Okay, yes, I've been terribly naughty with the update. But school started and it's a bit worse than I had anticipated… so just work with me on that. I'm gonna start to try and have a little chapter progress thing on my bio if anybody cares… Uh, yeah. So I'll save the wind for the responses!

XNemesis: Haldir has gotten his style kicked up a bit, heh. And Sauron just can't do what he wants. He lost that privilege. English should… bakunka itself. So there.

Ruler-of-Da-World: And you did produce a good picture. Twas amusing. And Lalaith is sane at least for the moment. Muahaha. And you'll just have to wait for Sauron's leverage. Muah.

kingmaker: Hehe, yeah, it wasn't meant to be an AU. I'm really sneaky! Hehehe... But I'm glad that the way I worked that out made sense. Also, I'm glad you like how I've written Sauron so far, it can be tricky at times so it's good to know when it works! Mmm… oh yes! I read about half of your fic, but then I haven't been able to get back to it yet. But I will, promise!! And I had a very nice vacation, thank you. Still lamenting the lose of it.

Meso: Sadly I don't pity Haldir. I get a very twisted pleasure out of torturing my characters. So sad.

Midnight Proc: Heh, I figured that you might have trouble with Rumil. I did too. I'm cool with it now. Heheheh. Go … sorta!!

Feagliniel: Ooo, a fitting title! Yesss! I still think they should let script form things stay up. Doesn't make sense that they don't. Heh… go Rumil.

Kit Cloudkicker: Bald? …. That would be scary.

Phoenix Golden Fire: Yes, I knew it took forever. And this one took forever too. I feel bad about that, but there seriously was nothing I could do. I'm even skipping watching a movie right now to update! But I'm glad the wait seemed to be worth it… I liked that chapter too. I laughed evilly many many times. Hehehe. And this chapter is not so good… more of a filler… but I think the one after this should be good. Hopefully. And but of course you'll just have to see. Never give away the secrets!

JadedFire: Are there really that many humor fics with Sauron in them? I haven't really delved into that… since I don't really have time and it kinda scares me to be frank. Hehehe, but I'm glad it's turning out well! I try really hard! Thanks for putting me on your favorites list!

Spoofmaster: Well, I didn't have 300 when I asked you punk!!

Dark Borge Drone: There are many people who side with Sauron… that interests me. He just irks me to be honest. Heh… which is probably why I like manipulating his character to make him irk me less.

Black Thunder44: Yea! I'm glad the chapters have seemingly gotten better!!

AzureDragoness: I'm a genius? That's the way to boost a person esteem!! Heh, oh well I'm glad you liked that. I hope you like the others ones to come as well.

Demonica: …Wow. You actually read it? I'm surprised and pleased at the same time! Wah. I hope you read more… and I hope you're not confused about stooooff. And yeah, Rumil was a bit evil. Go him. Ha.

Twisted Mary Sue: So the brothers are okay thus far? I'll try to keep it that way. And I'm not ignoring you, am I? At least not now.

OKAY! I kinda made them short as I'm pressed for time. But anyways, I hope you enjoy this very long overdue chapter. I'll try to be more prompt on the next one but I make no guarantees!!

Haldir was sitting in the kitchen, curled up in a chair reading. Actually, he was doing more zoning out than reading. He had opted out of sitting in what had become the living room as Rumil and Orophin were both in there and he was still pretty upset with them. It had been two weeks, but until his neck stopped feeling so cold he wouldn't be over it completely. They still had a ways to go before they got in his good graces again.

Elhith and Sauron were both in there as well, doing who knew what. Frankly he didn't really care, they both were perfectly able to look after themselves. Haldir would even give Sauron the credit lately for that. Sauron had amazingly been acting in a pretty decent manner since Haldir's siblings had arrived, and Haldir had decided to slacken off a bit and give him some room in return. Interestingly enough, this added space seemed to put both on better terms with the other as well.

Suddenly Haldir wondered where Lalaith had been. For the better part of the day she had been out around the city with Elhith and Orophin, but he hadn't seen her since she had gotten home. It seemed slightly odd, but he didn't take time to consider it deeply. She was female after all and put on airs at times. Perhaps this was nothing different.

With a shrug, Haldir turned back to his book, reading it a bit more earnestly. However he had only read a few paragraphs when he heard a dull thud from above.

Frowning, he slowly got up and made his way to the stairs. After standing there for a moment, waiting to see if anybody else would come along, Haldir made the way up by himself.

All of the doors upstairs were open, except for the one to Lalaith's room. Frowning slightly, he went to the door and knocked. "Lalaith?" he asked slowly.

There was no answer.

"Lalaith, are you in there?" Haldir ventured again, knocking a bit louder.

Suddenly the door opened a crack and Lalaith stuck her head out, smiling. "What do you need Haldir?" she asked, almost mechanically, her mind obviously somewhere else.

Haldir's frown deepened. "What are you up to?"

"Whatever do you mean?" Lalaith asked, taking on a look of innocence that had only worked for a while many many years before.

Now Haldir's suspicion began to rise. "Don't use that ploy with me, you know it won't work. What are you trying to hide from me?"

Lalaith bit her lip for a second. "It's really nothing Haldir. I have everything under control. You can go downstairs again; you don't need to worry about a thing."

"Lalaith-" he began, but was suddenly stopped when he noticed something poking out from under the hem of Lalaith's dress.

Looking closer, Haldir was able to identify the thing as the head of a cat. "Lalaith!" he exclaimed, drawing her attention to what he was looking at as well.

Quickly, yet too late to fix the damage, Lalaith hooked the hem over the cat's head. "You didn't see anything," she said quietly.

Haldir sighed. "What do you think you're doing, bringing a cat here?" he asked her, looking as the cat made its way out again.

Lalaith leaned down and picked the kitten up, scratching its neck. "Haldir, it was just wandering on the street, I had to bring it back!"

"It could have been somebody's, I'm sure people let their animals go around free sometimes."

"But you only see it now! You didn't see it when I got it, all dirty and covered in filth. I doubt that anybody would let their cat get so nasty," she said, smiling down at the gray kitten as it purred at her.

Haldir continued to frown. "Why didn't you tell me or ask about it first instead of trying to hide it?"

Lalaith gave a small smile. "If you had seen her when I first brought her here, I doubt that you would have even let me come in the door, she looked that bad. I figured that my chances were better if I could clean her up a bit."

Sighing, Haldir shook his head. "I don't know Lalaith, there are other people around too who might not like cats. It's not fair to them to just let it stay here if they don't want it."

"Elhith and Rumil helped me get her and agreed that she needed a home. I'm sure they wouldn't mind."

"So two people. What about Orophin and Iaewur then?"

Lalaith frowned thoughtfully. "I don't think Orophin would mind. And of course, if he does, I could just ask Rumil to change his mind about it," she said with a mischievous smile.

"That wouldn't be playing fair," Haldir said, although he was slightly amused that Lalaith would use such a tactic. At least he couldn't be blamed for her picking it up.

"I think that the end would justify the means in that case," she said, holding the small kitten closer to her.

"Alright, so even if Orophin does say that it's okay, what about Iaewur?"

This time Lalaith did not have a ready answer. "I guess I'll just have to ask him if he's okay with there being a cat in the house."

"And if he says no?" Which I think is highly likely Haldir went on to think.

"He'll say yes."

Haldir raised a brow. "You're sure?"

"Of course. Who could say no to something so cute?"

Haldir covered his laugh with a cough. "Seriously though, what if he doesn't say yes?"

She sighed. "I'll find somewhere else for the cat to live."

"I'll hold you to it too," Haldir said, nodding. "All right, now go ask."

Lalaith had made her way about three steps when a thought finally occurred to Haldir. "Wait a second."

Pausing for a moment, she turned back. "What?"

"I heard a thud up here. What was that?"

Shrugging, Lalaith turned back to the stairs. "The cat was just a bit clumsy is all."

Haldir sighed. All they needed was a clumsy cat in the house. As though the place wasn't full of a hodgepodge of people as it was, they should just add a klutzy kitten to the mix.

After a moment, he made his way downstairs as well, going into the living room to see how things would go over with the cat. Haldir figured that it might be a little amusing at least. More so than standing in a hall anyways.

Once down, he peered around the corner into the room, a smile instantly breaking across his face at the sight before him.

Rumil and Orophin were sitting on the ground, playing a game that Haldir vaguely remembered, while Elhith sat in a chair near them. It seemed likely that he was being taught how to play; in fact, there were a few of the pieces in his hand. All three of them were turned towards the couch however, which had drawn most of Haldir's interest as well.

Sauron was laying down on the couch a bit uncomfortably with Lalaith sitting gingerly on the edge next to him. However it was apparent that Lalaith sitting there wasn't what was making him uncomfortable. It was the kitten that had curled up on his chest which seemed to be the center of his attention at the moment.

Haldir had just had long enough to assess the scene before him when Lalaith spoke. "You wouldn't mind if I kept her, would you?"

Just as she spoke, the kitten stretched, digging her small claws into Sauron's tunic. Grimacing and biting his lip, Sauron wrenched the cat off of him by the scruff of her neck.

After eyeing the cat disdainfully for a moment, all while rubbing his chest, Sauron slowly looked over at Lalaith.

Even from where he stood, Haldir could see Lalaith's pleading expression. She must have really wanted to keep that cat. It was rare for her to have such an expression.

Finally Sauron dropped the kitten into her lap. "So long as it doesn't get into my room," he said at last, picking up the book which was laying next to him.

Lalaith smiled, a look of relief flashing across her face. "Thank you," she said, touching his hand momentarily as she stood up.

Sauron looked down at her hand, then up at her, raising a brow in slight surprise. "You're welcome…" he replied slowly, then blinked and turned back to his book.

Nestling the cat in her arms, Lalaith walked over to Haldir. "I told you he would say yes," she said, grinning from ear to ear.

Haldir returned her smile absentmindedly, going into the room and sitting in a chair next to Sauron. Both Orophin and Rumil eyed him warily, which Haldir took smug satisfaction in. Served them right.

Once they started their game and conversation again, Haldir leaned back in his seat and looked at Sauron. "And what prompted that?" he asked.

"What?" Sauron asked in turn, flipping the page.

"You let her keep the cat. I didn't think you would."

"Figures," Sauron said as he continued to read.

That made Haldir pause for a moment. "Figures?" he echoed.

Sauron looked up at him for a second. "Yes, it figures," he said not long after. "You always expect me to do the most negative thing possible."

"Well, when have you given me reason to think otherwise?" Haldir retorted.

Finally Sauron shut the book, keeping a finger in to hold his spot. "When have I given you reason? How about when two weeks ago you asked me to act amiably? How about that night when I didn't completely lose my cool around them when they were talking about my defeat to my face? How about the two or three times when it was all that I could do to keep myself from strangling you? Or how about-"

"Okay, okay, I get it, I'm sorry," Haldir muttered, deciding that Sauron had been listing things long enough to justify his point.

Sauron frowned for a minute, and then turned his attention back to his book.

"But why did you let her keep it?" Haldir ventured.

With a sigh, Sauron looked up at him again. "I didn't care if she kept it or not. And I'm just not in the mood to ruin other people's day right now. However, had it been a dog, that would have been a different story," he said, his tone darkening just slightly.

"I suppose." He paused briefly. "So you don't mind cats then?"

"Obviously not," Sauron said, ignoring him for the most part.

"Why not?"

"Why so many questions Haldir, why?" Sauron asked, looking at him exasperatedly.

Haldir shrugged. "I told you I was inquisitive."

"About all the trivial things you can find to pick at," Sauron grumbled, setting his book away again. "Okay, I'll play twenty questions with you since you seem so fond of that game. You've already used…five I believe."

"I think it was six," Haldir said quietly.

"Fine, six! Even better!" Sauron said, throwing his hands in the air. "Now, where were we?" he asked, feigned enthusiasm in his voice.

"Why don't cats bother you?"

"Well, they are fairly clean animals and are also quite independent, which means that I don't have to care about them because they are out of my way most of the time!" he said, continuing to be annoyingly upbeat.

Haldir couldn't really think of anything else to ask.

"Come now, I haven't got all day! You still have thirteen questions left!"

"I thought I had used six."

Sauron smiled slightly. "I'm counting the repeat as one. So you only have thirteen."

"Ah," Haldir said, nodding. "Well… why don't you want to ruin today for people?"

"I already answered that: I don't feel like it. Sometimes I just don't care enough to want to go through the trouble."

"Even when an opportunity presents itself?"

"Yes, even then."

"So, does that mean you're in a genuinely good mood today or something?"

Sauron frowned thoughtfully. "I guess you could call it that. Although I'm not really happy, which seems to be something that would go along with being in a good mood."

"Oh. Well, then what would you call it?"

"Nothing. I don't take time to go around making names for my feelings, honestly," Sauron said, shaking his head. "Nine. Try something more original, or at least more intellectual, if you don't mind."

Haldir scowled at him for a second. "What… is… mmm… your favorite vegetable?"

Sauron gave him a positively baffled look. It was an expression exactly between being confused and being disturbed. One of those 'what the…?' looks. Haldir couldn't remember Sauron having done that for a while. "Um… well, that was original, but it was really lacking in the intelligence area," he finally said.

Knowing that it was the truth, Haldir just nodded. "Yes, it was."

After looking at him for a moment, Sauron just shook his head. "I think that you're done."

"I think so too."

"We can just say it was ten questions instead of twenty and spare me the trouble of having to even be subjugated to such illogical and random queries. Go help your sister find… cat… stuff, or whatever."

"Okay," Haldir said, figuring that it was as good an idea as any.

As he made his way slowly up the stairs, he reflected back a minute before, and wondered where in the name of all that was sacred that he had come up with vegetables in a question.

Again he found Lalaith's door closed, and knocked shortly before opening the door a tad.

No sooner had he done so that Lalaith exclaimed for him to stop and the kitten scurried out the door and down the stairs.

"Great Haldir!" she sighed, jumping up from her bed and running to the door and past him. "You know knocking is rather pointless if you do it without waiting for an answer!" she called back over her shoulder.

Haldir took a moment to catch up with everything, but as soon as he did he hurried back downstairs again, looking for the runaway cat. He wondered if the cat's klutziness would help them find it. Only thing being was that at the same time he hoped it wouldn't. Haldir could just about see various objects crashing to the floor.

Yet they did not need to look long. In fact, only a few moments after Haldir caught up with Lalaith in the kitchen the kitten was brought back to them.

Sauron, who looked just slightly annoyed by the whole thing, came into the kitchen. In one hand he was holding his book and in the other the kitten, who was, oddly enough, purring quite loudly. "I have a feeling that you're looking for this," he said, trying to remove the cat from where it had nestled up in the crook of his arm.

"I'm so sorry," Lalaith quickly apologized, hurrying over and prying the reluctant cat from Sauron's arm. "Thank you for bringing her in."

Haldir cocked an eyebrow, looking at the cat. What sort of freak kitten was it?

Picking some of the hairs from his shirt, Sauron shook his head. "Think nothing of it," he said before returning to the other room.

As Haldir was still pondering what sort of disease the cat must have had for it to take such a liking to Sauron, he did not notice Lalaith smile slightly beside him for a moment. "What?" he asked, snapping out of his thoughts.

Lalaith looked at him and shrugged. "He hasn't talked much to me since we got here," she said at length.

"Who?" Haldir asked.

"Iaewur."

Heh, if only we all were that lucky Haldir thought to himself.

"He seems polite though."

Once again Haldir was forced out of his thoughts. "Who?"

Lalaith gave him a look. "Who were we just talking about?"

"You're still talking about him?" Haldir asked, frowning.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

Maybe because he's Sauron and he really isn't that polite! Haldir thought, yet aloud said "I don't know. Just clarifying."

Still looking at him in a way that seemed to imply that she thought he was acting strangely, Lalaith made her way out of the kitchen. "Oh, and remember," she said, pausing at the hall, "when you knock, give me a moment to answer it, all right?"

Haldir nodded. "I'll remember for next time."

"Good," she said, and then left.

Haldir went back to his corner in the kitchen, picking up his book from the chair and sitting down heavily. He had a feeling that something should have occurred to him, but nothing did. So he simply sighed and opened his book again, trying to wave away the thought.

It didn't work so well.

That was a bit short, I know, but I'll have more up… sometime. Maybe I'll try writing out my chapters in my English comp book. Hehe. I can just see my teacher reading that now…