Chapter 02
A/N: Wow! I didn't actually think anyone would respond. Thanks for everyone's support. I had no idea anyone cared (sniffles). Thanks so much to Miss Lucifer, Fahrenheit 451, gaya gwath, Anithrarith, Roxy, suziefox, AngelsExist, Morima, Joy4eva, LadyVampl, Kaio, tweeky monkey, Kellyn Smith (any anyone whose review I didn't get) for your support. If you have any comments on my revised version, by all means.
I should get caught up quickly. This chapter is huge, up to the point where Myu has run off after Legolas. The next chapter will be Elladan going out and bringing her back. And chapter 4 will be from when Elladan wakes up after his 'sweet dream' up to where I left off. I don't think I'll have room to repost the intermission, so I might post it as a separate fic if anyone wants it. I'll postpone my other fic to get this finished since I'm getting more reviews for this. And lastly, I revised this new version a lot here, but the basic plot is still relatively the same for those who don't want to reread.
Completely NEW STUFF you might want to check out in this chapter (in chronological order):
1) Second half of "Myu's Monologue, Subject: nnnNNNOOOooo!!!" at the end of PART 1, starting from "Oh well. Tough luck."… The "type-one" is referring to Estel.
2) The first section of PART 3 where Legolas rides off from Imladris.
3) The entire PART 4, where Elladan decides to go bring Myu back, which is the last part in this chapter.
And did anyone read the A/N at the end of chapter one? (Well, *I* thought it was funny, anyways)
And finally, to Miss Lucifer, thanks for the offer, but I have the first half of chapter 17, and I'm probably gonna re-type it all anyways, and responding to your review for Ch17 (if I remember it correctly you asked something about me having gone to Japan) I went to Japan in fall of 2000 and spring of 2001 and studied there for a year. I would like to go there again for a summer session program if my parents say it's okay, but its fiendishly expensive.
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PART 1
Elvish vocab:
gwador nin = my brother
mellon nin = my friend
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"Elladan. So glad you could join us."
Elladan made a noise that sounded halfway between a grunt and a growl as he swam quickly to where his twin brother was treading water in the middle of the lake. "Hurry! Dive! He is not going to survive down there much longer!"
"I have already tried that, gwador nin. The water is too murky and deep."
"Then you should try it again!" Elladan shot back as if reprimanding a small, witless child, "Does it matter nothing to you that someone's life is at stake?"
"Aye, it does. Although..." Elrohir stopped short as Legolas broke the surface with a gasp. He shifted his attention to the Sindar prince, not particularly certain of what he was going to say after "although" in the first place. "What news, Legolas?" he asked.
The Mirkwood elf flipped his blond hair out of his face, hurling water droplets into the air. "I cannot reach him!... The lake is too deep... Cannot see clearly...," he managed through gasps for breath.
"Not an excuse!" Elladan snapped, practically overlapping the end of his sentence. A determined look flickered across the elf's face before he dived beneath the calm surface, and was swallowed up in the murky depths of the lake.
"Ai, Valar!" Legolas gasped, still panting hoarsely and blinking flecks of water from his eyes, "Elladan would drown himself before he found whoever that was."
"I would not fret over it," said Elrohir, shrugging as he paddled to stay afloat, "Elladan never did heed words of warning very well. He will discover soon enough wa have both tried to tell him."
The blond elf nodded absently then turned around as he felt someone surface behind him. "Ah! Given up so easily, Elladan--" he began with a laughing grin, but broke off abruptly when he saw who it was.
Metaphorically, a question mark formed over Elrohir's head. He could see someone blond from his vantage-- not the raven-black hair of his brother-- and it was a considerably whiter blond than Legolas, whose head now stood in his way. Elrohir paddled sideways around Legolas to see for himself, and his eyes widen as more and more of this new person came to into his view.
"A woman!" cried Legolas, having at last mustered the nerve to say something.
And he was right. Obviously female... But a woman, not a female elf. Elrohir could immediately spot the rounded shell of her ears poking through her slicked-down hair, if it could be called hair, that is. Elrohir had never seen anything like it; a most abnormally white-blonde with lavender, yes lavender, streaking the locks at her temples and mid-scalp, while meanwhile, her complexion was a tanned sandy-brown. Her bizarre blue-green eyes were framed in the most lush awnings of eyelashes, unusually jet-black despite her blonde hair, and her eyebrows, barely thicker than a brushstroke, were dark brown-ish. On top of that, she had a pert nose, full lips, glass-textured skin, and somehow, Elrohir thought, though it did not make much sense, she just did not seem, well, "real". Not exactly a real as in "her beauty was unreal", but just unreal as though all the parts, colors and textures that made up her facial features seemed to be chiseled out of marble and painted in, rather than formed naturally on a human being.
The woman was barely keeping her head above water, treading awkwardly as though she had never swam before.
"Interesting..." was all Elrohir could think to say, and even as he did so, she did not once look his way, so enchanted was she by the fair face of Thranduil's youngest son.
Legolas examined her, sizing her up as she continued to stare at him with unbridled interest. "Who are you?" he queried her in the Tongue of Man.
Upon hearing his voice, she cracked a little smile; a slow, delighted and even slightly seductive smile that made the Prince raise an elegant eyebrow. She neglected an answer.
"Is this a game you are playing with me, my lovely child?" the wood-elf asked in all the usual, fluid grace that he exercised around the ladies.
Elrohir smacked a wearied hand to his forehead, saying in that one gesture; 'oh no, here we go again.' "Legolas, if i may suggest--"
And for a second time, Elrohir was interrupted by an elf popping out of the water and wheezing fervently. "Elrohir! There is no one down there! Are you certain of what your eyes saw or is this just another one of your ridiculous pranks?"
Elrohir blinked at his brother, who had fixed a good, critical glare upon him, and said nothing; just pointed. Elladan frowned and followed his twin's pointer finger... then forgot to breath.
"She will not tell me her name," Legolas informed Elladan, grinning like a child who had just been given a new play-thing. He turned his most smoldering gaze upon her. "Is that not so, mortal? And such an unusual mortal you are, I might add. Will you not give us the pleasure of knowing your name and whence you come? Or at least hearing your voice?"
In response the woman clasped her hands fawningly before her and said, "Aishiteru!" ((I love you!))
"Your name is Aishiteru?" Elrohir repeated.
The woman gave a start, then turned as if she had just noticed the twins, one confused, one stunned, yet identical down to every last angle of their sharp elven features. "Yokuyou wa zenbu chigaun desu ne." ((Your intonation's all wrong.)) she told them.
Legolas blinked. What manner of speech was that? He looked over his shoulder for help and found nothing more than a mirror of his own confusion in the twins' faces. Not knowing what to make of this, he turned back to the unusual human and asked, "What tongue is this you speak?" He realized, upon retrospect, that asking someone what language they spoke, when they could not speak your language, did not do much for you.
"Watashi wa Kaneko Myu to moushimasu. Dozo yoroshiku." ((My name is Kaneko Myu. Pleased to meet you.))
After scrutinizing this woman for a good moment or two with a blank gawk, Legolas' eyes wandered to Elladan, "Are you unwell?"
Elladan shook his head perhaps a little two quickly then continued to observe her, quite intrigued.
Elrohir cleared his throat. "Well now. I shall leave the three of you to sort this out. I shall go to shore," he said and began swimming, "Besides, I imagine my clothes should be dry enough by now."
Elrohir froze. All at once, that small, yet very important overlooked detail dawned on the three of them all at once; they were wearing not a thread of clothing. Three sets of blue and grey eyes regarded one another in horror, then slowly, ever so slowly, fell upon the woman... the female... a member of the opposite sex, fully clothed while they three were treading water in their birthday suits. A thick swallow worked its way down Legolas' throat. A warm, ruddy blush crept over the faces of the twins, straight to the pointed tips of their ears.
The woman scowled obliviously, "Sonna hen-na kao shinai de!" ((Don't make such wierd faces!)) she sputtered, loosing her battle to stay afloat. She was having to tilt her chin up to keep the water from spilling into her mouth, "Nani sono yatsu!" ((What are you guys up to!)) "Tasukete, baka-tachi!" ((Help me out, you idiots!))
Even though they didn't understand her, the three elves collectively eyed each other, knowing that one of them would have to swim her to shore. "I-i'll do it," Elladan offered quickly.
With a grin tugging at his lips, Legolas swished backwards out of the way so that Elladan could swim up to the human girl, "Here. Take my hand," he said, reaching his long, slender fingers out to her.
Before Elladan could react, the woman nabbed him and yanked him against her, throwing her arms around his bare shoulders. Elrohir burst out laughing at the strangled yelp that escaped his brother, which prompted Elladan to whirl around and glare daggers at him. Unable to quiet down, Elrohir paddled off to the shore, snickering and tittering to his hearts content, knowing that he was due in for a big talking-to at the end of the day about his impropriety. Following after, Legolas sidestroked, the pale form of his body rippled beneath the dancing lake surface, much to the woman's intrigue. "Do you need my help, mellon nin?" he asked Elladan, flattening a quirky smile.
Though still stiff beneath her touch, Elladan managed to shake his head, which sent the Sindar elf on his way back to shore. Elladan looked at the mortal in his arms. He could not escape the pleasant, yet very unwelcome warmth that was beginning to spread over his body as she clung tightly to him, her head rested in the soft crook of his neck.
"Ah... shall we?" he asked, too nervous to consider that his words were lost to her. He slipped a strong arm around her back, felling the strange, glossy material she wore, and began to swim the best he could with one arm and the extra weight of this human dragging him down. He pretended to focus on the shore, drawing nearer inch-by-inch, but was in truth focused on her in the corner of his eye. She had eyes for Legolas, that was evident. Never once did her doting gaze stray from him, a doting gaze that Elladan desired more than anything at this moment to turn his way. The dark-haired elf sighed, feeling his heart grow heavy, but then shook his head, as if to shake off whatever it was causing such ridiculous sentiment. Why should he care for whom this strange mortal fancies? A mortal he just moments ago saw for the first time in his life. His grey eyes wandered to the mortal woman once more. 'Ah, I wonder...' he thought to himself, but did not yet know how to finish that thought.
Elladan met his brother and Legolas near the shore, where the elves could just touch the shingled rocks of the lakebed. He had to swim a little closer to land, as he found out this human was at least a half-foot shorter than him, or three-quarters of a foot for good measure.
"Arigato gozaimashita ne," ((Thanks so much)) the woman chirped, then sprang from Elladan's arms and sloshed to shore, leaving the red-faced male elves behind. They came as close as they could without exposing anything important.
Legolas stopped in waist-deep water and nudged Elrohir, "What now?"
Elrohir shrugged, "Ask her to turn around."
"What good would that do?"
"Just try it. Make gestures."
Legolas rolled his eyes then motioned at the woman, swizzling his pointer finger, "Turn around, woman."
The woman looked at him, blinked, then turned around, and then turned back around 360 degrees. Legolas groaned. "Elbereth! I told you this child would not understand!"
Seeing her out of the water, Elladan bit his bottom lip. Only in a relative sense was she a child. Eru had been very generous with her maturity, evident through her tight and form-fitting suit, blue as sapphire and smooth as snakeskin, sheathing her legs yet cut off at the shoulders. The scabbard of a long knife was tucked haphazardly into a drench sash, which shared the hue of lavender discoloration in her shoulder-length hair. Her shoes were another story entirely. Along the flanks of the outfit were parallel white lines, and peculiarly down the back were a trio of complex white symbols bleached into the fabric. Surely they were arcane runes, for Elladan doubted any letter that complex would be wieldy for written language. She appeard to Elladan very intriguing indeed, in more ways that one.
Through Legolas' eyes, on the other hand, she also appeared not very bright as she just stood there, blinking, as he was working up a hubaloo trying to get her to turn around. Elrohir had joined in as well, "Look! Look over there!" he cried, jabbing his finger toward the wall of trees behind her, "It's a giant spider! Look! An orc!"
Finally she turned around and the three of them started into a mad dash to where their clothes were laid out to dry, when suddenly--
"Hayaku hashirikanerun wa ne." ((Can't run very fast, can you?)) she giggled, turning back around and causing the three of them to scramble back into the water, mortified. Resuming her innocent pretense, she sauntered up to their destination and picked up Elrohir's pants. "Donata no?" ((Whose are these?)) she asked, measuring them up to herself to find they were much to long for her. Too tight too.
"What's this here?"
"Estel!" Elrohir had never before been so relived to hear the voice of his little brother. "Get her out of our clothes and escort her back to ada's!"
Estel stepped into the lake clearing with confusion written all over his face. Then he beheld the strange human girl. "Oh? And who might you be?"
"She doesn't understand you!" Elrohir hissed impatiently, "Just get her out of here so we can get dressed!"
A wicked smile crossed Estel's lips, suddenly grasping the situation and the control he had in it. "Hmm. Perhaps I would prefer to stay here and practice fishing..."
"Estel please," Elladan interrupted on a softer note, "This is embarrassing enough as is."
"What would be my reward?"
"Estel!" all three elves cried in unison.
"Fine! Fine! I will do it!" the young man sighed and hooked the woman under the forearm and began dragging her off, still holding Elrohir's pants.
"Estel!" Elrohir cried.
Estel rolled his eyes, pried the pants out of her hand then tossed it back onto the rock. "Come my dear," the young man said to the woman, slipping Elladan a wink, who was staring at her with unwavering interest.
Elladan turned away, sinking further into the water.
When the two of them were out of sight, Elrohir turned to his older twin with a sigh and jested, "What devilry have we unleashed upon Rivendell this time, do you suppose? Perhaps another disaster like that time we brought home a wolf cub... You remember that?... Elladan?"
But Elladan was lost to his thoughts.
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Myu's Monologue
Entry No.: 00923881
Subject: nnnNNNOOOooo!!!
Date: 00-00-0000 (damned if I know)
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Okay. I was falling out of the sky at 3,653 feet (my CPU measured it). And I was looking down over wilderness as far as the eye could see thinking, 'hmm, this is unusual'. At that point my CPU chip began to calculate the acceleration of gravity minus accumulative wind resistance and estimate a time to impact, and I started to wonder; why am I not screaming?
At about 500 feet, I thought about going for a long, drawn out 'Oh, ssshhhiiiiiiiiiiitt!!!!", then took it back, thinking whoever started that trend was a moron. (Who in their right mind would want to waste their last words addressing poo-poo?) So I said the next thing that came to mind;
"Taaaaqquuiiiiiiiitttooos!!!!!!!!!!"
And then, SPLASH!!!
I hit water-surface with the force of a full-throttle bullet train smashing into a brick wall and plunged all the way to the bottom of a 73.2-foot lake (CPU measured that too). I just sat on the lake-floor for a long dazed moment as various built-in defensive polymers began to disengage in my subcutaneous tissue.
What in the six worlds of reincarnation happened back there?
I figured this was as good a place to ponder that as any, seeing as how I still had 2 hours and 57 minutes until I required oxygen again. Obviously professor Kudo was still in the process of calibrating his machine... But by Amida, If I didn't know any better, I'd say that piece of junk actually worked! It definitely didn't look anything like the year 3076, unless I landed in the middle of a wildlife reserve. But just how far back (or forward) in time did I go? This was all very spooky.
I looked up at the sun dimly twinkling through the surface of the lake, and noticed a silhouette of someone swimming over me at the surface, hopefully a guy since he wasn't wearing a shirt... or swim trunks either. Yikes! Then another buck-nekkid guy game swimming in, then another. At that point I swam up to see what this was all about. (Maybe I landed in the middle of a nudist colony. Yum, yum!)
I surfaced behind one of them and when he turned around, I swear I could have melted into a puddle (metaphorically, otherwise I would have diluted into the lake water). And from what I could tell, the face wasn't the only thing sizzling hot about this gent. I had never had such a compelling desire to pinch someone's tooshie since I saw Orlando Bloom in that old re-filming of "Pirates of the Caribbean". Wow! XOXO! Oh, yeah, and there were two other brown-haired guys, too. I think they were clones. Anywayz, I started pretending I couldn't swim to try to get that blond cutie to hold me. And he just kinda floats there looking at me like 'duuhh...' My big old Buddha! That guy's an idiot! What kinda gentleman just sits there and watches a lady drown?! He might be cute as a cupcake, but he's got the smarts of a lobotomized hamster!
Eventually, one of the clones courteously swam me to shore. When we got there, I figured out that they were actually a shy lot (not actually nudists) and would not come out while I was watching. I supposed they could tell I was putting them on when I kept turning around in circles then they wanted me to, in fact, "turn around" and stay that way (either that or they think I'm mentally retarded now). I *did* trick them once into coming out (ack! I could just cover that blond one with whipped cream and eat him alive!) before a rather stubbly-looking chap walked up (definitely one of the un-tampered type-one humans, a.k.a. mother-nature's breed). The young man dragged me off to let the blond guy (my baby), and the two clones put their clothes on in peace.
Oh well. Tough luck.
So I get dragged off down this forest path by that type-one (well, maybe not dragged. A type one wouldn't be able to force me to go anywhere if I didn't want him to), feeling like I landed in a bad episode of some B-rated sci-fi flick. But, then, as I'm heading to where I'm guessing that type-one lives, and see what qualifies as civilization for these people, I realize this isn't a b-rated sci-fi flick, this is bad joke. A very bad joke! Not a cellphone or computer or anything resembling a machine within sight! I mean, these people ride on animals and seemingly have no form of entertainment other than eating, talking and singing to each other! I have no idea where or when this is supposed to be, which is go-figure since I don't know taquitos about the European dark ages. But I beg and plead every single divine power ever conceived by any religion of any race in the galaxy, that this is just Amish country, so that I have some other option besides living with farm animals and sitting around with a bunch of dim-witted goobers who haven't even discovered electricity yet. But, taquitos, I haven't even seen any proof that these people have gotten past hunting and gathering!
And what is up with these people? I know the guy who took me to this humble little dwelling is a type-one, but what about the others? It's the weirdest thing, but I can swear that everyone else here, that cute blonde and the clones included, don't quite look human. I've seen older model type-two humans before (minimum-wage bums who can't afford the new type-three-- yeah, yeah, dad bought mine for me), and these people *kinda* look like type-twos, but then again they kinda don't. For one thing, my CPU isn't identifying any protocol with them, so I'm beginning to doubt they're artificial at all, even though they look artificial compared to the type-one here. They're very tall and skinny, but also muscular and hairless (which I've observed firsthand (^-^)), their ears are deformed, and they, well call me crazy, don't make any sound when they walk. I'd almost say they were aliens if it weren't for that stubbly-chap who I clearly recognize as a type-one earthling.
I wonder...
Anyways, after having sight-seen a bit I ended up pacing like a caged tiger in what I'm guessing is an impromptu lodging they've arranged for me, documenting this rant. (yes, sometimes cereberal-implant computers are handy for soliloquy and entertainment, I'll give them that much). I was first interrupted exactly 1 hour(s) and 26 minutes ago, when alluvasudden one of the clones at the lake came in to see me and started talking (in... English? Welsh? Danish? What?) with gestures. From what I deduced from his make-shift sign-language, he was the one who swam me to shore. After a while of talking more or less to himself while sitting in front of me, he spaced out then looked at me strange and reached up to brush his hand over my cheek ((no, not that cheek)). He's very cute. So I gave his cheek ((no, not that cheek)) a good pinch. I think it hurt him though because he went "Ahhh!" and clasped his entire face like I just ripped it off his skull, but oh well. What a pansy.
After rubbing his face for a good length of time, the clone made a series of gestures which involved scooping something toward his mouth, putting a hand on his stomach then pointing at me, and I thought, uh-oh, he's wanting me to eat something? I don't have a proper digestive system to deal with organic foods, and even if I did, they wouldn't be of much use because my body isn't made of the organic compounds present in plants and animals. (My 'food' is a type of nano-tech serum that replaces damaged or exhausted tissue, and is injected into a subcutaneous (under-the-skin) reception port in my wrist.) I've been wondering how to get out of that ever since that guy hurried off thinking we had made some sort of agreement. (And I tried to decline, believe me).
So I started pacing again, and it gradually began to sink in that my room is tactfully decorated, yeah, but about as boring as watching a 200 mHz PC boot up. I mean, no TV and no internet? What are you supposed to do here? Play with the doilies? All things considered, I was more than eager to have some fun when I saw the blonde hottie from the lake walk by 11 minutes and 57 seconds later. I waited till a few seconds till he was further down the hall, then tiptoed after him, but about halfway-down, he heard me and looked over his shoulder (I don't know how. That guy must either have ESP or have a set of ears that can hear a gnat fart a mile off). He took me back to my room again, sat me down on the bed and motioned for me to stay =(. I snuck off a moment later =). He caught me again and took me back =(. I kept telling him "Aishiteru" (I love you). I suppose he's mistaken it for my name now, because he's been saying it back to me quite often (which is fine by my standards). After the third attempt at spying on him and being apprehended forthwith, I thought about trying it one more time, but at that point, a pair of girls just walked in without notice and started tugging off my clothes (O_o)! They scared the taquitos out of me until I realized what they were just changing my outfit! (Note: I'm still not comfortable with it, but if that's their custom, I guess I'll have to go along.) Besides, it's not like I can talk my way out of it.
So as of now, I'm pacing again after they just got done putting me a dress that approximates my eye-color and my punk hair dye, tho' they had a little trouble fitting me around the lung area (one of them is obviously jealous. ha! I guess this model is useful after all). And apparently, Amish people (or whatever they are) don't wear underwear. Either that, or they just forgot or are up to something. Either way, it's very uncomfortable, not to mention risque if a breeze happens by (*_*;). Honestly, I could care less if the shred up my stupid janitor's uniform and use it to wipe their horses' butts, but if a dress without a bust support and panties is my only other option, I actually wouldn't mind walking around Amish country in a blue jump-suit that reads "Zatsu-Eki-In" ((Custodial staff)) across the back in bold letters (Heh, as if they could read Chinese characters to begin with. For all they know It could say 'the Future Messiah').
Well, anyways, they're almost done with me, so I'm gonna wrap this entry up lamely and say that I can only hope this doesn't turn into a very prolonged European-history field trip, and that's all I can think of for now.
~ a very worried Kaneko Myu signing out~
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PART 2?????????????????????????????????
"Is she ready?" Elladan asked the maid who stepped out of the room, carrying the woman's odd, shiny clothing. He was still rubbing the side of his face where she had pinched him. This creature, mortal woman or no, was indeed deceptively strong for her size.
The maid shook her head, "What a strange creature you have found, if I may say, milord. Not in all my years have I seen anything like her. How can a woman grow purple hair? Or have eyes that are both blue and green?"
Elladan shrugged, "May I go in to see her, Lothiel?"
"Certainly not, young lord! Have you no wits about you at all?" the old elf-maid huffed. Lothiel used to be one of Elladan's and his brother's nannies when they were growing up, and she still considered it her job to straighten them out into 'little gentile-elves'. "We are still in the midst of dressing her! You would not believe the trouble we have gone through trying to find a gown that matched both purple and blue-green! And further more, she is not built like an elf. Her gown had to be cropped up, among other things, and her hair is only shoulder-length, much too short to pin into a suitable do..."
Usually, Elladan would be stifling a yawn when Lothiel waffled about female vanity, but in this instance, he was hanging on to every word. Just the thought of the maids being "in the midst of dressing her", caused his eyes to cloud over and his mind to stray to places it should not be going.
"Young lord? Are you listening to me?"
Elladan snapped back to the present, "Aye, of course, Lothiel."
"Then what did I just ask you?"
Elladan drew a blank, "You asked; 'How can a woman grow purple hair, or have eyes that are both blue and green?'"
Lothiel swatted him on the shoulder, "Nay! That was two minutes ago, elfling! What I asked, is whether or not you have come here to escort our woman-guest to dinner. Have you?"
Elladan answered quickly, "Aye, I have. Would you think I've come just to loiter outside the lady's door?"
"In your case, yes," Lothiel shot back tartly, then cracked the door open just enough to slip back through it, "Wait here. I shall see if she's ready."
Elladan did as she bode, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms tightly over his chest. He took a deep, soothing breath. He had no idea why he should be feeling so nervous. After all, what is a mortal woman to an elf? Elladan felt somehow shallow and foolish to admit he was so easliy wooed by her; by her dynamic figure and full lips. Yet he could not help but fancy this strange mortal. He too had mortal blood in him, after all, he reminded himself. Then again, something told him she was no normal mortal. Somehow, spontaneously falling out of the sky, and surviving the impact, did not strike him as a normal thing that a mortal would do (he was still trying to figure that one out). What race was she? Where did she come from? What was this strange chattery language she spoke? If only he could communicate with her...
"Tsukare-sou desu ne!" ((You look tired))
Elladan spun around, having been too deep in thought to notice the door opening, "Ah there you are! I've been wait--"
The elf froze and drank in the sight of her. The dress was a low V-neck that suited her full figure beautifully; a sheer, mossy suede shot through with rich white-gold thread the color of her hair (the blonde part of it anyways). The maids had taken special care to braid up the purple locks, which now likened decorative ribbons streaming from her short mane, as her bangs were pulled back in typical elvish fashion behind her rounded ears. A black, lacy choker helped to accent the length of her neck, and a violet linen sash shaped out her curved waistline. She had been lightly misted in perfume--
"Shimatta! Sonna hen-na kao wo mata shinai de ne!" ((Don't make that weird face at me again, dammit!))
Elladan glanced into her glaring greenish eyes then flashed an amused grin. "You look beautiful." He muttered, then heard Lothiel clearing her throat. "...And a very fine job on the part of your hand-maidens as well!" He offered out his elbow, "Shall we?"
The strange woman tilted her head and merely poked the elbow held out to her. The maids tittered in the background. Elladan had to manually reach out and direct her arm to hook under his. "Ai, so much I have to teach you, fair one," he sighed as he began leading her down the hall.
The elf walked the woman through the corridors of his father's great house, down the open, forest-scented halls, cloisters and arcades that passed amidst the fine wood-carven artistry of elven architects. He watched her unwaveringly as she appraised her surroundings.
"Mina kekko kirei desu ne." ((It's all quite pretty, isn't it?)) she sighed, and he could tell from her tone of voice that it was a compliment.
"What is your name?" he asked her, more or less just to get her attention. "Elladan," he said pointing to himself when she turned to look at him.
"Eradan?" she attempted.
"Nay," he said slowly, shaking his head, then pointed at himself again, "Elladan."
"Eladan?"
He nodded, deeming it close enough, then pointed to her and raised both eyebrows in question. "Name?"
"Name Kaneko Myu."
"Mm?"
She smiled, then gently, took his hand and clasped it in both of hers. "Myu."
Elladan knitted his brow, "Mew?"
"Myu."
"Myu?"
She nodded then dropped his hand. Elladan watched her for a long moment, thinking he had never heard such a strange name before in his life (which was saying a lot for a 3000-year old elf). He had the urge to ask her if she was jesting, but realized it would not do him any good. He took a deep breath and continued with her to the dining hall, softly humming an old elvish ballad to himself.
When they arrived, Elladan took his prescribed seat at the main table upon the dais, which was between his brother Elrohir and his father, Elrond, Lord of Rivendell. He could only watch on spitefully as Myu was seated right next to Legolas; looking very pleased about it, not to mention. In effect, this put her across the table and one seat to the right from him. This was the seat that Arwen occupied when she was home, his younger sister who had been abroad in Lorien for several decades now. Elladan was eager to introduce Arwen to Estel, his young human foster brother, quite certain they would get along well. Estel, incidentally, was seated on the other side of Myu.
"Try this. It's delicious," Estel offered Myu, piling a few dumplings onto her plate.
Myu looked at him with a frozen smile, while her eyebrows raised and her eyes straying to the head of the table sheepishly. "Kekko desu yo. Tabemono mo iranai no desu keredo," ((That's quite alright. I don't need any food,)) she murmured out one side of her mouth, trying to shoo Estel's hand away.
Elladan looked to his father. The elf-lord's eyes were upon her, as cold and immovable as the black gates of Mordor. "And you say this woman fell from the sky, Ellahir?" "Ellahir" was the elf-lord's hybrid name to address both his twin sons at once, as they were often involved in the same bouts.
"Yes, adar," Elrohir answered through a mouth-full of food.
"Anything else I should know about her?"
Elladan swallowed his wine thickly. His father was a politician, a good one, which always made him nervous whenever they talked business, "Her name is Myu."
Elrond's eyes slowly peeled from Myu and focused on his eldest some, "Mew? What sort of a name is that?"
"I do not know," Elladan murmured, stabbing at his food, "That is what she told me... and she says it 'Myu', not 'Mew'."
"I had thought her name was 'Aishiteru'," Legolas piped up.
"Myu is the name she gave me when I introduced myself," Elladan shrugged innocently.
Legolas turned and looked at the alleged 'Myu', "What is your name?"
Myu looked dreamily into his deep-blue eyes. "Aishiteru!" ((I love you!))
Legolas turned and gestured at her with an expression that said "I told you so".
"She does not understand you," Elladan argued, "Perhaps she is trying to tell you something because she rejoinders that to just about everything you say."
Legolas looked at him incredulously, "What are you incinuat--"
"Enough," Elrond commanded, "Eat. 'Myu' will be suitable if that is to what she responds."
Legolas exhaled noisily and went to pick up his fork, but froze cold when he felt a hand suddenly sliding up his thigh. He turned and looked at the woman beside him, eyebrows perked with disbelief. She merely flashed a devilish grin and began massaging her fingers over his leg. He stiffened, gave her a reprimanding look and slid his own hand under the table to peel her hand off his thigh, then began to eat again. He had not gotten two bites down before he felt her slipper running up and down his calf. This was remedied by simply relocating the offended leg out of her reach.
"Will you not eat?" Estel asked her, startling her from what she was doing, "It's very good."
Myu turned to him and began speaking with gestures that made no sense. "Kyou no tenki wa kekko atatakakatta desu ne. Yuube kumoru you na no ni, ashita made ni haru kamoshiremasen ne." ((The weather was pretty warm today, wasn't it? Even though it looks like its going to get cloudy tonight, it will probably clear up by tomorrow.))
Estel didn't understand a word, but nodded all the same, just to be polite. Now that her attention was diverted from him, Legolas was now free to have his meal in peace.
"Watashi no iken de, ame ga furanai mitai desu," ((It doesn't look like it will rain, in my opinion.)) Myu said as she shifted around.
The hand was back again and Legolas was trying to ignore it. He had to admit, it wasn't all that unpleasant. Tenderly, she caressed the stiff tendons above his knee, and loosened his muscles as she worked her way up. Her touch was pleasant, very pleasant indeed, and welcome in an unwelcomed sort of way. She was trying to do this inconspicuously whilst she spoke to Estel.
"We need to teach you Westron, don't we?" Estel interrupted the woman, "Right Legolas? Are you feeling unwell?"
The blond elf gave a start. "Fine," he ground out, then clouded back into his daze, his fork hanging in limbo between his mouth and his plate. He took a mighty swig of wine, as her massage continued to hold him in trace-like status. Myu kept talking to keep Estel's attention. But Legolas barely noticed what was going on around him as he succumbed to her ministrations and let her have her way with him, breathing out in soft sighs. His breath caught in his throat as the hand slid between his thighs, making his blood rush down there as well. She slid upwards... and further still... then too far up...
The Mirkwood yelped yelped suddenly and scrambled to his feet, banging his knee on the table and knocking over his chair in the process. Elladan had been watching the whole scene unfold, and was quite sure now that something was amiss between Myu and Legolas, even though the woman tried to cover it up. She looked up at Legolas innocently, "Doushitan desu ka, anata?" ((What's wrong, darling?))
Keeping his gaze away from Myu, Legolas stooped to right his upset chair. "Excuse me," he uttered shakily, "But something has come up..." He dwelt on the irony in that statement for a moment as he fought the urge to shift his leggings around (which now felt about two sizes too small) then bowed stiffly, turned, and left.
Myu watched him hurriedly stride out the main entrance of the dining hall with interest, then tuned and stood herself, mimicking his bow. "Ekzcuse me," she crunched out, mimicking the prince, "Baht somesing has come up..." then took off after Legolas.
Elladan too thought of leaving the dinnertable, but thought better of it noting his father's reproving glance.
**************
Myu's Musings
Entry No.: 00923881
Subject: Amish Country??
Date: 01-01-0000 (it's as good a day as any to start)
Squeeeeeeeeee!!!! I'm so happy!!! Whew! *pant pant* Let me calm down a sec. Okay. Here's the hype:
After I scared my anata off by being a little too --ahem-- forward (^_~) (I think his name's Legoras), I went after him to apologize. The courtyard was pitch-black save for a little splash of moonlight. So at first, I couldn't find him. I had to adjust my optical wavelength to infrared (a.k.a. heat vision), to a very low, almost microwave frequency, in order to find him. His body omitted very little heat-- again a very unhumanlike quality, but he's still cute!-- though still enough heat to make him stand out from the tree he was sitting in. I figured he was ignoring me, (either that or he suddenly went deaf, considering the noise I was making to get his attention).
Anyways, I knew there was nothing I could say to him (nothing that he would understand, anyways), so I tried climbing up. To be honest about it, I've never climbed a tree before in my life. To be brutally honest about it, I've never even seen a tree before in my life. Humanity had pretty much wiped out earth's entire ecosystem by 2900 and set up a bunch of man-made filters to take care of the atmosphere.
My first attempt was to hop up and grab onto to the lowest branch. I got one leg up, then the other wrapped around from the other side so I was hanging upside down like a sloth. I had no idea what to do from that point, so I dropped back down. My second attempt, which was to try to pull my legs up over my head, was thwarted by the recollection that I wasn't wearing any underwear. So I tried the sloth-approach again. (-_-;)
At first I thought I heard a chipmunk barking at me, but then realized that it was Legoras, trying not to crack up. When I fell back out of my sloth posture and sort of dangled there, he failed miserably and burst into hysterics. I had never heard such a pleasant laugh! It almost made me embarrassed when my sour, quacky laugh added to his, realizing how silly I looked trying to climb (^-^). After a good moment, we quieted down and, to my amazement, he reached down a hand to help me up to the lower branch, then set himself down beside me.
I had never felt so nervous in my life! (6_6;) My heart was racing. My palms were getting clammy. Legoras said something, more to himself, then smiled. He had such piercing blue eyes and a complexion so fair I swear it seemed to glow in the dark (I kinda think he was glowing a bit?). I said I was sorry in the only way I knew how, suddenly regretting I couldn't speak his language... I had so much I wanted to tell him, feeling him so close to me that our sleeves brushed. Just then, without warning, he leaned over and nipped the top of my ear O_o. Now I wasn't thinking "just what the hell was that all about?!", because it just seemed, I don't know, so *right*. Just so... so romantic! His breath smelt of wine and he had a slight, earthy musk to him; very pure, and very male. He nipped me again. Wow. I just sat there rigid, afraid to move, afraid I might scare him off again. His wine-scented breath tickled my neck as he laughed nervously, then drew back. I turned to him pleadingly (big puppy-dog eyes), and he answered by cupping my face with one hand and tracing his thumb over my lips. And then he smiled, dropped from the tree and disappeared into the cloisters. He did not even look back... !
(_*) D'oh
So he left me. I sat there watching my feet dangle from beneath my skirt, too numb to even move. The night breeze had never felt so cold and empty, yet I had never felt so indescribably warm inside! His touch still lingered and I was actually trembling. What did he mean by what he did? Was that a sign of love among his people? And why did he run up a tree to get away from me? I mean, what's up with that? I'm so confused. I sure hope I hadn't ruined it all with that thigh-rubbing fiasco (what was I thinking? doing that to such a sensitive old-fashioned guy?! Shame on me!). I thought I might make him think I was some silly ho, or something. But then again, he hadn't tried to score. So that must mean he really cares, right? I don't know. I'm completely inexperienced in these matters. What do you think computer? I paid 4,800 credits for you, so the least you could do is tell me something more important than my altitude or crush depth.
*sigh*
I'm not going to get much sleep this night. Especially with these people who keep knocking at my door. The last thing I need is to sit here all night listening to foreign gibberish and practicing mime. Go away.
~ a quite sleepy Kaneko Myu signing out~
**************
PART 3Vocab
Firiel = mortal woman
Mounted at the front gates of Imladris and ready to depart, Legolas was just about to remark to one of his flanking escorts how nice a day it was when he saw the one thing he did not want to see before he left. "Myu..."
"I beg your pardon, milord?" Celegol asked, wondering why the son of his liege had just made the sound of a cat. When the escort did not receive an answer, he followed Legolas' glare, "Is it that strange little firiel harassing you, lord?" He did a double take, "Why does she have purple hair?"
Legolas felt almost insulted that his escort had felt this mortal woman a threat to him. His horse stirred, feeling his rigid posture through the stirrups. "Nay, Celegol, she is nothing for you to fret over." Myu tried to wave at him, but he overlooked her and returned his attention impatiently to the gates, which the Imladris guards had yet to open. He was wondering briefly what they were waiting on when the answer came to him in the form of Elladan's voice, clearly discernable from his twin by the stark edge of seriousness in his voice.
"If I may speak to you before you depart..."
Legolas gazed down at him from the stirrups with cold blue eyes. "We cannot tarry. Lord Celeborn is awaiting the message from my adar."
Elladan gave him a contemptuous look, despite the fact he was looking up at him. To make it clear, he steadied Legolas' sandy-brown horse by the bridal. "A moment longer will do you no harm, son of Thranduil. I only inquire about that which passed between you and the firiel last night after dinner."
Hot anger flashed in the blond elf's eyes. The fire leapt to his tongue he blurted out, not caring if his words wounded Elladan; "Why is it you ask? Is it that you have a sudden fetish for mortal women, o son of half-elven?"
Elladan answered back with equal fury but, unlike the wood-elf, managed to keep himself in check, "Nay.... Legolas," he said, repressing a few choice words, "I query thus because she had locked herself in her room and would not come out. I assume that she is upset over something you said to her, for, after all, this would not be the first time you had said something discourteous to those staying in our household."
"Those were dwarves," Legolas protested with his nose wrinkled, nearly cutting off the end of his sentence, "I said no such thing to her. I only made it clear to her that I was not interested in the attentions of a mortal and bode her a good night." In a glance, he saw that Myu was still standing there, and, most embarrassingly, still trying to get his attention. "Now, if you will order your guards to open the gate, I shall be on my way and you shall not have to deal with my 'discourtesy' for another score or decade until I am sent on courier routine again," Legolas ended tartly, with his nose upturned daring Elladan to deny him.
A heated frozen moment lingered between them before Elladan released the horse's bridal and waved a go-ahead to the gate guardsmen. With a load moan, the heavy wooden gates were reeled open and Legolas dug his heels hard into the horses flanks, urging it into a quick start. The two Mirkwood escorts trailed him, but Elladan did not see them off. He only turned to see that Myu was heading off as well.
88888888888888888888888888
Myu's
Misadventures
Entry No.: 00923884
Subject: Loves me not
Date: 01-02-0000
My brain has a screen-saver. No joke. I just found that out today when I
experienced boredom-overload. Evidently, it's an automated game of pong where
the computer plays with itself (Bad computer! Bad!). I spent all morning
"watching" that and reflecting upon last night. I just couldn't stop
thinking of Legoras! No one's ever really cared about old Kaneko Myu here, so
I'm kinda afraid to say he likes me, or actually "liked me", past
tense. After what happened today, that's no longer possibe.
I'm lost in the middle of nowhere. I'm miffed. I'm itchy. The itch is coming
from the cerebral Ethernet port in my wrist, which seems to have an allergy to
all this damn pollen and nature crap around here. Typically this port is used
to download massive amounts of info needed for educational purposes, so instead
of buying a textbook, you just credit an online database and have the entire
text downloaded directly into your brain. Nifty, huh? The auxiliary co-cerebral
CPU-chip translates binary electronic frequencies into human brainwaves, and
then impresses it into implanted memory databanks. Most people have this port
put in at the base of their skulls so they don't have to run an internal wire
down their arm, as it tends to have irritating side effects. Such as itching.
I'm regretting I insisted on a wrist port right about now.
Cerebral Ethernet can also be used to pass information between two people,
which brings me to what I wanted to mention: cybernetically bumming the
language from somebody here so I can figure out what the hell's going on. The
only problem is, I doubt the port is compatible with the lower model humans
here (or whatever those point-eared guys are), so that won't help me out any. I
would, however, like to test that hypothesis, maybe see if I can download the
language from someone, or maybe upload mine, but I can't likely do that when
I'm lost in the middle of a forested nowhere. And the reason for that is...
Hmm. Just scratch that and let me just start from the beginning of this
horrible day...
Here goes:
It began with being woken up at the crack of dawn for breakfast in bed, which
wasn't pretty (my definition of morning is at least high noon or later). After
the maid had left, all pissed off at me, I had to find some way to dispose of
the evidence that I can't eat. Dumping it out the window may not have been a
good idea since the eventual stink would attract attention and flies. So I
thought I might wander around town trying to find a dog or something that might
appreciate it.
I was walking in the main plaza, trying my best not to look conspicuous as I
carried the bulging napkin of breakfast (dribbling fluids profusely at that
point, I might add), when I spotted Legoras a good twenty yards off, heading
out the main gates on a horse. He saw me and only offered a nod before he
spurred off. Wha--? He's leaving?! Unacceptable! I had it on my agenda to see
him today! And I was determined to keep that item, even if it meant going after
him.
But there was a setback.
The good news was; these Amish people (I'll just call them that until proven
otherwise) had brought back my underwear, clothes and Koshito blade after
having washed and/or inspected them (hmm). The bad news was; I had left all
those things in my room. I didn't figure going out in a grandma nightie would
further my social image, so I hurried back to my room to get dressed and set
off after him.
Stop here to take a moment and remark that I was NOT obsessed with Legoras. I
was merely bored and needed to get a little fresh air. Yeah. That's it.
*sigh*
So, when I came to the main gate and tried to pass through it myself, a pair of
guards stopped me. They didn't seem to notice that yapping at someone who
couldn't speak their language wasn't very effective, and of course my
"Desasete kudasai!" ((Let me pass!)) did a fat lot of good, too.
Hence I did what any logical person would do in a situation like that: I nailed
both guards in the stomachs and made a run for it while they were doubled over
in pain. And they didn't even come after me! I just knuckled them in the gut
once and they were on the ground, balled up in fetus-positions and whining like
a couple of babies. Gee, I feel safe now knowing the high-class security they
have there in Rivendell. Pathetic lower-model humans! Mwa-ha!
Anyways, after I ran off into the surrounding forest, (which was basically just
a bunch of trees and rocks if you want some imagery), I snooped around for a
promising Legoras-trail. I didn't see which way he went, but considering he was
riding on a horse, I would say following the trail filled with hoof-prints was
a good enough guess. But unfortunately it forked off in several places. Feeding
off random guesses, I spent exactly 13 minutes and 45.7 seconds dashing and
bounding randomly down several paths, chock-full of boulders, ruts, fallen tree
limbs, creek beds, and even a dead squirrel, before I heard a shout coming from
within the woods.
"Orks!" he sounded like he yelled.
I braked on instinct, a too-quick reaction which made me trip over a stupid
rock and fly face-first into the dirt (no implication that other rocks are any
smarter). When I picked myself up, grumbling and spitting out debris, I heard
rushed footfalls drawing nigh... in other words, foreshadowing.
You know that scene in just about every action movie, where a gang of bad guys
makes a sudden dramatic entry (i.e. crashing through a glass window, or in this
case, tearing through bushes), and the one lone good guy administers an
indiscriminant @ss-whooping and saves the day? Yes? Well, this was just about
the case here, save it was the outnumbering bad guys who were giving the good
guy's @ss a thorough pounding (That's reality for you). This "good
guy" looked a lot like Estel, same dark, stringy hair and all. Maybe they
were friends, since they both wore black leather dusters. However, this new guy
had an older- looking face, even more profuse stubble, a pointy nose, and a rusty
knife embedded the gap below his left shoulder blade. Ouch.
The "bad guys" looked like a bunch of pug-faced jocks that had been
turned down by the World Wrestling Federation for lack of personal hygiene.
Taquitos! I can't think how anyone could let themselves get so dirty that their
skin turns tar-black and their teeth fungus yellow! What in the six worlds is
that all about! And for Amida's sake, haven't they ever heard of a Kleenex? I
was standing in the path, watching all this and minding my own business when
one of them, that had a clear, gooey line stretching from the bottom of his
nose to the back of his hand, randomly charged up and tried to skewer me with a
scimitar. What the hell did I do to him, anyhoo? Jerk-o.
So as you can see, it wasn't my choice to get involved in the first place. As
my attacker raised his weapon and screamed at me like a nutcase, I unholstered
my Koshito blade with the quickness and trimmed a little off the top -- well,
actually a lot off the top. But as my luck goes, hateful gravity was there to
pull the decapitated, blood-spurting body down on top of me, paralyzing me in
vile disgust as it smeared down the front of my freshly washed shirt. Gag!
As I still stood there wondering if the Amish people would mind laundering my clothes
again, that Estel-looking guy ran up and grabbed hold of me with his good arm,
grunting in a great deal of pain. He shouted something as he ushered me into a
sprint on down the path, then gave me a shove off and drew his sword, turning
to face his pursuers. I realized then that the guy was trying to get me to flee
so he could sacrifice himself and cover my escape. How sweet! I stopped and
looked back. The brutes had him in a hootie ring of at least twelve or thirteen
to boot, with more still coming out of the woodwork. I knew this type-one loser
wasn't going to last two minutes against all of them. So I U-turned and gave
*him* the shove off. "Nigete! Hayaku!" ((Get away! Quickly!)) I told
him, then folded out the Koshito blade to extended length, resulting in a
full-sized katana sword.
And here they come...
Let
me just start out saying that I have little experience in combat. In fact, if
you don't deem virtual reality video games as experience, I have entirely none
at all. So just rid yourself right now of any false hopes that you'll be
reading about an impressive, rallying fight scene. Then proceed.
Subject: [Re: my first fight]
The dirtbags had me surrounded and were closing in fast, looking like a bunch
of pimples begging to be popped. My first opponent came at me, swung and missed
simply because I tripped over a tree root while I was back-peddling and
stumbled. (Damn trees. I can see why we got rid of those useless leaf-shedding
tracheophytes in AD 2576 to begin with). I countered with the Koshito and he
brought up his sword to block it, unwitting that his sword, in fact, could not
block it. In the upshot, my first opponent toppled into about three or four
pieces. Go me.
The next challenger came from behind. I had plenty of time to turn and meet
him, and I *did*, but my parry was way off and he sunk his axe blade into my
flank. I felt a brief "pain", which was more like a little nudge from
my corporal management systems saying "incidentally, you have a battle axe
in your side". But it quickly subsided as the dislodged nanotech fibers
(designed to cave in on impact and expand back out) filled up the gash and
forced the blade out. While that happened, I was stumped trying to figure out
the least sloppy way to dismember this goon. Call me lame, but I settled on
another decapitation. Oh, well. (It was still gross, but I've been pretty much
desensitized by the modern media, so it was nothing I couldn't deal-with.)
After a little trial and error, my opponents finally appreciated the fact that
solid steel, along with whatever else that holds its shape via electron
degeneracy pressure (i.e. anything that classifies as 'physical matter'), could
offer no more resistance to a Koshito blade than thin air. So, under command of
their leader, they threw down their shields and excess armor and came at me all
at once, brandishing their Neanderthal melee weapons. What happened next was
nothing I would mention in a fencing audition, that's for sure... The edge of a
knife stabbed into my spine... A mace hit me upside the head... The point of a
sword thrust through my back and came out the other side. I managed to pick
them off one by one, but I don't think I got off a single hit without being in
violated by steel in some fashion. I figure, when they all ran off screaming in
terror, they were more afraid of the fact I didn't go down over the fact I was
taking *them* down.
In the aftermath, the Estel-guy, who didn't "Nigete! Hayaku!" ((Get
away! Quickly!)) like I told him, stood behind me with his eyes wide and
bulging as I turned around. When I asked if he was going to thank me, he wet
himself and ran away (honestly, I don't have proper evidence that he wet
himself, but he sure did scream pretty loud). With his knife-wound bleeding so
profusely, he didn't get too far before he collapsed in a bush, squirming in
agony. So I went over to help him. I put away my blade, held my hand out and
asked "Name? Name?"
The
guy screamed. (Maybe I should just call him "Eek!" and be done with
it). This wasn't going well at all. While he was trying to scramble out of the
bushes on three of four limbs, he rethought his actions, then stopped, looked
at me, and pointed at the knife in his back, making angsty noises. I assumed
that meant he wanted me to take it out. So I grabbed hold of the hilt, taking
queues like 'argh', 'ooh' and 'mmph' until it came free. Success! (I think)
Now, with his wound now open and bleeding even more profusely, he tried to
crawl out of the bush again, but then quit when he found himself too weak from
blood loss. Taquitos! Type-ones are so inefficient! They're always leaking
fluids and crap, and can't seem to maintain any form of balance with them...
When they loose too much they die... When they gain too much, they leak
again... I sat there with Eek! a long while, not knowing what to do about the
matter.
Without warning, Eek! bolted up onto his good elbow and shouted "Ork!
Ork!", jabbing his pointer finger over my shoulder. I turned, looked, and
sighed as I saw a mortally wounded "Ork" (one of the things I fought)
hobbling towards me with his sword drawn, ready for a valiant last stand. He
was in bad shape and would not have posed a threat to a toothless puppy.
Regardless, I stood, raised my trusty Koshito and--- Twang! Thwack! Like a bolt
out of the blue! Ork fell over dead with a crimson arrow sticking out of his
back. I shifted my gaze past the body and --lo and behold-- it was my Legoras
riding up the path on his horse, looking very handsome and valiant, I might
add, with his bow drawn and his long blond hair billowing behind him. I guess I
must have detoured and passed him on one of my wrong turns. He looked at me,
then looked at the Ork corpses. And he did that for a very long time. Then he
looked at Eek!, whom seemed to recognize him.
Seeing his nasty knife-wound, Legoras exclaimed something to him and Eek!
answered something hasty through labored breath, which made Legolas' eyes go
wide. He instantly drew another arrow and pointed it at me this time. What the
hell?
While I stood there with my hands raised in truce (not that an arrow was
particularly frightening after all I've been through), the two of them
exchanged words. In a short instant, Legoras had dismounted, taking special
care not to take his aim off me, collected Eek!, then mounted him... on the horse...
no not like that.... He just put him on the horse, okay? And then my Legoras
did something that nearly left me in tears. Can you believe it? He spurred the
horse and took off as fast as he could with Eek!, leaving me in the middle of
nowhere. My jaw was utterly gaping in offense!
So here I am now.
That all happened early afternoon. The moon's now high in the sky and I'm still
sitting here in dirty garments, though a fair distance away from the fight
scene so the stink doesn't bother me. There's owls monotonously hooting and
insects irritatingly screeching, which would otherwise make my fingers itch to
grab hold of a napalm flame-thrower and conflagrate this entire forest to the
ground yelling "Shut Up!!!" at the top of my lungs, but alas, I've
lost my spunk. Where did it go? I dunno. Shouldn't I be worrying about where I
go from here? Or what I should do now, instead of sitting here skulking over
something I can't change? No. I can't. I wish I wouldn't have entered Kudo's
stupid "Time Gateway". Now I'm doomed to spend the rest of my life
grooving with nature the rest of my life without ethernet, video games and
vitual reality. Taquitos! I'm so stupid!
~Kaneko Myu signing out~
******************
PART 4Elvish vocab :
adar = father
naneth = mother,
firion = mortal man,
firiel = mortal woman,
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"What happened?!" Elrohir cried eyeing the bloodstains on Legolas' tunic. It smelled distinctly like human blood, so he was not as worried for his friend as he would otherwise be. But still, while his brother continued to apply herbs to the human's injuries, Elrohir stepped out of the door of the healer's room with a look in his eyes that firmly demanded Legolas give them the whole scoop.
Legolas began: "I encountered an injured man on the way to Lorien--"
"We have figured that much seeing as how we are treating him!"
Legolas screwed his mouth up into a scowl. Sometimes Elrohir's jests could be funny, but the rest of the time, he found them tiring. "Myu was with him." Legolas glanced out of the corner at his eye at Elladan, but found him studiously still concentrating on the task at hand and aiding Elrond as they worked to stanch the man's blood-flow. Men were in particular much of more a challenge to treat since their ability to heal was considerably less effecient than that of elves.
"Aaahhhh!" Elrohir said as a lightbulb came on (metaphorically), "Myu! So that's where the little firiel went! Is she safe? Why did you not bring her with you on your way back here?"
"I did not see her on my way back here. I saw her when I met Gresham, ahead of me on the path."
Elrohir did a double-take. "How did Myu get ahead of you? She left after you did."
"She out-ran me."
"She out-ran you?"
Legolas nodded.
"And you were riding a horse?"
Nodded again. "Why did not the guards stop her from leaving?" Legolas wanted to know.
Elrohir shrugged, but his face seemed to be set with seriousness for a rare moment. "They tried to, but they startled her and she hit them and ran off. They are recovering in the room three doors down that way, if you would like a first-hand account," Elrohir jerked his head in the direction.
Legolas opened his mouth to decline, but then it dawned on him what Elohir said. It was now his turm to double-take. "Infermary? Why? What mean you by this?"
"Because she hit them."
"Because she hit them?"
"Echo!"
"Stop it."
Elrohir's smirk lasted only briefly. "One of them has a broken rib, while the other was lucky enough to only have a crack near his diaphragm. Adar said that the only other time he had treated injuries like that was when Amanthon was kicked by a horse."
Legolas looked unperturbed at the information. "This does not surprise me. Whatever this creature is, she is not human... a witch if anything. Either way, I say good riddence and pray for your sake she does not find her way back to the Last Homely Home," Legolas glanced past Elrohir and noticed Elladan was staring at him murderously for a moment before a nudge from his adar brought his attention back to the mortal man.
Legolas changed the subject momentarily, "Who is this firion? How does he know elvish speech?"
Elrohir glanced back at the firion, then stepped off to the side, motioning Legolas with him. "Gresham of the Dunedan, Estel's mentor. Elladan and I travel with him when we hunt orc, and you can credit my brother for his ability to speak the grey tongue. He has been taking Estel out into the wilds for intensive survival training every summer now, which is what he was on his way here to do when you found him, evidentally," Elrohir said, then lowered his voice, "I am not so sure the quality of Gresham's instruction though. This is not the first time he has crossed the Imladris threshold all beaten up."
"Legolas!"
Legolas gave a start and about-faced to find Elrohir's more serious mirror image stading behind him. "Elladan," the wood-elf agknowledged tartly.
Elladan was toweling the blood off his long fingers and unting his sullied canvas apron. "Tell me where you saw Myu. Adar gave me his leave. I set off to search for her."
Legolas raised an elegant brow, "I thought you no longer cared for her."
"Besides, it is near nightfall," Elrohir added from the peanut gallery, "You will not get very far before it grows too dark to see."
Elladan clenched his jaw, "My feelings have no factor in this decision," he told Legolas, then turned to his brother, "And do you indeed forget what happened to naneth when she rode alone in the forest at night?!"
Elrohir had to consciously check himself from rolling his eyes. It was not that he no longer felt the sadness when he was reminded of Celebrian's death, it was just that his twin acted as though it happened just yesterday and drove the matter into the ground entirely. There was such a thing as being overly cautious. "Are you certain you want someone like that to come back here? We don't even know what she is."
"An enemy spy," Legolas asserted matter-of-factly, "A necromancer."
Elladan cocked his head to one side and looked at Legolas pointedly, "What gibberish."
"Gibberish indeed! If that only you had witnessed with your own eyes, as I had, Myu singlehandedly slaying fifty orc!"
The twins shared a mirror-image glance.
"Thirty..." came a weakened voice from within the healer's chamber, followed by Elrond's voice warning Gresham to save his strength.
"You see!" said Legolas hurriedly, "That is still an inhuman feat!"
"That little firiel slew thirty orc singlehandedly?" Elrohir affirmed with interest.
Elladan creased his brow, "And you witnessed this?"
Legolas bit his lip. "Actually... no. That is Gresham's account," he admited with difficulty, then added on a hopeful note, "I did see the bodies."
There was a brief silence. "You know," Elrohir said at last. "Bloodloss does do strange things to a firion's memory--"
"Enough of this. I have no time to waste," Elladan grumbled, tossing his apron on a bench and turning to leave, "Where did you last see her, Legolas?"
Legolas gritted his teeth, not caring for this sort of contempt from Elladan, but before he could even debate on how to answer this, a third tall, dark-haired figure stepped from the healing room silently as a ghost, startling Elladan when his deep voice boomed; "Surely you are not intending to set out this very eve."
"Adar," Elladan spun arround, ready to protest to his father, but Elrond held up a placating hand.
"As much as I disapprove of this to begin with, I would prefer you did not travel alone in the night. As your adar and lord, I insist you wait until first light," Elrond went on, giving Elladan no opening to protest, "And when you do leave, I expect you to exercise your utmost caution. We do not know what this... Myu... is and what Legolas says about her may very well be true. Use your best judgement and return her here only if evident to you that she is no fell being. Is this understood?"
Elladan nodded without a word. Elrond held his son's gaze a moment longer before he stepped back into the healer's chambers and closed the door behind him. Legolas looked at Elladan, then his twin, then Elladan again. "She was on Ornereg path," the wood-elf told him.
A gasp and groan from the injured firion reached their ears as he underwent treatment, likely stitching. Elladan gave Legolas nothing more than a nod, then picked his apron back off the bench, opened the door and followed his adar back into the healer's room.