Chapter 8

Wargs Attack

The next morning, The Fellowship rose to set out. Tie rose with everyone else, moving mechanically, in a sort of daze seemingly unaware of what was taking place around her. Cora helped her pack up her things and smiled at her, but Tie didn't seem to notice. As they traveled, Aragorn stayed at her side, letting Gandalf lead, and Legolas stayed with Elendae.

Tie seemed to come to herself as the day passed, interacting with a few people during their brief rest at noon. She kept pace very well, although Cora suspected that she hadn't slept after waking to find Elendae before her. Toward the evening her steps began to falter, fatigue catching up with her, but she didn't complain and continued on.

When they stopped for the night, Tie grabbed Cora by the arm and dragged her away from camp with word to the guys that they were going for firewood and would return soon. The men set the camp and had consumed dinner and still the girls had not returned. Boromir looked toward the woods thinking to go after them.

"So," Aragorn's voice floated over his shoulder causing Boromir to turn and face him. "Do you think Cora knows you fancy her, or were you trying to be subtle?" Aragorn smirked at Boromir's surprised and slightly blushing face. The hobbits snickered.

"Oh, no," Pippin chimed in. "I think she might need a few more hits, I mean hints."

"Well that depends entirely on whether she likes to take hard tumbles." Gimli grinned broadly at his own crude joke as everyone laughed at Boromir's reddening face.

"What's the matter, Boromir?" Merry asked in mock concern. "If you go any redder you'll resemble a tomato."

"I think," Gandalf said, a smile playing on his lips, "perhaps Boromir's flower is more exotic than she appears." The laughter stopped and everyone looked at Gandalf in a rather confused manor.

A scream split through the evening, shattering the air that had only moments before been playful and light.

"The girls!" All the men reached for their weapons in unison, turning in the direction the scream had come. Legolas looked to Elendae, making certain that he was still with them and wasn't off frightening Tiernan again.

"Merry, Pippin, Frodo, Sam, you four stay here. Gimli, stay with them and keep a sharp eye." Aragorn called as he unsheathed his sword; Gimli gripped his axe angrily.

"I will not be left behind like some woman to watch the children," he roared, spit flying onto his beard.

"Speed will be of the utmost importance Gimli. Stay here."

"Elendae, stay here as well," Legolas, moved passed his fellow elf to Aragorn's side peering into the woods.

"No." It was Gandalf who protested on Elendae's behalf. "Two pairs of elven eyes are better than one, and he is quicker. I will stay behind with Gimli and the hobbits."

"Boromir come with me. Elendae, stay with Legolas." Aragorn and Boromir charged into the forest before Legolas had a chance to complain. He shot Elendae a venomous glare before following the humans into the woods.

Tie held on to Cora's arm well into the forest before being confident enough to release her. She looked back over her shoulder repeatedly, leaning down absently to pick up a stick. Cora looked at her friend irritably before following her lead and picking up a few as well.

"Thanks for coming with me, Cora," Tie whispered, looking down at the ground, twirling the branch absently in her hands. "I would have let you stay, but I was afraid if I came out her alone, Elendae would follow." Cora grinned maliciously.

"See, I told you. He wants to ravish you." Cora pushed Tie playfully, trying to get her to smile.

"I'm serious Cora. He really freaks me out!" Tie whined at her friend looking at her pitifully.

"Yeah well, that still doesn't explain why you had to drag me along."

"What if he found me out her alone? What would I do?"

"You'd kick his ass and drag the unconscious body back to camp by the hair." Cora shrugged and continued to pick up sticks along the way.

"That's easy for you to say! You don't have an obsessive freak swooning over you!" Tie looked at Cora angrily, stopping.

"Tie…" Cora turned to Tie and went to speak again but Tie held up her hand. Cora stopped and looked at Tie. Tie tapped one finger to her ear. Cora listened.

"I don't hear anything." Cora shook her head at her friend thinking she was being paranoid about Elendae following her.

"That's just it," Tie whispered. "There's nothing to hear." Cora listened again. Not a sound broke the still evening, no birds, nothing. The girls looked around the forest, but saw nothing, nothing moved, nothing made a sound. Tie looked at Cora, eyes wide and frightened.

A twig snapped sharply behind them, causing both girls to jump. They both turned to see what had made the noise and froze. A Warg stood just inside the foliage of the underbrush, watching the girls closely. Moving slowly so as not to draw the creature's attention, Tie reached to her left hip where she kept her sword, but found it not there. She cursed herself for being so foolish as to let her irrational fear of Elendae blind her judgment. The Warg moved a little farther out of the brush and closer to the girls.

Cora screamed as the beast leapt at them and they turned to run. The girls tore through the forest, running as fast as possible. Where did this thing come from? Tie barely had time to wonder as she ran into a clearing. A second Warg stood a head of her crouched down to pounce. A screamed escaped from Tie lips as she turned sharply to the left, her feet almost slipping from beneath her on the loose leaves.

Tie ran through the forest, leaping lightly over fallen branches and high roots trying to keep her feet. It did not, however, prevent her from catching her foot on a low root she hadn't seen. She screamed again, this time in pain and surprise, as she fell forward, using her hands to break her fall. She rolled over on her back, seeing the Warg standing over her. It put one paw on her stomach holding her to her ground.

Tie slipped her hand along her body reaching for her boot, to the one weapon she never took off her person. She wrapped her fingers around the handle, drawing the blade clear of its sheath. The Warg snarled at her and leaned down, drool dripping from its fangs onto her check.

The Warg's head fell on Tie's chest; its body collapsing as the beast died blood rushing from its neck where its head had once been. Tie blinked in shock, looking up at Aragorn as he sheathed is sword again. Boromir removed the body that lay on top if her and Aragorn extended his hand to help her to her feet. Tie's body convulsed with shivers as her mind locked on to that last image of the Warg standing over her. She was only vaguely aware of Aragorn placing an arm around her shoulders and leading her back to camp. She was too stunned to even notice that Cora was not there.

Cora heard Tie scream and instantly changed the direction she was running without even pausing to wonder what for. She knew only that one moment Tie was running ahead of her and slightly to the left, then she wasn't there at all. Cora didn't have time to worry about to though, because the Warg was still right behind her. Unlike Tie, Cora didn't have difficulty with high roots and fallen branches. Cora had to watch for low hanging branches that kept slapping her in the face, blinding her, threatening to knock her backwards into the pursuing beast.

Using the trees to her advantage, Cora jumped and grabbed on that was just a little too high for her to have hit otherwise. She pulled herself up onto the branch and climbed up to the next, and then the next, working her way up the tree as fast as she could. She reached for a third and pulled, but the branch broke under her weight. She fell backwards and nearly off the limb she was on. She wrapped her arms tightly around it, looking down to where the Warg was climbing up be hind her.

The Warg had used the trunk of the tree to rebound off of and land on the lowest branch. It prowled along the limb closer to the tree. Using its powerful legs it jumped again for the trunk of the tree and rebounded instantly using the trunk as a springboard to land on the branch below Cora. The Warg kept its gaze turned to Cora as it moved again closer to the trunk of the tree.

The sharp twang of a bowstring filled the air, where before no sound had been other than that of the Warg. The beast missed its next step as an arrow embedded itself into the back of the monster's head, and it fell to the ground, dead. Cora lay across the limb on her stomach, staring blankly at the ground. Legolas walked into her view nudging the Warg's body with his toe, then turning his gaze up into the tree at Cora.

"It's dead. You can come down now." His soft voice carried up to Cora, but the words' meaning refused to sink into her clouded mind, and she didn't move. "Cora," he called again, moving a little closer to the tree. "It's safe now."

Seeing she was too frightened to hear him, Legolas handed his bow to Elendae and leapt up to the lowest branch, climbing quickly to Cora. He used a parallel branch to climb over to her side. He crouched down next to her, laying one hand on her back.

"Cora," he whispered to her. "It's all right. The Warg is dead now. Come, we need to go back to camp." He urged her to her feet holding onto her arms as she stood. He stayed by her side as she climbed down out of the tree. Once on the ground Cora stood on her own and walked with the two elves back to camp.

The three walked into camp, seeing Aragorn and Boromir returning with Tie, still dazed. The girls looked at each other, and didn't say a word. Boromir went to Cora and wrapped his arms around her whispering softly in her ear. Tie sat on the ground near the fire and stared into the flame.