We are very sorry for the extra delay. We didn't think this will happen. We had suddenly a change in schedule in real life, hot weather which forced us out and a lot of work to go with it. But let us hope this ended and this will not happen again.

*At Miniature Golf*

Ren: *Stands with the plastic golf club in his gauntleted hand.* What is the point of this again?

Hyano: To get the ball in the hole. *Leaning against her own club while watching their creators take their turns.*

Ren: Why not just pick up the ball and drop it in the hole? *Sees an old lady passing by and notices her cane is bigger than his club so before she knows what hit her he took her cane... and kept both.*

Hyano: *Hears a crash and some yelling and looks over at the old lady but doesn't know anything of what Ren did.* Because that is not how you play the game.

Ren: This is moronic... *Steps up when it is his turn. Looks at the ball... then the hole... then the ball again. Then he takes the cane in one hand and the club in the other and starts whacking at the ground wildly. When he finished the ball was in a hole alright... a royally big one that Ren had made himself... and somehow missed the ball in the process.*

Cubby: *wide eyed.* I'm not paying for that!

Avp: *Face palms.* Why is it always Ren destroying everything?... Enjoy the show everyone!

CA Productions

Disclaimer: See first chapter.

Chapter 5 - Like the Apple from the Tree

It took some time but Lilly finally convinced her mother to let her go off to find her new cousin in the woods again. Only drawback was she had to bring Cane along but he didn't seem bothered by him walking behind her as they made their way into the forest.

The day seemed to favor them. There were no angry clouds that would promise rain, neither was there too harsh wind. Just enough to cool down the warmed up skin that was heated by the sun. The trees offered enough shade, of course, but the humidity and warmth that the sun's ray sent towards the people was enough to feel hot during the day. Many of the elves and animals found themselves near lakes and rivers in an attempt to escape it. It seemed like Lilly and Cane had other tings in mind, however.

Once they were deep enough into the forest, Lilly took a deep breath, opened her mouth and put her hands to either side of her face before shouting.

"Silentbranch! Silentbranch!" She called out, her voice echoing in the forest and bouncing from tree to tree as it traveled.

The calls came unanswered for a long time. The trees however were loud, some greeting the two, some speaking to them, some asking questions, not knowing that their questions and speech were not understood, so wondered why they are so silent. The calls were of course also transferred and given to another, which in the end reached the two tree herders that stood side by side in the same region they met before.

The larger one was the first to note the call, while the smaller much younger herder was still resting after a tough night of wandering and patrolling the forest. Not wanting to wake the sapling, Hazelbark simply gave a low but loud enough growl-like sound, calling the child to him in an attempt to silence her calls and let the small herder rest. Maybe she can stay around them still and rest herself.

Lilly didn't notice, however Cane did. He seemed to understand better than his sister, though, he didn't seem to know how to reply to any of the trees. So he simply took his sister and tugged her towards the direction they needed to go. Once they reached the area, he had to stop his sister from running up and waking the smaller tree herder. He made sure to cover her mouth so she didn't say anything, then spoke to her in a voice similar to his father's. It was low and strong. Much like the rumbling of a real tree herder.

"He is asleep... How about you lay down and nap beside him?" He suggested to her.

Lilly pouted at first, not liking being stopped but perked up at his suggestion. She loved to cuddle, so even if she didn't get to sleep she would still enjoy herself. She walked up slowly beside Silentbranch, then sat down and cuddled up to his leg like a little animal.

Cane smiled a little at this before the calls of the trees distracted him and he looked around and set his sights on one and again seemed to understand but seemed at a loss at how he was supposed to reply to them.

After noting the destination, the trees started to ask their questions to Hazelbark, seeing they never got an answer to what they asked and what they told the two smaller 'herders'. The much older tree herder however didn't know much about them, so only answered partially and what he could, informing the trees that they are learning to how to communicate just now, so they should not expect an answer too soon.

At this news the trees excitedly chatted among them, automatically speaking, slower even, this way attempting to teach the one child that stayed awake.

Hazelbark didn't mind of course but just stood still, standing guard above the three 'saplings'.

Cane stayed quiet for a moment before finally trying to reply.

"My name is Cane... I..." He quickly stopped, hesitating, thinking he had already failed. It was so frustrating. He wanted to talk to them too. He wanted to answer their questions and ask some of his own. Despite them being a quiet, the most of his kind actually had a very strong voice. Part of why they didn't say much was because of this. Their voices were so booming and strong, making it very off-putting to the humans so they learned to stay quiet. After listening a moment longer he tried again. "My name is Cane... I am from Middle-Earth." He said, allowing his voice to be heard this time but tried to keep it down, afraid he might wake the sapling if he wasn't careful.

While the sapling did not wake up luckily, Hazelbark moved his gaze to the young boy as he attempted to speak to the trees, watching him but not saying a word. This was something he needed to learn alone, just like every sapling. He wasn't taught either, as they are born with it. One simply has to find that hidden knowledge.

The trees of course heard what he said and greeted him right back, many around them speaking, saying the same or different, their speech echoing in the ears of the boy. For someone so young and inexperienced this might mean a problem in understanding the trees. Of course, most mentioned Middle-Earth, possible asking about that world.

Cane cringed as in his ears the voices combined and mingled, making it troubling telling one voice from another. So he tried to focus on one. He closed his eyes before picking up one question. What was Middle Earth? A simple enough question... yet the answer was so complicated. How does one explain a place that they couldn't possibly understand since they have never been there? He also didn't want to depress them with the sad facts about that world. "Middle-Earth is... a world you will hopefully never see..." He finally replied, not sure he could give any better answer to the question. He looked up at the large tree herder, quite sure he understood why he gave this answer. He likely heard the stories.

Many of the trees said the word Middle-Earth at the same time and the words after mingled together once more but one voice overpowered the others with its low tone and very slow speech. It was a very old tree not far away, towering over the smaller ones proudly. He was here even before the tree herders were transported to Outer-Earth. The one question he asked was short but it took at least a minute for him to voice it, mainly because of his age. The older a tree the lower the tone and the slower they speak.

'Why do you say that?' He asked, very slowly, his voice standing out from among the younger trees'.

Cane felt like he might get a headache from all this noise at this rate but he did what he could to stay calm, trying to make out the questions until finally the older tree's question made itself known. Again he had to think it over. What was a good answer?

"There is no magic there. The trees are all silent and man... Man does not care for them as they should. Not only would you lose your voice going there but man would surely kill you eventually." He replied finally.

The trees talked now even faster, unable to believe what was told them. Silent? Not talking? Killed by man? Who are these men? No magic? How is that even possible? It was hard to imagine when one was born and lived all their life in a magical world.

Of course, the now louder chatting caused the sapling to stir, moving slightly his arms and opening his eyes swiftly, now aware of the talking and the subject. Out of habit he looked around, locating his big brother before relaxing, having received the calming sign from him. There was no danger, which is good. This was also when he noticed the children around him. At first he saw the boy, only a little while later did he notice Lilly at his feet, seemingly asleep. He made a note to not move until she awoke; proudly standing guard above her like his big brother does to all of them.

At this Cane had to cover his ears, ducking down and holding his head tightly. He couldn't take it. So many voices, so much at once. It was just too much.

"Shut up..." He whispered once, then started repeating it. "Shut up. Shut up. SHUT UP!" He finally stood tall, yelling, his booming voice echoing through the land.

This woke Lilly, who sat up quickly, then noticed her stressed older brother and quickly ran up to him, hugging his arm.

"Cane? What's wrong?" She asked, tilting her head to the side and glancing up at him curiously. He normally wasn't yelling, he wasn't even talking but... She didn't understand what caused him to do all this...

Cane blinked, then looked down at her, cringing as he realized what he did and felt horrible instantly. "I..."

The trees of course felt offended but silenced their chatting, now whispering to each other about the boy and his rude behavior, about what he said and now none of them directed their questions and speech to him, instead started guessing.

Hazelbark heard and frowned at what the boy shouted but did not say anything. The sapling must be new to all this... Too many voices after the great silence. But his outburst was still rude towards the trees. As to make sure that there will be no trouble following this, he started speaking to the trees, calming them down.

Silentbranch also listened on in the whole thing but he did not say or do anything about this either. It was not his task just yet after all. Instead he couldn't help but smile when he saw Lilly was awake and moved slightly to loosen the wood within his body for movement... Much to Hazelbark's delight, which also meant that the sapling will move about again and needs him to follow.

Cane sighed, rubbing the back of his head.

"I yelled at them..." He whispered.

Lilly blinked. "At whom?" She questioned him, a small frown appearing on her face as she tried to make out what he was trying to say.

"The trees... There was so much... My head was starting to hurt and I just... snapped." He explained himself, keeping his voice in a whisper.

Lilly thought on this, then hit him upside the head, earning a yelp from him.

"Silly Cane." She said, then stepped away with her hands on her hips. "Trees. My brother is very sorry for being such a meany-head. But you need to be nice too. He just got here and our trees don't talk back home so he isn't used to so many voices. If you don't want to hurt my big brother, then you have to talk to him slowly." She told the trees, acting like a big girl talking to her little siblings despite the fact she was probably one of the youngest creatures in the forest and in reality it just made her look cute.

Cane facepalmed at this. She could be so forward sometimes.

The trees did not reply her of course, as she wouldn't understand it anyway, but Silentbranch couldn't help a chuckle at her courage and protective attitude.

"That was quite brave of you. The trees normally don't like it when saplings tell them what to do, you might earn their respect much quicker than anything." He told her, stepping up to them now, doing all this under the watchful gaze of Hazelbark. "You act like you are the older sibling. It should be the other way around with him protecting you." He pointed out playfully, chuckling at the scenario.

Lilly giggled a little at her friend's comment.

"My brother does protect me. But even big brothers need protecting sometimes. Besides, Cane always means well but sometimes doesn't know how to voice his thoughts right. My dad is the same way." She replied honestly, relaxing her arms at her sides.

Cane blushed a bit but said nothing, feeling it was best he just stayed quiet. This was probably more than he had said in a whole week. His throat honestly felt a little sore from it.

"Strange..." The sapling said, now looking at the boy before directing his gaze back to Lilly. "If you speak in the language of trees it becomes easier. Your thoughts flow like the fastest spring." He chuckled, then decided to change the subject, having noted the silence of the boy. "So, want to play something? And this time I will be more careful." He added with a sheepish smile, well as much as a tree herder can give one, also making sure to glance up at Hazelbark, silently asking permission for a game, which he gave after a few moments of silence. He just hoped that his older brother will not step in or destroy their games with his protectiveness.

Lilly ginned and nodded.

"Yes! Let's play doctor!" She said and this earned a groan from Cane, already knowing where this was going. Lilly looked at him. "Cane will be someone who is dying or hurt and we have to try and make him better. I will be the doctor and you can be the nurse, since you don't know much about doctor stuff yet." She said, more than ready to teach him how to play the pretend game but knew since he didn't know how to play tag he probably wouldn't know how to play this either. She then looked towards her brother and he again groaned before looking around until he found a fallen log and went ahead and sat down to make this easier on his sister.

"Doctor?" The sapling asked, watching her with a confused stare, which he turned towards her brother soon who started moving away. "What is that? What do we do?" He asked again, not sure what to think of this 'game'. He was new to this and normally trees don't need to be made better, they don't need healing, so he didn't know what to think of this subject. How do you heal something? Don't they heal themselves? Also... why would they need to heal someone who is not sick?

"Don't worry. I will show you." The little girl said as she started, collecting different sticks and rocks that looked a little like knives but weren't really sharp. She then placed them beside her brother. "Alright, now I am going to pretend to operate on Cane. Whenever I ask you for a tool of some kind you hand me one of those." She said pointing to the things she just grabbed, then gave Cane a shove.

Cane rolled his eyes before closing them and started making a beep noise.

Lilly smiled at this before pulling her bandana down and putting it around her mouth like a doctor's mask.

"Alright, nurse! We have to make the patient all better. His heart is broken so we got to open him up and replace it." She said and held her hand out. "Dowabob." She said, not knowing the actual names for doctor's tools, so she just made up her own.

The sapling was rather confused when she explained what this game was about and just blinked, not exactly sure what to do with all this.

"Doctor? Cut him open? Are you sure about that?" He asked, stepping up next to her. Of course the same question formed in the head of Hazelbark, who watched them closely from his position but now that Silentbranch asked the question he didn't need to repeat it. "And... you can just replace bodyparts to make them feel better? Is that possible?"

"Well... um." Lilly stopped for a moment, trying to think of how to explain.

Cane decided it might be best if he was the one who replied, seeing his sister seemed not to fully know herself. She was still rather young to have all the answers.

"A Doctor is like a healer. Only no magic. They use tool to find the problem and fix it as best they can. Sometimes in order to do that you do have to cut someone open." He replied and tried to think of a tree equivalent. "Kind of like when a tree has an infected branch. You don't have to kill the whole tree. Just get rid of the infection. Sometimes you don't even have to get rid of the whole branch. However no matter what you do when you are doing that you are considered a doctor. It is a little different for us and other flesh creatures, though, because we have a lot of parts that are needed and if they get infected they have to be replaced. Not gotten rid of altogether." He explained, then cringed, putting a hand on his throat. He was going to have a sore throat by tomorrow if he wasn't careful. He was speaking too much but he didn't know why but... He felt he needed to speak.

"You are so strange..." The sapling commented, although quietly, not sure what to do with the explanation given to him. Trees and tree herders -with which he is and will be concerned with entirely- have no such problems and don't need such complex... treatments.

Even Hazelbark had trouble understanding it but being the grown tree herder he simply stayed silent about it, deciding to just watch them. He knew patience. Every question will be answered eventually. One just has to wait.

"And what is the sound you were making?" Silentbranch asked, of course not noticing how the throat of the boy reacted to talking. But then again, this could be taken as training, because if he will have his own tasks he will have to speak much.

Lilly and Cane looked at each other before they both pointed to their chests.

"In here there is a part called a heart. It is very important." Lilly said with a smile and Cane decided to clarify.

"It pumps blood... Um... Sap through our bodies. If it stops pumping we will die within seconds. The sound I was making represented a device used back home which would monitor the heart to make sure it was still pumping." He explained.

Lilly grinned.

"Here, listen." She said, then ran up to Silentbranch and climbed up to his shoulder and put her chest to where she assumed his ear would be. She did this so he could hear her heartbeat.

The sapling let the child climb on and held firm while she did, listening carefully when she showed him the sound. And there! Indeed! There was this same rhythmic beating that the boy was making.

"The trees have something like that, although not this fast... and they have no such part like a heart..." He added, smiling as he listened to the... very important part of that body. "If it is broken, you can replace it? Won't the body die if you take it out like that? And where do you get the other one?" He asked, not sure how to imagine such a true replacement. Surely, 'hearts' don't grown on trees.

"Other people." Lilly replied, choosing to stay on the sapling's shoulder for now.

Cane chuckled. "Back home when someone died they could choose to allow their parts to be given to those that really needed them. It is a little harder for us because we can only take parts from our kin. No other parts are compatible. Replacing the heart has to be done very fast too. There is a machine used to replace the heart but it only works for a few minutes. If you don't replace the heart fast enough... well..." Cane rubbed the back of his neck.

"That happened to uncle... He and daddy were shot at by bad people and uncle got shot in the heart... They didn't get him to a doctor in time..." Lilly said sadly. She remembered because they had been walking home after going to a movie. Lilly had been chattering as usual while the two men just listened and allowed it. She had been in her uncle's arms... If he hadn't covered her during the drive by... No child should have to see such things but in the world they came from it was all too normal.

"I never understood why people would kill each other for other than food... Here, animals only kill what they need to eat. Why do humans kill their own? Do they eat them? Or did they feel in danger?" He asked, wondering about this subject. Tree herders never kill needlessly, they never intend to actually. They just guard the trees and the forests, tend to them and simply chase away those who wish to harm them. Kills rarely happen and even if they do, it was for good reason or accident. Elves also seem to only take what they need. They don't kill the trees to build, they live with the trees and within them, only taking branches that are sick and needed to be removed, or from dead trees. There are a few cases where the elves do need the parts of living trees but they would always ask for permission before they touched the owner of the wood. So, this subject was foreign to the sapling.

"Well... Daddy says that he has had to kill people before but only because he had no other option. But some people... they kill because something in them wants to... They are bad or being forced to by someone bad. Or sometimes it is by mistake but they are still punished for it anyway. Killing is killing even if you didn't mean to." Lilly replied this time, having had the lecture from her father several times. Normally when he saw a man at their worst at work he would come home and tell his children this... In a way reassuring himself as well.

"They are so strange... We would never kill our kin... I don't know how that is possible..." Silentbranch told them, looking first at Lilly then at Cane with a confused stare. "How can someone be bad? Here, no one is bad. They kill what they need to eat... and never their own kin..." This was making the sapling a little sad. He could never imagine his brothers fighting and killing each other, hurting the trees or anyone who isn't a threat to the forest. Threats are few even and they are mostly misunderstandings and the work of the over-protective nature of the tree herders. "Accidental killing is also punished? Isn't that unfair?" He asked, now glancing at Lilly. "I mean... my brothers sometimes accidentally trample someone... They didn't mean to... So why should they be punished for something they didn't intend and was only an accident?"

Both Cane and Lilly shrugged at the first question. They didn't fully understand it either. They couldn't understand why bad people came to be. Why couldn't everyone just be good? But that would be too easy. So instead Cane skipped to the second question.

"Because you can't make up for a life. Even an accidental kill means you took something away permanently. You took a life and no matter what you do, those that the life was involved with will still be affected by it." He explained.

"But you will be affected too..." The sapling replied, shrugging. "You will be as sad and sorry that you took a life. You have to live on with the knowledge that you took a life you didn't intend. So why add more punishment to it? I don't understand how sheer bad luck should be punished by anything else than the mind." The sapling clearly didn't understand the punishment of an innocent person. Maybe they killed someone... but they didn't intend to. It was all bad luck. And luck cannot be influenced... The punishment in this case is invalid in his mind.

"But not everyone is sorry. At least... not back home they weren't." Cane replied not knowing how people were here really. Everyone seemed to be nice but they all knew better than to take people at face value. No one had been stressed out in any way. That is how one learns what people are really like. "Back home there was a kid who brought his dad's knife with him to school because he wanted to scare the bullies away. When the bullies came he pulled out the knife. By mistake he actually stabbed one. He was punished for it because even though he hadn't meant to actually hurt anyone he ended up not only hurting someone but actually killing them. They had to make sure he wouldn't do the same thing again."

"But if the bullies were not there... If people wouldn't have hurt him... If people would have protected him... he wouldn't have brought the knife. If people have helped him, he wouldn't have done it... Those bullies deserved it, I say. He was just trying to protect himself. If no one else protects you... then you have do it or they will kill you..." The sapling explained, shuddering visibly at the thought of being left alone just now... When he was defenseless. If he was hurt in any way by anyone, he would do everything to stay alive and protect himself. Now, why can't the child protect himself the same way? In the forest it is the same way. If he was harassed by a warthog, who would chew on his branches, he would have all the right to defend himself and stop the animal from chewing on him in any way he can. It would be the warthog's fault for not heeding the warning and the request of the tree herder. "Should he have let them continue?" He asked, tilting his head as much as it was possible. Clearly, those bullies were not kept at bay by anyone anyway. "He was punished unrightfully. It was self-defense. Even we kill in self-defense if needed. If that is the only way..."

Lilly nearly fell off as the sapling shuddered but she quickly found her spot back on his shoulder.

"You should defend yourself." She quickly said.

"But that is the word. Defend. Not kill. Our people learned a long time ago that killing was only used for extreme cases. That child should have tried to get help but instead he tried to take on the problem himself and ended up doing more damage than anything. Humans... they have a tendency to hold grudges. If he hadn't of been punished... The kin of that bully he killed would have made sure he was. In a way the punishment is to satisfy the kin of the one killed, so they don't end up killing the person who only did it by mistake." Cane explained further. He knew it didn't make full sense to the sapling but in their world it really was the only way.

"How do you know he never tried to call for help?" The sapling asked the question that actually cannot be answered in any way. Only the child knows if he did or not. Many might deny it, many might say he did but no way to tell. So, instead he turned his gaze towards Lilly and gave her a smile. "So... do you want to continue or do we plan another game?" He asked, trying to brighten the mood and have fun after this rather serious conversation. He usually had them with his brothers but now he wanted to get rid of that serious world and enjoy his free times as much as he can. Because in a few years he will have to fend for himself. That is when the fun ends...

Cane was more than ready to let the subject drop. Mostly because he knew the answer and would rather not explain how...

Lilly smiled as he suggested they continue playing and thought for a moment, deciding to pick a different game.

"Alright. Let's try a different pretend game." She said as she climbed down onto the ground. She smirked at her brother and he already had a feeling he knew where this was going. "Wolves and sheep!" She yelled.

Cane groaned. "Fine but we stay near here and I swear if you bite me I'm tossing you." He warned before looking to Silentbranch. "I'm a sheep. You two are wolves. You are trying to catch me." He explained, putting it as simply as possible.

"Catch you?" The sapling asked, blinking at the suggestion and quickly thought over the situation... and the difference between their race. They were the same but still... "You are way too fast for me..." He complained, sighing sadly, his shoulders slumping. Seems like chase games would have to be dropped. While he was still a young herder, a sapling at that, he was still already slower than any of them. His body build also didn't enable fast running. He can just maybe a little bit jog but otherwise he will have to resort to walking, stepping fast or just staying where he is and hope that he will come along...

"I'm faster than her too." Cane pointed towards Lilly with his thumb.

Lilly then smirked up at Silentbranch. "Cane is faster than anyone else in our family. He was on the track team back home. But we are wolves. We hunt together. So we don't have to be fast. We just have to be smart." She said, then looked at Cane.

Cane smiled a bit, enjoying he compliment on his speed before stepping back. "Give me ten." He said, then took off running.

"Alright, so you aren't fast. Then I will be a chaser. I will come up from behind and chase Cane towards you and you catch him. You have long arms you blend in really well so you should be able to get him by surprise and catch him if he tries to make a quick turn." She said, quite good at making plans for this game.

The sapling nodded quickly, watching as the boy disappeared from their view, then looked around for a nice spot to hide.

"There!" He shouted, pointing at a patch where some smaller trees were standing firmly together. "Perfect hiding spot, don't you think?" He asked, looking back at her with a smile before stepping towards the young trees and standing among them. He had still enough room to move his arms and step out of his hiding of course. "If I stand still, he won't even notice. You can chase him towards me here."

The little girl grinned and nodded.

"Stay right there. I won't be long." She said, then took off running.

Like she said it wasn't long until one heard the sounds of running coming Silentbranch's way. And as promised, Cane was very fast, moving like an arrow. He didn't have the best balance, so tripped once but instead of staying down he rolled and was back on his feet and running again.

Lilly was right behind him and whenever her brother would try to make a turn she would jump, keeping him cut off so he stayed in the direction she wanted him to go. It was easier when one had more people to help and Cane was likely going easy since this was a new area and this was Silentbranch's first round playing but it was still fun all the same.

The sapling stayed as still and as silent as he could, sometimes giving his big brother, Hazelbark a scolding glare, seeing he was watching him closely. He didn't want him to give him away! The older herder just sighed and eventually looked away, finding sudden interest in a tree that simply stood silently, more than likely resting. The sapling stayed low and waited patiently for the two to come back. Patience was a great and useful trait of the tree herders. They can stay in one place for weeks at a time if needed. Of course, being a small sapling, Silentbranch still lacked most of that never ending patience but he was developing it just right. He watched as the two came into his field of vision and stayed completely still until the right moment when the boy wanted to dodge the tree group. As fast as he could, the young herder lashed out and made a grab towards Cane.

Cane didn't see him coming and before he knew what happened he was caught. The boy yelped and would have struggled had he not known what had him. Instead he just smiled and put his hands up in defeat.

Lilly squealed, jumping up and down like a little bunny.

"We did it! We did it!" She cried out like they had just done the best thing in the world. She hadn't expected it to work so well but then again... Cane had never had to dodge something like the sapling before.

Cane eventually pushed out of the larger herder's grip and landed on his feet. He was ready to go again.

Unknown to them, they were not quite alone. In the shadows many creatures lurked that were attracted by the strange, unusual noise they made in the forest. The tiny squirrel-like mammals chirped to one another curiously as they observed the playing children, while small goat-like animals tilted their head among the bushes, unsure about the creatures. However, these beings squealed and dashed away when a much larger shadow loomed over them. Brown eyes watched the ents with suspicion and a puff of air left the creature's nostrils. Large ears perked up at every louder sound they made, at every high-pitched noise they emitted.

It has been observing them in the past hour ever since they stepped foot into these parts of the forest and stalked them. It found their way of playing disturbing and yet so familiar. Their laughter was not unknown to its ears as the elflings would do the same when amused.

Still...

Their skin... Their smell... Their sheer presence...

These were clearly not elves.

And so they were intruders to its territory.

"You aren't going to get me that way twice." Cane said with a smirk.

The sapling smiled in triumph as well, then let the boy go when he saw him prepare for it. What he said was true... He surely will remember this trick and will avoid trees that are this small... This means that they will have to think of a new tactic... But what? He was a tree herder. He will never need to chase anything with speed, let alone think of tactics like these. When he grows up, he will be huge. His size enough enables him to close distance faster than beings shorter than him due to the wide steps. And hiding will be always an option. So, standing at the ready, the small herder awaited the next turn...

Lilly grinned. "We will get you. I'm sure." She said and waited for her brother to take off before looking to Silentbranch. She thought for a moment, looking around before getting an idea. "Hide behind a really big tree. Big brother will be looking for you out in the open but he won't be looking for you to really hide." She pointed out with a smile, jumping up and down. She was rather good at planning, though, she hardly thought of this as a real skill. Everyone could come up with plans like these, right? They just had to look around.

Silentbranch blinked at the idea but nodded nonetheless, not sure if this is going to work or not. But it was worth a try, right? So, nodding at Lilly, he briefly looked around, surveying the trees before finding a large enough one. He quickly -as for a tree herder it was possible- he hid behind it, pressing his body against it firmly so he practically looked like a part of the larger tree.

"This good?" He asked, looking at the little girl, before averting his gaze to give his once more peeking big brother a scolding glare, causing him to sigh a second time and look away.

Lilly grinned and nodded before taking off running. It was a little harder to get behind her brother this time because he was looking for her but eventually she got it and they came running. Like she planned he was looking for the tree herder expecting to see him hiding among the tree. However instead of seeing the herder his eyes saw something else. He didn't know what it was and he might have ignored it if...

If it didn't look like it was hunting them!

The boy dead stopped not far from Silentbanch and in one motion he caught his sister and tossed her to the ground before being tackled by... by he had no idea what!

He had never seen it before! They didn't have any in Middle-Earth.

It was like a wolf but slightly smaller and longer with shining scales that reflected the rays of the sun, yellow reptile eyes and a tail similar to a snake. It had green and brown scales which got lighter towards its belly. The creature bit into his arm with its thin razor sharp teeth but instead of crying out the boy grabbed its head and held it there trying to keep it from getting away and possibly going after his sister, who had been the original target he was sure. Lilly was just the right size for a creature this big and though the trees saw them as tree herders the animals also saw them as animals. They were considered half and half, really.

Silentbranch stayed unmoving as they neared, preparing himself for the catch, noting that the boy is coming his way, if the sounds and the force of the footsteps are something to go by. He was rather confused when the boy stopped and turned his head slightly when he heard some kind of noise. It was too late though. He gasped when something rushed for the two children, pushing himself away from the tree, without thinking stepping towards the scene with fright, trying to help as according to his herder instincts but was held back by his big brother, who pushed him back from the attack with a foot, gently, to not break anything.

Hazelbark always thought of his little brother first before anything, so made sure he doesn't get hurt in any way. Only after did he weight the situation. He needed to because of the fragile nature and ecosystem that was still struggling to stabilize. The creature was clearly hungry, so killing it and hindering it in feeding would be inappropriate and unnatural. Every other tree herder would think the same way. However, there was something else... The two young 'saplings' were also part of his family, they were in a way tree herders themselves. And their kind always stands up for one another, protecting each other at all circumstances. On the other hand... They weren't quite part of their group and could not be considered as such until they took the mantle as tree herders themselves. They will need to prove themselves in the eyes of the Valar and the creatures that they can fend for themselves and will be the ones protecting them and not the other way around. So, the large tree herder hesitated, although was ready to intervene.

They needed to do this alone...

The wolf-like snake creature bit down harder and harder onto the arm, its curved and long teeth cutting into the skin, to draw blood. But soon it seemed it wanted to pull away and shook its head, pulling back with its backlegs, digging its claws into the ground while the frontlegs held the arm of the boy.

Despite the large teeth and the head, its bite didn't seem to be strong. Its jaws were weaker than they appeared. This could be a warning sign. It clearly did not kill with the strength of its bite.

The other animals understood the threat well.

Cane let out a gasp when all of a sudden the creature was ripped off of him but didn't say anything, instead clutched his now bleeding arm, searching the forest for the reason of the change in his situation.

The snake-like being howled as it was pushed backwards by bone-like appendages, unable to use its claws to rip through it, so was helplessly put out to the mercy of its owner. The item turned out to be large antlers which were connected to a thick skull, covered by light brown, almost gray fur. The pelt thickly coated a strong neck, a large belly and thin yet sturdy legs, which ended in hooves. Its yellow eyes met the brown gaze of the animal, which flared its nostrils, pushed its ears back and released a puff of air before pushing the creature back against a tree with full force.

The impact was not without its effects.

The skull of the carnivore crashed against the bark of the tree, its jaws clashing together, causing a few long teeth to fall out. It tumbled to the ground almost lifelessly, unable to move at first.

The brown-furred mammal however was not about to tolerate a flesh-eating animal on its territory, so reared up onto its backlegs and drummed the hooves on both of its frontlegs onto the ground right in front of the creature's head a couple of times, which woke it up from its daze and sent it running with a whine.

The large-antlered animal watched the creature flee, standing proud in front of the tree and huffed, daring it to return. It swung its already damaged antler a bit, then finally turned its head to look at the ent people it just saved.

This was not its intentions but they were less of a threat and they were no challenge to its power in this forest. They did not seem to be hunters and smelled a lot like ents did. Thus, why should he let them be eaten by this predator? If anything, they proved useful to it, since they distracted the carnivore for a well-aimed attack.

Lilly had been forced to keep away from the scene while her brother struggled and the strange elk-like animal rammed the beast but as soon as the fight was taken farther away she ran to him.

"Cane! Are you alright?!" She asked in a worried almost crying voice, looking at his bleeding arm. It had deep wounds but the arm itself seemed intact. The sharp curved teeth of the canine pierced his skin like needles and ripped it open when it was pushed away.

Cane gritted his teeth as he tried to cope with the pain and held his arm in a tight clutch, trying to stop the bleeding as best as he could. He heard the voice of his little sister, although it became fainter as the seconds went by.

"Y-yes... I'm fine... I'm..." He said, then started to sway, making Lilly's eyes widen. He could hear her scream his name in desperation as his vision started to turn black and the world tilted downwards. He could still feel the cold dirt tough his skin before his eyes closed.

In the mean time the elk watched them, still suspicious about their presence. They were no animals, neither were they elks, so they were intruders, although they didn't seem to be as dangerous as the carnivore that attacked them. It did not tolerate flesh-eating animals on its territory and attacked them ruthlessly to make sure they did not get used to stalking on its land. Its next victim would have been the herd nearby... or the elk itself.

Its hooves drummed on the forest ground as its steps took it closer to the site, tilting its head slightly as its brown eyes caught sight of the wound that the beast made. It knew the wound. It looked almost harmless, save for the blood but the creature held a deadly secret that the elves know of. They however seemed to be clueless.

Dead beings on its territory would attract even more predators.

When the elk came closer, this was when Lilly finally noticed it and turned its teary dark brown eyes onto the creature's own gaze. She knew she should thank it for the help but her brother... He was lying there motionlessly. She felt so helpless and the tree herders didn't seem to be able to help. She averted her eyes and shook the arm of her brother again, desperately trying to wake him up so they can go back to the city and have his wounds looked at but...

She wasn't strong enough to carry him.

Hazelbark watched as the little being attempted to awaken her brother and seemed to think. Its aged gaze went from the children to the direction the predator vanished into, then to the elk which still stared at the duo cautiously and yet clearly ready to hop at them if they made a sudden move. He was aware of the issue that Lilly was facing and decided something wanted them saved, having sent the elven elk to their rescue. These animals usually don't travel such distances from their herd. Nothing happens without a reason, they always say. The Valar are the ones leading their life and the Ents rely on their magic and eternal presence on Arda to exist. They have their hands in everything. Be it the movements of the clouds, the luck and the blooming flowers. In the next moment he moved. First, the large creature just swayed, collecting the swing for a step towards the worried little girl. The old ent of course did not wish to leave his little brother in the open, so let out a deep growl, then watched as the sapling backed away from the deeper forest. He didn't want the sapling to run off after the creature. It is not safe for him, his instincts told him.

He did what he could to help. The rest was up to them and the elves.

Lilly wasn't paying any attention to the brief debate and only lifted her gaze when the shadow of the tree herder loomed over her sobbing form.

He stared at her long and hard, as if still in debate with himself about what he should do, battling his thoughts but eventually he shifted his gaze and lowered one of his large hands onto the ground.

The little girl wasn't quite sure about the gesture but something clicked in her soon enough. Slowly, a bright smile formed on her lips and with newfound strength she did all she could to haul her unconscious brother onto the palm of the creature.

Soon enough, the loud footsteps of the tree herder drummed through the forest. The gaze of the little girl and the proud elk meeting one last time before they vanished among the trees.

In the mean time the elves gasped and the guards grabbed for their bows as they felt the ground shake under their feet. The branches of the trees nearby moved in answer of the vibrations, birds sounded a shrill cry as they spotted something in the distance. It took them a while but the sharp eyed elves managed to find the source of the disturbance in the form of a tree herder, which was carrying something on one of its hand. What was an ent doing so close to the city? Many of them prepared for an angry creature, which came to them with vengeance for some kind of misunderstanding but their momentary shock died down when they saw just what it was bringing them. Once it stopped and with a grown it lowered its hand, the elves did not wasting time, but took the unconscious boy, quickly taking him to their healers, and let the creature leave unharmed and undisturbed. What caused his change of mind to help someone who was outside his duty they didn't know. But that didn't matter now.

Lilly jumped off as her brother was taken and quickly followed.

"What is wrong with him?" She asked the first elf she could get a hold of. Her brother had been bit before. There were violent dogs all over where they lived but nothing like this had ever happened. "Will he be alright?" She asked, starting to tear up worried she might lose her brother in an instant.

The elf she asked turned his head towards her as he watched the boy being taken. He was a hunter, not a healer of course, so did not feel like he could help with anything other than standing aside as they rushed past him. He quickly gave her a reassuring smile before crouching down to be of eye-level and put a hand gently on her hear, patting it softly.

"He will be alright, don't worry. He was bitten by a venomous beast. It is its poison that is affecting him but he got here just in time, so should be fine in a day or two." He tried reassuring her and gathered the knowledge he had about these creatures. "How about I bring you back to your family and we tell them?" He asked, wanting to distract the little girl a little with a journey and get her into a more comfortable company, which is her family.

Lilly looked down then nodded with a faint sob.

"A-alright... Can you... can you make sure they don't give him food? He can drink but... but our people are fasting right now. If he eats... he will be sad for breaking the fast early..." She said, not wanting her brother to wake up just to find he had been forced to break his fast because the elves didn't know any better. It wouldn't be the worst thing in the world of course but culturally it will feel like it.

After a sigh, the elf stood up and halted the next elf that came along, telling them what the child just said. They were confused but eventually agreed to give this information to the healers as well. Though, it might have to be ignored... One can't get strong without eating... And he lost blood, which can only right replenish if food is given.

"Alright... Let's look for your parents now..." He told her and slowly reached out to take her in his arms. He can't expect that she walks about after such a fright and shock. He will carry her to her parents.

Lilly watched this closely before looking up at him. She seemed to hesitate. Mostly because she didn't know the elf and back home just being picked up by a stranger was a death sentence to someone of her age. However she allowed him to pick her up. She wasn't as strongly built as her siblings yet but that did not mean she was light. Compared to elves her size she weighed a deal more than they did. While her mother and father could easily handle this weight asking the same of an elf might be setting a high standard.

The elf did grunt but eventually adjusted his grip on the surprisingly rather heavy child, then walked out of the crowd to make it easy on her. He wasn't sure how well she might take the crowd of people who she doesn't know. Only later did he ask about her parents' whereabouts and soon set out to find them, going in the direction that was given to him by the child, holding her as gently as he could while he walked along the streets.

The parents were on their way back towards the shack when they were caught by the elf. The father's eyes hardened and he reached into his coat to grab something but stopped short when he noticed his daughter didn't seem worried. The mother noticed this but didn't comment and smiled as she walked up to the hunter.

"Thank you. But where is Cane?" She asked, wanting to know where her son was. Lilly looked up at her and quickly told her what happened. The mother's eyes widened before looking to the elf. Lilly had said Cane would be fine but she could not help but worry. It was in her nature. While she had been told to trust the elves... it was hard after leaving the world where no one could really be trusted.

"Take Lilly to the shack... I will stay with Cane." The father said stepping up to the elf.

The elf gladly let the little girl go from his grip but eyed the father rather suspiciously. He wondered just what this man has under his coat... But ignoring this for the moment, he nodded eventually and started leading the father back towards the city, where he stopped at the healers. However, the elves refused to let him in if he tried. The healing process is still in progress. It should not be interrupted in any way.

The father gripped his fists before leaning back against the building and crossing his arms. He may not be allowed to go inside but he refused to leave. He didn't say anything to anyone and every time someone tried to speak to him, if it wasn't about his son, he would simply wave them off not interested. He was not very social by nature and he had tried to be kind earlier but in this case he had other things on his mind besides trying to please a bunch of elves he didn't know.

-few hours later-

After a few hours no one still spoke to the father who stood outside the building. Elves went in and came out but they all had their own business there, so did not tell him anything about his son as they had no information. Only later did one elf come out who actually looked around before spotting the strange person waiting patiently and walked up to him slowly, stopping only a few feet away.

"You may see your son now. He will be alright in a day or two, thanks to the fast treatment. Right now, the boy is very tired and will sleep for the rest of the day..." He trailed off and turned around, showing the father into the building and to the room where his son lay on a bed made of pelt and leaves. "We... would like to keep him in for tonight. Just to be sure." The healer added, although carefully, not knowing how the man will react to it.

The father seemed to have started meditating but the moment the elf spoke to him he opened one eye showing he was listening. As the situation was explained to him he thought on it a moment before pushing off the building and heading towards the door.

"I will stay here, then." He stated, not giving any room to protest as he walked inside to see his son. Even if they did protest he wouldn't listen. The stubborn nature of tree herders did pass on to their kind and in turn to him.

Being far more different than the humans, the elves were far more understanding of emotions and of the need to stay with a loved one, be it family or friends. This is why they didn't even comment on his request, thinking it as natural. There was still one healer in the room at his bed, checking on his forehead if he had any fever, then smiled and nodded, pleased that the boy had none, which was good and gently stroked his hair lovingly before letting him go.

"Quite strong boy you are." The elf praised him, nodding at the father in greeting, then returned his gaze to Cane. "No fever, the bleeding stopped, no swelling, just a little inflammation. This is good. Very good."

The father looked at his son, then relaxed visibly seeing he was indeed alright. He took up a seat and reached out, touching his son's arm.

"Thank you..." He finally said softly, allowing his eyes to go to the healer. He wasn't sure what else to say. He was just pleased to see that his son was taken care of even if it didn't show visibly on his features like it would on a normal human or elf. His family meant the world to him. That's why he would do anything to keep them safe.

"We do what we can." The healer replied with a smile and nodding in return of the words of gratitude, soon deciding to leave the two alone. They surely wanted to speak before the boy falls asleep. And considering the situation and the looks of Cane, it will happen soon.

The father nodded as the other left before looking to the half dazed child. He was looking well considering... but rather sad. The father raised a brow at this before noting that there was an empty plate nearby. So they fed the boy. The father sighed then patted his head softly.

"You did well... Get some sleep." He assured the boy and despite it only being a few words this seemed to be enough as Cane closed his eyes. The father leaned back in his chair, crossing one leg over the other and crossing his arms. He then started to hum softly. It was the music to an old lullaby. It was meant to be calming like the sounds of the forest.

The boy relaxed at the familiar humming, a content sight escaping his nose. It did not take long from there on to let sleep claim him for the night. His exhausted body easily slumped and helped him to travel to faraway lands. His dreams held a new adventure for him and wherever he looked into the distance, he could see the strict brown gaze of the elk watching over him.

-pants- Alright. This took longer than expected. But we hope that you enjoyed the chapter.

So, see you guys in two weeks!

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