Author's note - Technokitty and Haldir's Heart and Soul both made comments on the cat. Firstly, the cat isn't bad. Second, I am not sure if he has seen a cat before. Lastly, as to where I got the idea, I got it from Tolkien himself.

In the original story of Beren and Luthien, there was a cat by the name of Tevildo. He was the prince of cats and served under Morgoth As the story progressed into it's final form, Tevildo was lost. It is in the History of Middle Earth series. Another case of cat's being evil was in the case of Queen Beruthiel and her nine black and one white cat. She was so evil she was stricken from The Book of Kings. Elves would remember such history and would not look favorably on cats even though most of them were slaves.

I also noted that every one has weaknesses. This even includes elves. For instance, Galadriel is guilty of kin slaying, a the worst crime among elves. This actually haunts her as this is partly why everyone is wary of her, including other elves. So, I created a weakness for Legolas, a phobia of cats, due to the fact he hasn't heard anything good about them. It's not that they are evil, just a few were. These were enough to give them a very bad name though.

Chapter Fourteen - Of Cats and Men

Legolas stared at the cat for a long time. He dared not to move or to blink his eyes, afraid of what the cat would do. Tears were threatening to spill down his cheeks. Why wouldn't that thing not go away? Because th was watching the cat, he was no watching th front of the alleyway. A man had stepped into the entrance.

"There you are Turtle. I've been looking for you cat,"

"Meow," The black cat didn't move. It continued to look and blink at Legolas. It was then that the man noticed him.

"Who's your friend Turtle," The man came up to Legolas. Legolas still couldn't take his eyes away from the cat. ", I think the boy's afraid of you Turtle."

The man proceed to pick up the cat.

"You must be a traveling merchants child. Which means, your probably lost. Come. It's late. Let's get some food into your stomach and some rest. I'll try to help you find you family in the morning." When Legolas didn't respond, the man pulled him up gently and forced the elfing to follow him.

M

The search party had arrived at the bridge of Lake Town. It didn't take their keen eyes long to find the raft caught under the bridge. Gossip spread that the elven prince and Elrond's sons were drowned. This caused Thranduil to become upset.

"We do not have their bodies, nor do I sense that my son is dead,"

"Your elven Lord is correct. There is still hope. The bond between myself and my sons has yet to be severed.. Trenarn turned to the other elves.

"We'll start by searching door by door of the houses on the bank. We'll ask if they have seen the elflings." He then took command, ordering them into smaller groups. Elrond, Thranduil and Trenarn took the home that the elflings had tried to seek help from earlier. Trenarn knocked on the door. A man opened it.

"More devils! Bigger devils! They have come to punish us for having upset the smaller devils. Shut and barricade ourselves in!" The man reached to shut the door, but Thranduil stopped it.

"We are not devils. We are elves. We are looking for three little ones who have gone missing,"

"Elves? I have never seen elves before. I have seen you devils,"

"We aren't devils. We are elves,"

"Then I saw elves? Little ones. I yelled devil and they ran towards Lake Town bridge. Now leave me alone devils," The man shut the door.

"Sire, this makes it harder. I suggest to find lodgings for the night. It is getting to dark to begin asking humans in the town if they've seen the elflings." Thranduil nodded his head.

M

Elrohir and Elladan shivered as they continued walking. They wrapped their cloaks tighter. It was then that they found a place that would offer them shelter for the night, or so they hoped. Hopefully no humans would come and check the stalls at night. They were very fortunate that they were elves, for if they had been men, their presence would have disturbed the animals resting in there. As it was, the creature only raised their heads to slightly greet them in a way.

"Elladan, I wish that we knew where Legolas was. I can't imagine what we will do,"

"We will stay calm. We can only remain quite and hope our kinsmen find us soon." Both quickly nodded off.

M

The man and Legolas arrived at a house. The man dropped the cat to open the door. The cat slid in with the grace accustomed to both elves and cats. The man then brought Legolas in and sat him down. He then began to prepare some food. As Legolas sat at the table, Turtle and another cat came up. This cat was a turtle colored cat. The man noticed this and spoke up, laughter in his voice.

"I found those two as kittens. I named one Turtle and the other Midnight. Unfortunately, I had to switch their names, as they each came to the others names instead." Legolas just stared at the cats. The man noticed them and shooed them into another room. " Your afraid of them aren't you?"

Legolas then looked at the man, not sure if he was safe or not. "Look, you don't have to be afraid of me."

The man placed a bowl in front of him. Legolas continued to stare at him. " Go ahead and eat. It isn't poisoned."

When Legolas still continued to stare at him, the man went and removed Legolas's hood. An eyebrow raised on the mans face. "I've never seen an elf your size before. I thought all elves were the size of men. You're the size of ... a man child. My goodness, you must be an elven child. How did you get here? Your father and mother must be worried sick about you."

Legolas did not respond. "What has been your experience with men little one?"

"They've called me a devil."

"Good. A response. Go ahead and eat up. I'll spread a mat for you on the floor. Tomorrow I'll see about getting you home." The man then left and went to the other room.