Fast Update, yay!
So I guess it wasn't too horrible as some of you people actually like it :) Thanks for taking the time to review and add to favourites and follows! Really appreciate it!
btw "Mzzmarie" please get out of my head! You knew exactly what I was going to do next! ;) (You must teach me your ways oh Great one haha)
So there's a lot of Kili asking stupid questions in this chapter... So bear with it...
Enjoy :)
"That is a truly foul stench." Farandir said as he peered into the entrance of the cave.
He had chosen to remain outside with a few of the dwarves while Thorin, Gandalf and the rest ventured inside to investigate the troll's lair. He could hear excited chattering coming from inside. He guessed that they must have found some sort of treasure. He chuckled softly to himself and turned away from the cavernous entrance.
Kili appeared next to him then, munching on a piece of dried out bread. He held out his hand to offer a chunk to Farandir.
"Hungry? We didn't really have breakfast after all."
Farandir appraised the offered food with a small grin.
"Thank you, um…?"
"Kili. My name is Kili." The dwarf said hurriedly as he realized why the half elf had paused.
"Kili, of course. Forgive me I'm terrible with names." Farandir said with a sheepish grin.
"You must get that from your elvish side." Kili said with a sly smile.
Farandir chuckled.
"Most likely." He agreed.
The two stood in silence for a moment before Kili spoke.
"Is it difficult for you?"
Farandir looked down at him with a puzzled frown, leaning forward slightly.
"Is what difficult?"
Kili pushed a small stone around with the tip of his boot.
"Being a half elf. You know… not really being one or the other?"
Farandir straightened, a small grin briefly on his lips.
"Well, it's never given me any trouble before. The elves accept me as one of them and most humans don't even realize I have elven blood. I guess I have a lot of human features."
"Like the stubble." Kili said gesturing to Farandir's jaw.
Farandir laughed loudly at this.
"Yes, I suppose that plays a big role."
Silence stretched out between them again for a few moments.
"I can chose though." Farandir said, breaking the silence.
Now it was Kili's turn to look puzzled. Farandir grinned at the look on his face.
"What I mean by that is that I can choose to which race I would like to be identified with, Human or Elf."
"So you haven't chosen yet I take it?"
"No. But I suppose I should get around to that… Before I get too old."
"How old are you then?"
"I'm just about 88 now, I think. I don't really keep track." Farandir replied.
Kili raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"Wow." He said simply, making Farandir chuckle again.
"Why is that so surprising? You must be around the same age."
"I'm 77, so a bit younger."
"I thought as much."
"It's just, being half human, I didn't think you'd still look this great." Kili blurted before really thinking what he was saying.
Farandir raised an eyebrow.
"You think I look great?"
Kili's face went a bright shade of red once more.
"Well, for an 88 year old man…" he mumbled, not daring to meet Farandir's amused gaze.
Farandir laughed out loud again. Kili found that instead of feeling utterly humiliated he actually enjoyed the sound of the half elf's laughter. Finally he looked up again, a smile on his own face.
"I guess being both magically gifted and having elven blood does have its perks." Farandir said, folding his arms across his chest.
"Obviously." Kili said, folding his arms as well as he leaned back against a nearby tree.
The two chatted for a while before the voices in the cave grew louder until finally those who had entered stepped out into the fresh air. Both Gandalf and Thorin carried swords that had obviously been looted from within. Farandir thought that at a quick glance they appeared to be of elven make. As Thorin strode out towards the others, Farandir saw Gandalf stoop to pick up another blade from amongst the filth that littered the floor of the cave entrance. The old wizard walked over to the hobbit. Farandir could see the reluctance in the hobbit's face when Gandalf offered him the blade. He saw Thorin look over at the two of them and shake his head at the hobbit before turning away. Farandir sighed sympathetically. He understood what the hobbit must have been feeling right then. Before he could do anything though a cry of warning rang out.
In an instant the company was ready to defend against what ever was coming their way. Farandir took a deep breath and focused the flow of power within him. He felt it coil tightly deep inside, ready to be released at his command. Kili, who was still standing next to him, had an arrow ready, his bow straining with the pent up tension.
There was a rustle in the underbrush, heading straight for them. As everybody tensed up to attack, the oddest thing happened. Instead of a vicious enemy charging at them, a sleigh driven by what seemed to be rabbits burst through the bushes. Atop the sleigh was a familiar face.
"Radagast!" Gandalf exclaimed, lowering his sword and staff. "What on Middle-Earth are you doing here?"
"Oh, Gandalf! I'm so glad I found you! We have trouble. Lots of it." The brown wizard mumbled.
"What kind of trouble?" Farandir asked as he came to a halt next to Gandalf and Thorin.
"Ah, Farandir my boy, it's good that you're here too." The wizard said with a small smile. He didn't answer the question though.
"Well?" Thorin finally asked when it became apparent that the wizard wasn't merely pausing for dramatic effect.
"Well what?" Radagast asked, looking slightly perplexed.
"You said there was trouble, Radagast. What is it?" Gandalf explained before the dwarf could loose his temper.
The brown wizard's eyes lit up.
"Oh yes, that." He said with a sheepish grin before speaking up again, "Well, it-" he paused again, looking confused once more.
"It was on the tip of my tongue just a moment ago." He said scratching his head.
Farandir rolled his eyes as Gandalf sighed deeply. The old man might be a wizard, but sometimes Farandir thought he didn't have all the lights on upstairs.
"Oh!" the wizard suddenly exclaimed. "It wasn't a thought. It was this silly little stick insect," he said as he pulled the twig-like bug out of his mouth.
Quite sounds of disgust filled the air. Farandir chuckled. Same old Radagast, he thought.
Finally the wizard recalled what he had come to tell them. Farandir listened as Radagast recounted his run in with the giant spiders and how he tracked them back to the ancient fortress of Dol Guldur. His eyes went wide at the mention of a necromancer and the calling of spirits of the dead back into the realm of the living. The brown wizard drew then drew Gandalf and Farandir off to one side. Farandir recoiled back a step or two when Radagast produced the blade he had found in the supposedly abandoned fortress. Gandalf's face twisted in disgust at the sight of the weapon.
The two elder wizards took to speaking in hushed tones about the implications of such a weapon when suddenly a loud howl rang out in the distance.
"Was that a wolf?" Bilbo asked, glancing around in fear.
"Not a wolf…" Kili murmured, drawing another arrow.
"Wargs!" Dwalin cried as a monstrous beast bounded down the rocky slope, diving straight for him. With a swing of his weapon, the creature went down. Kili felled another with his arrows.
"Run!" Radagast commanded, suddenly appearing to be fully in control of his senses. "I'll draw them away."
"But these are Gundabad Wargs!" Gandalf exclaimed, "You'll never outrun them!"
The brown wizard raised a finger at Gandalf.
"And these are Rhosgobel Rabbits." He said with a twinkle in his eye. "I'd like to see them try."
The flight from the orcs astride wargs was a perilous one. Even though Radagast kept the attackers busy by darting this way and that on his rabbit-driven sleigh, the company had a hard time sneaking across the plains, darting behind large boulders and rock formations every time the pursuit came too close.
The orcs did not fall for the ruse for long however and soon they were closing in on the dwarven party. Farandir readied himself once again to attack, as did the rest of them, forming a defensive circle around Bilbo. As the wargs drew close, Farandir realized that Gandalf wasn't with them anymore. The dwarves noticed as well, crying out that he had abandoned them. Farandir knew that wasn't the case.
"This way you fools!" the grey wizard called out from a nearby rock formation.
The company charged at the wizard, holding off the darting attacks of the wargs as they moved. Kili took up rear guard, firing arrows at the attackers while Farandir shielded the party from enemy fire. Thorin reached the old wizard first and saw that they stood over the edge of an entrance into the earth, a path leading away from the danger stretching within. In a deep, commanding voice he ordered the rest of the company to jump down to safety. One by one they leapt down the hole until finally only Thorin, Kili and Farandir remained. The young wizard ran forward and came to a halt next to the dwarven leader.
"Go!" Thorin ordered but Farandir didn't respond.
"I'm still shielding Kili, you go."
The dwarf narrowed his eyes at the half elf before grabbing him by the arm and shoving him down the hole.
"Kili!" Thorin cried out.
The young dwarf turned to look at his uncle and broke into a run. Just before he could reach the entrance, he seemed to stumble forward at bit. Thorin thought he must have tripped over a rock and dismissed it. Moments later the two dwarves were with the rest of the company in the relative safety of the pit.
The sound of horns suddenly blasted through the air, followed by the whistling sounds of arrows being loosed. They could hear the orc cry out in pain and terror as some unseen force ripped through their numbers. On of the orcs that had been standing quite close to the entrance of the small cave was hit by an arrow and fell backwards, rolling down the steep decline and coming to a stop at Thorin's feet. The dwarf leaned over and pulled out the arrow.
"Elves." He said in a low voice, looking up at Gandalf.
"Hey, I cannot see where the path leads!" Dwalin cried from deeper in cave. "Do we follow it?"
"We have no choice it seems." Thorin said, glancing suspiciously at Gandalf. "Lead on Dwalin."
The cave led out into a narrow canyon that seemed to stretch on forever. Though it was a tight fit, the company made good time, Dwalin taking the lead while Farandir came in last. He glanced back every now and then to see if they weren't maybe being followed. As time passed it seemed to grow steadily darker in the canyon. Farandir glanced up to see the sky slowly tint from blue to orange. When he looked back down he suddenly tripped over something laying directly in his path, landing face first in the dirt. He groaned and rolled over to see what had caused his fall. It was Kili.
"Kili." He said softly at first but when no reaction came he called out loudly. "Kili!"
The others heard his call and slowed to a halt. As one they all rushed back when they realized that something was wrong. Farandir crawled over to the unconscious dwarf and gently turned him around. As he did so he caught sight of the arrow. It was lodged firmly in Kili's side. A light probing with his magic revealed that it had broken two of his ribs and pierced his one of his lungs. Blood had seeped through his clothes and was now forming a puddle around them. As the others reached them Farandir threw his hands up and in a loud voice commanded them to stay back. When he was sure they had heard him he hastily turned back to the injured dwarf.
"What happened?" Fili asked from where he stood, worriedly looking at his brother.
"Arrow pierced his lung. Broke a few ribs too." Farandir said as he ripped open the fabric around the arrow shaft.
"When did this happen?" Thorin asked as he stepped to the front.
"Oh I don't know, why don't you tell me?" Farandir asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"What are you-" Thorin began but a choked cough from Kili silenced him.
"Gandalf, take them. Make haste to-" he paused, glancing at Thorin, before continuing, "Just find help."
Gandalf looked briefly down at the injured dwarf before nodding.
"What about Kili?" Fili exclaimed in a panicked voice.
"Don't worry, he is in good hands. Farandir's a lot more skilled at healing than I am." Gandalf said reassuringly. "Come now, we must hurry! Farandir can focus more if we're not here to bother him."
Slowly the company of dwarves turned and hurried on, Gandalf at the head. Fili and Thorin trailed slowly behind, both casting worried looks at Kili. Farandir caught a glimmer of guilt in Thorin's eyes.
As the others hurried away he swiftly turned to focus on the task at hand. The magic he was sending into Kili had stopped the bleeding at least but that didn't mean they were out of the woods yet. The arrow had not gone all the way through his chest so removing it without causing more damage was going to be a challenge. Orcs like to use barbed blade tips.
Taking a deep breath to ready himself and focusing his gift to steady the shaft as he pulled, he slowly inched the arrow out of the dwarf's chest. He stopped every now and then to heal the damage left by the blade as it moved out of the body. Due to the empathic nature of healing magic, Farandir was taking on Kili's pain so that his magic could fix what had been damaged and mend the broken bones. He winced and gasped as waves of pain shot through him. Sweat ran down the side of his face with the exertion. Finally, with one final pull, he got the entire arrow out. He sighed briefly with relief. The worst part of it was over. Or so he thought.
As Farandir placed his hands over the wound to finish the healing, he suddenly pulled back in surprise. There was a taint in the wound that he had previously missed. He had no idea how his magic could have missed such an important aspect of Kili's injury.
"Blasted orcs!" Farandir cursed.
Reaching over he grabbed his pack and rummaged through it. Finally he found the little vial he was looking for. Popping off the stopper he dripped some of its contents on the wound. Just as he was about to put it away he had a thought and dripped some of it into Kili's mouth as well.
The light green liquid soaked into the wound as Farandir placed his hands on either side of the injury. He closed his eyes and concentrated, chanting softly under his breath. He winced as pain flowed into him once more. This time it was slightly different though. The poison from the arrow that had slowly been weakening Kili was now flowing into him and as a result he was weakening as he tried to heal his friend. Time seemed to slow as he worked, minutes feeling like hours. Finally he felt the last of the taint leave Kili's body. He took his hands from the wound to see that a small pink scar was all that remained. He smiled at the victory.
His happiness was short lived however as his vision suddenly began to blur. He fell back a bit, leaning on an arm to steady himself. As everything started to go dark around him, he saw Kili's eyes flutter. With a groan the dwarf sat up slowly, his eyes taking in the situation. He saw the blood everywhere and started to panic, grabbing at his side. When he felt no arrow or pain he looked down to see the fresh scar. Comprehension dawned on his face as he looked up at Farandir.
"You healed me, didn't you?"
Farandir gave him a small smile before wincing, pain flashing in his blue eyes. Kili lunged forward to prevent his head from striking the ground as Farandir fell backwards. Panic welled up anew inside him as he looked around to see if he could find any trace of the others. In the distance he could hear the faint sound of voices. He prayed that it wasn't any more trouble. They had had enough of it for one day.
So that first part... with the ages... I kept seeing elderly men in my mind... (Damn longevity, confusing the shit out of me)
Luckily they are both still sexy for their ages ;)
Also, I'm unsure how healing magic works in Tolkien's world so I just threw a few random elements from other places into this scene...
So any comments/thoughts/opinions so far? I'd really like to know what you're thinking. If you'd like to know what I'm thinking, just ask "Mzzmarie", seeing as she knows whats going on in my head...
Thanx for reading :)