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Estel winced as he stepped on yet another twig that he hadn't noticed. The snap was loud in his ears and he knew that the elves would've heard it even louder. His shoulders sagged, knowing that once again he had failed to successfully sneak up on his teacher. It didn't matter that he could read the signs of movement well enough to track him if he would walk right into his unimpressed stare. He would never be good enough to even compare to the elves.
As he stood in silence, trying to decide what to do, he heard a hiss from his right. He spun, barely managed to not make any additional noise, and was surprised to see the twins standing not far away.
The one thing he was excellent at already was the Dunedain hand signs. Quickly, he asked what they were doing.
They, in return, asked if he wanted to surprise Master Wingrel.
Of course he did. But he wasn't quiet enough.
The twins shrugged, not nearly as bothered by that as he was. But they were a decade older than him, and elves at that. Estel assumed they had been successfully sneaking up on the master for thirty years.
Climb on my shoulders, Elladan signed. We will go around and catch him off guard.
Elrohir added, I bet we can get you close enough to throw a rock at his back and hit him before he turns.
For a moment, Estel wondered if that would be cheating. But if there was one thing his mother had taught him, it was to use all available resources. Especially those gained by being kind and making friends. He might not be an elf, but he was close friends with the twins. This was just friends helping friends.
He grinned and nodded. He walked softly to the large rock nearby and clambered up into Elladan’s shoulders.
Quickly and yet quietly, the three of them walked a wide arc in the forest. They even found a good rock to throw along the stream, small enough to fit in Estel's hand but heavy enough to travel a good distance.
And finally, they did approach Master Wingrel from behind. Elladan took a wide stance to stay steady and held Estel's ankles. Carefully, he took aim and then threw.
The rock hit square in the center of the master's back. He got the joy of seeing a split second of surprised pride on his teacher's face, before he took in the whole picture. And almost as fast as Master Wingrel's expression could change to outrage, the twins took off running in the opposite direction with Estel clinging to Elladan’s head. As all three of them laughed together, he was glad that he was still small enough to do this. And very glad he wouldn't be the subject of Elrond's scolding about how elves were meant to act dignified.