Disclaimer: Not mine!! :(
Title: To New Mutiny
Rating: R
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Note:: Sorry about the delay everyone! I had a bit of a family thing and had to go across the country and stay with my cousin and her baby for a few days. Thanks for waiting! And for those of you who are waiting for me to update Strike of the Serpent, it'll be up tomorrow ok? I think that's all… Enjoy!! Hugs, .:Tithen Min:.
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Chapter 14
They rose early the next morning, hurriedly clearing the camp and packing the few belongings they had used during the night.
After riding hard for several hours, they gained the outer edge of Mirkwood. The part of Lake Town they were aiming for involved cutting through the forest here, so they dismounted, leading the mounts carefully through the dense trees.
Legolas was walking with Gimli and Elrohir while Aragorn and Elladan led the way, talking quietly.
"We can take an hour's rest in this clearing." Aragorn turned back to the other three, who were close behind.
Legolas glanced up and looked past him to the clearing. "Good idea, Aragorn." He walked up beside his human friend, "Will we reach Lake Town before nightfall?"
"Aye, it is not much farther now, Legolas."
Legolas was about to answer when he glanced up at Elladan as the older Elf entered the clearing and his eyes widened in alarm. "Elladan, wait!"
Elladan froze, watching in confusion as the archer retrieved a branch from the ground and moved beside him.
"Legolas?"
"Shh." Legolas cautioned him, before hefting the branch and throwing it into the clearing, setting off a line of spring loaded metal hunting traps, which had been invisibly camouflaged in the leaves on the ground.
Elladan watched in amazement as Legolas' keen eyes swept the area, looking for more traps. "How did you know? I did not even see them!"
The prince laughed, "You must know what to look for."
A slight rustling and footsteps came from the trees to one side and they ducked back into the shadows of the trees.
A young man emerged from the bushes and looked suspiciously at the traps, clearly wondering what had set them off since there were no animals caught in them.
Legolas suddenly stepped forward into the clearing, leaving his companions in the shadows.
"Conran?"
The young man seemed to jump several feet in the air in alarm before turning abruptly to face the newcomer.
"Tiri!" A smile spread across the young hunter's face and he embraced the Elf, "Where have you been?"
Legolas smiled, pulling back slightly. "I was travelling a bit, that is all." He paused, "What are you doing out here alone, Ran? Are you alright?"
The Elf frowned as he reached out and gently turned the young man's head to the side and his eyes narrowed as they fell on a fading bruise on Conran's cheek. "Ran?"
The young man refused to meet his eyes.
"Look at me Ran. Who hurt you?"
Conran shook his head, "It— I mean— I am not— "
"It is alright, you do not have to tell me if you do not wish it."
Conran stepped back, looking at the sprung traps. "I— he said I do not deserve to be a hunter. He said— "
"Haller?" Legolas asked softly.
Conran nodded reluctantly. "Aye,"
Legolas' face hardened, "Listen to me, Ran, never let anyone dictate what you can and cannot do. I have lived that way and it is no easy life, my friend."
Conran suddenly smiled, "You have remembered!"
Legolas shrugged. "A little. With the help of my friends."
Aragorn, Gimli and the twins took that as a cue and stepped from the trees, leading the horses behind them. Conran's eyes widened at the strange sight of Elves, Dwarf and Human travelling together.
Elladan smiled. "Well, Legolas, who is this little mortal?"
A flicker of fear crossed Conran's face until he realised what he had heard and frowned. "'Legolas'?"
The archer chuckled, "Aye. That is my real name. That impolite Elf is Elladan, and that" he pointed behind the older twin, "is his brother, Elrohir." he motioned to the other two in turn, "That is Strider and Gimli." He put a hand on Ran's shoulder and turned to his friends, "This is Ran. He was with the hunting party who found me and I count him a good friend also."
The young man smiled shyly in greeting. "Hello. I am glad you were able to help Tiri remember his past."
Aragorn smiled reassuringly, "So are we."
Legolas turned to Aragorn. "Could you take care of camp? I need to help him with something."
The man nodded knowingly as Legolas motioned to Ran and led the young man away.
When he found a suitable spot, Legolas paused and unslung his bow from his back. "He thinks you unworthy? Then let us teach him not to doubt those younger than himself."
He held the bow out for his friend to take and Ran's eyes widened in wonder. "Really?"
Legolas smiled and nodded. As Ran took the bow from him, Legolas took an arrow from his quiver and held it loosely in his hand, waiting for the young man to need it.
"Raise the bow," he instructed softly, waiting as Ran adjusted his stance and raised the bow. Legolas walked around him, casting a critical eye over his stance and adjusting a foot or a shoulder where it was necessary.
Finally, the Elf nodded. "That looks about right. Now," He handed him the arrow, "Notch it to the string and draw it. Aim for the centre of that tree— see the knot in the trunk?"
Ran blinked uncertainly, but did as the Elf instructed. "But it is so small."
Legolas chuckled. "When we are finished here, it will be more than big enough for you. Now hold for a minute. Pull back on the string a little more, rest your fingers against your jaw for support."
He sighted along the young hunter's arm and raised his guiding arm a little, so the arrow tip was aimed not at the target, but slightly above it.
"When an arrow is released, it does not fly straight. Its path will arc, so always aim just above your intended target."
Conran nodded.
"Focus on your target and release when you are ready."
The arrow flew from the string and lodged itself into the tree several inches to the left of the knot, but it was a lot closer than Conran could have managed by himself. His eyes grew wide and he turned to Legolas, pointing wordlessly at the arrow and smiling.
The youth laughed, "I did it!"
Legolas chuckled. "Aye, you did. An excellent shot, my young friend."
Ran beamed proudly and hugged the Elf tightly. "Thank you Ti— Legolas."
Legolas nodded, walking over and pulling the arrow from the bark. "Let us try it again. This time, by yourself." He handed Ran the arrow and stepped back.
Ran pulled back on the string, focussed on the target and released the arrow. It landed slightly farther from the knot and Ran looked frustrated, causing Legolas to laugh.
"That is very good for your first lesson, Ran. Believe me, my first lesson, my shots went so wide I never found the arrows and had to make new ones!"
The young man laughed. "Really?"
Legolas knew he was bending the truth a little, but nodded. "Aye, no one is perfect, Ran. Remember that the next time Haller takes it on himself to make your life miserable. Now try it again."
* * * * * * * * * *
"Anyone hungry?" Legolas inquired mildly as he and Ran returned to the camp several hours later. They dragged the carcass of a deer behind them.
Gimli's face lit up. "That is quite a catch, Master Elf!"
The Elf chuckled and shook his head. "I cannot take credit for our meal, my friends. It may have been my bow and arrow, but Ran was the one who felled the beast."
The camp erupted into cries of admiration and praise for the young hunter. Legolas just smiled and gripped his shoulder gently.
"You see? No one can tell you now that you are an unworthy hunter." he whispered.
"Thank you, Legolas." The young man saw the Elf was about to protest, and cut him off. "Seriously, my friend. I would not even have had the nerve to try without you."
He reluctantly handed back the magnificent bow that Narso had gifted to the Elf not long ago.
"When you get home, you ask for one of your own." Legolas murmured, "And if they doubt your skill to wield it, show them, as you showed me." he smiled, "I know you can. And so do you."
Ran smiled, feeling his newfound confidence. "Aye. I do."
Legolas chuckled, "Shall we eat?"
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Ah yes, more mindless fluff written during writers block…I'll get to the action soon, I promise!! ;)
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Review replies::
Cheysuli: Ah yes, poor old Glorfindel…He's killed by a balrog and comes back again only to get shot in the foot by Elrohir… *sigh* Life isn't fair is it?? ;) *snigger* Hope this chapter wasn't as bad as I thought!! More soon! :)
MoroTheWolfGod: Really? Aw thank you!! I hope it's not boring you cos I know it's a little slow but it'll get better soon enough! Hope you enjoyed! :)
DXPrincess: Hehehe!! Good! So I'm not as boring as I think then? Wait till you see what I have planned… ;) Indeed…and your comments have given me some inspiration for the next chapter! You rock! I'm glad you liked it even if it is a little slow right now! Hope this one was ok! =)
Ivory Novelist: Hehehe! Yes you have! All those hours of reading Brothers in Heart must have rubbed off on me… ;) I loved your newest chapter, but it was so short! Hope you're intending to put up more; otherwise I'll have to send your hypothetical sheep after you! Sheep I tell you! Sorry, I'm sleep deprived!! ;) I'll have plenty of angst in future chapters, so don't worry! Hope you liked!! :)
Lefty: Thank you! I was so hyper it's not funny! Aw I'm glad you liked the fluff, but I think I'm overdoing it now with the two chapters in a row but it's all I can get out when I have writers block… Grr… I will get to a bit of angst soon I promise! Yeah, he does need his daddy…I'll have to remedy that soon! Ssh… ;) Hope you enjoyed! :)
Shandrial: Good! A bit of fluff is good for a story, can't be all angst and stuff! Speaking of angst, how's the stories coming? I can't wait to see where Fading Light is going to go… Sorry, ignore that! Oh they'll get there soon enough! That's the future chapters that I have already written but no idea how to get to from here… I'll think of something! They won't be too long! =)
Alice: Oh good, cos drum rolls are better! Very hard on the wrists after a while though…I know from experience! I do have a bit of a taste for Leggy torture don't I? Maybe next time I'll take it easy on him…*snigger* Ooh you're from London? Good! You're in my time zone! Now I'm the one with the randomness… ;) I'm glad you liked and I hope your story is going well for ya! Good luck again!! :)
Karri: Aw good I'm glad it was enjoyable fluff! :) I'm not a great writer of fluff really, but that's what always ends up on the page when I have writers block… I'm really glad you're liking the story so far! :) And well done on noticing the titling, not a lot of people did! Hope this chapter was ok too! =)
wispykitty: Ooh that's so cool! You put it behind bars! ;) It looked so cool!! I looked at it and I was like OMG!! It's in a proper cage!! Hehehe! Aw I'm glad you liked the chappie!! I'll have some nice angst soon, just bear with me! ;)
Kit Cloudkicker: Oh that is such a good idea!!! Why didn't I think of that? Can I use it? I promise you'll get the credit! ;)
angelbird1224: Thank you!! Sorry this took so long, but I'll have more up as soon as it's ready! Hope you liked!! ;)
Lady Lenna: Hehehe! I'm glad you enjoyed the fluff! This chapter wasn't too confusing was it? :) I'm sorry this took so long!! Had a bit of a family crisis thing going on, but all's better now and I'll have more up soon!! =)
Alklachion: Oh sorry about that!! I had to put it there cos there's character torture in later chapters…Oops! Shouldn't have said that! ;) Oh well…But at least you know it's coming! Sorry for all the fluff, but I've had writers block and that's all that gets written when I'm trying to get anything down on paper! Angst coming up soon! :p
tamara: Ah yeah I think Ro is my fave, but don't tell Elladan!! ;) Aw I'm really glad you liked it! I'll get to some good old angst soon, I promise! Hope you liked! :)