Disclaimer: I don't own the Lord of the Rings.
A/N: I'm glad you guys seem to still like this. I wasn't going to update until after Christmas but thought I'd give you this one anyway. Enjoy it! Blessed yule and happy holidays!
Seven
"Ohana means family and family means
Nobody gets left behind or forgotten."
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"No."
"But Ada!"
"Estel, I have already said no twice. I will not say it again. My decision is final; you cannot keep the dog in Imladris."
"But Ada, he is lonely and needs someone to love him."
If it was at all possible, Elrond was sure at this rate he was growing grey hair. Estel was in some kind of phase of incredible stubbornness and testing boundaries was becoming a daily routine. Of course they argued at times in such a way that a father and son normally would and in such a way he had done with all of his children; Estel was just exceptionally persistent. He had found an abandoned puppy just on the outskirts of the Hidden Valley a mere few hours ago and had managed to keep it hidden from Elrond's sight until just recently. The puppy, the elf-lord guessed, was merely around ten weeks old and looked a little bit like a black and white wolf-pup with piercing ice-blue eyes. Admittedly, it was a gorgeous creature and had very quickly become attached to Estel. Even so, dogs were messy creatures and Elrond could easily foresee a disaster in the making with a child and a puppy in Imladris.
"Estel, my dear aier, having a pet is an enormous responsibility. One that you are not ready for yet considering you do not take your own responsibilities seriously. Erestor will take the puppy back to the border later tonight and it will find its way back to where it came from."
"No! That's not nice!" Estel felt tears streaming down his eyes and he was angry. "I hate you!" he shouted at Elrond and ran out the door before Elrond had been able to say anything at all.
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Estel's words had cut like a knife and far deeper than Lord Elrond had expected it would. His love for the child had grown quickly over the years and even though they had had their disagreements, Elrond had never seen Estel that upset before nor heard him use the word 'hate' on anyone. Obviously he had gone searching for his son but not found him to the point where he was worried and so therefore Erestor, Glorfindel and his sons all helped looking for him. Elrond knew very well there were plenty of places for a child to hide around the Valley and he also knew that Estel had found some of these places. He just hoped that sooner or later he would come out of hiding so that they could talk about it. There was a knock on the door and the elf-lord snapped out of his thoughts.
"Enter."
It was Elrohir and Elladan that walked into the study.
"May we have a word father?" Elrond nodded and had a feeling he knew where this conversation was going.
"Adar," began Elladan "Has it not occurred to you that Estel might see a bit of himself in the puppy? After all, we took him in when he had nowhere else to go and it's not like he has other children to play with here. I think perhaps he feels lonely."
"And what are you suggesting son?" asked Elrond
"Let him keep the puppy. It will do him good and if anything it will teach him responsibility. Not to mention the child has always been good with animals. "
"Besides," Elrohir chipped in "The dog is practically attached to him now anyway and there's no telling if a pup that young will survive in the wild at all. Have a heart Adar, do you not remember that stray cat we picked up when we were elflings."
Elrond groaned and cursed the fact that his sons did have many valid points. There were no elflings in Imladris at this point and so there were no other children for Estel to play with. He was well aware that he was human and that Elrond was only his foster father and it had honestly never occurred to him that maybe this was something that troubled Estel. He never mentioned anything about being lonely but then again Estel was still only a child and maybe it was difficult to talk about.
"Fine." said Elrond "The dog stays. I will go to speak with Estel. I take it you found him?"
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"His name is Felan - Glorfindel said it is what men call small wolves. He looks like a wolf and he is small like me."
"It is a good name good name for him." Estel had been hiding out by the gardens when Elrond found him. Felan, the dog was running back and forth chasing a moth that was far too high up for him to catch but he seemed but just a persistent a puppy as Estel was a child. Elrond sat down on one of the benches and Estel walked up to him.
"I'm sorry ada. I didn't mean what I said before." he apologised sincerely.
Elrond couldn't help but to smile as he felt something melt inside him. "I know you didn't Estel and I should apologise as well. I was too harsh on you. You really love that dog don't you?"
Estel nodded. By now the puppy seemed to have managed to catch the moth because he seemed to be having trouble chewing it and Elrond chuckled slightly.
"I have spoken to your brothers and come to a decision. If you do your chores, attend Erestor and Glorfindel's lessons without protest and do as you are told – Felan can stay."
Estel's eyes widened almost like he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Really? I can keep him?!"
Estel threw himself into Elrond's arms. "I love you ada!"
"I love you too Estel; very dearly. Now run along and play with Felan before it's time for bath."
By the great Ainur, Elrond thought as he sank back down on the bench. He sighed heavily and had a feeling he was in over his head. Then again the smile on Estel's face made it all worth it. After all; how much damage could one small puppy really make?
To be continued….
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