There were three sharp knocks on Thranduil's study door and he and Ferdan looked at each other over the top of his desk and guessed simultaneously, "Avaleina," and then Thranduil called for whoever it was to enter.

Avaleina walked into the office and said with some irritation, "Ugh, there you are."

Ferdan raised an eyebrow and looked over to Thranduil again, "Are you 'you' or am I 'you'?"

"Considering this is my office and I have been here all evening," Thranduil began, going back to whatever he had been reading before, "I'm assuming 'you' means you."

Ignoring them entirely Avaleina came to stand in front of the chair that Ferdan had made himself comfortable in, a small bundle of blankets were cradled in her arms, "How are you always around every time I don't want you to be, but a figment of my imagination when I need to find you."

"Talent." Ferdan answered immediately, but then added after a brief inspection, "I cannot help but notice you only have one shoe on."

"Well maybe I would have both shoes on, if you were easier to find!" She replied, adjusting the bundle slightly when it stirred at her tone.

Ferdan frowned at both the bundle and her, "Those two things are completely unrelated."

"No they aren't, because I was in the middle of getting ready to go when Tern reminded me that he's the only one home right now to look after Batty. And I don't trust him to look after him properly while I'm gone."

Thranduil looked up from his paperwork a bit startled, "Batty is still alive?"

"Yes, he's still alive." Ava said, sounding a bit affronted.

She turned a little bit towards the desk and pulled the blankets back to reveal a very elderly fruit bat snuggled inside, "He's been living with us in the outposts most of this time but I wanted to give him a comfortable old life."

"I still don't see how I have anything to do with the one shoe." Ferdan muttered to the room at large.

Ava sighed somewhat dramatically and turned back to Ferdan again, "Because if you had been easier to find I wouldn't have had to run all over the place looking for you."

"But you could have simply put the shoe on firs-" Ferdan began but was cut off by Avaleian.

"Can we ignore the shoe!" Ferdan held his hands up in silent surrender and so Ava continued, "Will you please look after him while I'm gone?"

Slightly alarmed, Ferdan looked back to Thranduil again, "Why can't he do it!"

Clearly enjoying what was transpiring, Thranduil unhelpfully defended himself, "Please. I would be dead if it weren't for Galion. How am I supposed to care for an eldlry bat?"

"Plus," Avaleina added before Ferdan could add anything to the discussion, "You're both old and cranky with all kinds of scars."

To prove her point she leaned the bundle towards his face to show the bats face that was clearly disfigured from some sort of attack, "Look, you even match blind eyes!"

"Amazing." Ferdan deadpanned.

Perhaps sensing that she was getting nowhere with any of the arguments thus far she broke out her best pleading expression, "Please, Ferdan? I need your help. You're the only one that I trust. Please?"

His stern expression lasted perhaps seven seconds before he sighed and held out his arms, "Fine. Give me the bat."

Beaming, Ava gently laid the bundle into his arms and then kissed him on the cheek, "Thank you so much!"

"Uh-huh." Ferdan mumbled in return.

She kissed him on the other cheek, "I love you."

"I love you,too." Ferdan replied, as she began to head for the door again, "Even though sometimes you annoy me!"

"If that's not love, I don't know what is!" Avaleina called back in a singing voice as the door closed.

Ferdan turned an accusing look to Thranduil, "A lot of help you were."

Thranduil smiled pleasantly, "I wasn't trying to help."

..0.0

Thanks for reading! I hoped you liked it and can't wait to hear your thoughts!

(And my apologies for the previous upload, not too sure what happened there to turn it into jibberish because it still looked fine in the doc manager on Fanfic,)