Chapter 30

"Hurry, Lainfea!" Legolas looked back at the girl. In his eyes, she always moved too slowly. Legolas knew she was a only a child. He knew her legs were not long enough, he knew she was too small to jump great distances. It was the first time in her life she walked from tree to tree, and she was doing
an admirable job. Yet even though she tried her best, she couldn't keep up with her brothers and sister.

Legolas couldn't help to feel annoyed by her slow progress. There were voices of wargs floating of the wind, and the trees sent out warning after warning.
"Come on," he groaned. Lainfea carefully moved to the end of the branch jumping gracefully on another one, yet she remained in the same tree.
Legolas waited. His sister moved slowly to the end of the branch, careful not to fall.
"Come on Lain..." he whispered. Lainfea stared at the branch Legolas stood on and hestitated.

"You can do it, Lain. I know you can," Legolas encouraged her.

She shook her head. "No I can't," she said.
The tree she stood in had changed with her presence. Some of the leaves were turning green. Legolas sighed. That would be the seventh tree they had marked today. And If Lainfea had stayed in the tree long enough to mark it, it meant Legolas, Lanthir and Limloeth had spent long enough in the
following tree waiting for her. He checked and moaned. Eight trees marked, and it wasn't even midday yet. Yesterday they had marked a total of seventeen trees, and the day before it twelve.

"Lainfea! JUMP!" he ordered, imitating his grandfather's voice. She shook her head several times.
"I can't, I can't, I can't," she repeated desperately.

"Yes you can!" Legolas said, nearly as desperate. "You jumped further than this yesterday." It wasn't true, but he knew she could cross the distance. All she needed was confidence.
The little girl checked the distance again and shook her head. Tears formed in her eyes.
"I really, really, can't, " she whispered.

A warg howled in the distance.
Legolas' voice grew more desperate. "Jump! NOW!" he ordered.
She didn't move. Tears fell onto the branch she was standing on. "It is too far," she said, and moved backwards to the trunk.

"Lanthir," Legolas said. His brother nodded and jumped back onto the tree Lainfea was standing on. He grabbed the little girl and moved back to the edge of the branch.
"Ready?" Lanthir asked his brother.
Legolas moved back and forth a little to test his balance, then nodded.
"Ready," he confirmed.

Lanthir checked the girl in his arms. "Ready to fly, Lain?" he asked her.
She nodded.
"Good," Lanthir said. He tensed his muscles, and threw his sister to the other tree.
Legolas moved fast and caught her in his arms.
"Got you!" he said triumphantly, as he put Lainfea back onto her own two feet again.

He moved, making way for Lanthir, who jumped from tree to tree. Legolas knew they couldn't keep doing this. His arms hurt from the impact Lainfea had made, and Lanthir was getting more and more exhausted. But they couldn't move over the ground either, for the wargs would pick up the scent of their trail too easily. He couldn't carry her himself either. He was a bit rusty at jumping from tree to tree now; it had been twenty years for him as well.

He sighed desperately. Sometimes he just didn't have the answers. Lainfea placed a small hand on his arm. She could feel her brother was very worried, and knew it was her fault.
"I can jump to the next tree," she said, trying to make him feel better.

Her older brother gave a weak smile and ruffled her hair.
"It is not your fault, Lain."
"Is too," she disagreed. "My legs are too short.
I just wish I was bigger. Then you wouldn't have to sigh," she said looking up at him. He wanted to say something kind to her, but he was interrupted by Limloeth.

"We have to move," she said. "Danger is coming this way, and it's moving fast."
An warg howled again, much closer now.
"Let's hurry," Legolas said grimly.

They moved as quickly as Lainfea could, hurrying across the trees, jumping from branch to branch. Yet the wargs were coming steadily closer, minute after minute. The creatures had picked up the trail of green leaves, and followed it a full speed on the ground.

The four elves heard their low growling and moved as fast as they could.
Lainfea tried not to listen, she tried moving as fast as her older brothers and sisters, concentrating on nothing but the branches and the distance between them.

Sometimes she could feel a branch stretch itself, trying to aid her but it didn't happen very often. The trees in this part of the wood were having trouble enough to remain standing.

Then it happened again. Her oldest brother jumped into the next tree, and Lanthir and Limloeth followed. She measured the distance with her eyes. 'Too far', her mind told her. 'Beyond your reach.'
She could see her brother turn and look at her. "Come on, Lain," Legolas said. "You can do it."

She checked the distance again. No she could not.
A warg howled. It sounded close. Too close. The little girl closed her eyes, then she took off and jumped. For a second she flew through the air, and then her feet connected with the branch on the others side. The elfling opened her eyes and smiled. She had made it.

Legolas stopped for a minute and planted a quick kiss on the top of her head.
"Well done, little one. I knew you could do it!"
"Legolas!" Lanthir said and pointed below. The wargs had caught up with them. They were quickly surrounding the tree the elves were in.

"MOVE!" Legolas ordered, jumping to the next tree as fast as he could.
His siblings followed him, but so did the wargs.

The creatures chased them as they moved from tree to tree, always faster than the elves were, because they were moving over solid ground.

Legolas knew that if he had been alone, he could have outrun them, but Lainfea was quickly falling behind, and he couldn't leave her.

The elfling was hestitating again. He could see why, as the distance she now had to jump was more than twice her height, and there were wargs on the ground below her, jumping, and snapping at her feet.

"You can do it," he whispered, more to convince himself than anything else.
"You can do it, come on."
The girl closed her eyes.

She took a few steps back, took a run, and jumped. The moment her feet touched the branch she opened her eyes and smiled triumphantly.

But a warg jumped at the trunk of the tree, causing it to shake.
Legolas quickly regained his balance, but Lainfea didn't. She hadn't landed fully yet, and her feet slipped.

Legolas could see her expression change from triumph to terror in a millisecond. The little girl landed on the ground, right in the midst of the wargs.

MCross:

I will not post on the MC today.. As it is Teitho challenge day.. and I don't want the 'grand finale' of my story to be overlooked.. So Sorry.. ButI will post tomorrow..

And I posted here. Again.

CapriceAnn Hedican-Kocur:

Goodnight. Or... as you probebly shut off your computer afterwards, A very good morning!