Unexpectedly turned into a cat, Kat falls into Middle-earth with the mission to prevent a death. In a feline form she can only communicate with the elf Legolas - and that he is such an attractive specimen is certainly not helpful...
A humorous (but...
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"THAT'S MORTALS FOR YOU, Death continued. THEY'VE ONLY GOT A FEW YEARS IN THIS WORLD AND THEY SPEND THEM ALL IN MAKING THINGS COMPLICATED FOR THEMSELVES. FASCINATING."
― Terry Pratchett, Mort
21. You Would Die Before Your Stroke Fell
"It is a red dawn." Legolas was up before sunrise, as usual. "There are strange things waiting for us... Good or evil, I do not know, but we are called."
It was the fourth morning of their journey, but the days had become so uniform they began to blend together. They ran, and ran, and then they ran some more. It reminded Kat of when Forrest Gump jogged back and forth across America.
As she had for the past two days, Kat mostly slept fitfully in Legolas' arms, not even in the mood to entertain him with funny stories. The bleak conversation they had the day before yesterday still hovered over her like a mental raincloud, and thoughts about her friends killing orcs haunted her. Of course she knew they were just doing what soldiers everywhere have always done, but her heart did not listen to her brain.
The others did not talk much either, except for the odd comment about the distance to the orcs, and whether they would be able to catch up with them or not. With every passing day Aragorn and Gimli had grown increasingly exhausted, but to their dismay, the orcs seemed driven by an invisible power and were gaining on their pursuers.
At one point the Hunters reached a trampled spot where the orcs had rested, but according to Aragorn it was many hours ago – a day and a half at least. It was disheartening, to say the least.
The surroundings were exceedingly dull, with nothing but grass to look at in almost every direction – a view which only Legolas seemed to enjoy. Aragorn said there used to be herds of horses grazing here, but now everything was deserted.
In the afternoon, they finally started to see something else; a dark shade at the horizon. They were nearing an old forest called Fangorn, which the orcs had to pass by on their way to Isengard. It was something to rest their eyes on at least, though only Legolas could see it clearly.
When dusk came, the forest was still far away. As usual Legolas did not want to stop, but seeing how weary his comrades were he had to concede. Like the earlier nights, the man and the dwarf instantly fell asleep while the elf remained awake and restless. He walked about, watching the stars, sometimes singing softly in his own language – melancholy tunes, mostly.
Kat was not tired after sleeping in his lap all day, and watched him in silence for a while. Then she resolutely made him company. It was time to dispel both her own troubled thoughts and his; they needed a conversation about something other than orcs and captive hobbits.
How long can an elf go without sleep? she asked.
Hm. Good question. Days at least; a week perhaps. I usually enjoy sleeping and dreaming, so I never stayed up long enough to test it.
