River of Stars

Chapter Twelve

When they made land Abis helped the Fellowship get out what they needed to, curled up in a bedroll under a tree, and promptly fell asleep. He said goodnight, he did not tell anyone where he was sleeping, (for it was some ways away inland), and still Strider found him a few hours later.
"You haven't eaten," he said.
"I haven't. Do you have a point?" Abis grumbled sleepily, glaring up at his friend from where he lay on the ground.
"You need to eat, we've been on the water all day, and we will do the same tomorrow."
"I hate the water. Nothing could possibly make me less hungry than being on the water," Abis yawned, pulling the bedroll over his face. "Go away, I'm sleeping. I'll eat in the morning."
"You grew up on a lake village, how are you so terrified of water? And no you won't, you never eat in the morning."
"I don't hate the water, I hate boats. The water is lovely. Boats are... not that."
Strider crouched down and pulled the bedroll away from Abis's face just a little bit, so Abis could see the look on his face.
It was a perfect emulation of the adult, 'why won't you just do it and get it over with?' face. Abis hated that face. It was very persuasive.
"What have you got for me," he sighed in defeat, sitting up and putting his hands out.
Strider smiled triumphantly and put a Lembas in his hands. Suppose if you know someone long enough you know what they like.
Lembas was Abis's dream food. Boring, bread-like, and incredibly filling. Abis hated food, bored easily of food, but was constantly hungry. It was a difficult situation.
And now he had talked about food too long.
He took a bite of the Lembas and tried handing it back to Strider.
"I don't want that back. Put it in your bag," he said.
"I don't have my bag," Abis said, trying again to hand it to him. "It's in the boat, just put it in there for me. Pleeease?"
"Get up and do it yourself."
"Then I'll never get back to sleep!"
"Then you should have brought up your pack, huh?" Strider said. He got up and walked away, leaving Abis to yell after him.
"STRIDER, YOU- GET BACK HERE!" Abis whined. Strider laughed, but did not turn around. Was this what it felt like to be a younger sibling?
Abis looked around desperately, but found no place to put his bread that would not have the potential of getting it messy.
He sighed in exasperation and, after laying back down in protest of logic, he finally got up and went off to find his pack. Abis searched around the boats, checking the one he knew was his and finding nothing. He went to the next boat, and, still not finding his pack, moved to the last boat. His search was beginning to grow frantic when someone cleared their throat behind him, startling him into standing up.
Abis turned hastily, nearly falling over again as his momentum tried to carry him. Legolas stood a few feet away with his bag in hand.
"I figured this is what you were looking for," he explained quietly, careful not to disturb the others. "We moved the bags out before we started going to bed. No one wanted to have their things misplaced or too far out of reach."
He handed Abis his bag and the Ranger took it gratefully, putting his Lembas bread in it then tossing it back in his boat.
When he turned around again Legolas was looking at him strangely.
"What?" He asked. Legolas just shook his head, chuckling lightly.
"All that searching just for that? You're not even taking your bag with you?"
"Please, pretty boy, I have everything I need on my person or wrapped up in my bedroll. And I'm not leaving food out. I've had one too many run-ins with bears before, so yes, all of that searching just for that."
Legolas raised his hands in surrender.
"Alright, alright. I just find it odd. Interesting." He smiled at Abis. "I find you interesting."
Abis just... stared at him for a good minute. Was this... flirting? How does one flirt with the physical personification of the beauty of a star, only to be appreciated a billion miles away?
"Are you tired?" Abis asked. Legolas shook his head, looking confused. "Come on a walk with me. I'm already up, I won't be able to sleep for another few hours anyway."
The two of them walked along the rocky shore, water from the river lapping lazily at their boots as they did.
The world around them was reflected perfectly in the water, disturbed only by the ripples of their own feet on its surface.
Abis always had a strange relationship with water. Like he did with most things. He found it beautiful, alluring, like a home he could only distantly remember trying to call him back. He did not fear the water. He was not even necessarily afraid to drown. But he feared what always lurked in the water. Little promises, little fish, sometimes monsters. That was the scary part, he supposed. You always wanted to go into the water, but you could never really know what lurked underneath until you were too deep in to run.
Perhaps people were the same way. If they were, he would gladly swim into every pool until he found the one that felt like home.
Suddenly struck by an idea, an impulse, he crouched down and unlaced his boots. Momentarily dipping his hand into the water to check the temperature. It wasn't too bad.
"What are you doing?" Legolas asked curiously. Abis grinned up at him.
"Take off your boots, we're going swimming," he said excitedly.
"It's freezing!"
"Oh don't be such a prince, come on! Have some fun. Do elves know what that is?"
"I'm sure our parties more than compare to yours."
"Life isn't about parties, Legolas! Where's the fun in life if all the joy is carefully curated song and dance?"
Abis had his boots off now, tossing them down into the gravel and sand at his feet. Legolas looked at him dubiously, obviously not entirely sure of the idea. Still he sighed, kneeling to take off his own boots.
"There may be hope for you yet! Hurry up, we don't have all night!"
Legolas shook his head, trying to hide his smile by looking down at the ground. Abis just rolled his eyes, a bright smile of his own on his face.
Carefully he took his first steps into the chilled water. It was certainly cold. Not cold enough to abandon his mission, but enough to give you a nasty shock if you fell in.
He turned and offered Legolas a hand. The elf took it gently, letting Abis guide him into the water.
It was strange, walking through the water. The night sky reflected so it looked as if they were walking through the stars instead. But it was less walking, that word was too hard for the way they moved. No, they waded, slowly and gently moving through the dark water, until they were standing waist deep in the night sky.
Legolas laughed, now holding both of Abis's arms to keep himself up with the slow but strong current at his back.
He looked down at the water like he was playing for the first time in his life. An expression of complete and utter, unfiltered, unbothered, weightless joy. Like there could be nothing else in the world as perfect as this moment.
"It's cold!" Legolas exclaimed. He looked up at Abis, grinning wildly.
"It's exhilarating!" Abis laughed.
The current ran loud in their ears, the cold water making them wide awake. The world seemed alive so late in the night, like it had woken up just for them.
Legolas slipped slightly as he waded a little deeper, and Abis steadied him.
"Keep your footing," he warned. It really could be dangerous to fall into water so cold this time of year. "I don't want you to fall in."
Legolas relaxed slowly, letting go of one of Abis's hands and resting it on the surface of the water. He seemed to marvel at the way it parted around his fingertips, watching the ripples make the little starlights wobble and shift. Like he was contorting the cosmos.
"I grew up on the water," Abis murmured. "By the Hills of Evendim. It was beautiful there. The water always sparkled. For so long I would look out over that water and think we must be the only people in the world. Sometimes I miss it."
Legolas looked at him, curiosity and surprise on his face.
"You are an Adan?" He asked.
"A Man of Twilight. Related though, yes. It was beautiful, and quiet, and nothing spectacular ever happened there. Much like the Shire, I've found." Abis switched the hands he was holding with Legolas, turning so he had the current to his back instead of in front.
"Sometimes I wish I had never left. But it was a sad place. I couldn't be there without ever thinking that there was a world out there, one that would never know me. I didn't like that idea. And this world has been so beautiful, in its own way. It feels more real."
Legolas nodded absently, dipping his hand back into the water.
"I think I know that feeling. I cannot think of just one word to describe it. I don't think I could describe it with a thousand."
Abis nodded his own agreement, and they lapsed into silence, just listening to the current.
"How did you get that scar on your face?" Legolas asked suddenly.
Abis looked at him, startled. Self-consciously he reached up and ran his fingers over the thin raised line on his face. It trailed from half way across his cheekbone all the way back to right before his ear.
Usually Abis forgot the scar. But he never forgot the story of how he got it.
"It's not going to be as cool as you want it to be," he sighed.
"That's what you said about your Ranger name," Legolas pointed out.
"Yes. And that was disappointing, I think we can both agree."
"But it had a nice story. Tell me this one," Legolas smiled at him, tugging gently at his hand. Abis sighed, defeated once again.
"I got it when I was sixteen. Strider was teaching me how to shoot a bow, and I, not being very coordinated, was not very good." Legolas snorted, but Abis ignored him in favor of telling the story.
"So I kept practicing. And I kept shooting at the same tree for a month. When you make a sixteen year old do the same repetitive task everyday for a month, they get bored and lazy. So naturally, when a bird landed on the tree I tried to shoot at it."
Legolas gasped, seeming seriously offended.
"Seriously? The bird was fine, genius. I missed, big time. But I did manage to hold the very sharp shaft and string so close against my face I got this." Abis traced the scar gently with his finger. "The bird flew away, I've been too terrified to shoot anything ever since. Happy?"
Legolas blinked at him, obviously surprised.
"You haven't shot a bow for..." he stopped, counting for a minute. "Eight years?"
Abis nodded, looking up at the sky again. Had it really been that long? That couldn't be right. But no, the math was sound. Eight years.
"I guess not." It was almost sad, the way he said it. He hadn't liked shooting that much, mostly because he hadn't been very good at it to begin with, but as he thought, he remembered how upset he had been whenever he had tried to shoot after the incident. How he had frozen, his arms not wanted to move or let go of the arrow.
"Come on. It's getting cold," he said. Abis pulled Legolas out of the water, the elf following close behind.
They stayed quiet as they grabbed their boots and walked back across the shore to the camp. Their pant legs were soaked, and the night air made the standing water on their skin so much colder.
It was a comfortable silence. The two of them kept it as they settled by the fire, not having any more stories to share or things that needed to be said. It was peaceful.
That's how Legolas fell asleep. Abis moved him as gently as he could out of the way, then went and found his things to lay next to him, remembering what he had said earlier about having it in reach.
Once he was done and his clothes were once again dry Abis went back to his own pile of bedroll. He wrapped himself up again, using both of his cloaks and blankets, and himself finally fell asleep.

(Sobs quietly as I write filler chapters to avoid Boromir dying a little longer)