Part 4 of my 'The Strength of Silence' series, where everyone is more or less canon save for the fact that Legolas is mute.

"Make sure to put three fingers up Sam, not two."

"Right," Sam corrected his symbol, looking slightly put out. "This is harder than I thought it would be."

"Here now, it's not so difficult. In fact, the more you practice, then the more natural it will become. Most people already instinctually make hand gestures when they're talking; all we're doing now is delving deeper and forming those gestures into words…"

Aragorn was not new to teaching people how to speak with their hands, as it was essential for rangers to understand silent communication. Of course teaching the language to hobbits was new, but they were surprisingly quick to catch on. In the week of the journey that had passed so far, they could already use and understand several phrases.

Boromir too made an effort to participate in Aragon's lessons, which took place during their times of rest before everyone went to sleep. Legolas was very merry throughout those times, teasing Aragon's teaching skills and testing the students with long and complicated sentences, some which Aragorn knew he was making up to confuse them. Gandalf, with the same conclusion, would give the elf a halfhearted whap on the shin with his staff.

The only one who had nothing to do with Aragon's lessons was Gimli. Yes, he would still sit with the group around the fire, but he made no effort to follow along or practice with the others. Gandalf seemed to have nothing to say about it, and neither did Legolas, so for awhile Aragorn let the dwarf be.

Then, as the nights continued to pass, Aragorn feared that Gimli would be the only one left out from knowing the voice of the hands, which would put him at a disadvantage compared to the others. That was why almost two weeks into the journey, he encouraged the dwarf to participate.

"Gimli my friend, would you like to have a lesson in the voice of the hands with me?"

The dwarf smiled and inclined his head politely. "Thank you kindly, but I've no need for such lessons."

From across the campfire Legolas frowned, his features hardening as he observed the dwarf and took offense to the answer.

"It truly is a useful language whether one needs it or not," Aragorn spoke again, trying to settle the potentially emerging conflict.

'It is useless Aragorn,' Legolas signed. 'You know how hard-headed dwarves are. Trying to teach a dwarf a new language would be like hitting a stone with a twig: they're too dense.'

"I think you've misunderstood me," Gimli said to Aragorn, though he had been watching the elf's hand gestures. Then, he began to move his own hands. "I have no need for such lessons because I am already perfectly fluent in the voice of the hands."

Legolas' mouth dropped open in bewilderment. Then, much to the dwarf's delight, his cheeks flushed pink. Aragorn was surprised as well, though he quickly broke out into a grin. Gandalf shamelessly laughed, and the hobbits watched wide-eyed.

Legolas was mortified, because this wasn't the first time he had made snide remarks about dwarves throughout the journey. Of course Gimli wasn't exactly innocent himself, but Legolas had been a bit worse due to his impression that the dwarf could not understand him. He had probably been waiting for an opportunity just like this, where he could reveal himself and make Legolas look like a fool. My, how he hated dwarves!

As much as the elf wanted to leave the group and go stand watch by himself, he managed to keep his composure as he shrugged nonchalantly. 'My opinion still holds.'

With that, he sprung lightly to his feet to begin the first watch.

Several days later, the fellowship had entered the Mines of Moria.

It was an unsettling place to all, but for a wood elf such as Legolas, it was particularly unnerving. Although many parts of Mirkwood's cavern palace were underground, the damp earth was still full of life, warm and comforting. The mines were naught but empty stone, cold and unforgiving.

It was the first time that Legolas truly felt homesick. He missed his ada, who made everything safe just by his very presence. But the elven king was very far away, a fact that did little good to dwell upon. Unconsciously seeking comfort, Legolas stayed close to Aragorn in the darkness, one hand just barely touching his elbow.

Another thing, something that Legolas struggled to admit to himself, was the fact that the darkness left him feeling helpless. It was almost impossible to communicate when nobody could see his hands. The only source of light came from Gandalf's staff, and Legolas hardly wanted to walk at the front through this place.

Sensing his unease, Aragorn squeezed his shoulder comfortingly and wound their arms together. They both walked side by side for awhile, and the prince's distress was momentarily soothed.

Some time later, a break was in order. They had enough material to make a fire, and for the first time since entering the mines, Legolas felt a little bit safer with the warm glow. It was only a small fire, but bright enough so that they could see one another more clearly.

"I have a question about the voice of the hands," Pippin spoke up, voice hushed as they rested themselves. "If it's a silent language, why do we all still talk out loud to Legolas when we use it? I mean, I get it when it's all dark like it is right now, but what about when it's light- isn't it counterproductive to do both?"

There was a short silence, and the hobbit worried that he had offended the elf. Legolas smiled at him, but furrowed his brows as he contemplated the question. It was never something he had truly thought about; his ada and the others of Mirkwood had always communicated with him both verbally and physically. It was the same case with Lord Elrond and those who knew the language in Imladris.

Aragorn was about to speak, but someone beat him to it. It was Gimli, surprisingly, who had an answer. "Well he's not deaf laddie, is he? Voices can be a comfort. If you could not speak, would you want everyone to only interact silently with you?"

Legolas looked rather startled at the dwarf's words, but then he grinned as he realized that Gimli's answer had been perfect.

"That makes sense," Pippin realized, looking rather abashed. "Sorry Legolas, I didn't think about it that way."

The elf made a dismissive gesture with his hand.

Gandalf, who had been having a quiet conversation with Frodo, suddenly exclaimed with delight that he knew the direction that they needed to head now.

Gimli rose from the ground, turning his attention to the fire and preparing to put it out. Before he could get very far, Legolas caught him by the elbow. It was the first time either of them had made physical contact. Gimli fought the initial urge to shrug the slender hand off, waiting patiently.

The elf gave Gimli a tentative smile, putting a hand to his chin. 'Thank you.'

"Yes, well." The dwarf grunted, trying very hard not to feel fond of the way those blue eyes regarded him, filled with something that was for once not spite. "Come along now princling, before we fall behind."

Little did the elf nor the dwarf know at the time, but this exchange was the start of a bond that would continue to grow a great deal throughout the rest of the journey, and continue even after the war with Sauron was over.

As always, I would be very grateful for comments! Let me know your thoughts! :)

Other Parts of the series (there is no particular order to read them in):

Part 1- With Words Unspoken

Part 2- Silent Revelations

Part 3- Quiet Understandings