Nea upon discovering someone reviewed: OH MY GOSH!!! A REVIEW!!! (Does a little dance in the swiveling computer chair which is never as comfortable as it looks.)

Rest of the people in the computer lab: Stare at her in perplexed amusement, as the exclamations were silent, but a stupid little smile remains plastered on her face.

Guy who was cussing at the only Mac in the room because it was the only computer available as it refuses—after twenty minutes of being sworn at—to allow him to log on: Remains clueless.

In other words, thanks to Tinania Lindaleriel for reviewing! As to your supposedly odd and obvious question—that is actually supposed to be like that. I'm just glad the dualism came through as I had hoped. This is pre-LOTR, and the dagger has gotten use through sparring practice, guard duty, forest patrols and so on. Hang in there, within three chapters that first and rather basic question will be answered…

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With great contentment I closed my eyes, loving the soft sounds of another early spring evening as my body cooled, recovering from my long, hot day of work. A gentle breeze flittered through the open windows of my flet, turning pages in an open book I had been reading in the fall—I hadn't had time to finish it since.

My gold hair was still streaked black from soot, which no doubt was beaded across my face as well, but I didn't care. I was done with work, and taking the next few days to relax, no matter what.

"Anyone home?" a soft voice asked quietly from the panel of wood that covered the entrance to my flet.

I sighed, recognizing the voice. "Yeah, Leaf. Come on in."

The door swung up, and Leaf climbed in. "Hey," he murmured with a crooked grin.

"I'm not working. I'm not going to no matter what—so don't even think about it."

He shook his head with his still off-kilter grin and settled himself in the empty chair, leaning his back much as I was in mine, his feet resting on the window sill. Mine were on the table. "I just came by to see how things were," he said softly.

I let out a yawn, not bothering to try and hide it. "Got the last blasted set done today… and they finally stopped coming for tips."

"And they're singing your praises at the hall."

"And how's the smith up there taking all this?"

"He likes having the time he would have spent on our things on those he prefers."

"That's good, anyway," I murmured absently, letting my head loll back.

"You do look exhausted."

"Stop right there—I don't care what you need, I'm not making it!"

Leaf laughed, his eyes dancing when I rolled my head to the side to see him. It took too much effort to lift it back into place. "You did say to give you time to get caught up…"

"Don't you bloody well dare!" I snapped. "Last time I had to stop what I was doing until I got plans laid out—and all I'm planning on doing for the next week is sleep! I haven't rested enough since those orders came in—" I paused to yawn again, "—and I'm starting to get snappish… And if you say what you're about to, I'll kick you right out of this tree!"

He held up his hands in mock surrender, a chuckle escaping him, his eyes warm with amusement and affection. "Wouldn't that take more energy than you have, by your own admission?"

"I'd muster it up somehow," I mumbled, my ire gone in the face of his relaxed humor. "Was it only an order that brought you round?"

"No," he leaned back a bit farther. "If it was, I'd have just showed up at the shop some time… other than to get directions to your flet."

"Then what?" I asked, stifling another yawn.

"I just wanted to talk to a friend," he admitted softly, his eyes watching me with concern. "But it can wait. Right now I think it would be best for you to sleep."

"Aren't I?" I managed, sluggishly blinking my eyes.

The next thing I knew daylight was streaming through my windows, and I was as stiff as ever an elf was. I reached up to run a hand through my hair, and found it had ended up a tangled mess, since I had neither washed nor combed it after ripping off my mask at work the previous evening. Slowly I stretched, nearly tipping my chair over in the process.

Setting all six feet on the floor, I rubbed my hands over my eyes, yawned, and shook myself as awake as I could. I rubbed the back of my neck, looking around my flet, seeing things had changed since last I saw them. I was about to frown when two things caught my attention—the scent of breakfast on the air, and the sounds of someone else in my flet.

"Tara?" I asked softly, not feeling awake enough yet to turn.

"Guess again," a male voice murmured dryly. "You might wash your hands before eating."

I snorted at the 'suggestion' but got up from my chair, obediently padding over to the basin on feet made unsteady by a deep sleep which still threatened to linger, weighting down my limbs and sending my eyes unfocused every few seconds. I managed to wash fairly well, and was awake enough to realize Leaf had done more than fix breakfast. "You had a busy night," I observed, seeing a lot of the cleaning I had been needing to do was already done.

"I didn't feel like heading back to the halls when it was so nice out, but I'm not stupid enough to wander the forest virtually unarmed at night, so I figured I'd give you a hand."

"No ulterior motive?" I asked, lifting a brow.

He smiled crookedly and handed me a plate. "I thought if I helped, you might have some time for an old friend… even if he can be a bit annoying in the matter of promoting your business." His eyes sparkled with good humor and old affection.

I was in a much better humor by this point, of course, the sight, smell and taste of breakfast already prepared, my flet nearly back to normal—from its semi-destroyed disastrous state caused by coming to my flet for rest at night and a change and bath ever since those orders came in—with only a little more needing to be done, my work completed, well rested—if a bit stiff from sleeping propped up in a chair all night—for a change, and with a friend I had known since we were both only of dwarf height.

So I smiled and stretched my back until I heard the pops I needed, eating the food he had prepared for us, putting things away once he had washed them. When we had finished, we leaned back in the chairs once more. "You know Leaf," I murmured, sipping my drink, "you'd make some lucky guy a wonderful wife."

Leaf blinked at me, then flushed, and grinned. "I suppose it is rather pathetic, isn't it?"

"Not at all," I soothed, my overly supportive tones making him blush—and grin—all the harder.

"I didn't just want to sit here and listen to you snore all night," he defended, still grinning.

I set the chair legs down abruptly. "I do not!"

"Do too!" he insisted without missing a beat.

I scowled at him, crossing my arms over my chest. "Who asked you, anyway?"

His grin remained, his eyes closing in contentment that I shared.

With a smile I looked out the window, thinking back to the centuries the nine of us had played together in the woods before we had to take our places in the world of adults. I missed those days, fairly often. After all, then all we had to do was find some way to entertain ourselves and stay out of our parents' hair. Centuries of days spent entirely together formed a bond that even the time we'd been apart couldn't break. We still knew each other well enough to know what was being thought, to expect what was coming next, unless it was intentionally being blocked… and after over a thousand years of being alone in comparison, it was nice to return to those simple times, even if only for a few minutes or hours.

It took a while, but I was soon bored with our silence and inactivity. "What do you want to do?"

Leaf opened his eyes and looked at me for a moment, before tilting his head at the bow resting in the corner. "How good are you with that?"

"I can hunt, kill orcs. My ability is no where near competition level, of course."

"Would you be against learning how to improve?"

"I know how to improve—practice."

He smiled lazily. "There is no doubt some way I could help you."

"You have always been an archer," I murmured, shaking my head.

He laughed softly. "That's right!" he exclaimed. "I shot at you the first day you joined us."

"It was a beautiful shot," I admitted. "I think there wasn't more than a handful of times when you didn't have that ridiculous little quiver strapped to your thigh, that poor little bow over your shoulder."

"It was my pride and joy," he murmured, his eyes closed to better see those times from long ago. "My father gave me that before anyone else got one."

"Yes… and it only took you how many days before you had whittled the ends into points?"

He laughed. "What's an arrow with no point?"

"Pointless," I answered, deadpan. "You need new jokes, Leaf."

"That wasn't meant as a joke anymore, but as a fact."

We both sobered at his words, Leaf looking a bit bad for having brought the conversation back to the present. I sighed and shook my head. "We're too serious," I muttered. "Let's go do something reserved for kids… since you apparently have time off."

"Hmm? Oh—yes. They're not surprised when I vanish for a day or two… and I told them I would, so they won't be worried."

"You can do that?"

"Well, it's not like I have a set job. I just kind of… do what needs doing."

"And practice archery, and use the twin daggers…"

He grinned. "Yeah," he agreed softly. "Race to the pond?"

I hesitated for a moment. Then I shrugged and nodded. "I could use a good bath," I murmured.

"I wasn't going to mention it…"

I let out an outraged yelp—which he knew was mostly just in fun—and raced down the ladder after him, passing him when we got to the ground. I was the first to dive in, enjoying the cool water brushing around me as I swam for the other side. I surfaced and turned, seeing Leaf a ways off, coming towards me with fair speed. I crossed my arms over my chest and waited.

He resurfaced already grinning. "You always were the fastest," he said softly, his eyes shining.

"Why else would you all have called me Wind?"