The days soon fell into a pattern for Evelyn and Nightshade. During the daylight, the pair would roam their lands, enjoying the freedom of wandering through the wilds without fear of being hunted or pursued. Evelyn spent many hours refining her skills with her knives and bow, battling false opponents and practicing new forms. She also often took the skies, flying high and low, Nightshade chasing after her. They invented a game where she would give the wolf a head start and try to chase her through the trees, twisting and turning, testing her limits on how narrow of a gap she could fly through.

The land truly was a slice of paradise.

The earth was rich and alive, the waters would whisper what Evelyn was certain were secrets whilst the wind flowed freely. As she walked, Evelyn made sure to touch each tree trunk that she passed, greeting each one in turn. The trees loved her and promised to protect her. It was a much appreciated added layer of security for Evelyn didn't truly believe that Sauron would be honorable in keeping his end of the deal. The trees were always wary though, they were always watching the boarders and so far, nothing foul had attempted to enter.

The problem came to be in the evening when the pair would return to their home. Each night they would be greeted by an ever cheerful Glorfindel.

Evelyn wanted nothing more than to ignore him, to lock the door and pretend that he wasn't there... but such was practically impossible to do. He was talkative, cheerful, and brimming with energy every time she walked through the door.

"Elenya," he called out the moment she and Nigthshade crossed the threshold. "Just the person I wanted to see!"

She granted him an impassive look before pouring some water into a basin to wash her face. He merely continued to speak.

"While I certainly appreciate having my own erm... facilities in this lovely home as now we don't have to engage in that tedious affair of drugging me each time it's required... I believe that I am desperately in need of a bath."

That got Evelyn's attention as she turned to look at him. It was true that he had been locked in his cell for almost a week and all during that time, the most he had was a bowl of water and a rag to clean himself. It seemed that Sauron hadn't been too attentive in constructing the cell for Glorfindel. She looked at Nightshade and she could practically hear the wolf shrugging as she said,

I don't see why you think I would have a solution.

"Well you're guarding him," she ordered Nightshade who merely yawned and settled down where she could clearly see the elf.

Evelyn left the house to find a large, wooden tub that she usually used for laundry in the shed behind the house. She rolled it right into Glorfindel's cell and dumped several buckets of water in it, pointedly ignoring Glorifndel's offers to assist her. She then tossed a rag and a bar of soap at him before turning and walking out the door, calling over her shoulder,

"Fetch me when he's done."

She didn't wait around to see Glorfindel's reaction to such and didn't even have to check if Nightshade was listening. As much as the wolf teased, she could always be relied upon when Evelyn needed her aide. Thus Evelyn spent the next hour or so bathing herself in the waterfall behind her home. The water was a bit cool as the sun was setting, but she enjoyed the refreshing sensation. The setting sun made the water glow a brilliant amber and for a little while, Evelyn was lost in the rushing water.

The sparrows had all gone to sleep and the crickets already emerged to sing the symphony of night. Soon, owls would be on the prowl to hunt for other creatures who rose with the moon. As much as Evelyn always loved nature, birds had always held a special place in her heart. She was never sure why, but after gaining her wings and learning to fly... she finally realized. It was the freedom that they held, the beauty of rising into the clouds, wind brushing through her feathers as she soared above the treetops. When she was flying, there was no one but her, she was alone with the sky above her and the earth below. Flying was like being suspended in time where nothing could touch her: not her fears, not her foes, and not her past. As

Evelyn carefully lifted her wings to keep them from getting wet she savored the brushing of a gentle breeze. Looking up at them, Evelyn frowned slightly. It had been a long time since she sat down and properly cared for them. During her years as a prisoner, she eventually learned that her wings had to be taken care of a bit like her hair as they needed to be regularly combed and straightened. The past several weeks had been filled with activity and she neglected to properly groom them. The inky black feathers were a tangled mess, several sticking out and many pointed in the wrong direction. There were even a good number of leaves and small twigs caught amounts the feathers.

A short bark from inside had Evelyn sighing as she pulled herself out of the water. She quickly dried, dressed, and headed towards her home.

Back to the elf.

Glorfindel had never been self conscious. Even back in the days of Gondolin he was one of the few elves who would strip off his shirt during particularly hard training sessions. Back in those days of court, it was nearly a scandal each time he did it. Glorfindel couldn't even count the number of times Ecthelion ribbed him about his "habit" of shedding his clothes whilst the Lord of the Fountain always seemed to retain his dignified robes no matter how hard he fought. But, when Glorfindel arrived in Imladris the mild valley was so tame compared to the harsh winds of Gondolin that he found himself training without his shirt on most days. Erestor had tried to fuss over his "propriety" a few times, but the elves of Imladris were nowhere near as prudish as the elves of old.

But, none of that ever prepared Glorfindel for bathing under the watchful eye of a wolf who was eyeing him a bit too keenly for his liking.

He swore that wolf licked its lips a few times.

Glorfindel turned his head slightly so he wouldn't have to make eye contact with the animal as he settled himself into the tub- the animal who by all rights should have been dead. Of course, there was no mistaking the solid black wolf with that little white patch on its forehead... it was Nightshade. The she-wolf was just as massive and intimidating as before and Glorfindel had a ship-load of questions. But, he also wasn't quite as thick as Erestor always seemed to believe and thus he knew better than to get too aggressive in his prying. He was a curious elf by nature... but his experience with Elenya meant that he was perfectly aware of how dangerous asking too many questions too quickly could be.

Eventually, he finished his bath and dressed. To his surprise, Nightshade immediately stood and barked. The splashing that he heard from outside stopped and before long, Elenya was walking through the door with wet hair.

"Could you dump the water bucket?" It took Glorfindel a moment to realize that she was talking to the wolf. She continued to ignore him, talking to the wolf and leaving Glorfindel with the distinct impression that he was only hearing half of a conversation.

"Oh come on, don't be that way..."

"Well I've only got salted meats, we used the last of the fresh this morning."

"Ya, you're going to have to hunt if you want something fresh tonight."

"No, our stores are fine. Only get what you can eat... find a rabbit."

The wolf seemed to be intently listening this whole time, and then nodded once before padding over to his cell, gripping the water filled tub tight in her jaws, and leaving out the front door.

Glorfindel was now watching her with a new level of interest. Of course, it wasn't unusual to talk to animals, the elves did it often. It also wasn't unusual for certain creatures to be better trained or more intuitive to their masters' needs than others. But, what was unusual was for a creature to seemingly converse. The way Elenya spoke to the wolf might have convinced him that she was mad if it weren't for the way the wolf seemed to understand everything.

He was so shocked by the display that he didn't even manage to make one of his usual clever comments at Elenya's entrance. The girl didn't seem to mind however as she took a seat before the fireplace and kindled a cheerful blaze. She then began to methodically remove her weapons and inspect each one before putting it away.

At last, she spread out and stretched her wings, their massive length almost brushed either wall of the cabin. She rolled her shoulders a few times before lowering her wings and bringing one in front of her. Glorfindel couldn't see her face for she sat with her back to him, but he could see the way she began to comb her fingers through the feathers of her wings, picking out little twigs and leaves which she tossed into the flames. For a while they sat there in silence, him simply observing the way her nimble fingers plucked out debris and smoothed down tufts of feathers, but eventually his curiosity over the earlier interaction that he witnessed won out.

"Does Nightshade... does she understand you?"

Elenya stilled for a second before she resumed her work. She didn't bother to turn to look at him, but she did reply.

"Yes."

"Does she... talk? As in, does she reply to you?"

"Yes."

"Oh... well that's... interesting."

"I thought elves spoke to their horses all the time," she said nonchalantly, still working away at her wings.

"Yes but... our horses don't respond. And they don't quite... understand us. They understand our intentions and our moods, they learn to follow commands, but they can't converse with us." Elenya shrugged, still not looking at him. Thus Glorfindel tried again. "I haven't heard of such a creature since Huan, the-"

"The hound of Valinor, yes I know," she said the words so casually, as if knowledge of the Eldar from the First Age was something common.

"He was about the same size as Nightshade, but he was a gift from Orome the Hunter."

Elenya chuckled a bit mirthlessly at that.

"Oh trust me, Nightshade isn't a gift from the Valar. She's a wolf pup who I plucked from the cooling corpse of her mother and dead siblings."

"Has she always been able to understand you, and you her?"

Elenya shrugged. Glorfindel fiddled with the slowly drying strands of his hair for a few moments, mulling over the newest information. No matter what, the more he learned of Elenya... the more questions he had. He was also beginning to seriously recall the times he spent with her when he was injured. He wracked his mind for any information from that length of time while he was healing, but between the pain of his injuries and the numbing properties of the tea that she gave him... his memories were fuzzy.

"May I ask you a question?"

"You've been doing little else."

"Do- do you know what you are?"

She grew very still at that, her fingers pausing in their work as she slowly turned to look at him.

Her face was unreadable, constricted with something close to pain, something close to confusion. There she sat, the firelight behind her casted an orange glow that turned her raven black hair and wings into a symphony of amber and deep turquoise, shimmering like the colors of a moonless night. Her eyes suddenly seemed so old, so young, and so unlike the ancient eyes of the Eldar all at the same time. In that moment, basking in the light of the fire and the russet colors left in the sky once the sun falls in the evening, she looked like she did back in Gondolin. She looked like that child who stood before the Balrog trembling as she drew forth the wrath of the beast, she looked like that teary-eyed face which hovered above his, cradling him as he breathed his last.

Without warning the door flew open and Nightshade entered, a distinct stain of blood around her jaws.

The spell was broken and Elenya turned back around to pluck at a few more leave before seemingly giving up. She tossed the small pile of debris into the fire before standing and cleaning up the cabin. Glorfindel held his tongue as Elenya climbed into her bed, the wolf hopping in beside her and setting down. Elenya's still ruffled looking wings stretched briefly before lightly draping across the wolf's back as the pair settled in.

But, just as the fire began to burn low and the sounds of the night grew in their symphony, he heard Elenya whisper. It was so quiet that if he didn't have the ears of the Eldar he would've never heard it... but nonetheless he heard the response to his earlier query.

"No... I don't."