fic post 2: Lord of the Rings
Mar. 21st, 2006 10:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
auntiemeeshI must apologize for letting this story linger so long. Poor Pippin has been under that blasted tree for a month and a half now. Anyway, chapter five is finally done.
Chapters 1-4
Chapter five
betaed by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
pipspebble
Paladin shrugged off his cloak, ignoring the icy wind that easily penetrated the coat he wore underneath. Lifting his son as gently as he could, he spread the cloak on the ground under Pippin’s head and shoulders, trying to separate him from the cold snow as much as possible while still keeping his body flat on the ground. Pippin’s eyes fluttered and his breathing hitched, but he didn’t wake.
“Don’t worry, lad, help is on the way,” Paladin muttered, more to reassure himself than in any expectation that the quiet figure lying next to him could hear his words. Unable to sit still, Pal set himself to the task of building a fire. By the time he’d cleared a small area of snow, gathered enough dry twigs and branches and got a little fire started, Pippin was stirring restlessly.
“Easy, Pippin, don’t try to move,” Paladin cautioned as he sank down by Pippin’s head.
“Da?”
“Aye, and who else do you think would be sitting around in the cold waiting for you to wake your lazy self up?”
“’m not lazy,” Pippin protested muzzily. “I’d be more than happy to get up if you’d get this tree off me.”
“Well, now, that’s going to have to wait just a little longer, son,” Paladin answered. “Help is on the way, though, so you just hold on and we’ll have you free in no time.”
“Now who’s being lazy?” Pippin asked with a hint of a strained smile. “I’m thirsty. Is there any water?” he asked a moment later.
Paladin looked him over carefully. Pippin wasn’t showing any visible signs of shock, but he wasn’t ready to rule it out. “I’m sorry, son. Once we get you home and have the healer look you over, you’ll be able to have something to drink.”
Pippin made no protest but closed his eyes, frowning slightly. It was quiet then, save for the crackle of the fire. Paladin did his best to wait patiently, but with each minute that passed, his worry grew. If Pippin was bleeding, the wound needed to be staunched and bandaged sooner rather than later, but there was nothing he could do on his own. He wasn’t foolish enough to think that attempting to shift the branches by himself was anything other than plain stupid, but the longer he waited, the more tempted he became to do something, anything, no matter how stupid it was.
He was very relieved when, after what seemed like several hours and was probably less than one, he heard the sounds of several hobbits approaching. Gordie had returned. Before he could say anything, someone had wrapped a blanket around his shoulders and pushed a flask of something hot into his hands.
“Drink up, Mr. Paladin, sir. We’ll take things from here.”
Finding himself on the sidelines, Paladin watched helplessly as hobbits swarmed about the downed branches, tying ropes here and there, carefully testing each branch to see how much give there was in the tangle, cutting carefully into the branches only when it was deemed unlikely to further injure the trapped hobbit.
***
Pippin woke to pain and confusion. Something shifted above him, causing something else to poke him in the chest. Unable to restrain a quiet moan, he opened his eyes to see shadowy figures moving around him. He could hear them speak, but the words were elusive, seeming to slip away from him like a bar of wet soap in the bath. What he was able to understand was that rescue was at hand.
It took time to get the tangle of branches off him without doing further damage, and the procedure was painful in spite of all the care taken, but eventually the terrible weight was gone and Pippin lay shivering in the cold night air. His da reappeared at his side as soon as the last branches had been removed; he knelt in the snow and smoothed the wet hair off Pippin’s forehead, distracting him while someone did something incredibly painful to his leg that made him cry out despite his best efforts not to. When it was done he felt weak and wrung out, too shaky to hold on to any thought for more than a second or two. Then hands were lifting him and he found himself on a litter, being carried through the woods. Everything was swimming around him now, sight, sound and thoughts swirling together uneasily and he closed his eyes against it all, sinking gratefully into the deep, black absence of unconsciousness.
***
It took longer than Paladin would have preferred to get Pippin out of the woods. It was awkward enough to slog through the snow without the added burden of a litter, but the hobbits took turns carrying it and they reached the edge of the woods in due course. There, Paladin was relieved to find a pony and wagon waiting for them. Carefully transferring Pippin to the wagon bed, they were able to make much better time the rest of the way to the Great Smials.
Paladin looked down at the pale face nestled amongst the blankets on the wagon bed, proud of his son. Pippin had only cried out once, when pressure was applied to the nasty gash on his thigh to stop the bleeding. The leg was almost certainly broken as well as badly cut and the pain must have been excruciating. He lay quietly enough now, however, and Paladin hoped that was a good sign.
“Did you send word to the Smials?” Paladin asked Gordie, who was sitting on the buckboard.
“Aye, and told them to have the healer ready when we got there.” Gordie was quiet a moment before asking, “Is he…will he be…how badly is he injured, sir?”
Paladin looked up into the pale, earnest face of his son’s friend, remembering suddenly how young Gordie was, only two years older than Pippin. The lad had shown excellent presence of mind during this whole thing and should be rewarded in some way. Paladin made a mental note of that, then allowed it to slide to the back of his mind; not forgotten, just put away until a more appropriate time to think on it.
“He’ll be fine, Gordie. That leg needs tending to, certainly, and he needs warming up, but I have no doubt he’ll be fine soon enough.” Gordie looked reassured. Paladin wished he could be reassured as easily, himself. They wouldn’t know how badly Pippin’s leg was injured until the healer looked at it, but Paladin worried over it anyway. The wound looked bad. It had begun bleeding heavily as soon as the branch stabbing him had been removed, and it had taken some time to staunch it. Losing that much blood was never good for anyone. Taking a deep breath, Paladin forced himself to relax. Pippin would be fine and Paladin would keep telling himself that over and over until it was true.
They were met at the main entrance to the Smials by Eglantine and Adagar Brockhouse, the healer. Paladin saw Tina bite her lip to contain a cry as she saw Pippin, but she immediately drew herself up, not allowing any weakness to show in public. Doing the same himself, he moved out of the way as Adagar climbed into the back of the wagon to examine Pippin.
“Hm, yes, we’ll wait until he’s in bed to take that bandage off and have a look at the wound. Any other injuries? Fever? No, well let’s get him inside then, no sense letting him freeze to death out here.” With that, the hobbit hopped back down to the ground and motioned to the others to bring the litter. “Carefully,” he cautioned, needlessly. “I’m sure Peregrin would thank you not to drop him along the way.”
Adagar Brockhouse, commonly known as Dag, was one of the oddest hobbits Paladin had ever met and he wasn’t even a Took, had no Took blood in him at all, as a matter of fact. He was, however, an exceptional healer despite his fairly young age, not yet fifty. As long as Dag was chattering away like a mad squirrel, all was well. It was only when he grew silent and focused that danger loomed on the horizon. Right now, Dag was mumbling and muttering, half to himself and half to the hobbits carrying the litter, and Paladin was able to breathe a little easier for the first time since he had found Pippin in the woods.
Joining Eglantine just inside the door, he sent her a warm look and squeezed her hand.
“Is it…bad?” she asked quietly, trying to keep the fear out of her voice.
“It could have been,” Pal answered, “if you hadn’t sent me out after him.” He glossed over the injuries, knowing they would both get more details than they really wanted once Dag had finished looking the lad over, and not wanting Tina to worry any more than she already was.
There was a fire blazing on the hearth in Pippin’s room, and blankets had been set in front of it to warm. Once Pippin, still unconscious, had been transferred to his own bed and the hobbits carrying the litter had left, Dag set to work, laying out his supplies and then unwrapping the bandage from Pippin’s thigh. He washed the wound thoroughly, making sure there were no splinters of wood from the branches before rebandaging it. “That will need stitches,” he muttered, “but we’ll wait until the bone has been set, yes?” Moving aside the basin of bloody water, he turned Paladin. “I’ll need your help for this.”
Paladin and Tina had been standing by the hearth, out of the way, but at Dag’s summons, Paladin moved to his son’s bedside. “What do you want me to do?”
“Hold him down. This is going to be painful and he’ll probably wake up in the middle of it,” the healer explained. “I have to set the bone and then immobilize his leg. Once that’s done, I’ll be able to stitch up the gash.”
Following the healer’s instructions, Paladin held Pippin’s upper body against the mattress, tensely waiting for Dag’s next move. When it came, the sudden violence of it took him by surprise, despite his readiness. Dag pulled and twisted swiftly and forcefully, and Pippin’s eyes flew open, body flailing against the pain, a cry catching on his lips. Paladin held him still and a moment later Pippin went limp again, sweat beading his brow and Paladin’s.
Dag moved quickly from there, stitching and bandaging the gash and then splinting the leg so Pippin wouldn’t be able to inadvertently move it. Only when that was all done did he gently wake the injured lad.
“Pippin, come on now, lad. Wake up.”
Pippin’s eyes fluttered and he frowned. “…wish people would stop saying that,” he mumbled roughly.
“Well, you just need to stay awake, then.”
Pippin opened his eyes fully and looked around, catching sight of his parents. “Mum,” he whispered.
“That’s right, lad,” Dag said jovially. “You’re home now. Just rest easy here for a few minutes while I fix you something to drink.” Dag moved away from the bed, motioning Paladin and Tina to keep the patient company.
“Hello, darling,” Tina said, carefully settling herself on the edge of Pippin’s bed and resting a soothing hand on his brow. “You gave us a bit of a scare, you know, disappearing like that.”
“Sorry, Mum,” he murmured. “Didn’t mean to.” Pippin looked exhausted, lines of pain showing where his skin had always been smooth before.
“We know that, lad,” Paladin assured him. “But I think we might have to come up with a new set of rules for wandering around in the woods alone.” He said this gently, to let Pippin know he wasn’t in any trouble, but he meant it. It was dangerous to be out there alone, too many grim scenarios sprang to Paladin’s mind, and he wasn’t going to allow any of them to happen to his child.
Dag returned then and lifted Pippin’s head, while Eglantine placed several pillows to comfortably prop the lad up.
“I want you to drink all of this, Pippin,” Dag said, handing a mug of something that looked rather murky to Pippin. “It will ease the pain and help you sleep. And once it’s gone, you can have some water if you’re still thirsty.”
Pippin accepted the mug with a grimace. He drained it in three swift gulps, and then gratefully drank a glass of water to get the foul taste out of his mouth. Settling back on his pillows, he looked very young and vulnerable, and Eglantine stroked his forehead, whispering soothing words to him as his eyes closed and he slipped back into sleep. Only when she was sure he was resting comfortably did she move from his side.
“How is he really, Dag?” she asked anxiously.
“That leg is a mess, quite frankly, and it’s going to need a lot of looking after to heal properly. Good thing I’m here.” The healer grinned briefly before continuing. “He’s lost some blood but not as much as he might have, so that’s a point in his favor. He’s still a bit shivery from being out in the cold so long, but I’m hoping he’ll warm up nicely now that he’s inside, in a cozy bed. And in that cozy bed he’ll be staying for a good long while, I might add. Once he’s feeling better, that is going to be a bone of contention between you and he, I can practically guarantee it, so you might want to start thinking now about ways to entertain him.”
Dag put a small bag of herbs in Tina’s hands. “Make him a tea with this, every four hours for now; it will ease the pain and help him sleep, but it will also help the wound to heal cleanly.” He patted her on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, Eglantine, he’s a strong, healthy lad, and he’ll heal fine. He’s just going to need us to help him with that for a little while.”
Packing up his bag, he reassured Pippin’s parents that they could call on him at any time if they had any concerns whatsoever, and that he would return first thing in the morning, regardless, to check in on his patient. And then, with a cheerful farewell, he took his leave.
tbc
Next segment
Chapters 1-4
Chapter five
betaed by
pipspebblePaladin shrugged off his cloak, ignoring the icy wind that easily penetrated the coat he wore underneath. Lifting his son as gently as he could, he spread the cloak on the ground under Pippin’s head and shoulders, trying to separate him from the cold snow as much as possible while still keeping his body flat on the ground. Pippin’s eyes fluttered and his breathing hitched, but he didn’t wake.
“Don’t worry, lad, help is on the way,” Paladin muttered, more to reassure himself than in any expectation that the quiet figure lying next to him could hear his words. Unable to sit still, Pal set himself to the task of building a fire. By the time he’d cleared a small area of snow, gathered enough dry twigs and branches and got a little fire started, Pippin was stirring restlessly.
“Easy, Pippin, don’t try to move,” Paladin cautioned as he sank down by Pippin’s head.
“Da?”
“Aye, and who else do you think would be sitting around in the cold waiting for you to wake your lazy self up?”
“’m not lazy,” Pippin protested muzzily. “I’d be more than happy to get up if you’d get this tree off me.”
“Well, now, that’s going to have to wait just a little longer, son,” Paladin answered. “Help is on the way, though, so you just hold on and we’ll have you free in no time.”
“Now who’s being lazy?” Pippin asked with a hint of a strained smile. “I’m thirsty. Is there any water?” he asked a moment later.
Paladin looked him over carefully. Pippin wasn’t showing any visible signs of shock, but he wasn’t ready to rule it out. “I’m sorry, son. Once we get you home and have the healer look you over, you’ll be able to have something to drink.”
Pippin made no protest but closed his eyes, frowning slightly. It was quiet then, save for the crackle of the fire. Paladin did his best to wait patiently, but with each minute that passed, his worry grew. If Pippin was bleeding, the wound needed to be staunched and bandaged sooner rather than later, but there was nothing he could do on his own. He wasn’t foolish enough to think that attempting to shift the branches by himself was anything other than plain stupid, but the longer he waited, the more tempted he became to do something, anything, no matter how stupid it was.
He was very relieved when, after what seemed like several hours and was probably less than one, he heard the sounds of several hobbits approaching. Gordie had returned. Before he could say anything, someone had wrapped a blanket around his shoulders and pushed a flask of something hot into his hands.
“Drink up, Mr. Paladin, sir. We’ll take things from here.”
Finding himself on the sidelines, Paladin watched helplessly as hobbits swarmed about the downed branches, tying ropes here and there, carefully testing each branch to see how much give there was in the tangle, cutting carefully into the branches only when it was deemed unlikely to further injure the trapped hobbit.
***
Pippin woke to pain and confusion. Something shifted above him, causing something else to poke him in the chest. Unable to restrain a quiet moan, he opened his eyes to see shadowy figures moving around him. He could hear them speak, but the words were elusive, seeming to slip away from him like a bar of wet soap in the bath. What he was able to understand was that rescue was at hand.
It took time to get the tangle of branches off him without doing further damage, and the procedure was painful in spite of all the care taken, but eventually the terrible weight was gone and Pippin lay shivering in the cold night air. His da reappeared at his side as soon as the last branches had been removed; he knelt in the snow and smoothed the wet hair off Pippin’s forehead, distracting him while someone did something incredibly painful to his leg that made him cry out despite his best efforts not to. When it was done he felt weak and wrung out, too shaky to hold on to any thought for more than a second or two. Then hands were lifting him and he found himself on a litter, being carried through the woods. Everything was swimming around him now, sight, sound and thoughts swirling together uneasily and he closed his eyes against it all, sinking gratefully into the deep, black absence of unconsciousness.
***
It took longer than Paladin would have preferred to get Pippin out of the woods. It was awkward enough to slog through the snow without the added burden of a litter, but the hobbits took turns carrying it and they reached the edge of the woods in due course. There, Paladin was relieved to find a pony and wagon waiting for them. Carefully transferring Pippin to the wagon bed, they were able to make much better time the rest of the way to the Great Smials.
Paladin looked down at the pale face nestled amongst the blankets on the wagon bed, proud of his son. Pippin had only cried out once, when pressure was applied to the nasty gash on his thigh to stop the bleeding. The leg was almost certainly broken as well as badly cut and the pain must have been excruciating. He lay quietly enough now, however, and Paladin hoped that was a good sign.
“Did you send word to the Smials?” Paladin asked Gordie, who was sitting on the buckboard.
“Aye, and told them to have the healer ready when we got there.” Gordie was quiet a moment before asking, “Is he…will he be…how badly is he injured, sir?”
Paladin looked up into the pale, earnest face of his son’s friend, remembering suddenly how young Gordie was, only two years older than Pippin. The lad had shown excellent presence of mind during this whole thing and should be rewarded in some way. Paladin made a mental note of that, then allowed it to slide to the back of his mind; not forgotten, just put away until a more appropriate time to think on it.
“He’ll be fine, Gordie. That leg needs tending to, certainly, and he needs warming up, but I have no doubt he’ll be fine soon enough.” Gordie looked reassured. Paladin wished he could be reassured as easily, himself. They wouldn’t know how badly Pippin’s leg was injured until the healer looked at it, but Paladin worried over it anyway. The wound looked bad. It had begun bleeding heavily as soon as the branch stabbing him had been removed, and it had taken some time to staunch it. Losing that much blood was never good for anyone. Taking a deep breath, Paladin forced himself to relax. Pippin would be fine and Paladin would keep telling himself that over and over until it was true.
They were met at the main entrance to the Smials by Eglantine and Adagar Brockhouse, the healer. Paladin saw Tina bite her lip to contain a cry as she saw Pippin, but she immediately drew herself up, not allowing any weakness to show in public. Doing the same himself, he moved out of the way as Adagar climbed into the back of the wagon to examine Pippin.
“Hm, yes, we’ll wait until he’s in bed to take that bandage off and have a look at the wound. Any other injuries? Fever? No, well let’s get him inside then, no sense letting him freeze to death out here.” With that, the hobbit hopped back down to the ground and motioned to the others to bring the litter. “Carefully,” he cautioned, needlessly. “I’m sure Peregrin would thank you not to drop him along the way.”
Adagar Brockhouse, commonly known as Dag, was one of the oddest hobbits Paladin had ever met and he wasn’t even a Took, had no Took blood in him at all, as a matter of fact. He was, however, an exceptional healer despite his fairly young age, not yet fifty. As long as Dag was chattering away like a mad squirrel, all was well. It was only when he grew silent and focused that danger loomed on the horizon. Right now, Dag was mumbling and muttering, half to himself and half to the hobbits carrying the litter, and Paladin was able to breathe a little easier for the first time since he had found Pippin in the woods.
Joining Eglantine just inside the door, he sent her a warm look and squeezed her hand.
“Is it…bad?” she asked quietly, trying to keep the fear out of her voice.
“It could have been,” Pal answered, “if you hadn’t sent me out after him.” He glossed over the injuries, knowing they would both get more details than they really wanted once Dag had finished looking the lad over, and not wanting Tina to worry any more than she already was.
There was a fire blazing on the hearth in Pippin’s room, and blankets had been set in front of it to warm. Once Pippin, still unconscious, had been transferred to his own bed and the hobbits carrying the litter had left, Dag set to work, laying out his supplies and then unwrapping the bandage from Pippin’s thigh. He washed the wound thoroughly, making sure there were no splinters of wood from the branches before rebandaging it. “That will need stitches,” he muttered, “but we’ll wait until the bone has been set, yes?” Moving aside the basin of bloody water, he turned Paladin. “I’ll need your help for this.”
Paladin and Tina had been standing by the hearth, out of the way, but at Dag’s summons, Paladin moved to his son’s bedside. “What do you want me to do?”
“Hold him down. This is going to be painful and he’ll probably wake up in the middle of it,” the healer explained. “I have to set the bone and then immobilize his leg. Once that’s done, I’ll be able to stitch up the gash.”
Following the healer’s instructions, Paladin held Pippin’s upper body against the mattress, tensely waiting for Dag’s next move. When it came, the sudden violence of it took him by surprise, despite his readiness. Dag pulled and twisted swiftly and forcefully, and Pippin’s eyes flew open, body flailing against the pain, a cry catching on his lips. Paladin held him still and a moment later Pippin went limp again, sweat beading his brow and Paladin’s.
Dag moved quickly from there, stitching and bandaging the gash and then splinting the leg so Pippin wouldn’t be able to inadvertently move it. Only when that was all done did he gently wake the injured lad.
“Pippin, come on now, lad. Wake up.”
Pippin’s eyes fluttered and he frowned. “…wish people would stop saying that,” he mumbled roughly.
“Well, you just need to stay awake, then.”
Pippin opened his eyes fully and looked around, catching sight of his parents. “Mum,” he whispered.
“That’s right, lad,” Dag said jovially. “You’re home now. Just rest easy here for a few minutes while I fix you something to drink.” Dag moved away from the bed, motioning Paladin and Tina to keep the patient company.
“Hello, darling,” Tina said, carefully settling herself on the edge of Pippin’s bed and resting a soothing hand on his brow. “You gave us a bit of a scare, you know, disappearing like that.”
“Sorry, Mum,” he murmured. “Didn’t mean to.” Pippin looked exhausted, lines of pain showing where his skin had always been smooth before.
“We know that, lad,” Paladin assured him. “But I think we might have to come up with a new set of rules for wandering around in the woods alone.” He said this gently, to let Pippin know he wasn’t in any trouble, but he meant it. It was dangerous to be out there alone, too many grim scenarios sprang to Paladin’s mind, and he wasn’t going to allow any of them to happen to his child.
Dag returned then and lifted Pippin’s head, while Eglantine placed several pillows to comfortably prop the lad up.
“I want you to drink all of this, Pippin,” Dag said, handing a mug of something that looked rather murky to Pippin. “It will ease the pain and help you sleep. And once it’s gone, you can have some water if you’re still thirsty.”
Pippin accepted the mug with a grimace. He drained it in three swift gulps, and then gratefully drank a glass of water to get the foul taste out of his mouth. Settling back on his pillows, he looked very young and vulnerable, and Eglantine stroked his forehead, whispering soothing words to him as his eyes closed and he slipped back into sleep. Only when she was sure he was resting comfortably did she move from his side.
“How is he really, Dag?” she asked anxiously.
“That leg is a mess, quite frankly, and it’s going to need a lot of looking after to heal properly. Good thing I’m here.” The healer grinned briefly before continuing. “He’s lost some blood but not as much as he might have, so that’s a point in his favor. He’s still a bit shivery from being out in the cold so long, but I’m hoping he’ll warm up nicely now that he’s inside, in a cozy bed. And in that cozy bed he’ll be staying for a good long while, I might add. Once he’s feeling better, that is going to be a bone of contention between you and he, I can practically guarantee it, so you might want to start thinking now about ways to entertain him.”
Dag put a small bag of herbs in Tina’s hands. “Make him a tea with this, every four hours for now; it will ease the pain and help him sleep, but it will also help the wound to heal cleanly.” He patted her on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, Eglantine, he’s a strong, healthy lad, and he’ll heal fine. He’s just going to need us to help him with that for a little while.”
Packing up his bag, he reassured Pippin’s parents that they could call on him at any time if they had any concerns whatsoever, and that he would return first thing in the morning, regardless, to check in on his patient. And then, with a cheerful farewell, he took his leave.
tbc
Next segment
