The Elven Gates [CONTINUING!!]

Chapter Twenty Two

I was followed closely by Mathilmen all the way back to the camp. She was pestering me with questions, insults, and what seemed like random strings of words that I didn't want to hear. It's not really like I minded much anyway, people change. Plus, I was here to protect Middle Earth. One does not simply create and shamelessly insert characters and love triangles without being Peter Jackson.

"Will you shut up? Please?" I sounded so calm it seemed sarcastic.

What do you mean by shutting up? Mathilmen asked.

"Just.... Leave me alone. Go away." I waved her off and walked faster towards the riverbank camp. The others would probably be waking up by now, and wondering where we had all been.

It seemed like the forest had morphed into a maze in the time I had been gone. I found it quite difficult to find my way back to the camp, relying solely on the scuffed up footprints left here and there from the elves and I. Slowly but surely, I found the riverbank where our camp had been set up. I peeked through the trees to see Pippin serving food to.... Legolas and Losseiriel? Oh crap.

They would know I followed them; I needed an excuse, fast. I spotted some mint to my left, and a tree with tender, baby pine needles sprouting from it to my right. Picking a handful of both and stuffing it into my quiver, I jogged out of the treeline and into the camp.

"It's 'bout time ye showed up, lassie," Gimli grunted from the other side of the fire. He seemed to be contentedly smoking his pipe, but his unamused expression said otherwise.

"What were you doing?" Legolas asked, his tone was kinda scaring me. Losseiriel sent me a death glare with her... blue eyes? I had thought they were brown, but okay then.

"Gathering herbs," I replied with a shrug, and laid out the mint and needles on a clean enough rock. I grabbed a spontaneously appearing pot from Sam's pack, after his nod of permission, and filled it up halfway with river water. I grabbed a metal cup and placed it in the middle, and then took off most of my leather armor, and hung one of my shirts over the top of the pot. Now I was getting weird looks. I placed a stone on my shirt, hanging over the cup underneath. Voila, I had a water purifier.

"What," Lotheiriel spat, disgusted, "in this good forest is that?"

"One, this forest is probably overrrun with orcs. Not good. Two, its a water purifier, we can drink the river water that drips into the cup after it's been placed in the sun."

"Great," Gimli huffed grumpily, "Now we can drink water, how nice."

"You shouldn't be drinking it otherwise, you can get sick." The dwarf rolled his eyes and turned away, dropping the subject. The hobbits, however, did not.

"Wait," Merry seemed quite concerned, "You mean I could get sick from-"
I jumped back just fast enough to not get splattered on my him throwing up.
"How nice," I said sarcastically, mimicking Gimli. Pippin put down the food he was dishing out and turned away, trying not to be sick himself. The two other elves, Losseiriel and Legolas, seemed quite shaken by this. Well, at least more so than Boromir.

"Get him cleaned up," he ordered, "Please?" His tone softened at the end, and his eyes searched for a volunteer to help Merry. I sighed, and stepped over to him after no one else had.

"Come on Merry, you'll be okay."

Ya, ya, I understand that this is short and quite pointless, but I really don't want to write about Boromir's death so I'm kinda putting it off....
(A) Meaningful chapter(s) can be expected within the next week, I'm really sorry 😁
I also haven't updated it quite a while, and have writers block ugh..

WHO'S SEEN THE "DON'T HUG ME I'M SCARED" VIDEOS ON YOUTUBE because I saw them at 2 am.... not smart if you need sleep