They were running for a long span of time…or not. The distance was long too. Or was it a short distance? How long were they jogging along? Well, as far as Ellindë and Ulcawë were concerned, they were now trudging along through the forest at a slow pace. It was dangerous in itself, but it made it even more so is that they were not at all concerned about anything that was happening around them, and what was happening to them.

Everything just felt odd and drowsy. Ellindë knew that they were going back to…somewhere. He stopped walking as he blinked blearily, and his field of view tilted to a strange angle; it made the nér think they were going uphill then.

"The…the way? That way?"

Ellindë turned, or tried to without having Ulcawë also fade in and out of vision. He thought his companion was pointing left, or up…or maybe both, "Not way," he slurred and turned back to where he thought he was facing before; only to be greeted by what seemed to be a green rock face, or a steep slope.

Ulcawë appeared very, very surly, yet the elder did not notice and likely would not have been able to. The dark elf waved randomly at the air and got closer. The terrain seemed to be flat in his eyes and he frowned, "Move."

"Way…no." Ellindë held a hand forward and was confused why he felt nothing. He was sure it was on the green space in front of him, "That blocking it…"

Ulcawë wanted to slap Ellindë then and tried to, though he missed completely. Frustration began building up inside and decided to go on without his companion. Ellindë will snap out of it eventually and realize there is nothing blocking their path!

Ellindë continued standing there dumbly; his hand finally dropped back to his side. Out of the corner of his eye he did see Ulcawë move off into the green wall. Something deep within was also disturbing him. Distress? In who? Not him…or maybe it was. A thud was heard, and Ellindë saw with bad vision that Ulcawë was on the ground. The elf lifted one brow and furrowed the other. Ulcawë must have tripped on something. That would be very reasonable, considering the wall that he tried to walk through. Or maybe it was not a wall?

Ellindë took a careful step forward and again the world shifted and blurred even further. The prolonged idleness almost made it impossible for him to keep going even if he desired to. That did not bode well, but there was little that could be done. The elf slowly let his knees give way and he was kneeling down in the grass: using one arm to keep himself upright, and with the other hand was rubbing his forehead and eyes. A sigh escaped him. A tired sigh.

It seemed as though his consciousness was fading in and out of wakefulness, or was close to being completely oblivious, however Ellindë always snapped out of it to prevent that from happening, but this was a fight he was losing severely.

Time ticked on for a very long while, and the pressure in his head began to come back as a rolling stone in water, and the environment this time closed in around him, leaving only a small circle of visible space (or what was considered visible).

'It will go away…it will change if I just…' Ellindë mumbled incoherently as his thought trailed into a sad attempt at words. The elf sagged further and leaned heavily on his arm. He was sure he heard other sounds: feet along the grass; perhaps even his name? He did not seem to care, or it seemed he had lost the ability to.

Something, or someone, laid a hand on his shoulder; then everything finally disappeared to nothingness.

Everything did not come back instantaneously, rather it took its sweet time doing so. The first things that came back was hearing, and that was back to its normal acuteness. As for everything else…again Ellindë was still oddly not concerned about it. Then again, he was not fully out of this…thing, yet. Unconsciously he just listened as best he could.

"…This explains quite a bit. If they are incapacitated, then they are unable to cry out."

"How is this possible though? One does not simply fall to oblivion without anything to cause it."

"If any of them ever wake up, then we will ask them."

"And they should probably be dismissed from their work…or deserve some form peace. For all we know they could have become like the rest of the lost."

"Dismissed? Why, for their foolish act they should be chastised greatly for this! This…could spread for all we know!"

"And what better way to prevent it than by removing them from the area?"

"I…of course, my lord."

Whether the conversation continued or not, he was not sure, but now that his mind had cleared somewhat, now he was more awake, and cognitive function was operating again. Ellindë strained his eyes to open and they obeyed. The roof was familiar, so that was a relief. The elf licked dry lips in an attempt to moisten them even a little bit. Ellindë turned his head to the side and saw that there were only three others in the room; all of them frankly were under the same circumstances he was in, or were still unaware.

Ellindë had no current desire to know who they were, and might have been a little afraid to know. If he was not dead yet…

He exhaled as quietly as he could manage. At least he was still alive, that much he was thankful for. For now, since it was quiet still, he might as well take the advantage of sleeping a bit more before the next phase begins. Who knows when he will get the chance again…

Voices once more awaited him when he came around again. At first he could not discern who it was, then after a few moments he could tell it was his "herendor", and maybe even Laikānis was somewhere too, though that was not certain. Luinilockte? Where…?

"I will…I will find the coldest stream and dunk him until…"

"Until what? How about you go and eat before you plan on maiming anyone."

"You have no right to tell me what to do! You-"

"We are trying to figure that out, now go before I maim both of you."

Ellindë thought he paled a bit at that mention of being intentionally harmed. Honestly, he did not need more trouble than what he likely already caused. At that idea he frowned: both shamed and guilty. He heard someone shift nearby, and instantly knew it was Luinilockte.

"Veruin?"

Ellindë opened his eyes, being surprised that he had closed them when he fell back to oblivion again a little while ago. He looked at his wife whose expression appeared expectant, hopeful, and even worried. The nér lost the frown and replaced it with the faintest of smiles.

Luinilockte gave a tremulous smile in return and planted herself on top of him, wrapping her arms around his neck and let tears of relief drop.

Ellindë returned the embrace openly and easily. He said no word, not able to find any, and thought it would be better if he remained silent for now. Luinilockte then retreated: her face turning to something close to anger and hurt.

"Where under the sky did you go?" she demanded, "I hope for all that is light that this does not become a habit of yours. Yes, this may not have been entirely your doing, but…" She made a fist and stepped away from where the nér was laying.

Ellindë frowned again. Well, he deserved it, and he was certainly not trying to make vanishing without telling anyone into a habit (although he did try to bring more along). It was not entirely berriless in the end however, at least in his vague memory before it was a haze. That discovery and…this, will be discussed. He watched Luinilockte for a moment longer, before in a quiet and almost clear voice he spoke his first words since coming back to the living world, "I am sorry…"

Luinilockte turned and saw Ellindë sitting up surprisingly with ease, but he was a bit stiff after being immobile for quite some time. Her brows knitted together and looked down at the dirt, "Why did you run off without any trace?"

Ellindë stretched a little bit, "I tried to bring more along…I did not want to risk Gondalda becoming enraged again because of 'lack of working'." He sighed, "I suspect that happened already…everyone was way too uncaring at the time."

"Yes…he did get things under control. But, that does not mean he will not be cross with you and Ulcawë."

"I expect nothing else with Gondalda." Ellindë gave a look of grim humor, "I am more afraid of what Ulcawë might want to do to me, or even Melehton…"

Luinilockte tried to smile but she failed. She remembered something, "You are in dire need of water and food…"

Before Ellindë could even open his mouth, Luinilockte was already gone. He saw that one other elf was still under this…condition, and pity went out from him to the nis. Luinilockte came back moments later with water and a few edible roots and stalks. Ellindë took the offered meal gratefully.

Silence filled the room again while the nér ate. Questions were roaming in Luinilockte's mind, and as she saw her spouse close to being finished, she asked the first, "…Was anything different when you went out?"

Ellindë paused in his gusto. How should he tell this? Or how could he without doing more harm? He was going to have to tell eventually, and to Gondalda. He looked evenly at his wife, "Do not become too excited, or do what I did by letting my cautiousness drop too much…" All he got was a raised brow and he continued, "…I think the light is returning, or they are starting to show in the north sky." Luinilockte's eyes widened at this and she looked like she would rejoice at that prospect, but Ellindë grabbed her firmly by the arms, "Do not let it overwhelm you, beloved! I fully agree that this should be a thing to rejoice about, but…" the nér's voice faltered, unsure all of a sudden, "…well, whatever happened, happened."

"But…it could not be the receding darkness." Luinilockte countered vainly and looked at the sleeping elf still present, "When they brought you back…everyone else seemed close to giving in to this weariness; two others did."

Ellindë felt defeated and confused. He did not know, "I do not know anymore. One moment it all seems clear, then the next…what is normal is all mixed up and given a new meaning. It is not wolves: they are unable to do what they did to us…Who could have such…ability?"

Luinilockte was about as confused as the nér was; maybe even more so. Alas that this was not the end for him, more questions will be asked, and they might even be even more extensive than the ones she wanted to ask. She sighed and held the nér's hands.

Ellindë hung his head and allowed the silence to reign and took in Luinilockte's presence to ease his nerves. Eventually he felt a light kiss on his forehead before he looked up again. He turned his hands to hold Luinilockte's; it remained that way for a time. Eventually he let go and went to stand up, and did not even protest when he needed help. Luinilockte stood by until the tall Noldo got his bearings.

Ellindë looked around, "Where are they?"

"Off discussing what occurred out there I think."

Ellindë was silent and he eyed the way out and then back to Luinilockte, "Walk with me?"

Luinilockte saw the strange light in his eyes that suggested more meaning behind a simple walk. Even if that was not true, Ellindë needed to move around anyway. She complied to the wish, "And how would my presence affect anything?" The nis inquired anyway.

Ellindë opened his mouth then closed it again, and he reluctantly admitted, "…I am afraid…as I said before."

Luinilockte smiled grimly, "You have good reason to be, dear."

They went on their way, and Ellindë attempted vainly to prepare himself for the onslaughts that he knew he was going to receive.

A/N Not good when it took a while to write this out. I suppose it was the amount of dialogue, and writer's block is NEVER welcome.

Herendor = brothers. Not literal brothers of course, but close to it.