Aragorn shifted position again uncomfortably, knocking loose several twigs that clattered rather noisily to the ground. Perhaps it had been a bad idea to agree to sleep in a tree, he reflected ruefully as he glanced up at where Elladan and Elrohir were perched stoically several branches above him. Apparently he had been spending altogether too much time with the rangers, for he had forgotten how cursed pokey trees were. Not to mention how difficult they were to balance in. However, to say he had agreed to sleep there was not quite right. He had fought hard for the right to be able to crouch awkwardly among the branches of this leafy monstrosity. And it had not been an easy argument to win, either. He was beginning to doubt it was worth the effort.
To make matters worse, the tree really wasn't good protection from the constant stream of rain falling from the sky. His clothes were soaked all the way through and he was freezing. It would seem that Elladan hadn't been completely wrong, not that Aragorn would ever tell him that. He shivered slightly and huddled closer to the trunk. The one (and only) advantage he saw to sleeping in trees was the protection it offered against being spotted by orcs, or other creatures with less than benevolent intentions. Because of the added protection their sleeping position offered, they hadn't seen the need to stand watch this night, not this close to Imladris. Besides, Aragorn knew that the twins would only need a few hours of Elvish rest each and they would still be fresher than him the next day. Their ability to see and hear any approaching creature far exceeded his own, and he felt comfortable knowing that they would awaken and warn him should anything dangerous threaten them.
The sun was just starting to creep up past tree line as Aragorn quickly stowed his bedroll in his pack and stood awkwardly in his wet clothing. He started to descend, and then proceeded to all but fall out of the tree on his way down as his cramped muscles protested movement. He glanced back up above him, hoping his elven brothers had not yet awakened to witness his struggle. No such luck. Two sets of elven eyes peered down at him from the branches.
"Good morning Estel! It's refreshing to see that you are so... enthusiastic to begin our day!" Elrohir called down from his perch.
"Indeed!" Aragorn called back "I believe my descent rivaled that of an elf's- in speed, at least. I see the two of you are a little slow again this morning."
"Ha!" scoffed Elladan. The two of them stashed their belongings and jumped lightly to the ground. "You're going to have to work a lot harder than that if you hope to rival an elf, brother."
"In fact," added Elrohir, as he dropped to Elladan's side "We were simply waiting for the human among us to get the proper amount of sleep before beginning our day." He studied the dark circles under Aragorn's eyes with some real concern. "Did you sleep at all last night? I had rather forgotten your misplaced hatred of sleeping in trees."
"It matters not." Aragorn said lightly "Although I would have slept much better had it not been for both of your constant snores throughout the night."
"Our snores brother?" Elladan asked incredulously "No matter how hard we tried, I don't think that the two of us combined could snore as loudly as one human!"
"He has been away so long, he has forgotten much of the superiority of Elves" Elrohir soothed his twin "We ought to give him time to remember such things. Certainly he will have plenty of time to do so on this trip with us."
Strider let the two of them continue their conversation on the specific advantages of Elves over humans while he debated whether or not it would be worth it to change out of his soaked clothes. While his brothers might make a fuss if they realized how little protection the tree had offered him, he certainly did not want to spend an already dismal day tracking Orcs in wet clothing. Making up his mind, Strider slipped off into the trees to change into his spare, dry clothing. His canteen was also low on water, so he moved off to a nearby spring to refill it before he changed.
It was rather comforting to hear the two of them bicker, Aragorn reflected to himself, although he still relished the silence as he dug through his pack and pulled out his fresh(er) set of clothes. Life among the Rangers was hard, and the men he lived and worked with were somewhat less prone to jokes and banter. It was nice to enjoy a more lighthearted atmosphere when he was with his brothers.
Knowing that the twins were aware of his absence and would amuse themselves while he was gone, Aragorn took his time as he stripped down, shivering, and dried off before redressing- he was still quite cold after spending a night in the rain. As he finished replacing healing supplies on top of his pack and trying it off, his thoughts turned to Lord Elrond and his chilly demeanor back at Imladris. Even with the twins, things felt different. Strained. As soon as they finished the Orc hunt, he would head back to the Ranger's camp, Strider decided. It would be better that way. Suddenly he stilled and cocked his head. He cursed himself for being distracted while he was off on his own- he could hear the grunts and clatter of an Orcish hunting party bearing down on him, sounds he should have noticed long ago. If he was an elf... He shook his head, grabbed his pack and whipped his head around, searching for an escape.
