Numinous // LOTR

chapter eight

With morning came the long hard walk, Cadhras made for an inhospitable journey. Thick snow bearing down on them, and the winds had whipped up so hard the Hobbits were beginning to struggle truly.

As the frostbit at her hands, and the wind sang a hideous song in her ears, Renkena started to become thankful she was not a Hobbit. Her elvish blood gave her resilience, but it was the strength of dwarves that she had been raised by that had crafted her to be the stubborn individual she was.

The snow was deep, and it made walking near enough impossible; she was walking with Merry, Pippin and Boromir, helping the smaller two push through, trekking in the footsteps of her and Boromir. Strings of Khuzdul curses dripped from her mouth at the laborious task of ploughing a path through the snow.

She stopped to let Merry and Pippin turn back to look for Legolas; he had been gone for some time and couldn't remember if that was because he was ahead with Aragorn or was keeping the rear. For a moment more, she waited, looking back down the mountain curious as to his whereabouts, but soon she had her answer, an unexpected one at that. A hand reached down and gently patted her on the shoulder.

"Aklâf!" In shock, she reared round, but her hand dropped from the hilt of her weapon when she realised who it was, the only member of the company who could have snuck on her and also it seemed the only one of them who was not having trouble with their snow issue.

There before her stood Legolas, perched atop the snow with a half smug grin she very much wanted to wipe from his far.

"Come done from whatever rock or outcrop you are standing on and apologise – there was no need to scare the kakhf out of me."

"I apologise." He smiled, raising his voice to be heard over the wind.

"Well then, in that case, let us be on our way – we don't want to lose the others in this storm."

"We will not, do not worry – they are not that far ahead; the snow is trickier to navigate for some." But when he turned and walked away, Rekena did not follow, for she was rooted where she stood. Legolas had not been standing on an outcrop or boulder; no, he had been standing on the top of the very snow she had been battling through. He made his way over the top of the drift with very little efforted needed or energy expended with gently placed steps. She had to catch her jaw to make sure it was not hanging agape.

"How?" Rekena spluttered. "What sorcery is that?"

"No sorcery, I assure you." He smiled, walking back over to her. "It is what I came to show you, or at least ask if you were aware that you do not need to fight through the snow because you can walk as I do above it."

"Now you are just making fun of me."

"No," he said, reaching down to her, "I am not – you can learn to trust yourself as all elves must."

She opened her mouth to argue, but he had caught hold of her hand and, with a swift pull, hoisted her up to join him on top of the snow. She closed her eyes, anticipating the fall back into the clutched of the cold powder, but no such thing happened. His hand still wrapped around hers; he held her close, letting her catch her breath.

"The strongest may seek a way, as you and Boromir lead the halflings through the snow. But I say: let a ploughman plough, an otter swim but for running light over grass, leaf or snow – an Elf."

"So, we can walk in the snow?"

"In a way. If you walk with an understanding of yourself and of what lays beneath your feet, then you will be surprised by what you can accomplish." Gently he turned her around so that she faced the path ahead. She dared not let go of his hand, though, and so together, their hands lay on her shoulder as he leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Keep your eyes on the east and look for the rising light, do not let your mind linger on what you cannot do but what you can accomplish."