Chapter 13
Loki groaned as Dumbledore was once again, lost. It was as though the only thing the other knew how to do was assume that he knew what to do and where to go and yet there continued to be obstacles that, had the other really thought about, they could have easily avoided in the first place. Loki was tiring of his constant insistence that they trust him, and take his decisions as the wise and only real option, without thinking about other potential options, and continually being certain that his way of going about things was correct. See where it got them now? Lost, in a cave, with no ends insight, and with dark creatures swarming around them. He was not exactly really happy about this at all.
Sure, perhaps it was the stress and things such as that which is causing Gandalf to really lose track and his impatience was certainly part of the reason he was not really allowing others to speak out against him. Loki himself really did not want to worry about trying to continuously challenge the Wizard. He could tell, it was clearly visible to him, that Legolas was not too fond of some of the choices which Gandalf had made at this point, but he did not really want to speak up against him either. Not that Loki could really blame the other. He was guilty of the exact same thing.
"Perhaps we should rest here for a bit," Merry suggested meekly. Gandalf turned and stared at him for a bit. merry seemed to back up just a little, a tad bit intimidated from the look that Gandalf was giving him.
"Gandalf, the little ones are exhausted. I myself am feeling a wee bit weak. We all need rest to recover. Rember, young Loki even fought a monster. No doubt we are all a bit tired and needing rest." Gimli interrupted. His defense of Merry's suggestion quickly stopped the denial which the so-called great wizard was about to utter. The other sighed, realizing that perhaps the two were right. Everyone was a bit tired and they all need some form of rest.
Loki distanced once more from the group, just watched them, swathed in darkness, comfortable at the lack of eyes watching him. Barring that of those hideous monsters, by the hundreds, which were wandering about them. Then again, he had little fear that he would be capable of handling them if it was called for. He really simply...did not want to.
It would be nice if he could integrate himself into the group, but he felt incredibly separated. It was hard to really connect with anyone when half of them were morons, the other half far too naive to really think about anything bad happening. Always so hopelessly positive. It was horrendous. He really did not want to be positive. He wanted them to face the reality of the situation. They were headed to a near blood bath, and were likely going to be murdered on this quest, and yet they were all gathering bout the fire as though nothing were wrong. The Hobbits (so Legolas had said that they were called) had near no sense of real death, hardship, and terror. Things that the other members of this Quest seemed determined to keep them from feeling. It was simply not realistic. They had to face reality sometime, yet Loki had the feeling that this was not likely to happen anytime in the near future.
"Loki," he looked up, straight into the face of Aragorn. One of the very, very few that he could at least stand in this quest of doom (and this quest was really doomed, as he doubted anyone had anything close to an idea of how they were going to be able to sneak into Mordor, and not just into Mordor but into the heart of Mordor to destroy the ring). Him and Legolas, Loki had to admit to himself, were really the only highly intelligent ones in this group. One was an Elf, the other was of Elvish descent, and raised by a half-elf in a land of elves. Seem like a coincidence? Loki thought not. These Elves on this world, they seemed close to the Light Elves of the 13 Realms.
"Yes?" Loki inquired carefully. He was uncertain what this man wanted from him. Not that he did not trust Aragorn, perse, he just had his doubts and he was wary of the other.
"You fought the monster, back at the entrance, rather well. Yet, for some reason, you continue to claim that you have had no fencing training. No sword training, nothing of the sort." Aragorn sat down near him. "Furthermore, when you were fighting Boromir you bested him, easily."
"What exactly is it that you wish to know from me?" Loki asked, sighing heavily. He was tired of Aragorn's constant avoidance of his question. Flattery, while nice to receive, was not what he wanted to hear from someone like Aragorn (Aragorn was not even his type).
"If you have really had no training, as you claim, how is it that you are so proficient." Loki closed his eyes and breathed in, calming himself. He did not want to deal with relieving his past, and yet he felt that Aragorn would not be satisfied otherwise.
"That was a bit, well, a bit of a long tale," Loki said softly. Aragorn smiled bitterly.
"We have a long while to wait. At least until Gandalf begins to recall which direction it is that we are to go to get out."
"Well, it began on the land which I was raised. For males, managing to be proficient at swordplay and being a true and real warrior was paramount. Even though the land was not at war, to be anything other than a decent warrior would cause you to be considered less. I...Well, I differed from the norms. Quite a bit, actually. I was smaller than others my age, leaner, more...more fragile. It hurt. I used to be bullied. Severely by the other kids. Both the kids that were my age and the ones who were older. I was good with politics, good with words, reading, understanding things and twisting words. negotiations between lands I excelled. That was not, however, seen as good enough. My magic showed itself, and then everything else fell swiftly down a metaphorical rabbit hole. I was very good at stealth, distractions, illusions. All of which were considered too feminine. Even if it was by my reasoning alone that we survived many times. Either way, it was hopeless. The moment I would have stepped out on a training field I would have been demolished. I did not wish for that, nor the beating from others which would undoubtedly occur as a result, so I never went. That did not mean that I did not watch what they were doing, and analyze how they do it. One thing that you should know, Aragorn, is that I am a very fast learner."
"They are creeping closer." Legolas interrupted the emotional conversation, to Loki's relief. He did not really want to hear what Aragorn had to say when it came to his explanation.
"What do we do?" Aragorn asked.
"There is not much we can do," Loki said simply.
"Just hope that they keep their distance, or at least, enough of a distance."