See Ch. 1 for disclaimer

Ch. 3 The Challenge

Dappled morning light danced across his face and Legolas appreciatively drew in a deep lungful of the fragrant spring air. He never tired of sleeping among the trees. Somehow he always awoke feeling freshened and brimming with renewed strength after spending a night in the open. Perhaps it had to do with the close proximity to his beloved trees or perhaps it was the sense of freedom that came with sleeping in the open air, unfettered by constraining walls or stony roofs. He only wished he could saviour this simple delight more often.

The small sounds that filtered into his ears told him that his brothers were awake. With a graceful roll of his body, he was up and began to fold away his blankets. He noticed that his brothers were already seated atop of the fallen logs and were about to begin their morning meal. He quickly stowed the blankets into his pack and joined the others.

"Good morning, little one," Aldeon greeted as he made room for his younger brother.

His brows creased briefly on being reminded once again of his youthful years, but decided that he was in high enough spirits that he would not take issue with his brother, this time. "Good morning, Aldeon, Feren, Tavaro. You should have roused me sooner. I thought we were to start at first light."

Tavaro smiled cheerfully. "We thought you needed to make up for the sleep that you lost while on watch."

"Certainly not!" Legolas said indignantly. "I could have easily taken on your shift as well last night and still be ready for our hunt today at first light. I did offer to take your watch as well, did I not?"

"Yes, you did and I promptly turned you down. I would not want Adar to accuse me of taking advantage of you on this trip," Tavaro said.

"What are our plans?" Legolas asked as he munched on a handful of dried fruits, nuts and roasted grains.

"I scouted ahead for some distance this morning and have come across some deer tracks. Perhaps we can go on foot along that general direction and see what is in store for us," Aldeon said.

Feren nodded in agreement. "That seems to be a sensible way to start."

"Why not make the hunt a little more interesting? We should separate and see which one of us has the most successful hunt," Tavaro suggested, his eyes gleaming.

Feren immediately frowned, shaking his head. "I think we should stay together." His eyes flickered briefly on Legolas before looking away.

Legolas did not miss the look. "I think we should do as Tavaro says. It would certainly make the hunt more challenging. Besides, we will be able to cover more area that way."

"We should stay together. Legolas is unfamiliar with these parts and this is his first time with us," Feren insisted.

Legolas scowled at his older brother. "It may be my first time with you, but it is certainly not the first time that I am on a hunt. As for being unfamiliar with these parts, I know well enough to find my bearings among the trees and I can assure you that I will not get lost. Besides, this part of the forest is safe. You had said so yourself."

"Safe for adults --" Feren began.

"I am not a child, Feren!" Legolas was quick to cut him off.

"But neither are you an adult," Feren pointed out.

Legolas flushed and was about to open his mouth to say something scathing to his brother when Aldeon quickly intervened. "Let us compromise. Let us divide into pairs. I will go with Legolas. Feren, you can go with Tavaro. Is that satisfactory?"

Tavaro grinned. "It is good enough for me. What say you, Feren?"

Feren looked at Aldeon and at length, he reluctantly nodded. "All right. We shall do as you say, Aldeon."

Aldeon flashed him a grateful if apologetic look. "Good. Are there to be other rules, Tavaro? This is, after all, your idea."

Tavaro grinned. "Let us set a time limit on this challenge. What say you if we do not meet back here until tomorrow morning? One full day and night - that should allow us sufficient time to put to use our considerable hunting skills. We shall meet back at this campsite mid morning tomorrow and compare our respective conquests."

Legolas was the first one to nod. "Yes, that is a splendid idea!" It was a splendid idea, and it would also mean that he would be free of Feren's constant scrutiny until tomorrow. He was certain that Feren would not give him much leeway if they were to hunt side by side.

Aldeon smiled. "It would be you to come up with such an idea, Tavaro. All right, I am ready for the challenge. Since this is Legolas' first time on this hunt, we will let him choose first the direction he wishes to take."

Without hesitation, Legolas responded, "Aldeon and I will take the eastern section."

"The eastern section is rugged and graded with steep inclines. It will be difficult to navigate and to track," Aldeon pointed out.

"It will be more challenging," Legolas said quickly, smiling with confidence.

Tavaro shook his head in wonder. "The princeling knows not what he is getting himself into, but he has chosen. So be it."

Legolas faced him with smiling defiance. "Princeling? There is no glory in being bested by a princeling, Tavaro."

Tavaro laughed and cuffed him playfully. "We shall see tomorrow on whom the glory falls, princeling, that is, if you can find your sorry way back to the campsite to begin with."

"Aldeon, I believe he has just insulted you," Legolas was quick to point out the slight to his oldest brother.

Aldeon laughed. "Aye, he did, but it is not the first time nor will it be the last. I have long ago learned not to take issue with what comes out of the mouth of elflings."

Even Feren was moved to laughter at these words. "Aldeon, I see that we have more common ground between us than I thought."

Aldeon gazed fondly at his brother. "There is much common ground between us, Feren, only we each have our own way of treading it. Believe me."

Feren stared at his older brother for a long moment and finally nodded. "You are right, of course."

"Aldeon, come on! We should get started now," Legolas called out impatiently as he strapped on his pack and quiver.

Aldeon gripped Feren's shoulder briefly before dropping his arm. "Take care, Feren."

The other nodded. "You too." He cast a brief glance in Legolas' direction. "Watch over him, Aldeon."

Aldeon smiled. "I will certainly try."

*****

Legolas studied the prints in the damp earth, his eyes narrowing thoughtfully. "These are very recent. I would say they were made last night."

Aldeon knelt down beside his brother and nodded after a brief inspection. "You are right. These prints are but hours old."

Legolas straightened and moved silently ahead, his eyes studying intently the ground before him. The trail of prints continued as the ground rose higher and the trees began to thin out in the increasingly rocky terrain. Further up the slope, Legolas again went down to one knee as more tracks appeared.

"There are at least three sets of prints, but they parted ways at this junction. Look at the size of this print!" He looked up at his brother, his eyes bright with anticipation. "The buck that made this print must be magnificent!"

"It must be a regal creature indeed to leave behind a print as this," Aldeon nodded in agreement. He glanced upwards at the steady rise of the ground before them.

Legolas rose to his feet and his eyes followed the same visual sweep as that of his brother. "It is heading to higher grounds. Let us follow it."

Aldeon frowned thoughtfully. "The ground gets rockier the higher we climb. It will not be easy to track the creature's trail on such terrain. And the ground is not stable. The spring runoffs have weakened the slopes too much. There have been abundant signs of minor landslides."

"As you have said, they are but minor disturbances. We are fleet footed enough that it is unlikely that we will set off a landslide," Legolas said, shrugging off his brother's concerns.

"Other creatures may set them off and I do not wish to be caught up in one," Aldeon said. "I think we should stay on the lower grounds."

"But our prey is heading up these slopes," Legolas protested. "If we can catch him, we will certainly be the victors tomorrow."

"I would rather be the losers and be safe," Aldeon said.

Legolas looked away and grumbled unhappily, "You are beginning to sound like Feren. Always concerned with safety. He can be worse than Adar sometimes."

Aldeon frowned. "You should be thankful that he has such concern for you, Legolas. Would you rather have a brother who is totally indifferent to your wellbeing?"

"He treats me like a child," the younger elf said sullenly. "He does not treat Tavaro in such a manner."

Aldeon was unsuccessful in suppressing a smile. "Tavaro reached adulthood centuries before you were born, Legolas. You can hardly expect Feren to treat him as a child still. Moreover, he and Tavaro have been fighting side by side for many, many years now. They know each other's capabilities and weaknesses. He does not, however, know your capabilities well enough to be at ease, and as a good commander should, he maintains a cautious eye for any unexpected circumstances."

"He may not know my capabilities, but he certainly thinks he has a firm grasp of what my weaknesses are," Legolas said morosely. "I am certainly not to be trusted on my own so far as he is concerned."

"I do not believe that is Feren's intent. It is not you that he distrusts, but rather, it is the evil that is creeping upon these forests that makes him so overly cautious. You have not seen what he has had to face over these long years. He merely wishes to keep you from facing such evil for as long as he can."

Suddenly Legolas felt a tinge of shame for the uncharitable thoughts that he had been harbouring against Feren. Unwelcome as Feren's suffocating protectiveness was, Legolas did not doubt his brother's underlying love and concern for him. Yet still, he could not help but feel smothered.

Looking away, Legolas said with a sigh of resignation, "In doing so, he is also keeping me from gaining the experience that one day I may need to simply survive.

Aldeon nodded reluctantly. "I believe Feren knows that dilemma already, as do the rest of us. We are all still trying to find the right balance that will be acceptable both to you and to us. Please be patient with us, Legolas. I promise that you will not be held back forever."

Legolas let out a long breath. "I will try to be patient, but something tells me that the Shadow may not allow us the luxury of patience." He looked at his brother with sudden intensity. "You may have to let me go before you all feel ready to do so."

Aldeon controlled an inward shudder at his brother's words. "I hope with all my heart that will not be the case."

After a moment's uneasy silence, Legolas suddenly smiled and peered at his older brother. "Can we not just follow these prints for a short while? We will stop as soon as you think it is unsafe for us to continue."

Aldeon shook his head, smiling. "Why am I not surprised that you will not give up this pursuit so easily? All right, against my better judgment, we will do as you say. However, stay close to me. I do not wish to see you tumbling down the slope. If anything untoward happens, I will have to answer not only to Adar, but to Feren as well."

"Everyone has to answer to Feren, it seems. I would not be surprised if even Adar has had to answer to him on occasion," Legolas said with a grin.

"That, little one, is not a possibility. Adar answers to no one but himself," Aldeon said. "You will do well to keep that in mind."

As Aldeon had rightly predicted, it was difficult to follow the tracks of their prey on the rocky terrain. Difficult, but not impossible. The occasional reappearance of the buck's print held the brothers to their pursuit. That and Legolas' brimming enthusiasm. After several unsuccessful attempts to persuade his brother to end their thus far fruitless hunt, Aldeon caved in to his young brother's wishes and kept close to the younger elf's side as they continued their ascent up the increasingly steep slope.

The afternoon's shadows began to lengthen and Aldeon decided that he would call a halt to this seemingly futile pursuit should they not come across their prey within the hour. Aldeon did not relish the prospect of spending the night on these slopes and was determined to set up their night camp on the more stable grounds further down the hill. Legolas was not going to persuade him otherwise.

Suddenly he felt his brother's hand on him and he stopped instinctively. Following Legolas' gaze, he saw what had caught his brother's attention. Perched regally on an outcrop of rock that crested the slope was the buck that they had tracked so laboriously for the better part of the day. Silhouetted against the golden glow of the late afternoon, the majestic creature was breathtaking in its magnificence. It stared unflinchingly into the distant horizon, oblivious to the two hunters whose gaze enveloped him with such breathless admiration.

Turning his head fractionally, Aldeon glanced at Legolas. Mouth parted in enchanted awe, his young brother continued to stare unblinkingly at the noble creature. In a movement that was barely perceptible to the eye, Aldeon touched his brother's bow, forgotten in the other's hand.

Legolas started slightly and snapped out of his entranced state with near reluctance. His eyes flickered to his bow before travelling to the prey that was at last within their sight, and arrows.

Aldeon continued to watch his brother with a perplexed frown. Why had Legolas not drawn his bow yet? The creature was less than two hundred yards away and though it was uphill from their current position, Aldeon was certain that his brother's arrow would find its mark. He had seen his brother's considerable skill with the bow. Yet still, Legolas hesitated.

The magnificent buck suddenly gave a quiet snorting swing of the antlers that it wore like a crown and began to move away. Throwing a brief glance at his young brother, Aldeon swung up his own bow and in one smooth movement, nocked an arrow.

"No!" Legolas cried as his hand shot out to hold down the other's bow.

The cry instantly alerted the buck to their presence and for a brief second, it froze, staring at the two hunters. And then with a nimble leap, it disappeared behind the rock on which it had perched.

"Legolas?" Aldeon asked, not without concern.

"I am sorry, Aldeon, but I cannot let you kill him. It -- it would not be right." He looked up at his brother, his eyes glittering with unspoken emotions. "A creature that noble does not deserve to have its life ended by our arrows. Its place is in Mirkwood. It should be left to roam these forests until its natural life has run its course."

After a brief hesitation, Aldeon smiled with affection at his young brother. "You are right, Legolas and there is no need to apologize. I would not want to be the one responsible for the death of such a magnificent creature."

"You are not angry then?" Legolas asked, still concerned. "If we were to carry that creature back with us tomorrow morning, it would guarantee our victory over our brothers."

"I am not angry and I am proud of your decision, little one." Aldeon drew his brother close in a quick embrace. "There are times when victory is not paramount."

Legolas grinned. "Thank you, Aldeon." Then straightening, he gripped his bow with renewed determination. "Do not abandon our victory yet, brother. There are other creatures of the woods that await us, down there."

"Thank the Valar!" Aldeon breathed with mocked relief. "I was thinking that for unknown reasons, you were set on spending the night on these treacherous slopes."

Legolas laughed. "Even I am not that foolhardy. Come, let us continue our hunt."

Smiling and shaking his head, Aldeon followed his brother's nimble descent, wondering briefly, and without care, whether Legolas intended on hunting through the night.

TBC