Title: Rainy Afternoon
Author: Reona
Email: reona32aol.com
Website: LotR
Archive: Lord of Imladris Archive, Peredhil, Library of Moria, Melethryn Archive. Others, just ask.
Disclaimer: I don't own LotR. I do own this story and any odd characters that show up.
Character(s): Elrond/Glorfindel, Dae (OC)
Summary: A rainy day in Imladris traps everyone indoors, including a very mischievous cat.
Rating: PG, for a kiss
Warnings: Established slash relationship. Humor
Authors Notes: We all remember Dae, Elrond's cat? Good. Dae means 'shadow' {the type made by objects}.
Elrond sighed, wishing he could do just that, but letters to Lothlórien and Mirkwood demanded his attention and, although he had escaped his Study, he could not put off his duty. Tearing his gaze away from the hypnotic rain, the Elf lord dipped his quill into inkpot and set the tip to parchment. Elrond's elegant script was just beginning to fill the page when a loud crash sounded from deeper inside the suit of rooms.
Elrond stood, startled by the noise, and walked to the open pocket doors that led to his bed chamber. He had thought that he was alone in his rooms but looked cautiously around non-the-less. The doors to the balcony were still closed and nothing seemed amiss in his bed chamber. "Glorfindel? My sons?" he called. The half-Elf walked forward and stood by the bottom post of his bed. "Is anyone here?" A sound from his bathing chamber drifted through the open doorway and Elrond crossed the room to carefully peek inside. The sunken bathing pool was empty, the row of tall windows closed, and the dressing table undisturbed.
Suddenly, a pitiful meow cut the air. Elrond relaxed and walked around to the other side of the dressing table, finding that a small wooden chest lay on floor and the odds and ends that it had held had spilled out. The mess of ribbons, cloth snippets, and hair ornaments was moving slightly. The half-Elf chuckled and knelt on the marble floor, moving aside a ribbon to reveal one wide amber eye underneath. "Dae, what are you doing?" he asked as he began to uncover the black cat.
The task of freeing the cat was slowed as the feline attempted to bite and claw at anything that moved. "Do hold still, Dae," muttered Elrond, patiently winding the ribbons into neat loops and repacking the chest. The dark haired half-Elf replaced the chest on the dressing table and picked Dae up, tickling the cat under her chin as he returned to his bed chamber. "What are you doing in here?" Elrond asked the feline as he put her down on a small couch. "Too wet to go outside, I suppose." Dae meowed in agreement and arched into the half-Elf's petting hand. She then swiped a paw at the braided tie of the cloth drape across Elrond's shoulders and nearly fell off the edge of the couch. The Elf lord chuckled and pushed the cat back slightly. "I don't suppose I could persuade you to go hunt some mice down in the kitchen?" Dae's next aim was for a long strand of Elrond's dark hair and the half-Elf quickly moved away, not feeling in the mood to have his hair pulled on.
"I can not play right now, Dae. I have work to do," the half-Elf said. "Mistress Fainlith will be very grateful for your help with the mice in the kitchen if you go." The black cat was having none of Elrond's suggestions and jumped from the couch to the near by table, sticking her noise into an empty teacup. Elrond sighed and picked the cat up from the table, setting her on the floor. "Please try and amuse yourself without harming anything," he pleaded. Elrond then returned to his sitting room, cracking the door to the hallway open for Dae and seating himself again at the desk.
Picking up the quill again, Elrond continued his letter writing, leaving Dae to her own devices. A minute or two later, the black cat walked through the door carrying the feather Elrond had been using to mark his place in a book he was reading and started to chew the white plume to pieces. Having finished destroying the bookmark, Dae then preceded in teasing all the smaller draws of the rooms open with her paws. The cat pulled out several bags of herbs from a table cabinet, turning her nose up at the odd smelling pouches and batting them off the table to fall to the floor. She then tore a paper fan she found in the stand next to the four-poster bed, yanked off a tassel from the bed curtains, and clawed a hole in one of the pillows. Finally, she managed to push a heavy silver candleholder from the table and the loud thump on the floor drew Elrond's attention.
With a frown, the half-Elf stood and walked to the doorway of his bed chamber. "Dae! What are you doing?" Startled, the black cat jumped from the table, knocking over a stack of books and overturning a bottle of oil. Dae disappeared under the bed and Elrond watched as the thick oil slid over the tabletop and dripped onto the rug below. Quickly, the dark haired half-Elf placed a pan under the table and righted the oil container before much damage could be done. "You nuisance," muttered Elrond toward the two amber eyes looking out from under his bed.
The Elf lord knelt and began to restack the books. Dae slowly crept out from under the bed and walked toward him. Elrond scowled at the feline for a moment, displeased in the extreme with the state of his rooms. "You are in such trouble, Dae. No fish for you tonight," scolded Elrond. The tone of the half-Elf's voice made Dae flatten herself to the ground and growl softly. Suddenly, the cat sprang forward and raced through the doorway into the sitting room. Elrond heard a loud bang and swish sound in the other room and hurried to his feet just in enough time to see Dae skid out of control across his desk, knocking things from the surface and spilling the inkpot. A huge black stain spread across the papers, including his letters and several reports. "Dae, stop!" Elrond lunged for the cat, trying to grab a hold of her before she got herself covered in ink, but the feline jumped over his arm, claws sinking harmlessly into the rich velvet of his sleeve, and bolted for the door to the hallway.
Dae slipped out of the door and raced down the hallway, almost colliding with a blond Elf walking the other direction. Elrond threw open his door and began to follow the feline down the hall but the blond Elf quickly caught the Elf lord about the waist, halting him. "Rotten cat!" yelled Elrond, as Dae disappeared down the stairs.
Glorfindel blinked at the annoyance in Elrond's voice. "What is the matter?" he asked.
Elrond huffed, blowing a strand of dark hair from his face, and turned in Glorfindel's embrace to face the other Elf. "She destroyed my rooms, Glorfindel!" he exclaimed.
Glorfindel grinned, much to Elrond's irritation, and gently guided the half-Elf back to his chambers. "It can not be all that bad, Elrond. Dae is merely bored being stuck indoors," he soothed.
"Yes, well. When I catch her, she's going to be merely dead," grumbled Elrond. "And my letters! I'm going to have to rewrite them and you know how hard it is to write to Thranduil's Court. 'Tread carefully,' is an understatement." Popular opinion of Elrond in Mirkwood had been less than glowing since the end of the Last Alliance and the Second Age.
"Your letters to Thranduil have always been perfect, filled with diplomacy and gentle wit," said Glorfindel, wincing slightly as he saw the mess upon Elrond's writing desk.
The blond Elf guided Elrond to sit on the window seat, the rain still tapping against the glass, and the half-Elf glared slightly at his companion. "Flattery will get you smacked," the Elf lord warned.
Glorfindel pouted somewhat and sat next to Elrond, stroking the back of his fingers across the aggravated half-Elf's cheek. "And here I was hoping it would get me kissed," the blond teased.
Elrond rolled his eyes and pushed Glorfindel's caressing hand away from his face. "You are impossible, Glorfindel," he groused.
Glorfindel cleverly slipped an arm around Elrond's waist and pulled the half-Elf closer. "That would be why you love me so much," he muttered as he tipped Elrond's chin up and pressed a gentle but determined kiss to the half-Elf's lips. Elrond remained tense in the embrace for a moment before melting into the kiss and sinking into Glorfindel's arms. Elrond's arms came up and wrapped around Glorfindel's neck, the half-Elf deepening the kiss and parting his teeth. A slow duel of tongues followed until the pair parted for air. Elrond lay his head down on Glorfindel's shoulder and sighed. "Better?" asked the blond Elf quietly. Glorfindel curled one finger around a lock of dark hair and tugged playfully.
Elrond smiled and nodded against Glorfindel's neck. "Room is still a mess, though," he muttered.
Glorfindel chuckled and stood, pulling Elrond up with him and walking toward the doorway. "We'll let Imglín handle the mess, Elrond. It's what she's paid for. The letters and correspondence can wait until tomorrow," he said. Glorfindel kept an arm around Elrond's waist as he led the half-Elf down the hallway and away from the private family wing, the Hall of Fire and a cup of wine being his plan. A she-Elf in a yellow apron and bonnet stood near by and Glorfindel winked at the maid as they passed. Imglín bowed her head and smiled in approval as Glorfindel led the lord of the valley deeper into the house. The curly blond haired maid then hefted a bucket of water and a sponge before heading into the messy suit of rooms.
Soon, a black shape slunk down the hallway and through the open door, nose and whiskers twitching. A few minutes later an outraged cry cut the air, "Dae!" The cat once again raced through the door and down the hall, this time trailing inky paw prints across the stone floor.