The Shadow Walker

68. Wargs Make Bad Pets.

He grinned back. "Tomorrow, then. Good night, my lady." And with that, he collapsed onto his bedroll and started snoring.

Lady Èowyn turned to me and mouthed, Thank you.

I grinned and nodded, and she left us to ourselves.

I grabbed my own bedroll and settled down between Aragorn and Gimli. I kicked off my shoes, setting them next to Aragorn's, and as I deweaponized, I caught Aragorn's gaze. "Someone's got a crush on you," I murmured, careful not to wake Gimli.

Aragorn flashed me an unappreciative glare.

I blinked innocently. "What? It's not my fault you're gorgeous."

Sighing, Aragorn closed his eyes and said, "You know Legolas can and probably is listening to us."

I followed suit and laid down. Staring up at the cloudy night sky, I smirked and said, "What do you think he'd do if you randomly decided to kiss me?"

Twang!

Dirt sprayed the foot of my bedroll, and I startled. A silver-feathered arrow protruded from the ground, occupying the narrow space between Aragorn's boots and my own.

Aragorn smirked, his eyes still closed. "Does that answer your question?"

I huffed and began brushing the sand off my blankets. "He got dirt on my bedroll," I growled.

"Oh, if I kissed you—and you let me—he'd do a lot more than that."

My hand froze in place. "Are you trying to say what I think you're trying to say? Because if you are trying to say what I think you're trying to say, you're wrong. He wouldn't."

"Don't be so sure," Aragorn said with another smirk. He opened his eyes and watched me as I continued cleaning off my blankets. "Legolas already thinks you belong to him."

I scowled. "Oh, really?" This both irritated me, and made me all mushy-gushy inside. Which irritated me more. "Then why is he sleeping all the way over there and pretending he hates me?" I cringed, awaiting the arrival of another arrow...and none came.

Aragorn chuckled. "He's nursing his pride, is all."

I flashed him a wicked grin. "And I thought guys didn't nurse...?"

He didn't disappoint. Aragorn's eyes widened for a split-second, then he scowled at me scoldingly. "Eda!"

I blinked and smiled innocently.

Aragorn gave a peeved sigh, then closed his eyes again. "Go to sleep, Eda."

Translated: you win. Smirking, I closed my eyes and let my exhaustion take over.

* * *

Aragorn didn't make me ride with Legolas the next day. Instead, he boosted me up onto Hasufel and walked beside us once again.

True to her word, Lady Èowyn walked with Gimli once again, letting him ride her horse. Their conversation shifted from Mithril to a more interesting subject.

"It's true, you don't see many Dwarf women," Gimli conceeded. "And in fact, they're so alike in voice and appearance—" he chuckled. "They're often mistaken for Dwarf men."

Barely concealing a grin, Èowyn glanced over her shoulder at us.

I covered my mouth to keep from sniggering out loud, but Aragorn took a different approach to the situation. "It's the beards," he whispered, gesturing to his own chin.

I laughed into my hand, and Èowyn's eyes lit up. "Shh!" she hissed, desperately holding back her own laughter.

Completely unaware, Gimli continued to ramble. "This in turn leads to the belief that there are no Dwarf women—and that Dwarves just, spring out of holes in the ground!"