Fan Fiction ❯ Wild Blue Yonder ❯ Sticky Situation ( Chapter 37 )

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters nor places created by Tolkien, but I do own my own.

Wild Blue Yonder

~~*~*~~ Chapter 37 - Sticky Situation ~~*~*~~

"So, you want to tell me how we got into this mess in the first place." Elrohir said sarcastically.

"Hey, it was your idea to chase after Nanook." Legolas said, arms crossed of his chest, ignoring the muck that was seeping its way wetly through his trousers.

"Yeah, but it wasn't my idea to fall into this hole." he snarled, trying to pull his legs out the of the ooze that trapped his lower body from the thigh down.

"I wouldn't struggle too much, we don't know how deep this stuff is really."

"Humph." Elrohir grunted as he stopped struggling and leaned back against the dirt wall of the hole they had fallen into. In the ensuing battle, he had spotted Nanook being targeted by several of the larger wolves and had run to his aid. That had ended in a long drawn out fight that led them farther and farther away from the main clearing. Legolas had seen their retreat through the woods and had rushed to their assistance. The three had managed to finish off their enemies and had only stopped for a short breather when the ground had collapsed beneath them, trapping them in a mire of mud at the bottom of a rather deep hole.

Nanook, luckily, had been farther away from the two elves and had not been trapped. He had stood whining at the edge of the hole for a short period of time, before suddenly disappearing. Both elves hoped that no more wolves had appeared and waited anxiously for any growls or yelps. Only silence had greeted their straining senses.

"He'd better have been hightailing back to get Rain." Elrohir grumbled unhappily.

Legolas stayed silent as he closed his eyes. They were going to have to be patient until someone came along to help them. Unfortunately that meant he had to listen to Elrohir's whining about the situation.

"Elrohir, quit whining. We will get out of here sooner or later." Silence prevailed between the two men uncomfortably, each in their own thoughts.

"Legolas. . ." Elrohir finally said again after a long period of absolute quiet had stretched between them. Legolas opened his eyes and looked over at him. He was staring back at him with a curious expression on his face.

"Yes."

"Why do you love Rain?"

"Huh?" Legolas said, confusion in his tone.

"I asked, why do you love Rain? I mean, only a couple of days ago you were ready to kill her, yet today after your argument you were back to the way you were before she disappeared." Elrohir said, looking seriously at him. "Legolas, I care deeply for Rain. She is like another sister to me and I don't want anyone, even you, hurting her. So I want to know, why do you love her?"

Legolas stared off into empty space for a long time, contemplating Elrohir's words. 'Why do I love Rain?' he thought to himself. She was stubborn, irritating and a general pain in his ass, but underneath all that he saw something that she tried so desperately to keep hidden. Her heart. It was gentle and caring, and so full of pain that he want to wrap her in his arms and never let her go.

"I think. . ." he started, "because she reminds me so much of myself."

"What?" Elrohir said, looking totally confused.

"She's tough, yet gentle. Stubborn, yet thoughtful and caring of those around her. Her pride gets the better of her and she doesn't know when to back down. She's beautiful in her own special way, from the inside out. I feel good when I am with, even when we are fighting." he tried to explain. "I am not sure how to put it any other way, I just know that when I am with her, I am happy. When I am not near I her, I yearn to find her."

"Humm, well I will have to accept that, even if I am not sure what it all means. But know this Legolas, if you do anything to hurt her again. . . " Elrohir said, his voice trailing off from the incomplete sentence.

Legolas looked up and met his eyes, understanding the unspoken words that hung between them.

"Now, answer me one other question. What did Rain mean yesterday when she said something about father offering the chance to become an elf?"

"Huh? An elf?" Legolas said looking sharply back at him.

"Yeah during your fight, she said she was looking for the sword because father offered her the chance to become an elf. Don't you remember that?"

"No, I don't." Legolas said, his tone turning frosty. Elrohir reared back and looked into Legolas's face, suddenly aware of a cold anger radiating off of the man. Before he could say another word and faint yelling caught his attention.

"Elrohir. . .Legolas. . .Where are you?"

"Rain, we're here." Elrohir yelled as he looked up from the dim hole to the sky above. Just as he was about to shout again, a head appeared at the opening followed by Rain's voice.

"Bup-pup, move your bloody head, I can't see. Hey you two, how'd you get down there?" she said, as she peered over the crumbly lip of the hole.

"Don't ask, just get us out of here." Elrohir said impatiently.

"Hold tight, I'll just get the rope and lower it down to you and then Arod will pull you up." she said as she disappeared from the opening. She hurried over to Arod and pulled a length of rope from his saddle. Tying it off securely around the saddle horn, she backed him slowly over to the hole where the two elves were trapped.

"Hey, one at a time. Wrap the rope around your waist and let me know when you are ready to go." she called as she tossed the end of the rope down into the hole. Standing next to Arod's head, she patiently waited for their call, smirking all the time.

"Ready Rain." Elrohir's voice called up. Gently encouraging Arod forward, she watched as the rope tightened and then suddenly Elrohir's head popped up from the lip of the hole. When he was free, she stopped Arod and backed him up again. As she did this Elrohir untied himself and dropped the line back in for Legolas. In a repeat move, he too was soon standing on the dry ground next to him.

"Are you two all right?" Rain said concerned as she hurried over to them. She quickly checked over Elrohir before turning to look at Legolas, who as looking at her with a strange expression on his face.

"Legolas?" she said quietly, worried suddenly.

"We are all right, just wet and dirty." Elrohir said abruptly, trying to cut through the sudden tension that seemed to radiate from the pair. "Let's get back to camp so we can clean up and get some dry clothes."

Rain broke her bewildered gaze from Legolas to Elrohir and nodded absently. Legolas, not saying one word, turned and left them staring at his retreating back. Elrohir shrugged as Rain looked at him and picked up the rope to follow after him. Grabbing Arod's reins, she followed silently.

~*~

Legolas sat starring off into nothing, his mind rolling with questions. A faint splash brought him back to reality and he looked up to see Elrohir swimming strongly across the small lake near their campsite. Sighing heavily, he stood and stripped off the mud-encrusted clothing sticking wetly to his body.

Dropping the dirty clothing next to his bag, Legolas walked forward into the crisp clear water, enjoying the delicious feel of the coolness lapping about his bare skin before diving forward. Surfacing he swam lazily for a short time before heading back to the shallows to wash. Elrohir grinned at him as he stood up near him, waist deep in water.

"Catch." Elrohir called and he reflexively caught the small object tossed towards him. Grinning his thanks, he set forth to use the small hunk of soap Elrohir has tossed him, scrubbing off the remaining mud from his hair and skin. Ducking, he rinsed the soap from his hair before tossing it carelessly over his shoulder.

"Legolas." Elrohir said as he strode out of the water, his skin gleaming wetly in the sunlight. "What's wrong?" He bent over and picked up his towel quickly drying off before wrapping it around his waist. Turning he looked back at his friend still in the water.

"Nothing, I am fine." Legolas sighed as he looked away from Elrohir's probing gaze.

"Sure you are." Elrohir said sarcastically, "You've been about as fine as a week old corpse. Ever since Rain pulled us out of that mud hole, you've been brooding."

"I said I was fine, so let's leave it at that all right." Legolas said angrily as he turned back and strode from the water. Grabbing his towel, he roughly dried off his skin, before pulling on his clean clothes.

"Sure whatever you say, your royal highness." Elrohir mocked as he pulled on his own clean clothes and picked up his bag. "I'll just leave you to your thoughts, my lord." With that he spun on his heel and strode angrily from the clearing. Legolas raised a hand as if to stop his departure, but did not say a word. He dropped his hand and looked after the retreating elf. He knew that he had just unjustly taken out his frustrations on his friend, but wasn't sure exactly how to take it back.

Sitting down on a large boulder, he looked off into the distance trying to gather his thoughts and feelings. Was it true? What Elrohir had said about Rain becoming an elf? And if so, why am I so angry about that?' he thought.

His feeling towards Rain had changed so much over the last month while they had been together that he wasn't sure what all was going on through his heart. He knew that his love for her had come about so suddenly that his mind reeled. She was such a complicated person. Many times he wasn't sure how he had fallen so quickly for her, but yet his heart ached at the thought of her. But this quest, so many unanswered questions. She continually evaded his requests for more answers and only in the heat of their argument had she dropped the bombshell and he hadn't even heard it, Elrohir had to tell him.

He should be happy that she could become an elf, if that was the true meaning of this quest. Then they could stay together forever, however, the fact that she hadn't told him still rankled him.

A soft touch to his shoulder startled him out of his thoughts and turning he looked up into a pair of concerned emerald green eyes.

"Legolas, I think that we need to talk."

~~*~*~~

A/N: Again I want to say sorry about the long wait between chapters. I am taking a class this semester that is very challenging and full of homework that requires a lot of my time. So, that said, I will probably be late again with the next few chapters until this class is done in December. Please be patient with me, I promise not to stop on this story, only slow down a bit.

Thank you for your wonderful comments and support that you have given me for this story. We are more than halfway done and the rest should be even more exciting than the beginning.

~DBZ Vegeta