Southward Regions

[happy_never_after]

'

Ouch! Strider, sir? These holly bushes are none too comfy.'

Sam pulled a thorn out of his back side. Now how's a body supposed to get in the mood in this position, and with Mr. Frodo so near by? What if his master heard? Not that Mr. Frodo had any inclination to relieve his Samwise of certain, um, tensions recently.

Then Sam spied them in the sky, the crows. Them weren't normal birds, at least not flying in this pattern. Sam had ever seen such a cloud of them before, and looking at Strider's intense gaze, which up until that moment, Samwise thought was all for him, the formation wasn't natural to Aragorn either.

'Strider?'

'Quiet, Sam,' he said, pressing his body in closer. Now, Sam didn't know what to make of that. Maybe Strider did have more on his mind than counting crows.

Aragorn strained as he watched the black cloud disappear in the distance, but still he did not rise.

'We should wake Gandalf and tell him of the crows, possibly trouble in the south.'

'Beggin' your pardon Strider, sir, but do we need to wake him just yet? I seem to be having trouble in the south too, if you take my meaning...'

'I see, little hobbit,' Stider said, reaching between them. 'Your need is urgent, but this isn't the time.'

Sam sighed. He'd never find relief.

'Don't despair,' Aragorn winked, 'tonight, we'll explore southward regions.'

The End