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Chameleon
Chapter Five - Squirrels
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He turned from his perch and took off towards the disturbance; his elongated canines visible beneath his top, colourless lip. He passed swiftly and soundlessly through the trees, reaching the small camp in just under half an hour. He settled himself in an elder tree and tuned his eyes and ears to the conversation being held.
"You think the young prince is a half-orc?" A voice asked, laced with a mixture of concern and curiosity. He moved forwards in his tree to try and get a better view of the figures around the fire, however several, thick branches obscured his view.
"We have considered the possibility. Amongst others." Another voice replied. This one was definitely younger, but laced with no less anxiety. "However, it seems the most likely situation. If Legolas were still alive, he would not have endured two years in an orc pack without some form of mutilation." Legolas… that was a name. Greenleaf. Legolas was Greenleaf. He was Greenleaf… He was Legolas. How could he have forgotten his own name? He brushed a hand through his short hair before rubbing the now rounded tips of his ears. Mutilation. He was mutilated and he was Legolas…
"Do you think he is still alive?" The first voice asked, breaking him out of his stupor.
"In my heart yes." Another voice answered. This one was so similar to the second voice that he could have mistaken it to be the same person. However, he had known the twins since he was an elfling… Twins… The twins were down there! "I feel his aura as if it was right here with me now…" He wanted to shout out to Elladan. He wanted to tell him that he was here, but he couldn't… and not for the first time, he cursed the monsters for what they had done to him. "However, my head tells me to see reason. It is extremely unlikely that even Legolas could have survived this long."
He turned and fled. His flight through the trees was hasty and anything but silent but he had to get away from that place. The twins were here! In Mirkwood! Who was with them? Was it Estel? Was Estel with them and he had been too shaken to try and decipher the first voice he had heard? What was he going to do? Should he reveal himself to them?
After an hour of bolting through the leaves Legolas came to a stop, collapsing onto a wide oaken branch and pressing himself into the trunk, curling up and hugging his knees to his chest. He was Legolas. He was a prince. He had family. His family was here. Elladan and Elrohir and possibly Estel also. How could he have forgotten?
He looked up at a slight rustling next to him and he couldn't help but smile at the small, furry creature that had curled up next to him. He reached out to brush the squirrel's red fur, stopping as he looked down at his right hand… An eye, burnt into the soft flesh of his palm, forever gazing upwards towards him. Healed over but still… unnatural. He lifted the squirrel towards him and curled himself around it, seeking comfort from his new, small friend.