Chapter Four

Injuries Pose Problems

The young elf struggled to find the top of the water for breath, desperately. He had no more air in his lungs and he was choking on mouthfuls of water. Finally, he surfaced and his chest heaved in the air his lungs so urgently needed. Elrohir sucked in as much air as he could muster before submitting to fits of coughing as the current dragged him beneath the water again. The rapids caused water to fly into his nose and mouth, blocking the air to reach his lungs, but filling them with water. The youngest son of Elrond choked and coughed out the water, and his lungs heaved again.

His body was slammed against the bank and he gasped with instant pain. The memory of the arrow currently placed aside as the new sensation filled his quickly numbing body. Stars appeared before his eyes as his small frame was thrown against a large partially hidden rock, and he heard his ribs crack with the impact. He was thrown around in a complete circle, crying out in agony and he lost all sense of direction as his body hurtled into another sharp edged rock. Elrohir instantly lost all sense of time and he struggled against the binds of a large branch that tangled against his feet, pulling him under the water, which he feared was the last time. His strength was ebbing and he lost consciousness.

Elladan sprinted across the loose sand and rocks on the riverbank, searching for signs of his brother as he ran, then stumbled and resuming his frantic tracking. His tightly bandaged leg throbbed as his foot hit the ground causing him to wince in pain. As time passed, his racing turned to limping. Then he stopped all together and sat down to view his injury.

He pulled up his torn pant leg and frowned at the blood seeping through the gauze around his leg. Elladan untied the bindings and pulled the gauze away from the oozing gash. Wincing as he did so, the gauze tore at the wound and pulled off some of the skin. Biting his lip in frustration, Elladan opened the healers' kit and searched for some herbs to help mend the wound.

He dug through the bag and found a small jar at the bottom. Quickly, he opened the jar and sniffed at the contents and wrinkled his nose at the putrid smell that wafted up to his nose. Shaking his head he stoppered the bottle and placed it back into the saddlebag and resumed his search until he found what he was looking for. It was a small pouch that contained green powder from a plant called niphredil.

Elladan abandoned his search while he boiled some water, and made a quick paste to cover his wound before rewrapping it in gauze so his injury could breath. Sighing with a sudden weariness, Elladan took the cork out of his water bottle and drank the cool liquid. He wiped his brow and found it slightly warm and covered in a thin layer of sweat. He frowned and shoved himself to his feet.

Glancing around, he doused the fire and covered the now damp ground with leaves. It would do him no good if the orcs stumbled across his camp. With one final glance, he limped down river resuming his search for his twin brother.

He held up his hand and called for rest as he and his band of hunters came across a raging river. Smiling to himself he climbed off his horse and stretched. He felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked up into a pair of brown eyes that danced with humor. He laughed. "What do you want?"

"Will we be camping here tonight, Cire?" The man asked pushing dark hair off his forehead.

The man named Cire shook his head quickly. "It is too open. I think we should head to those trees across river and we should find shelter there."

The other man nodded and quickly went about watering his horse.

Cire was about to turn around and head to the hill on his left when an urgent call made him spin back towards the river.

"Cire, you should come look at this." Another man shouted.

"What is it?" He asked walking towards the river. Cire proceeded to where the man was standing and he gasped. Running over to the heavy branch he broke off a piece to get a better look at the green and brown tangled among them. He pulled at the limp arm and dragged the young boy out of the water and searched for a pulse. He lifted stunned eyes to the other man standing to his side. Pushing aside the wet dark hair that covered the face, he caught sight of the young boy he had pulled from the river. "An elf." Was all he could say.

Elladan stumbled and fell to his feet dejectedly. This was his third time almost loosing his feet, and he cursed angrily in elvish. He wiped at his brow and shook his head as dizziness almost caused him to fall again. His skin was clammy, and pallid. More so then normal. When Elladan stumbled again he fell to the ground in an ungraceful way. He rolled over and panted from the sun and heat his body was throwing off.

He sat up slowly, and pulled at his legging to see his wound. The elder son of Elrond knew this was the cause of his dizziness, but he wasn't expecting the putrid stench that drifted to his sensitive nose. Grumbling to himself, he pulled off the sticky gauze and gasped at the yellow mucus that oozed out of his gash.

"Infection." He whispered.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Pulling out a clean cloth, he drenched it with fresh water from his flask and proceeded to clean the wound. Dead skin and mucus pulled the wound, causing it to reopen and bleed anew. Defeated, Elladan pulled out his small dagger and began digging into the laceration and cutting the dead skin away. With shaky hands, he continued to cut away the skin from his wound and then rebound it.

Elladan shivered, and quickly pulled his cloak about his shoulders. He knew there was no way he could continue his search in his current condition and he prayed to the Valar as he lay down. The elf closed his eyes and drifted off into a healing sleep.

"He is alive, but barely. We need to start a fire and get his injuries tended to." Cire said, gingerly picking up the young elf. He carried the wounded elf to where the others were sitting and shook his head at the confused and curious looks he received.

"He is young." The man who found the elf in the water said beside him.

"He appears to be young." Cire said. "I have stumbled across elves before and they all look youthful."

The man beside him smiled and nodded his head handing Cire some plants and herbs. "What do you suppose happened?"

Cire sighed. "I do not know, Yeridric." Cire covered the elf in a blanket and proceeded to dry him off when the eyes opened in shock and pain. The elf tried to sit up but Cire placed a hand on his chest causing the elf to cry out in pain. "Shh, do not move. You are hurt."

The elf turned lazy gray eyes to meet Cire's brown ones and locked with his. "Where…?" The elf gasped. "What…?" He tried again and subsided to a fit of coughing.

"My name is Cire, I am a ranger. Be still, no harm shall come to you." He glanced at his friend beside him in silent worry. "Do you have a name?"

The elf shuddered and groaned nodding. "El-" He coughed again. "-Rohir."

Cire nodded and placed a tunic under his head. "You have some broken ribs, I will help you if you stay still."

The elf nodded and kept his eyes on the man as he helped him into a sitting position and removed his tunic. "I see you have other wounds."

The elf glanced down at his bare torso and placed shaking fingers to his left shoulder. The arrow was gone. Likely from the currents of the river, he figured.

Elrohir was helped back into a half laying position and felt his breathing grow easier.

"Can you tell me what happened?" Cire asked while binding the elf's wounds.

"Orcs." Elrohir gasped as his ribs were touched and prodded. "Ouch." He hissed.

"My apologies. I am trying to asses your injuries." Cire looked up at the pale elf and smiled softly.

"My-brother?" Elrohir winced as another rib was touched. He swallowed.

"I am afraid you are the only one we found." Cire whispered softly.

Elrohir felt his skin grow cold and he paled visibly. "Must-find" He hissed again and tried to remain conscious. "Ella." His words left his lips as his eyes closed and he was unconscious once more.

He shivered and sat up quickly, his world spinning in a torment of trees, and raging water. Elladan quickly found the ground hard, with his head and he grimaced with pain. His fever had grown and he was far from improving. Shuddering from the night air, he groaned and curled up into a ball as his stomach tightened in a cramp. His throat contracted and he slowly drew in a breath to ease the uneasiness of his stomach. The stars above him glimmered and blinked watching, and Elladan found tonight they held no comfort for him, as he lay there wrapped tightly in his cloak. "Tomorrow." He whispered. "Tomorrow I will find you Ro." He closed his eyes again his body curled up once again shivering against the storm of a fever he had.