Chapter 7: - Quality time and Arguments.
Firefly collapsed near the entrance, it was thundering outside with forked lightening hitting the valley floor infront of them. Some of the rain had got her, but it cooled her down. She gazed over her shoulder. It was still only a few hours since they discovered the mystery illness and Kurina had been thrashing with enormous strength from some sort of temporary fever. It had passed and she was drained and pale once more. Alakalqua was nursing a deep cut on her arm (Kurina had swung for her) when she slumped to the floor at the opposite end of the cave.
"How's the arm?" asked Firefly tiredly shaking some rain off her hands and wringing out her hair.
Alakalqua hissed at the pain as she cleaned the wound, "It will heal. How are you bruises?" she asked playfully. Firefly had taken the brunt of most of Kurina's violent arm and leg movements. Firefly shifted off a painful area on her back, which spread around her side.
"I think I will survive" Alakalqua laughed; the woman before her head wrestled a strong claw beast over the mountains and came off fine, but when faced with a sick orc, got injured.
Firefly walked (with a slight limp) over to the hobbit and the elf.
"She looks so peaceful when she's not grappling for my neck" Firefly laughed.
"You're lucky she only went for your neck," grinned Frodo. As was becoming the style, a silence followed, Alakalqua thought of an old elf game she played as a child.
"Elllllroooonnnd saaayyysss (she slurred as she thought) . . . Bark like a beast"
"Ooooooowwwwwwrrrrrrrr" chorused the two others, and Claw.
"Punch the wall"
"Owww!" Cried Frodo as he slammed his fist at the rocks.
"Hum, did I say, "Elrond says"?"
Great bloody knuckles and he was out.
"Can't we play a game from the Shire?" moaned Frodo, who didn't really like loosing. "Like what? We don't appear to have any wine here"
Frodo looked offended, "Not every hobbit game involves . . . wine. I . . . I can think of three which don't"
"Go ahead then," challenged Firefly and Alakalqua.
"Actually one needs a wine bottle but I know two others. One of them requires skill and strength" Firefly looked at them both and herself.
"Well then there is . . ."
"What?"
"It involves wine"
Firefly rolled her eyes- she knew it!
"Why don't we just talk"
"About what?" asked Frodo. He looked at her as she gave him an open look.
Alakalqua was the first to speak, "Who is this "Sam" girl?" she asked curiously.
Frodo stifled a laugh, "HE is a companion of mine. We are travelling to . . . we are travelling to Mordor" Firefly gave him a mock serious look.
"Of all the places to take a vacation" Alakalqua didn't quite seem to get the joke. She pushed some dirt off her tight white trousers and silvery grey boots. The cold seemed to rush in and threatened to puff out their fire. The rain was scoring along the entrance leaving long belt of water, which dripped down occasionally to dampen someone's legs.
"Who else are you travelling with?" asked Firefly with her usual smooth but strong voice. Frodo hesitated at first but thought he might as well tell them; they had saved from prison and therefore were owed some honesty from him.
"A creature, Gollum. He was a hobbit . . . once. We travelling with him and he betrayed us."
"Is this creature a slimy, grey, wiry? Hisses and bites?" Kurina said hazily with some spite as she looked back upon a not-so-fond memory.
Frodo looked astonished. He gazed with wide eyes at her.
"Yes" he whispered. "How did you guess?"
"It wasn't a guess, Hobbit. What I saw was enough even if he moved fast and I only focused on his neck and legs- since they wouldn't stop moving" she sounded as though she had to force the words out.
Frodo looked very worried and Kurina- bitter.
"Wh-wh-what does this mean?" stammered Alakalqua getting nervous at how the other two were reacting.
"I don't know," said Frodo honestly.
"It's gone what ever it is"
"BUT IT'S LOOSE" cried Alakalqua.
"It's not coming back" Firefly brandished her knives and swung them into their holsters at her sides. Firefly had managed to grab them off a guard who had taken them when she was on the balcony. The holsters housed the large weapons well, Alakalqua decided she would have to help if worse came to worse and the thing attacked them like it did Kurina . . . Maybe it caused the illness.
"If worse comes about" Alakalqua showed for the first time the daggers she had in her boots, "I'll help you"
"NO!" yelped Frodo jumping up.
The two girls stood back shocked.
"What! That thing was roaming . . . is roaming about . . . it went for Kurina and it betrayed YOU!"
"Firefly, you can not hurt him, I won't let you"
"Two good reasons, halfling"
"He . . . he . . . He was our guide"
"Well he's got an uncanny knack of guiding you into danger"
"You just can't" his eyes were nearly spilling tears. Firefly lowered her rage and spoke levelly.
"What if he comes here looking for blood?"
Frodo gulped, why did she have to have a point?
"Restrain him" Alakalqua's mouth hung open. "Restrain him and then we will think more on the matter. Do I have you word that neither of you will harm him?" He had to stress the "neither" part since Alakalqua was looking rather hostile now.
"You have mine," agreed Firefly. Alakalqua was glared hotly at Frodo.
Firefly jabbed her in the ribs with her elbow. "Mine too"
"Thank you"
Alakalqua stormed off to the entrance, Firefly rolled her eyes and followed. She grabbed the elf strongly by her arm; "I'm as uncomfortable about this as you----"
"Then why did you agree?"
"I think the thing owes us some answers"
Alakalqua made a disapproving noise.
"I just don't like the idea of something that is making ill---"
"Possibly" Firefly corrected.
"Possibly . . . I just don't want it here"
A few hours from morning Frodo was taken sick. He and Kurina lay crumpled together whilst Alakalqua changed with Firefly for guard duty. The sound of the rain hitting the rocks outside was echoing through out the cave. As they changed a small figure slipped in.
Firefly sat in the entrance; she got up and turned on her heel before diving and pinning something down.
Firefly collapsed near the entrance, it was thundering outside with forked lightening hitting the valley floor infront of them. Some of the rain had got her, but it cooled her down. She gazed over her shoulder. It was still only a few hours since they discovered the mystery illness and Kurina had been thrashing with enormous strength from some sort of temporary fever. It had passed and she was drained and pale once more. Alakalqua was nursing a deep cut on her arm (Kurina had swung for her) when she slumped to the floor at the opposite end of the cave.
"How's the arm?" asked Firefly tiredly shaking some rain off her hands and wringing out her hair.
Alakalqua hissed at the pain as she cleaned the wound, "It will heal. How are you bruises?" she asked playfully. Firefly had taken the brunt of most of Kurina's violent arm and leg movements. Firefly shifted off a painful area on her back, which spread around her side.
"I think I will survive" Alakalqua laughed; the woman before her head wrestled a strong claw beast over the mountains and came off fine, but when faced with a sick orc, got injured.
Firefly walked (with a slight limp) over to the hobbit and the elf.
"She looks so peaceful when she's not grappling for my neck" Firefly laughed.
"You're lucky she only went for your neck," grinned Frodo. As was becoming the style, a silence followed, Alakalqua thought of an old elf game she played as a child.
"Elllllroooonnnd saaayyysss (she slurred as she thought) . . . Bark like a beast"
"Ooooooowwwwwwrrrrrrrr" chorused the two others, and Claw.
"Punch the wall"
"Owww!" Cried Frodo as he slammed his fist at the rocks.
"Hum, did I say, "Elrond says"?"
Great bloody knuckles and he was out.
"Can't we play a game from the Shire?" moaned Frodo, who didn't really like loosing. "Like what? We don't appear to have any wine here"
Frodo looked offended, "Not every hobbit game involves . . . wine. I . . . I can think of three which don't"
"Go ahead then," challenged Firefly and Alakalqua.
"Actually one needs a wine bottle but I know two others. One of them requires skill and strength" Firefly looked at them both and herself.
"Well then there is . . ."
"What?"
"It involves wine"
Firefly rolled her eyes- she knew it!
"Why don't we just talk"
"About what?" asked Frodo. He looked at her as she gave him an open look.
Alakalqua was the first to speak, "Who is this "Sam" girl?" she asked curiously.
Frodo stifled a laugh, "HE is a companion of mine. We are travelling to . . . we are travelling to Mordor" Firefly gave him a mock serious look.
"Of all the places to take a vacation" Alakalqua didn't quite seem to get the joke. She pushed some dirt off her tight white trousers and silvery grey boots. The cold seemed to rush in and threatened to puff out their fire. The rain was scoring along the entrance leaving long belt of water, which dripped down occasionally to dampen someone's legs.
"Who else are you travelling with?" asked Firefly with her usual smooth but strong voice. Frodo hesitated at first but thought he might as well tell them; they had saved from prison and therefore were owed some honesty from him.
"A creature, Gollum. He was a hobbit . . . once. We travelling with him and he betrayed us."
"Is this creature a slimy, grey, wiry? Hisses and bites?" Kurina said hazily with some spite as she looked back upon a not-so-fond memory.
Frodo looked astonished. He gazed with wide eyes at her.
"Yes" he whispered. "How did you guess?"
"It wasn't a guess, Hobbit. What I saw was enough even if he moved fast and I only focused on his neck and legs- since they wouldn't stop moving" she sounded as though she had to force the words out.
Frodo looked very worried and Kurina- bitter.
"Wh-wh-what does this mean?" stammered Alakalqua getting nervous at how the other two were reacting.
"I don't know," said Frodo honestly.
"It's gone what ever it is"
"BUT IT'S LOOSE" cried Alakalqua.
"It's not coming back" Firefly brandished her knives and swung them into their holsters at her sides. Firefly had managed to grab them off a guard who had taken them when she was on the balcony. The holsters housed the large weapons well, Alakalqua decided she would have to help if worse came to worse and the thing attacked them like it did Kurina . . . Maybe it caused the illness.
"If worse comes about" Alakalqua showed for the first time the daggers she had in her boots, "I'll help you"
"NO!" yelped Frodo jumping up.
The two girls stood back shocked.
"What! That thing was roaming . . . is roaming about . . . it went for Kurina and it betrayed YOU!"
"Firefly, you can not hurt him, I won't let you"
"Two good reasons, halfling"
"He . . . he . . . He was our guide"
"Well he's got an uncanny knack of guiding you into danger"
"You just can't" his eyes were nearly spilling tears. Firefly lowered her rage and spoke levelly.
"What if he comes here looking for blood?"
Frodo gulped, why did she have to have a point?
"Restrain him" Alakalqua's mouth hung open. "Restrain him and then we will think more on the matter. Do I have you word that neither of you will harm him?" He had to stress the "neither" part since Alakalqua was looking rather hostile now.
"You have mine," agreed Firefly. Alakalqua was glared hotly at Frodo.
Firefly jabbed her in the ribs with her elbow. "Mine too"
"Thank you"
Alakalqua stormed off to the entrance, Firefly rolled her eyes and followed. She grabbed the elf strongly by her arm; "I'm as uncomfortable about this as you----"
"Then why did you agree?"
"I think the thing owes us some answers"
Alakalqua made a disapproving noise.
"I just don't like the idea of something that is making ill---"
"Possibly" Firefly corrected.
"Possibly . . . I just don't want it here"
A few hours from morning Frodo was taken sick. He and Kurina lay crumpled together whilst Alakalqua changed with Firefly for guard duty. The sound of the rain hitting the rocks outside was echoing through out the cave. As they changed a small figure slipped in.
Firefly sat in the entrance; she got up and turned on her heel before diving and pinning something down.