The season was winter for there was a brisk chill in the air. The scent of sea spray, eucalyptus, and newly wet soil filled the air as the sun slowly crept from beneath the horizon. Atop a cliff overlooking a glassy sea sat a shining silver building. It's design was elegant and intricate with patterns and carvings depicting the past, present, and, it was rumored, future. The building was a single round structure that reached far into the clouds with it's lone spire. At it's base sat a large courtyard that shone like the moon and was adorned with the finest of marble. Out from the building strode two figures. In front walked a young male with starlight hair garbed in a silver tunic and black pants. And behind him came a raven haired young male garbed with a black tunic accented in silver and black pants accented with ice blue. The courtyard had a few people moving about with their daily business. Suddenly with a smile the blonde turned and playfully shoved the raven haired male's shoulder before turning and racing away all the while laughing. The other followed letting out a small laugh as well.

"Only an elf could hope to catch me!" the blonde called as the other's fingers grazed his tunic.

"Unlucky for you I am one!" He laughed nearly catching hold of the blonde's shoulder. It was then that the starlight haired male sped up. The dark haired male was both shocked and amused that the other had not been going as fast as he could. He ran harder to catch him but he was always just out of arm's reach. They turned and twisted about the courtyard darting between people and hopping over a few boxes and through a fountain. Just when the raven haired male thought he would catch him the blonde threw himself over a large wall decorated with intricate carvings. The raven haired male knew immediately that this dropped down to the sea below. He slowed and turned himself on top of the wall to take a few steps away. It only took a second to gauge how far the drop was and as he turned back to face the wall the dark haired male ran forward with a shout. As he flew over the edge of the wall he could see the blonde swimming towards the opposite shore. The raven haired male's momentum from the fall was more than enough to propel him to the bottom of the water where he turned and pushed off it in the direction the other male was swimming. When he surfaced he was mere feet away from the other and with a few strokes of his legs the dark haired male overtook the starlight haired male.

"Caught you!" He announced as he grabbed onto the blonde and his head came to rest upon the other male's chest.

"Yes you did." the starlight haired male cooed as he laughed softly and embraced the other as they both made their way to the opposite shore.

It was the sound of laughter that awoke him. Blue eyes slowly cracked open to greet the noon-day sun peering through the window of the wooden house in which he had taken refuge for the night. Carefully he sat up and swung a pair of moonlight skinned legs over the edge of the small human bed. His raven hair swayed in the light breeze he made as he moved silently across the, normally, creaky wooden floor. A small groan escaped his lips as he looked at his reflection in the conveniently placed mirror on the wall. In his sleep his hair had become a mess. The braids in his hair had been torn asunder and there were large angry red gashes adorning his left temple. Slender fingers reached into his pant pockets to retrieve a few bits of the herb called Kingsfoil. A small hiss slipped from him as he pressed it to the wounds and with a few words the gashes disappeared into nothing no longer marring his otherwise flawless, pale skin.

"Good morning Himelon," he sighed to himself as he combed and untangled his black hair, "Would have thought you'd look better after a nice dream like that." Talking to himself. It was a bad habit of Himelon's ever since he was very young. He fiddled with his hair for a good minute before deciding that he'd wear it down and free today.

"Clothes…." Himelon trailed off as he scanned the room for his discarded clothes. Spotting the black and blue tunic and black and silver pants he moved over to the table by the window where he'd left them and quickly dressed. Curiosity compelled Himelon as he pushed the window open to look out upon the bustling city of men called Dale. It was mid-spring and the scent of flowers assaulted his nose as the laughter of children grew ever louder through the open window. As he watched the venders go about their trades Himelon situated a mithril circlet with a blue pearl as the centerpiece on his head and subconsciously rubbed the tips of his pointed ears.

Yes indeed. He was an elf. But not an elf like the ones known by most of Middle Earth. He was much older than those of Imladris, Lothlorien, and Greenwood the Great. He was the first to arrive in Middle Earth, the first to stray away from his kin as they traveled through the land, and determined to be the last to leave the world he now dwelt. Instead of living among one of the elven cities he had taken to traveling about the world always. From the highest peaks of the Misty Mountains to the deepest depths of the dwarf mines he had been.

He stood there for a time rubbing his ear and thinking. It had indeed been a long time since he had dreamt of such pleasant things as Valinor and even longer since he had dreamt of the starlight haired elf male. He never could quite place why he dreamt of the blonde. He knew these dreams were memories of his life before he had awoken in Middle Earth, but they always felt so distant and unfamiliar. Sighing Himelon brought his hand down from his head, gathered his light pack, and moved toward the door ultimately startling a young maid who was checking on guests of the inn.

"Good morning! Err, afternoon!" she chirped after getting over the shock of nearly being hit in the face by a door. Her shoulder-length, nut-brown, curly hair bounced as she moved out of the way with a smile.

"Slept well I see," she giggled, "Most guests don't sleep for so long. Then again most guests are men in a hurry or dwarves who need to get something done." Himelon had been moving down the stairs to the main room of the inn with her in tow. He had wrongfully assumed she would leave if he didn't respond.

"Hm.." he nodded glancing back at her, "Dwarves must frequent here because it is so close to their mountain." The statement was obvious. Most everyone knew that, but in truth Himelon had never been too good with conversation. Especially with races other than his own. The brunette girl nodded and skipped in front of him before an all too excited question leapt from her lips.

"So," she began with a rather silly grin, "are you like a thousand years old or something? I heard elves live to be that old." Himelon had abruptly stopped when he had found himself looking down at an all too excited female.

"Yes we do," the raven haired elf smiled softly at her child-like enthusiasm, "I however am older than that even." The girl's eyes widened as she made a variety of gasps and squeaks before stepping aside and bowing quickly.

"I'm sorry," she muttered, "Mum says it's rude to ask about people's age." Himelon chucked softly before sighing.

"It's alright," he replied, "I don't really care about such odd social protocol." With that he nodded and was off into the mess of bustling streets. For the majority of his journey south he had been torn. Should he proceed to Erebor from Dale or should he journey to Greenwood?

"I don't particularly feel like dealing with dwarves," Himelon sighed as he gazed south at the woods creeping along the lake in the distance, "and nothing says I have to even go see my woodland kin. I could just pass through hopefully unnoticed." With a nod and his mind made up the raven haired elf turned his stride south towards Greenwood The Great.