Everlong

23

The flames didn't seem to ebb away or diminish, the amount of things which kept the flames alight were prominent; grass, bodies, nearly everything was food for this wall of fire. The smell was truly unbearable, Liruliniel had never smelt something so terrible before. It made her gag almost, she put a hand to her face and squinted at the flickering flames. The light hurt her eyes and the heat made her skin prickle. Turning her face either side, she was desperately trying to get to the other side. She needed to get to the other side, there was no way and nothing and no one that was going to stop her. Fruitless effort or not, she was determined.

Running along the flames, she kept glancing to the side in a hopes of catching glimpse of the elf she was looking out for. Nothing seemed to move on the other side, it had her heart sinking as she spotted a cluster of boulders. She easily jumped and got to the top, the flames hadn't engulfed them. Luckily for her, because this gave her the way across that she so desperately needed.

Liruliniel practically skidded down the other side, she landed heavily in the muddy ground and pushed herself up slowly. No one seemed close to this area, all that surrounded her were unmoving forms. Her stomach clenched, the smoke rising upwards really caught in her throat with each breath she took. It was disgusting, the level of harm and damage that just one creature could do was truly horrific. Because she was alone, she was able to scramble and climb through the dead. She tried to not look at the faces, if she did she couldn't help but find herself musing over just who they were. Did they have families? Brothers, sisters? Were they parents? Did they themselves have daughters and sons? Where did the hail from? Gondor, or further afield? The real questions of getting to the root of who someone was really played on her.

Emyn Muil towered to the side of her, though the distant mountains to her other side seemed all the more daunting. The dark rock just shadowed everything, it created a perfect place to just recollect actually. Not that she had time to sit and dwell over things considering her surroundings. Her eyes scanned around the space where she had last seen Thranduil. She figured he wouldn't be too far away from this spot. Even when the fire rained down, she didn't see his form flit and jump away.

Shielding her eyes from the bleak sun, she squinted, she couldn't shout his name, that would draw attention to herself. She was segregated from everyone else, alone amongst the dead hoping that one elf wasn't. Sighing she double took, jumping and running as fast as she could, Liruliniel tried not to think of the dead she practically ran over at times. Everyone was doing it, unlike orcs and uruks, Liruliniel had more of a conscience over this action. It made her feel sick.

Crashing to her knees, she reached out and hauled Thranduil onto his back. He seemed half curled up as if that was going to protect him, or that was just how he fell, Liruliniel didn't know. However, she did know that there was no way he was going to come out of this unscathed. And he wasn't, he was unconscious, which for the moment was probably for the best. Liruliniel reached up and tentatively brushed mud and grass away from his face, half his face seemed fine, the other half however seemed marred by the fire which had come into contact with it. He was lucky, as ridiculous as that seemed considering, but only a small portion of him had been hurt.

Though, Liruliniel sighed and sat back on her haunches sadly, it was an important portion of him. She wasn't aesthetic, she wasn't shallow, but that didn't mean other people wouldn't be. Thranduil's face looked melted, taut skin blistering and she could even spy sinewy muscle underneath. Shutting her eyes, she inhaled deeply. Leaning forwards, she placed her hands on her knees and slowly opened her eyes. Narrowing them slowly, she tilted her head. The Valar must truly be looking kindly down at her for the moment, she reached to the side and plucked off the hardly but small plant which was scattered throughout the land. Athelas. Turning the small flowered plant in her hands, she hurriedly crushed it up while looking warily around. She knew eventually someone would spy her, they would see her and they would come for her. She needed to hurry, not just for her sake but for his too.