Tauriel leapt down from the tree within the span of a couple heartbeats, punched Legolas on the shoulder, and with a very serious look on her face, demanded to know why he had been drinking without her. Legolas took the abuse good naturedly and tipsily promised to wait next time, not that he had even been drinking heavily at all. For all his many years he was still a lightweight. Tauriel rolled her eyes at him, but her sprits changed for the better as she remembered Arwen sitting in the tree above them and why she had been preoccupied in the first place. She really enjoyed spending time with the other woman even though they had only just met, and it was as plain as daylight to Legolas as he watched the guard captain interact with Arwen. Her usual gruff, impulsive nature had softened considerably around the other woman, and he wasn't sure if he could think of a time when she had smiled so much within the span of a day, let alone a week or even a month.
Tauriel had coached Arwen up and down the apple tree at least a dozen times before the sun hit its lowest point in the sky, burning bright orange and turning the clouds a vivid pink so colorful it was easy to recall there was magic in this world. The chilly breeze made music from the rustling of the crisp autumn leaves strewn about the ground. Arwen stared appreciatively as the wind blew through Tauriel's long orange mane, making it flow and ripple like a ribbon streamer as she packed away the climbing gear and a few apples to eat for later. Legolas saw Arwen watching Tauriel with that look on her face and smiled to himself knowingly.
Arwen made sure to do her reading closer to the training area the following day. Every once in a while she would look up from her book and watch Tauriel interact with the two units as they learned to fight in a more unified manner together. This would be important for the quickly approaching trip south to Lothlórien. The sparring exercises especially caught her attention and she couldn't seem to tear her eyes away as the redhead displayed her superior fighting prowess against the home guard. Tauriel made a violent art form out of kicking, punching and hacking at two of the guards she was sparring against. When Arwen was finally able to look back down at her now closed and forgotten book, she had also completely forgotten what topic she had even been reading about let alone which page she had been on.
When the training exercises were completed for the day, Arwen sat reading her book comfortably when Tauriel approached. Arwen looked up from her comfortable seat and smiled at the redhead. "Would you like to learn healing today?" she asked.
"That sounds nice, but you must know that I have never been very skilled at it," explained the redhead.
"That will be fine. We will just have to figure out what you know and we can go from there," said Arwen.
"Let me change out of this sweaty uniform and freshen up before we start. I'll meet you in a candle's mark?" Tauriel asked.
Arwen told Tauriel to meet her at the big fountain by the waterfall when she was finished and they went their separate ways.
Tauriel chose to wear what would normally be considered a dark green silk dress, except she wore a brown leather armored corset and armored leather wrist guards over the ensemble as well as pants underneath, but you couldn't see those very well since the material was so long. She of course had both of her daggers on her as well. She never went anywhere without them, dress-like uniform or not.
Arwen hummed to herself appreciatively as Tauriel walked towards her as she sat on the edge of the fountain. She had a full meal of fruits, cheeses, breads and wine waiting for the warrior when she arrived. "You look lovely" Arwen said. Tauriel felt an unfamiliar heat rise to her cheeks at the compliment.
"So do you. That color really suits you." Tauriel said referring to the sky blue, semi-transparent chiffon gown Arwen was wearing. It was low cut enough that you could see the Evenstar pendant hanging around her neck. That also brought blush to Tauriel's freckled face, but she had never experienced a feeling like this before and therefore remained completely oblivious to it.
They snacked on the meal Arwen had brought to the fountain as Tauriel went over what she knew about healing.
"I am able to do the basic things such as preparing simple poultice mixtures, stitching deep wounds and counteracting small amounts of spider venom. If a soldier has been bitten more than once, I must rely on a more adept healer's skills." Tauriel said.
"Pretend that I have been bitten by a spider. Show me how you would handle a situation like that," Said the brunette as held out her arm.
Tauriel gently took the brunettes wrist in her hand and began her work. A faint glow could be seen emanating from the redhead's hands and Arwen could feel a cold tingle in her arm as Tauriel tenderly rubbed it. She had a surprising gentleness for such a fierce warrior. Arwen was able to quickly assess the technique now that it was being practiced on her and had a good idea of where to begin. She put her other hand over Tauriel's and began teaching.