"It's true you don't see many dwarf women. And in fact, they are so alike in voice and appearance, they are often mistaken for dwarf men."
"Huh. Makes me wonder HOW can they tell their women apart." Titus muttered under his breath as he and Rin walked beside Éowyn and Gimli, who was on a horse.
Rin snorted at the dwarf's stories before seeing Éowyn glance back at Aragorn.
"It's the beards." The Ranger said as he stroked his own facial hair.
"And this in turn has given rise to the belief that there are no dwarf women. And the dwarves just spring out of holes in the ground!" Gimli exclaimed.
The Shieldmaiden guffawed at this.
"Which is of course ridiculous. Hehe. Woah!" The dwarf didn't realize that he had spurned the horse to gallop, throwing him off and sending him to the ground on his back. Rin ran after the horse to calm it down while Éowyn laughed.
Titus let out a hearty laugh as he helped the dwarf to his feet "Are you alright, my friend? Took a little a tumble, have we? Hahaha!"
"It's all right! It's all right. Nobody panic. That was deliberate. Itwasdeliberate." The dwarf explained as he dusted himself while the Centurion slapped Gimli on the back good-naturedly.
Aragorn, Boromir and Théoden had a small smile on their faces as they watched the scene unfold. Aéd's face remained stoic but felt the corner of his mouth twitch upwards.
"I have not seen my niece smile in a long time." The King said, prompting the Highlander, Gondorian and Ranger to look at him.
The smile on Théoden's face disappeared as recalled what happened "She was a girl when they brought her father back dead. Cut down by Orcs."
His eyes set upon Éowyn, still seeing the little girl that wept in his arms as they were told of what happened to Éomund. Éomer and Éowyn's father "She watched her mother succumb to grief. And she was left alone to tend her king in growing fear. Doomed to wait upon an old man who should have loved her as a father."
Aéd didn't miss the glance that the niece of the King sent to the Dúnedain Ranger.
~Line Break~
Titus watched as Éowyn conversed with Aragorn.
He let out a chuckle at the memory of Aragorn trying to dispose of the Shieldmaiden's poorly made soup.
He felt Rin sit beside him and handed him an apple. He nodded his thanks and took a big bite out of the fruit.
"Did you taste Éowyn's soup, yet?" Rin asked as she took a bite out of her own apple.
Titus nearly choked on the fruit he was eating as he tried to contain his laughter.
"I know I'd eat anything edible but that was certainly not stew." He replied half-joking, half-serious.
A moment of silence passed the two before
"Did you know that Aragorn's eighty seven."
Rin stopped midway and looked at him with a wide eye "I... Find that hard to believe."
Titus shrugged "Apparently, his race of Men were gifted with longer lifespans. For an old man, he looks nice."
Rin stared at Titus before shifting her gaze at to the Ranger before shrugging and went back to eating her apple.
Titus laughed as he saw Boromir taste the soup before spitting it back on the bowl.
Aéd looked at the bowl in his hand then at the horse beside him. He outstretched his hand and let the horse drink his share of the stew.
Titus finished his apple and threw away the core and watched the sky as it began to grow dark.
~Line Break~
"A scout!"
Aéd heard the elf's voice and looked to the King.
"What is it? What do you see?" The King asked, alarmed.
"Wargs! We are under attack!" Aragorn stated.
Aéd readied his Claymore and stood on top of a rock. He saw orcs riding what looked like very large wolves.
"All riders to the head of the column!" Théoden ordered.
"C'mon get me up here, I'm a fighter. Argh!" The dwarf said as Titus and a Rohirrim soldier helped Gimli up his horse.
"Your not light as a feather, you know!" The Centurion grunted before he mounted his own horse.
Théoden looked down at Éowyn "You must lead the people to Helm's Deep and make haste."
"I can fight!" The Shieldmaiden exclaimed.
"No! You must do this — for me." The King begged his niece, who begrudgingly complied.
While this happened, Titus was lowering his face mask as he stared at the charging Warg Riders.
"I look like an Equites." He grumbled behind the mask as he steadied his horse. In his hand was one of the Pilums he made while they were in Edoras.
"CHAAARGE!" The King yelled from his horse. His sword raised and pointed at the enemy.
Titus spurned his horse and threw the Pilum at a Warg's head. Killing it and sending it's rider to the ground. Before the orc could gather it's bearings, Titus let his horse run over the downed rider. Pulling out his Gladius, he cut down a Warg that was standing over a pile. The Centurion did not realize that buried under the pile was their dwarf companion.
Said dwarf groaned as the dead Warg added weight to the pile on him.
Aéd, who was the only one not on a horse, dodged a lunge from a Warg and swung his Claymore. The blade cut the rider in the back and sending him falling to the ground, dead. The Warg looked at him and growled before charging. The Highlander swung his blade upwards just as the Warg lunged at him and effectively split it's face in half.
Rin rode her horse between two Warg Riders and used her Katanas to cut off their heads. She then wrapped the reigns on her left hand as she steered her mount to the right to avoid a Warg's lunged. The Rohirrim behind her wasn't so lucky. She turned her steed around and threw her Katana at the Warg that was trying to bite the head of the downed Rohirrim. The blade burying itself on the side of the Warg's head and saving the man.
Boromir cut off a Warg Rider's head and kicked another one off it's mount. Suddenly, he was pushed off his horse by another Warg. He quickly recovered and unstrapped the shield on his back. He faced the Warg that was charging at him but was killed mid-lunge as a spear, courtesy of Aragorn, buried itself on the beast's back.
The Gondorian nodded his thanks before cutting off a Warg's head that had the Théoden's sword stabbed in it's mouth.
He turned just in time to see Aragorn hanging on the side of a Warg and fighting off it's rider. But, he didn't see the Ranger fall off the cliff as he dodged a Warg that lunged at him. He grabbed the rider to pull it off but an arrow buried itself he orc's heart. A second arrow pierced the Warg in the head.
He turned and saw Legolas firing prexise arrows at the Warg Riders and their mounts. Saving some soldiers from getting eaten by the bloodthirsty Wargs.
It wasn't long before the battle was over.
Titus walked over the first Warg he killed and pulled off the Pilum from it's head. He looked around and saw the amount of dead bodies that lay across the field. Many were the Wargs and their Riders, but some were Rohirrim and their horses.
He found Legolas bent down and take something from a dead Warg Rider's hand. The elf suddenly stood up and looked down on the cliff, Gimli joining.
He walked over to them and urgently asked what happened.
"Aragorn fell."
Titus looked down and saw the massive drop and the river that ran below.
Théoden joined them and said "Get the wounded on horses. The wolves of Isengard will return." He paused "Leave the dead."
Legolas and Titus looked at the king in alarm.
Titus sighed before leaving "Legolas, Gimli. Let's go. We cannot linger." He said, his voice laced with sadness at loosing another friend just as they got one back.
The elf took one last look at the cliff before departing.
~Line Break~
"Lord Aragorn, where is he?"
Titus placed a hand on Gimli's shoulder while Rin placed hers on Titus'.
"He fell..." The dwarf sadly replied.
The Shieldmaiden looked to her uncle in disbelief.
"Draw all our forces behind the wall. Bar the gate, and set a watch on the surround." The King ordered.
"What of those who cannot fight my lord? The women and children?" A Royal Guard asked.
"Get them into the caves. Saruman's arm would have grown long indeed if he thinks he can reach us here." The King stubbornly declared.