"Okay, now just hold it like this. . ."

"Like this?"

"Just a little higher-"

A swish of an arrow and an unnerving screech filled the air.

Bill gasped, dropping the bow and covering his mouth with his hands while Tom just fell to the ground in laughter.

"Are you trying to kill me?!" A brunette screamed, popping up from some bushes.

"I never meant to hit you!" Bill tried to defend himself, looking close to laughing also.

"You hit me in the ass!"

"Well, maybe if your rear end were a little higher, then I wouldn't have hit it!" Bill argued.

"My ass can't go any higher!"

"A boot to the rear can easily fix such a problem!"

Tom was laughing himself to death, clutching at his ribs as tears streamed down his cheeks. Bill let out a frustrated sigh, though it contained a hint of a laugh and there was a smile on his face.

"Come here, Georg, I'll pull the arrow out." He said calmly.

"Like hell I'll let you do that!" Georg said, beginning to back up.

"Now you're being unreasonable." Bill said, following him.

"No, you stay back there, I'll take care of it myself!" Georg commanded, shrieking when someone walked up behind him and ripped out the arrow.

Bill finally dissolved into laughter as he saw his friend Gustav standing there with the accursed arrow in hand while Georg writhed on the ground, screaming and cursing at the blonde. Georg soon managed to stand and chased after Gustav who had run back to the village. Bill sighed, having calmed down greatly. Tom stood up and brushed the dirt off his clothes.

"Well, that could've gone better." He mused with a smile, picking up the forgotten bow off the ground.

"Sorry." Bill apologized shyly.

"You just need more practice, you'll do great after a few more sessions." Tom said, picking up scattered arrows and putting them back in a quiver.

"I want to show you something." Bill said and grabbed his hand, leading him deeper into the forest.

"Where're we going?" Tom asked, blushing lightly.

"Be patient." Bill smirked and continued leading him through the forest. "Okay, close your eyes." He said.

Tom did as the elf wished, curious. Bill lead him forward a few more steps and let go of his hand.

"And open."

Tom opened his eyes and gasped. Bill had led them to a cliff overlooking a waterfall and a beautiful clearing among the trees.

"It's beautiful." Tom said, looking around the place in awe.

"I found it last week." The elf explained and sat down by a tree, motioning for his friend to join him.

The other male sat down by him, leaning against the tree. Bill pushed his ebony hair back behind his shoulders as he looked around. Seeing some movement from the corner of his eye, he looked back at Tom. Tom was busy unwrapping a bar of white chocolate as he looked up at him.

"Do you want some?" He asked, offering the bar to him.

"You don't mind?" Bill asked as he took the chocolate.

"Not at all." Tom replied with a smile.

Bill smiled also and snapped off a chunk from the bar before giving the rest back to him. He leaned against his side as they ate. Tom smiled and wrapped an arm around his waist. Bill blushed, smiling. A little squirrel crept down from a tree and snuck over to the rest of the chocolate that Tom had set on top of a leather pack he had.

"Hey! Shoo, that's mine!" Tom said, trying to move the squirrel.

"Aw, Tomi, leave it alone." Bill said, giggling at his friend. He crawled over to the squirrel that Tom was trying to capture and it curled up in his hands. "See, it's just curious." He explained, holding the squirrel up to his friend.

Tom sighed but didn't fight the smile spreading across his face. "I guess." He said.

The elf smiled innocently and rested back against the tree, the squirrel still in his hands. They sat in a comfortable silence, Bill resting against his friend's side.

"How are your parents?" Bill asked, knowing that Tom had experienced a conflict with his parents.

"My mother's gone back to the rest of my human relatives and my father's still with my elven relatives, they won't tell me when they're coming back." Tom said, frowning.

"Oh. . .I'm sorry. . ." Bill said softly, having known since they met that Tom never liked talking about his half-human-half-elven origins, also having thought that Tom had been back to good terms with his parents.

Tom's face softened and he brushed back the elf's ebony hair from his worried eyes and tucked it behind his pointed ear. "It's okay, you didn't know." He said. He smiled as Bill cuddled closer, wrapping an arm around his waist. "I remember when we first met, you were yelling at those kids who were calling me a half-breed."

"They didn't have any right to call you that, it shouldn't even matter if you're a pure-blood or a half-breed." Bill mumbled.

"I thought it was sweet." Tom said with a smile, running a hand along his side.

Bill blushed dark red and hid his face in his friend's neck. The dreadlocked male laughed lightly and they lapsed into silence yet again.

"Want to start heading back home?" He asked after a while.

"Sure." Bill said.

Tom stood and held out a hand to help the elf up. Bill took his hand and allowed himself to be pulled up, still holding the tiny squirrel in his free hand.

"Do you plan on taking it home with you?" Tom asked, motioning to the sleeping squirrel.

Bill nodded, smiling cutely. Tom returned the smile and they began walking back to Bill's home. He waited outside as Bill went in to get some things. Feeling someone tug on his dreadlocks, he turned around.

"Hi." Bill greeted him with a smile.

"Hi." Tom said, smiling also.

They both heard rustling in the trees caused by birds and other animals trying to leave and Bill frowned, sensing something off.

"Something's wrong." He said.

Tom nodded. "I smell smoke." He mumbled, looking around and seeing smoke trailing along the tops of the trees. "We should go see what's going on."

Bill agreed and they hurried to the main town. They pushed through a crowd of people and gasped as a burning house came into view. There was a sign sticking up from the ground that read:

'Henceforth, all half-breeds are to be exterminated'.