Last of a Race: A Legolas Greenleaf fiction

The Mines of Moria

The Fellowship began its descent of the mountain and with Merry and Pip once more holding tightly to her back and fur, Ora caught Gandalf's eyes.

Even now she could see his inner prayers that they did not meet with what lay beneath the mine.

Her large paws made tracks in the snow as she trudged onwards. It was with relief that they made it out of the blizzard, and once near the bottom of the mountain, the two young hobbits slipped off her back.

She shook as if she were shaking off water, and her form shifted to that of the one that was closest to human, save for the small beast like qualities of her ears, tail, and eyes.

Legolas gave her a smile and she winked before stretching out her muscles.

"You're quite warm, Lady Ora, in that other form." Pip commented.

She allowed him a soft grin. "Yes, so I've heard before. To tell the tales, when Aragorn was but a pup, he too liked the warmth of my fur."

Aragorn looked slightly embarrassed at the mentioning of his youth, but shook it off as they finished their descent on the mountain.

Ora wiggled her bare toes against the earth below her feet as she caught up to stride with Legolas. "Watch your surroundings elf, not my body." She teased, as he had in fact been casting desirable glances her way.

Legolas' cheeks turned pink at her jest. "Perhaps if you were to wear clothing that showed off less of your skin, my eyes would not drift so oft towards you." He shot back, just as playful.

"And how many canines do you know that go traipsing about in skirts? You are lucky I even wear this much." She tapped her fingers against his chest and walked away, leaving him with images of her unclad form in his mind.

Soon enough, they came across ruins of a great aqueduct in the mist and ice of the mountains. Ora's ears perked up as she watched Gandalf gesture Frodo away from the rest of the group for a silent conversation.

Ora passed Gandalf and Frodo by, allowing them to speak without her eavesdropping.

Gimli darts ahead and gasps with excitement, causing Ora to smile in amusement at the dwarf. "The Walls...of Moria!" He announced to them all. The Fellowship all looked at the walls before them.
Ora felt as if the walls were foreboding, the way they towered into the mists. But perhaps it was just her knowledge of what awaited them in the mines. "Dwarf doors are invisible when closed." Gimli explained as he tapped his axe against the wall, searching for the doors. The rest of the group follows his example and begins tapping and knocking on the walls, trying to determine the location of the doors.

Ora knocks her fist against cold, rough stone and shakes her head. If she were honest, it would bother her not if they didn't find the doors.

Gandalf knocked his staff against the wall. "Yes, Gimli, their own masters cannot find them, if their secrets are forgotten." He said with a hint of agitation.

Legolas catches Ora's eyes before rolling his own and smirking. "Why doesn't that surprise me?" Comes his sarcastic remark, intended to aggravate the dwarf.

Gimli replies by grumbling some not so pretty things under his breath and Ora's sensitive hearing picks them up. She cracks a smile at the dwarf. Her attention is turned to Frodo when his foot falls into water, causing a splash. She presses her ears against her head at the blackened water, filled with moss and dead branches, and who knows what else. The water gave her an ill feeling and she moved further away from it.

Gandalf ignores it as he approaches a section of the rock face, that rests between two twisted, gnarled old trees. He runs his hand across the rock in thought. "Now...let's see. Ithildin..." He begins mumbling softly to himself. Ora catches the sight of spider web thin lines underneath the dirt and grime on the surface of the rock face.