But then Elladan looked into the creature's eyes and all fear left him.
There was intelligence and gentleness in those eyes. Eyes the color of rich dark honey kissed by the rays of a summer sun. The creature held Elladan in its steady gaze as it lowered the bundle held in its jaws, until it laid between them.
Then it waited.
Elladan brought his eyes down to what was not, after all, the remains of a dead orc, but rather his own cloak wrapped around...something. With only a hint of trepidation, Elladan peeled back the loosely folded material to reveal what was concealed within. He saw his discarded knives, his and Elrohir's full water skins; his spare leggings and his travelling pouch of medicinal herbs. His head shot up in surprise. The noble beast lifted one great paw, pointing it first at Elladan, then towards the still unconscious Elrohir, before gracefully arching a previously unseen long, smooth tail and deliberately tapping the tuffed end twice upon its own broad back.
Then it waited.
The message was unmistakeable. Hope flared bright in Elladan's heart and he silently thanked the Valar for this miracle as he quickly set about cleaning and binding his twin's wound. They had a chance... Elrohir had a chance!.
As Elladan finished preparing his brother for the journey ahead, he felt something softly tap his arm and he looked over at the extraordinary beast who had laid down beside him in order to facilitate his eventual climb upon its back. That tail tapped his arm again and then lifted up to point at its own mane. which fell wildly about its head, chest and back to the apex of its powerful shoulders.
Again, the message was clear.
Elladan was to grab hold of the creature's mane in leiu of the reins he would normally use on horseback. He inclined his head, gratefully acknowledging and accepting the offer and noticed for the first time that the creature's mane, as well as the tuffed portion of its tail, were of the same rich, dark honey color as its eyes while the rest of its body was covered in a silky tan-colored down. He took a second to appreciate the magnificent sight before him, smiling for the first time since the attack, before he gathered Elrohir's limp form in his arms and strove to place him upon the waiting back without jarring his injuries anymore than absolutely necessary.
At last they were ready to depart. Elrohir was craddled in front of Elladan, secured to his brother by a strip cut from Elladan's own cloak, then tied around their upper bodies as an extra precaution against falling. Elladan reached his arms around his twin and grabbed the great beast's mane while gently digging his heels into its flanks.
" Noro lim! mellon-nin, noro lim!" he urged.
The creature rose in one fluid movement and bounded off into the twighlight, carrying the brothers away from that place of carnage and despair.
A new day dawned as the beast moved quickly and surefootedly down the foothills of the Misty Mountains, completely undisturbed by the cold wind howling through the steep hillside. Upon its back, Elladan had covered his twin with the torn cloak and willed his own body heat to seep into Elrohir's cooling limbs as he continued to whisper words of encouragement to a delicately pointed ear.
" Soon, meleth-nin, we will be home soon and Ada will heal you." Elladan placed a gentle kiss on his brother's hair. " Stay with me gwenneth, fight the call of Mandos for just a little bit longer and stay with me... Amin mella lle Elrohir."
As he spoke, he could see the plain of Eregion streching out before their downward path. The noble beast had threaded carefully down the jagged incline. But as soon as it set foot upon relatively flat ground, it took off with atonishing speed. Elladan clenched his hands tightly in the creature's mane as the landscape became one continuous blur in the corners of his eyes.
Had the situation been less dire, Elladan would have whooped from the sheer rush in his veins. At this incredible pace they would reach Imladris shortly after nightfall, literally days ahead of the usual time it took to cross that vast terrain. With his spirit now soaring, Elladan grinned triumphantly into the wind as the beast bore them ever closer to home and hope.
TBC...