A/N: I don't know Welsh or Irish or Gaelic so I don't know how those languages sound. About that Scandinavian…it was just a little observation I had during the movie. I do know that the books have references to Anglo-Saxon, Scandinavian and Greek (Atlantis = Númenor) mythologies/legends. So his languages must have some base in those area's as well.

Another point; should I make Boromir the 'Character two' of this story? There isn't an option for Orophin :( and I do plan to include the man a bit more; half a chapter here and there.

Italics are Sindarin, '***' means time jump, no character is mine except for the horses…even though they don't have names so just ignore that *g*

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14.

It was raining again, but this time it didn't bother the dark-haired man as much as it had the last time he was caught in the rain. Besides the timeless feeling that lingered here, Faramir also liked the fact that the weather wasn't as harsh in Lothlórien compared to outside the woodlands.

At the moment, he was actually enjoying the rain, although the handle of his sword did turn a bit slippery. A whack on his hip made him pay for his pondering about the rain. He let out a yelp and could almost feel the grin from the elf across him. A muffled laugh reached him from his left side.

"This isn't fair you know," Faramir said. "I can't even hear you!"

As it was, Orophin and Haldir had persuaded him to practise his sword fighting with them. He had first spared with only Orophin. The elves had been impressed with his skills and had decided to make it a bit more difficult. With the man's consent, they had blindfolded him. Both brothers had pounced on him after that, alternating head-on attacks with sneaky ones.

Whereas they did make some sort of sound on purpose with the first kind of attack, they were naturally silent at the second kind. Orophin had explained that they tried to make him more perceptive to things around him, at the moment, the Gondorian was just annoyed and sore.

"That is the whole point of the exercise Faramir."

The man recognised Haldir's voice and turned towards where the sound had come from before answering.

"But how do I know you are going to strike, if I don't even know where you are."

No answer came back to him, so he stood very still, concentrating on the sounds around him. He knew something was going to happen…a ghost of touch against his legs, a tap on his shoulder, little things that made him spin around. He didn't bother to lash out with his sword anymore, since his 'attacker' was gone by the time his weapon was in place.

Then he felt it, some sort of presence on his left side. Faramir could not describe the feeling, but he just knew someone was there. Feigning his movements so it looked like he was going to turn to the right, he suddenly launched.

The clang of metal against metal broke the silence as the 'attacker' had now turned into a 'defender'. The man completed a carefully arranged series of swings, before launching into another one, only to find empty space before him. A cold blade against his neck made him drop his sword in defeat.

"Well done." Orophin's voice said, before someone removed the blindfold.

The elf lowered his own sword as well and went to stand in front of the blinking Faramir.

"You can do it," the elf said with a smile. The man smiled back while he shook his head.

"But not after I have been beaten black and blue."

"Try again?"

The grey-eyed man was tempted to recline the offer.

"You are learning now young Faramir, it would be a shame to stop."

Between the innocent look on Orophin's face and the solid argument from Haldir, the man just sighed and picked up his sword.

"Alright," he said, "after a little break please, I am getting thirsty."

The elves nodded and promptly sat themselves on the wet leaves that were scattered all around them. Faramir shrugged and picked out a log to sit on. They paused for a few minutes, before Orophin blindfolded the dark-haired man again with a mischievous glint in his eyes. A swat to the young man's bottom with the flat of a sword started the lesson.

**

Faramir groaned as he walked up the stairs to his room. Learning a new skill came at a price, this time it were a lot of bruises. They weren't serious though, the brothers had been careful when actually hitting the man. He wasn't a lot worse off, in comparison to some training sessions he had with the weapons-master at home.

For the moment, the man just wanted to soak in a hot bath, to ease his bruises. The fates had something else in mind though.

He practically ran into an elf as he rounded a corner. Before Faramir could come up with an apology, he was dragged off in the direction of the 'Great talan', as he himself called it. The place where he had been brought before the lord and lady when he came to Caras Galadhon.

"The lord wishes to talk with you," the elf said to him, or at least, he thought the silver-haired being said that, since he was far from fluent in Sindarin.

By the time they reached the silvery-green hall, Faramir was ready to take a detour in order to visit the healer's talan and ask for some sort of salve to put on his hurting ribs. The hit to that area had been unintentionally hard. His 'escort' had other ideas, as the elf pulled him inside.

There was no one present this time, since the elf that had brought him here had suddenly disappeared, giving the man the opportunity to really look around without feeling ashamed. The place was still as wonderful as last time, maybe even more since it was in the middle of the day. Patches of sunlight fell on the floor, illuminating the hall with a golden light.

A few birds had found a home between the beams holding up some sort of roof. The little creatures were flying to and fro with twigs, leaves, and even with pieces of fabric. Faramir sat down on one of the benches and continued to observe the multicoloured birds. They looked like ordinary blue tit, but were brighter in colour than the ones in Gondor.

His musings were interrupted when someone started talking.

"They nest there all year long, so once every few months there is the risk of being hit by a fledgling." Celeborn gave a small smile. "It wouldn't be the first time one of us had to untangle a baby bird from someone else's hair."

Faramir let the silence stretch a bit before replying.

"Then I am save in that respect, since my hair barely reaches my shoulders."

"Yes, you a quite right Faramir." The lord chuckled. "Although I am beginning to enjoy this conversation, I wanted to talk to you about some other matters of importance."

Celeborn sat down to so he could look the other one in the face, for the first time noting the dark-haired man was holding a protective arm over his ribs.

"Are you alright?" The elf therefore asked.

"Yes yes, I am alright…" Faramir answered just a bit to fast. He didn't want to delay the conversation that he knew was coming. A slight injury could be dealt with later, but Celeborn wasn't put off that easily.

"I don't think you are Faramir. Come, let me take a look."

Holding in a sigh, the man carefully pulled up his shirt to expose the left side of his torso. A big blue and black bruise spread underneath the skin. The elf lord raised his eyebrows.

"Would you care to tell me how this has happened?"

"I have spared with Orophin and Haldir today. This was just an accidental hit that was harder then they intended. Really, it's nothing, lord Celeborn."

"Hmm…" was the only response he got.

Celeborn gently probed the bruise, causing Faramir to hiss and flinch away when he reached a rather painful spot. Yes, a trip to the healer for some salve would be a good idea. The elf was apparently thinking along the same lines.

"I do not think your ribs are fractured, but I do want to take you to the healers for a more thorough examination. I doubt that this is the only bruise you have, is it not?"

"Well…"

"My point exactly. Come on, we can finish…no, make that start our conversation after a healer has taken a look at that."

"Yes sir." Faramir sighed, as he was shepherded to another talan.

He was still in the dark about his fate concerning his eventual departure from Lórien. A small idea had formed in his head, but he just needed permission to do it…he still had a spider to catch in Mirkwood!

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A/N: Again, let me know what you think about the Boromir matter. Thanks!