Tolkien and Peter Jackson own the world and characters. I own Gwen. And background elves one through four. And that's pretty much it.
CHAPTER FOUR
OLDER FRIENDS
"Awkward" would be the best word Kili could have used to describe his present circumstances. Another good word would be "uncomfortable."
This was, of course, for many reasons.
One was the fact that Mirkwood really hadn't gotten less awful since the last time he'd been there. Even on the path as they were, the shadows were high and choking, the air thick and humid, reeking of rot. The sickness that all of this set in his gut was too familiar. It reminded him of so many moments. So many moments he almost wished he could forget.
There was also the level of his companion's obvious discomfort that set him on edge. Ori was more fluttery than ever, eyes flicking in a ceaseless cycle to the elves, towering over them, to the trees twining to block out what was left to be seen of the sky, then to his companions, as if to seek comfort. Despite his jovial outward appearance, Kili knew Bofur well enough to tell he was a bit twitchier than usual, his wide grins and jokes a bit strained. Gimli was (to no surprise) the worst of them all. He kept a firm grip on his axe, and his chin tilted up to glare at their elven escort almost constantly.
And, of course, the main cause of Kili's discomfort was the beautiful elven maid keeping up a smooth stride at the front of the party. The red banner of her hair fluttered out behind her, standing in a stark contrast to the darkness of the forest. Their eyes had only met once, and the flood of shock that rocked both of their gazes had been enough for them to avoid eye contact like that for all of the foreseeable future.
It wasn't that Kili wasn't happy to see Tauriel alive and well. He had lost her, a bit, after the end of the battle, and it was good to see that she'd made it out in one piece after all. But still, they may not have left on the very best of terms...
Kili would be lying if he said it wasn't just a bit satisfying, having Tauriel fall for his charm as quickly as she had. Her dry remarks, porcelain skin, and eyes that seemed to catch the starlight perfectly helped to coat the raw wounds on Kili's heart. Making her blush, he could almost pretend that it was an entirely different girl he was speaking to. Watching her fight was achingly similar to the grace of Gwen, flowing fluid, like water, whilst cutting down the darkness.
But at the same time that treating Tauriel like Gwen had eased the pain in his heart in the moment, the seconds after would be even worse than his usual level of heartache. Guilt would hit harder than the loss, tearing the wounds open all the larger. Bofur's confused glances and Fili's questioning gaze would cut through him, making him squeeze his fingernails into his palms hard enough to make them bleed, even as he grinned up at Tauriel.
And now, of course, Kili's flirting had only continued to make things worse. Before she had looked away, Kili could have sworn he saw a sliver of betrayal slip into Tauriel's gaze as she looked down at him. They had walked in complete silence, the four elves besides Tauriel just as silent as their leader, for what had to have been an hour. Normally, this wouldn't have bothered him, but after their early morning, and at least a half day of walking, Kili could feel is legs growing heavy, and see his companion's more frequent stumbling.
Of course, none of them were willing to speak out on that, so Kili took the initiative. "D'you think we could consider calling it a day any time soon?"
Tauriel didn't slow her pace, but flashed a glance back at him. For a moment, her eyes shone hard and cold, but her gaze warmed as it settled on him. "Soon, Master Dwarf. It is not safe here."
Luckily, Tauriel was true to her word, as they had stopped within fifteen minutes. The elves had brought them to a rather nice spot, a clearing in the trees, on a bit of a hill, well guarded on every side by the trees. The elven escort didn't even seem to need to communicate, silently going about their duties, working around each other easy as breathing.
That was much different than the dwarven way of going about setting up camp. It always took a fair bit of shouting and corralling just to assign duties to everyone, and once the jobs were underway, there consistently be some sort of conflict. The sound of tripping, falling objects, and colorful swears would ring out from the campsite for a good half an hour before they had some semblance of what they were trying to put together. A pang hit Kili's heart as the elves worked together effortlessly and silently, their faces as emotionless as ever. He missed travelling with all of the others.
The four dwarves had been somewhat herded into the center of the clearing, watching the action around them back-to-back, instinctively trying to get out of the way. Upon noticing their defensive position, Kili shook out of his stupor, making his way to Tauriel, pulling various oilcloths out of the packs the elves had towed along. Kili tried not to shift uncomfortably as he got her attention. "Good evening."
Tauriel paused slightly in her actions, looking up to him with a raised brow. "Do you need something, Master Dwarf?"
"Ah, no," Kili explained. "Just wondering if I-or we-" he added, with a glance over his shoulder at the clump of dwarves. "Would be able to help with anything? Gathering firewood or something of that sort?"
"That is Ferawen's duty tonight," Tauriel informed him, sending a glance to the reddish-brown haired elf, making their way out into the trees. "And I don't think she'll really be needing any help."
"She?" Kili sputtered instantly. He had just assumed all of the elves escorting them were male, other than Tauriel. He'd been scarred enough in Rivendell. But now, he was getting it wrong the other way around? He really must be losing his touch...
A twitch of amusement played at the corner of Tauriel's lips, but she didn't dare smile at him fully. "She, indeed."
"That...that's a lass?"
"Yes," Tauriel repeated, her amusement only growing, though she did her best to mask it behind a picture of professional composure. "Was there some confusion?"
"Yes, actually," Kili replied, still a bit baffled. These elves, and their daft gender-neutral faces. They would be the death of him.
"It shouldn't matter much to you, anyway," Tauriel dismissed with a shrug, before she added a bit quieter, some bitterness in her tone, "Unless, of course, you'd like to flirt her into fondness of you, then break her heart."
Kili winced at that, coming out of his shock. So, Tauriel definitely hadn't forgotten his little...game the last time they'd met. "Tauriel, about that, I'm-"
She completely ignored him, turning back down to her work on the packs. "I will let you know if there is anything we could use your help with, Master Dwarf."
"Ah, thank you," Kili muttered, before trying to begin again. "But last time-"
"Good evening," Tauriel said, tone not leaving any room for him to continue.
Kili nearly drooped. He really shouldn't have done that..."Good evening, Tauriel. Thank you."
Tinúviel elvanui...
The sound, from everywhere and nowhere at once. Hardly discernible from the wind itself, ruffling softly against the tree's leaves, stirring the mulch and dust across the forest floor. Quiet, and sweet as a sigh.
...elleth alfirin...
Hardly audible. Painfully quiet. He wanted to hear it better. He needed to.
...ethelhael...
The delicate tonal inflections brushed over his skin like a breeze, chilling him to the bone.
O hon ring...
A bit stronger, then. Finally.
...finnil fuinui...
A flash of porcelain pale in the darkness. The crush of leaves against light boots. Hands, stirring the leaves as she went. There. Right between the pools of inky shadow that collected amongst he roots of the age-old trees.
...A renc gelebrin...
A flash of mahogany silk, glinting in moonlight. Fine, wiry arms cast out into the darkness. Dark eyes meeting his, glinting blindinly in a sudden wash of starlight. One last word settled across the air, trickling away into silence, swallowed up by the night sky.
...thiliol...
A soft smile, meant only for him, then nothing.
The world Kili startled into was farr too much like that of his dream. The night breeze whispered and flickered the leaves, silvery against a backdrop of shadows. The air was chill and damp, nearly alive against his skin. The smell of leaf mold combined with that of the wind, trickling faintly into his senses. The only thing missing was the soft voice of Gwen, singing of a fairy-tale she wished that she could have lived.
Kili breathed out a sigh, letting his eyelids fall closed. He hated dreams like this. Ones where he knew she was there, but was hopeless to reach her. But now, he was wired, all of his senses thrumming at the very thought of her presence. Despite the exhaustion heavy in his limbs, and settling over his mind like a film of clogging dust, Kili forced his eyelids back open, dragging himself out of the warmth of his cloaks. The cool air played with loose fingers through the slightly sweaty tangles of his hair, whisking the last of sleep from his eyes.
"Master dwarf?"
In an instant, his heart leapt up to a vicious beat in his chest, and he may have wrenched his neck in his haste to turn his head about to the source of that horribly familiar address. A flash of pale skin caught in the filtered moonlight, a dash of dark, silky hair, of blinking, curious eyes.
And just like that, his excitement was gone in a flash. The moonlight showed the hair to be pin straight and the color of fire, the eyes illuminating into pools of green, instead of soft black. "Tauriel," Kili choked out, his breath slamming back into his chest with a vengeance. "It's you."
She arched a sharply intelligent brow. "Yes, it is. Does this fact disappoint you?"
Kili winced slightly. He shouldn't have let his upset be quite so apparent. He adjusted himself to face her a bit better, forcing a hint of a smile onto his face. "No, no, of course not. Just, for a moment..." Kili shook his head, his mouth going dry. "I thought you might be someone else."
"Who else?" Tauriel, asked, her tone softening slightly, posture relaxing back into the tree behind her, though her back still remained straight.
"Ah, you wouldn't know..." Kili hesitated. Actually, Tauriel might have known Gwen. "Well, you might have, I suppose. But you wouldn't have been much fond of them."
Again that eyebrow shot up. "Who is this, exactly?"
"Um..."
"Go on," Tauriel prompted with a nod in his direction.
"Well," Kili began with a sigh. He was too bloody exhausted to deal with elvenfolk. "She was called Gwe-Or, Glorawen, I suppose. Daughter of-"
"Venelir," Tauriel finished, tone a bit grim. "I know of her."
Kili saw Tauriel's gaze harden as she stared into the trees above Kili's shoulder. He really wasn't sure if it was a good thing Tauriel knew of Gwen. If Gwen had been telling the truth, the elves of Mirkwood weren't exactly fond of her. "...Aye."
Much to Kili's surprise, a wry smile broke out over Tauriel's face, a huff of air brushing out of her lips, sounding suspiciously like a chuckle. She immediately brought a hand to cover her mouth, even though her laughter was apparent now. Kili frowned. "What's so funny?"
Tauriel merely shook her head, and waited for herself to regain composure before responding. "Nothing, really. It's just...to many of the elves in Mirkwood, Glorawen is...well, rather unattractive."
Kili was immediately taken aback. "What d'you mean?"
Tauriel shrugged, still smiling a bit bemusedly. "She just was. Much too like a human in appearance."
"What's that got to do with anything?" Kili asked, still rather confused.
Tauriel shook her head again, her eyes artfully avoiding his. "The thought that someone so...strange in the eyes of her own people would be able to win your heart, when I..." She caught herself from continuing, then added with a sigh, "It seems the Valar do have some sense of ironic justice."
"About that, Tauriel-"
She didn't let him continue, her eyes flicking up to meet his for a moment. "Kili, no. I shouldn't have brought it up. I do not wish to address it now, or later."
Kili gritted his teeth, guilt welling up in him. "I just wanted to say that I'm-"
Bloody Mahal, he wished she'd stop interrupting him.
"Sorry? No, you are not sorry," Tauriel replied, tone a bit bitter.
"But I am!" Kili insisted.
"What for then?"
Kili sputtered for a response, his thoughts scrambling. After a few moments, Tauriel sighed, slumping back against her tree. "I knew her father, before his banishment."
Kili was a bit startled at the change in topic, but quickly replied with, "Did you?"
Tauriel nodded. "He was in the guard unit above mine, and a few centuries older than me, but I do recall him."
A few centuries...he would probably never get used to the immortal-ness of elves. Bloody strange, that business. "What was he like?"
"Irritating, mostly," Tauriel replied with a shrug. "At least to the rest of us, he was. He was very easily distracted, even by the smallest of things he found beautiful. Honestly, when he ran off with that woman, many of us were not too surprised."
"I see," Kili said with a bit of a frown. "Was this enough for you to cast him out?"
Tauriel looked a bit surprised at the forwardness of that question, but responded as smoothly as ever. "Do not think we banished our own kin easily, or on a whim, Master Dwarf."
Kili tried not to wither under the slightly stern gaze that she leveled at him.
"We gave him chances, many chances, to return home, to leave a life that would only end in pain, and to return to his people. He took none of them."
"...but, he loved her. Is it so wrong that he wasn't willing to give that up?"
Tauriel fixed him with a totally unreadable gaze, before she let out a sigh, changing the topic. "You should get some rest, Master Dwarf."
"Can't," Kili answered, a bit sheepishly. "I may have had a bit of a dream."
"And what do you expect me to do about it?" Tauriel asked, looking down at him quizzically, but not in entire unfriendliness.
Kili had to think for a moment there, but soon said quite hopefully, "D'you know the Lay of Lethain song?"
Tauriel's expression only grew more incredulous. "If you want me to sing, Master Dwarf, you are-" All of the sudden Tauriel went rigid, her head snapping up, eyes flickering to their surroundings.
Kili's blood ran cold, any residual exhaustion sliding off of him. "What is it?"
"Listen," Tauriel ordered, her gaze not straying to him, tone almost a whisper.
Kili did as he was told, ears straining against the near silence. For a moment, there was nothing. Then, there it was. Tree branches creaking. Leaves rustling against the push and pull of the wind. The snap of bone on bone.
His reaction was almost immediate, snatching his bow from the ground beside him. As he fumbled with his arrow, Tauriel had already nocked hers, and was in a crouch, ear tilted up so she could hear better. "Wake the others," Tauriel shot over to him. "And keep them quiet. Be ready for an attack."
Kili nodded, the adrenaline of potential battle already pumping through his veins. This time, those damned spiders wouldn't be getting the best of him.
He'd nearly had to muffle each dwarf as he woke them, as they all saw it fit to grumble up a storm. But, once Kili had explained, they all went into silence, nodding obediently and obeying his orders despite their just having woken up. Underneath the thrum of panic pumping through his veins, Kili felt a swell of pride for these dwarves. If anything, they knew how to be obedient when the moment required it.
Soon he was back at Tauriel's side, bow drawn, and sword at his hip, straining to hear for the spiders coming. As he listened, a sudden thought occurred to him. "Where are the others?"
"They set off to the nearest outpost an hour ago to report," Tauriel hissed.
Ah, so that would be a significant dent on their numbers. "How far is the outpost?" Kili asked, a sinking feeling hitting his gut.
"About an hour," Tauriel replied, tone grim. She suddenly went tense again. "Silence."
That was loud enough for the dwarves, who were grumbling amongst themselves, to hear. As the silence Tauriel had ordered fell, Kili tilted his head into the wind, seeking out whatever Tauriel was hearing. Only the breeze answering.
"It's-"
Tauriel cut him off, finishing the sentence in her own words, tone thick with dread. "It's silent. There's nothing."
There was another heartbeat of silence before it the sound came back with a vengeance.
Kili barely had time to twist about to look up when a heavy shadow descended, only growing larger. He managed to wrestle his bow up in time, stumbling a step back and loosing his bowstring. The arrow sunk into the body of the massive spider with a thunk. Immediately, the beast let out a wretched screech, sending goosebumps up Kili's skin. The spider fell with a crash onto the ground, only a foot from him, but Kili quickly found that his single shot had not killed it, but instead, enraged it further.
He staggered back a bit more, fumbling to find another arrow to fire as the spider gained its bearings back. Just before he loosed, a familiar yelp rose up behind him. His heart gave a wrench of fear and he turned quickly to see Ori had tripped, and another spider was quickly descending on top of him. As Kili took aim, Gimli beat him to it, splitting the spider's head open with one hefty blow from his axe. It feel on top of Ori, it's web snapping from its back, unable to wail in anguish as it's split skull bubbled black ooze. Kili swore as he heard the breathy shriek of the spider that had nearly gotten him, right at his back. Even before he could turn, the beast let out another scream. Tauriel was at his side, and had swiftly separated the head of the creature from its body. "Drop the bow," she snapped. "They're too close."
Kili nodded, and spent his one nocked arrow on a glimmer of blackness darting from the shadows in a tree to his left. The satisfying squeal of another slain spider answered as he dropped his bow and quiver onto his bedroll. As he pulled himself back up and drew his sword out, he tried to take in their situation.
No more spiders had attacked yet, but the forest around them was seething with shadows. Bofur and Gimli were trying to drag Ori out from under the spider nearly crushing him, while Tauriel spun her daggers in anticipation, muscles tense and ready for another attack. He felt a bit odd, ordering the others about, but at this point it seemed there was no one else going to do it. "Gimli, Bofur, lift it, Ori, drag yourself out. Then close ranks."
In a moment, Ori was free, and they were standing near the center of the clearing, facing outward, waiting for the next stroke to come. Kili could hear the forest alive again, scuttling and clicking in the tell-tale signs of an impending strike.
This strike came only a moment later, as a swift shove to the shoulder sent him stumbling sideways into Bofur. The dwarf caught him and dragged him further back a bit. By the time Kili had righted himself, he saw that a spider had come out of the branches of the trees above them, swinging down to the space where he used to stand. It had gone dead still now, and Gimli was struggling to wrench his axe back from where it was half buried in the body of the beast. "I had it!" he roared as the blade finally popped free, flinging globs of black blood and guts through the air.
"I had it first," Tauriel shot back a bit irritated, through her mask of unaffected calm as she freed her own blade from the space between the creature's head and neck.
Kili groaned. "Could we please-"
"Behind you!" Tauriel called sharply.
Kili turned just in time to see a spider rearing up from the darkness, its fangs clicking and drooling. Kili managed to push Bofur out of the way, lunging forward to swing a long slide across the creature's mask of glittering eyes. It flinched back from him in pain, so Kili hooked a boot under its head, giving it a sharp shove upward. His plan succeeded, and the beast reared up onto its back legs in shock and imbalance, exposing its scaly underbelly to Kili's blade. Kili took full advantage, diving in to deal a killing blow, his blade cutting with an easy "crunch" through the spider's thin armor.
It seemed this strike was successful, as the creature let out a now familiar screech of anguish, its legs curling up into its body as it still tried to flinch away from his attacks. Kili recoiled as these hairy stalks nearly brushed against him, hurriedly yanking the length of his blade from its prison.
By the time he'd turned around, another two spiders lay dead and bleeding on the ground, and the others were keeping a sharp eye on their surroundings. Of course, it didn't seem Gimli was ready to end his little tiff with Tauriel yet. "Next time, stay out of my way, lass."
"So long as you stay out of mine," Tauriel hissed, before drawing a knife out of her boot, throwing it with a deadly flick of her wrist, only inches above Gimli's head.
The projectile whistled by Kili's shoulder and he twisted his head to see a spider collapsing off of a high tree branch to his left, falling like a deadweight onto the forest floor.
By the time he'd turned back, Gimli was once again protesting. "Oi, watch where you're flashing those-"
"Shut up," Kili ordered as he jogged the few yards back to the others, sending a pointed look at Gimli. "We need to be focused!"
Gimli glared at him, and perhaps grumbled under his breath, but Kili ignored it in favor of tucking himself into their defensive formation. "Do you know why they're attacking?"
"Because we're an easy meal?" Ori offered, his voice trembling.
From beside Kili, Tauriel shook her head. "They've been doing this more lately. Reacting less on animal instinct for food and safety, becoming more bold against us."
Rather inappropriately, considering their present circumstance, Gimli snickered. "Mighty elves, getting taken down by a few bloated bugs-"
"Silence," Tauriel bit out, bristling.
Gimli may have protested, but Kili identified the deadly seriousness in Tauriel's tone and gave the young dwarf a solid smack in the arm to quiet him.
"It's different," Tauriel murmured, after a moment of silence.
Kili strained to listen, not for the first time, cursing the darkness of the night. It might be all well and good for Tauriel, with her fanciful elven hearing, but compared to her, Kili was practically deaf. Whatever it was she was hearing this time, Kili certainly wasn't able to identify it.
"What is it-"
Ori was cut off by Tauriel's sudden movement as she whipped another blade from her belt, flicking it with deadly precision into the darkness off the ground. In a moment, Kili's eyes registered the glinting silver of her knife pinning a now writhing black shape into the ground.
"They're smaller," Tauriel explained. "Keep an eye out! They're venom is deadly."
Kili swore fitfully. He really bloody hated Mirkwood. The snap of a twig caught his ears, and Kili had enough sense to glance up, and just in time, it seemed, as he saw black movement glistening in the branches. "Heads up!"
They barely scattered in time, as half a dozen of the squirmy little beasts dropped onto the ground in their midsts. Kili found himself stumbling back a bit as two of the spiders surged at him. He barely had the sense to swing his sword down at the bigger of the two. The weight of the blade and his arm punctured through the center of the creature's body, stopping its movement almost instantly, but as he soon found, lodging his blade into the spongy forest floor. Meanwhile, the other spider wasn't deterred in the least, scampering closer to his boot. Kili reacted almost instinctively, lifting a boot to stomp hard down onto the beast's head. It was hardly bigger than the sole of his foot, but his attack seemed to have little effect, only dazing it for a moment, before it started back at him. Luckily, at that moment, he freed his sword out of the ground, and swung it down viciously, cleaving the nasty little bug in half.
"You're too heavy handed."
Kili turned on his heel to face the voice behind him, heart jolting in fear until he found it was just Tauriel. Kili was about to protest, but Tauriel cut him off with a sharp command of, "Move."
Kili did as he was told with hardly a moment's thought, swiftly stepping aside. Tauriel breezed past him, nearly too fast for him to see, and there was a sharp, breathy squeal as yet another spider was killed.
Just as he turned to face Tauriel, Kili's feet suddenly disappeared out from under him. He hit the ground hard, a gust of leaf mold and mud flying up into his nostrils as the ground began shifting under him. As soon as the breath returned to his lungs, Kili's vision snapped into clarity, allowing him to see the massive spider above him. He hardly registered the pain of the creature's pincers around his ankle, or the horrendous smell of the beast's hairy body. He did, register, however, the fact that, apparently as he was dragged away, he had lost his grip on his sword.
A curse slipped from his lips, and he grasped frantically at the blur of the spider's legs like a cage around him. Luckily, he caught a secure grasp on one and gave it a hard yank. The beast's whirring steps stumbled a bit, the grip tightening on Kili's ankle, but it continued dragging him, to his utter annoyance.
Getting a bit desperate as the forest floor scraped past him below, Kili reached out with both arms, yanking the two legs he found into himself. This finally had an effect, the spider pitching over forward. Its grip loosed slightly, and Kili yanked his leg free just before the heavy body of the spider fell on his lower half. Kili yelped in pain and disgust as the spider continued to writhe, trying to get its legs back under it.
What was he supposed to do now? He was unarmed. Was he going to wrestle it to death?
His answer came in a blur of pale skin and dark red silk as Tauriel descended on the spider, leaping smoothly onto its back, driving both of her daggers into its brain. Kili let out a breath of relief, but didn't relax as he strained to drag himself out from under the dead weight of the body. Once Tauriel had drew her blades back, and hopped, lighter than air, back onto the ground, she offered a hand down to Kili. "You alright?"
"Fine enough," Kili answered, grimacing as he took Tauriel's hand, using it as leverage to pry himself onto his feet. He hissed in pain as his weight hit the ankle the spider had gripped, and sent a loathful look down to his attacker. "Bloody wretched things."
Tauriel opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out, as a flash of black caught Kili's eye from behind Tauriel. As soon as he'd noticed it though, another dash of movement caught his eye. An arrow, punching the spider that had slid down on its web, out of the air. His eyes followed the projectile to its source, and Kili saw the (female, apparently) elf from their group earlier leap down from her crouching position on a high tree branch, hitting the ground lightly. She said something to Tauriel in their flowing language, and Tauriel responded after a moment, giving a shake of her head. In a moment, the elf was sweeping off in the direction of the trampled trail the spider had left whilst dragging Kili away from the others.
When he looked back at Tauriel, Kili noticed her expression, a bit concerned and dazed, and her hand, clasping at the side of her neck. He frowned, taking a step closer. "Tauriel? You all right?"
She seemed to startle out of her daze, then, her eyes snapping up to his, the hand falling from her neck. "Of course. Come on."
Kili wasn't able to press her as she slipped away in the same direction as the other elf. He sighed, and followed, limping slightly at an attempt to favor his wounded ankle.
By the time Kili returned to the clearing, spider corpses of various sizes littered the ground, and his dwarves were standing in the center, panting, and spattered with black blood, but very much alive. All of the elves that had been escorting them before had returned, and were standing in the outskirts of the clearing, keeping careful eyes locked on their surroundings. Kili jogged up to his companions, sparing them a small smile. "Alive and well?"
"Don't know about well," Gimli muttered.
"But alive all the same," Bofur added, giving Kili a weary smile in return.
"I do believe they've given up for now," Ori told him, still clutching his sling against his chest.
Kili nodded. "The worst is over then."
Bofur made a hum of agreement, and Kili would have relaxed, had a flash of movement not caught his eye. "Tauriel!"
Am I honestly just going to write everything to take place in Mirkwood? Like, seriously, what is my deal with this place? It's like 4 days in actual canon…On another note, writing Tauriel is fun. Like, seriously. Especially her and Kili's interactions. I might have to do some Kiliel in the future…
I did have a lot of fun writing this one, and I hope you have just as much fun reading it. (I thought I should let you know, I am just getting to writing some serious plotty-plot stuff for this story, and this is gonna be fuuuuun) Review if you value my sanity in the least (also, go check out Shibboleth for more of these characters, AUs, ect.) I love all of you! Have a great week! (AND REVIEW)
NEXT CHAPTER: Chasing Hope
PREVIEW:
"I don't really get it, you know."
"Get what?"
"...This. I really don't get what we're doing out here."
"I lost something. And I need to get it back. Or at least to try."
