Chapter Fourteen
The woods of Lothlórien were a contrast to the Mines of Moria as the remaining eight members of the Fellowship walked through it.
After mourning the loss of Chizuru Kagura, K' was the one who decided that the group needed to move on, and to be rid of the area of Moria before nightfall settled in and the Orcs emerged from the darkness from within the mines. Their next area of travel, K' had told the others, was the woodland area of Lothlórien, where perhaps the group of travellers could rest for the night.
The atmosphere of the group had been a lot more solemn as they moved. Even the almost constant bickering between Iori and Kyo had ceased to silence for a long time. K' inwardly made a mental note to himself to keep an eye on each of the other members of the Fellowship, making sure that the grief would not get too much for them. However, as time progressed, K' realised that his comrades were all starting to relax up again.
After a while of walking, it seemed that dusk was beginning to settle, leaving them all with the feeling that they should soon begin considering finding a place to rest for the night.
K' looked over his shoulder at the rest of the group. Kyo seemed a lot more at ease in the woods now than in the mines as he walked behind the ranger, even cocking a friendly smile to say he was alright when he noticed K' was looking at him. Behind him were the four Hobbits, sticking close together as they glanced cautiously around themselves. Shingo, Kensou and Chris were evidently tired, whilst Bao was staring about like he had never seen woodlands before. Behind them walked Iori, trying to stop the tired Hobbits from straying from the group and occasionally glancing at Andy Bogard, who was walking alongside him, occasionally also keeping an eye on the four Hobbits.
"You had better stay close, you four," Andy warned Kensou, Shingo, Chris and Bao. "Roumer has it that a Sorceress lives in these woodlands we tread in now. An Elf-Witch of some sort. One of a power so great that all whom look upon her will fall under her spell, and are never heard of again."
"Elf-Witch, huh?" Iori rasied an eyebrow, musing out loud. "Wonder if she could turn Kyo into a rat."
Andy looked in Kyo's direction, expecting another fight to break out. Much to his surprise, Kyo didn't retaliate at all. In fact, he appeared not to have even heard the comment, continuing his pace across the woods with no glance over his shoulder at the Dwarven representative. It was only about ten minutes later, when Iori had just about forgotten his comment, that Andy noticed Kyo stop ahead of them to pick something up in his hand, examining it as he started to walk off again. Andy suspected something was about to happen and he wasn't far off as another few minutes later, Kyo had appeared to have lost interest in whatever he had picked up - which turned out to be a small rock - and tossed it casually nonchalantly over his shoulder, though with enough hidden precision and force for it to sail over the four Hobbits behind him and hit Iori in the head with a dull thunk.
Iori's yelp of pain got everyone's attention and K' turned around with a weary sigh, knowing that the peace between such great rivals - one being a Yagami and of the Dwarven race, the other a Kusanagi and an Elf - was just too good to last.
Iori rubbed his head, glaring daggers at the Elven Prince, who was trying to look innocent and trying to refrain from laughing at the same time. "Why you no-good, pointy-eared.!" he made a lunge for Kyo, who at the same time lept into the safety of the trees, moving along the branches with the gracefullness of the Wood-Elf that he was. Even K' couldn't help but smile at the youngest Prince of Mirkwood's tactic.
Whilst all this was going on, something seemed to be distracting Shingo, and he glanced around with a feeling that he was being watched. However, there seemed to be no others in the woods apart from the eight of them. Everything else was quiet.
Shingo.
He cast another quick look around. He could have sworn someone or something other than his travelling companions had spoken.
Your coming to us is as the footsteps of doom.
You bring great evil here, Ring-bearer.
"Shingo.?"
The sound of a familiar voice behind him, along with a gentle shake on his shoulder, snapped Shingo out of his trance-like state. He turned to see a concerned Kensou standing there.
"Shingo, are you okay?" Kensou asked again, his dark brown eyes analysing his comrade.
"Yes. Yes, I'm fine, Kensou." Shingo nodded confidently as he started to walk off again, leaving Kensou with a slightly confused look upon his face before he too followed after Shingo.
"Baka me!" Iori cursed, looking up into the treetops, his eyes appearing even redder in his growing anger. "Get your ass back down here and fight me like a man. er, I mean an Elf!"
The sound of Kyo's laughter maddened Iori even more until he heard a startled cry from the branches above, shortly followed by the Elf Princeling falling to the ground and landing on his backside with a yelp and a thud.
This time, it was Iori's turn to burst into laughter, though he was soon to be cut off when he saw a bow and arrow abruptly aimed straight at his face.
Glancing around at his companions, he saw that they too had fallen prey to this silent and sudden ambush.
Iori looked back at his adversaries, taking in every detail of them. His eyes narrowed as he took in their clothes and weaponry, their long, well-groomed hair, and their pointy-tipped ears. Great. Amushed by a group of Elves. This really wasn't his day.
Another Elf dropped from the tree which Kyo had earlier fallen from, landing gracefully on the ground. He stood up and at the group with a faint smile, flicking his long blonde hair over his shoulder, causing Iori to frown. His frown deepend even more when the newcomer spoke.
"Did you know that your Dwaf-blooded man trudges around so clumsily and so loud through these woods that even my poorest of marksmen could have shot him blindfolded?" the Elf laughed, and Iori scowled at him, though some part of his mind was telling him he'd faced this stranger before.
"And did you know that I could cleave you into two with my axe before you spoke another word?" Iori growled.
The blonde Elf laughed again. "My dear friend, Iori Yagami, you have not changed since we last crossed paths. Although it was such a while ago."
"If I were you, I'd take those words back, Benimaru Nikaido." Iori's red eyes gleamed darkly.
"Ah, so you recognise me then, Yagami?" the blonde Elf - Benimaru - smiled widely at this.
"But of course," Iori said narrowing his eyes. "How could I forget a stuck-up rat such as yourself?"
It was at this point that K' decided to put a stop to things before they got out of hand as he stepped between the two, his hands up to notion for peace between the two, his back to Iori so that he could address Benimaru. He was still aware that the other Elves still saw the group most probably as a threat. He would have to tell the blonde Elf that they meant no harm if they intruded on the Elves territory.
"Benimaru o Lórien," K' addressed Benimaru in the Elvish tongue in which he had learnt whilst he was staying in Rivendale with Kula and Lady Candy. "Boe ammen veraid lîn."
"What's he saying?" Andy whispered to Kyo.
"He's telling Benimaru that we need their protection," Kyo replied, looking at Andy. "And in woodlands like these, it's probably for the best."
"Then perhaps we should go back and try another route?" Iori suggested, still very much cautious about this new group of Elves that they had come across. Or rather whom had come across the Fellowship.
"My very un-Dwarf-looking Dwarvish friend," Benimaru said with a slight chuckle as he glanced at Iori. "You have all entered the realm of the Lady of the Lothlórien Woods. There is no turning back."
That reply didn't sit nicely with Iori, but a silent glare from K' refrained him from making further comments as Benimaru turned his gaze to Shingo. "She's been expecting you, Ring-bearer."
Shingo's eyes widened slightly at Benimaru's words. She? Who was she? Was she the voice which he had heard earlier on whilst they were travelling through the woods just moments before?
He continued to wonder on this even as he was vaguely aware of the other Elves lowering their weapons and Benimaru beginning to lead the group of all of them off deeper into the woodlands. Snapping himself out of his thoughts, Shingo started to move off with the group, running a little to catch up with Kyo.
"Kusanagi-san?" he looked up at the dark-haired Elf who looked back at him.
"Hm?"
"Have you ever met the Lady of the Lothlórien Woods?"
Kyo shook his head in reply.
There was a pause before Shingo tapped Kyo's arm. "Kusanagi-san?"
"Yes, Shingo?"
"You don't seem very surprised to know that Nikaido-san was an Elf living here in these woods."
"You didn't ask," Kyo replied with a faint smile. "Though, I'll let you in on it that he's older than any of us in the Fellowship here."
"Really?" Shingo looked at Benimaru in awe. He still looked like he was in his early 20s. Just as Kyo still looked like the 19 year old boy Shingo had trained under before he went missing.
"When did you become an Elf, Kusanagi-san?" Shingo tilted his head to one side, looking at Kyo. He still wasn't used to seeing his friend and former martial arts teacher as an Elf.
Kyo looked away at Shingo's question. "That was years back, Shingo. Let the past be."
"H-Hai, Kusanagi-san."
Hey, sorry bout the delay again. Too much work, too little time, ne?
Thanks again for the reviews! Keep em coming! The more I get, the more inspired to write I'll be! (^_^)
The woods of Lothlórien were a contrast to the Mines of Moria as the remaining eight members of the Fellowship walked through it.
After mourning the loss of Chizuru Kagura, K' was the one who decided that the group needed to move on, and to be rid of the area of Moria before nightfall settled in and the Orcs emerged from the darkness from within the mines. Their next area of travel, K' had told the others, was the woodland area of Lothlórien, where perhaps the group of travellers could rest for the night.
The atmosphere of the group had been a lot more solemn as they moved. Even the almost constant bickering between Iori and Kyo had ceased to silence for a long time. K' inwardly made a mental note to himself to keep an eye on each of the other members of the Fellowship, making sure that the grief would not get too much for them. However, as time progressed, K' realised that his comrades were all starting to relax up again.
After a while of walking, it seemed that dusk was beginning to settle, leaving them all with the feeling that they should soon begin considering finding a place to rest for the night.
K' looked over his shoulder at the rest of the group. Kyo seemed a lot more at ease in the woods now than in the mines as he walked behind the ranger, even cocking a friendly smile to say he was alright when he noticed K' was looking at him. Behind him were the four Hobbits, sticking close together as they glanced cautiously around themselves. Shingo, Kensou and Chris were evidently tired, whilst Bao was staring about like he had never seen woodlands before. Behind them walked Iori, trying to stop the tired Hobbits from straying from the group and occasionally glancing at Andy Bogard, who was walking alongside him, occasionally also keeping an eye on the four Hobbits.
"You had better stay close, you four," Andy warned Kensou, Shingo, Chris and Bao. "Roumer has it that a Sorceress lives in these woodlands we tread in now. An Elf-Witch of some sort. One of a power so great that all whom look upon her will fall under her spell, and are never heard of again."
"Elf-Witch, huh?" Iori rasied an eyebrow, musing out loud. "Wonder if she could turn Kyo into a rat."
Andy looked in Kyo's direction, expecting another fight to break out. Much to his surprise, Kyo didn't retaliate at all. In fact, he appeared not to have even heard the comment, continuing his pace across the woods with no glance over his shoulder at the Dwarven representative. It was only about ten minutes later, when Iori had just about forgotten his comment, that Andy noticed Kyo stop ahead of them to pick something up in his hand, examining it as he started to walk off again. Andy suspected something was about to happen and he wasn't far off as another few minutes later, Kyo had appeared to have lost interest in whatever he had picked up - which turned out to be a small rock - and tossed it casually nonchalantly over his shoulder, though with enough hidden precision and force for it to sail over the four Hobbits behind him and hit Iori in the head with a dull thunk.
Iori's yelp of pain got everyone's attention and K' turned around with a weary sigh, knowing that the peace between such great rivals - one being a Yagami and of the Dwarven race, the other a Kusanagi and an Elf - was just too good to last.
Iori rubbed his head, glaring daggers at the Elven Prince, who was trying to look innocent and trying to refrain from laughing at the same time. "Why you no-good, pointy-eared.!" he made a lunge for Kyo, who at the same time lept into the safety of the trees, moving along the branches with the gracefullness of the Wood-Elf that he was. Even K' couldn't help but smile at the youngest Prince of Mirkwood's tactic.
Whilst all this was going on, something seemed to be distracting Shingo, and he glanced around with a feeling that he was being watched. However, there seemed to be no others in the woods apart from the eight of them. Everything else was quiet.
Shingo.
He cast another quick look around. He could have sworn someone or something other than his travelling companions had spoken.
Your coming to us is as the footsteps of doom.
You bring great evil here, Ring-bearer.
"Shingo.?"
The sound of a familiar voice behind him, along with a gentle shake on his shoulder, snapped Shingo out of his trance-like state. He turned to see a concerned Kensou standing there.
"Shingo, are you okay?" Kensou asked again, his dark brown eyes analysing his comrade.
"Yes. Yes, I'm fine, Kensou." Shingo nodded confidently as he started to walk off again, leaving Kensou with a slightly confused look upon his face before he too followed after Shingo.
"Baka me!" Iori cursed, looking up into the treetops, his eyes appearing even redder in his growing anger. "Get your ass back down here and fight me like a man. er, I mean an Elf!"
The sound of Kyo's laughter maddened Iori even more until he heard a startled cry from the branches above, shortly followed by the Elf Princeling falling to the ground and landing on his backside with a yelp and a thud.
This time, it was Iori's turn to burst into laughter, though he was soon to be cut off when he saw a bow and arrow abruptly aimed straight at his face.
Glancing around at his companions, he saw that they too had fallen prey to this silent and sudden ambush.
Iori looked back at his adversaries, taking in every detail of them. His eyes narrowed as he took in their clothes and weaponry, their long, well-groomed hair, and their pointy-tipped ears. Great. Amushed by a group of Elves. This really wasn't his day.
Another Elf dropped from the tree which Kyo had earlier fallen from, landing gracefully on the ground. He stood up and at the group with a faint smile, flicking his long blonde hair over his shoulder, causing Iori to frown. His frown deepend even more when the newcomer spoke.
"Did you know that your Dwaf-blooded man trudges around so clumsily and so loud through these woods that even my poorest of marksmen could have shot him blindfolded?" the Elf laughed, and Iori scowled at him, though some part of his mind was telling him he'd faced this stranger before.
"And did you know that I could cleave you into two with my axe before you spoke another word?" Iori growled.
The blonde Elf laughed again. "My dear friend, Iori Yagami, you have not changed since we last crossed paths. Although it was such a while ago."
"If I were you, I'd take those words back, Benimaru Nikaido." Iori's red eyes gleamed darkly.
"Ah, so you recognise me then, Yagami?" the blonde Elf - Benimaru - smiled widely at this.
"But of course," Iori said narrowing his eyes. "How could I forget a stuck-up rat such as yourself?"
It was at this point that K' decided to put a stop to things before they got out of hand as he stepped between the two, his hands up to notion for peace between the two, his back to Iori so that he could address Benimaru. He was still aware that the other Elves still saw the group most probably as a threat. He would have to tell the blonde Elf that they meant no harm if they intruded on the Elves territory.
"Benimaru o Lórien," K' addressed Benimaru in the Elvish tongue in which he had learnt whilst he was staying in Rivendale with Kula and Lady Candy. "Boe ammen veraid lîn."
"What's he saying?" Andy whispered to Kyo.
"He's telling Benimaru that we need their protection," Kyo replied, looking at Andy. "And in woodlands like these, it's probably for the best."
"Then perhaps we should go back and try another route?" Iori suggested, still very much cautious about this new group of Elves that they had come across. Or rather whom had come across the Fellowship.
"My very un-Dwarf-looking Dwarvish friend," Benimaru said with a slight chuckle as he glanced at Iori. "You have all entered the realm of the Lady of the Lothlórien Woods. There is no turning back."
That reply didn't sit nicely with Iori, but a silent glare from K' refrained him from making further comments as Benimaru turned his gaze to Shingo. "She's been expecting you, Ring-bearer."
Shingo's eyes widened slightly at Benimaru's words. She? Who was she? Was she the voice which he had heard earlier on whilst they were travelling through the woods just moments before?
He continued to wonder on this even as he was vaguely aware of the other Elves lowering their weapons and Benimaru beginning to lead the group of all of them off deeper into the woodlands. Snapping himself out of his thoughts, Shingo started to move off with the group, running a little to catch up with Kyo.
"Kusanagi-san?" he looked up at the dark-haired Elf who looked back at him.
"Hm?"
"Have you ever met the Lady of the Lothlórien Woods?"
Kyo shook his head in reply.
There was a pause before Shingo tapped Kyo's arm. "Kusanagi-san?"
"Yes, Shingo?"
"You don't seem very surprised to know that Nikaido-san was an Elf living here in these woods."
"You didn't ask," Kyo replied with a faint smile. "Though, I'll let you in on it that he's older than any of us in the Fellowship here."
"Really?" Shingo looked at Benimaru in awe. He still looked like he was in his early 20s. Just as Kyo still looked like the 19 year old boy Shingo had trained under before he went missing.
"When did you become an Elf, Kusanagi-san?" Shingo tilted his head to one side, looking at Kyo. He still wasn't used to seeing his friend and former martial arts teacher as an Elf.
Kyo looked away at Shingo's question. "That was years back, Shingo. Let the past be."
"H-Hai, Kusanagi-san."
Hey, sorry bout the delay again. Too much work, too little time, ne?
Thanks again for the reviews! Keep em coming! The more I get, the more inspired to write I'll be! (^_^)