Cat of the Fellowship // Legolas x OC, Boromir x OC

8. Where the Light Does Not Shine

"I can't jump this," whispered Pippin.

"You can. I'll catch you," said Merry, who was already on the other side.

Boromir squatted beside Kat. "Shall I carry you? This is no safe place for cats."

She gratefully climbed onto his broad shoulder, rubbing her nose against his neck as thanks.

"It is no safe place for humans or hobbits either," he added.

"Meow," she agreed, careful not to look down when he stepped over the fissure.

"Or elves," mumbled Legolas, gracefully joining them.

Pippin remained a long time, shuffling his feet, obviously gathering courage to jump but too proud to ask for help. At that moment he looked very young with his large, worried eyes in that small face, surrounded by a mat of curly hair, and Kat's heart went out to him. Through Legolas the hobbits had once told Kat their ages, and she recalled that Pippin was not even in his majority yet, which would be when he turned thirty-three. Compared to humans, that meant Pippin was still only a teenager.

Why had they brought him on the quest? He should have stayed at home, hanging out with friends, playing football or Monopoly, dating a girl – or whatever hobbit teens did in their spare time. Instead here he was, risking his life in a dark mine, shortly after almost freezing to death, fighting bloodthirsty wargs and witnessing his friend getting caught by a lake monster. Even if he came out of this alive he would probably suffer for it mentally later.

Being a teacher in a school where the major part of the students had parents born outside Sweden, many of them having come as refugees from war, Kat had met her fair share of traumatized children. They might look normal and act normal most of the time, but there would be moments when their past experiences shone through, when they became distant and disconnected – or sometimes aggressive for no apparent reason. Kat remembered a girl of ten or eleven who would obstinately refuse to sit at the outer row of desks in the classroom. It turned out her former school had been bombed and several children died – those who had sat near the windows.

As for herself... Kat had already been shot by a gunman and the recent events had shaken her terribly as well – and they had not seen the end of this quest yet, there could be more dangers ahead. Would this mission affect her afterwards too? Most likely it would, and if so, in this world there were no therapists who could help her.

At last Pippin made the great leap and the other hobbits cheered enthusiastically.

"See? That wasn't so hard, was it?" Merry gave him a half-hug.

"Easy for you to say who's tall. But I'm short and could do it anyway." Pippin grinned proudly.

Kat smiled inwardly. Merry – tall?

When the company continued their interrupted journey, Kat slowly became aware of a new sound behind them; a faint patter of feet. They did not sound humanoid – they were too light for that. Could it be a large rat?

The thought made Kat hungry, to her embarrassment. So far she had managed to avoid catching and eating rodents, but with the meagre meals she was given, the temptation was getting stronger by the day.

The next time she heard the sound was when they halted temporarily to cross another hole – a narrow one this time, thankfully. The feet stopped shortly after the Fellowship did, as if their owner did not want to come too close and be seen. That was too sentient behavior for an animal. Were they being followed by someone?

Do you hear footsteps? she asked Legolas, but to her surprise he did not reply. Had he not picked up her thought? She turned her head to check if he had lagged behind. No, there he was, walking with Aragorn in the rear. He looked a bit grim but otherwise normal.