Both Fang and Fire
by Erestor
Disclaimer: I own nothing pertaining to The Lord of the Rings.
CHAPTER SIX
"Carca?" Erestor said. The dog pricked up her ears and raised her head to look at him.
"What?" Now that she knew more about Glorfindel she understood why Erestor could only vaguely sense her thoughts. He preferred talking to her rather than thinking to her. Erestor was an Elf, but he was not like Glorfindel. No one was quite like Glorfindel.
"I wonder if I should have come on this journey," Erestor said quietly. The fire had died out and the three Elves had lain down to sleep. But the advisor was not sleeping. He was having doubts instead.
Carca panted and wagged her tail. "You should have come," she thought. "You're my friend and you're helpful."
Erestor smiled. "Thank you, Carca. You're very reassuring."
"I only live to serve you." The dog smiled, before curling up to go to sleep. Erestor's eyes glazed over, and he fell asleep. With them open. It still freaked Carca out a little. All the Elves were sleeping that way.
"I wonder what Gath is doing at the moment?" Carca thought.
The next two days were entirely uneventful. Carca, however, was not bored. This world was new and exciting. It was full of new things to sniff and new places to explore. Glorfindel would watch her with amused eyes as she searched for frogs and unusual insects in the shrubbery.
Every night when they lit a fire, Glorfindel would stare into it, and sometimes she would stare with him. Sometimes she saw Gondolin in flames, sometimes she saw other, happier things, but as the days passed by, the pain and clarity of the fiery visions lessened. For that, she was thankful.
Legolas was still very quiet, and Erestor was still a little doubtful. Altogether, the Elves were not very interesting. The horses, however, were a completely different matter.
Legolas horse, Aráto, was also serious, but more talkative than his master. Asfaloth was his usual witty self. Erestor's mount, Perlomë, was rather boisterous. Together, the four animals made light-hearted conversation.
"What is Mirkwood like?" Asfaloth asked. He was a younger horse than the others, and very curious.
Aráto nickered. "It's a wonderful forest. A little dark, a little gloomy, but there's no place like home!"
"I like Imladris very much indeed," Perlomë thought with a snort.
"Well, it was nice, but a bit too flighty for my tastes. Too sparkly and ethereal," Aráto said.
"If you think Imladris is sparkly and ethereal, wait until you see Lothlorien," Asfaloth said. "I went there once. It was very bright and lovely, but at night... at night it fairly glows!"
"And so do the Elves there," Carca said. "Like bright lights."
Aráto glanced at the three others defensively. "Elves in Mirkwood glow."
"I'm glad to hear it. If they didn't glow, they'd probably end up walking into trees," Asfaloth said. "It's much too dark there. I wonder that the Elves can stand it!"
Aráto almost growled. Legolas looked rather surprised and glanced at his horse. Carca woofed with delight. Glorfindel began to laugh silently, his shoulders shaking, and she could tell he'd been listening to their conversation.
"Does Glorfindel ever think to you?" she asked Asfaloth.
"Once or twice," the horse replied. "He can do it."
"How?"
"It's part of what coming back to Middle-Earth does to Elves. It gives them strange powers that a horse and a dog couldn't understand," Asfaloth thought.
Carca sighed. "When will we get to Mirkwood?"
"Soon," thought Asfaloth cryptically. "Soon."
They had crossed the mountains, and now they began entering small tufts of trees. So far it was still thin and spare stuff, but soon it would be Mirkwood.
Perhaps it was the close proximity to his home that caused Legolas to start talking more freely.
"There is one straight path," he said, "that runs right through the forest. It is safe... as long as you do not venture off it. If you do, and you are not used to the woods, then it is very likely that you will die."
"Cheerful Elf, isn't he?" Carca thought. A small smile danced across Glorfindel's face, much to Legolas' surprise, and when the Elf glanced at the prince he began to laugh. Erestor smiled himself, just to hear Glorfindel's merriment.
Meanwhile, Aráto looked very severe.
"You shouldn't say things like that," he thought. "His Highness is a prince."
"He can't understand me," Carca replied. "And it's true, he's not cheerful."
"He doesn't always act that way," Aráto said. Carca sighed, and began thinking about Gath again. He had said something very like that about Glorfindel, and he had been right. It was quite possible that the bay was right about Legolas.
Mirkwood, Carca soon found, was not a laughing manner. As they traveled through the dark forest, Legolas grew more relaxed, and Erestor looked very worried. Glorfindel was merely his usual calm self. As for the horses, the spirited Perlomë's brave heart quailed, Aráto rejoiced, and Asfaloth looked as calm and collected as his master. Carca decided she couldn't let Glorfindel down. She struggled to look casual and unaware of the deep shadows on every side of her. It was very worrisome. In this case, she felt more in sympathy with Erestor.
"We cannot light any fires tonight, I'm afraid," Legolas said. Erestor and Glorfindel nodded.
"No light?" Carca thought, panicking. "What will we do?"
"Light," drawled Glorfindel's thoughts, "would mean a lot of huge insects flapping all over you." He sent Carca a vision of herself surrounded by very large moths. Carca could have sworn they had fangs, but that might have been a result of Glorfindel's overactive imagination.
"Oh," thought Carca. "I see."
It was very dark, but Carca's animal sense told her that it was still light outside the forest. Night had been falling earlier and earlier, now that November was drawing to close, but this was not the sun's fault. It was the trees' fault. There were too many of them, all very thick and dark. Fortunately, dogs can see best in the twilight.
Despite that, Carca was scared.
"Cheer up. Gath has been here many times, but on his first trip, he panicked so completely he ran into a tree. He was only a pup then. Legolas has a dog too, a very handsome creature by the name of Beleg. You'll like him," thought Glorfindel.
"Well, that sounds a little better," Carca thought.
After entering Mirkwood, the Elves and their horses began to move more rapidly, and Carca had a harder job keeping up with them. They hurried through the forest as though danger pressed hard against them. Carca wondered what form the danger would take.
She soon found out.
They were riding quickly through the straight path, when suddenly a huge spider jumped down out of the trees. "Where there's one, there are often many," Glorfindel said softly, taking the bow from his back. Legolas shot the spider, almost casually.
Two more spiders came down out of the trees. Glorfindel shot one easily, the arrow passing right through its body, and Legolas picked off the other. Erestor looked around, his eyes wide, unsheathing his sword.
Carca whirled around just in time to meet a spider head on. She caught one of its spindly legs in her mouth and snapped it. It made a horrible brittle breaking sound. Carca flung herself on it, biting fiercely. Her mother had been a police dog, and she knew how to fight. Therefore, she fought.
Glorfindel was doing a wonderful job of killing spiders. His bow was singing and twanging. Legolas had dismounted, and was fighting the spiders with obvious skill, a hot light in his eyes. He looked as though he were enjoying himself.
Erestor killed one spider. He looked relieved and nervous and jumpy, all at once. Many spiders lay around, thoroughly dead.
"They're attacking in greater numbers," Legolas said coolly, retrieving his arrows. "The darkness is growing again."
Glorfindel had pulled the shafts out of a few of the spiders he had taken down. "I see that. I was not expecting such an attack." He sent a rapid thought to Carca, "You did well for a beginner. Spiders must be hard to fight when you are nearly smaller than them."
"You are quite small yourself," Carca thought in reply. It was true. Though Glorfindel appeared tall, in reality he was a little below average height. Still tall, if he had been human, but small for an Elf.
Glorfindel smiled. "I suppose you are right. But sometimes the smallest creatures fight the fiercest." He patted her, and said aloud, "You're a good dog, Carca."
They entered King Thranduil's Halls the next day.
The palace looked huge and unfriendly at first, as dark and foreboding as the woods. Carca did not panic right away, however, because the first creature to meet them was a very handsome grey and black dog.
His name was Beleg.
Beleg looked delighted to see a fellow dog. After greeting Legolas, he came over to introduce himself.
Legolas ruffled his hound's fur. "Beleg is a good hunter," he said proudly. "Come in quickly."
The next person to meet them was a tall Elf who looked nearly exactly like Legolas, just older. "Welcome to the Halls of the Elvenking," he said, with a bow. "You are most welcome here." His blue-grey eyes fastened on Glorfindel. "It's good to see you again, my lord."
Glorfindel bowed respectfully. "It is good indeed, Prince Cúkáno."
Cúkáno glanced at his little brother. "You arrived home soon, Legolas."
"I will be leaving again quickly. We have things of importance to tell Father," Legolas replied.
"I thought you might. Lord Elrond is wise, and his council often involves action. We are preparing for war here," Cúkáno said, gesturing towards some Elves who were in the act of carrying various weaponry into the palace. Carca watched with interest. War. The Fellowshipers were only a part of this, then. "We may need you, Legolas."
Glorfindel and Legolas exchanged a glance. "We would like to talk with his Majesty. Is he available?" Glorfindel asked.
"He was expecting you," Cúkáno said. "Come on."
The inner chamber of the palace was rich and fine looking. Carca padded softly over the thick rugs on the floor, Beleg beside her. "Nice place you got here," she thought.
"Thank you. King Thranduil likes to be surrounded by beauty," Beleg replied.
Cúkáno had left soon after entering the room, and so now only the three Elves stood there, waiting for something to happen. Carca felt herself tremble with apprehension. What was King Thranduil like? Was he good or mean or cruel or kind? Was he like Legolas or was he different?
The great doors opened, and Thranduil stepped into his hall.
To Be Continued...
