Escape!

        Elliott and Aragorn waited for over two hours together. He wasn't going to lie; Aragorn was really, really nice. And funny. And clever. He could see why so many women were in love with the man. He was still planning on running away, though. Just that every time he started to think up a plan, Aragorn would tell him a story or a joke and Elliott would be forced to sit there and listen. Well, 'forced' was a strong word. They were good, sue him. In the end, he stuck around much longer than he was originally going to, but around the two hour mark his bluff was becoming pretty obvious.

        Elliott shifted, wringing his hands together. He eyed the man sitting next to him, under the shade of the tree, and was given a small, kind smile in return. Ugh, why did the man have to be so nice? It was making it harder to leave, because what if he made Aragorn feel bad? Make him feel like Elliott didn't enjoy his company or something? He pulled at a piece of loose skin on his lip. You know what? This situation called for a touch of rudeness and, he'd feel sorry for it, but it was time to leave Aragorn without a word. 

        So how to do it? Did he just... point and say 'look!' and then run? Or did he pretend to go to the bathroom and not come back? Or maybe he just snuck off while the man wasn't looking? No, the first would never work. Even if he distracted the man for a second, he'd catch up really fast. Elliott was still slow despite this new, improved body; the only reason he lost those elves was because he had surprise on his side. He doubted Aragorn would let him go out of sight without some precaution like promising to talk the whole time so Aragorn knew he wasnt running off... And he couldn't run while the man wasn't looking, because the man was always looking.

        Elliott sighed and curled his arms around his knees, resting his chin on them. Maybe if he just.... yeah, he had no other ideas. He was going to have to go with one of the three already-established-will-fail ones. He figured that the bathroom excuse would work best, even if it was given away that he was leaving once he broke the precautions. If there were any precautions. So he looked up at Aragorn, eyes wide and beseeching. "I need to pee. D-don't follow," he said, standing and walking away.

        "Wait," the man said, crushing all of Elliott's hopes and dreams with a simple word. "Make some noise the whole time, so I know you are still there."

          Elliott turned around and pouted, facial expressions not giving away just how fast his heart was beating. Actually, he felt like he was getting used to the constant curl of anxiety in his gut now. Talking was a bit easier. Maybe exposure therapy worked. "Really?"

          "Yes, really," came the unimpressed reply. Elliott frowned and muttered an assurance that he'd do what he was told. He stomped his way behind a bush, then a bit further for maximum distance when Aragorn realised he was gone. 

        "What am I supposed to talk about?" he complained, standing around. He figured he'd talk for just long enough to get Aragorn's guard down, then make like a banana and split. Get it? A banana split? The desert? ... It was a really good thing Elliott never tried to become a comedian, because that was horrible. "I've barely talked at all for the past twelve years, now suddenly I have to make all the conversation myself? This is torture!" he slowly started inching away as he spoke, raising his voice gradually so he sounded like he wasn't moving. 

        Then he was off, trying to simultaneously make as little noise as possible and also go as fast as he could. Aragorn seemed to realise something was off, as he called Elliott's name. He would get no response, though, as Elliott just sped up.

        Aha! This was awesome! He'd escaped from two people in the last two days, just from running! Maybe this body was okay... somewhat. He still didn't like being a kid again. He kept running, even when he heard Aragorn calling out for him to wait, and to come back. Guilt twinged at his conscience at the distress in the man's tone, but he pushed it away and kept running. Eventually he lost him and slowed to a walk, wrapping his arms around himself. He was starting to get really hungry, but he didn't want to eat more than a handful of M&Ms at a time. The unopened packet of beef jerky called to him, but he shoved it to the bottom of his bag. That was for when he ran out of M&Ms. 

        Elliott kept walking until he reached the tree he'd stayed the night in last night. Then he grabbed his notebook out of his bag and made a small map. He drew the tree, then two arrows. One was labelled 'Road (Aragorn)' and the other was labelled 'Creek (Elves)'. Then he went in a completely different direction to the two ways he had gone before, deciding it couldn't be too hard to find a place to make a small camp. 

       Oh, shit. If this really was the Lord of the Rings, then orcs would exist. He shuddered, eyebriws furrowing. That threw a wrench into his plans of 'make a camp, survive for as long as necessary'. He was absolutely not going to be making a camp on the ground, where any group of orcs could easily find him. Not for the first time, he felt like crying. And, not for the first time, he pushed the tears away and came up with a plan. Okay, if he couldn't make a house on the ground, he'd make one in the trees. That idea cheered him up slightly. He'd always wanted a treehouse as a child, but he'd never gotten one. Now he could make one for himself! 

        He located the perfect tree; a large one with massive branches and plenty of room to make a small house on. He didn't know what type of tree it was, since he could only identify a few types and none of them were here (He could tell the difference between eucalypts, sheoaks, grass trees, willows and a few others) but it was perfect nonetheless. He grabbed the lowest branch and hauled himself up onto it, got his feet steady on it, then grabbed the next and repeated the process. Once he was high enough to be out of sight but low enough that he wouldn't die if he fell, he chose a wide branch and stood on it, examining his surroundings. Yeah, he could do this.