Gimli finishes his work as early as he can every day, and then he goes to the front gate to sit by Ulvinowyn, who is mostly a cat and sometimes a woman, and he is getting better at talking to her either way.
They sit together and look out at the world ahead of them, so strange to them, so new. The difference is that Gimli himself is used to strange new worlds, whereas this is the first time Ulvinowyn has ever seen one.
"Where is the elf?" Gimli asks once silence has overtaken them once again and their friendly jokes have halted. Ulvinowyn, who is in the shape of the large gray cat, looks to the horizon with a strong lift of her chin, flicking her tail in the soft morning wind.
"He is barely within the city borders," she replies. "It is strange to suddenly not be seeing him, yes?"
Gimli shrugs, his braided beard moving around his shoulders like steel wool. "Other than you, he's the only one here I know. The only friend I've got."
The cat, although lacking the mouth for it, appears to give him a knowing smile. "You miss him."
The dwarf does not deny it, but changes the subject with haste.
"What is it that the little bastard's been up to?" he asks roughly. Ulvinowyn tips her head as she keeps eyes on the door.
"He follows the kudu by night," she replies. "But now, by day, he walks along the edges of the seashore. I believe he searches for signs."
Gimli scoffs. "Signs of what?"
Ulvinowyn merely shakes her head at the question. "He looks for seashells, Gimli."
The dwarf nods in understanding. "Oh."
He tells the cat that he thinks it is foolish for Legolas to so quickly believe in a story about the dead living in the depths of the water. Ulvinowyn does not agree, and says that anyone with no concept of death would do the same. Gimli does not argue with her. He wishes to appease her too much.
They speak for many hours, and then Ulvinowyn turns to a woman to go inside and sleep. The other guards take her place at the gate, and Gimli feels he has never been more quiet in his life.
He does not enter the second gates again, however. He likes looking out at the lands and watching the trees fall asleep. He likes falling asleep with them, knowing that, just miles away, his dearest elven friend is strolling along the edges where the sand meets the rest of the entire world, looking for a sign that he has been heard by someone who would have loved to walk the sands next to him.
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Passersby ➵ ONC 2021
Fanfiction➵ With his days anything but numbered, Legolas finds himself the keeper of far too much time. ➵ As his dear friend Aragorn has passed at the age of 210 and all reason to remain in his kingdom has followed, the immortal elf ventures away from his la...
