The Choices We Make
Note: I have changed the formatting of the translations. I thought it might be difficult to scroll down to the bottom just to see what they say or to have to wait until the end to find out. It was getting a bit confusing for me to have to scroll back up to see what I wrote earlier and translate it at the bottom. I hope this is less confusing for the both of us.
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Chapter 9 Of Wargs and Thorns
. "The fear of death is the most unjustified of all fears, for there's no risk of accident for someone who's dead."
. -Albert Einstein . ******
Legolas drew another arrow, but didn't have time to string it in his bow before the massive creature would land on him, so as he threw himself out of the way of the charging warg he stabbed at its neck with the arrow instead. The arrow snapped in half and the warg gave something close to a yelp as it instinctively drew away, right into the path of the second snarling warg behind it. The two collided in mid air and were sent tumbling down to the ground together. Legolas, who was only feet away from them when they collided, was knocked down once again and went tumbling down beside the two wargs. Legolas landed on his rapidly healing, but still injured left shoulder, and a flare of burning pain shot down his entire side. The pain was disorienting and Legolas's mind went spinning. He pushed it away quickly, for he knew he didn't have time to just lay there. He had to get away from the two wargs before they picked themselves up or he would be defenseless lying on the ground next to them. Legolas tucked his bow in close to his chest to protect it and rolled away from the creatures. The warg on top hadn't arisen yet when it saw the elf roll away, so it stretched out its arm and clawed at the retreating form. Legolas didn't recover at react fast enough and caught the blow on his back. He felt the warg's claws tear into his back and he winced as he felt the searing pain. The warg untangled itself from the first one and stepped on and over it as its companion was trying to rise, pushing it back down. Ignoring the pain Legolas stopped his rolled and stood to face the warg he knew was coming. He rose just as the warg reached him. With no time to draw an arrow or one of his knives he gripped his bow with both hands and swung with all his strength; hoping the whole time that he was not about to break his bow. His bow connected with the warg's snout and with elven speed he jumped back out of the way. The warg was not seriously hurt by the elf's defense, but the stinging blow caught it by surprise and it yelped. Its clumsy companion had stopped its charge before and now this annoying elf had surprised it. The warg was getting angry and it looked at the elf with malicious eyes, while letting off a sinister growl. That brief pause was all the time the elf needed. He strung an arrow on the bow, thanking the Valar that he had not cracked it, and fired at the warg. The warg sprung at the same time and the arrow sailed threw the beast's open mouth and pierced the throat beyond. The dying creature's momentum carried it through to its intended target and before Legolas could move out of the way he was again hit by the warg. The elf's luck of dogging out of the way had run out and he caught the full force of the blow as the warg's heavy shoulder smashed into him. He was sent soaring backwards where a tree abruptly stopped his flight and the elf landed crumpled on the ground. Legolas landed in a daze and in the back of his bleary mind a weary thought came to him - he was getting very tired of being knocked down by wargs.
The first warg finally rose in time to see its companion get shot in the mouth by the accursed elf with his stinging bow. The same annoying bow that now caused the side of his thick neck to burn with the broken arrow still embedded in it. With venomous eyes the warg gleefully advanced on the stunned elf.
****
When Aragorn saw the arrow hit the tree right next to Legolas's head he stripped the bow of his back. Archers could shoot from a distance, so as they say, it's was better to fight fire with fire. After seeing an arrow fired the last thing Aragorn expected to come hurtling out from nowhere at them was a massive ball of fur. The ranger was pushed backward and he tried to recover his footing as he stumbled back. He hadn't realized he was so close to the edge of the bank and as he was attempting to regain his balance, he suddenly found that there was no ground left with which to step. Aragorn felt a sense of weightlessness as he watched his world shift in slow motion and then the ranger went tumbling down the bank backwards. He heard a loud crack on the way down about the same time he plowed through the thick wall of thorns. His rushed descent came to an abrupt and wet halt as he splashed into the stream below.
A very scratched, bruised, and disgruntled ranger wearily pushed himself up out of the frigid water. The wild ride down was a bit disorienting to the mind, but the freezing water he landed in was a perfect cure for that problem. Aragorn, shivering, looked down to the bow in his hand, amazed he had managed to hold onto it at all, and realized with rue that that was what he had heard snap on the way down. He did feel a sense of gratification in the fact that it had been his bow that was broken and not his neck. A yelp from above drew Aragorn's attention back to the situation, and he unconsciously looked back up to where he had just fallen. It was a good thing indeed that the ranger looked up, for when he did he noticed the snarling warg bounding down at him. As the warg opened its mouth to bit the ranger he shoved the useless bow in the creatures face and dropped flat to the ground. The massive jaws bit down on the broken bow splintering it. The warg dug its claws into the ground to stop itself after it realized the human was no longer in front of it and turned around. Aragorn in the mean time rolled up to his feet and drew his sword. 'So much for using the bow,' he thought. The warg charged at Aragorn again with its teeth bared. The ranger turned his upper body sharply to the side as the massive head tried to come into contact with him and plunged his sword into the creature's windpipe. The warg gave a wet yelp before collapsing to the ground. Aragorn withdrew his sword from the dying creature and looked back up the hill. He listened intently, but did not hear anything. A flicker a fear went through him, but he pushed it back down. Legolas was a competent fighter and could take care of himself. 'He has survived over three thousand years without your help, Aragorn,' the ranger mused with himself. Still, the elf wasn't well and was having difficulties even running earlier.
Aragorn charged back up the hill and slowed to a stop at the painful wall of thorns. 'That hurt enough the first time,' he wearily thought, as he even now he still stung everywhere from the encounter. With a resigned, but determined, sign Aragorn brought his cloak up to cover his already scratched face and pushed through the thorns again. After fighting through the tangled vines the ranger emerged victorious on the other side only to be greeted by the site of another of the blasted beast running toward him.
****
Legolas blinked trying to get his swaying vision to focus, because he was pretty sure the large dark spot in his vision was an advancing warg. 'Get up,' he ordered himself. Legolas brought his legs up close to him and attempted to push his feet under him. He focused all of his energy on pushing himself up while leaning on the tree for support. Legolas managed to get his feet, but the effort caused dark spots to dance across his vision. He wasn't sure if he could stand without the tree for support let alone defend himself from the demonic beast.
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Aragorn knew he would never get out of the way in time, so as the warg charged him he stabbed at the creature's face and braced himself. The warg pulled its head out of the way, but was unable to turn and Aragorn's sword plunged deep into its shoulder almost to the midway. The tight grip the ranger had on his sword coupled with the shear weight of the beast forcefully threw him backwards. 'Not again,' Aragorn thought in the split second he realized he was going to be taking the quick way down again. The warg howled in agonizing pain while Aragorn exclaimed in surprise and the two went careening down the bank together.
The two, tangled together, plowed through the vines and tumbled to the bottom below. Aragorn had a brief sense of satisfaction when he heard the warg yelp in pain as they passed through the thorns. 'At least it hurt the beast as well.' The two untangled as the warg slammed into a tree and Aragorn continued to roll for a few more paces. When his world finally stopped cart wheeling Aragorn noticed that he had not managed to hang on to his weapon this time. He looked to the side and saw that the hard headed warg was already pushing itself back up and was looking at him with pure hate in its eyes. Weaponless Aragorn tried to rise and prepare to defend himself anyway he could. He seriously doubted he would be able to rise before the huge beast pinned him down, though.
****
Legolas gripped the tree for support as the world spun. As the elf tried to collect himself an intense cold swept through him. A wave of evil so strong hit him it made a shudder go down his spin and his eyes snapped shut as he winced in pain. His breath momentarily caught in his chest and he sunk to the ground. Legolas became fearful of what was to come, but to his surprise whatever it was did not last. He drew in an unsteady breath to calm is nerves and opened his eyes. He looked over to where the two wargs had been and could see nothing. For the dead warg that wasn't unexpected, but there was surprisingly no sign of the other warg.1 Legolas's eyes narrowed and he scanned the area. 'Where by Iluvatar did the other warg go?' Not that Legolas was complaining to still be alive. Something just didn't feel right about this. 'Or this entire forest for that matter,' the elf thought dryly. Then another disturbing question went through the elf's mind. Where in Middle Earth was Aragorn?
Legolas, still full of adrenaline, sprung up in concern for his human friend. He rushed over to the edge of the bank and looked down. A veritable wall of thorns and brush obscured the bottom of the small depression except for one spot and he could see no movement below. Legolas lightly sprung down the side and through the trampled hole in the vines. When he reached the bottom Legolas let out a sigh of relief to see his friend alive and, albeit sluggishly, rising from the ground. He also saw an injured warg picking itself up off the ground. He reflexively drew an arrow and shot the thing in the head before it could spring at the ranger. The arrow slammed into the warg's ear and the creature dropped to the ground where it stood.
****
Aragorn was fully expecting to be mulled at anytime and was never so happy to see an arrow appear from nowhere and slay the angry beast in front of him. 'Legolas,' he thought with great pleasure. Aragorn looked up the bank and saw his elven friend lightly springing down toward him.
Legolas paused to pick up the ranger's sword and trotted over to his companion. His sharp eyes noticed the splintered bow lying near the small stream. Legolas helped the human to his feet and handed him the sword.
"Hantale." //Thank You//
"Ta nae seasamin," Legolas replied warmly. //It was my pleasure//
Legolas looked his companion over. The ranger's face was scratched as was the rest of him, he had warg blood all over the front of him, and he was damp. Legolas still had not let go of his supportive hold and he could feel the human shivering from the cold. With the vines and the stream close by it was plain what had transpired down here. Taking in his friend's disheveled appearance, the elf in Legolas couldn't help but to tease the human, at least a little.
"Lle maa mesc, mellonamin. Mani marte?" Legolas asked sweetly. //You look wet, my friend. What happened?//
Aragorn looked over at the angelic look on his friend's face with great annoyance.
"Auta miqula orgu," he replied slowly and removed his arm from the elf's grasp. //Go kiss an orc//
This of course had the opposite of the desired effect that the ranger had wanted. Legolas did not get angry at the miserable human, instead his mirth only grew at Aragorn's annoyance. Legolas bit back his laughter at his friend's reaction and settled for a wide smile instead. So pleased was he to see a smile on his friend's face that Aragorn couldn't maintain his state of annoyance for long.
"Amin lava!" the ranger said as he threw up his hands. //I yield//
The two shared a laugh and Aragorn clapped his friend on the back. He connected with the spot where the warg had clawed Legolas and the elf stiffened in pain. Legolas had to clamp his jaw shut to stifle the startled cry of pain. Legolas's reaction was so brief that had Aragorn not known him so well he would have missed it. Aragorn carefully removed his hand while looking at his friend with questioning eyes.
"Do not worry, my friend. I did not react quickly enough and I was merely scratched. Which it appears to me that you are as well," Legolas said with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
"That I may be, but warg claws are fairly larger than thorns. I would still like to take a look at it, for they are quite dirty as well."
Legolas, not wanting to break his elevated mood, simple nodded his head in reply.
The two helped each other clean and tend their wounds. Aragorn, much to his friend's amusement, cleaned the vile blood off with the cold water of the stream. As Aragorn danced around to warm up, he figured it was better to be cold for awhile than to smell like something that had been dragged through a pile of mangy wet dogs. Since they were paused anyway the two partook of refreshment while by the stream.
*****
"If you were alive I would strike you down were you stand, err.........float!"
"Oh, would you?" Nadina replied with a contemptible smirk.
"I do not think you could accomplish that even when I had a body. Besides you forget yourself. Those flee bitten beast where only supposed to drive them back, not kill them."
"They became angered when the elf stabbed Rhoev and lost control. They did not expect the two to resist so......... aggressively," the black haired human practically growled out. He was standing next an unusually large warg.
"What did you expect? For them to simple run from you in fear? You, at least, are far more entertaining than Grimnosh," Nadina chuckled out.
"We will be more careful next time. The others are more prepared for the two travelers now," Jeridan said with his voice full of annoyance.
"You had better be, my dear Jeridan, or I will enjoy the whole pack next time," Nadina replied icily with her airy voice.
At this comment the large warg next to the human let out a low and threatening growl. The warg watched the woman with intelligent eyes as she spoke.
"Be glad you don't have a body anymore, witch, or I don't think I would be able to persuade Radoc here to not tear you to shreds," Jeridan replied with a wry smile.
He himself was rather unnerved by the spectral wench, but he drew confidence from the fact that his fearsome companion was not.
Nadina floated in closer to the large warg and scratched at his chin with her delicate ghostly arm. Most beings flinched away or cried out in pain from her chilling touch, but Radoc held his ground. He let out another menacing growl at the presumptuous female.
"You know Jeridan; I rather like your big dog here. If the pack gets carried away again I just might feast on you in there place."
The human blanched at that statement, which delighted Nadina.
"We will be ready," he said with as much confidence as he could muster.
Nadina gave another delighted chuckle and her ghostly form melted away. Jeridan visible sighed when Nadina disappeared.
"Remember, not until your signaled."
The words were spoken right next to his ear and he jumped in surprise. His ear became extremely cold and he shuddered, but the cold was gone after the words were spoken. He shuddered again at the thought of being handed over for the delight of that evil spectral vixen. He glanced over to see Radoc watching him with, was that, amusement in his intelligent eyes.
Jeridan looked up at the sky, which he annoyingly couldn't see threw the dense canopy. 'It has to be getting fairly close to dark,' he told himself. It was time to round the rest of the pack up so they wouldn't accidentally run into the elf or the man and decide to try and eat one of them out of vengeance. He looked over at the still amused warg with great annoyance and spoke to him.
"Maybe we should round up the others?"
*****
Now that he was just waiting, Legolas was getting extremely tired again. Legolas sat reclined against a tree trying to look at the sky. He could faintly see the hues of gold and pink signifying that the sunset was approaching. The adrenaline had worn off long ago and his light mood was gradually vanishing with the sun. Aragorn had gone back up the hill to see if he could find any odd tracks. 'Like wargs themselves aren't odd enough,' he thought cynically. Legolas was to look around this area for anything thing that stood out and he had finished some time ago. He reminded himself that Aragorn was human and his eyes weren't as sharp, so he was expected to take longer. Knowing him the ranger wouldn't be satisfied until he followed any tracks all the way back to their source. He was going to go up and help the ranger, but after the irritated look Aragorn had given him earlier he let the ranger have his pride. He smiled faintly as he remembered the look of annoyance in his friend's eyes after he had asked the ranger if he wanted him to go back up instead in light of the thorns. He was amazed at how an adult could still react like a child. Legolas smiled inwardly at how familiar those words were. Elladan, Elrohir, and he had been told that many times in the past. He could still hear his father's voice telling them that same thing, or for that matter Master Elrond, Glofindel, Illiana his tutor, or even his mother. The thought of his mother still made his heart heavy. It had been five hundred years since she had left with Celebrian, but the thought of it still hurt. He realized now that one of the reasons he had probably found the dark eyes that haunted him still somewhat comforting was, because his mother had rich brown eyes as well. Legolas received his fair hair and light eyes from his father Thrandiul. His mother on the other hand had had dark compassionate eyes and long sun kissed auburn hair. Her hair was light brown and shone with a touch of gold in the sun. Although it made Legolas's heart sad at the thought of his mother being gone, although his memories of her were still warm and comforting.
****
While scouring the area Aragorn found the tracks of a warg that had not attacked them. The creature appeared to be a lot larger than any of the wargs that had attacked them. The tracks were also fairly deep and he guessed that whoever had fired the arrow at Legolas was probably riding this one. 'Why did he not attack us?' It was clear the warg had left after its rider had shot at them. He was confused of why they did not stay and fight with the others. One thing that was clear was that there was at least one more, also very large, warg out there and Aragorn had a feeling that it probably wasn't the only one left.
Aragorn looked to the sky and could barely make out the colors beyond. He hated to have the sky blocked all the time. It was too much like being underground. Even without being able to see the sky the ranger was sure dusk was rapidly approaching. After the horribly long and strenuous night before Aragorn was apprehensive of what this night would bring. Today had not been a good day either; they should have been leaving the boundaries of the forest right now. Somehow he knew they would not get out tonight either. No, he was definitely not looking foreword to nightfall at all. What would his rapidly exhausting friend have to face tonight? Aragorn noticed for the first time how tired he was getting also. He had slept just last night, but with all that had happened it felt like he hadn't rested in days and poor Legolas. He had kept the watch while Aragorn was asleep and had not had anything but a brief unnatural rest in a couple of days. Elves did not require the amount of sleep humans did and he had seen many of them push themselves for quite a few days without it. Aragorn had even seen Legolas do the same thing when the situation required it. This time was different, though; the elf was under much more strain than normal.
Aragorn rose from his kneeling position next to the warg tracks and headed back towards the stream. With the sunset close at hand he suddenly did not want to leave his friend alone.
****
Aragorn carefully stepped through the gap, which he had painfully made, in the thorn vines. If he ever lived to see another cluster of thorns in his life it would be too soon. He spotted the lithe form resting against a tree. The ranger still found it a bit unsettling to come back to find the elf sitting down. He walked over and sat down next to the elf.
"You look mournful."
Legolas turned his head slightly and glanced at his friend. He gave the human a sad smile and looked away.
"Just remembering."
Aragorn nodded and said no more about it.
"Night is approaching. Do we continue on or should we try to stay right where we are?"
Legolas almost said 'turn back' out loud, but held his tongue. He cocked his head to the side and looked at the ranger with curious eyes.
"Stay here? Did you not say this morn that we were leaving?"
"I did," said the ranger nodding his head, "and we definitely will. I was just thinking of how disastrous fleeing in the dark turned out last night and was wondering if it would not be better to await here for something to find us instead of us running into it. Besides, you could use the rest."
"You look rather tired yourself, mellonamin, and I will admit rest does sound wonderful. But even if we were to try and stay here tonight I do not think I could find it."
Legolas looked down at the ground in front of him.
"The same uneasiness is growing in my mind again and the air becomes heavier as the sun disappears."
The sun had not sunk completely beyond the horizon, but the forest was already growing dark. What little direct sunlight left filtering through the trees cast dark shadows around the forest floor. The canopy darkened and started to take on the appearance of closing in around the trees, as if trying to remind one that there was no escape from this place. The twisted old trees became dark and ominous just like Aragorn remembered them to be last night. Aragorn started to notice his elven friend's slight luminescent glow becoming visible. He also saw the uncharacteristic weariness in his friend's fair features.
"Would you prefer to move on then?" he asked softly.
Legolas turned to look at the human for the first time and Aragorn saw that his friend's normally stoic eyes were filled with sadness.
"At least I would not feel quite so restless. So, yes, I would prefer to move."
"Very well, my friend, mayhap we will manage to find our way out tonight after all," Aragorn replied as reassuringly as he could.
"Perhaps," Legolas, not wanting to show his doubt, responded with a slight smile.
His smile was forced and he knew it. Despair was beginning to creep back into his thoughts and he suggested moving only for his friend. He knew Aragorn had only suggested that they rest there for his own sake and he figured the ranger's mind would be more at ease if he at least felt like he was trying to help.
Aragorn rose and went to retrieve his pack. Legolas rose from his position with a lot more difficulty. At least he hoped he could move on for his friend's sake. Legolas felt as if he was carrying the heavy dwarves on his shoulders now instead of pulling them. He reached down precariously for his bow, quiver, and pack trying not to fall over in the process. He was certain Aragorn would carry them for him if he knew how tired he was, but he tried to keep some of his pride. 'What is a little more, when it already feels as if I am loaded down?' he asked himself with slight amusement. Aragorn walked up beside of him and they set off once more.
They picked their way through the darkening forest heading generally south. Legolas was tiring quickly and their pace was extremely slow. Legolas was beginning to think that, despair on not, maybe he should have listened to Aragorn and stayed where they were. Had he not had some pride left he would probably be leaning on the human even now. Aragorn saw his friend struggling and kept close to the elf and let him set their pace. He was indeed glad to be doing something, but it was taking a huge toll on his friend, so he did not push.
As if on cue, a howl resonated in front of them just as the sun sunk completely below the horizon. The land of Angmar was plunged into a dark and moonless night. Darkness settled around them and the forest seemed to close in about them. Legolas's elven eyes could still penetrate the darkness to some degree and he wondered how much his companion could actually see.
Aragorn could only make out the trees directly around him and that was about it. It was a comforting fact that he could at least still see his elven friend, which was a more welcome sight by far than the foreboding trees anyway.
****
When the darkness increased so did the amount of weight Legolas felt. The pressure increased until it threatened to drive him down to the ground. He knew his legs couldn't support such weight for long and he grabbed hold of the nearest thing around him for support as he was forced down. A shudder went down his spin and the familiar, but dreadful, coldness started to spread throughout him. He knew this would happen when the darkness came and began to panic once again.
"Aiya, Elbereth tua amin!" Legolas cried. //Oh, Elbereth help me!//
******* TBC.........
Well that is the end of this chapter. Sorry it took so long to get posted! I really was going to do it Saturday, but I couldn't get to the internet. Stupid thing!!
1 - In The Lord of the Rings the bodies of the wargs are gone the morning after their fight, so I am just guessing that they always do that. Does anyone know for sure?
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Thanks to everyone for reviewing!!!!! I love it!! . . White Wolf - I do like it when they set off together, don't you? I think it is entertaining to read about them doing a lot of 'stuff' together and I tried to think of different things for them to encounter. I am glad you are enjoying the story. More to come soon. ;) Thanks for returning and reviewing. I appreciate when readers continue to review!!
Tithen Min - I'm glad you don't mind waiting; because unfortunately I had to do it gain. I thought the onset of night would be a good place to put the chapter break. I'm thrilled you keep reviewing, please come back again! Oh, and - hugs+cuddles right back at you!! ;)
Legilmalith - I'm happy you are enjoying the story. I love writing those cliffies! It keeps things more interesting if the stress level is slightly up, don't you think? And I'm also exited someone else likes the quotes at the beginning!!!!! Hurray :) Well, I left you hanging at the end again. I should warn you - I'm known to do that. I hope you liked this warg battle, and there just may be more to come. I would like to see Radoc fight, wouldn't you? And Aragorn really needs to stay away from hills, cliffs, anything he can fall down, etc. ;) Thanks for reviewing! And I'm pleased you like the elvish - Saesa omentien lle! //Pleasure meeting you! //
Karri - I'm sorry to keep you waiting for this chapter. It really wasn't supposed to be a cruel joke, honest. I hope you had an excellent break, though!! And I hope the chapter was worth the wait. Depending on when you get back there may be another one waiting for you!! Thanks again.
Sprite - If I'm doing my job right you should have many more enjoyable trips to the floor. I'm glad you're armed with a blankie now. By the way, cute change!! ;) Thanks for the continued reviewing.
Note: I have changed the formatting of the translations. I thought it might be difficult to scroll down to the bottom just to see what they say or to have to wait until the end to find out. It was getting a bit confusing for me to have to scroll back up to see what I wrote earlier and translate it at the bottom. I hope this is less confusing for the both of us.
*****
Chapter 9 Of Wargs and Thorns
. "The fear of death is the most unjustified of all fears, for there's no risk of accident for someone who's dead."
. -Albert Einstein . ******
Legolas drew another arrow, but didn't have time to string it in his bow before the massive creature would land on him, so as he threw himself out of the way of the charging warg he stabbed at its neck with the arrow instead. The arrow snapped in half and the warg gave something close to a yelp as it instinctively drew away, right into the path of the second snarling warg behind it. The two collided in mid air and were sent tumbling down to the ground together. Legolas, who was only feet away from them when they collided, was knocked down once again and went tumbling down beside the two wargs. Legolas landed on his rapidly healing, but still injured left shoulder, and a flare of burning pain shot down his entire side. The pain was disorienting and Legolas's mind went spinning. He pushed it away quickly, for he knew he didn't have time to just lay there. He had to get away from the two wargs before they picked themselves up or he would be defenseless lying on the ground next to them. Legolas tucked his bow in close to his chest to protect it and rolled away from the creatures. The warg on top hadn't arisen yet when it saw the elf roll away, so it stretched out its arm and clawed at the retreating form. Legolas didn't recover at react fast enough and caught the blow on his back. He felt the warg's claws tear into his back and he winced as he felt the searing pain. The warg untangled itself from the first one and stepped on and over it as its companion was trying to rise, pushing it back down. Ignoring the pain Legolas stopped his rolled and stood to face the warg he knew was coming. He rose just as the warg reached him. With no time to draw an arrow or one of his knives he gripped his bow with both hands and swung with all his strength; hoping the whole time that he was not about to break his bow. His bow connected with the warg's snout and with elven speed he jumped back out of the way. The warg was not seriously hurt by the elf's defense, but the stinging blow caught it by surprise and it yelped. Its clumsy companion had stopped its charge before and now this annoying elf had surprised it. The warg was getting angry and it looked at the elf with malicious eyes, while letting off a sinister growl. That brief pause was all the time the elf needed. He strung an arrow on the bow, thanking the Valar that he had not cracked it, and fired at the warg. The warg sprung at the same time and the arrow sailed threw the beast's open mouth and pierced the throat beyond. The dying creature's momentum carried it through to its intended target and before Legolas could move out of the way he was again hit by the warg. The elf's luck of dogging out of the way had run out and he caught the full force of the blow as the warg's heavy shoulder smashed into him. He was sent soaring backwards where a tree abruptly stopped his flight and the elf landed crumpled on the ground. Legolas landed in a daze and in the back of his bleary mind a weary thought came to him - he was getting very tired of being knocked down by wargs.
The first warg finally rose in time to see its companion get shot in the mouth by the accursed elf with his stinging bow. The same annoying bow that now caused the side of his thick neck to burn with the broken arrow still embedded in it. With venomous eyes the warg gleefully advanced on the stunned elf.
****
When Aragorn saw the arrow hit the tree right next to Legolas's head he stripped the bow of his back. Archers could shoot from a distance, so as they say, it's was better to fight fire with fire. After seeing an arrow fired the last thing Aragorn expected to come hurtling out from nowhere at them was a massive ball of fur. The ranger was pushed backward and he tried to recover his footing as he stumbled back. He hadn't realized he was so close to the edge of the bank and as he was attempting to regain his balance, he suddenly found that there was no ground left with which to step. Aragorn felt a sense of weightlessness as he watched his world shift in slow motion and then the ranger went tumbling down the bank backwards. He heard a loud crack on the way down about the same time he plowed through the thick wall of thorns. His rushed descent came to an abrupt and wet halt as he splashed into the stream below.
A very scratched, bruised, and disgruntled ranger wearily pushed himself up out of the frigid water. The wild ride down was a bit disorienting to the mind, but the freezing water he landed in was a perfect cure for that problem. Aragorn, shivering, looked down to the bow in his hand, amazed he had managed to hold onto it at all, and realized with rue that that was what he had heard snap on the way down. He did feel a sense of gratification in the fact that it had been his bow that was broken and not his neck. A yelp from above drew Aragorn's attention back to the situation, and he unconsciously looked back up to where he had just fallen. It was a good thing indeed that the ranger looked up, for when he did he noticed the snarling warg bounding down at him. As the warg opened its mouth to bit the ranger he shoved the useless bow in the creatures face and dropped flat to the ground. The massive jaws bit down on the broken bow splintering it. The warg dug its claws into the ground to stop itself after it realized the human was no longer in front of it and turned around. Aragorn in the mean time rolled up to his feet and drew his sword. 'So much for using the bow,' he thought. The warg charged at Aragorn again with its teeth bared. The ranger turned his upper body sharply to the side as the massive head tried to come into contact with him and plunged his sword into the creature's windpipe. The warg gave a wet yelp before collapsing to the ground. Aragorn withdrew his sword from the dying creature and looked back up the hill. He listened intently, but did not hear anything. A flicker a fear went through him, but he pushed it back down. Legolas was a competent fighter and could take care of himself. 'He has survived over three thousand years without your help, Aragorn,' the ranger mused with himself. Still, the elf wasn't well and was having difficulties even running earlier.
Aragorn charged back up the hill and slowed to a stop at the painful wall of thorns. 'That hurt enough the first time,' he wearily thought, as he even now he still stung everywhere from the encounter. With a resigned, but determined, sign Aragorn brought his cloak up to cover his already scratched face and pushed through the thorns again. After fighting through the tangled vines the ranger emerged victorious on the other side only to be greeted by the site of another of the blasted beast running toward him.
****
Legolas blinked trying to get his swaying vision to focus, because he was pretty sure the large dark spot in his vision was an advancing warg. 'Get up,' he ordered himself. Legolas brought his legs up close to him and attempted to push his feet under him. He focused all of his energy on pushing himself up while leaning on the tree for support. Legolas managed to get his feet, but the effort caused dark spots to dance across his vision. He wasn't sure if he could stand without the tree for support let alone defend himself from the demonic beast.
****
Aragorn knew he would never get out of the way in time, so as the warg charged him he stabbed at the creature's face and braced himself. The warg pulled its head out of the way, but was unable to turn and Aragorn's sword plunged deep into its shoulder almost to the midway. The tight grip the ranger had on his sword coupled with the shear weight of the beast forcefully threw him backwards. 'Not again,' Aragorn thought in the split second he realized he was going to be taking the quick way down again. The warg howled in agonizing pain while Aragorn exclaimed in surprise and the two went careening down the bank together.
The two, tangled together, plowed through the vines and tumbled to the bottom below. Aragorn had a brief sense of satisfaction when he heard the warg yelp in pain as they passed through the thorns. 'At least it hurt the beast as well.' The two untangled as the warg slammed into a tree and Aragorn continued to roll for a few more paces. When his world finally stopped cart wheeling Aragorn noticed that he had not managed to hang on to his weapon this time. He looked to the side and saw that the hard headed warg was already pushing itself back up and was looking at him with pure hate in its eyes. Weaponless Aragorn tried to rise and prepare to defend himself anyway he could. He seriously doubted he would be able to rise before the huge beast pinned him down, though.
****
Legolas gripped the tree for support as the world spun. As the elf tried to collect himself an intense cold swept through him. A wave of evil so strong hit him it made a shudder go down his spin and his eyes snapped shut as he winced in pain. His breath momentarily caught in his chest and he sunk to the ground. Legolas became fearful of what was to come, but to his surprise whatever it was did not last. He drew in an unsteady breath to calm is nerves and opened his eyes. He looked over to where the two wargs had been and could see nothing. For the dead warg that wasn't unexpected, but there was surprisingly no sign of the other warg.1 Legolas's eyes narrowed and he scanned the area. 'Where by Iluvatar did the other warg go?' Not that Legolas was complaining to still be alive. Something just didn't feel right about this. 'Or this entire forest for that matter,' the elf thought dryly. Then another disturbing question went through the elf's mind. Where in Middle Earth was Aragorn?
Legolas, still full of adrenaline, sprung up in concern for his human friend. He rushed over to the edge of the bank and looked down. A veritable wall of thorns and brush obscured the bottom of the small depression except for one spot and he could see no movement below. Legolas lightly sprung down the side and through the trampled hole in the vines. When he reached the bottom Legolas let out a sigh of relief to see his friend alive and, albeit sluggishly, rising from the ground. He also saw an injured warg picking itself up off the ground. He reflexively drew an arrow and shot the thing in the head before it could spring at the ranger. The arrow slammed into the warg's ear and the creature dropped to the ground where it stood.
****
Aragorn was fully expecting to be mulled at anytime and was never so happy to see an arrow appear from nowhere and slay the angry beast in front of him. 'Legolas,' he thought with great pleasure. Aragorn looked up the bank and saw his elven friend lightly springing down toward him.
Legolas paused to pick up the ranger's sword and trotted over to his companion. His sharp eyes noticed the splintered bow lying near the small stream. Legolas helped the human to his feet and handed him the sword.
"Hantale." //Thank You//
"Ta nae seasamin," Legolas replied warmly. //It was my pleasure//
Legolas looked his companion over. The ranger's face was scratched as was the rest of him, he had warg blood all over the front of him, and he was damp. Legolas still had not let go of his supportive hold and he could feel the human shivering from the cold. With the vines and the stream close by it was plain what had transpired down here. Taking in his friend's disheveled appearance, the elf in Legolas couldn't help but to tease the human, at least a little.
"Lle maa mesc, mellonamin. Mani marte?" Legolas asked sweetly. //You look wet, my friend. What happened?//
Aragorn looked over at the angelic look on his friend's face with great annoyance.
"Auta miqula orgu," he replied slowly and removed his arm from the elf's grasp. //Go kiss an orc//
This of course had the opposite of the desired effect that the ranger had wanted. Legolas did not get angry at the miserable human, instead his mirth only grew at Aragorn's annoyance. Legolas bit back his laughter at his friend's reaction and settled for a wide smile instead. So pleased was he to see a smile on his friend's face that Aragorn couldn't maintain his state of annoyance for long.
"Amin lava!" the ranger said as he threw up his hands. //I yield//
The two shared a laugh and Aragorn clapped his friend on the back. He connected with the spot where the warg had clawed Legolas and the elf stiffened in pain. Legolas had to clamp his jaw shut to stifle the startled cry of pain. Legolas's reaction was so brief that had Aragorn not known him so well he would have missed it. Aragorn carefully removed his hand while looking at his friend with questioning eyes.
"Do not worry, my friend. I did not react quickly enough and I was merely scratched. Which it appears to me that you are as well," Legolas said with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
"That I may be, but warg claws are fairly larger than thorns. I would still like to take a look at it, for they are quite dirty as well."
Legolas, not wanting to break his elevated mood, simple nodded his head in reply.
The two helped each other clean and tend their wounds. Aragorn, much to his friend's amusement, cleaned the vile blood off with the cold water of the stream. As Aragorn danced around to warm up, he figured it was better to be cold for awhile than to smell like something that had been dragged through a pile of mangy wet dogs. Since they were paused anyway the two partook of refreshment while by the stream.
*****
"If you were alive I would strike you down were you stand, err.........float!"
"Oh, would you?" Nadina replied with a contemptible smirk.
"I do not think you could accomplish that even when I had a body. Besides you forget yourself. Those flee bitten beast where only supposed to drive them back, not kill them."
"They became angered when the elf stabbed Rhoev and lost control. They did not expect the two to resist so......... aggressively," the black haired human practically growled out. He was standing next an unusually large warg.
"What did you expect? For them to simple run from you in fear? You, at least, are far more entertaining than Grimnosh," Nadina chuckled out.
"We will be more careful next time. The others are more prepared for the two travelers now," Jeridan said with his voice full of annoyance.
"You had better be, my dear Jeridan, or I will enjoy the whole pack next time," Nadina replied icily with her airy voice.
At this comment the large warg next to the human let out a low and threatening growl. The warg watched the woman with intelligent eyes as she spoke.
"Be glad you don't have a body anymore, witch, or I don't think I would be able to persuade Radoc here to not tear you to shreds," Jeridan replied with a wry smile.
He himself was rather unnerved by the spectral wench, but he drew confidence from the fact that his fearsome companion was not.
Nadina floated in closer to the large warg and scratched at his chin with her delicate ghostly arm. Most beings flinched away or cried out in pain from her chilling touch, but Radoc held his ground. He let out another menacing growl at the presumptuous female.
"You know Jeridan; I rather like your big dog here. If the pack gets carried away again I just might feast on you in there place."
The human blanched at that statement, which delighted Nadina.
"We will be ready," he said with as much confidence as he could muster.
Nadina gave another delighted chuckle and her ghostly form melted away. Jeridan visible sighed when Nadina disappeared.
"Remember, not until your signaled."
The words were spoken right next to his ear and he jumped in surprise. His ear became extremely cold and he shuddered, but the cold was gone after the words were spoken. He shuddered again at the thought of being handed over for the delight of that evil spectral vixen. He glanced over to see Radoc watching him with, was that, amusement in his intelligent eyes.
Jeridan looked up at the sky, which he annoyingly couldn't see threw the dense canopy. 'It has to be getting fairly close to dark,' he told himself. It was time to round the rest of the pack up so they wouldn't accidentally run into the elf or the man and decide to try and eat one of them out of vengeance. He looked over at the still amused warg with great annoyance and spoke to him.
"Maybe we should round up the others?"
*****
Now that he was just waiting, Legolas was getting extremely tired again. Legolas sat reclined against a tree trying to look at the sky. He could faintly see the hues of gold and pink signifying that the sunset was approaching. The adrenaline had worn off long ago and his light mood was gradually vanishing with the sun. Aragorn had gone back up the hill to see if he could find any odd tracks. 'Like wargs themselves aren't odd enough,' he thought cynically. Legolas was to look around this area for anything thing that stood out and he had finished some time ago. He reminded himself that Aragorn was human and his eyes weren't as sharp, so he was expected to take longer. Knowing him the ranger wouldn't be satisfied until he followed any tracks all the way back to their source. He was going to go up and help the ranger, but after the irritated look Aragorn had given him earlier he let the ranger have his pride. He smiled faintly as he remembered the look of annoyance in his friend's eyes after he had asked the ranger if he wanted him to go back up instead in light of the thorns. He was amazed at how an adult could still react like a child. Legolas smiled inwardly at how familiar those words were. Elladan, Elrohir, and he had been told that many times in the past. He could still hear his father's voice telling them that same thing, or for that matter Master Elrond, Glofindel, Illiana his tutor, or even his mother. The thought of his mother still made his heart heavy. It had been five hundred years since she had left with Celebrian, but the thought of it still hurt. He realized now that one of the reasons he had probably found the dark eyes that haunted him still somewhat comforting was, because his mother had rich brown eyes as well. Legolas received his fair hair and light eyes from his father Thrandiul. His mother on the other hand had had dark compassionate eyes and long sun kissed auburn hair. Her hair was light brown and shone with a touch of gold in the sun. Although it made Legolas's heart sad at the thought of his mother being gone, although his memories of her were still warm and comforting.
****
While scouring the area Aragorn found the tracks of a warg that had not attacked them. The creature appeared to be a lot larger than any of the wargs that had attacked them. The tracks were also fairly deep and he guessed that whoever had fired the arrow at Legolas was probably riding this one. 'Why did he not attack us?' It was clear the warg had left after its rider had shot at them. He was confused of why they did not stay and fight with the others. One thing that was clear was that there was at least one more, also very large, warg out there and Aragorn had a feeling that it probably wasn't the only one left.
Aragorn looked to the sky and could barely make out the colors beyond. He hated to have the sky blocked all the time. It was too much like being underground. Even without being able to see the sky the ranger was sure dusk was rapidly approaching. After the horribly long and strenuous night before Aragorn was apprehensive of what this night would bring. Today had not been a good day either; they should have been leaving the boundaries of the forest right now. Somehow he knew they would not get out tonight either. No, he was definitely not looking foreword to nightfall at all. What would his rapidly exhausting friend have to face tonight? Aragorn noticed for the first time how tired he was getting also. He had slept just last night, but with all that had happened it felt like he hadn't rested in days and poor Legolas. He had kept the watch while Aragorn was asleep and had not had anything but a brief unnatural rest in a couple of days. Elves did not require the amount of sleep humans did and he had seen many of them push themselves for quite a few days without it. Aragorn had even seen Legolas do the same thing when the situation required it. This time was different, though; the elf was under much more strain than normal.
Aragorn rose from his kneeling position next to the warg tracks and headed back towards the stream. With the sunset close at hand he suddenly did not want to leave his friend alone.
****
Aragorn carefully stepped through the gap, which he had painfully made, in the thorn vines. If he ever lived to see another cluster of thorns in his life it would be too soon. He spotted the lithe form resting against a tree. The ranger still found it a bit unsettling to come back to find the elf sitting down. He walked over and sat down next to the elf.
"You look mournful."
Legolas turned his head slightly and glanced at his friend. He gave the human a sad smile and looked away.
"Just remembering."
Aragorn nodded and said no more about it.
"Night is approaching. Do we continue on or should we try to stay right where we are?"
Legolas almost said 'turn back' out loud, but held his tongue. He cocked his head to the side and looked at the ranger with curious eyes.
"Stay here? Did you not say this morn that we were leaving?"
"I did," said the ranger nodding his head, "and we definitely will. I was just thinking of how disastrous fleeing in the dark turned out last night and was wondering if it would not be better to await here for something to find us instead of us running into it. Besides, you could use the rest."
"You look rather tired yourself, mellonamin, and I will admit rest does sound wonderful. But even if we were to try and stay here tonight I do not think I could find it."
Legolas looked down at the ground in front of him.
"The same uneasiness is growing in my mind again and the air becomes heavier as the sun disappears."
The sun had not sunk completely beyond the horizon, but the forest was already growing dark. What little direct sunlight left filtering through the trees cast dark shadows around the forest floor. The canopy darkened and started to take on the appearance of closing in around the trees, as if trying to remind one that there was no escape from this place. The twisted old trees became dark and ominous just like Aragorn remembered them to be last night. Aragorn started to notice his elven friend's slight luminescent glow becoming visible. He also saw the uncharacteristic weariness in his friend's fair features.
"Would you prefer to move on then?" he asked softly.
Legolas turned to look at the human for the first time and Aragorn saw that his friend's normally stoic eyes were filled with sadness.
"At least I would not feel quite so restless. So, yes, I would prefer to move."
"Very well, my friend, mayhap we will manage to find our way out tonight after all," Aragorn replied as reassuringly as he could.
"Perhaps," Legolas, not wanting to show his doubt, responded with a slight smile.
His smile was forced and he knew it. Despair was beginning to creep back into his thoughts and he suggested moving only for his friend. He knew Aragorn had only suggested that they rest there for his own sake and he figured the ranger's mind would be more at ease if he at least felt like he was trying to help.
Aragorn rose and went to retrieve his pack. Legolas rose from his position with a lot more difficulty. At least he hoped he could move on for his friend's sake. Legolas felt as if he was carrying the heavy dwarves on his shoulders now instead of pulling them. He reached down precariously for his bow, quiver, and pack trying not to fall over in the process. He was certain Aragorn would carry them for him if he knew how tired he was, but he tried to keep some of his pride. 'What is a little more, when it already feels as if I am loaded down?' he asked himself with slight amusement. Aragorn walked up beside of him and they set off once more.
They picked their way through the darkening forest heading generally south. Legolas was tiring quickly and their pace was extremely slow. Legolas was beginning to think that, despair on not, maybe he should have listened to Aragorn and stayed where they were. Had he not had some pride left he would probably be leaning on the human even now. Aragorn saw his friend struggling and kept close to the elf and let him set their pace. He was indeed glad to be doing something, but it was taking a huge toll on his friend, so he did not push.
As if on cue, a howl resonated in front of them just as the sun sunk completely below the horizon. The land of Angmar was plunged into a dark and moonless night. Darkness settled around them and the forest seemed to close in about them. Legolas's elven eyes could still penetrate the darkness to some degree and he wondered how much his companion could actually see.
Aragorn could only make out the trees directly around him and that was about it. It was a comforting fact that he could at least still see his elven friend, which was a more welcome sight by far than the foreboding trees anyway.
****
When the darkness increased so did the amount of weight Legolas felt. The pressure increased until it threatened to drive him down to the ground. He knew his legs couldn't support such weight for long and he grabbed hold of the nearest thing around him for support as he was forced down. A shudder went down his spin and the familiar, but dreadful, coldness started to spread throughout him. He knew this would happen when the darkness came and began to panic once again.
"Aiya, Elbereth tua amin!" Legolas cried. //Oh, Elbereth help me!//
******* TBC.........
Well that is the end of this chapter. Sorry it took so long to get posted! I really was going to do it Saturday, but I couldn't get to the internet. Stupid thing!!
1 - In The Lord of the Rings the bodies of the wargs are gone the morning after their fight, so I am just guessing that they always do that. Does anyone know for sure?
****
Thanks to everyone for reviewing!!!!! I love it!! . . White Wolf - I do like it when they set off together, don't you? I think it is entertaining to read about them doing a lot of 'stuff' together and I tried to think of different things for them to encounter. I am glad you are enjoying the story. More to come soon. ;) Thanks for returning and reviewing. I appreciate when readers continue to review!!
Tithen Min - I'm glad you don't mind waiting; because unfortunately I had to do it gain. I thought the onset of night would be a good place to put the chapter break. I'm thrilled you keep reviewing, please come back again! Oh, and - hugs+cuddles right back at you!! ;)
Legilmalith - I'm happy you are enjoying the story. I love writing those cliffies! It keeps things more interesting if the stress level is slightly up, don't you think? And I'm also exited someone else likes the quotes at the beginning!!!!! Hurray :) Well, I left you hanging at the end again. I should warn you - I'm known to do that. I hope you liked this warg battle, and there just may be more to come. I would like to see Radoc fight, wouldn't you? And Aragorn really needs to stay away from hills, cliffs, anything he can fall down, etc. ;) Thanks for reviewing! And I'm pleased you like the elvish - Saesa omentien lle! //Pleasure meeting you! //
Karri - I'm sorry to keep you waiting for this chapter. It really wasn't supposed to be a cruel joke, honest. I hope you had an excellent break, though!! And I hope the chapter was worth the wait. Depending on when you get back there may be another one waiting for you!! Thanks again.
Sprite - If I'm doing my job right you should have many more enjoyable trips to the floor. I'm glad you're armed with a blankie now. By the way, cute change!! ;) Thanks for the continued reviewing.