Hey everyone! I'm back, with a new real chapter. Reactions and a slight hint towards reconciliation, though there is still a bit to be done. (And a lot before the end).

Farflung: Well, this may not be quite what you had in mind, but it's what was in mine. Guess I was a bit frazzled… so she was too. Yeah, Leaf's crooked grin. Can't you just picture this little elf running around with that smile? It would melt any annoyance he created. I have yet to look things up, but things promise to be hectic again soon, so I'm trying to get work done while I have a moment.

LadyJadePerendhil: How could Alyeni and Joy go together to a spa, if it's a no (insert gender here) event? Um… Okay, I don't know what significant event you're referring to. Did I hint at one somewhere? Your comment threw me, so I searched back, but couldn't find one… but I have been known to miss things/forget them before, so if you could find it and let me know, I'd appreciate it. I hate reading to the end to get an answer for one question only to have it not answered (and I'm guilty of that in my first fic). Just a general thing: all male elves were sent into the woods to play/learn to hunt/interact until they were around a thousand years old, and they banded into groups of approximate ages. Alyeni, Leaf, Joy, Twig, (etc), were in a group of nine for their time together. When they came of age, so to speak, they left the woods with a promise not to let their futures get in the way of their friendships, even though they knew it wasn't entirely realistic. Okay, now that I've said all of that, and probably done nothing but confused you, I'm gonna shut up now.

Lindaleriel: You know we're in the computer age if brains need 'rebooting'. And it's not twenty years… but closer to two thousand.

Concetta & Iluvien: I know! Flashbacks are cheep! But it was use a chapter I already had-from thinking up background to the story-or not give you an update at all. I would say up to you, but I already decided on throwing it in. Like you said, it added depth, and a bit of life to some of the other characters I haven't had time/inclination to develop a bit more.

Unnamed: This chapter should explain all of that. If not, just ask.

Shimmering Omens: Hi. I said something to everyone else who reviewed… so… hi.Thanks for reading. Yeah, the memories were good, but she wasn't too happy.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Hello?"

I sighed softly. "Up here, Joy," I murmured, hearing him move to the window. A few minutes later he was sitting beside me on my flet's roof, looking out at the forest.

"He's no longer fading."

I nodded. "Good."

Joy frowned at his hands, took a breath, released it, and drew a new one to try again while I remained still, not really noticing what my eyes were seeing. "I haven't seen you at Haradan's."

"If you've been there, you would know he has a new apprentice. At least he was kind enough to say I had learned all I could from him and should open my own shop when he released me from my work."

Joy sighed, frowning worriedly. "I suppose that explains the armory in your flet."

I laughed without humor. "I suppose so."

"What should I call you now? Wind? Tyran? Alyeni?"

I shrugged with a sigh. "It doesn't matter anymore." It didn't seem like anything did.

"How long have you been up here?" he asked a few minutes later.

"I don't know."

"Guess."

I glanced up at the sky, but only because of his tone. He sounded horribly intent upon my answer. It was early morning… and I had come up in early evening. Had a day passed? What of two? "I don't know. What day is this?"

Joy let out a sharp expletive, and shook his head. "Did you at least bring food up with you?" he asked, seeming oddly upset.

"I'm not hungry," I answered quietly. I wasn't. Hungry, angry, or even upset. Just tired. So weary, exhausted with this unending loop of empty days.

"Come on," Joy muttered, getting to his feet. "You need to do something other than sit here."

"Why?" I asked softly. "There's no reason to."

Joy shook his head at me again and lifted me into his arms, maneuvering carefully down the large tree branch and into the window. He laid me down on my bed, sighing as I watched him. "Don't you want to sketch something? Craft something? Eat, for crying out loud?"

"No."

He looked as if I'd struck him. "Wind," he started, his voice rough.

"What? I'm fine, Joy." A small smile seemed almost too much effort. "Don't worry about me."

He looked on the edge of tears. "I'll be back tonight. Try to find the strength to eat something so you don't have to suffer my cooking."

I watched him leave, not understanding why he was so concerned. So I was being a bit lazy. I had nothing to do… and with his busy job, no one to do anything with. That didn't mean there was anything wrong…

My fuzzy thoughts came together into coherence when I heard someone approaching my flet.

"No, Tara." It was Leaf, sounding angry and unyielding, oddly so, in fact, for him.

"You must, Leaf. Just go up and look at her. See if you really hate her for not being able to tell you, or if you're just angry."

"I can't. And I won't."

"Leaf," Tara started in her best motherly scolding tones, before she was interrupted.

"Do you know who I am, Taradriel?" Leaf asked sharply. Apparently he showed her some sign of his rank, for she spoke again.

"So you're a lousy excuse for a prince instead of merely a lousy excuse for an elf—one who called her a friend."

"Tara," he growled low in his throat.

"She didn't have a choice, Leaf," Joy murmured quietly. "You know what her father was like."

"How can you be so calm?" Leaf exploded. "He-she lied to us from the first day, Joy."

"No she didn't. She just didn't correct us. How could she?"

I could picture him fuming, so angry he couldn't speak, for utter silence reigned for a full minute. "I can't see her now, Joy. I'd be likely to strangle her."

"I don't think she'd stop you, Leaf," Joy murmured softly. "Go."

After a long moment, there was a muttered oath before the slight creak of the ladder letting someone climb up. With a sigh Leaf came into view, glancing at the empty chairs by my small table before glancing at my little used sink and stove. Frowning, he turned farther, finally seeing me. "Hello," he muttered, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Hi," I managed after a moment, blinking slowly. "You look well." He did. The weight he'd lost was nearly back, only small hollows at his cheeks showing he had been near death not too long ago.

"You aren't even going to bother sitting up?"

I blinked at him, frowning faintly. "Aren't I?" I asked. With a slight turn of my head I saw the floor on my right, the ceiling on my left. "Guess not." I pushed up against the thin mattress, but only made it a few inches before an alarming weakness overwhelmed me, drawing me back down. "You shall have to forgive the impudence of it, Prince Legolas, but I seem incapable of sitting up."

With a low curse he crossed the room, jerking me rather roughly upright. I sagged in his grip, still unable to find the strength I usually had. Leaf's hold tightened for a moment, then loosened. I fell back to the bed against my own volition, closing my eyes for an instant as I wondered for an instant why I was so weakened. "Look at me."

I got my eyes open after a struggle and looked up at him. "What?"

A severe frown drew his brows together as he slid one hand under my head, his arm sliding under my legs. With surprising ease he lifted me for a moment, then set me back down. He left the side of the bed and found my lamp, lighting it quickly. When he returned he set the lamp on the floor, the light bright compared to the previous near dark of my flet. After one look at me, he paled. "Tara!" He shot to his feet, yelling first out the window, then out of the door. "Joy!"

"What is it?" I asked softly, trying to sit up again. "Leaf—"

"Don't bother," he snapped, running his hand over the back of his neck. "Have you anything to eat?"

"I doubt it."

His eyes closed for a minute, and then he left. My thoughts were drifting out of existence again when I was brought back to my flet by being shook. "Wind!"

"What?!?"

He let out a tense breath and shook his head. "Drink this." A cup was placed against my lips after he propped me up. I started to protest, but he shifted before I could form words, turning me so I was leaning against him, and his arms were free. One hand held the cup to my lips, the other pried my jaw open. When he began tilting the cup I had no choice but to swallow or drown.

The warm liquid splashed around in my stomach for a time, settling comfortably after a time. The heat of it alone gave me strength enough to push away from him, though his assistance was allowed—as if I had a choice—in getting settled against the cooled sheets. "Why so pushy?"

"You haven't eaten recently, have you?"

"No."

"There's your answer."

I blinked, trying to keep him in focus. "Why is everyone suddenly so concerned with my eating habits? First Tara, then Joy, now you… and you hate me." I closed my eyes, unwilling to see the agreement I expected in his eyes.

I heard a sigh and then felt fingers in my hair, smoothing it back from where it tried to stick to my neck. "Dear elf, I could never hate you," he murmured quietly. "Find pleasant memories as you dream. I'll be here when you wake."

"Why?"

"Because… you are my friend. Always." I could hear him moving, and the hand slipped from my hair before warmth settled around me, tucked in before he moved back from the bed. "Rest well."