Disclaimer: I own nothing of Middle Earth... Especially not Legolas... *sigh* *sniff* and so on...

Hello People, I'm back. Sorta. I didn't really like the way this chapter turned out, but I finally got around to doing something about it. Hope those of you who are still out there like it. I will hopefully add a new chapter sometime in the next couple weeks, but after this long, I can promise nothing. So, on with:



Chapter 7



Glorfindel opened his eyes to bright sunlight and a pair of golden eyes staring back into his own. He jerked backward away from the face, and hit his head against the cliff wall. He felt warm blood dampen his hair, and the owner of the face backed up, as startled by his movement as the Elf-lord was by the other's presence.

He shifted his eyes to the right and saw both Legolas and Gimli tied with what seemed to be strong white rope. Then his mind clicked into motion and he realised he had been lying on his back, and the other had been hanging over him, holding onto the wall with bare fingers and toes.

The Elf-lord sat up slowly and raised his hand just as slowly to touch his bleeding head. It would heal. He watched his visitor with wary interest, waiting for him to make the first move. This also gave him a brief moment to see what he was up against. If Saru had acted like a child, this one looked like a child. His eyes where large and seemed filled with innocence, his body slender and small, if Glorfindel had stood with arms out to each side, the visitor could have walked under them easily. His hair was the color and texture of corn silk, and his ears shaped like the Elf-lord's own. Had the creature had not been hanging upside down from a sheer cliff, with only his splayed out hands and feet to support him, Glorfindel would have sworn he was an Elf.

He opened his mouth and out of it came a chittering, sibilant language which Glorfindel had never heard before. The Elf-like-thing extended his small hand, finger extended to point at the Elf-lord's chest, and he chittered again.

With a quick glance at his companions, which showed them to still be unmoving, he trained his eyes back on the creature and said softly "I am sorry, but I do not understand you."

"Eh?" the little creature cocked his head to the side, and blinked. A soft hiss escaped him, and his, well Glorfindel assumed the elf-creature was a 'he', eyes narrowed. No longer did he seem quite so sweet and innocent.

Legolas stirred slightly, and both blondes glanced toward him. A small hand, finger extended toward the Elf-Lord's bound friends stabbed out. "Geef up see crysss, and free yaa haf!" Glorfindel was sure it was the Elven tongue, but he had never heard such an accent before.

"I give up, something, and we go free?" he hazarded carefully.

A hssss that seemed agreement followed. The only problem now seemed to be that Glorfindel had no idea what he wanted. He reached to the neck of his tunic, and tugged of the broach that held his cloak on, extending it.

The small white hand slapped at the offering angrily, and if Glorfindel had not been watching he would have missed the lightning quick extension of claws that sliced out, just missing the side of his arm. Lips pulled back from small, dangerous looking fangs, and the Elf-Lord got the message, his visitor was not amused. The ancient Elf refastened his cloak, while a low rumble told him that Gimli was waking, and was no more amused than his erst-while guest.

"I don't know what you want!" he finally snapped in exasperation, having made two more abortive attempts to give the creature something. "And I'll not give you my life!"

The little Elf-thing hopped over Glorfindel's head, there could be no other word to describe it, with graceful ease he simply seemed to fly three feet up and twenty feet forward, landing right beside Legolas and Gimli, the latter who was now very much awake. He spoke for a moment to the Dwarf in the Naugrim tongue, but the warrior only shook himself like a dog, trying to loosen the bonds that held him fast. The small blonde's eyes grew even more flinty and he grasped Legolas, pulling the semi-comatose Elf part way onto his knees as he crouched by the captives, wicked silver claws sild into view with a steely hiss, only a breath from Glorfindel's helpless friend's throat. Gimli froze. The creature spoke to the Dwarf again.

Turning to Glorfindel, the Dwarf growled, "It says we have to give it the crys, or it'll slit Legolas' throat."

"As is I did not understand the last part." Glorfindel commented drily, then "Ask him was a crys is."

The creature's eyebrows flew up, seeming to touch him hairline. "Crysss!" He let Legolas down and skittered over to the Elf-Lord, pulling a smooth metal sphere out of his tunic as he came. "Es cryss!" Suddenly the net that had vanished when it touched the older Elf when they were captured by the Pantorii was glowing again, and seemed to be drawn to the little sphere, and in a moment it was gone. Glorfindel reached to test for his inner power, and felt it respond properly, then out of the corner of his eye he saw the little creature heading up the cliff. The Elf-Lord lunged upward and caught the small foot, just as it climbed out of reach. Both toppled back to the ledge. Glorfindel found himself trying to control a raging ball of claws and fangs, gaining almost instantly long bloody scratches. "Help us off here!" The ancient Elf bellowed over his captive's high pitched yowls, bringing a small amount of his power to bear, and stilled the struggles firmly. Silence reigned. Huge golden eyes looked up at Glorfindel, surprise written clearly on his face.

"Ysss, srrrr!"

Glorfindel slowly let go. "Untie my friends."

"Yss, srr." He hopped to Legolas and slashed the white cords, a bit of tugging followed and the limp Elf was free, if only he would wake up.

Looking at Gimli, the Rivendell Elf requested, "Ask him what is wrong with the Prince of Mirkwood."

"Trd!"

Glorfindel blinked. "Pardon?"

"Ess, trd." When the large Elf continued to look blank, the small creature turned to Gimli and uttered something in his language.

The dwarf looked doubtful, "It says the Elf's just tired. I don't be trusting it!"

Glorfindel looked a warning at the slightly cowed creature, "Just tired?"

"Ysss!" He made a scratching motion with his hand "I sscrtch! Hee trd!"

Glorfindel frowned, "You scratched him..."

A groan from the Mirkwood Prince, and a shaky attempt to sit up had the little creature off the hook for the moment. But only too soon, the Elf-Lord turned his eyes on him again. "Free Gimli." He commanded, knowing that he had to stay on his guard because the creature was likely to try to escape at any moment. When the task was complete Glorfindel raised an eyebrow in query, "You said, if I give you the crys, you would get us free. Can you?"

The little fellow sat back on his heels and cocked his head to one side. The Elf-Lord was struck again how birdlike The motion was, but how unbirdlike The creature who made The motion, aside form being small and fair. "Ess ysss."

"You can?" Gimli looked very unhappy about trusting The thing farther, but The had no choice.

Glorfindel said softly, hoping to know more of The creature before he trusted it entirely, "I'm Glorfindel. The dwarf is Gimli, and my Elf friend is Legolas."

"Glorrrrfndl? Giiimiii? Leglsss?"

The Elf-Lord smiled softly, "Close enough."

Their visitor tapped his chest "Mmm Colii!"

Legolas watched The proceedings through slowly focussing eyes. Glorfindel knew he would need more time to recover, before they went anywhere, if it was possible, so he concentrated on The creature, and learning about it. "I'm an Elf." He commented. The other nodded gravely. "Gimli is a Dwarf. Which you must know, because you speak his language. But what are you?" He was beyond being tactful, besides if he tried to hint at the question, with the language barrier, Colii might miss the point all together.

The response sounded like a purr. The Elf-Lord's bewilderment must have shown on his face, because The small creature frowned slightly in concentration and rasped out, "Sssheelosss. Mmm Sssheelosss. Macherrr ess Elena, Facherrr ess Elf!"

"Your father is an Elf? Your mother is, Elena?" Glorfindel's bewilderment did not lessen, but a now quite friendly seeming Colii nodded enthusiastically. The Elf-Lord decided he wasn't sure he wanted to know. Besides Legolas now seemed steady enough, so he said, "Shall we get off this cliff, as you agreed?"

"Ysss." The small creature scrambled to The edge of The cliff, and looked down to the next level, which was now littered with the dead bodies of Pantorii that the companions had hurled down to clean off their own small ledge. To their watching eyes he seemed to draw rope out of nowhere, but where ever he got it, more long, strong, white rope appeared. It was only a matter of time before they had worked their way to the Pantorii ledge, and from there down and down to the base of The cliff. The sun was just setting on their second day in this land of Thyatira when they reached ground.