Chapter 11
Loki had his head back, leaning elegantly against one of the rocks in the area. His mind was flying a million different directions, and yet he ignored it, as per usual. He ignored the torments of his thoughts, ignored the eyes of the hobbits, which were watching him thoughtfully, ignored the careful gaze of aragorn, and the clever one of Legolas. He just...fell away. He knew that they would probably be here a while, so why not take the time to rest? Seemed to be a very good idea to him. He would not be able to handle himself if he were to continue exhausting himself as he was doing now. It would be not only stupid on his part, but also dangerous.
They had no idea what was in these mountains. Sure, this gimli fellow was all talking about feasts, and royal...dwarves who he somehow thought would willingly admit 6 people they did not know. One of them being a full blooded elf. Exactly how little did this dwarf think? His own hatred of the elves was enough to clue anyone in that these dwarves, if they were even still actually alive down under the mountain, which he had strong doubts about, would certainly not admit one to their care.
So he simply allowed his body to rest. He had recently been thrown into a world where he has no recollection even being there. Fallen between the cracks of the tree, it was something few could testify of.
"Loki," came the soft, airy voice. It could only belong to one person, and Loki unconsciously relaxed a bit.
"To what do I owe this pleasure?" He asked.
"I am...curious. what is it you think of our path?" Loki opened his eyes to gaze into Legolas' own.
"It would be wiser to have simply went around the mountains. Yes, it would take much longer, but it is by that default that it would be unexpected. Gandalf is rushing things, because he is scared. He is allowing his emotions to get in the way of contemplating other options, and if it is not fast enough, or he thinks ot would take too long he disregards them completely. I fear, things will get worse once we enter this cave. By what, I am not sure.However, it is unlikely that we will be obtaining whatever welcome it is that Gimli believes we will." Legolas smiled bitterly.
"Yes, you are right on that front. I worry that perhaps we are walking straight into a trap, set for us by the enemy." Loki gazed at Legolas. The other was older than him, by a few hundred years or so, but he proved himself worthy of respect to Loki. It was one of the only reasons he actually suffered him to speak.
"Indeed, I believe that the Enemy knows Gandalf too well, and that, that will be our downfall." Legolas glanced at Loki, and nodded.
Loki, Loki was confused by Legolas, just a bit. Not exactly confused, persay, but curious. He was a Prince, of what part of this realm, that was questioned, and Loki had bot been given that information. It was clear enough to see, however. He was curious why the other said nothing of it. Perhaps he did not wish to bring attention to his status, similar to Aragorn, similar to himself. Or mayhaps there was a different reason to the other's silence.
Whatever the case was, Loki was intrigued by him. That and his friendship with Aragorn. From what he had gathered the other was raised by Elrond for a majority of his life. It answered how he did not exactly act so human like. You could still see it in the small things, as the other was not an elf, but it was clear he had much more restraint, than most humans managed to possessed. Still, it was not common for Elves to be friends with any outside their race. Loki had commonly been a sort of exception. Then again, his mother had been a descendent of the Light Elves, so he was not entirely certain if it counted. Nor was he exactly sure how far back that ancestry went. Than again, Loki had commonly been the exception to many things.
The doors finally began to open, as a dark presence made itself known to Loki. In a mere second he was up, and his eyes were gazing out along the seemingly calm water. The others began their track into the cave but Legolas paused, noting Loki's alert eyes, and stiff posture.
"What is it?" Loki swallowed, but shook his head slightly, and Legolas seeming to get the message, began to rush everyone inside, just ad the beast rose itself from the water. Loki backed a foot, and stayed his ground, carefully tracking the movements of the monster.
He was not afraid. No, he had seen his fair share of monsters, and had fought more than he had seen. This creature did not frighten him, but still, he was wary.
"Legolas," Loki called calmly, and Leoglass glanced back to see Loki facing the beast. "Get everyone inside, keep them there." He said lightly, no tremble in his voice. Even Boromir had to admire his calmness when being towered over. "I will not hold its attention for long." Legolas did not move, hesitating. Loki growled, looking back eyes angry, glaring at him. "NOW!" He ordered. Despite Legolas not used to being ordered around by others outside of his family, he did not hesitate this time, and obeyed Loki's demand.
Once all were in the cave, Loki stood before the beast calmly. He closed his eyes, hands shaking slightly. Opened his eyes, and this time they were a brilliant red, glowing dark in the night. He knelt to the ground, facing the dark creature. Malice filled its abyss like eyes. Still, Loki did not back down. Legolas returned, pausing as he saw a...stare down between the two. What...
Loki continued to stare straight at the creature. Carefully assessing it. He knew it would attack at any moment, he had to be ready.
So he waited.
He breathed.
He calmed.
And he lunged.