Rangers Can't Fly
By Ro

Rating PG/ K+

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters in this piece of fiction. They all belong to Prof J.R.R.Tolkien. I merely borrow them in the hope that I can give to others the
same amount of enjoyment that I have received from reading their stories.

Flying.

He was up amongst the clouds high as a bird and not wanting to come back down. Ever.

All around him in the sky were multicoloured birds swooping and soaring. Laughing with delight he stretched out his arms, flapped them up and down a couple of times. Turning he took a few steps back toward the mountain face, when he was sure he was far enough back Estel turned ,measured out his runway , and with his arms flapping wildly prepared to leap off the cliff ledge and sail into the wild blue yonder with his feathered friends.

His was just about to leap off the edge when hands caught him around his waist and halted his progress.

"Estel. What do you think you are doing?" The concerned voice of Legolas, prince and heir of the Mirkwood elves asked .

Estel's behaviour was unusual to say the lest. Unusual and disturbing.

"Flying." Estel, adopted son of Elrond of Rivendell replies. "Flying free as a bird."

He struggled to release himself from the elf's grip.

"You should try it sometime mellon nin, my old mellon nin." The human laughed widely flaying his arms about.

"Estel I think you really should sit down." The elf prince encouraged and tried to lead his friend back to the cave mouth where the pair had set up camp for the night.

The look in the human rangers eyes was beginning to worry him. The rangers black irises were no more then mere pinpricks. And his manner bordered on the suicidal.

His friend had totally lost his perception. The edge, that keen sense that usually kept the ranger alive seemed to be gone replaced with this loose and wild devil –may careattitude.

Legolas didn't know what to make of the situation. Not ten minutes ago the pair were sitting down together eating and enjoying the dinner he had prepared. Their earlier hunt had been a successful one and both a caught a brace of game birds. Being his turn
to cook the elf had decided to stew the birds with a few herbs, root vegetables and a handful of his favourite mushrooms. He had never thought to see his favourite fungus outside of Mirkwood and decided to give his friend a real treat.

Estel seemed to have enjoyed the dish and complimented him on it.

That was then, and he and the ranger were in the here and now. And right now Estel was in his arms and higher than the birds he was trying to fly with

"Wann'a fly." Estel struggled against his friend's hold.

The pale blue evening sky was calling to him Enticing him to become a part of it.

Legolas sighed. He was in for a long night. Estel was caught in the middle of an hallucination. And to make things worse he was the one responsible. His favourite mushrooms. He hadn't even thought that those little delicacies would be in any wayharmful to his human brother.

"No. Estel." Legolas said patiently. "Birds fly, bats fly, even fell beasts fly Estel, but Rangers can not fly."

"No?" The sadness of his friends voice just about undid the elven prince

"No, Estel." He replied gently. "Rangers can walk, run, skip, hop, jump, they can even swim. But they can not fly."

"Ohhhh that's so sad." The mournful voice continued

"Elves can not fly either." Legolas reminded the still high ranger.

With Estel now still in his arms the elf prince relaxed his hold on the ranger. A rather annoying cramp was beginning to makes itself felt in his arm and shoulder.

The minute he relaxed his hold the ranger jumped to his feet and dashed into the cave

"Let's go swimming." He called wildly and made for the back of the cave the two had chosen for the night.

Alarmed and with his cramp now completely forgotten Legolas rose to his feet and hurried after the human. Fear gripped him as he realized just where it was Estel meantto take his swim.

The bubbling hot spring right at the very back of the cave.

"Estel, wait." He called only to be met by a shirt in the face as Estel stripped down ready for his 'swim'

"Last one in is a warg." The higher than a kite ranger called as he began to lift his undershirt over his head.

He was now very close to the boiling hot spring.

Stepping slightly to one side, just enough to change his trajectory Legolas threw himself horizontally at this brother and managed to tackle him to the ground only amatter of a few feet away from the springs edge.

"What did you go and do that for you good for nothing prissy elf." Estel snarled.

In that one moment his mood had changed from light and high to dark and dangerous. A crazed wild look entered his eyes.

"All you elves ever do is spoil my fun. Tell me how to live my life and I'm sick of it" He lashed out at the stunned and shocked Legolas, making contact with the elf's jaw.

Legolas, unprepared for the blow staggered back. His hand rubbing his chin and face where the rangers blow had fallen

"Do you hear me you pathetic excuse for a man"

The crazed ranger landed several more blows to the elf.

"Are you so weak that you won't even defend yourself?" He cried in frustration. " Typical , back elves into a corner and they do nothing. They won't fight to defend themselves or others. Why my ancestor ever chose to ally himself with such a weakuseless pathetic race I'll never know. Well maybe this will change your mind."

The ranger reached out and picked up a half broken staff. Obviously left behind for some reason by the last inhabitant of the cave.

"Come on you useless piece of orc fodder fight me."

Caught in a no win scenario Legolas desperately looked for a way out. A small part of him wanted to fight the ranger, to make the human eat the remarks he so easily made,to avenge the slurs made against himself and his people

The larger part understood that the Estel before him was not the real Estel, the Estel who had called him friend and brother. Yet this crazed creature wore Estel's face , moved Estels body. So it followed that somewhere ,buried deep with in the possessedanimal before him, was the real Estel. And that Estel he could never hurt.

"Fight, fight, fight." Estel screamed, uncontrollably Wildly swinging his makeshift club landing blow upon blow on the body and face of elf before him.

"No Estel." Legolas said calmly despite of the verbal and physical abuse that was been thrown at him by his friend.

Somehow, he hoped ,his reluctance to either defend himself or make a retaliatory attack upon the human would trigger that one little memory buried within Estel of justwho it was he was attacking.

He winced visibly as the latest blow struck by the ranger struck his lower left arm, snapping the bone.

The blow also sent him crashing into the cave wall.

Whether it was the elf crashing hard into the wall next to it or that it was the pressure of the heat and steam underneath it , or a combination of both The stone floor of the cave rocked. Tiny fissures began to open up, and small jets of hot steam hissed asthey met the cooler air of the night.

Still caught with in his hallucinated created rage Estel did not recognize the danger. Legolas on the other hand did.

And this time he acted, and quickly.

Grabbing the crazed ranger by the collar of his undershirt Legolas threw him toward the cave entrance and followed.

Rumblings from deep with in the earth could be heard getting louder and louder. Tiny pieces of rock began to fall, hitting both of them in the face and eyes.

When the human stopped and tried, loudly and angrily to demand an explanation Legolas pushed him rather forcefully out of the cave and onto the ledge.

Some sort of self preservation finally kicked in as instead of going over the edge, Estel turned left and headed down the cliff path to safety.

Behind him the cave mouth collapsed in a shower of dirt and rock.

************************************************************8

Bolting upright Estel shook his head from side to side and immediately wished he hadn't.

Instead of clearing the last of the post dream fussiness from his mind, all he had done was increase the size and volume of his already head splitting head ache.

"Here my son." The voice of his father , Lord Elrond of Rivendell said.

Before him, in his room in the house of Elrond stood the elf lord himself. In his hand a small cup of liquid

"Something to ease the pain." Elrond reassured his son, as Estel eyed the cup warily. "That is all."

"Ada. "Estel said as he took the cup and swallowed the contents all in one gulp. "I had the worst dream…."

The look his father gave him sent alarm bells ringing in his still sore head. A look down at his scratched and torn hands, only reinforced the ringing bells.

"It wasn't a dream?" He asked cautiously. "Was it?"

"I am afraid not my son." Elrond answered, Confirming his worst fears.

"Legolas?" He asked,. Fear for his chosen brother rising in his chest.

Fear for Legolas and shame. Shame as he remembered what he had said and done to the elf prince.

"Ada is he alright?"

The one second of silence that echoed around the room before his father answered his question was enough to send his fear and panic soaring way above the stratosphere.

"He is next door Estel." Elrond said trying and failing to keep his voice even.

"And?" Estel asked

"He was in a bad way when your brothers finally found the pair of you and dug him out. " Elrond said sitting on the edge of his sons bed

"What are you not telling me Ada?" Estel pushed

"Estel he has not yet woken up."

"How badly injured is he Ada?"

"His left arm is broken below the elbow." Elrond began. "His ribs, although not broken, are very badly bruised and I am not exactly certain about the extent of hishead injury."

Estel bowed his head. This was all his fault

He knew for certain that Legolas's broken arm was a result of the beating he had given the prince.

"From what they have told me you where sitting before huge wall of rock, pulling one at a time from the pile and calling his name. Elladan said that when they found you , your irises were no bigger then pinpricks and there was a crazed look in your eye.
Estel what happened?"

"I'm not really sure myself Ada." Estel said trying to remember the events that lead up to his little crazy turn.

Events during and after the turn he remembered all too clearly.

"It must've been the mushrooms in Legolas's stew. Oh Ada I did and said some really awful things to Legolas." He buried his still throbbing head in his hands. "I hit him ada! I hit my brother . And more then once." Tears flowed down his cheeks "Andwhat I said to him, What I called him, and every elf. I'm so ashamed."

"None of this was your fault Estel," Elrond said as he put a comforting arm around his sons shoulders. "And when he wakes up Legolas will see that too.."

"Ada, you don't understand. The things I said to him. Those can never be taken back."

"If, and I mean if, that is true , Then Estel I am confident that the pair of you will find a way to get past this together….." He broke off as his human son stood and, for theamount of pain his head was still causing him, hurried out of the room. "Estel!?"

"I have to be there when he wakes." Estel called back over his shoulder to his astounded father.

Without a second thought he raced down the hall and into the guest room where the still unconscious prince lay . He even startled his twin brothers who where sitting withLegolas.

Elladan, the eldest opened his mouth to say something, but the look his father gave him from the doorway closed it just as quickly. Without another word the twins roseand stood by their father, allowing Estel the space he needed.

To the humans amazement Legolas opened his eyes the moment Estel laid a hand gently on the elf's brow.

"Estel." Legolas whispered and tried to smile "You are yourself again."

"Yes." Estel returned the smile. "Thanks to you."

"Forgive me my brother." The elf continued. "I did not know.."

"There is nothing to forgive my brother." Estel reassured him. "There was no way you could've known. If anyone should apologise it should be me/ I treated you abominably ." He traced the bruise at the elf jaw, "It was wrong. I had no right to do that. You were tyring to save me from myself. All I can say is that I couldn't see that
at the time. I can now. Legolas thank- you. Thank- you for being my friend, my brother and for putting up with me ."

"You were not yourself Estel. There is no need for you to say another thing. You are back to normal and that is all that matters."

With that Legolas fell back to sleep.

In the door way Elrond nodded.

The two who held the future of Middle Earth were back together again. The bond that was bent was once again strong. And that was what mattered.

The End.