Rating: PG

Author’s Notes: I’m so sorry this took me so long. I know I promised that it will be out last year but… but… oh well, no more excuses. LOL! So here it is. My thanks to those reviewers who “urged” me to finish this story. You know who you are :D Love ya’ll!

Beta: Karri

Feedback: Constructive criticisms will be kept close to the heart, and flames will be used to power the balrog that I’ll be sending after you. LOL!

Spoilers: Painful Experience. I insist that you read it! It’s very short! Won’t take you more than 5 minutes! LOL!

Archive: Feel free to do so. :D

Disclaimer: Not mine. Will never be. Have no money and make no money from this. Don’t sue me :P The only thing I can give you is a splinter :P

Summary: Sequel to Painful Experience. Could Aragorn have made a wrong diagnosis? Just doing a little justice for our poor elf.

‘thoughts’
“speech”

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Chapter 1 - Overreaction

The leaves of a tree rustled softly as if disturbed by a gentle breeze. However, the air was still, and there were no signs of wind at the moment of the disturbance. The leaves shifted again, but this time a lithe figure appeared among the foliage, his golden hair reflecting the faint moonlight that shone upon his head. A few moments later, the still sulking Prince of Mirkwood landed gracefully and stealthily on the ground.

Legolas made his way to his sleeping friend and settled down beside the fire with a huff. He had been hiding up in the tree for the better part of the night, feeling embarrassed for what had happened earlier. Maybe he had overreacted, the elf thought ruefully. Definitely overreacted, a small voice inside his head mocked, but he quickly extinguished that thought with a shake of his head. No, something wasn’t quite right. A mere splinter would never hurt so much. His right index finger was still throbbing painfully several hours after Aragorn had removed the offending object. In fact, he felt that it had gotten worse rather than better.

He considered waking Aragorn but decided otherwise when he thought of the humiliation that he would have to endure when the ranger found nothing wrong. He didn’t think that he was ready for another one so soon. This one was enough to last him for a few centuries. Besides, the human was always grumpy when woken up in the middle of the night, and Legolas didn’t want to be at the receiving end of the ranger’s wrath.

After tossing another piece of wood into the fire, the elven prince prodded at the burning embers with a long stick. Was it his imagination or was the night getting warmer? Reaching up with his right hand out of habit, he brushed the sweat from his brow and winced when his injured finger came in contact with his skin. Letting out a frustrated sigh, the elf examined his finger under the flickering firelight. The digit looked red and inflamed, and the pain flared with each beat of his heart. Other than that, nothing else was amiss... or so he thought.

Thinking that perhaps applying some medicine would dull the pain, the elf rose to his knees. Being as silent as possible so as not to rouse the hibernating bear he called his friend, he crept over to the ranger’s pack and dragged it towards the fire. Sifting through the bag, he quickly found what he needed. His knowledge of healing was limited, but being with Aragorn all these years had taught him a trick or two, and he had no problem finding the healing salve that he required. Spreading the gel-like substance liberally onto his finger, he tore a small strip of bandage and bound the digit.

After replacing the pack to Aragorn’s side, Legolas sauntered towards a nearby tree and sat down under it. Maybe it would be better by morning, he thought optimistically. He had promised Aragorn that he would keep watch tonight, but the warm night was making him drowsy. Having sensed no danger in the woods around them, the elf decided to rest for a while before taking up sentry duty again.

o-o-o-o-o

Aragorn stretched and yawned widely on his bedroll as his brain slowly withdrew from the world of dreams. Rubbing his eyes, he sat up sluggishly and blinked at the late morning sun. Why hadn’t Legolas awoken him yet? Maybe the elf was still mad at him for laughing at his little tantrum yesterday night, the ranger thought with a grin. After combing out the tangles in his hair with his fingers, the man scanned his surrounding for the sulky elf, half expecting him to be still hiding somewhere in the trees. To his surprise, the said elf was leaning against a tree, and judging by the glazed and unfocused eyes, he was asleep! Creeping nearer to the slumbering elf, Aragorn took a deep breath and shouted at the top of his lungs.

“Wargs!”

The man doubled up in laughter when the elf leapt three feet into the air with a small yelp.

"What?!! Where?!"

Looking around frantically for the foul creatures, Legolas notched an arrow to his bow with amazing speed, even for a slightly dazed elf. The said elf blinked furiously to clear his vision and gradually realized that it was mid morning as his brain caught up with the rest of his body. That, and there were no wargs around. The only beast he saw was Aragorn clutching his stomach and laughing uproariously.

“Estel!! I swear you will be the death of me!!” the elf roared heatedly at the infuriating human.

Raising his hands in the air in a gesture of truce, the ranger choked back his laughter before approaching the still-fuming archer. “I am sorry, my friend, but…” Aragorn stifled another giggle but paused suddenly and raised an eyebrow. “Weren’t you supposed to be on watch?”

“I was only resting,” Legolas defended himself quickly, but in his heart he knew that he had indeed fallen asleep. The thing that worried him was he didn’t even remember doing it.

“Right...”

Secretly, Legolas was glad that the ranger did not continue his taunting. They both knew how important it was to keep watch at night, especially during dark times like these but since they were so close to Rivendell, they were relatively safe. If Aragorn didn’t think so, he would have lectured off Legolas’s ears!

The two friends shared a light breakfast and broke camp. Loading their horses with the games that they had caught the day before, the human and elf began their journey home. Due to the heavy burden that the horses were bearing, Aragorn and Legolas had resolved to travel on foot.

They walked in companionable silence for several long minutes before Aragorn suddenly asked with a barely suppressed snicker. “So… how is the finger?”

“The finger is fine. Thank you for your concern,” Legolas replied calmly. He was not about to give the human a chance to tease him again. But in truth, the finger was not fine. Not only his finger was hurting, his entire hand seemed to be throbbing now. However, he did not dare to reveal it. Instead, he kept his right hand out of the ranger’s view and settled on making small talks with the man to take his mind off the unpleasant feeling.

TBC...