Disclaimer see chapter one.

Author's Notes: I hope all of you had a wonderful start into the New Year:) Well, apart from Aragorn and Legolas… lol.

Thank you again for all your reviews, I love getting feedback for my work, it is both encouraging and motivating! ((huggles reviewers))

In the following chapter we will meet a very fat and happy bear… or perhaps not. (eg) I hope you enjoy this chapter and tell me what you think about it. ;-)

Thank you, as always, to my dear editor, Imbecamiel! ((hugs))

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Chapter Four: Fall and Fight

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"Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light."
Helen Keller

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The fall lasted longer than he had anticipated, and he knew it must have been far worse for Legolas. Thoughts and fears tumbled through his head in frenzied succession, and falling through the twilight he wondered if he had truly lost his mind now.

A fraction of a second before the impact, the ranger knew that his worst fear had not come true. He would land squarely on the bear, and not on the hard rock right beside him. Aragorn could only pray that the fangs of the bear were not on Legolas' throat already, and that they would not both fall down hard on top of the elf.

Then all his thoughts and his breath were knocked out of him. The bear gave something that sounded like a surprised yelp, its legs sagged beneath it, and it fell down heavily onto its right side. Still stunned from the impact, Aragorn instinctively buried his hands into the dark fur and held on, keeping himself from sliding off the beast's body. The creature under him seemed to consist completely of hard bones, and his entire body ached from the collision.

In spite of the pain, Aragorn felt like jubilating inside. He was finally down here, the beast was distracted from Legolas, and it had not fallen on the elf. He would not allow it to ever get near his friend again, whatever the cost. The great bear stirred under him, reminding Aragorn that the time for rejoicing had not yet come.

Holding onto the rising bear with one hand, he felt around with his other hand and his fingers closed around the familiar hilt of his sword. Relief flooded through him as he found the weapon still in its scabbard at his side. It had been a risk to take the sword with him, and lots of bad things could have happened to both him and the sword because of it. But for once, his luck seemed to be holding.

The bear whipped its head around, trying to see what was clinging to its back, and Aragorn unsheathed the sword in one fluid motion. He gripped the hilt with both hands, trusting his legs to keep him on the broad back, and turned the sword so that its tip pointed down at the creature in front of him. Intending to kill the beast with one stroke, he raised his arms to thrust the blade into the thick neck before him.

At the same moment, the bear shook itself violently to get rid of the intruder on its back, and rose abruptly on its hind legs. Aragorn was jerked to the side and had to grab at the black fur with one hand to be able to stay on the creature's back, but when the bear rose he lost his hold completely and all he could do was keep a death grip on his sword while he was hurtled through the air.

He landed hard on the rocky ground, tumbling over, somehow managing not to impale himself on his own weapon. He stumbled to his feet as soon as the movement had stopped, still a bit disoriented, and winced at a sudden stinging pain in his left ankle. Pressing down on it slightly, he found that it was sprained, but at least not broken.

The bear had found its attacker by now, and it was mad with rage to be deprived of its kill. There was foam around its mouth now, and it roared forth its frustration, sending echoes through the whole length of the cave. Aragorn moved further away, trying to get the bear as far away from Legolas as possible. The beast followed, obviously having forgotten all about the elf for the moment.

Risking a short glance at his friend, Aragorn noticed with relief that the previously still figure showed the first signs of moving. Then he focused his whole attention on the bear, raising his sword and waiting for the beast to come near enough for the first strike.

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When the heavy weight suddenly vanished from his chest, Legolas automatically started breathing deeply again, eagerly sucking air into his lungs, ignoring the protest of his bruised ribs. The dizziness and the shadows slowly receded from his mind, though the pain was still raging through his body. After some moments, his addled mind realized that he was still alive, and he blinked disbelievingly. There was no bear in front of him, and his throat had obviously not been torn out.

He heard some noises to the side and turned his head. What he saw made him doubt his state of mind for a moment. Aragorn sat on the bear's back, ready to stab the creature with his sword. Legolas stared at him, looking up first at the hole above, and then at his friend again, and it finally dawned on him what must have happened. He paled. One moment later, he paled even more when Aragorn was thrown from the bear's back and landed hard on the floor of the cave.

Legolas grit his teeth once more and fought his way first to his elbows, and then on his knee, ignoring the blood that was dripping down from his arm, and the pain the movement caused him. He could not just sit here and watch while his friend risked his life for him. Looking around, he located his abandoned knife and wrapped his fingers around the hilt, knuckles still bloody from the forced collision with the cave wall.

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Reaching Aragorn, the bear rose on its hind legs again, straightening up to its whole impressive height. Before the bear could strike at him with its claws, Aragorn suddenly saw an opportunity and seized it. He jumped forward, moving into the bear's attack instead of away from it. Claws grazed his shoulder, opening bloody cuts, but he ignored it.

The bear let itself fall forward with another roar, either trying to crush him or instinctively sensing the danger. Aragorn directed the point of his sword upward and pushed with all the strength he possessed, driving it through the thick hide and into the chest of the beast. The bear screamed and the sound was far worse than the roaring before, vibrating through the cave and echoing endlessly.

The beast collapsed right on top of the man, writhing and trying to snap at the sword and the hand that held it. Man and creature went down in a heap, and Aragorn had to let go of his sword. The bear fell heavily onto its right side, trapping Aragorn's legs beneath it.

For a long moment there was a dead silence, and Aragorn simply lay dazed, his ears still ringing from the creature's scream. The moment he drove the sword into the body of the beast he knew it was no clean kill, but there had been no time for a better aim, and it would not be able to recover from that wound.

The massive head of the creature rested on the ground only half a yard from the man's face, red eyes half closed, and Aragorn could see and feel the shuddering breaths of the beast. He felt nauseated both by the stench of the foul creature and the far-too-familiar evil that was emanating from it. He realized there were some things that Legolas had neglected to tell him. Then another shudder ran through the bear's body, and the small eyes opened, staring directly at the ranger, seeming to burn with malice and hate.

Aragorn shivered involuntarily. He had no weapon left to defend himself, and he was trapped in place by the considerable weight on his legs. He tried to push at the body of the beast and get his legs out, but at the same moment he knew that he would not be able to free himself fast enough. The bear snarled and raised its head, using the rest of its waning strength to crawl towards the ranger.

The weight on Aragorn's legs shifted and pressed down on him even more, pinning him in place. He groped around for something, anything to use as a weapon, but the only thing he could find was a stone the size of his fist. He closed his fingers around it. Rising as far as he was able, the ranger aimed the stone at the large head in front of him and let go. The stone hit the bear right between the eyes, and the large head crashed to the floor again, dazed.

Aragorn knew that the triumph would be short-lived. The beast was still breathing, and he had seen the bloodthirstiness in those eyes. To push at the body across his legs again would probably mean to wake it even faster. Just as he had decided to try nonetheless, the red eyes opened again. Aragorn knew this would be the end. He would have no chance against these bone-breaking fangs with his bare hands.

At least he hoped he had saved Legolas. The bear would not be able to crawl to the elf any longer, but the ranger did not know how serious his friend's injuries were. This time it was he who silently asked his friend for forgiveness. The massive head in front of him jerked slightly. Blood was dripping out of the large mouth. Aragorn only wished the beast would die faster. The burning eyes were fixed on him. Once more the creature mobilized its strength to raise its head and move forward slowly.

Then, suddenly, the head of the beast jerked again and tried to turn. Something moved behind the dark hulk of the beast, and then a slender arm was around its neck, keeping the head in place and a shiny blade came down, speared one eye of the beast and buried itself deep into the ugly head. There was only a gurgling sound this time, no scream, no roar, and the beast died almost instantly.

Collapsing on the head of the bear, Legolas found himself eye-to-eye with the creature, and for one moment he looked into the tired eye of an old bear, before the spark of life died completely. He smiled exhaustedly, knowing that the soul of the bear was free now. The elf closed his eyes for a moment, propped up on one elbow on the head of the bear, concentrating solely on catching his breath and trying to understand that the threat was over now.

When he opened his eyes again, he looked directly into the concerned face of a disbelieving ranger. For a long moment, they simply looked at each other. Then the disbelief in Aragorn's eyes slowly faded to relief, but the concern stayed. Legolas suddenly became aware that his friend was still trapped under the body of the huge beast. He was not sure if he was able to move even one muscle anymore, but if he had to do it to help his friend he would try.

Before he could say or ask anything, Aragorn had already followed his gaze and smiled. "This is no problem," he said. "The bear just would not give me enough time to get free."

To prove his point, the ranger began wriggling and pushing and had freed himself of the heavy carcass some minutes later. His sprained ankle had not been happy about the added weight, but apart from that nothing seemed to be wrong with his legs. The ranger focused his attention on his friend again, who looked very much ready to drop. Legolas had watched each of his movements, but he had not stirred.

Now he looked searchingly into Aragorn's face. "Are you all right?" he asked, deep concern in his voice.

Aragorn was speechless for a moment. Legolas had just somehow dragged himself across the cave with a broken leg, his arm was still bleeding freely and looked like a mess, the blood of the bear along with his own was smeared on his hands and face and tunic and he looked very much like one of the walking dead. The elf must be in a considerable amount of pain, not to mention completely exhausted, but the one thing he was worried about was the welfare of his friend.

Aragorn could only shake his head and sigh. "Legolas…," he began and interrupted himself. "Just allow me to patch up what is left of you and afterwards we may talk about my injuries."

He saw a spark of resistance flare up in the tired blue eyes, and suppressed another sigh. "I am fine, Legolas. I really am. Only bruises and scratches. It is your injuries we should both be worried about."

Legolas stared at him a moment longer until he finally seemed to be convinced that Aragorn was speaking the truth. "It is not as bad as it seems," he said, trying to calm his friend and promptly starting to sway.

Aragorn was at his side in an instant, kneeling beside his friend and grabbing his uninjured shoulder, steadying him. "It is exactly as bad as it seems," he chided. "And I will have to take care of this before it gets even worse."

For once, Legolas did not argue. He smiled up at his friend weakly. "It seems you will have to kill me then," he said.

The ranger looked so aghast that the elf could not help chuckling. For a moment, Aragorn was clearly worried about the mental state of his friend, until he suddenly remembered his own words from before. He shook his head again and smiled back at his grinning friend. "I will kill you after I have patched you up," he decided.

With the ranger's help, Legolas slowly rose into a sitting position, wincing at the slightest pressure on his broken leg. Aragorn hesitated for a moment. He did not really want to move his friend, but as with orcs and wargs there was an evil stench around the dead bear that would not fade even in death. When he could feel it, it must be much worse for the elf. He caught Legolas staring at him again. The smile was gone, and there was a strange expression on the elf's face.

"Legolas?" Worried that his friend's injuries were worse than he had feared or that something else was wrong with the elf, he scanned his friend's features, but the expression on the fair face was unreadable.

"You jumped," Legolas said finally, speaking slowly as if trying to understand something that he could not really believe. There was a slight accusation in his voice. "I cannot believe that you took that risk. You could have broken your neck. You could have died for nothing! The bear nearly killed you!"

Finally understanding what was going on in his friend's head, Aragorn did not necessarily like it. "Did you really think I would just sit there and watch you being torn to pieces by that… monster?"

Legolas glared back at him for a moment. Then slowly, he began to calm down. The elf sighed softly. "No," he said simply.

"Fine," Aragorn grumbled. "Will you allow me to treat that wound now before you bleed to death?"

Legolas' lips twitched. "If you have to."

"Yes, I do. It would be a waste to nearly break my neck to save you and then have you die of negligence. And aside from that, I do not think you father would approve. In fact, he would probably hunt me down… though I really do not know what he sees in you."

Legolas would have swatted at him if he had not been so tired. So he merely contented himself with an icy glare. Aragorn smiled. Then he looked at the carcass at their side and frowned. Before he could say something, Legolas answered: "Not here."

Aragorn looked at him doubtfully. "It will hurt."

"I know."

"It would be far easier if I car-"

"I am still able to walk, Aragorn," the elf cut him short, a stubborn, warning glint in his eyes.

"You will not walk," was the stern answer. "This leg of yours is not going to touch the ground or you will stay right here." Legolas merely nodded.

Aragorn helped the elf to his feet, trying to overlook the pain in his friend's eyes. The short walk to the cave wall was agony for both friends alike, if for different reasons. Finally, they had reached the wall directly under the hole in the ceiling again, and Aragorn carefully lowered his friend to the ground.

To be continued…
See? NO cliffie! ;-) Well, Legolas still needs to be patched up and they don't really have a way out of that cave, but it is NOT a cliffie. :D

Take care,

Tinu :)

P.S. I just noticed that FFnet deleted the nice little stars I used to separate my scenes from each other. :P Luckily, I only had to replace Chapter Three because of it.