to the present time by a soft push against his shoulder. At first he thought when he caught the expressive eye of Falmarin that the horse sought to comfort him. Aragorn laughed suddenly when he realized that this was not the horse's intention at all. His hand had stopped scratching Falmarin's 'happy spot' – as Legolas called it – and the horse was instead prompting him to continue. Chuckling, he gave the horse a hard scrubbing on the neck. Falmarin grunted, leaning hard against the hand.

Both stopped when Legolas shifted, the first movement he had made off his own power. The corners of his lips quirked upward slightly, a soft sigh escaping him as he resettled himself. However, the elf showed no sign of awakening. Falmarin whickered, bumping the elf's face with his nose. "Easy, friend. He is merely resting. Dreaming, more by the look of it." A grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. He could never let his friend live this down. It wasn't every day after all that you saw an elf drowse with his eye's closed while smiling in dreams. If Elladan or Elrohir heard of this, Legolas would hear no end of it.

With approval from Falmarin, he settled back against the horse's chest, content to sit the worst of the storm out and wait for his friend to wake, who would rest until his body felt it was able to carry its normal duties.

---

Rest was found in a safe, sun-kissed plain where shadows could not linger before the smile of Anar. The trees that dotted the glade where he lay cast no dark gloom. It seemed to his body that he drowsed on a bed of downy feathers covered with linen cloths, but beneath him he could still feel the tickle of grass. More importantly, he was warm. The Daystar shone down upon him with no cloud to hinder her beauty.

Ai, he could linger here in the light of the sky and the fresh open air for lifetimes and not wish to see anymore than this. The only thing that seemed to lack, was the wolf. He would appear at times when it seemed as if the sun was dipping, but at his coming she would flair to life again, shining all the brighter. Anar seemed to sing at His coming, and the winds danced at His breath. It was He that had lead Legolas here, away from the shadows and the pain, away from the cold. It was He that had breathed upon him and brought rest to his weary mind. Ai, yes, this is what rest was.

Birds sang in harmony with the Undying Song while he tarried beneath the perfect sun that would neither scorch nor parch the grasses. At times his soul would be so called to join his voice with the winds and beasts whom all raised their song to glorify and bring praise to their Creator.

He shifted, rolling lazily to his side, watching the golden dust of the sun filter through the emerald foliage. Legolas lips curved upward, turning his face to the pure ray. He had thought he had known bliss in his time in Rivendell, lounging carelessly on an ivy laced terrace, or those distant days before Mirkwood had been swept, leaf and branch, by evil. Strange how those memories and feelings seemed so ancient, and yet so recent. Recollections he though long lost rushed back, not childhood fears or painful encounters, but the woodland frolics of his youth when his mother yet lingered in the lost beauty of Greenwood. Conversations, games in the treetops, the very sound of his mother's laughter came back to him as clear as the song of the birds.

Then there was Aragorn. Legolas smiled wider, a tinkle of laughter escaping his lips. His laughter grew as he thought of their first meeting, the foolish, and often impulsive, stunts and rescue attempts they had pulled with Elladan and Elrohir backing them up. That is until Lord Elrond had found out about their latest escapade. Ai! It was a but a blink in an elf's eye, but Aragorn had grown so much since their first encounter. Alas, the young man hadn't even sported the messy beard he scraggily wore now.

Legolas thought of many things. He perceived how much Aragorn had changed, and yet how many traits had changed so little. Even since they had left Rivendell on this task, Aragorn had already grown in responsibility. Legolas felt a faint twinge of regret, why must growth always be heralded by grief?

But even as regret tingled his heart, he knew that here, in this perfect land, he could not think of evil. Whatever thought or regret he felt had been meant to happen for the better. Perhaps that was why he felt nothing but acceptance when he remembered his mother's departure from the shores of Middle-earth.

He sighed, breathing in the fresh, clean air. Sweet, green sent tainted the air, filling his lungs with unearthly breath. He was sure that he could have lain here for lifetimes without wishing to move. But that was not meant to be.

The wolf had returned, stronger, taller, and more beautiful than before here in His own land. The sweet Song swelled with His coming and the sun shone almost white. Legolas kneeled, his head bowed, not at all sure whether his earthly eyes could stand to gaze upon His majesty.

"Here your eyes are not earthly, my first child." A voice spoke, deeper than the sea and more melodious than any song that had ever left the lips of an elf. The wolf's mouth did not move, but His words were as clear as the sky. "Look upon me while you may, child."

Legolas raised his head, his eyes seeking whom his heart desired above all else. Even though is breath caught, he could not hold back the surge of song building within him at the sight of his highest Lord. The wolf, or what he thought to be a wolf, could hardly be discerned for the brightness of His beauty and the glory of His presence. But whether He was in the form of a wolf or even his full glory (which would have surely slain him for the beauty too great and terrible for him to behold), the eyes, brighter than any star or constellation, were the same.

Warmth so great built in his heart, love for no other filled his soul. "Who am I to be so blessed to look upon Your grace? What have I done to deserve your favor?"

He smiled, and at that smile, the Song turned all the sweeter. "Nothing at all, eldest, nothing. You are my first child and that is enough. But here you cannot remain much longer."

Here there was a brief downfall in the Song as Legolas's disappointment and utter denial of turning away from his desire. "Nay, I beg of You! Do not send me from Your sight, nothing else do I crave but to remain here!"

He said nothing to this, Legolas knew that He foreknew every thought and feeling in his mind before it was conceived. The elf heard the Song slowly change, and he realized that a verse was about to end. "He will need you yet."

Suddenly in his mind's eye, Aragorn was kneeling beside Falmarin. Legolas's heart ached bitterly and the thought of leaving his dear friend behind, not to be able to share his joy with him would be a thorn in his delight. It was then that he knew he must return.

"You have seen it yourself, first child, it is not your time. Not yet."

Grief burst in Legolas's breast as He turned His face from him. It was as if the very sun had left the sky and the stars and the moon had fled behind storm clouds. The very earth beneath him seemed to sink away. How would he ever find his way back?

But then light returned both to eye and heart, though it could never come to measure with the brightness of His wonder. There He remained, turned toward him once more. There was His smile, a chord so beautiful in the Song as the last strain of the verse he had been so intimately apart of died away. Forever the sweet thrum would echo in his mind.

Then there was His gaze. A great wind blew over the grasses, rustling leaf and branch. So strong and fresh was its scent it took Legolas's breath away. His eyes closed shut as the essence of it filled his senses. But when next he opened them, it was as if he had been cast into an ocean. Ai, no! He did not wish to leave! The strength of the Song was already fading back to what it had been for all his life. He struggled against the pull, seeking to bring him to the surface of reality. Ai! How he did not wish to go! But then in his heart he felt the same warm throb of the Song and the gaze of his highest Lord.

It truly was time to go back.

---

Moving to a crouch beside Legolas, Aragorn leaned over the slowly waking elf. In Legolas's half wakefulness, he twisted, burying his face in the warm winter coat of Falmarin's side. The horse whickered hopefully in the elf's ear, resorting to nosing his elf roughly when Legolas gave no care. Legolas nestled further into his protective ball, obviously wishing all disturbers to leave him be. In Falmarin's eyes, he looked strangely like a porcupine.

"Come now, friend. It's time to return to this land. Leave your dreams for a time," Aragorn urged. But no matter how much prodding and badgering, Legolas simply refused to wake entirely.

That was until Gorban offered his help by adding his voice to Aragorn and Falmarin's. The harsh, ear piercing bray was a scream that could have 'roused the dead. As it was, Legolas was not quite dead, so it was quite enough. The elf's eyes sprang open like harshly pulled shutters, jolting upright. Aragorn stumbled back at the sudden awakening. He laughed more out of relief than the spooked expression on Legolas's pallid face. "Welcome back, Legolas! I am glad you finally decided to join us."

Falmarin's wet nuzzle landing solidly on Legolas's ear did nothing to ease his disorientation. The horse was overjoyed to see his elf back in commission, albeit a bit stiffly. Aragorn cautiously laid a hand on the elf's ridged shoulder. "Easy, Legolas. All is well now." A wry grin spread easily across Aragorn's weather beaten features. "Enjoy it while you may, you never know what will happen to us next. Or should I say, you."

Legolas blinked thoughtfully, gathering his wits about him. His thoughts could be called muddled at best. There was a strange warmth in his chest, accompanied by a slight ache in his heart, but the warmth far overpowered the unnamed desire. What exactly had happened? He remembered little of the happenings leading up to where he was now. But something itched in the back of his mind, telling him that something had indeed happened, something special that he ought not to forget.

"How do you feel?" Aragorn asked, a worried frown crossing his face. The elf looked distant. He had yet to speak to them and he bore the look of a dreamer.

The elf looked up sharply, his crinkles of thought disappearing from his brow. "Ai, I am sorry, Estel. It seems that I'm a bit, confused."

The man smiled, clasping his friend's shoulder. "Never fear, Legolas, it is to be expected after all you went through."

"But that seems to be the trouble, Aragorn. Everything is so, fuzzy." Legolas's brow creased again, finding the lack of immediate memory disturbing.

"It will come once you've rested a while more. Maybe with a bit of coaxing it will return even hastier. But other than memory, how do you feel?"

The elf shook his head slowly, "I feel relatively fine." He touched his side carefully as it twinged angrily at most any movement. "Though to be honest, my side does pain me somewhat. But it is nothing to fret over," he added before Aragorn could set into a fit of worry. "Besides that, I am just a bit weary."

"Well I don't see why you should be weary, silly Elf. It's not like you've lacked for sleep," mumbled Fasse, trundling over. Even he had been awakened when Gorban had taken it upon himself to wake every beast within a league. In fact, and unremarkably so, Fasse was quite put off at the rude awakening.

Nienna butted him in the shoulder, snorting hotly. Fasse look affronted. "No need to get testy, marm. I was just poking some fun and trying to lift that down right gloomy look off that lad's face."

Legolas did indeed smile, quite brightly in fact. It didn't hide the slight droop of his shoulders as his little energy drained fast from his blood. Aragorn's eyes were keen, and it took more than a smile to hide something from him. The man pressed a hand against Legolas shoulder, pushing him back against Falmarin's warm side, he was met by little resistance. "That's quite enough excitement for today. An elf needs his rest after feeling just how exhausting mortal afflictions are."

Legolas opened half-lidded eyes. "Are you implying something, friend Aragorn?"

"Of course not. Just stating fact."

"Since when were you factual in your statements?" Legolas said as he relaxed against his horse's side.

"Shush, don't even try to jest with me when only half of the half of the mind you have is functioning." It seemed that Legolas agreed. Already the elf lay with his hands folded across his chest and his eyes lost in elvish dreams.

Somewhere in the night a wolf sang the storm to cease.

TBC…

A/N: Wow! 80 reviews! I never imagined this much when I started out. Okay, so maybe it's not a big deal to some of you but to me…well it's a big deal. Thank you so much for the faithful feedback. I'm glad you all are enjoying this so far and are finding some pleasure in my OC characters.

Okay, shameless plug. If you haven't, then you just have to go check out "Unblinded" by Vikki, or here known as Victoria. I can't really summarize because I can't do it justice. You'll absolutely love it. I usually don't like that kind of story, (yes 'that kind' I'm just teasing you) but she's pulled it off marvelously.