In the end, I accepted the place I was given in the Fellowship by Lord Elrond gracefully. There was no agreement, nor any begging to not go. I thanked him and spent my next days burying myself into elven histories, trying to calm a nervousness that would not easily abate. The only good that came out of being given such a responsibility was the recognition I received from others. Once I had been only a young man reading the shadows, one who would hardly be noticed, and then I found myself being stopped frequently in the halls by people I did not know, who dipped their heads respectfully and congratulated me, wishing me a good, quickly paced journey.

I cannot lie…in those moments I felt honored, and as though I was worth more than I had been days prior. Such feelings only grew when similar treatment was given to Mother, Father and great-Uncle Thorin, who were told they must be so pleased to have both Fali and I selected.

They were honored, but couldn't hide concerns for us either. The day we departed from Rivendell, they had embraced for long moments, wishing us well, and warning us to keep safe. Though Mother tried to be secretive, slipping away for a few minutes, I noticed her, as she went up to Gimli, Aragorn, Gandalf and even Legolas, as they prepared to leave. I could faintly hear her speaking with them.

"I have come to wish you all well on the journey ahead." She said diplomatically. She turned to Gandalf, and her voice wavered for a second, before she composed herself quickly. "You seem to have been right all along Master Gandalf, it is peace I shall always know…danger and uncertainty are things my children will have to bear." The wizard placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Thank you." She whispered to him.

"We will not face it alone." The wizard replied.

"We will be beside your children." Aragorn assured her. "They have the opinion of Lord Elrond on their side. They are prepared."

"Aye, we'll make a fearsome Fellowship, indeed." Gimli must have smiled at her a little, though I could not see it past his beard from where I stood.

"Some of you I have known for a long time…" She eyed over Gandalf and Gimli. "…and some of you I have met in the past…" She nodded at Legolas, who returned the gesture. "…and some I have just met." She faced Aragorn. "But Fali and Gideon will come to hold you as the strongest of companions. They will be at your side, and watch over you with great loyalty. I hope that despite their youth, you will do the same for them?"

Aragorn knelt a little to be the same height as her, taking her hand. "It will be done, my lady."

With that small reassurance she thanked them, and then bid everyone farewell at Father's side, as we left Rivendell, and walked the same path the company of Thorin Oakenshield had years ago.

Fali looked forward.

I glanced back.

It happened that traveling across the wilds on a quest of epic proportions was very similar to the little journey from the Shire to Rivendell. One ate three brisk meals in a day, one walked over hill, plateau, and mountain, no matter the weather, and one fell asleep more or less exhausted. Then you were shaken awake and your watch in the middle of the night began, and you strained to hear the faintest of sounds and see through the black ink of the night. You shook the next man (or Fali) for the watch after you and fell back asleep.

The only differences were the additional people, and the time. It quickly felt like this journey would never be over.

My lacking skills were unnoticed thus far. We had faced little trouble, our only challenge the terrain which we traveled. The supplies of dried food we had were lasting better than expected, and the elf who was with us was so skilled a hunter with his bow, he would make even Kili and Tauriel's children green with envy.

After the first fortnight, my fatigue gave way to a routine that was embedded so deeply within me, my body now assumed it natural. Rising was not so troublesome, and energy was quickly restored with a few stretches and nourishment. Food that was usually unlikeable in taste mellowed to virtually no flavor, while those that were still decent heightened on my tongue. The muscles in my legs grew used to the long hours of walking.

A body could become used to anything it seemed. The mind, however, was more difficultly persuaded. Fali was enthusiastic and the hobbits seemed to share her optimism. I was grateful for the spirit she had, as I remained looking stoic with the others.

Aragorn was the only one who guessed my doubts as to my place in the Fellowship, but was kind enough to not speak of them. For that I was even more grateful. Gimli was every bit the proud dwarf and he had numerous tales to boast of, both his feats and those from his kin. Boromir looked to be a particularly unforgiving man toward weakness or doubt. It was better I remained quiet for now. Fali may have warmed up to the new travel companions but I felt I did not know them all so well yet.

I did not feel very worthy of their company either, having done nothing but take over a watch in the night, and nearly fall asleep walking a few times. I felt as though I had been utterly useless.

After a long day of walking higher into the hills, Fali pulled me away. "Come." She said. "We must take a turn hunting." The food provided by the elves was meant for scarcer days, when we were high in the mountains, where little game would be found. Fali pulled a length of rope from her bag. "You can tie up snares, can't you? Like how Mother showed us?"

A spark of remembrance came to my mind, and I recalled that I did have a talent that would prove useful for journeys, even if it was just the twisting of twine. With that spark of confidence, I took the rope. "We'll split up." I said. "I'll come searching for you after I've tied them." I took ten paces, before turning around sharply and adding "Please be careful where you shoot." I added. Fali could fire an arrow, but not as well as our half-elf cousins. Half of the hunts she had with them they had made her run across the thicket, disturbing rabbits from their resting places.

I ventured off until I couldn't see the temporary camp that was being constructed. At this distance, the chance of game would be better. I knelt into the earth and tied a snare close to the ground, one large enough to catch the neck of a hare should it come looking for the nearby clover. When I judged it to be well made, I made two others in different locations, and then went off to search for Fali.

Fali had taken to hiding in the bushes it seemed. "Fali." I called out for her. I glanced far up into the trees, to see if she was crouching there, and then swept my gaze back over the ground, searching for her there as well. "Fali." I repeated. I did not like the eerie silence about me, it reminded me too much of when we had all crammed ourselves under the roots of a tree, hiding from Wraiths. "Fali, if you're going to pop out from behind a tree and try to give me a shock, it will be poor taste." I called out. It was like her to play such jokes, especially when she was in good spirits, which these travels and far-stretching landscapes had her in. There was no reply again, and I stopped, sighing. Perhaps she was not playing a joke, but so focused in her hunt she had blocked me out, which was far worse. I didn't fancy an arrow going through any part of me.

Proceeding to search for her in the bushes as I called out more loudly and stepped on every brittle twig and thrashed my hands into every set of branches proved an safe (though incredibly foolish) way to act. Anything to alert her that I was about, and not to fire an arrow.

"Gideon, shhh!" Fali hushed me, her mood snappish. "You're scaring off all the game!" I looked up to see her sitting in the 'y' of a tree, arrow notched but not aimed at anything yet.

"My apologies I only didn't want to be shot through…" I rolled my eyes.

Fali smirked at my light-hearted joking. "Come up here." She moved a degree, leaving just enough space for me. I grabbed hold of one of the lower limbs, and placed a foot flat against the bark of the tree, suspending myself and pulling my weight up to the higher branches, until I was seated beside her, as comfortably as I could be in such little space. Fali looked out over the forest floor. Currently there were a number of squirrels running around, and even daring to climb partly up the tree we had taken over. Fali was probably tempted to shoot at them, seeing as they made such excellent, challenging targets to practise with, but they were so small that the meat they would give would not be worth the arrows.

"There must be something out there…" She sighed.

"If you're thinking about deer, I don't think they'll come this close to us." I said gently. "Too much noise probably."

"Oh no, a deer would be too big I think." Fali replied. "Unless it was a yearling…we could always smoke what we don't eat, but with that much left over it would end up being too much work. I'm going to teach the hobbits to spar, hopefully starting tonight." A twig snapped and her bow, fitted by craftsmen to her size, snapped up, the arrow drawn back, ready to fire at any animal that emerged. No animal appeared though, and disheartened she lowered her weapon. "I hope your snares have better luck." She sighed. "I told Gimli we could manage just fine."

"I'm sure we'll catch something." I said, shifting more so my spine did not imprint itself into the branch I was leaning against.

"How are you feeling about all this?" Fali asked. "Any better now that we've been at it for a fortnight or so?"

"Not as bad as the first night." I said honestly. "Yourself?"

She smirked. "I think I've found a long awaited calling in life." She grinned. "I don't mind all the walking, and by now the bedroll is as comfortable to me as any bed. Once you don't miss the things you had so conveniently before, it's not so bad. I like waking up every day in a new place, it's never dull. All I hope is that we continue to have fair weather and don't run across any trouble." She grimaced slightly, probably recalling the wraiths herself. "Those would be sure to put a damper on things."

"And have good hunting ahead." I added. I could only imagine how miserable the hobbits would get on empty stomachs, causing quite the annoyance for us all.

Fali took this as a challenge, and fired an arrow into the bushes when she heard more movement, though she couldn't see what was there from her treetop perch. Pigeons erupted from the shrubs, a flurry of flapping wings and frightened 'coos'. She smiled at me victoriously and began to descend. "Not as good as Kien or Tauris…" She admitted. "But I'd be able to feed myself." She scrambled into the bush, and picked up the fat dead bird, shot in it's side. "I hope your snares are luckier." She said.

They were, thank all the Valar. Two of the three traps I had laid now had plump, clover fed hares handing from their cords. Snares weren't always the boldest type of hunting, one could never brag about some fantastic shot with them, and the catches were based solely on chance. If anything, one could say they had a good eye for locations where the game would be. But now, with my hunt having gone better than Fali's, I couldn't help but smile a bit to myself as I untied our dinner. "Good thing Mother passed on her skills, eh?" I asked over my shoulder.

Fali had her arms crossed, carrying her single bird. "You should see how smug you look right now." She said.

"Me? Smug?" I asked.

"Yes." She smacked me on my shoulder. "Though it is nice to see you looking so sure of yourself now." Her face lit up. "Maybe we can spar? Before we eat our supper?"

"I'm not sure about sparring just yet." I replied. I had no desire to show off the skills I had and did not have…particularly the latter.

"Please." Fali asked.

I turned my head, eyes narrowed. I gave her my hardest look and said, firmly "No."

"But if-"

"No."

Fali sighed again. "Smug and bossy too." She was smirking soon though. "I think being out in the wild is improving you. Another month and you'll be sparring with me, hunting with Aragorn…you may even grow a beard." She touched my completely hairless cheek.

We entered the camp again, bearing out spoils. Merry and Pippin looked the most happy to see us. "Oh, cronies." Merry smiled. "What will they be served with?"

"Pigeon." We both answered, and Fali tossed the creature to the unsuspecting hobbit, who flailed about to catch it.

"I was hoping for mushrooms personally." Pippin whispered as we passed them.

"You had good luck then?" Aragorn asked as we approached the fire, and I passed him the hares.

"Is that enough?"

"It will do." Aragorn nodded. He glanced the rabbits over. "Where are the marks left from the arrows?" He asked. Fali's pigeon had a decent sized hole in it's body, but the hares had their pelts still intact.

"Snares." I replied.

Aragorn examined the necks of the animals, drawing back the fur to expose the ring of raw flesh. "You were taught well." He replied. "Master hobbits…" He called to Merry and Pippin. "If you would prepare them." Merry and Pippin nodded and set to cleaning out the animals. I didn't enjoy seeing the slippery, hairless bodies turned out from the soft fur, but despite that, Merry and Pippin weren't going to let much of anything stop them from having a good meal.

Fali fulfilled her interest to spar by pulling Frodo and Sam aside and teaching them the finer points of weaponry. She was patient, and went along slowly. Frodo and Sam followed her movements, copying them as best they could. They would learn well under her, as long as her patience kept up with their learning. Right now she handled the duty of training them as well as the instructors back home, who were responsible for those in their first year of swordsmanship.

I sat and plucked feathers from the pigeon. Everyone else had settled down to a certain task. Gimli sharpened his axe, blowing off the bits of dust the blade had gathered in cutting down a few trees for the night's firewood. Boromir consulted a map over bended knee, a pipe between his teeth. Legolas and Gandalf spoke to each other, their eyes watching the horizon.

I didn't feel quite so aloof this evening. Maybe it was because I had finally contributed in a worthy way at last. Recording the journey as a make-shift scribe didn't qualify. Now I had something I could do. A minor thing, but in Fali words, at least I would be able to feed myself. So long as there was something I could do, so I didn't end up being a complete liability.

The sun waned and we all gathered from our corners to eat, close to the fire. "We rise early tomorrow." Boromir spoke up. "The lowlands are ahead of us, and there will be no cover from any enemies. We will need as much daylight as we can to make our way. Understood?" His gaze did not sweep over Aragorn or Legolas, but over the hobbits, Fali and I.

"We understand." Frodo said. "We'll rise before dawn."

"What are the lowlands on this side of the mountains like?" Fali asked curiously.

"The terrain will grow rockier, that much is certain." Boromir said. "The land grows hardly any trees…unless one considers boulders. It will be fairly barren."

"Oh." Fali replied.

"Where you expecting rolling hillsides, Miss Fali?" Boromir asked.

"No." She shook her head quickly. "I don't expect anything."

Boromir smirked at her. For all his stern exterior, there were cracks in his armour where some protective nature, much like Fali's, came seeping through. "The open sky goes uninterrupted for miles. One can see forever on those plains." He said. Fali smiled at the thought. His eyes fell on me. "Will you be ready for the challenge, Master Gideon?" He asked me.

I shoved the rising doubt in my stomach down with a swallow of hare. "Yes, sire." I nodded.

"Very well then." Boromir replied, believing me, hopefully. Either way, they had my word that I would not be a grievance the following day.

It was the oddest thing to happen to me since I stepped outside of Rivendell. I felt strangely calm out here suddenly. Maybe it was the hare in my stomach or the fact that I had been the one to provide it tonight, but I ready for the traveling to continue tomorrow. I felt more prepared to rise, and walk on, to have my three meals and then have my watch in the night before falling dead fast asleep. There was something of a spirit in the tasks now, not just an instilled routine. Was this how Fali felt about adventures?

Perhaps it was…

I was beginning to feel the first turning of a change, where I felt a drop of doubt fall, and an something much lighter fill in it's place.

I had began to have the smallest of hopes.

A tiny breakthrough for Gideon, he's getting there, he's trying.