Category: Tolkien-Universe
Rating: M
Couples: Egalmoth/Rog, Maeglin/Salgant
Warnings: AU, canon-levels of Everything
Chapter: 8
Copyright: Characters & places © By Tolkien Estate and/or mynameisjessejk, Plot & OC´s © by me
Authors note: Set in the Otter(less) Mayhem Universe of abovementioned mynameisjessejk on AO3. Unofficial sequel to 'The House of the Mole'
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
"Been a while..." Legolas mused, moving his paddle across the boat to put it to water on the other side.
"Mmh?" Coruneth sat at the back of the boat, their supplies between them. In the end, the need to keep it manageable meant they had taken one of the smaller boats, which Legolas noted with some amusement looked quite similar to the boats he and the rest of the Fellowship had taken from Lothlorien. It raised the question on whether elvish boat-design was universal, or if the Lothlorien-boats had been Noldor-design. Something to figure out at some later point, perhaps.
"Since I did something like this." He looked over his shoulder at her before turning back to look at the left bank. While Elladan and Elrond scoured the river itself, the two elves in the boat kept an eye on anything they might spot on the shore. It wasn't perfect, but it certainly was faster than having to walk, either on foot or on horse. "The last few times I was near a boat, someone else did the rowing and sailing and steering and whatnot, since I was still a prince back then."
"Can't have royalty exert themselves, can we?" She snorted, easily matching his rhythm of rowing. Ecthelion had hugged her for what felt forever when they had left and the entire rest of the group had been politely pretending to not hear his desperate pleas to come back to her with his friends and her quiet assurances that she would.
"Indeed, it is just not done." His attention was drawn down when a seal popped up briefly beside the boat. "Anything yet?"
Lord Elrond honked, shaking his head before disappearing under water again. Elladan briefly breached in the distance, before shooting to the dark form of his father. Both of them seemed to confer briefly before moving apart again.
"We should take a break soon." Ecthelion's wife said, looking up at the sun that was passing overhead. "It's been six hours at the least that they have been looking. Much longer, and we might have to fish them out... and I for one am not sure how to seal-hunt. Not to mention that exhaustion makes for poor searching anyway..."
Legolas hummed in agreement, passing on the request to Elladan to look for a place to make camp at least briefly... and mayhap catch a fish or two to roast over a campfire.
It was another hour until the seal-shaped Lord of Tumfalas surfaced in a clear request to follow him. The two elves in the boat had some trouble to do so, the current still quite powerful even this far from Cirith Oron as several tributaries fed it comparatively nearby. Leading them around a fallen tree, they found a rocky shore that was sheltered from most of the current by said tree. Elladan moved closer to land ahead of them, dragging something that looked distinctily fishlike after him.
"Powers, are you intending to feed us tomorrow with that?" Legolas demanded as he jumped from the boat. The rocks crunched underfoot and he frowned at them. "Careful with bare skin, these are sharp." He warned the Avari that lightly landed beside him. Considering the light step of elves, they would not be in danger from injury if they just walked over it, but the sitting and potentially sleeping was best done further on the shore where dirt and grass covered the rocks.
In worry, he looked over at his husband and law-father, but Elladan and Elrond had realized similar and changed back in the water to keep from having to drag their non-elvish forms over them. Both slipped on their tunics and boots before helping shove the boat onto shore. The dead salmon had been left as close to the bank as Elladan had managed to get it before turning and he hoisted it up to follow them up the bank.
If someone had told him even just a year ago that he'd go camping with Lord Elrond, Legolas would not have believed them. Yet, here they were, sitting around the campfire, Gil-Galad's former Herald acting like he did this every year. If not for the reason they were out here, it could probably be considered reliving a fond childhood-memory.
"Ah!" Suddenly, Coruneth shot up from where she had been sitting, dropping her own food into the grass before dashing back down to the shore.
"What?" The three men followed.
"Look!" She roughly grabbed something from among the sharp rocks, gaining several cuts on her fingers with the lack of care. She held it out to them and as Elladan and Legolas took it from her, Elrond promptly sung a soft Song of healing over the scratches.
"A pendant." It was finely crafted, but now broken. The wire-filled glass-crystal had cracked and dirt and water had gotten in. Newly added were some spots of blood.
"Of Egalmoth's necklace. Which he was wearing on the trip." She specified. All three realized what she meant; for it to have ended up this far on shore, he had to have been on shore. Legolas wheeled around, sharply looking over the ground nearby.
"Yes! Footprints!" He exclaimed after a bit, pointing for the others to see. "Too deep for an elf, unless they were carrying something heavy."
"Like another elf." Elrond gasped, looking at the forest.
