For a moment, everything was still and quiet, save for my attempts to catch my breath, having had it knocked out of me on impact.

I was sprawled partially on top of him where he'd tried to catch me, and partially on the ground from where I'd rolled after falling.
It took me a second to realize what had happened and what position I was currently in, and then I jolted up, scrambling to get off him and slide a short distance away.

He stayed still, not moving except a slight rise and fall of his chest, head thrown back slightly, exposing his neck, his hair splayed around him like a silver halo.

His eyes were closed, a very odd expression on his face.
I couldn't tell if it was pain, bewilderment, or irritation.

After a few long seconds went by without any change, I started to think that he might be seriously hurt, and questioned again everything I knew about elves.
I could have sworn they were more sturdy than that.

They were very thin, though..Maybe they were breakable..?
What if he had a concussion?
Did they have a fix for that in Middle Earth?

Oh god. What if I'd killed Legolas?
Maybe I should just run to Sauron before Thranduil had the chance to torture me for killing his son.

I started to reach out towards him, intent on poking him to see if he was alive or not, a bit of panic starting to grow, when he started chuckling, soft and merry, growing into a rich, musical laugh.

My mouth dropped open slightly at the beauty of his joyful laughter.
It was just not right! People weren't supposed to be beautiful in so many ways!
How was I supposed to handle this?!

He pushed himself up into a sitting position, smile filled with bemusement and voice bursting with laughter, "It has been quite some time since I have fallen from a tree. I am certain now, you cannot be a squirrel or a kitten. You cannot traverse trees, nor land on your feet. Perhaps a fox kit, still stumbling around on uncooperative legs."

I gasped in mock outrage at his proclamation.
"I would have landed on my feet if I hadn't been unceremoniously grabbed!"
I definitely sounded a little exasperated there.

He laughed again, silvery and genuine, "Ah, we will never know, will we?"

I stood quickly, brushing various leaves and grass off my side as I slunk down the road in the direction I thought Rivendell to be.
I didn't warrant his teasing with a response, face blushed quite heavily pink, making the white lines of my scars stand out in contrast.
They just weren't fair, these elves. I always felt ridiculous and clumsy around them.

It's not like I was denying that I was a ridiculous, clumsy person by nature, but normally I was easily able to laugh at myself, because it was better than feeling bad about it.
With them, though, I felt awkward and embarrassed, like every mistake I made around them was all the more reason why I didn't belong.

I knew I didn't belong.
It was just nice to pretend sometimes...

He let me get about twenty feet away from him, before he called out to me, tearing me from my thoughts and reminding me of my embarrassment.
He sounded like he hadn't moved at all behind me, and when I peeked back, it was to find him still lounging exactly where we fell.
"Milady kit, I believe you're going the wrong direction."

That stopped me abruptly.
Just not fair.

I let out a sigh of resignation, pressing my fingers against my eyes for a moment in an attempt to drive the sting of exhaustion out of them, and to give me a moment to push away the embarrassment I was feeling.

I heard Legolas rise behind me, and his voice sounded a moment later over the quieter rustling of him dusting his clothes off.
"Would you walk back with me? I'm afraid it's getting rather dark, and I'm quite concerned I'll get lost without someone to accompany me."

I could hear the smile in his voice before I even turned, but it still surprised me how playful it looked.
He indicated the opposite direction of the one I was going, mirth still woven into his features.
I blinked at him for a moment, then let out another sigh and started walking back towards him.
"Well, if his highness insists."

He tilted his head again, looking at me consideringly for a moment before he planted the most regal, and utterly arrogant expression on his face that I had ever seen on an elf since coming to Middle Earth.
The expression was followed closely with a voice that was positively dripping with disdain and superiority.
"His highness does insist."

I froze for a moment, not having expected that response, then laughter bubbled out of me.
I couldn't help it!
I could only assume it was an impression of Thranduil, and it just looked so wrong on his face!
"Thranduil isn't still like that, is he?"

The question slipped out of me before I even realized, and I stilled, trying and failing not to let myself tense up.
That was a lot of familiarity to be using with a king, especially when I was quite clearly a normal, below average, young human.

His pretense of regality broke, his face taking on a more curious expression. Something..darker.
Intrigue.
Focus.

It made it difficult to breathe.

He took a step towards me, and I struggled to not instinctively take a step back.
Now that he was standing before me, not crouched on a tree branch or sprawled on the ground, I could see that he was very, very tall.
I was an average five foot five, whereas he was probably at the very least six and a half feet tall, perhaps even taller.

His voice was soft and calm, and nothing threatening or suspicious showed on his face, but the sharp interest in his eyes was enough to make me cringe inside.
I should not have said that.

"You speak as though you have met him before."

I stifled a shiver and squared my shoulders, looking up, so far up, to meet his eyes directly with mine, silently challenging him to push harder and see what happened.
If I could survive my first month in Middle Earth, I could survive anything.
"..Not exactly. He wouldn't know me."

He took another step forward, looking even more interested than he had started.
"But you know him."

"I know of him."
One more step, and he was now directly in front of me, peering down at me with a curious tilt to his head.
"Who else do you know of?"

I tried to keep from frowning.
This was not a conversation I wanted to have, especially outside of Rivendell.
"I think you should speak to Elrond."

He watched me for a moment longer before a bemused kind of puzzlement came over his face. He smiled again, and though there was still a gleam of interest in his eyes, it wasn't quite as sharp.
I no longer felt threatened. As much.

He offered his arm, asking again in his dark chocolate, silken voice, "Walk with me?"

And really, who could say no to that?
It was Legolas.

Even if I did know that it was purely because otherwise I would very likely become hopelessly lost, or because now he might think I was some sort of weird spy, the way that he asked, as if it were simply a stroll in the garden, made me want to accept.

He looped my arm around his elbow, and as we began walking back towards Rivendell, he spoke, seemingly attempting to start a conversation.
"So what brings you to Imladris, Milady?"

"Well..." I tried not to sound too hesitant in my response, though I couldn't help but pause a bit.
I didn't want to lie, but I couldn't exactly tell him the real reason...
"I needed to seek the council of Lord Elrond..for..personal reasons.."

He glanced at me, down and to the side, "Does it have anything to do with your knowledge of Mirkwood's king?"

I tried not to let my frown deepen.
Personal reasons were supposed to be personal!

The slippery voice whispered in my head that it was obvious I needed to show him that I couldn't be pushed around, that I had sensitive information that could be used against him.
I cringed a little bit inside, but couldn't stop myself from pushing back.
"..Possibly. Is there a reason you don't refer to him as your father?"

The interest sparked again, his eyes narrowing marginally, though his lips turned up slightly at the corners, as though he felt that this conversation was simply an amusing game.
"I prefer to be recognized by my own name, not his."

That was a surprisingly honest sounding answer.
I almost felt like I should give something back for that…
"If it's any consolation, where I'm from, your name is by far more recognized than his."
Aaahhh!
Why did I say that?!

There was that intrigue again. Damn.
"And where are you from, Milady?"

Well what the hell did I say to that?
Not here? Far away?
What was a good way to put it.
Non-middle earth? Just Earth? Arizona?
The sun state?

"...Ah...The land...Of the sun."
There, that sounded more poetic than Arizona.

Legolas paused, turning slightly to look at me with a quizzical look, eyebrows drawn, eyes disbelieving, and mildly suspicious.
"You mean Rhun? The land of the rising sun?"

"..What? No. I mean, the sun does rise, but that's not what it's called."
I mean, sure, it technically wasn't called the land of the sun either, but he didn't need to know that.
At least, not yet.

He watched me warily for a moment before continuing to walk.
"...How long did you inhabit this place..?"

Oh good, an easier question.
"My entire life. I was born there."

He gave me another utterly perplexed look.
"And how old are you?"

..What kind of question was that, coming from an elf that was probably a few thousand years old..?
"..What month is it..?"

He raised his eyebrows at that.
"July."

I had to take a moment to consider.
I mean, how do you calculate that when you go between universes?
Was that..whatever happened to bring me over...was it instant? Did it take time?
"Uh..Hm..what year is it...No, that won't help.."

I shrugged.
For all I know, I could have been floating in some void for a year or fifty.
It'd probably just be easiest to assume it was instant.
"Like, twenty three or twenty four? I don't know, my..trip here was..unplanned. I don't really know how much time passed. Besides, age is just a number anyway, soo..."

His voice was an apprehensive whisper, and his expression was a difficult to read jumble of uneasiness, incredulity, and the tiniest bit of awe.
"Twenty three…"

"...Yeah…?"

He looked away, possibly for the first time since we'd started conversing.
His voice was a bit uncertain when he spoke next, but undeniably curious.
"How did you come to be here..?"

I stifled a wince.
I couldn't exactly say 'Oh, I actually have no idea, I just randomly appeared in Fangorn forest!' and I certainly wasn't about to tell him details about the trip to Rivendell...

"It...was a rough trip. Stormy seas till just before I arrived in Rivendell. I don't really...it's not...pleasant, to talk about. And I mean no offense, of course, but I don't really know you. It was...ah...to say it was a painful experience would be speaking lightly. Might we discuss something else?"

"Of course. I do not wish to cause distress." He was silent for a moment before speaking again, "How did you come to be in the good graces of Elrond's sons during your time here? They tend to be occupied elsewhere, I would not have thought a few months would be suitable time to be so comfortable with them."

I glanced curiously at him.
I hadn't mentioned them, though I supposed with how old they all were, he probably knew them well enough to guess that it was one of them that was the squirrel behind the acorn shower today.
"What makes you think I'm in their good graces?"

"We've had a tradition of squirreling one another since we were very young. I expected the welcome, that's why I made sure to be near Erestor so he'd get more debris than usual. He so rarely travels outside of Rivendell. We have to take the occasions we can to give him a proper welcome home."

He gave me a speculative look.
"I would not have expected them to be so close to a guest that they would include her into our tradition, though."

If I didn't know better, that would sound like jealousy.
To be fair, I didn't really know better. That might be jealousy.

"I'm sorry if I offended you by invading your tradition. I'll be certain to inform them that you're not comfortable including anyone else. I'm sure they'll take it very well." I raised an eyebrow at him and tried to tug my arm away.
He laughed merrily, allowing me to pull my arm away, but paused and offered his arm again, waiting for me to come back before he continued walking.

"Please, sheath your claws, kitten. I did not mean it like that. I'm simply curious what type of person you are, that has allowed you to become so close to them in such a short time. You must be exceptionally interesting to have caught their attention so quickly."

I had to suppress another shiver at that. His tone was far too..eager.
Dark, and fascinated, as if he'd never quite seen something like me before.

I watched him warily for a moment before returning my hand to the crook of his arm and resuming our walk.
"I think they view me as a funny pet, to be played with when they need entertainment."

Legolas laughed again, louder this time.
"I'm sure they don't see you that way."

I shrugged, unable to keep from smiling slightly at the beauty of his laugh.
"I'm not, but we'll agree to disagree."

We walked in silence for a few minutes before he spoke again.
"How long do you intend to stay in Imladris? Surely after having been here a few months you must have received the council you needed from Elrond?"

"..It's not quite so simple."
Under my breath I added, "I anticipate being here for a very long time..."

He paused for the slightest moment, watching me curiously before continuing to walk.
"You do not sound pleased about that. Is there something about Imladris that displeases you?"

I kept my eyes trained on the ground, trying to make out anything that might trip me in the growing darkness.
"It's beautiful."

It was mildly irritating, how difficult it was for me to navigate the dim lighting, versus how he didn't struggle at all.

He was watching me near constantly now.
Every time I glanced up at him, it was to find his eyes on me.
"That does not answer the question."

I was so conflicted. It was amazing, but it was so very wrong for me to be here.
I hesitated for a moment before responding again.

"I don't currently have an answer to that question."

"Then perhaps you will inform me when you do?"

"..Perhaps."

We continued in silence for another few moments.
I'm not gonna lie, it was pretty weird walking back with him.

Even though I'd been learning first hand that the elves seemed to have less of a concept of personal space than I was used to, it was still strange to think about what was happening.

This person who had literally just met me and knew next to nothing about me, was not only willing to walk arm in arm with me, but actually went out of his way to do so.

Just weird.

It occurred to me a few moments later that it was really getting quite dark, and I hadn't thought we were so far from Rivendell that it would take this long to return.
Maybe he was taking me out into the forest to kill me for referring to Thranduil by his first name..?

..He wouldn't do that…
Right…?
That same slimy voice chimed in that elves were really capable of anything, and shouldn't be trusted.

I shot another glance at him.
He did seem somehow darker than the Rivendell elves…more mischievous...
Though, the twins were mischievous, so that's not really something I should judge..

I had nothing to fight him with if he did try to attack me, and even if I did, I'd be no match.
Not a moment later I felt a sting of guilt for thinking that Legolas of all people might hurt me.

What was going on with me recently?

It was only another ten minutes before we were on the outskirts of Rivendell.
It was mostly spent in silence, as I was mostly focusing on not tripping at that point, and he didn't try to engage me in conversation again.

Despite knowing logically that my concerns for my safety had been unfounded, I still relaxed a little bit when we saw buildings, feeling safer with the prospect of other people being around.

There was a small group of elves gathered around the entrance to the main house when we reached it, though most of them were heading inside.
Two broke away from the group, one identifying himself by voice as Elladan when he called out to us, tone joking.
"What kept you, Legolas? We were about to send out a search party!"

A search party only for him, my mind supplied. It wouldn't be worth it for me.
I clenched my teeth.
That wasn't true.

I immediately expected Legolas to say something about how I'd slowed him down, how he would have been there much sooner if he hadn't had to walk back at a snail's pace with me.
I was astounded when instead, he responded with the same tone joking tone.
"Ah, Elladan, would you believe that I found a lost fox kit on the way in, stuck up in a tree no less! I simply couldn't leave it. Far too adorable. Though, one must wonder how she got up there to begin with. It is a troubling thought."

As he said this, Legolas gave both of them a mildly pointed look.

Elladan looked baffled for a moment before he looked at me, then over his shoulder where Elrohir stood, expression decidedly sheepish.

Elladan's gaze returned to me, looking a bit appalled now.
"He left you in a tree?! Elrohir!"

He looked over me quickly, reassuring himself that I wasn't hurt in any way, before turning to trot over and scold Elrohir in Sindarin.
"How high up were you? What if she'd fallen?"

Elrohir rolled his eyes, responding in kind, neatly sidestepping the first question.
"I'm wounded, brother. Don't you trust me? I wouldn't have allowed her to fall! I remained close by until Legolas got to her."

Elladan let out a sigh, lowering his voice a bit more.
"Why would you do that? We're finally getting her past some of her fears from when she arrived. What if she gets scared again? It's obvious she hasn't been caring for herself while we were gone!"

"You know I didn't mean any harm, Elladan. Look at her! She's fine! You treat her like she's going to shatter!"

Elladan frowned as he responded.
"You saw how she was when she got here! I wouldn't blame her if she did!"

Next to me, Legolas watched the interactions with obvious interest, though at the last statement he verged from interest to mild concern, glancing down to regard me with curiosity.
I caught his glance out of the corner of my eye, then focused on Elladan and Elrohir, trying to pick out words here and there.

I frowned as they continued to argue, unable to catch most of what they were saying due to the low volume and speed of their conversation.

The same voice from before whispered into my mind as they continued talking in Sindarin.
They were probably talking about how weak I was, that I couldn't make it down the tree, or back to Rivendell without help.
They were going to go to Elrond and tell him they didn't think I should be a part of the Fellowship, nevermind that they didn't even know about that yet.
They were going to tell Legolas that I was fragile and needed to be kept safe, and he was going to vote against me going with the Fellowship.

They were going to stop training me because they thought I couldn't handle it.
I should just leave.

Gritting my teeth, I shook my head a little bit, trying to banish the nasty voice.
They weren't like that.

Were they?

Suddenly, I needed to be away from them.
I needed to be alone, but I needed the arguing to stop first.

I patted my cloaklette, trying to see if I had anything to use to throw at them as a distraction, and came up with a stray acorn lodged in the pocket.
As I tugged it out of my pocket to throw at them, I caught Legolas watching me out of the corner of my eye.
I stilled. It didn't feel right just leaving without saying anything to him.

After all, he did help me down the tree and keep me from getting horribly lost.
I turned towards him slightly, and my voice was soft when I spoke.
"Thank you for walking me back. I'm sorry about squirreling you."

He smiled down at me, voice an equally soft whisper of silk when he responded.
"It was no trouble. T'would not be a proper greeting without falling acorns. And Milady...Don't mind them." He tilted his head towards the still arguing twins. "They mean well."

I forced a smile.
"I know. It was nice to meet you. Certainly not something I'm ever likely to forget."

Ever.
Because oh my god. Or Valar.
It was freaking Legolas.

The expression I received in return was of mild fascination.
"It certainly was a memorable meeting."

A moment later, the scavenged acorn was flying at Elrohir.

He caught it, of course.
Legolas's lips twitched up as they both turned to give me matching looks of bafflement

I frowned at them.
I hadn't been able to catch any of what they were saying, but clearly it had to do with me.
I would need to work harder on learning Sindarin.
"Please stop arguing, at least until I don't have to be here to not understand it. I'm going to bed. Goodnight."

They both stuttered out apologies as I started to head inside.
False apologies, the slippery voice whispered.

When I responded to neither of them, Elrohir snagged my arm as I walked past.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to just abandon you. I promise I did stay nearby until Legolas found you. I wouldn't have left you to return alone."

I stared at the ground, responding without looking up.
"In case no one has ever told you, it's a bit rude to speak about someone to their face in a different language. I realize I'm learning, but you're aware I still don't easily understand, and you both deliberately used Sindarin to quite obviously talk about me, because you know I can't understand you yet."

I tugged my arm out of his loose grip and continued walking, trying to ignore the mildly dejected expression I could see on his face in my peripheral vision.

Of course I couldn't ignore it.
It was too sad.

Damn elves and their puppy dog eyes.
I paused a few steps away, turning back and looking at him for a moment.

What was appropriate here..?
I was upset, but Elrohir just looked so sad….
"Thank you for taking me squirreling. Goodnight."

I continued to my room.

Notes!

To clarify something for you, the Land of the Sun is actually a place in Arda, but I've been able to find next to nothing about it, except that it's a separate continent east of Middle Earth.

For the sake of this story, I am going to have it be that the Land of the Sun is a place vaguely known about in legends.
There are lots of differing rumors about it throughout the world, plenty of which are contradictory, so everyone technically knows it might exist, but not what is on it or how to get there.
The more realistic of the rumors were turned into children's stories, many of which are told to young elves growing up, hence the reaction from Legolas.

If anyone knows anything about this place, I would love the information.
If you magically know that my use of it isn't plausible and you can back it up, I will consider altering it.