Gimli the dwarf shifted uneasily as the Elf approached the place where he sat, shielded by the relative cool of the rushing waterfall. The dwarf was not comfortable in Rivendell, surrounded on all sides by the unfamiliar trees and of course the company of the Elves. He grunted as Legolas sat down near him to gaze at the falls.
The sat in silence for some minutes. Gimli glanced irritably at the lanky form of the fair Elf as he sat, drinking in the cool air and spray from the rushing foam.
"Is it the custom among Elves to remain so aloof when they are in company?"
Legolas shifted his gaze to the small but stolid stature of the dwarf and a flicker of consternation showed across his youthful face.
"That depends on the company, Gimli son of Gloín", he replied pointedly.
"Humph!" the dwarf responded.
They simultaneously turned back to the falls. Noticing, Legolas spoke.
"The falls have called you to them also, Master Dwarf".
Gimli blinked, a softer expression on his swarthy face, "They keep my skin cool, Elf, and the air near them is not so unlike that in Moria, where my cousin Balin dwells in the great halls of the Dwarves".
Legolas briefly smiled, "You think of home often, Gimli son of Gloín?"
The dwarf pondered this, stroking his wiry beard, "It is true, Master Elf, that the silent halls of Moria have often crossed my thoughts. Ah, Elf, if only you could see the Glittering Caves with their walls studded with thousands of precious stones and see the great halls with their roofs reaching towards the heavens with arms of stone, it would be a sight to rival all the woodlands of Rivendell and Mirkwood that you sing so often of".
The tall elf looked at him in surprise.
"I did not think you understood the words of my song, Master Dwarf".
The dwarf harrumphed again.
"Aragorn told me of their meaning when we last spoke. They were beautiful words, Master Elf, I will grant you that".
Legolas smiled.
"You are also not bereft of fair speech, Master Dwarf. Your telling of Moria makes me all the more anxious to see these great halls when there is peace and we can roam the lands free from fear".
Gimli smiled uncertainly back, unsure of how to take this compliment, one from the lips of an Elf, no less. He adjusted his position on the ground and cleared his throat.
"Let us watch the falls then, Master Elf, and think of home".
Legolas nodded, and the two sat, still the same distance apart, but all the closer for their conversation.
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