A/N: This Author's Note will be short this time. I'd just like to thank the reviewers again, especially eck. I really enjoy your comments (and as for the horse argument, I absolutely agree with you. Before writing it I was afraid it might sound too... well... too stereotypical, but I really needed a way to explain why they wouldn't use horses, and then I decided it might be more subtle to tell things that way than plainly)
Anyway, here is the new chapter! Enjoy!
Chapter 4:
Cohabitation
The first day of journey unfolded rather quietly. Before leaving, Crireth had located Ederis on a map, and the latter was far ahead of them. The three Noreans had lost a lot of time talking their way out of Linhir with Gondor soldiers, and while they had gained some by riding to Minas Tirith, the creature was still much ahead of them.
How this creature had managed to get past the White City northward unnoticed was beyond Aragorn's understanding. The only passage north was between Minas Tirith and Minas Morgul, and the way was well guarded. If something ill had transpired there he would have heard about it, as he had heard about Linhir.
Another solution might have been to skirt round Minas Tirith and cross the White mountains to the west, but it was an hazardous journey for a lone man and in no way it would have led him that far ahead of them.
For a moment Aragorn doubted Crireth's certitude, and thought the creature might still be in Gondor. But all three Noreans seemed to share the same confidence, and he had no reason to think they would lie.
They had now stopped and were setting up a campfire before dusk. Legolas had offered to collect some wood, and Gimli had given some pretext to go with him. During the day the two of them had not failed to start one of their verbal jousts, and while Aragorn's men were somewhat used to them – the unusual Elf and Dwarf friendship was quite well-known – the Noreans seemed greatly disconcerted. At some point Qeladon had even asked Aragorn if they always behaved like that.
"Only in public…" he had cryptically answered, to Qeladon's greatest puzzlement.
Aragorn turned to give a look at his men, and noticed a behavior he had already observed among them during the last hours of travel. While now unpacking and gathered together, they were whispering to one another, sometimes looking at him, sometimes looking at the Noreans. His instincts told him it boded no good, and he had better resolve the situation quickly.
He silently walked to them, surprising them by asking: "Is there anything wrong?"
The soldiers seemed embarrassed and looked away innocently, as if naught preoccupied them.
"Ethiannor?" Aragorn turned to the highest ranked of his men.
"We…" He hesitated. "We may have a request, my Lord."
"A request?" The King repeated. "What kind of request?" he asked authoritatively.
"It is about the Noreans."
With a stern face, Aragorn crossed his arms on his chest and waited for the soldier to go on. He had not learned him much for the moment. It had been easy to guess where the issue lied.
"The problem is they always talk in their own language. And they might use it at their advantage. I mean… We do not know much about them…"
Aragorn nodded. He had noticed that as well, and he had to admit he was not very happy with it himself. He understood that they might feel more comfortable speaking in Norean, yet the least respect they could have was to speak in Westron so that everyone would understand.
"I will have a talk with them and make sure they speak Westron from now on," he assured.
"Thank you my Lord."
Aragorn turned towards the Noreans. They had settled at some distance. As well as always talking to each other in their own language, he had also noticed they never mingled with the other men. Even now they were doing so, unpacking on their own. They never spoke much, even in Norean, and always remained together, apart from his men.
Those people were aloof folks indeed.
"Crireth," he called, drawing near the man.
"Aye?"
"Could you please confirm the direction Ederis is going?"
"Of course." The clan chief called his daughter and asked her something, and in a few words she answered with a nod.
Aragorn noticed with a slight annoyance that both question and answer were spoken in Norean. While he could make out the general meaning – after all their two languages shared the same origins, the language of Númenor – it was still rather frustrating to not comprehend fully. He understood it could arouse suspicion from his men.
"Ederis is still following the same direction," Crireth finally said. "But I guess you already knew that. I saw you study the tracks today. Trust you not our guidance?"
"I do. But I still do not apprehend how you can know where your fellow is."
Crireth smiled, and as he turned to leave Aragorn called again.
"Crireth…" The Norean turned back to face the King of Gondor. "I would like you, your daughter and your advisor to speak in Westron, even between yourselves. It would ease my men's minds." Aragorn said, omitting voluntarily it would ease his mind as well.
Crireth nodded. "I understand. I will tell Cindra and Qeladon to do so."
As he finished his sentence, footsteps neared the camp. It was Gimli and Legolas, their arms full of pieces of deadwood, enough to keep the fire going all night. They put down the wood near the fire and walked to Aragorn as the latter spoke.
"We need to set the watches for tonight as well."
From where he was sitting, near enough to hear them though he had not intervened yet, Qeladon said: "I suggest one of us Noreans should always be awake to make sure Ederis – and the creature – is not approaching. If none of you see any objection to it, I will take the first watch."
"I admit that considering the abilities of this creature, always knowing where it is might be important, and for that purpose your presence will be valuable. But that creature is not the only danger lying in those lands," Aragorn retorted. "None of you are warriors, and I do not think you are experienced enough to notice those dangers early enough to ensure the security of the camp. A soldier should keep watch with you."
"I will take the first watch then," Legolas immediately offered.
Aragorn nodded. He knew the Elf did not need much sleep, and he remembered that during the Quest of the Ring he had kept watch more often than any of the other members of the Fellowship.
"And I will take the second." Gimli said.
Crireth turned to his daughter, who was sitting at some distance from them. "Cindra?" he called to get her attention. "Will you take the second watch?"
The young woman nodded.
"All right," Aragorn concluded. "This is settled then. Legolas and Qeladon will keep watch the first half of the night, and Gimli and Cindra will keep watch the second half."
* * * * *
Elven eyes lifted to the starred sky, quickly finding there what they were looking for. Helluin was shining brighter than ever tonight among the other stars, and despite the new moon the camp seemed to be illuminated by some eerie light other than the one produced by the fire.
Legolas' travelling companions were all asleep, laying around the campfire, except Qeladon, the old Norean, and himself. It was a very quiet night indeed, and while the man was rather pleasant, he did not seem very talkative. He himself had not made much efforts to begin a conversation, despite his great will to do so.
The Elf laid his hand on the bark of a nearby tree and closed his eyes, listening to the soft sound of the wind rustling the leaves and letting the comforting feeling it rose fill his heart. It was usually enough to fully appease his mind, but for once it was not.
They were getting farther and farther from the sea, yet Legolas could feel his sea longing growing hour after hour, reaching a peak during this watch. It was as if the presence of those sea travelers alone was enough to arouse his sea longing.
He had always thought that this sea longing was no more than a strong and almost irresistible call to cross the Great Sea to meet his kind in Aman, but it seemed now there was more than met the eyes. He wanted to know more about the sea itself. And the Noreans practically lived on the sea…
Their watch would end soon, and Legolas was conscious it might be the only occasion he would have to talk freely with one of those people. Later on they might all be too preoccupied by the creature or by some still unknown danger to have time for that. And while his curiosity grew stronger, he refused to ask anything to the Norean, fearing that satisfying his curiosity would strengthen his longing.
"Legolas?"
The Elf almost jumped at the hearing of his name. Near him, Qeladon was looking at him with questioning eyes. The interrogation was quickly replaced by a slight amusement.
"A rare event it is to catch an Elf daydreaming…" the old man said with a smile, and before Legolas could answer anything he added: "I think this watch is reaching its end. I will go wake Cindra at once, for I am in great need of rest myself now."
The man stood up, and Legolas watched as he walked away, somewhat glad he had managed to resist his desire but at the same time sad he had not learned anything about the sea, unable to tell which feeling was stronger in his heart.
Legolas walked to where his Dwarf friend was sleeping and put a hand on his shoulder. He knew Gimli to be a rather heavy sleeper, but with a few words spoken at his ear he woke him up. The Dwarf blinked a few times to dismiss weariness and quickly straightened up with a nod directed at the Elf.
No other word was needed between the two of them, and Legolas walked away to swiftly climb a tree. There, he sat on a high branch and leant up against the trunk, taking a deep breath and hoping that from this place he would manage to stifle his longing.
Gimli stood up and gave a round look at the camp. Everything was quiet, and there was only Qeladon waking a young Norean warmly wrapped in her bedroll. He watched as half-sleeping she dragged herself from beneath the quilt and stood indolently. She walked near the campfire while he decided to settle at a strategic place to observe the surroundings.
For the shortest moment their eyes met, and what the Dwarf read in hers was something close to resentment. He could bet she had not forgotten what he had said the day before and still held it against him, but he did not care. He might have said those words in the heat of the moment as he often did, they had expressed his feelings. He did not trust those people, and wondered how Aragorn could so confidently.
His gaze wandered over the sleeping forms of his companions, and without much surprise he did not find the slender silhouette of an Elf among them. Looking up, it took him only a few seconds to spot Legolas, sitting high in a tree. By now he was quite used to his friend's habits, and while he had expected to find him there, it somewhat worried him. He knew the Silvan Elf usually took refuge in a tree whenever he needed calm and reflection, or just wished to be alone.
Gimli had seen the sideways looks the Elf had granted the Noreans with. He had seen the curiosity in his eyes. Legolas had been less scathing than usual during their verbal battle. He knew something was haunting him, and he could guess quite well what it was. His sea longing. Legolas excelled in dissimulating it when it manifested itself, and while Gimli had always pretended to not notice it to not hurt the Elf's pride, he had never been taken in. It distressed the Dwarf to know his friend suffered from it, and he resented the Noreans for that as they were responsible for Legolas' sea longing renewed outbreak.
And he feared this longing would soon be so strong Legolas would not be able to resist it any more and would have no other choice than to cross the Great Sea and meet his kin's fate in Aman. Leaving Middle-earth. Leaving him. He knew such a day would inevitably come, but he hoped it to be the latest possible, and just imagining it would happen ached.
Those Noreans might not be warriors and hence be rather harmless, yet who they were and where they came from gave them the power to take his best friend from him. And for that he would always hold a grudge against them.
Gimli turned his gaze back to Cindra, now sitting against a tree, and their eyes shortly met again. The young woman quickly averted her eyes while Gimli sighed. The end of the night would be very, very long.
After half an hour of muted war and mutual ignorance, Gimli decided to opt for a momentary truce. Starting a conversation with her would not kill him. While he was about to try to get her attention, he noticed that from where she was Cindra was looking intently at something farther in the woods. And that was somewhere near North. The direction they were going to follow the creature…
Gimli tensed. Had she seen something? Sensed something? He could not believe someone as inexperienced as her would have been able to see or hear any nearby foes before him, even more before the Elf perched in his tree. Gimli hastened to her side.
"Cindra? What is going on?" he asked, keeping his voice low, but the woman seemed too concentrated to pay any attention to him. "Cindra!" he called again, slightly shaking her by the shoulders.
She eventually turned to face him, jumping and obviously surprised to see him there and so close. She stared at him with astonishment until he asked with concern:
"Is it near? Is it coming?"
"I… I beg your pardon?" she stuttered at a total loss.
"The creature!" Gimli exclaimed, annoyed, but still made sure his voice was low enough to not wake up his companions.
"I… hum… No… Ederis is still farther North… Why?"
"What were you looking at then?"
Cindra seemed to try to understand what he was talking about. "Nothing, I was just… thinking." At Gimli's grumbling she sighed. "I do not understand. What are you accusing me of?"
The Dwarf gave her a long look. She was on the defensive, ready to bite.
"Or maybe you believe I do not have enough common sense to comprehend what you think," she said bitterly.
Anger began to build up in Gimli's heart. Had she been a man he would have gladly made her eat her boldness, but he had some scruples. After all she was only repeating his own words.
To his greatest surprise, it was she who spoke first: "I… I apologize." She was looking down, obviously embarrassed. "I usually do not behave like that, but I have been a bit… under stress lately." She gave him a shy look, but not seeing any reaction she quickly averted her eyes once more, directing them toward north again with a sad sigh.
The truth was Gimli was too flabbergasted to have any reaction. First she attacked him and the second after she apologized. So there were folks stranger than elves after all… He felt a bit guilty as he was the one who had provoked her ire yet she was the one to apologize, but his pride would not allow him to do the same in return.
The young woman maintained a stubborn silence again, crossing her arms on her breast, and Gimli decided to sit again at some distance, but kept an eye on her. After a few minutes he saw her nod off, slowly falling asleep. He considered waking her up as she was supposed to keep watch, but dismissed the idea though he was not sure why.
Legolas finally went down his tree, barely making more noise than the wings of a butterfly. He had at last managed to control the call of the sea, but wondered how long he would be able to hold it. Every time the fight revealed harder, and he knew that soon he would give in.
He silently walked to Gimli, stopping next to his friend, but quickly noticed the still form of the sleeping Norean a few meters from them. The Dwarf followed his gaze, and when the Elf began to move he held him back by the arm.
"Let her sleep," he quietly said, shaking his head.
"She is supposed to keep watch tonight," Legolas objected. "She may not be used to it but she will have to. Soon our security might depend on those people's vigilance."
"You are right, but for the moment the creature is far ahead from us and thus is not a danger yet," Gimli stated though he had almost thought otherwise only moments before. "As for the other dangers that may lie in those forests, I can not think of any that an half-asleep human would detect before a fully awake Elf, as it looks like you do not intend to have some sleep tonight."
Seeing his friend raise an eyebrow at his last sentence, the Dwarf hastened to add: "Of course I would have preferred the company of anyone but an Elf, but it seems I do not really have the choice."
"Of course…" Legolas smiled, and eventually sat silently near the Dwarf.
The latter was hoping the Elf had found peace in the tree of his, and to be honest he was dying to ask him what had transpired with Qeladon. But he could not ask directly for his concern might be too obvious, especially since Legolas probably thought he had not noticed his uneasiness.
"The air is cold tonight," he began, "though the sky is clear."
Legolas nodded while a bit puzzled by his friend's strange statement.
"I noticed that kind of things happened near lakes or rivers. Important amounts of water seem to chill the surroundings." He paused. "It is probably the same with the sea."
Legolas slowly turned his head to give a long look at the Dwarf.
Gimli shrugged. "What?"
Legolas chuckled and shook his head. "Dwarves are really not made for subtlety…" he answered. A thought suddenly crossed his mind, and he added, smiling: "And I am quite sure subtlety feels the same."
"Legolas…"
"Actually, I even think subtlety would refuse to reside in a Dwarf's mind. Subtlety probably has enough pride to wish to be found in a decent place."
"Legolas, if you are seeking a confrontation, this will not work."
Legolas sighed. "I really thought you had more pride yourself, Master Dwarf…"
"Oh trust me I do, Master Elf, but I prefer to wait for daytime. At the moment everyone is asleep, hence no one would be able to see my victory over you."
The Elf laughed lightly. "I am afraid this is a bit presumptuous of you."
"Well laugh once more and I will show you who is being presumptuous."
From where he was sleeping, or more likely pretending to be sleeping at the moment, Aragorn smiled. Those two never stopped, did they?
----------------------------------
End of Chapter Four...
Helluin = Elvish name for the star actually called Sirius (source: Encyclopedia of Arda glyphweb.com/arda/)(I hope the link will work this time...)
Well, I hope you liked this chapter! Feel free to give me your opinion in a review! (actually I'd love you to do so...)
Next chapter: "Friendships and Losses"
Anyway, here is the new chapter! Enjoy!
Cohabitation
The first day of journey unfolded rather quietly. Before leaving, Crireth had located Ederis on a map, and the latter was far ahead of them. The three Noreans had lost a lot of time talking their way out of Linhir with Gondor soldiers, and while they had gained some by riding to Minas Tirith, the creature was still much ahead of them.
How this creature had managed to get past the White City northward unnoticed was beyond Aragorn's understanding. The only passage north was between Minas Tirith and Minas Morgul, and the way was well guarded. If something ill had transpired there he would have heard about it, as he had heard about Linhir.
Another solution might have been to skirt round Minas Tirith and cross the White mountains to the west, but it was an hazardous journey for a lone man and in no way it would have led him that far ahead of them.
For a moment Aragorn doubted Crireth's certitude, and thought the creature might still be in Gondor. But all three Noreans seemed to share the same confidence, and he had no reason to think they would lie.
They had now stopped and were setting up a campfire before dusk. Legolas had offered to collect some wood, and Gimli had given some pretext to go with him. During the day the two of them had not failed to start one of their verbal jousts, and while Aragorn's men were somewhat used to them – the unusual Elf and Dwarf friendship was quite well-known – the Noreans seemed greatly disconcerted. At some point Qeladon had even asked Aragorn if they always behaved like that.
"Only in public…" he had cryptically answered, to Qeladon's greatest puzzlement.
Aragorn turned to give a look at his men, and noticed a behavior he had already observed among them during the last hours of travel. While now unpacking and gathered together, they were whispering to one another, sometimes looking at him, sometimes looking at the Noreans. His instincts told him it boded no good, and he had better resolve the situation quickly.
He silently walked to them, surprising them by asking: "Is there anything wrong?"
The soldiers seemed embarrassed and looked away innocently, as if naught preoccupied them.
"Ethiannor?" Aragorn turned to the highest ranked of his men.
"We…" He hesitated. "We may have a request, my Lord."
"A request?" The King repeated. "What kind of request?" he asked authoritatively.
"It is about the Noreans."
With a stern face, Aragorn crossed his arms on his chest and waited for the soldier to go on. He had not learned him much for the moment. It had been easy to guess where the issue lied.
"The problem is they always talk in their own language. And they might use it at their advantage. I mean… We do not know much about them…"
Aragorn nodded. He had noticed that as well, and he had to admit he was not very happy with it himself. He understood that they might feel more comfortable speaking in Norean, yet the least respect they could have was to speak in Westron so that everyone would understand.
"I will have a talk with them and make sure they speak Westron from now on," he assured.
"Thank you my Lord."
Aragorn turned towards the Noreans. They had settled at some distance. As well as always talking to each other in their own language, he had also noticed they never mingled with the other men. Even now they were doing so, unpacking on their own. They never spoke much, even in Norean, and always remained together, apart from his men.
Those people were aloof folks indeed.
"Crireth," he called, drawing near the man.
"Aye?"
"Could you please confirm the direction Ederis is going?"
"Of course." The clan chief called his daughter and asked her something, and in a few words she answered with a nod.
Aragorn noticed with a slight annoyance that both question and answer were spoken in Norean. While he could make out the general meaning – after all their two languages shared the same origins, the language of Númenor – it was still rather frustrating to not comprehend fully. He understood it could arouse suspicion from his men.
"Ederis is still following the same direction," Crireth finally said. "But I guess you already knew that. I saw you study the tracks today. Trust you not our guidance?"
"I do. But I still do not apprehend how you can know where your fellow is."
Crireth smiled, and as he turned to leave Aragorn called again.
"Crireth…" The Norean turned back to face the King of Gondor. "I would like you, your daughter and your advisor to speak in Westron, even between yourselves. It would ease my men's minds." Aragorn said, omitting voluntarily it would ease his mind as well.
Crireth nodded. "I understand. I will tell Cindra and Qeladon to do so."
As he finished his sentence, footsteps neared the camp. It was Gimli and Legolas, their arms full of pieces of deadwood, enough to keep the fire going all night. They put down the wood near the fire and walked to Aragorn as the latter spoke.
"We need to set the watches for tonight as well."
From where he was sitting, near enough to hear them though he had not intervened yet, Qeladon said: "I suggest one of us Noreans should always be awake to make sure Ederis – and the creature – is not approaching. If none of you see any objection to it, I will take the first watch."
"I admit that considering the abilities of this creature, always knowing where it is might be important, and for that purpose your presence will be valuable. But that creature is not the only danger lying in those lands," Aragorn retorted. "None of you are warriors, and I do not think you are experienced enough to notice those dangers early enough to ensure the security of the camp. A soldier should keep watch with you."
"I will take the first watch then," Legolas immediately offered.
Aragorn nodded. He knew the Elf did not need much sleep, and he remembered that during the Quest of the Ring he had kept watch more often than any of the other members of the Fellowship.
"And I will take the second." Gimli said.
Crireth turned to his daughter, who was sitting at some distance from them. "Cindra?" he called to get her attention. "Will you take the second watch?"
The young woman nodded.
"All right," Aragorn concluded. "This is settled then. Legolas and Qeladon will keep watch the first half of the night, and Gimli and Cindra will keep watch the second half."
Elven eyes lifted to the starred sky, quickly finding there what they were looking for. Helluin was shining brighter than ever tonight among the other stars, and despite the new moon the camp seemed to be illuminated by some eerie light other than the one produced by the fire.
Legolas' travelling companions were all asleep, laying around the campfire, except Qeladon, the old Norean, and himself. It was a very quiet night indeed, and while the man was rather pleasant, he did not seem very talkative. He himself had not made much efforts to begin a conversation, despite his great will to do so.
The Elf laid his hand on the bark of a nearby tree and closed his eyes, listening to the soft sound of the wind rustling the leaves and letting the comforting feeling it rose fill his heart. It was usually enough to fully appease his mind, but for once it was not.
They were getting farther and farther from the sea, yet Legolas could feel his sea longing growing hour after hour, reaching a peak during this watch. It was as if the presence of those sea travelers alone was enough to arouse his sea longing.
He had always thought that this sea longing was no more than a strong and almost irresistible call to cross the Great Sea to meet his kind in Aman, but it seemed now there was more than met the eyes. He wanted to know more about the sea itself. And the Noreans practically lived on the sea…
Their watch would end soon, and Legolas was conscious it might be the only occasion he would have to talk freely with one of those people. Later on they might all be too preoccupied by the creature or by some still unknown danger to have time for that. And while his curiosity grew stronger, he refused to ask anything to the Norean, fearing that satisfying his curiosity would strengthen his longing.
"Legolas?"
The Elf almost jumped at the hearing of his name. Near him, Qeladon was looking at him with questioning eyes. The interrogation was quickly replaced by a slight amusement.
"A rare event it is to catch an Elf daydreaming…" the old man said with a smile, and before Legolas could answer anything he added: "I think this watch is reaching its end. I will go wake Cindra at once, for I am in great need of rest myself now."
The man stood up, and Legolas watched as he walked away, somewhat glad he had managed to resist his desire but at the same time sad he had not learned anything about the sea, unable to tell which feeling was stronger in his heart.
Legolas walked to where his Dwarf friend was sleeping and put a hand on his shoulder. He knew Gimli to be a rather heavy sleeper, but with a few words spoken at his ear he woke him up. The Dwarf blinked a few times to dismiss weariness and quickly straightened up with a nod directed at the Elf.
No other word was needed between the two of them, and Legolas walked away to swiftly climb a tree. There, he sat on a high branch and leant up against the trunk, taking a deep breath and hoping that from this place he would manage to stifle his longing.
Gimli stood up and gave a round look at the camp. Everything was quiet, and there was only Qeladon waking a young Norean warmly wrapped in her bedroll. He watched as half-sleeping she dragged herself from beneath the quilt and stood indolently. She walked near the campfire while he decided to settle at a strategic place to observe the surroundings.
For the shortest moment their eyes met, and what the Dwarf read in hers was something close to resentment. He could bet she had not forgotten what he had said the day before and still held it against him, but he did not care. He might have said those words in the heat of the moment as he often did, they had expressed his feelings. He did not trust those people, and wondered how Aragorn could so confidently.
His gaze wandered over the sleeping forms of his companions, and without much surprise he did not find the slender silhouette of an Elf among them. Looking up, it took him only a few seconds to spot Legolas, sitting high in a tree. By now he was quite used to his friend's habits, and while he had expected to find him there, it somewhat worried him. He knew the Silvan Elf usually took refuge in a tree whenever he needed calm and reflection, or just wished to be alone.
Gimli had seen the sideways looks the Elf had granted the Noreans with. He had seen the curiosity in his eyes. Legolas had been less scathing than usual during their verbal battle. He knew something was haunting him, and he could guess quite well what it was. His sea longing. Legolas excelled in dissimulating it when it manifested itself, and while Gimli had always pretended to not notice it to not hurt the Elf's pride, he had never been taken in. It distressed the Dwarf to know his friend suffered from it, and he resented the Noreans for that as they were responsible for Legolas' sea longing renewed outbreak.
And he feared this longing would soon be so strong Legolas would not be able to resist it any more and would have no other choice than to cross the Great Sea and meet his kin's fate in Aman. Leaving Middle-earth. Leaving him. He knew such a day would inevitably come, but he hoped it to be the latest possible, and just imagining it would happen ached.
Those Noreans might not be warriors and hence be rather harmless, yet who they were and where they came from gave them the power to take his best friend from him. And for that he would always hold a grudge against them.
Gimli turned his gaze back to Cindra, now sitting against a tree, and their eyes shortly met again. The young woman quickly averted her eyes while Gimli sighed. The end of the night would be very, very long.
After half an hour of muted war and mutual ignorance, Gimli decided to opt for a momentary truce. Starting a conversation with her would not kill him. While he was about to try to get her attention, he noticed that from where she was Cindra was looking intently at something farther in the woods. And that was somewhere near North. The direction they were going to follow the creature…
Gimli tensed. Had she seen something? Sensed something? He could not believe someone as inexperienced as her would have been able to see or hear any nearby foes before him, even more before the Elf perched in his tree. Gimli hastened to her side.
"Cindra? What is going on?" he asked, keeping his voice low, but the woman seemed too concentrated to pay any attention to him. "Cindra!" he called again, slightly shaking her by the shoulders.
She eventually turned to face him, jumping and obviously surprised to see him there and so close. She stared at him with astonishment until he asked with concern:
"Is it near? Is it coming?"
"I… I beg your pardon?" she stuttered at a total loss.
"The creature!" Gimli exclaimed, annoyed, but still made sure his voice was low enough to not wake up his companions.
"I… hum… No… Ederis is still farther North… Why?"
"What were you looking at then?"
Cindra seemed to try to understand what he was talking about. "Nothing, I was just… thinking." At Gimli's grumbling she sighed. "I do not understand. What are you accusing me of?"
The Dwarf gave her a long look. She was on the defensive, ready to bite.
"Or maybe you believe I do not have enough common sense to comprehend what you think," she said bitterly.
Anger began to build up in Gimli's heart. Had she been a man he would have gladly made her eat her boldness, but he had some scruples. After all she was only repeating his own words.
To his greatest surprise, it was she who spoke first: "I… I apologize." She was looking down, obviously embarrassed. "I usually do not behave like that, but I have been a bit… under stress lately." She gave him a shy look, but not seeing any reaction she quickly averted her eyes once more, directing them toward north again with a sad sigh.
The truth was Gimli was too flabbergasted to have any reaction. First she attacked him and the second after she apologized. So there were folks stranger than elves after all… He felt a bit guilty as he was the one who had provoked her ire yet she was the one to apologize, but his pride would not allow him to do the same in return.
The young woman maintained a stubborn silence again, crossing her arms on her breast, and Gimli decided to sit again at some distance, but kept an eye on her. After a few minutes he saw her nod off, slowly falling asleep. He considered waking her up as she was supposed to keep watch, but dismissed the idea though he was not sure why.
Legolas finally went down his tree, barely making more noise than the wings of a butterfly. He had at last managed to control the call of the sea, but wondered how long he would be able to hold it. Every time the fight revealed harder, and he knew that soon he would give in.
He silently walked to Gimli, stopping next to his friend, but quickly noticed the still form of the sleeping Norean a few meters from them. The Dwarf followed his gaze, and when the Elf began to move he held him back by the arm.
"Let her sleep," he quietly said, shaking his head.
"She is supposed to keep watch tonight," Legolas objected. "She may not be used to it but she will have to. Soon our security might depend on those people's vigilance."
"You are right, but for the moment the creature is far ahead from us and thus is not a danger yet," Gimli stated though he had almost thought otherwise only moments before. "As for the other dangers that may lie in those forests, I can not think of any that an half-asleep human would detect before a fully awake Elf, as it looks like you do not intend to have some sleep tonight."
Seeing his friend raise an eyebrow at his last sentence, the Dwarf hastened to add: "Of course I would have preferred the company of anyone but an Elf, but it seems I do not really have the choice."
"Of course…" Legolas smiled, and eventually sat silently near the Dwarf.
The latter was hoping the Elf had found peace in the tree of his, and to be honest he was dying to ask him what had transpired with Qeladon. But he could not ask directly for his concern might be too obvious, especially since Legolas probably thought he had not noticed his uneasiness.
"The air is cold tonight," he began, "though the sky is clear."
Legolas nodded while a bit puzzled by his friend's strange statement.
"I noticed that kind of things happened near lakes or rivers. Important amounts of water seem to chill the surroundings." He paused. "It is probably the same with the sea."
Legolas slowly turned his head to give a long look at the Dwarf.
Gimli shrugged. "What?"
Legolas chuckled and shook his head. "Dwarves are really not made for subtlety…" he answered. A thought suddenly crossed his mind, and he added, smiling: "And I am quite sure subtlety feels the same."
"Legolas…"
"Actually, I even think subtlety would refuse to reside in a Dwarf's mind. Subtlety probably has enough pride to wish to be found in a decent place."
"Legolas, if you are seeking a confrontation, this will not work."
Legolas sighed. "I really thought you had more pride yourself, Master Dwarf…"
"Oh trust me I do, Master Elf, but I prefer to wait for daytime. At the moment everyone is asleep, hence no one would be able to see my victory over you."
The Elf laughed lightly. "I am afraid this is a bit presumptuous of you."
"Well laugh once more and I will show you who is being presumptuous."
From where he was sleeping, or more likely pretending to be sleeping at the moment, Aragorn smiled. Those two never stopped, did they?
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End of Chapter Four...
Helluin = Elvish name for the star actually called Sirius (source: Encyclopedia of Arda glyphweb.com/arda/)(I hope the link will work this time...)
Well, I hope you liked this chapter! Feel free to give me your opinion in a review! (actually I'd love you to do so...)
Next chapter: "Friendships and Losses"