Hunting spiders in the forest was never that easy. Meludir and the other party were tracking them down, running through trees, shooting them down one arrow at a time, and some were getting poisoned. Meludir swiftly ran as fast as he could, going after a large spider and its nest.
He was never as graceful as the other elves.
Somewhere along the way, Meludir had tripped, ripping part of his leggings as well as a shirt by a sharp and small branch on a tree. He had gotten up quickly though, shooting with his bow an arrow that proved true. The spider finally fell dead and as soon as he and the others were about to destroy the nest, more came.
Oh no!
Meludir and the others that were able to continue fighting, pressed on, killing spiders left and right. Blood and other fluids had oozed out and on to the ground; some even splattered on Meludir’s uniform. He looked to be in a total mess. What was he to do? Everyone else was looking as if they never had touched their weapon today!
A small huff came out of him as he followed back to the gates. Surely no one would notice.. Surely he wouldn’t be caught looking this way. Oh goodness, what if Legolas saw?! Or what if Tauriel barked at him?! Meludir wasn’t sure what he would do in any situation.
Hopefully though, none of those would be the case.
Information was critical for the King of Mirkwood. The area that he had inherited responsibility over was vast and virtually impossible to keep entirely clear of intrusive enemies. Roughly 600 miles in length from north to south and 250 miles across from east to south , the dense forest was simply too massive for the Wood Elves to maintain perfect order. Thranduil did not care for the nickname it had acquired; The Forest of Fear was ominous and contradictory to his father's vision to rebuild and establish a permanent home for the displaced elves of the second age. Unlike Galadriel, Elrond, or Círdan, He did not have an enhanced foresight to glimpse the possible future or dangers.
Like his father before him, Thranduil needed to establish a means of communicating information across vast expanses. Traditionally, this was accomplished through messenger birds. The job of caring for and training the homing pigeons was thankless, and stressful when things like plague, cold or attack dwindled their numbers. He was one of the few who maintained a very healthy exchange with the keeper of the columbary. It came in handy for staying ahead of the curve, especially when it reports from outlying camps and smaller satellite villages told him of unforeseen increases in spider dens or warg packs.
Nimble fingers traced over the finely scripted letters detailing as much of the problem as the southwest outpost was able to glean. It didn't feel at all organic, this swelling spawn of Ungoliant that was expanding beyond the Enchanted River and the Emyn-nu-Fuin. Glancing up from the parchment, Thranduil thanked the messenger, laid the paper down onto the large map table and leaned his frame over the large leather embossed book of maps, before paging through the huge sheets of parchment to find the right map of his realm. the book was spineless and designed to lay flat. Looking from parchment to tome, Thranduil sized the area of expansion, noting that it was well over two hundred acres of previously believed, safe woodland.
With a heavier hand than intended, he dropped a paperweight over the note and moved to go and arrange for something proactive to be enacted. This was unacceptable. Shelob's descendants would be cut from his realm if it took the entire summer season. Crossing through the massive and cavernous hall his robes whispered across the cold marble. The raw silk was soft and textured, the hue of heather grey. He allowed for some light embroidery work in madder root and alder buckthorn to offset the crown of twisted branches that sat gracefully atop his head, and as was his predilection, his jewellery was comprised of inexpensive silver and clear quartz. All of this, the attire, the rigid straight back, his uncompromised expression, was needed to give a sense of measured control over situations that were unfathomably dire.
Stepping past the threshold of the main entryway, on his way to the guardhouse on the top floor, Thranduil stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of Meludir. The lad was scraped up, bruised, his uniform was torn and muddied. A clot of dirt and spider gut was in his hair and he looked anything but his usually cheerful self. "You were on the south east patrol today were you not?" It wasn't a question, but Thranduil wouldn't begrudge a perfunctory stammering of words from the beautiful young elf. It was all he could do not to purse his lips and smile a little bit, just to let Meludir know that he wasn't angry.
It all would have been simpler if it were just Tauriel or the prince speaking to him. All of it he could honestly handle. All of it except what was right there; the Elven King, Thranduil. He was here, speaking to him! Meludir’s heart skipped beats and he did not know whether he should mentally squeal in delight or cower down because of how terrible he was presenting himself in front of his lord.
...His very attractive lord, in fact.
It didn’t go without saying that the king was perfection. Even now, standing before Meludir, he was. That beautiful silver hair, close to being mithril. Those gorgeous blue eyes. Some said that Oropher had the same color. Then there was the proud and beautiful face. Meludir couldn’t breathe.
"You were on the south east patrol today were you not?"
At his voice, anyone would tremble in their boots. Though most did out of fear. Meludir though, did it for other reasons. I.. I was, my lord.. He tried! He tried so hard to not stumble over his words and flush, but here he was, flushing as red as a berry!
The.. the spiders.. They are becoming more bold, my lord. Oh Valar, what was he supposed to do now? He felt like his heart would fly out of his chest any minute! Seeing his lord so, was captivating! He couldn’t let himself show it though. The king could not and will not wish for another after his Queen passed onto the halls. I.. I-I mean we, took down a lot of them today. They are still there though, some nest.