Note from KahLou: I'm getting wonderful feedback, so I must be doing something right :) This is just a really short chapter. Consider it half a chapter, actually.

There was only one window that existed in the hollow. If you were to look directly up, past all three climbs of the tree, you could see a single, solitary airway that shone light. It was your way of telling time if you found yourself spending weeks on end without leaving, and it was one of two airways to ensure you didn't die from loss of oxygen. For time when it got much too cold or if an emergency arose, you simply had to climb to the airway and slide a cover that laid right on the other side of the gape. Very seldom did you find yourself having to close it off, though. You always enjoyed the fresh air, but there were only two reasons that you would ever have to close it off; when you heard the heavy footsteps of orcs, or the high horns of the Woodland realm bellowing in the distance. You were no longer on good terms with the elves, or at least not on good terms with one in particular...he always held a grudge against you, ever since you left. You knew exactly what those horns were used for, they were scouting horns. Searching, chasing, pursuing. Years had gone by since you had left, every elf in the kingdom must have had their doubts that you would ever be found. All except he, the notorious king. You knew him well enough to know that he was the only one who knew you had not left the woods, his only flaw was that he did not know exactly where to look. You were always good at hiding.

The window's light slowly panned into the tree as the early morning birds began their rise. You tossed and stirred with discontent as the sunlight directly hit your eyes, shaking you awake as to not miss but an hour of the day. You would have ignored it, too, and gone right back to your slumber, if only you hadn't slightly rolled to your side and felt your body roll onto a ramp...

That wasn't a ramp. Why would a ramp be in your-

Intruder.

Before you could even open your eyes, your right hand reacted with instinct and grabbed ahold of the dagger that you kept underneath your pillow. You forced yourself to roll as quickly as possible on top of the foreign object which began to grunt and rustle underneath you, and right before you even knew what you were going to do next, a hand grabbed for your wrist and whispered, "Wait!"

You ripped off the top of the blanket to find that you were, once again, straddling the little mound of a dwarf beneath you.

"K-Kiev, please! I feel, oh, what is the word...violated! Yes, yes Kiev that is how-"

"Shut the HELL UP," his sarcasm burned at your face as you dug the fingers of your left hand underneath his collarbone, and wow, did that quiet him down.

"Hear me out," he squeaked as he tried to wrestle with you," y-you were cryin', you wouldn't stop. You kept at it for an hour and it really worried me, I wasn't sure if you were in pain or...oh, I dunno! I just know that when infants are upset skin to skin contact helps with the stress, so I only put two and two together.."

"Skin. On skin. Contact. And YOU FEEL VIOLATED?" you were outraged, he silently screamed as your other hand grabbed the other side of his collar.

"Noooooo..Kiev I didn't touch you, I just kept you company was all. Your cryin' might've attracted outsiders, who knows who mighta been listening? I just rubbed your arm and head, it seemed to calm you down. You had this, this little smile afterwards that ensured me I must done SOMETHING right. P-please, with the hands, lady..."

You thought about it for a few a seconds, and with that you released him. His irritated gasp for breath stifled up a laugh in you.

"I suppose that it could have gotten out of hand."

You began to feel a little bit bad about interrogating him, but who was he to not expect a woman to panic when a man she barely knows lays in her bed?

He then looked down towards the bedsheets, "you were so sad...it really brought me down."

You kept quiet. You didn't know that you cried in your sleep, the idea of it sounded surreal. How many nights had this gone unnoticed for? Months? Even years?

"You were whispering about somebody."

Oh.

"If you don't mind, could I ask..."

"It's best that we don't get acquainted, dwarf."

"..what happened between you two?"

"What? Who?"

"That...he, who you were speaking of in your sleep."

You could't do this anymore. You know he meant no harm, but it was really for his best interest to stay as far out of your life as possible. He was getting too friendly, too caring. You couldn't have anybody else getting hurt, not this time.

"Leave."

"Wait, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"Please. Get out."

There was a long, drawn out silence. Your cold stare was just the mask, you needed him to get out before he became too involved.

"I have nowhere to go, my kin could be miles away by now."

"I will lead you to the nearest path, but that is as far as I will go."

You supplied him with a canteen and a few days worth of herbs and nuts to keep him lasting. You had to carry him on your back as you climbed up the ladder which exited through thick brush, and eventually back onto the forest floor. The air had grown muckier, with a scent that made your eyes water. It was only a small way until you reached the Northern pathway, which would lead directly out of the forest if followed precisely.

You set him down and he readjusted onto the ground and seemed to have a sense of loss. You began to feel a small amount of pain growing inside of you, but it was not a pain caused by penetration of the skin. It was a pain in the heart, your heart. This dwarf had shown you nothing but kindness, and for a second you felt as though you had wronged them for much too long. "Thank you for your kindness," he began and he took a few steps back from you," I sure hope we do cross paths again."

"Bofur, right?"

He smiled at you, "that's right, Kiev."

He began to make his way and disappeared behind the thick forest trees. You sighed a breath of relief and stared after his direction for a while. What makes you sad is that you probably will in fact never meet again.

You couldn't even realize how dead wrong you were in that moment. As you spun around to make way back to your home, You smashed face first into a large, shadowy, warm...wait, warm? This is no tree.

Your eyes adjusted as you looked straight ahead into a slate of silver and metallic fabrics, and you froze. You stayed absolutely still. You dared not look left, or right, and especially not up. It wasn't like you had much choice in the matter; a large, soft hand swept under your chin and leaned your face upwards. Your eyes remained closed. "Open your eyes," his voice sounded the same as you had remembered it. A nervous chill was sent down your spine as you slowed opened your fiery amber eyes to meet his sapphire ones. He did not smile this time.

"I told you I was patient. Now I've got you."

You mumbled something under your breath, catching his attention, "Louder, Kiev. I can't quite hear you."

"Took you long enough."

He glared at you, then turned his head to greet two other elves who had just arrived on scene. They were not alone, though. Something much shorter was being dragged along unwillingly...oh god, it wasn't something. It was someone.

"It looks like you've made an alliance, Kiev." The almighty king smirked as Bofur sulked. He lifted his head as he made eye contact with you, his eyes filled with grief and, yet, a little bit of relief to see you.

"It would seem that we would cross paths sooner than expected, dwarf."

He just went right back to staring at the ground, smiling like a little idiot.