𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐃𝐇𝐄𝐋 || legolas greenleaf¹

TWENTY ONE ; RESTLESS

"-'ohenathon. Cí dadwenithon, ú-'ohenathon im." Tauriel said back. "The King had never let Orc-filth from our land, yet he would let this Orc pack cross our boarders and kill our prisoners." (But I will not. If I go back, I will not forgive myself.)

"It is not our fight." Legolas claimed. At that moment, Magauna frowned. She couldn't believe the ignorance of Woodland Elves.

"It is our fight." Tauriel told Legolas stubbornly. "It will not end here. With every victory, this evil will grow. If your father has his way, we will do nothing. We will hide within our walls, live our lives away from the light, and let darkness descend. Are we not part of this world?" Legolas only stared at her. "Tell me, mellon, when did we let evil become stronger than us?"

Magauna found herself admiring the She-Elf. It wasn't often she saw such aspects in people.

With a twist of the arm, Magauna slipped her arrow back into her quiver and braced her bow over her back; she no longer required either of them. Tauriel watched with a sense of renewed dignity. Among Rangers, putting away all weapons was a sign which meant someone had earned their respect. In this case, it was both respect and allegiance.

Magauna walked past Legolas until she stood in front of Tauriel. Both of them were approximately the same height, and so their eyes easily met each others. "I have seen a worse darkness that not many others have. If this entire world shall come to what I have seen, I dare say it won't be a world living in." Magauna spoke. "I have an unsettled debt with one of these Orcs, and I have a friend I wish greatly to see before the worst should come." Tauriel knew who she spoke of. "I will come with you, if you'll have me."

Tauriel nodded once. "Of course, Perehdel. It would be an honor."

Now, the two of them turned to where Legolas still stood, an expression of conflict upon his face. Magauna could see he was struggling with his tie between his loyalty to his father and his loyalty to his friend. Now, more than ever, Magauna knew exactly how that felt.

"Hey, blonde bastard." Magauna called hesitantly. Funnily enough, this caused Legolas' eyes to settle on her. Magauna studied him a moment before speaking again. "Which would you rather be: brave, or a coward?"

Legolas stared at her, and then turned to look out beyond the edges of the tree, where a giant lake occupied the land in front of the Lonely Mountain, which could be seen very faintly beyond it. There was also the silhouette of Laketown in the middle of the lake, where the race of men lived in frighteningly cold and cramped conditions. This would be their path.

Finally, Legolas turned back to Magauna and Tauriel.

"If we want to reach the Dwarves before the Orcs do, we should leave now." Legolas said. "There's a heavy rain coming; all traces of tracks will be washed away and it will soon be difficult to track the Orc pack. We must get as far as we can while there is still light."

Magauna grinned slightly, and as she and the two Elves began to follow the trail of the Orc pack, she felt there might be a fair chance at killing the Orcs and Azog the Defiler once and for all.

¤¤¤

Rain had a funny way of bringing down one's spirits and hopefulness.

Just as Legolas predicted, a torrential downpour began just hours before nightfall. As he also predicted, all evidence of any Orcs or Dwarves was washed away by the rain, leaving the trio to follow the river hopelessly.

Magauna was the most discouraged of the group. She wore her cloak around her shoulders, and the hood was pulled up over her head to shield her face from the rain. There was a steady rhythm of clinking as the droplets of water hit Magauna's shoulder plates and her chainmail through her cloak.