Ski sat huddled on the patchy grass in the shadow of a large rock that jutted into her clearing from the surrounding forest. She hurt all over, a deep muscle-ache, and her face stung where the Orc's claws had left gashes in her skin. They were no longer bleeding, but a pulsating pain gripped them with every beat of her heart, and the cool air bit at the raw flesh.
A violent trembling had begun to seize her: before, she had concentrated completely on reaching the glade. Now, with nothing else to focus on, her mind began to replay the frightening scenes, and delayed panic and shock set in. Sure, Ski had been afraid, even terrified, during her predicament; but now she was absolutely petrified with fear at what could have happened, what almost happened. She sat with her knees drawn up to her chest, her head ducked down, her arms encircling her legs so tightly that each hand could grip the upper part of the opposite arm. She could barely breathe. Her breath came in short gasps. The furrows in her cheeks burned suddenly, and Ski realized she was crying.
Shut up, she tried to tell her mind, it's over, you're fine, you're safe. But her mind seemed to have, well, a mind of its own. No matter how hard Ski tried, she couldn't shut off her reaction.
A sudden rustling in the trees close at hand made her breath catch in her throat. She shrank down, making herself even smaller. The Elves had found her, or perhaps spiders. Did Lothlórien have giant spiders like the kind she had heard dwelt in Mirkwood? Ski didn't know. Her imagination was out of control, flashing images of attackers before her eyes, each bigger and more frightening than the last. Perhaps the Elves had heard her tearing through the woods and come to kill the intruder; maybe the Orcs had followed her without her realizing; maybe some huge, unknown tree-monster was on its way to find her. Ents, she thought in a panic, do Ents eat meat?
Something was in the clearing. Ski could hear its breathing. She clapped a hand over her mouth, trying to stifle her own breath. Light footsteps were making their way toward her rock. She closed her eyes and braced herself for the worst—
"Ski?" A beautifully, wonderfully familiar voice penetrated her state of wild panic. She opened her eyes to see Alagos standing over her, his face troubled, watching her with concern. "Ski," he said again, "what is wro—OOF!" For Ski had cried, "Alagos!" with relief and flung herself at the Elf, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. Caught off guard, Alagos toppled to the ground, the wind knocked out of him by his fall and the weight of the body on top of him. Struggling for breath, he tugged at Ski's arms, trying to free his airway. "Guh—Ski, please—" he choked, "—can't—breathe!"
His urgent tone finally got through to Ski, and she loosened her grip to look down at his face. The normally creamy skin was now a light shade of reddish-purple. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "Sorry! Sorry!" She slid off Alagos's chest and the Elf sucked in several great, wheezing breaths. Ski lay beside him, her legs too weak with relief and joy at seeing her friend to stand. After a moment, Alagos regained his air, and his face returned to its normal fair shade. He sat up and stared at his friend in wonder. She had changed greatly in merely the past two days: her skin was only the palest shade of gray-brown, and smooth as his own; her black hair was no longer stringy at all, just tangled; and her face was more Elven than Orcish. Then he noticed the gashes on her cheeks, and gasped.
"What happened, Ski, that you come to have such wounds?" he asked, voice full of concern. Her sharp movements had opened one again, and it was oozing dark red blood. Ski, who had also sat up, began to tremble again. She gritted her teeth at her body's weakness. "I'm sorry," she muttered, "I'm really not some wimpy kid that can't stand a little pain and fear…" Her eyes began to leak tears once more. "But I'm—I was—really scared. I can't stop shaking…"
And slowly, Ski found herself recounting to Alagos everything that had happened since their last meeting. She spoke until the Sun was low in the sky. Like her tears, the story started leaking out; and like her story, once she got going, her tears flowed more and more quickly. She hated that she was crying, but for some reason, she just couldn't stop. It was like her body was finally rebelling at having her negative emotions pent up inside of it. When Ski came to her near-assault, she started sobbing so hard she could barely talk; but she pressed on, between gasps and sobs, determined not to let her involuntary reactions overwhelm her completely.
The look on her friend's face when she told about the frightening incident didn't help much. He looked utterly horrified and disgusted, making Ski realize just how awful the situation had been, which caused her belated fear to wash over her anew. Finally, finding it just too hard to talk, she summed up the rest of her tale. "So I ran out and ran here to find you," she finished lamely, with a small hiccup.
Alagos was still and silent for a few moments. To Ski's surprise and dismay, his eyes were shining very brightly, as if tears were just behind the lids. If he starts crying, I'll end up crying again too, she thought in disgust. She had finally managed to shut off the geysers that had sprung up behind her eyes. In defense against the tears that threatened to rise again, she forced herself to think about the farthest thing from scariness or sentimentality. She focused on whacking the Warg's nose and shoving it into the fire-ant nest. Better. This also gave the Elf time to collect himself. When he spoke at last, his voice was soft, but steady.
"I am sorry," he said quietly. "I should have instructed you to run only to the edge of the wood and wait there. You needn't have returned to Moria. All of that could have been avoided, had I simply had the forethought." Ski stared at him. He was blaming it on himself? She was touched, but she couldn't let him think he was to blame. "It's not your fault!" she protested. "You couldn't have known anything that was going to happen, neither of us could! You were just trying to protect me. And I was trying to protect myself. Besides, you didn't tell me to go to Moria. You just said run! So really, it's my own fault I ended up getting hurt."
Alagos gave her a sad but grateful smile. "I suppose you are right," he said. Then his eyes widened. "I mean, you are right that it was not my fault. But it was not your fault, either. I was not agreeing to that!" Ski giggled at his flustered attempt to clarify his statement. A second later, a weariness such as she had never known crashed over her. All her aches and pains rushed back, increased twofold, and she found that her neck no longer wanted to support her head. Her laugh had caused her to relax just the tiniest bit, and that bit was enough to allow much-needed sleep to break through her staunch wakefulness.
"I think… I think I'll take a little nap…" mumbled Ski, her torso already falling backwards. Alagos reached out his arm and placed it behind her back, catching her head before it hit the ground. He gathered the weary girl to him, and she sagged against his chest. "'anks," she mumbled, unable to form her words properly. She really was unbelievably tired. Alagos cradled her like a small child, one arm behind her shoulders and the other beneath her knees, and stood easily in one fluid movement. He took one stride and stopped at a grunt from Ski. "'ll walk," she slurred, but her limbs were so heavy she could barely manage a twitch. The Elf smiled down at her face: it was relaxed, and her eyes were almost closed, so that only a sliver of white and amber could be seen in the twilight.
"Worry not," he murmured. "I will carry you to a place of rest and safety. For now, sleep; allow your mind and body respite from your trials. Sleep," he repeated, in a low, soothing tone.
With a deep sigh, Ski let her muscles relax utterly, and lay her head against the Elf's chest. He started walking again—long, smooth strides with the lightest of footsteps. The sensation was rather one of gliding along than of being carried by someone on foot. Ski's eyes closed fully, and she immediately tumbled into deepest slumber.