Aeonian [Legolas]

1

Viridis Aiwyn felt the wind against his cheeks; a dull murmur of urgent cautions.

Turn away, they said. This is no place for you.

But Viridis pressed on.

His steps were delicate, barely audible as he strode on, one hand gracing over the Mori Twins and the other dangling loose, fingers flexed only slightly as the wind danced between them; caressing them like a lover lulling him to bed. They shone a dim blue; a tangible thing that acted more like a torch than a warning. Viridis had sought this out after all, he needed no reminders of what his ambitions meant to disgruntled caution.

The forest was sunless, leaden with harrowing disquietude. Leaves rustled, ends curling up as if reaching toward him but curling before they could. Once vibrant green a trembling dark verdant that clung to the branches on thin stems.

Even Viridis' own forest green cloak resembled something more strikingly translucent in the dark forest as it swayed behind him, the tail ends reaching low calf.

His horse had abandoned him long ago, granted gracious freedom by a simple nod. Even with such a small gesture, the feline creature had understood immediately and left Viridis a side that was cold and bare. Never before had he thought he would miss the company.

Embarking on the trail he had was dangerous and reckless, suicidal perhaps but Viridis had been tracking the pack of Orcs for three months now, following them at a distance and trying to trace their movements. Always a week or two behind, the challenge had been gruelling and long but now after many moons of tracking, the nearly unpredictable snap of a twig or intended touch of soil beneath feet told him he was getting close.

The wind picked up-- another warning perhaps-- and rustled Viridis' auburn hair, moving it in front of his eyes. A sudden chill broke through the confines of the cloak wrapped around his neck and the tunic he wore, trailing up the expanse of skin and raising hairs in its wake.

Viridis made no move to fix it. Only his grip on the Twins tightened. The coarse hilt dug into the palm of his hand as he adjusted his grip and slowed his steps until he wasn't moving forward at all.

He had stopped in the middle of a clearing. Trees in all their looming trepidation gazed over at him, encompassing him from all sides. The night sky hardly provided any solace, too polluted with misty clouds laced with humidity to provide much comfort. A low growl and perhaps even a distant howl snaked its way through the thick trunks of the trees and danced around him in a slow and teasing waltz.

Eyes narrowed and jaw set, hardened eyes swept the treeline, looking for shadows that weren't really shadows and monsters that were just an absence of light.

A blink, and there were dozens of eyes on him, peeking through the darkness. Another blink, and he was alone again.

Only he knew he wasn't.

There was a dull rustle then. So uncanny and eerie but nothing like the distant howls he had been tracking all night. Amber eyes cut to the left so fiercely that not even the thing trying to elude them could escape in time but Viridis saw it. A muted grey, a flash of something unnamable, and the distinct sound of a twig snapping beneath something as equally uncharacteristic.

Not even the ground had been ready for the almost feline-like steps that rushed across it not even a second later. Only for a moment each foot connected with the earth before it was off again, a maddening flurry too quick and light to keep up with.

Viridis' hair billowed behind him, cloak taking to the wind and rushing to follow as the mass it belonged to dashed into the scene of woods and weaved between tree trunks with the grace of a panther.

Running was something Viridis had mastered several years ago. He could keep up with the rabbits and weave through obstacles without the slightest scratch. Only his breath and the rhythmic light taps of his feet pushing him forward were audible and even that was quiet as he craned his ears, willing them to open so he could better locate the sound.

Despite the circumstances, a freeing ghost of a grin found its way onto Viridis' face. The barest glimmer of a smile, the barest crinkle of the skin beside his eyes.

This was no Orc he was chasing.

Steps that were once bounding forward slowed into an almost stalkish gate as he let the tension fall from his shoulders and grip loosen around his blades (albeit only slightly). He allowed his unoccupied hand to run along the coarse surface of the tree trunks that he passed, willing them to tell him their stories of who passed by seconds before. But in the end he didn't need the trees to tell him who it was that he saw.

"Viridis," A voice greeted him. "Your Elvish ears are still sharp I see." Gandalf the Grey said when Viridis turned around the body of another tree to lay his sights on the esteemed Wizard. The man's back was turned, head tilted up to the night, arms loose by his sides. They raised as the wind swirled around him and widened his fingers as if he were playing with the gale.

"Gandalf." Viridis' voice was resonant in the night, clear and even and low. "Good to see you haven't lost your charm." This last part was spoken with a hint of resentment and an odd fondness. For the past several thousand years, whenever his friend would visit him, it was never without flare.

"Two what do I owe the pleasure of your infelicitous visit?"

Gandalf turned to face him then, looking directly at Viridis even as he was still cloaked in the shadows of the trees. "Infelicitous hardly. My, I say my visit is one of effervescence."

"Hardly, in a place like this." Was all that Viridis responded with. Even those words while a statement asked several questions.

Gandalf smiled as if he could hear the questions asked aloud.

"You know of Erebor?"

"I do." Viridis' gaze narrowed after a moment. Smirk long gone from his lips as he read between the lines. "Gandalf..." He shook his head lowly, a warning to heed the next words out of the Elf's mouth.

"They need you." The Wizard said, tone shifting.

Viridis matched. "A castoff?"

"A guardian; A warrior."

Viridis pursed his lips together and pulled his gaze away from Gandalf. His gaze fell to the floor. "Who." He asked after a moment, both hoping for an answer and all but anything else in response.

"This isn't the place to discuss such things." Gandalf said. "There are Orcs in these woods." The Wizard's eyes landed on the thin but unruly scar that traced the length of the left side of Viridis' face; a battle trophy earned by a reckless fight with the aforementioned.

"And that's why I am here." Viridis said, trying not to let his tone turn cold. He knew what the Wizard was looking at him but even with Gandalf's now shifted gaze back to his eyes in earnest, the tense never resolved itself from within. "Not to hear about unfathomable desires."

Gandalf's gaze hardened for the briefest of seconds and even though Viridis has gotten over his fear of the man, that didn't mean he underestimated his power. Gandalf's voice was even and steady when he spoke next.

"Viridis. When have I ever asked something of you that wasn't for the greatest cause?"

Viridis took a deep breath and settled his eyes back on the man directly this time. Unflinching. "Never." He admitted.

Gandalf didn't reply. Didn't need to. He knew he had the Elf right where he needed him.

"They won't trust me." He said.

"They will learn to." Gandalf replied without missing a beat, like he knew a response to every objection Viridis threw his way. 

The Elf clenched his jaw and wet his lips in thought. After a moment, he shook his head as if coming to a decision and fixed his hair away from his eyes, settling his gaze in a gap in the woods.

"We'd best be going then. There are seven of them. Drawing near. I can hear them, Gandalf. Smell them." Viridis took a deep breath to confirm his suspicions.

Gandalf opened his arms, a slight smile against all odds as he gestured Viridis to proceed. "At your heed. Let us leave this place."