Chapter 1

There were very few clouds in the sky. The light that hit the edge of the woods, however, stopped short. It was midday, but it could easily have been mistaken for night just a short walk into the trees. Sitting in one of the few trees that still had daylight touching it's trunk, was a young man. He sat high enough that he had a good view of the horizon, but low enough that he could jump from where he sat without injury if he landed properly. He was easily out of sight of anyone who could walk below him, yet easy enough to spot for someone looking for him. His silver eyes scanned the horizon every few seconds; diligently searching for the two he was waiting for. He swung his legs idly, hands gripping the gnarled branch on either side of him. A faintly worried expression was written across his features, but he was trying his best to mask it with a look of boredom.

He sighed, carefully drawing himself up to his feet on the wide branch. Slowly shifting his weight as he stretched, he cast his gaze over the land once again. He was supposed to meet his brothers here. They were doing a tracking exercise. Or rather the opposite. The human teenager had started off near the base of the Misty Mountains and wove his way towards the edge of Mirkwood. He had tried to convince his brothers to let him start at home, but they had refused to allow him to pass over the mountains alone.

The young man stretched one last time, several stiff joints popping as he did so. He had been sitting in his chosen spot for several hours. He knew he had the advantage in this situation, and he had taken great care to move quickly but leaving as little trace as he could past the few small objects he had left behind him. That was part of the challenge. After all, his twin brothers knew where he would end up, so to be sure the two of them actually tracked their younger brother rather than simply cutting to the known destination, they were to gather three of his possessions on their way here.

He yawned and settled himself back onto the branch. His brothers moved far more quickly than he could, and they had the advantage of horses, while he had gone off on foot. Though he prided himself on his tracking, he knew he couldn't fool an elf. Not yet, at least. He was convinced he would be able to do so eventually, but he didn't delude himself into thinking he'd been able to lose his brothers on this trip.

Blinking suddenly, he frowned, focusing his gaze on a small spot in the distance. Fire? Leaping to his feet once more, he narrowed his eyes, bringing one hand up to shade them. His previous worry flared as he anxiously scanned the surrounding area. He had passed that way earlier. His brothers would have followed him. Something had held them up. Though he was much too far away to smell whatever it was that was burning, his imagination dreamt up the scent of burnt orc. He shuddered sharply and tore his gaze away for a moment, clearing his head. Peering back to the small spot, he felt a sense of relief flood him. He could barely make out three small specks in the distance; the three horses. Two of the dark blotches against the grass appeared slightly larger than the last, and he sunk back onto the branch with a sigh, knowing that it was his brothers' figures that made them appear so. He glanced back to them and raised a hand in a wave. He could barely make out the dark spots in the distance, but he knew they could see him just fine.

His quick movements a moment ago had been brought out by instinct and fear. Now he moved carefully once again, shifting himself from his sitting position to lay on his stomach along the thick branch. He crossed his legs behind him and let his arms hang. Sighing once more, he shut his eyes, finally allowing himself to relax. Even so his other senses were trained on the woods around him. The trees harbored foul creatures, and though it wasn't likely to see any at the edge of the forest, one could never be too careful. The fingers of his right hand twitched slightly, ready to snap up and draw his sword should the need arise.

It was a while before the three horses - only two of which bearing riders - reached the young man. They stood silent for a moment before the teenager in the trees opened his eyes and peered down at them. The amused grin that had started across his face instantly dissolved into a look of worry. Hopping up to balance himself on his haunches, he pushed off the branch and hit the ground in a roll; absorbing the impact. He had been high enough that had he landed on his feet, the chances of breaking something were high. He rolled right onto his feet and turned to face the two identical elves on the horses. One of them had gone white at his stunt, the other peered at him with an expression of disapproval mixed with pain. The pain being what had worried the young man in the first place. He looked the pained one over from where he stood before walking a quick circle around him, stopping to examine his right leg. The cloth had been torn and the bruises were already staining the skin.

"You broke it?" His voice was deep and slightly strained. "How? What happened out there?"

The elf with the broken leg glanced down at the teenager and sighed, "Estel, I'm fine. We ran into a group of orcs last night... they had wargs, one of them fell on me, that's all."

The young man, Estel, shook his head, frowning at the injured elf, "Elrohir, I'd hardly call that fine." His voice had grown firm, healers instincts instantly taking over. He'd only been training with his father in the healing arts for a few years, but he was learning fast.

The second elf, who had gone white when the human had jumped from the tree now let out a short laugh, a grin splitting his face, "You would hardly call it fine, hmm? I care to differ. You could break every bone in your body and still claim to be fine, brother."

Estel turned his frown in the other elf's direction, "Elladan." His voice held the same tinge of warning their fathers held when any one of them made light of their injuries.

Elladan, the elder of the twin elves, instantly shut his mouth; then frowned at himself for doing so, but decided to remain quiet.

Elrohir sighed, "Listen. Standing here is not going to help us any, so shall we just head home?"

"No." Estel frowned at his brother, shaking his head, "The bone isn't set properly, it needs to be fixed. Riding is only going to do more damage, and it will pain you. We need to find somewhere to settle until the bone has knitted sufficiently. Ro... you should know that."

"You sound more and more like ada with every lesson you take with him," Elrohir muttered. Though his tone was irritated, his eyes showed the pride that the elf had in his adopted brother.

"Where do you propose we go, Estel?" Elladan frowned down at him.

The young man frowned and glanced from the direction of the smoke to the woods behind him, "As far as I can see we have two choices. We can head back towards Lothlorien, or..." he glanced behind himself once more, "we can go through there."

Both elves frowned instantly, as if they were one, the spoke in unison, "Lorien."

Estel glanced up at them thoughtfully, then turned his gaze down to his brothers leg, "We are much closer to King Thranduil's land. Ro's leg wont be able to hold up well on the trip to Lorien." His tone had lost its firmness and was now simply flooded with concern for his brother.

"Mirkwood is dangerous..." Elladan glanced at his twin, unsure. "You wouldn't be able to hold your own in a fight either if we came across a nest."

Estel shuddered inwardly, but did not allow it to show, "Yet we know there are orcs between here and Lorien. He would fare better against spiders than them. We are at the forests edge nearest the walls of the palace anyhow. It is more unlikely that we run into spiders on a shorter trip than we would run into orcs during the several days trip to Lorien." He sighed, finally admitting; "I ran into a smaller group of orcs on the way here as well. I was lucky I was able to skirt around them without being detected, but there are obviously many of them in that area right now. It isn't safe to pass back that way."

The twins were quiet, unsure, as they thought through their younger brothers argument. Elrohir's wince when his horse shifted its weight, however, made up his twins mind.

"Fine. We'll head through Mirkwood. It's a short trip from here, there will be no stopping. Move quickly and quietly, and Estel," Elladan paused to glance at his brother worriedly, "don't take your eyes off of us. It is far too easy for mortals to get lost in these woods."

Estel smiled and shook his head. He stepped up to the stray horse that had been following his brothers, took hold of its mane, and vaulted onto the black animals back.

"Lead on," He quipped, motioning towards the trees.

The three, with Elladan slightly ahead, flanked the injured elf and nudged the reluctant animals into the woods.

A/N

J0! Hokay, so here's to Hello Anyone There, who's pm made me go "huh... I should do that" and this is what came of it. (BTW, I didn't end up getting the underglows... turns out they're illegal... go figure, lol)

Thanks to Poetic Tragedy3790, OrlandosLover2009, Mogs, FireChildSlytherin5, and Firebender01 as well for all the constructive criticism and whatnot X3 it was very much appreciated... even if it has taken me this long to say so, haha.

I had fully intended to continue writing after that first story right away... then I got dragged into reading manga and all else came to a stand-still. Spent way too money on it already... not that that'll stop me, lol.

So yeah... I can't promise it'll update as quickly as you may like it to... and I'm sorry the first chapter's so short... but I'll TRY for once a week. I'm working full time now, so by the time I get home I'm dead already. Also, I've been role-playing on gaia a whole heckuva lot recently, so that's taking up my time as well.

I should also say that I have no plan for this one oo... kinda just going with the flow here... so any ideas/suggestions would be insanely helpful XD (Also, it needs a name .)

Thank ya thank ya, and hope you like. :3