Bluestar | Legolas x OC

Chapter 13: Uncharted Territory

December 31st TA 3018

"We must hold this course West of the Misty Mountains for 40 days. If our luck holds, the Gap of Rohan will still be open to us. From there, our road turns East to Mordor." Their goal had been established by Gandalf as they departed from the safe haven of Rivendell. The Fellowship travelled day and night through woods, open plains, and rocky hillsides. They had been on the road for a week, and on the last day of the year, they found a place to rest next to a small forest, exhausted from a long day of walking, save for the two tireless Elves.

Legolas was a Wood Elf through and through, like a Silvan contrary to his Sindar blood. He wandered near the edges of the forest, the shaded green a warm welcome, unlike the rocky hills they had just crossed over. His pointed ears twitched as his Elvish senses picked up a quiet chirp. Legolas's keen eyes looked around for a moment before they softened, spotting a baby starling on the ground, its feathers cloudy grey instead of the gossamer black of the adults.

The Prince quietly stepped over, the sound of conversation from the companions fading behind him. It chirped, looking up at a tall tree as it cried. Legolas gently approached it, his fingers delicate as he held out his hand for the young bird to hop on. The Prince looked up at the tree as he spotted the nest it must have been chirping at. With careful but swift movements, he used his free hand to climb up the tree, the other holding the starling and making sure it did not fall again.

He walked along a thick tree branch until he reached the centre bark, spotting the nest cradled by the branches. Legolas craned his neck to peek inside and saw six pale eggs and some broken shells of one. "Ah, so you must be the firstborn..." he whispered to the newborn starling.

Legolas brushed the light covering of the little grey bird before dropping it back into its nest. The young starling chirped, no longer crying as it had returned home. The Prince made to walk back along the branch and head back down, but instead, he looked towards the forests again. The leaves rustled with the cold wind, though the Elf felt none of its chill.

"Legolas?"

The Elven Prince flinched like a startled fawn at the sudden silverly voice, causing him to uncharacteristically lose his footing. He had been distracted by the calm serenity of the woods that reminded him a bit of what Greenwood used to be like. In a blur of green and brown leather, he tumbled from the branch before his ankle got caught in a fork of the strong wood.

Blood rushed to his head as he hung upside down from the branch. Disoriented from the shock and sudden position he found himself in, he opened his forest-green eyes only to be greeted by a set of sky-blue ones, though upturned and with a glint of amusement.

A blush crept up - down - his neck as he remained dangling from the oak branch. Breathless, he admitted, "You are... by far the only person who can sneak up on me like that." "That, mellon nín (my friend), is called a talent," Eluin smirked, eyeing Legolas up and down. When he fell, Eluin had calmly moved her head out of the way as his body swung where she was standing.

Hands clasped behind her, she teasingly offered, "Need some help?" Red in embarrassment, he reluctantly took the aid. "That would be nice, please." Eluin shook her head with a smile at how events had turned out before moving to the side and stepping back a bit. Nimbly, the elleth ran and jumped, grabbing the branch and swinging herself up. With a flip, she perched on the bark with a crouch, the lightness of Elves barely weighing down the branch.

Legolas was confused about what Eluin would do from up there, furrowing his brows, but before he could question any further, she pulled the smaller branch of the forked wood away. Ankle suddenly loose, the Prince yelped as he fell to the soft forest floor with a thud. Legolas blinked his eyes open, looking up to see Eluin standing on the branch with an amused smile touching her lips and a gleam in her eyes, blue leather against green leaves. "Are you all right?" she called.