It's finals week and I die a little bit inside every time. On the bright side though, less class! More writing

Nights in Rivendell were normally peaceful. Young Elflings asleep, Elves winding down from a day of work, a few who were awake and in the mood played soft music, and of course, there was late night wine being drunk while the moon shone above.

Of course, this was only when things were normal.

And as it so happened to be, things were not normal and had not been ever since the Company had arrived. It was on the fourth day that the Company realized that the current night was even more abnormal than before.

In one of the courtyards of the Last Homely House gathered a large number of people. Attendants to the house of Elrond, Citizens who had heard the rumors, Thirteen Dwarves on the path to reclaim their home, a Hobbit far from home, a grey-clad Wizard…

Some of the Elven attendants leaned out of balconies above, others were on the ground below, against the walls, sitting on the stone floor, or sitting on benches and chairs dragged out to the large open space.

A low thrum of excitement was settled over the group, and it was no surprise what was going on— not for those who were already from the Valley of Imladris, that was. The rest?

Well, it was quite a shock.

A shock to see a member of their Company walking in a slow circle around the courtyard. Across from him, like a walking mirror, was the Lord of the Valley.

The blades in hand were not exactly sharp, but the silver glinted in the moonlight and they were surely no less lethal in the two's hands.

The Lord of the Valley, Lord Elrond Peredhel, held one blade, the sword loose in his hand but not so loose it would fall. It was a replica of his usual sword, and the warm and sunny air that the Elf had previously had around him had vanished.

His opponent, the fabled Hero from the Kingless Throne of Heroes, was holding two swords in contrast— curved and not like other elven swords that others had seen.

He had called these sword dao blades when they had been made.

But the Company of Thorin Oakenshield had never seen their Human companion using anything but a spear and his fists, so it was certainly an odd sight.

The air between the two facing off was charged with tension— both waiting for the other to make the first move as they circled slowly. Li's fingers rose and fell as he adjusted his grip on the twin dao before he sprung forwards, not too unlike a cat in his movements. He brought his right blade down on Elrond, who pivoted out of the way.

Li twisted, swinging out with his other sword, though it was deflected easily by the Elf. Elrond moved backwards to gain distance as Li flipped one sword idly.

"Why doesn't Li go straight for the attack?" Kíli asked his brother, a bit louder than he had hoped as a golden-haired elf glanced over from where he was standing next to Gandalf.

"Sizing each other up," he told him with a slight grin. "This isn't the first time that Li Shuwen's pulled our Lord Elrond into a duel."

"They have become quite a spectacle," another Elf noted, his hair dark and face not too unlike the Elf who had met them when they had first arrived in the Valley— Lindir, he thinks that one's name was, but it wasn't the same since that one was standing a ways away with another.

"What's the current score?" another asked, though the Prince did not see who.

"Obviously, Teacher is ahead, but he has the edge of being…" another Elf trailed off as the clashing of metal made them all look back over as one of Li's swords was twisted from his grasp. The redhead didn't seem bothered, however, as he swung the sword's twin upwards and caught Elrond's in a lock.

The Elf from before cleared their throat. "Teacher is ahead in wins, but I believe that in close combat the only one who could really match him toe for toe is Lord Glorfindel."

"Aye," another agreed with a hum. "But Lord Elrond is quick witted and is slowly catching up. Soon, I suspect we will see the score even. He has well over four-thousand years of experience fighting."

"But the draw count is still the highest," the golden-haired Elf said to the others and noises of agreement sounded, eyes forwards as they watched the two clash. Elrond had kicked the secondary sword away, forcing Li to rely on only the one he still had. But for the two of them, it was neither an advantage nor disadvantage.

There was certainly a lot of circling and waiting for the other to attack. There was no doubting that the two of them were seasoned warriors, based on how they gazed at one another.

"Enough of showing off with your walking, you two!" an Elf that bore a striking resemblance to Elrond called. "We want to see a real fight, Adar!"

A few others started calling as well— another who looked like Elrond (so the one before and he must have been twins), a young boy who looked like he should have been asleep, the Golden-haired Elf, and a stern looking, dark-haired Elf made up some of them— before Elrond held a hand up in a good natured gesture.

"If it is a fight you wish for," he said simply as Li tossed his remaining sword to one of the other Elves. "Then it will be a fight you get!"

In a flash, the cautious demeanor vanished from the both of them and they clashed— Li with his spear and Elrond now gripping his blade with both hands.

Slashes, stabs, parries, and jabs created a deadly and complicated dance as the Lord and Servant picked their previously slow, prowling pace up. They were equally matched as they were now, though there was very little doubt that they were both holding back— Li, Kíli speculated, was holding back far more than the Elf was.

Li moved with an interesting form. One that was disciplined and rigid, yet flexible and quick. More than once had the redhead simply leaped up or used his spear to vault over an attack from Elrond. It was different than the drills he had shown them before, had trained Bifur and a few others in. He was more fluid, dangerous.

Elrond's movements were just as quick and controlled as Li's. He moved with a stereotypical Elven grace, but his actions spoke of many, many years of experience— more than Kíli could count, if that other Elf's comment about the Elven Lord's age was true.

Due to the difference in weapons, though, it was always Elrond who had to get in close. Li was a master at using his spear to keep him at a distance, though when he struck and Elrond dodged, there were openings made that were unavoidable— in Kíli's eyes at least. An unprotected side was hit, but at the same time— with a twist of his arm— the Elven Lord's wrist had been struck. When the two broke apart, the dance would start all over again.

In truth, Kíli didn't know much about Elves. He only knew what he had been told, of course. He knew they were sneaky, and that he wasn't supposed to trust them ever, but that was it— aside from the large number of insults that he had picked up on.

He knew they were a formidable enemy and, prior to this, he had no doubt that Dwarves could win against them, just based on the boasting that Dwalin and the others had done.

But now he was unsure, as he watched as Elrond ducked and dodged attacks that were so much faster than anything he would have ever been able to dodge. Li Shuwen was fast, and he knew that for a fact already. He was plenty strong, but Kíli knew that he relied on his speed (he had been on the end of that spear once, when he and his brother had begged him to spar and within seconds of starting he had been flat on his back) to overwhelm his opponents.

Even if Li was holding back, it was insane that Elrond was able to keep up.

"Are all Elves this fast?" he asked, looking up at the golden-haired Elf, who blinked, looking down at him with a tilted head.

"Hm? Well, yes and no," he answered, "Lord Elrond is certainly a cut above the rest. Some of them can match this, but most aren't this fast. I mean, I am. And a few others are. But most aren't."

Kíli nodded slowly, looking back to the fight as Li backflipped to avoid a slash from Elrond. Elrond 'tsk'd, raising a brow.

"Showing off now, are you?" the Elven Lord asked and Li just laughed.

"Is it showing off if it is simply a manner of skills that can be used to evade attack?" he asked back as he struck with his spear. The strike was easily parried before Elrond side stepped and slashed diagonally up Li's chest. The redhead bent backwards in a surprising show of flexibility and strength before he sprung up again and the two continued their battle.

Kíli found he could scarcely keep his eyes off of the fight. He had never seen Elves fight, and so far he hadn't needed to see the redhead fight too may battles. Fighting the Trolls had been one thing, they had mostly been all busy with their own fighting, but he did know he dispatched one before he even went all crazy on the other two.

But this? This was different. This was a deadly grace mixing with sharp, strong movements.

He managed to tear his eyes away to glance to his side at the others in the Company. They all seemed equally awestruck by the display of power. Dwalin's eyes were calculating as he watched every movement, while Thorin's head had inclined slightly, brows furrowed. The Elves were much more rowdy, it seemed.

Which struck him as odd, since the first impression he got of them was that they were all serious and somber. Not now, it seemed, as a few whooped and others cheered. Laughter and yelling came from above as Elrond knocked Li's spear to the side. Li was not easily thwarted, though, twisting his body so that he wasn't unbalanced before he swung his spear around and switched hands easily.

The fight continued and neither seemed to be slowing down or giving an inch. Hits that were landed were never ones that drew blood, and more than once did they manage to knock the other off their feet. But those in those moments there were no breaks in defense, as Li rolled to the side to avoid the strike brought down on him.

Or at least, thats what he had thought, as he watched Li swing his leg out. A look of surprise crossed Elrond's face for a split second before he went down on top of the Lancer. The Golden-haired elf next to them whistled before getting smacked by that Lindir Look-Alike and the stern looking Elf.

His brows furrowed, but he watched as all grace seemed to leave Elrond as Li grabbed him by the shoulders and they rolled (of all things!) across the courtyard for a bit. Once again neither of them gave an inch, but it was over soon enough— with Li pinning one of the Elven Lord's arms down with his knee and the other with his foot, the Lancer's hair in disarray as he perched atop of his chest. He had the Elven Lord's sword in hand, poised above his throat with a grin.

"Yield, my friend," Li said, panting slightly and Kíli saw the Elf swallow just slightly— enough that he would have missed it if he hadn't been an archer and trained to notice small details— but he raised the hand he could in defeat.

"You win this one, then, Mellon nin," Elrond conceded and Li rolled off of him, standing, brushing his tunic off before he held a hand out to him. Elrond took it, allowing Li to haul him to his feet as the group gathered let out a cheer— though some made noises of defeat as the crowd dispersed.

"What a show!" he heard the Golden-Haired Elf laugh as he walked past the Company and over to Li and Elrond.

And Kíli had to agree.

What a show it had been indeed.

Some break in the story with some friendly fighting and some look into how Li affected Rivendell in the years. If you know the LoTR Film Character "Figwit" or Melpomean, he's here too. And he's Lindir's brother because I could. Glorfindel is the golden-haired elf, Erestor's there too, as are the twins and Aragon. Also fun fact: Li Shuwen was in theatre and wanted to be in theatre when he was younger. He was a swords dancer (i think that's the translation) when he was in the theatre troupe, hence the sword skills. But then he injured his leg to the point where he couldn't go back to theatre (I think it was trauma, since he was pretty young). Anyways, the more you know.

Reviews:

Doctor Snake Eater: Honestly, he kinda does. I'm glad that you like how I write him because honestly, I was nervous writing him aha.