Reveiws:

Queen Islanzadi: I don't really know, since we havn't written any of them and have no specific cutoff . . . as long as we can make it I guess. This is only chapter 13, so hopefully it will be longer than TTPBNlT - though probably not as long as FotF.

Remember the Feel Real: That's why I love him :) He keeps Nickel sort of sane and she keeps him in the deep end. opposites attract and all that. He tends to be a really popular crazy elf - kind of like how the twins are tricksters, Elrond's a nerd, and Legolas is angsty - steriotypes. Though I think we made Haldir distinctly different - I wouldn't like to have too many stereotypical elves.

meagan: where did you get that idea? yes b/c he has so many personallities and then they are all translated what ring? yes, but we didn't have any - it wasn't dessert yet.

Gina: last chapter of the sequel, acctually. Unless you want to see him sooner?

Chapter 13

It's an elf, It's a hobbit, It's Nickel!

In which Kelsey, and Mandy learn something and Nickel and Glorfindel host a pool party . . . sort of.

Mandy's PoV

I woke up the day after the big party with a headache the size of an Oliphant – and I'm not joking.

"Good Morning, my Alcohol Anonymous friend!" Nickel exclaimed, sweeping into my room with something vaguely resembling coffee, "You have a hangover."

I threw a pillow at her.

"Have some of this – Arwen made it for you."

"What is it?" I asked, suspiciously sniffing the mug – I don't particularly like Arwen.

"Ask Arwen." Nickel swept out grumpily.

I sipped the tea – or coffee like drink – while muttering to myself about crazy people and annoying morning people – forgetting that I was a morning person myself.

Kelsey pushed the door open, "Nickel says you're grumpy. Can we come in without bodily injury?"

"I'm not an exhibit!" I protested, seeing that the whole fellowship came in with Kelsey, Haldir, Glorfindel and Nickel.

"We've never seen an elf get drunk before!" Sam exclaimed.

"Or get a hangover." Haldir added dryly, "Are you sure she's an elf, Legolas?"

I threw the other pillow at him, "Freak!"

Haldir ducked.

Nickel and Glorfindel sat on my bed – or rather Nickel pointed to the bed and sat on top of Glorfindel. "Of course she's not an elf!" Nickel exclaimed, "She's one of the Maiar, just like Kelsey and I."

"WHAT?" everyone except Gandalf, Nickel, Glorfindel and I had leapt to their feet – though Glorfindel would have, it he could have as would I.

"Why do you have a hangover then?" Aragorn asked, being the first to recover.

"Because she was stupid enough to take a form that could get one." Nickel answered promptly, ducking as I tried the whack her. Glorfindel restrained me.

"That doesn't make much sense." Kelsey said cautiously, "I mean, it does, but why would Mandy do that? Can we change again?"

Nickel gave her a look, "Mandy simply didn't think. And, yes, we can. Would you like to be invisible," She suddenly disappeared, but her voice continued, "Or a snake," A colorful cobra appeared, making Glorfindel yelp, "Or a man?" a rather Aragorn like guy appeared – Glorfindel wrinkled his nose, "We are anything." and Nickel returned to the way we were used to seeing her, "It's quite simple."

"Right." Legolas looked ill, the rest of the Fellowship –except Gandalf - fled.

Gandalf left more sedately with a, "You may be outside the rules I adhere to, but please don't flaunt yourself, Twit."

"How do you know all that?" Haldir asked, rather shocked.

"After you, Elladan, Elrohir and the Rohirm left, I spent a lot of time in the library."

"We thought you were being introverted and depressed!" Kelsey exclaimed.

"Yeah!" I added.

"Well," Nicole elaborated, "I read a lot of the old stories and found out some things – like a pretty good description of what the Maiar are."

"As in . . ." I pushed for some more elaboration.

"Well, you'll just have to figure that out for yourself." Nickel announced.

"What?"

"Why?"

"It's like a cliché – you have to learn for yourself and all that."

"Great."

Nickel shrugged us off by turning into a beam of light and flying out the window.

"Sorry about that." Glorfindel stood up, "She likes to be mysterious."

"We noticed." Legolas choked out.

"I advise you use the library while we're here." Glorfindel said as he left.

"I don't know about you, Kelsey," I sat up, "but I think I'll stick with good old normal elfness." I closed my eyes really tight, "Darn it, I still have a headache!"

Legolas smiled, Haldir and Kelsey erupted into laughter. She hiccupped.

"Oh my." She gasped, "I . . ." She poked herself, "I think I'm human now," She blinked a bit, "And now I'm Eldar . . ." The changes were slight – since Kelsey as a human was so perfect – but present. It was something about the way she held herself. "How strange;" She murmured, "though I don't think I'll try for masculinity."

"The Ainor tend to stick with one or the other." Haldir comforted her, "Nickel was just showing off, I think."

"She would." Legolas muttered.

I nodded empathetically, "Maybe I have it down too – my head ache feels better already!"

"That would be from the Evenstar's tea." A potted plant I hadn't noticed before said primly . . . wait . . . potted plants don't talk.

"Aha!" Glorfindel exclaimed, bursting through the door and grabbing the plant, "Come on Nickel."

"Drat." The plant muttered, turning into a bird and perching on Glorfindel's shoulder.

"Glorfindel," Legolas called, "How did Nickel get you to fall in love with her? She's annoying."

Glorfindel – severely miffed – walked out.

"She didn't have to do anything." I told him, "That's the beauty of it."

Legolas turned red.

"You don't know Nickel like Mandy and I do. She's a different person in private."

"Yeah, she has no qualms about beating you up." Legolas said sulkily.

"No, no!" Kelsey exclaimed, "She's just afraid people won't understand her in public – so she puts on a persona."

"Really, Legolas, you just have to get to know her." I told him.

"And be careful what you say to Glorfindel." Haldir added, "He killed a Balrog, you know."

Over the next two weeks or so, Kelsey and I faced the grim, vast library, reading ancient books where every other 's' was replaced with an 'f' making them impossible to read. After a few days of this, and finding nothing whatsoever of what Nickel was constantly hinting at, I decided that Nickel had probably made up the whole thing – about there being a book. We cornered Glorfindel one evening after dinner.

"How does she do it, Glorfindel?" I asked, brandishing the knife Galadriel gave me.

He glanced at it scornfully, (Nickel, don't kill me for saying this, but Glorfindel is really hot when he looks at things scornfully . . . or disdainfully come to think of it. Nickel: I know.) "You think she tells me?"

"No, but we want you to find out!" Kelsey told him, brandishing a different one of her many weapons every two seconds.

He sighed, "What do you want to know?"

"How does she change shape?"

He looked surprised, "That's it?"

"Yes, that's it." I mimicked acidly, "How does she do it."

Glorfindel cleared his throat, "You could just ask her.'

"She'd never let us forget it!" I told him.

"Yeah, I know." And then he was . . . Nickel

"Hey!"

"Nickel!"

Nickel grinned at us evilly, "Don't threaten my elf!"

"You always beat up Legolas!"

Nickel shrugged, "Only because you can't protect him."

"That's not very nice."

"Will you answer our question, then, Nickel?" Kelsey asked, restraining me.

"It's simple." She answered, "Just be somebody else."

"That's not very-"

"No, I mean mentally, and the physical follows. You have to feel the form you want to take – it's like . . . getting into character."

"Oh!" I gasped, "I get it!"

"I don't." Kelsey sulked.

"It's hard to explain." I told her, "But really simple. You have to pretend to be that other form with all of you – not just your head or your heart – that's why most of the Ainor kept the same form – it's easier."

"Okay . . ." Kelsey still seemed a bit doubtful.

"Can I come out now, Nickel?" Glorfindel asked, poking his head out of a door, "These broom closets are stuffy."

Of the three of us, Nickel was the best at the whole form changing thing – she'd had so much time to practice. Kelsey was the worst. She was a choir person and choir people tend to be horrible actors – and her especially. She just didn't understand getting completely into character. I soon learned, though, that the whole 'getting into character' thing was the slow way of doing it, eventually I – like Nickel – could change in the blink of an eye. We spent a lot of time spying on Legolas as various plants and people – it was fun. I think Nickel did it because she didn't like Legolas, but I - with every bit of spying - grew to love him more and more.

Nickel's PoV

I was having a Bath. A lovely, fluffy bubbles, and fizzy bath fizzes, bath oil and elven hair care products Glorfindel brought me type of bubble bath. Bath with a capitol 'B'. It was lovely, happy bubble bath - until Kelsey popped in.

"OUT! OUT! I'M TAKING A BATH, NOW OUT!"

"Geez." Kelsey backed out the door, "I was just asking you what you wanted for dinner."

"TEA AND CUCUMBER SNADWICHES!" I yelled for her benefit, "And send Glorfindel in."

Kelsey reappeared, "Nickel, you are taking a bath."

"And?"

"You are in a state of indecency."

"It's a bubble bath!" I splashed her.

"You just yelled at me for disturbing your bath and I'm practically your sister."

"And?"

"You are NOT going to receive visits from a male while you are undressed - much less your boyfriend of an elf."

"Fine!" I told her, "I'll tell him myself."

"You aren't going anywhere, young lady, until you are dressed."

"I'm not going anywhere, Mother." I laughed.

"Then how are you going to call him, when he's on the other side of the citadel?"

"Easy." I giggled, "He's coming now."

"What?"

Glorfindel burst in, "Yes, Nickel?"

"Kelsey seems to think this is indecent." I told him, "I don't see why, since I'm wearing a swimsuit - do you have yours?"

"Yep!" Glorfindel pulled off the bathrobe he was wearing - revealing a very nice pair of red swimtrunks with cartoonish dogs (He picked them, I swear) - and got into the giant bath tub.

Kelsey stared at us.

"Aren't they nice?" I asked.

"Er . . ."

"You should have seen what I got him for Christmas!"

"Do you want me to get them?" Glorfindel asked.

"That's okay." I told him, then to Kelsey, "Do you want to join us?"

Kelsey fled.

I giggled, "Thanks, Pastrami."

"What does Pastrami mean?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Mandy said something about beef."

"Pastrami is like peppered roast beef, actually." I smiled innocently, "NO! DON'T DUNK ME . . . HELP . . . KELSEY . . . Mph!"

Don't we just love Glorfindel? He wouldn't let me call him Pastrami after that . . . darn.