Aeonian [Legolas]

6

It wasn't until the next coming dark did they run into trouble.

Gandalf still had not returned and tensions were running high as Kili and Fili rushed around the camp, nearly crashing into one another in the dark as they muttered numbers under their breath over and over like an off-key chorus.

"What's the matter?" Bilbo asked, coming to stand beside the brothers who were frozen solid as they looked at Viridis knew not.

"We're supposed to be looking after the ponies." Kili said.

"Only we've encountered a slight problem." Fili added.

"We had 16."

"Now there's 14."

"Daisy and Bungo are missing."

"Well, that's not good. Not good at all." Bilbo said, following Kili and Fili through the back section of their camp for that night. "Shouldn't we tell Thorin?"

"Uh, no. We shouldn't bother him."

"He'll figure it out soon enough," Viridis said, speaking for the first time. Bilbo clutched a hand to his chest as he whipped around to face the Elf. "It's going to be trolls." He said, silently treading through the area, hands resting on the hilts of his two newly sharpened weapons. They were still hot with heat but Viridis paid the fact little mind. "I don't know how you two managed to let two ponies wander out of your sight but you've done it." Their efforts to keep the issue silent were by far unsuccessful. It hadn't taken him long to put two and two together.

The two brothers shut their mouths fairly quickly, whatever rebuttal was building on their lips dying instantly, replaced instead with red-tipped ears and downturned lips.

Viridis sighed. "Don't worry. It could have happened to anyone. I'm just sorry to say that it was you. Now, we'd better get a move on before we all end up tied in potato bags and dangled over the fire like some meal." He fixed his gaze straight ahead, eyes fixating on a light in the distance. His ears pricked up as he craned his head slightly, picking up on a sound. Distinct but not entirely indistinguishable. He looked to the trio behind him. "I hope you have a plan." He said, letting his narrowed eyes run the length of the area one more time before setting off with a hasty dignified pace in a direction known only as forward.

Bilbo, Kili, and Fili joined him at his back a minute later, their approach much louder than the Elf's own and Viridis was impressed with both the company's dumb luck and the newfound Trolls' incredible daftness.

There were three of them, all arguing mightily on the best way to cook ponies in such a way that wouldn't result in them tasting like chicken. Standing in a clearing, their hulking masses compensated for their poor attempt at keeping quiet.

"Mountain trolls are slow and stupid, and you're so small, they'll never see you," Kili said, doing his best to encourage the Hobbit. They were all crouched behind two sets of large trees with even larger trunks that turned a pale dark blue when cast under the moonlight. Such a beautiful scene did not go appreciated by any of the company as they were too busy trying to block out the smell. Bilbo surely wasn't taking in the scenery either as his features lit up for the wrong reason.

"No." He warned, holding up a finger as if that would save him from further pestering.

"It's perfectly safe. We'll be behind you." Kili pressed on.

"If you run into trouble, hoot twice like a barn owl and once like a brown owl." Fili reassured, though the Elf knew they would be told whether or not the Hobbit was in trouble from more of a scream or cry of alarm than a hoot like a certain breed of owl. Fili then all but pushed the Hobbit out into the open between the two trees that were sheltering them and disappeared from view in the blink of an eye.