Friendly Forests

by ANarrativeCloud

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

Warnings: Fluff, crackishness and AU-ness.

Rating: K+

Author's notes: I got distracted again. XD Sorry. XD

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

Merry hadn't believed Aragorn when he had told him that the trees would do anything for elves. Especially wood-elves, especially their royalty, and especially Legolas when they had been found by orcs screaming bloody murder in the plains and Legolas had commanded them—yes, commanded them, him being a prince had never seemed so apparent to Merry before—to seek refuge in a forest. He had scouted ahead and told Aragorn something in that musical language of the elves before darting to the forest's cover. The blond had smiled and disappeared.

Aragon had looked so relieved to see the cover of trees more so then anybody else. Once they were around half an hours walk from the edge of the forest, Aragorn had told them to stop and seek shelter above the trees' foliage.

"We'll be safe here."

Merry didn't believe him.

"How can you be so sure?" Pippin had asked him with panic evident in his voice, his pupils were dilated and Merry knew that he looked the same as his cousin. "We haven't lost them and they're still hot on our heels!"

"What about the Master Elf?" Frodo had asked quietly with Sam hovering over his shoulder.

"Legolas will be fine. He's faster than we could ever be." Aragorn whispered back.

"But there are at least fifty orcs!"

Aragorn had just smiled and said nothing to them for reassurance. For some reason, it made them relax a bit knowing that someone was calm in a situation so obviously life-threatening.

They could hear the footsteps of the orcs and the clanging of metals that they had held their breaths without knowing anything.

Merry had seen a flash of gold from the foliage of trees then the oddest thing happened. The leaves suddenly rustled even without the aid of the wind to do so. Branches creaked with the scariest sounds that Merry only heard in a nightmare once when Pippin had scared him half to death with his scary stories. The roots of the trees were shifting and squirming from where they were perched. Gimli had been muttering curses under his breath but Aragorn, with a stern look, had put a finger to his lips that silenced the gruff dwarf.

Aragorn looked amused by the whole thing. Merry wanted to punch him. Figuratively of course. He'd never be able to punch the ranger without being pinned to the ground or a sword hovering over his throat. (It was probably wholly instinctually but it still stopped him from even trying.)

The orcs on the ground looked scared half out of their wits and only the stupidest bunch hadn't even felt the looming atmosphere of the forest. Merry wondered what they were seeing and he had opened his mouth to ask but Aragorn had sent him a warning look that silenced him as well as it did the dwarf.

The trees suddenly stopped moving and Merry nearly let out a sigh of relief before the branches whipped out with a ferocious speed that rivaled even the arrows that left elven bows. Orcs were flattened, cut in half and all those gory things that would be good cause for nightmares.

Merry had never looked at a tree the same way again.

"What… happened?" Pippin voiced out numbly as his hands were in the air making grand but vague gestures. "The… trees… They were… whoosh."

Aragorn grinned at their faces and was about to explain when the green clad elf had dropped from somewhere up.

"It was my fault."

Four tiny hobbit heads and a bearded dwarf one swerved to regard the slightly sheepish looking elf.

"The trees love elves." Aragorn said simply as a way of explanation. Merry had to admit, it actually did explain it well enough. Elves were an odd sort and hardly easy to understand.

"I only asked them for shelter!" Legolas protested weakly.

Aragorn regarded him wryly. "The last time you did that was to only slightly scare me and the twins. I ended have having nightmares about forests eating me for a week before you convinced me that they wouldn't hurt me. 'Dan and 'Ro still hasn't forgiven you for that."

"That was awesome!" Pippin cheered. "Can you teach us how to do that?"

Aragorn looked slightly horrified at the prospect but Legolas had shaken his head in a negative. Legolas was trying to explain to Pippin that the trees rarely talked to anyone but elves when Merry had grinned at Aragorn.

"You weren't joking when you said the trees loved Legolas."

Aragorn raised an eyebrow. "I don't remember saying anything of the sort."

"You told me that the trees loved elves. Especially wood-elves, especially their royalty and especially Legolas."

"Ah."

"Can all elves do that?"

"Do what?"

"Make trees do their bidding."

Aragorn chuckled at his word usage. "No."

"Just Legolas?"

Aragorn hummed. "I'm not quite sure. Maybe the Elven King can do so as well, but I haven't seen it yet. Why don't we ask him?" He jabbed a finger to the blonde who was still trying to explain to Pippin that he couldn't teach anyone but an elf how to talk to trees.

And before Merry could convince him it wasn't needed, Strider had already called the attention of the elf.

"Legolas! You heard us right?"

Legolas smiled and affirmed the claim. "Yes, he could if he wanted to," Then paused. "They're not doing my bidding. They can say no when they want to and not all forests are as... passionate as this one."

"Not that they ever say no." Aragorn grumbled lowly but loud enough for the elf to hear for he chuckled.

Merry nearly reddened at the blatant reuse of his careless words and Strider's smirk wasn't helping things.

"Well the sun's nearly down, shall we make for a camp? I don't think we need to have watches in this forest, though."

"I vote we still set up watch." Gimli gruffed. "I don't trust these woody things to watch over us."

Leaves rustled ominously. Gimli shivered.

"I don't think they appreciated that Master Dwarf." Sam noted.

"Fine! Just for this night!"