Post by sian22redux on Nov 12, 2023 19:52:44 GMT
There was only one submission for Companions and, of course, they are the winner.
Please enjoy!
Story: History Repeats
Author: elladan
Summary: Elladan and Elrohir accidentally become parents.
----------------------------
Elrohir grimaces as he wipes his knives on his pants, smearing the dark blood in long streaks. Beside him, Elladan looks down upon the dead warg with a grimace.
The hearts of both Peredhil race in their chests in the sudden stillness after a battle.
Something about this does not feel right. The warg had no rider, and the Peredhil had not sensed an ambush or trap. They had been travelling down through the mountains on the return journey home when the lone warg had descended upon them with no warning.
She had thrown herself at them in a frenzy and nearly taken off Elrohir’s arm before he could recover from the shock of her appearance.
She lay dead now, and the twins stand back to back in the clearing. Breathing fast, guard up.
“... What was that about..?” Elladan whispers quietly, finally breaking the silence. His voice is barely above a breath. “Have you ever seen a lone warg?” He asks his brother.
Elrohir shakes his head, equally silent. “No…” The two of them stare suspiciously out into the trees, waiting for any indication of her pack, of a new attack.
“Was she a scout, do you think?” Elladan asks. He steps slowly away from Elrohir, blade still raised, and stalks the treeline.
“No…” Elrohir repeats. The hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Something is not right here. His nerves are screaming at him that something is not right. “Elladan, come back here.” He hisses, not wanting his brother wandering off.
Elladan does not answer, does not take his eye from the treeline.
Before Elrohir can call out to him again, another sound catches his attention. On the very edges of his hearing. Too indistinct for him to name, and just loud enough for him to recognize above the other sounds of the forest as something out of place. A sound that does not belong. “Elladan, cover my back.” He breathes, and closes his eyes. He focuses solely on his hearing, and takes a single step in the direction he feels the sound is coming from.
Followed by a second step… and a hesitant third. He can hear his brother following behind him, and allows himself to tune out Elladan’s footsteps, focusing instead on the….
Quiet cries.
“Oh, no.” Elrohir swallows as the pieces begin to fit together in his mind. Less afraid now, he hurries faster into the woods. Each step brings more clarity with the sound of desperate mewling and crying. Elrohir’s eyes fall on a dark hole well hidden beneath the roots of a tree. A hole large enough for two or three Elves to fit through side by side… Or a single warg.
“Oh, no.” He repeats as he falls to his knees and crawls towards the den.
“Elrohir.” Elladan’s voice snaps tersely behind him. “Don’t go in there.”
“I’m only looking.” Elrohir mumbles back. He leans forward and peers inside the hole. The mewling stops as his shadow falls over the three small shapes inside. He grimaces. “Elladan… There are pups here.”
Elladan doesn’t look down. He is standing above his brother with his eye sharp and focused on the woods. With both of Elrohir’s eyes focused on the warg den, Elladan refuses to even blink. His eye flickers down for half a second, enough to see his brother disappear into the den. He curses under his breath. “Elrohir!” he snaps. “Where there is one warg, there are others! Get the hell out of there.”
“Give me just a moment.” Comes the reply.
Elladan’s hand flexes convulsively on the hilt of his sword. He stands utterly still, listening to the ambience of the woods. It is quiet, but not quite silent. There is birdsong, and he can see a little rodent shuffling along amongst the leaves.
He can hear his brother murmuring inside the den, in words Elladan can not understand, and the rumble of tiny wolfish voices. His fingers twitch impatiently.
Elrohir reemerges a moment later, wearing a bleeding heart expression that Elladan knows means trouble for them both. “The den is abandoned.” He says confidently. “Their pack was taken nearly a week ago, by a passing orc band.”
Elladan scowls as Elrohir brushes his hands on his trousers. “You speak to wargs now?” He asks. It comes out harsher than he intended it.
“They are not so different from wolves.” Elrohir frowns self-consciously.
Elladan shifts slightly, and slowly turns his attention from the woods towards his brother. Elrohir is kneeling by the entrance and coaxing the pups into his arms with a series of animal murmurs. Elladan frowns as the first snout emerges into the sunlight and he breathes another quiet expletive.
When Elrohir said ‘pups’, Elladan was expecting… puppies.
He supposes that these must be puppies though, when he takes a moment to reflect that a grown warg stands nearly to his shoulders. Still, the animal that slinks from the den into Elrohir’s waiting arms is the size of a medium dog, with a mouth already lined with sharp teeth.
“Elrohir, what are you doing?” He presses more urgently. “Leave them, and let’s go.”
Elrohir shoots a glare at his brother as he slowly lowers a hand to the warg’s coarse fur. He can feel every bone through its skin. “They are still puppies.” He argues. “And we have just orphaned them.”
“They wouldn’t be orphans if their mother had not tried to eat you.” Elladan mutters.
“And with good reason!” Elrohir defends the dead warg who had had every intention of mauling and dismembering him. “They’re more than half starved. They’ll die if we leave them here.”
Elladan hesitates, groaning. He isn’t heartless. But he has killed - and nearly been killed by - his fair share of wargs. If these lived long enough to grow to their full size, they would have been among the countless others that the twins had already killed. They felt no regret about those wargs. So why did he feel so responsible for these ones?
It was as if there was some instinct all Elves had, upon finding children. It was different if they were children…
“I feel responsible for them.” Elrohir says quietly, as two more of the dogs follow their sibling from the mouth of the den and into Elrohir’s waiting arms.
“I know.” Elladan grunts. “I know.” He sighs, and kneels beside his brother, reaching out to touch one of the pups, and pulling his hand back with a yelp as it nips at his hand.
Elrohir quickly soothes the pups and shifts his bag on his shoulders until it sits against his chest. He pulls his scarf out and shifts the bag back against his back.
Elladan looks on in bemusement as Elrohir begins to wrap the scarf around his waist and over his shoulders. “What are you doing?”
“Making a sling.” He answers simply, lifting the first pup into his arms and, speaking to it the whole time, settles it into the sling against his chest.
Elladan sighs as he retrieves his own scarf. “You had better tell them not to bite me.” He warns Elrohir as he ties a sling of his own.
In the end, Elrohir stands with two pups against his chest, while Elladan carries the largest of them in his own sling.
The twins look at each other, and Elrohir cannot help but grin at what a peculiar sight they make.
Elladan sighs. “Father is going to kill us.”
Please enjoy!
Story: History Repeats
Author: elladan
Summary: Elladan and Elrohir accidentally become parents.
----------------------------
Elrohir grimaces as he wipes his knives on his pants, smearing the dark blood in long streaks. Beside him, Elladan looks down upon the dead warg with a grimace.
The hearts of both Peredhil race in their chests in the sudden stillness after a battle.
Something about this does not feel right. The warg had no rider, and the Peredhil had not sensed an ambush or trap. They had been travelling down through the mountains on the return journey home when the lone warg had descended upon them with no warning.
She had thrown herself at them in a frenzy and nearly taken off Elrohir’s arm before he could recover from the shock of her appearance.
She lay dead now, and the twins stand back to back in the clearing. Breathing fast, guard up.
“... What was that about..?” Elladan whispers quietly, finally breaking the silence. His voice is barely above a breath. “Have you ever seen a lone warg?” He asks his brother.
Elrohir shakes his head, equally silent. “No…” The two of them stare suspiciously out into the trees, waiting for any indication of her pack, of a new attack.
“Was she a scout, do you think?” Elladan asks. He steps slowly away from Elrohir, blade still raised, and stalks the treeline.
“No…” Elrohir repeats. The hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Something is not right here. His nerves are screaming at him that something is not right. “Elladan, come back here.” He hisses, not wanting his brother wandering off.
Elladan does not answer, does not take his eye from the treeline.
Before Elrohir can call out to him again, another sound catches his attention. On the very edges of his hearing. Too indistinct for him to name, and just loud enough for him to recognize above the other sounds of the forest as something out of place. A sound that does not belong. “Elladan, cover my back.” He breathes, and closes his eyes. He focuses solely on his hearing, and takes a single step in the direction he feels the sound is coming from.
Followed by a second step… and a hesitant third. He can hear his brother following behind him, and allows himself to tune out Elladan’s footsteps, focusing instead on the….
Quiet cries.
“Oh, no.” Elrohir swallows as the pieces begin to fit together in his mind. Less afraid now, he hurries faster into the woods. Each step brings more clarity with the sound of desperate mewling and crying. Elrohir’s eyes fall on a dark hole well hidden beneath the roots of a tree. A hole large enough for two or three Elves to fit through side by side… Or a single warg.
“Oh, no.” He repeats as he falls to his knees and crawls towards the den.
“Elrohir.” Elladan’s voice snaps tersely behind him. “Don’t go in there.”
“I’m only looking.” Elrohir mumbles back. He leans forward and peers inside the hole. The mewling stops as his shadow falls over the three small shapes inside. He grimaces. “Elladan… There are pups here.”
Elladan doesn’t look down. He is standing above his brother with his eye sharp and focused on the woods. With both of Elrohir’s eyes focused on the warg den, Elladan refuses to even blink. His eye flickers down for half a second, enough to see his brother disappear into the den. He curses under his breath. “Elrohir!” he snaps. “Where there is one warg, there are others! Get the hell out of there.”
“Give me just a moment.” Comes the reply.
Elladan’s hand flexes convulsively on the hilt of his sword. He stands utterly still, listening to the ambience of the woods. It is quiet, but not quite silent. There is birdsong, and he can see a little rodent shuffling along amongst the leaves.
He can hear his brother murmuring inside the den, in words Elladan can not understand, and the rumble of tiny wolfish voices. His fingers twitch impatiently.
Elrohir reemerges a moment later, wearing a bleeding heart expression that Elladan knows means trouble for them both. “The den is abandoned.” He says confidently. “Their pack was taken nearly a week ago, by a passing orc band.”
Elladan scowls as Elrohir brushes his hands on his trousers. “You speak to wargs now?” He asks. It comes out harsher than he intended it.
“They are not so different from wolves.” Elrohir frowns self-consciously.
Elladan shifts slightly, and slowly turns his attention from the woods towards his brother. Elrohir is kneeling by the entrance and coaxing the pups into his arms with a series of animal murmurs. Elladan frowns as the first snout emerges into the sunlight and he breathes another quiet expletive.
When Elrohir said ‘pups’, Elladan was expecting… puppies.
He supposes that these must be puppies though, when he takes a moment to reflect that a grown warg stands nearly to his shoulders. Still, the animal that slinks from the den into Elrohir’s waiting arms is the size of a medium dog, with a mouth already lined with sharp teeth.
“Elrohir, what are you doing?” He presses more urgently. “Leave them, and let’s go.”
Elrohir shoots a glare at his brother as he slowly lowers a hand to the warg’s coarse fur. He can feel every bone through its skin. “They are still puppies.” He argues. “And we have just orphaned them.”
“They wouldn’t be orphans if their mother had not tried to eat you.” Elladan mutters.
“And with good reason!” Elrohir defends the dead warg who had had every intention of mauling and dismembering him. “They’re more than half starved. They’ll die if we leave them here.”
Elladan hesitates, groaning. He isn’t heartless. But he has killed - and nearly been killed by - his fair share of wargs. If these lived long enough to grow to their full size, they would have been among the countless others that the twins had already killed. They felt no regret about those wargs. So why did he feel so responsible for these ones?
It was as if there was some instinct all Elves had, upon finding children. It was different if they were children…
“I feel responsible for them.” Elrohir says quietly, as two more of the dogs follow their sibling from the mouth of the den and into Elrohir’s waiting arms.
“I know.” Elladan grunts. “I know.” He sighs, and kneels beside his brother, reaching out to touch one of the pups, and pulling his hand back with a yelp as it nips at his hand.
Elrohir quickly soothes the pups and shifts his bag on his shoulders until it sits against his chest. He pulls his scarf out and shifts the bag back against his back.
Elladan looks on in bemusement as Elrohir begins to wrap the scarf around his waist and over his shoulders. “What are you doing?”
“Making a sling.” He answers simply, lifting the first pup into his arms and, speaking to it the whole time, settles it into the sling against his chest.
Elladan sighs as he retrieves his own scarf. “You had better tell them not to bite me.” He warns Elrohir as he ties a sling of his own.
In the end, Elrohir stands with two pups against his chest, while Elladan carries the largest of them in his own sling.
The twins look at each other, and Elrohir cannot help but grin at what a peculiar sight they make.
Elladan sighs. “Father is going to kill us.”