A/N; -squeaks-

So. How are we all doing today? (: Well, I hope!

So, uh, I guess that we're just going to jump in to this today! 8D

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The crisp, golden rays of dawn fluttered through the mountain peaks, casting shadows everywhere. The sky paled, and was a mixture of pinks, reds, and blues, so skillfully blended by Mother Nature that it would take a truly skillful artist to capture the entirety of the beauty. A breeze brushed through, and as it began pulling away from where the four campers lay, one of the four began to stir.

Though it was a chilly morning, warmth radiated from all around her, and it took her a moment to figure out exactly why she was so warm. When she realized the reason, her eyes widened, and her breath caught in her throat once more.

"Faolin," she hissed, shifting slightly. She was about to sit up, but something in her somehow thought that it felt… nice to be in Faolin's grasp. It took a good deal of willpower for her to not snuggle in deeper.

Faolin was a surprisingly light sleeper. At the first mention of his name, the expanse of his gray eyes opened, and Arya faltered for a moment as she caught the color of them. Taking a breath to steady herself, she opened her mouth to protest his hold on her, but then found that the words wouldn't come.

Instead, Arya closed her eyes…

…And moved in closer to Faolin.

She felt him stiffen for a moment in surprise, but then he melted in to the pose, his arm pulling her in even tighter.

The full sunrise found the two of them still like this, their eyes closed, relishing in the simplicity of the moment. It would have lasted longer if it hadn't been for Brom's eagerness to return back to the Varden.

The human woke up feeling rather energetic and leapt up, gazing over his companions. Glenwing was already up and milling about, and Brom now felt compelled to go wake Faolin and Arya up. When he tread up to them, he saw them together. At this scene, Brom swiftly cut off the thoughts that threatened to flow through his mind about his own life. Instead, he put on a grin and rudely shook both awake. "Morning, lovebirds," he greeted before stepping back and surveying his work at waking the two up.

"Just a little longer?" Arya muttered. "It's warm right here…"

Then the entirety of the situation struck her. She sat up quickly, tearing herself from Faolin's hold. A scarlet blush that would have made a sunset jealous spread its way through Arya's face, something quite unusual.

"I—ah… Good morning, Brom," she said and took a couple of paces over to Glenwing, turning her back on Brom and Faolin and striking up an awkward conversation with the other elf.

Brom took a step and leaned over Faolin who was staring up at the sky with a dreamy expression on his face. "Wake up, boy!" Brom barked, giving Faolin a light slap on the cheek. "The Varden's awaiting! You'll have plenty of time to fawn over your elf princess while we go through the mountains—the mountain air's good for the brain."

That's odd, Brom thought to himself with a grin. I never thought that when I actually made this trip, I would be calling an elf a boy…

After the breakfast, the regular preparations to take off were made. Packs were repacked, the fire was doused, and mounts were saddled. Arya was in the process of saddling her mount when Faolin intervened, wrapping both his arms around her waist—certainly a most bold maneuver.

Arya stopped her actions and gave a sigh. "Faolin—" she muttered warily as she turned her head to reprimand him.

She never got the chance, for when she turned her head, her lips met with Faolin's almost instantaneously.

This exchange lasted only momentarily, and Faolin didn't bother to see the aftereffects, for he withdrew his hold on Arya and proceeded to turn to his own mount, beginning the process of tacking up.

Arya placed a hand to her lips. There was a tingle passing through them, strange yet pleasant. She threw a glance over her shoulder in the direction of the elf and then turned back to what she was doing. Sneaking a glance at Brom and Glenwing, she was glad to see that neither of them had seen what had just occurred.

"So, shall we head off in to the mountains now?" Brom asked loudly, startling Arya from her thoughts. At a nod from her and the other two elves, Brom began leading the way through the mountains with Glenwing next to him. Arya was surprised at the change of order, but then resigned herself to staying in the back.

With Faolin.

As she rode on, she attempted to sort through her emotions for Faolin. Thankfully, the male elf understood the fact that she was in need of a little time to herself, without having to be told.

She knew for sure without a doubt that she cared for Faolin: she would be lost without him. Yet, she wasn't quite sure if what she truly felt for him was truly love or if it was just a deeper point of her understanding of him.

Arya bit her lip as she tried to comprehend everything—but it was all to no avail. She took a quick glance around her at the scenery in order to clear her mind—in order to calm her nerves.

"Faolin?" she asked, not quite of her own accord. It was simply what her heart was telling her to do, and she had no control over it whatsoever. This fact scared her—it scared her beyond belief. She was used to leading with her mind, leading with logic. This—she didn't know what this was.

"Mmm?" Faolin answered casually, still looking ahead.

"Look at me and tell me what you were trying to say that night with the Ra'zac," Arya remarked, peering at him intently and willing him to do what she said, though she knew she had no say in what he would give as his response.

"Do you really want me to?" Faolin asked, turning his head and meeting Arya's gaze. "Do you, Arya Drottingu, truly and honestly wish for me to repeat what I was meaning to say that night?"

Arya bit her lip. "I think so," she murmured.

"But do you wish for it?"

"Yes." Arya did not know exactly where she had summoned up the courage to say so, but it had just come out.

"I love you."

Arya stared dumbly and mutely at Faolin after he had uttered the three, short, simple words that meant so much. She had expected from Faolin at least an intro to what he was going to say—but no, he had put it so bluntly and in such a voice that contained such emotion that Arya made a decision. She knew that once she voiced it aloud, she would never be able to turn back—but so be it.

"I—I love you too," she stated, her voice shaking at first but then gaining strength as she continued. "I think, Faolin, that I have loved you for a very long time, probably since our days running through Du Weldenvarden—but back then, I loved you in a different sense. Now…" Arya trailed off here, casting her eyes downward.

"Now, things are different," Faolin finished for her softly. He angled his mount so that they now rode alongside. Reaching out, he touched her face and leaning over, gently left a kiss on her cheek, much different from their earlier kiss, which had been full of ardor and fervor on Faolin's part.

The rest of their ride consisted of exchanging shy smiles and glances, as if they were children batting their eyelashes at one another. Brom and Glenwing were ahead of them a considerable amount, though their voices were raised in a heated discussion—about what, however, Arya did not quite know, though she felt as if she should be learning something dealing with politics instead of lagging behind with Faolin—though she was not complaining.

There was no obvious path through the mountains, but Brom seemed to know where he was going. The three elves knew that without Brom, they would have most likely spent endless amounts of time all to no avail.

That evening while camping in the mountains, Arya observed Brom with a critical eye, thoughts coming to her mind. She watched Brom's hands, and saw that they were always in motion, whether it was drumming his fingers on a hard surface or clenching and unclenching—they were always doing something. As she came to this realization, she also saw that Brom was wearing gloves, and even though they looked rather worn, he did not take them off—even when they sometimes got in the way of various tasks.

"Brom," Arya inquired, knowing full well that she might get a scolding for her question. "Why do you wear gloves all the time? Do they not get in the way of your duties?"

"Most people like me wear gloves whenever associating with those who do not know the secrets," Brom said absent-mindedly, tapping his foot on the ground as he stared off in to more of the mountains.

Arya's brow furrowed at this answer. "People like you? Brom, what do you mean?"

Brom's head jolted to face her. "Nothing," he said, although he said it a little too quickly than what was classified as normal for Arya. Exchanging glances with Faolin, she said no more, though she had to admit that her curiosity was raised.

A wind rushed through the bare surface of the mountain, serving as a cold enough of a draft to cause them to huddle together around the fire even more. Arya looked at Brom. She saw the flames reflecting in his brown eyes and nothing more—his eyes, and his complete face for that matter, betrayed no emotion whatsoever.

It was at that point when Arya decided to do something she had never thought about doing with Brom. Tapping deep in to her own consciousness, she attempted to enter Brom's mind—only to be rudely stopped by an iron wall of defenses in his mind. She tried to breach these walls, but had no success. Surprised, the female elf pulled her mind away from Brom's and with a puzzled look, continued trying to discern information from Brom.

"It will not work, Arya. I have had much training in the past that helps me when it comes my mind," Brom said, his voice empty. With that, he lay on the ground and promptly fell asleep, leaving a mystified Faolin and Arya to sit together while an unperturbed Glenwing hummed a little melody to himself.

When both Faolin and Arya shot questioning looks at Glenwing, since they both knew that out of all of them, he was the closest to Brom, Glenwing simply gave a shrug. "Don't ask me," was all the elf said before losing himself to stargazing.

Arya sighed with exasperation, but decided to not pursue the topic any further—at least for the moment. Feeling rather drowsy, she closed her eyes and soon found herself swept in to Faolin's grasp. Relaxing in to it almost immediately, she leaned her head on his shoulder. This feeling was unknown to her, but it was intoxicating.

I could stay this way forever, couldn't I? Arya thought to herself, this thought kissing a smile on to her lips. She answered her own question after a few moments.

Yes. Yes I could.