AN: I haven't been ignoring you! I swear! Circumstances conspired against my getting into my profile this last week. I promise, I had this ready to post a whole lot sooner, but couldn't get into my profile.
Cliffs
Aragorn couldn't believe it. It had happened again.
"Hold on...let me see if I can find some rope."
The ranger gritted his teeth. "Take all the time you want," he called up sarcastically. "I'll just wait here."
A snicker echoed down. He ground his teeth. Was that blasted elf laughing at him? "You know, it could have been you down here," he shouted, shifting his grip on the wall.
"Me?" he could practically see the mockingly innocent expression on the elf's face. "When have you ever known me to take a tumble off a cliff, Aragorn?"
"That isn't the point," Aragorn snarled. He nearly slipped, one foot fighting for purchase on the slim ledge he'd found. "Will you hurry with that rope?"
"Perhaps I should leave you there, it might improve your mood," Legolas called down.
Aragorn ground his teeth again. He was surprised he had any teeth left to grind—the elf had been unbearable ever since the ranger had accidentally fallen off yet another cliff. "So help me, Legolas, if you leave me down here I will suspend you head-first in the first river I find and leave you there until the fish nibble off your nose."
The slight whisper of fiber on rock met his ears, and the tail-end of a coarse rope fell into his sight. "I found the rope!" Legolas called, unnecessarily and far too cheerfully.
He resisted the urge to groan or roll his eyes, grabbing for the rope instead. Unfortunately, a gust of wind blew the rope just out of his reach and he scrabbled at the face of the cliff, nearly scratching the skin off his fingers as he tried to hold on. "Legolas!"
The elf must have realized what was happening, for the rope quickly retracted out of view. Aragorn huffed at a lock of hair that had fallen into his eyes, annoyed that it was obscuring his vision. What little of his vision remained, that is. Why did this have to happen so late in the day?
"Got it," Legolas called. Before Aragorn could ask what his friend meant, he yelped in pain as a rock struck him on the shoulder.
"What did you do?" he hollered.
"Tied a rock on the end of the rope so it wouldn't blow away."
Aragorn caught himself grinding his teeth again. He was torn between smiling at his friend's ingenuity and growling at the elf's insensitivity. The least he could have done was warn Aragorn that a rock was headed his direction.
The ranger reached out for the rope, nearly falling off the wall again. He managed to wrap his fingers around it, still desperately clinging to the rock with one hand as he nearly slipped. He'd been holding on too long—his fingers were cramping and he could barely hold on to the rope.
Legolas, it seemed, sensed his friend's dilemma. "Hold on...let me try again."
Aragorn jerked back as the rock came flying past his face again. He grabbed at the wall, grumbling under his breath. "Give me some warning this time," he shouted.
He heard that infernal snickering again. As soon as he got to the top, he was going to harm the elf. He couldn't help it—he was over the edge in more ways than one.
"I'm sending the rope back down," Legolas called sweetly. Again the rock descended, again it struck Aragorn in the shoulder. The other shoulder.
This time, though, Aragorn noticed that the rope was tied in a loop. With more muttered curses and grumblings, he eased the rope over his shoulders and, nearly panicking as his feet slipped off the ledge, got it settled so that the rope was supporting his weight. "Pull me up!"
The rope inched upward, the rock tied on the end bouncing dangerously near Aragorn's face. The ranger fought back a growl, pushing away from the rocky wall with his feet and trying to walk up to aid Legolas.
He yelped when the rock struck him in the face, biting back an angry retort when Legolas innocently asked what was wrong.
Finally, he reached the top of the cliff. Legolas hauled him up, pulling him several feet from the edge before letting him sit up. "Are you all right?" the elf asked in concern, swiftly removing the rope and tossing the rock a considerable distance away once he saw the murderous look in his friend's eyes.
"You hit me with a rock," the ranger growled, shaking his head. "I was clinging for my life and you hit me with a rock."
He could see Legolas fighting not to smile. "It was the only thing I could think of. The wind was blowing the rope away."
"The only thing?" Aragorn sighed, rubbing his hands where he had scratched them against the cliff face.
Legolas snorted, and Aragorn could see that he was holding back another laugh. "You're right. This sort of thing happens far too often...I should have had a better plan by now."
Aragorn's eyes narrowed. The elf was trying not to laugh, focusing on some distant point. For a moment he was tempted to pick his friend up and dangle him by the wrists over the side of the cliff, but that did not seem like too good of an idea.
"Considering your penchant for tumbling off cliffs, Aragorn, I believe we should avoid them from now on."
The ranger was seething. "Not another word, Legolas."
"What?" Legolas blinked innocently. "I was only suggesting..."
"Unless you want to see yourself climbing back up the cliff face alone, I would suggest you remain silent."
Legolas chuckled. "You can't push me off—if you even go near the edge you'll fall off again."
Aragorn raised an eyebrow, sending the elf into another fit of laughter. "Do you really think so?" he asked darkly, pushing himself up to his feet and stalking toward the elf with a menacing air.
The elf leapt up, darting away. Aragorn started to pursue, but winced and sat back down, still too sore from clinging to the side of the cliff to follow Legolas.
He grinned. Pushing the elf off a cliff would be too quick anyway...locking him in the linen closet back in Rivendell would be much more satisfying.
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