Again, please be gentle. I am trying not to slaughter LoTR, and doing my best to keep the characters from jumping the shark.
"Now this is the life a Dwarf is supposed to live." Gimli let out a shout from astride his pony, his feet bouncing slightly in the air. "Under the sky, with the wind to our backs. It's adventure that sets our blood on fire."
"I give you two nights before you're complaining how your back aches from sleeping on the ground." Legolas laughed, as he looked toward his friend.
"If you'd would stop insisting we sleep upon rocks I would have no need to complain." Gimli snorted, while sending the elf a disgruntled glare.
They'd been riding for three days, and the further away they traveled from Minas Tirith, the freer Legolas felt. Living in the White City had been like living in a gilded cage. Even the times they had traveled out with Aragorn's men, he felt the heaviness in his heart. Their journeys were trivial, and did nothing to feed his soul.
"I hope we run across some Orcs." Gimli grunted, his eyes searching across the plains of Anórien. "My blade hasn't tasted the stench of their blood in too many moons."
Truth be told, Legolas too looked forward to a good fight. He'd grown complacent, and his blood begged for something to bring it to life. "Our first priority is to see to the needs of the people."
His beard twitching Gimli grumbled. "But killing a few Orcs would be in the best interest of the people."
Laughing, Legolas nodded. "Perhaps you are right."
"Shall we erase our numbers and start anew?" A light shined in the Dwarf's eyes as he turned his head in Legolas's direction. "Or are you afraid to lose . . . again?"
His features tightened, but his mouth quirked at the corner. "You were lucky my friend, are you sure you want to chance fate again?"
"Fate?" Gimli barked. "Fate had nothing to do with my legendary abilities."
"So what is the wager dwarf?"
Taking a moment to think it over, Gimli smiled. "You must name your first borne after me."
"The poor fate of my unborn elven baby." Legolas scoffed with a roll of his eyes. "Perhaps I should first council with my unknown bride before I make this wager."
"Do you take the bet or not?" Gimli pressed.
"Why not, now when I win-."
"Which you won't Elf." Gimli cut him off.
Acting as though the Dwarf hadn't interrupted him, Legolas continued on. "When I win, you must shave your beard."
"Shave my beard!?" Shock and repulsion slipped from the smaller man's lips. "No self-respecting Dwarf would ever be without his beard."
"Then I recommend you don't lose." Legolas suggested, his eyes sparkling with mirth.
"Do you understand the position you've put me in?" Slapping his palm down on the top of his thigh, Gimli looked off into the distance in deep thought.
"Your beard will grow back." Legolas reasoned. "But I will be in the position to explain to my imaginary wife why we are in debt to name our first borne such a hideous name."
His head whipping to the side, Gimli sputtered. "Hideous! Hideous you say! Your wee babe would be bestowed a mighty honor to be named after me."
"So what do you say Master Dwarf, do we have a bet?"
"Aye Master Elf, may the best Dwarf win."
H~L~H
The first time her eyes opened, Hermione knew she was lying face down on the ground. It only took a moment before the pain seeped into her brain, causing her limbs to violently spasm. A cry tore from her lips, as it became increasingly harder to breathe. After a few agonizing minutes, the ground before her eyes blurred as she was pulled back into the black abyss.
The second time she awoke, Hermione had enough self-preservation to comprehend her current situation. Somehow she'd survived. The hows and whys at this point were moot, but if she wanted to keep on living she needed to find somewhere more secure than the open ground she was currently lying upon.
As carefully as she could, Hermione rolled onto her back and stayed in that position for a moment to gain strength. Her vision began to blur again, just as her stomach rolled in retaliation to the abuse she'd suffered. For a panicked moment, she was scared she'd lose consciousness again, and should her stomach empty while out she'd surely drown in her own vomit.
After everything she'd lived through, she refused to be snuffed out by something so trivial.
Grasping her fingers around her wand, while blindly patting the earth around her for her bag, tears of relief sprung to her eyes as her other hand came in contact with a worn strap.
"Accio tent." Not sure she had the reflexes to move her wand accordingly, Hermione let out a sigh of relief when she heard movement from the bag as the tent made its way out of its opening.
Breathing hard, she kept her eyes trained on the clouds floating overhead. Gripping the wand tightly once more, she choked out. "Erecto tent."
A flurry of sound beside her let her know her attempt hadn't been in vein. Torn between crawling to the tent's flap, or casting one last spell to ensure her safety, Hermione wanted nothing more than to give into to the sweet bliss of sleep. But her stubborn streak wouldn't hear of it, not when she was so close to accomplishing her mission.
"Protego Totalum." The spell barely came from her lips in a whisper, but she could feel the magic in the air creating a dome over her tent.
Letting her wand hand drop lifelessly to her side, Hermione could no longer fight her eyes to stay open.
L~H~L
Dismounting with graceful ease, Legolas scanned their surrounding area for any danger. He didn't know why he bothered, so far their journey had been without incident. Listening to the wind, he let his body relax. "We'll camp here for the night."
"Of course we will." Gimli grumbled as he struggled off his pony, his feet dangling to one side as he slid down in a clump onto the rocky ground. "There's no soft places to lay my head. Just uneven ground littered with hard, uncomfortable rock."
"For a Dwarf, you seem to complain a lot about sleeping on rocks." Turning to his horse to unfasten is bag, Legolas looked over his shoulder at his friend. "Perhaps you've grown soft during your stay at the White City."
"The only thing that's grown soft is the space between your ears." Kicking at a stone, Gimli went to collect wood for the fire. "Soft my hairy beard. I'll show that baby faced Elf what Dwarfs are made of."
Raising his arms over his head, Legolas stretched his muscles from a hard days ride. Closing his eyes, he let his ears take in the sounds of their surroundings. What he would've given for the chance to sleep within the woods, with only the sound of the trees and their inhabitants to keep him company.
"Are you going to stand about like the lazy Elf you are, dinner won't come to us you know." Dropping an armload of twigs, and a few heavier branches, Gimli got to work on the fire.
"Perhaps while I hunt for food to fill your belly, I will run across a few Orcs." Legolas teased, while moving toward his horse to retrieve his bow.
Looking up from the fire, Gimli eyed the Elf suspiciously, before gazing around their surroundings. "You won't fool me into helping you hunt for food. There's not an Orc within a hundred miles."
Slinging his onto his back, Legolas gave Gimli a mischievous smile. "You can't blame me for trying."
His only reply was a disgruntled humph, and Legolas set off to find some game. Their provisions would only go so far, and if they were to run into trouble before they reached the first settlement they would need their meager supplies.
H~L~H
She awoke to a canopy of stars sparkling before her eyes. Never in her life had she seen so many stars filling the night sky so brilliantly. The closest she could recall was on a clear night atop the Astronomy tower of her beloved Hogwarts. But her favorite spot had been defiled and just the thought of it made her stomach feel like lead.
Turning her head carefully to the side, her eyes landed on the erected tent. She could barely recall setting up camp, but not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Hermione pushed herself off the ground onto unsteady feet.
Ignoring her brittle parched lips, or how her muscles protested at the slightest movement, Hermione made her way to the tent opening and nearly cried in relief at the familiar surroundings. The three cots were in their corner to her left, while the table she and the boys had used to strategize sat empty to her right. Little odds and ends littered the area, welcoming her back. The only things missing were Harry and Ron.
Pushing back that last thought, to sort out when her brain didn't feel like it was going to explode, she shuffled over to her cot and sank down. A stabbing pain from her ribs caused her to hiss out in pain.
"Accio, Calming Draught." Placing her hand out, Hermione didn't have the energy to measure out the contents, so instead brought the bottle to her lips and took a long pull. Setting aside the vile, she sucked in a deep breath before adjusting her arm to point at her ribs. "Brackium Emendo." A pain nearly as bad as Crucio hit her like a sledge hammer, forcing her eyes to roll into the back of her head.
L~H~L
A loud grumbling broke the silence of the morning, making Gimli send Legolas a disgruntled look. "One measly rabbit. How is it you only managed to find one pathetic rabbit? I've seen you take down an Orc from an amazing distance."
"I told you, I felt something." Even now he felt something. It wasn't evil, just different.
"Aye, so you said." Gimli said. "But you still haven't been able to tell me what and now my belly is rumbling."
"Your belly rumbles after a five course feast." Legolas tried to reason. "And I cannot explain what I felt because I have never felt it before."
"So how do you know it's not evil?"
Narrowing his eyes to scope out their surrounding area, Legolas halted his horse and raised his hand to his friend to do the same. Silently dismounting, Legolas's hand instantly went to his sides, to ensure his daggers were in place.
"No evil you say?" Gimli's head whipped back and forth, his hand moving instantly to his axe.
"Shh." With a downward movement of his hand, Legolas sent Gimli a look before moving his eyes around their surroundings. Something in the air smelled of magic, but not any magic he'd ever experienced before.
He'd first felt the shift in the air the night before, as the air around him shifted and tickled his nose. He'd strained his ears for nearly an hour, trying to find the source of the sudden change. The longer he stood frozen in place, the more confused he grew. But something about their current location didn't feel right.
"Have you lost your senses?" Though he intended to whisper, his words sounded like thunder in the meadow. "There's nothing here."
"I can feel something." Legolas demanded, as he turned. His eyes caught a glimmer before it was gone. Shifting his focus back to the area he moved forward a fraction of an inch and sniffed the air again. It smelled sweet, like the nectar of a fruit.
Putting on foot in front of the other, he eased his daggers from his sides and gripped onto them. "There." Pointing his blade in the direction he'd seen the glimmering dome, Legolas made his way over.
"Bloody wonderful." Gimli heaved as he struggled to get his leg over his pony to dismount. "I'm out in the wilderness with an Elf who's lost his mind. Chasing the wind, is what he's doing."
Barely listening to a word the Dwarf muttered from behind, Legolas made his way stealthy to where a glittering dome was becoming more obvious. As he reached the barrier he paused before lifting his hand to test the air in front of him.
An uncomfortable sensation crawled up his hand to his wrist and Legolas jumped back. "This is something I have never encountered before."
"You've never encountered an empty field before?" Raising a brow, Gimli nodded slowly.
Pinching his mouth shut, Legolas shook his head. How was he supposed to explain to a Dwarf the mysteries of magic, when he didn't even know the type of magic they'd encountered? With a defiant move he rushed forward through the heavy air until he stumbled, barely catching himself before crashing on his face.
Lifting his head, his eyes landed on a tent that had not been there seconds before. Blinking, he stood to his full height.
"Have my eyes failed me?"
Twisting to where Gimli was, he became more astonished when Gimli started rushing at him, axe raised while a battle cry flew from his lips.
"Gimli no!" Watching in horror, as Gimli hit the barrier he watched as the Dwarf's feet hit the other side, easily dodging the axe arcing down on him to imbed in the earth where his feet had been. "Why did you not stop?"
"Why?" Gimli groused, while yanking his axe from the ground. "Why he asks? You're the bloody Elf who vanished into thin air! What did you want me to do? Sit down and make pretty braids in my beard?"
"I yelled out for you to stop."
"If I couldn't see you, did you think I could hear you?"
Gimli opened his mouth, only to have it drop in shock. "Where in the blazes did that come from?" Looking to the tent, his eyes blinking in rapid succession as though if he kept on blinking the tent would disappear.
"Stay here." Knowing his words were fruitless, Legolas moved silently to the opening of the tent, his ears open for any signs of life within. No matter how bizarre their current predicament, he still felt no evil, but there was nothing wrong with taking precautions.
Reaching the flap, he used the blade of his dagger to move the material to the side. When nothing seemed to jump out at them, he was about to take another step forward when a soft moan came from within.
"There's someone inside."
Giving his companion a dark scowl, Legolas paused before deftly moving into the structure. Another moan came from his left and his body instantly tensed as he spun in that direction with weapons raised. His eyes settled on a prone body slumped over on a cot, the figure definitely feminine and small of stature.
"It's a wee lass." Gimli whispered from behind, his axe instantly lowering.
Without a reply, Legolas inched his way to her, his eyes studying the form for any indication of folly. The closer he got, he noticed a different scent in the air. Where once it smelled of ripe fruit, it now stunk of rot and decay.
"Is she dead?" The Dwarf demanded.
"Do the dead moan?" Legolas replied.
"We've seen stranger."
"Yes, my friend." He agreed. "But I have a feeling it's about to get stranger."