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Gimli was nearing the end of his endurance, for 3 days and nights they had relentlessly pursued the hobbits and the orcs that had taken them, yet they seemed no nearer. He heaved air into his lungs and pushed his legs to keep moving forward, as he had been trained to do when a mere dwarrowling.
The elf flitted across his tunnel vision for a moment and then disappeared again. Gimli tried to supress the surge of annoyance that rose within him. Legolas showed no sign of the smallest fatigue, he seemed to cover twice the distance of his mortal companions, with all his scouting and would sometimes come to a complete halt for a few minutes, eyes fixed intently on the ground, before springing off again on those long legs of his.
The rational part of Gimlis’ mind told him that it was not Legolas’ fault that he could do this, he could not help being an elf any more than Gimli could grow a foot overnight. Yet it rankled at his Dwarvish pride to be so clearly bested.
There the blasted thing went again, leaning down to sift through some brush at the base of a boulder, bright eyes intent for a moment, then away he went again, leaping over tufts of long grass like a deer.
*
The soft glow of twilight had faded into the pale shadows of a low crescent moon when Aragorn called them to a brief halt. Gimli merely dropped where he stood, reaching immediately to remove his boots and stretch his poor toes. Legolas appeared out of a narrow ravine, 2 rabbits braced in his hand, looking thoughtful.
Aragorn was coaxing a small fire into being as the elf set about cleaning and preparing their small supper. But regardless of the meagre portion, Gimli was pleased of the offering of a bit of meat to sweeten his remaining wafer of waybread.
He drank greedily from his waterskin and watched the meat start to sizzle on the fire. These moments of rest were oddly peaceful in a way, like the whole world had paused with them in their headlong dash through the wild. A bright shining moment of calm and peace in this crazy never-ending chase.
He closed his eyes in gratitude, but on opening them was startled to find the elf sitting directly in front of him, not a foot away from him, when had he gotten there? Again that feeling of being wrong footed and somehow lacking assailed him. Could he not have just this one moment?
He raised an eyebrow of enquiry and was surprised to see a slight blush stain the elfs’ ivory cheeks. Legolas pulled his hand from the pocket of his tunic and opened it, palm up to reveal a stone.
‘Can you tell me about this one, Master Dwarf?’ he asked it softly, just barely audible. It was only then that Gimli realised that he had not heard that voice all day, how was it that he hadn’t even noticed?
Gimli gently took the stone from the upraised palm and turned it in his fingers, giving it a careful appraisal. This was a game that the fellowship had often played in the early days, when the hobbits grew bored or tired, they would try and find an unusual stone to present to Gimli and he would tell them all about it and weave a tale on where it may have come from and what it could be used for. After 20 minutes or so, all the Hobbits would be settled into a deep sleep.
He had not realised that the elf had heard them at the time and he certainly had never joined in. He spoke seldom and seemed unable to sit still for any length of time together.
Yet here he was, a small smile on his lips and asking Gimli to tell him a tale about a stone.
It lightened that dwarvish heart like nothing else could have done and he felt the hardship of the day fall away a little.
‘Well. This here looks like an onyx chip, lad. A most extraordinary find in this landscape, why I may almost imagine it fell from the pocket of a traveller…’ the deep voice rumbled on, weaving a most outrageous story. The elven listener smiled with delight and interrupted occasionally with a bright question, until he settled himself back against a sturdy tree and his eyes glazed over.
Aragorn pulled the cooked meat off the fire and moved towards them to distribute it. He seemed amused by the interaction but merely looked at the stone with curiosity before a laugh escaped him, he sat nearby Gimli to eat his meal and set Legolas’ portion beside him, the elf never rested in revere for very long.
Gimli placed the bit of flint gently into his breast pocket, with all the care that an actual piece of Onyx might occasion and his heart stayed a little lighter and in that moment he was glad to be where he was. Not for all the gems on the earth would he tell the elf that after all his careful searching, he had selected one of the most common pieces of rock that could be found. If he saw beauty in it, with that fey elven way of his, then Gimli could see the beauty in it too and he would treasure it as such.