Alrighty then. Chapter 4 is officially done. I would have posted this a day or two ago, but I wanted a friend of mine to read it and check as much as she could before I posted it. That being said, this is by no means error free. At least, I doubt it. Even between the two of us we still manage to miss things. Oh well. But yeah... it's done! *thumbs up* :D

This chapter did not turn out remotely like I had planned. When I started writing this chapter, things just kinda flew out from under me and I was left to pick up whatever fell off the back as it sped away. What you will find in this chapter is complete chaos, yet oddly logical. And the terms "Knowing, Brave and Completely Clueless" kinda come into play here. I like to think that you find out more about our lovely ladies in this chapter, but maybe not. I dunno. Just leave me a review and tell me what you think. But yea, I'm gonna leave this here... I've gotta go attempt to do homework that's due tomorrow... :/ Until next time!

"Elvish" 'Thoughts' 'Mental conversation'

Suva

"Please tell me that we do not have that much farther to go. I fear that if we do, one of our companions may not survive. Kixi has been getting more and more agitated and I cannot promise that she will not attempt to eat one of them." Suva quietly asked the blonde elf in front of her. Legolas chuckled.

"We do not have much farther. Another two days and we shall arrive at the gates." He replied.

"Two days?!" Suva exclaimed "Kixi will likely have eaten someone in that time!"

The bobcat in question looked up from her place beside the white stallion. Kixi understood every word and was silently agreeing with her mistress. Much longer with the scowling Mirkwood elves and she would begin clawing at eyes. They were a lot of foul tempered elves that she wished she had never met. It did not help their case that they were constantly insulting Suva. Kixi had had to refrain multiple times from attacking one of the officials because of their blatant disrespect for her mistress.

"You both will survive. It is only two days and we do not have to stay within speaking distance of them." Legolas consoled.

'It is not speaking distance that I am worried about, elf prince. It is the fact that even from here I can understand every word of which they speak, and I do not like those words at all.' Kixi growled at the elf, though only Suva could understand her. Suva sighed to herself.

Try as she might, there was nothing she could do for her beloved bobcat. Kixi, if she wished to stay near Suva and Legolas, was forced to suffer listening to the disrespectful ranting of the elves. Suva couldn't understand why Legolas didn't say something. He had to be able to hear them. Why wasn't he doing anything?

'He fears them.' Kixi mumbled. Suva cast a sharp glance at the feline.

'What reason does he have to fear them? He is their prince! He holds far more power over them than they do over him. A few words to his father and they could be banished from Mirkwood!' Suva replied.

'He fears them because they are closer to his father than he has ever been. Think about it Suva. The only thing he has over them is title. His heritage grants him some protection from them, but not enough. To them, all he is, is a child with his father's name. They hold far more power over him than he will ever have over them unless he is king.' Kixi said.

Suva's eyebrows furrowed together. Kixi was right, no matter how much Suva wished otherwise. Suva had seen it the minute she had seen Thranduil and Legolas in the same room. Their relationship was that of a king and a subject, not of a father and a son. It was because of that, that Legolas tried so hard to please his father.

'I am not even sure that Thranduil cares about him with the feelings of a father. I am not sure he loves him.' Suva murmured sadly.

'Deep down, he loves him. I just do not think he remembers the feeling.' Kixi said 'He lost his wife when Legolas was still but a child. You remember that. I think he shut himself off from the feelings and now he does not remember how to show affection. It is not that he does not love him, it is that he himself is scared of the feelings which so nearly tore him apart the first time.'

Suva nodded. Thranduil was a man with many secrets and a man that did not easily open up. He showed very little affection for anyone. For that matter, he showed very little emotion at all. He was a man that had lost his love and because of that he survived. He didn't truly live, just survived. Suva feared that would be all he did until the day he sailed for the Undying Lands.

They were to arrive at Rivendell today and Suva mentally kept repeating the phrase 'It's only a little further' to herself. The night before had been quit taxing. She'd had to physically restrain Kixi from attacking a rather surly elf. Then that morning, when that same surly elf had rather roughly roused them from sleep, Kixi had very nearly taken a chunk of his leg. It had taken both Suva and Legolas to keep things from escalating into a brawl between the elf and cat. It was ten minutes before the elf was calm enough to walk away and not risk launching himself at Kixi. It took another five after that before Suva had felt it safe enough to let go of Kixi's fur. Needless to say, it had been a very active morning.

Of course, the day wasn't over yet. They had one more hill to climb, one more, and they would be within sight of the gates of Rivendell. Suva let out a sigh of relief that nothing terribly bad had happened on the journey. 'We have went almost two weeks without incident. It is nothing short of a miracle. One that I will be forever grateful for.' Less than two minutes later she was regretting that the thought ever crossed her mind.

The elves, with their superior hearing, heard them long before Suva could ever have hoped to. Kixi was the one that informed Suva of the predicament. Even then, it did little good except to make sure she was aware. There was nothing she could hope to do against a rather large band of orcs.

When they appeared from the trees with rather frightening speed, the only thing Suva could do as Legolas drew his bow was hold on tightly. One arm wrapped tightly around his middle, the other clutching to her staff with a grip so tight she feared she'd snap it, Suva pressed herself as close as she could to the prince. She wanted to be as small as possible.

Suva could barely make out the grey and orange of Kixi through the fog of orcs. Maybe it was because she was trying so hard to keep track of the cat that she fell from the saddle, or maybe it was just because she was never a strong rider and sharp turns left her groping for something to hold on to. Either way, Suva flew from the back of the white stallion, landing on her bottom in the middle of a group of fighting orcs.

Though managing to avoid being trampled, she wasn't quite as lucky when it came to being seen in general. Somehow she made it to the edge of the fray but she had attracted the attention of a lone orc in the process. As the foul monster started towards her, the thought went through Suva's mind that it should have been Divan in her place. Divan was a strong and capable warrior when it came to things like this. Suva, in the words of some person whose name she would likely never remember, she was a lover, not a fighter.

The foul creature advanced on her, its soulless black eyes looking at her with a hunger she didn't particularly like. 'Great,' Suva thought to herself 'the last thing I need to be is dragged away and raped by some orc. Or eaten. Or both.' Letting out a sound somewhat equivalent to a shriek, Suva ducked as the orc swung its rusted broadsword. It swung a second time and Suva ducked again, this time trying to make a dash past the orc while its back was turned. Luck wasn't on her side because the orc, with meaty hands, latched onto the back of her tunic and yanked her back. She landed on the ground, her staff bouncing just out of reach.

The orc raised its sword above its head, ready to make the final blow. The blade just missed Suva as she rolled out the way. By some miracle her hand grazed her staff. As the orc stalked towards her, she curled her fingers around the wood. Right before the orc took its next swing, Suva swung her staff upward with all her might, catching the orc on side of the head.

The orc wasn't dead by any means. Suva knew she didn't have the strength to kill the creature, at least not from this angle, with her staff. It was simply unconscious. The orc fell forward, its blade bouncing on the ground next to Suva as the orc collapsed on top of her. Suva groaned, barely keeping in the shudder of disgust. The orc's body completely covered her own, the only parts of her visible being her arms and her head.

Suva didn't bother trying to shove the orc off. Suva, quiet, artistic, scholar-like Suva couldn't have moved the creature even if she wanted to, which she very much did. She only hoped that she didn't have to wait long before Kixi would come looking for her. The cat would immediately notice Suva's absence from the group once everything was said and done. All she would then have to do would be guide Kixi in the right direction.

Suva remembered hearing from someone, Kijo if she remembered correctly, that when you were waiting on something or for someone that five minutes felt like five hours. Suva had never really understood the meaning before, but as she laid underneath the foul smelling orc, she began to see the point of the phrase. No more than ten minutes could have passed since Suva had first been trapped, but it felt like hours. Suva was beginning to think that maybe Kixi had forgotten her when a frantic voice in her head began calling her name.

She heard the voices of the elves and she could hearing Kixi's frantic cries, both verbal and mental. Though she couldn't tell exactly what they were saying, she managed to piece together that Mirkwood elves were confused as to why Kixi was acting the way she was. She could hear Kixi mutter about stupid blonde elves and couldn't help but chuckle.

'Don't be too hard on them, Kix. You can't talk to them like you can to me.' Suva said. Kixi let out a loud meow.

'Suva! What happened? Where are you?' Kixi cried.

'Calm down Kixi, I'm not hurt. At least not that I know of. I fell off the horse and winded up on the outskirts of the battle. I knocked an orc unconscious and it fell on me. I can't get it off and it could wake up any minute, so you kind of need to hurry and find me.' Suva explained. She waited as Kixi frantically searched, driven by the thought of the orc waking up before she found Suva. Suva waited patiently, knowing that Kixi would find her. She only started to worry when the orc began shifting and Suva realized that it was waking up.

'Uh, Kix… any day now. Preferably within the next thirty seconds, otherwise we're gonna have a few problems.' Suva squeaked. Kixi let out another loud meow. 'Come on Kix.' Suva thought to herself.

Finding it hard enough to breathe as it was with a huge orc on top of her, the fact that Suva was beginning to hyperventilate didn't help the matter. Suva tried to stay quiet, not wanting to make the orc wake any faster, but as it seemed luck was not on her side. The orc opened its black eyes, pushing itself up onto short, thick arms. It stared down at her, and a feral looking smile slowly slide across its features. Suva let out a whimper. This wouldn't end well.

The orc reached behind him and drew out a surprisingly shiny silver dagger. With another whimper, Suva closed her eyes. If she had to die (again), she didn't want to watch. Her fingers clenched together and she desperately wished that she hadn't let go of her staff after she'd hit the orc the first time. She groped around, looking for anything she could use as a weapon. Suva's fingers grazed something smooth, and with a slight jerk she managed to wrap her fingers around the object. As she did, a ball of grey and orange lunged at the orc, knocking it sideways and sending the dagger flying.

Hissing and growling filled Suva's ears and her eyes snapped open. She surged up, coming to a sitting position faster than she ever had before. Kixi had found her and was now a tangled mess of fur and limbs as she scratched and bit at the orc. Suva glanced down, finding the object in her grasp to be the rusted broadsword the orc had been carrying. Suva looked between the sword in her hand and her cat.

Suva pushed herself to feet. With some effort, Suva managed to haul the broadsword up off the ground. She picked her way over to Kixi and the orc, and when she reached them, she mentally shouted for Kixi to move as she lift the sword above her head. Kixi darted out of the way as Suva brought the sword down on the orc's head, effectively slicing it in half. Suva stumbled backward a few steps and then collapsed. Flopping onto her back, Suva stared up at a blue sky. Kixi laid down beside Suva, curling into her side.

'Never. Again.' Suva grumbled as she laid splayed on the ground. She didn't care how indecent she looked, though she was thankful she wasn't in a skirt. She was vaguely aware of Legolas and the other elves as they surrounded her and Kixi. There were several voices all asking the same question but the only one she recognized was the voice of Legolas.

"Suva, are you alright? You are not hurt, are you?" Legolas' voice was filled with concern. Suva groaned.

"I almost died. No, I am not alright." Suva grumbled.

"You are not hurt, though?"

"No, Legolas, I am not hurt. A tad terrified, but not hurt." Suva answered. She nudged Kixi to get the cat to stand up and then got to her feet herself. "Can we just get inside the city? I am not in the mood to deal with any more orcs. Or spiders. Or anything at all that wishes to eat me." Suva saw Legolas sigh in relief.

After gathering up their arrows and Suva's staff, the party continued on to the gates. Kixi stayed right next to Suva, never leaving her side, and the rest of the journey was quiet. Even as they approached the two guards at the gate, stated their business, and were ushered into the city, everything remained quiet between the members of the group. Suva realized that this was the quietest it had been since they'd left Mirkwood. 'About stinking time.' Suva thought to herself.

Kijo

"Do it again." Arwen commanded. Kijo had to bite her tongue to keep from snapping at the woman. Since the prank she and the twins had played, Arwen had kept Kijo under her watchful gaze almost constantly. She had also upped the amount of elvish homework that Kijo had. Tezo, the traitor that he was, laughed at her.

With a sigh, Kijo once again repeated the elvish phrase that she had been working on for the past three hours. Once finished, Arwen made her repeat it again. And again, and again. Tezo was laughing so hard that Kijo was sure he'd explode. Kijo glared at him once again as she repeated the phrase. She was getting sick of the words. So when Arwen demanded she repeat the words again, Kijo bulked.

"No."

"Excuse me?" Arwen asked.

"I said no. I'm not saying this anymore. At least not right now. I'm tired and I'm hungry. If you expect anything else out of me, you'll have to let me get up and move around and eat, first." Kijo said, crossing her arms over her chest in defiance. Stubbornness was a trait Kijo had acquired honestly. Her entire family was stubborn as a mule.

Arwen wasn't happy about being disobeyed, but even Kijo could tell that Arwen knew that she was right. She'd been trapped in this room all morning and she hadn't had breakfast. Even the elves of Middle Earth understood the concept of "You can't think on an empty stomach". So, with a very discontented sigh, Arwen agreed and rose to her feet. Kijo stood perfectly still as Arwen walked past her, but as soon as she was out of the elf woman's sight, Kijo did a little happy dance at having won this small victory.

Arwen led Kijo and Tezo to the dining hall and told Kijo to sit down as she went off to find some food. She came back a few minutes later with a plate full or fruits, cheeses and other edibles. As soon as the plate was on the table, Kijo dug in. She was famished. She offered some of the fruit to Tezo, who scarfed it down gratefully. She wanted to take her time and eat as slowly as possible, the more time she took the less time she would have to spend doing elvish lessons, but she was so hungry that dragging it out wasn't worth the effort.

She had just finished off the last of the grapes when the messenger came through the doors. "Lady Arwen?"

Arwen looked up at the dark haired elf. "Yes?" she asked.

"The Mirkwood elves have arrived and your father wishes you and Lady Kijo to greet them." the messenger announced. Arwen pursed her lips, staring at the elf for a moment before nodding.

"Of course. We shall be out in a moment." Arwen said, dismissing the elf. He bowed and left without another word. Arwen turned to Kijo.

"Be on your best behavior. Though the king will not be with them, they are the advisors to the king, and if they receive anything less than the utmost respect, the king will hear of it and the consequences aren't any that you would wish for." Arwen warned. Kijo gulped and nodded as Arwen stood. "Come. We must hurry."

Kijo stood from the chair and followed behind Arwen and she led them through the maze of halls. Tezo trotted alongside them, grumbling something about having lunch interrupted. At any other moment, Kijo might have laughed, but she was too worried about the arrival of the Mirkwood elves. If they were as high strung as Arwen had made them sound, then there was no telling how well this meeting would turn out. Kijo was clumsy and prone to saying stupid things. She could only hope that she managed to stay on her feet and keep her mouth shut long enough to avoid making these elves mad.

They had just reached the welcoming party when the Mirkwood elves came through the gate. Kijo's first thought surprisingly had nothing to do with the elves themselves, but rather the creature that was with them. A rather large orange and grey bobcat walked slightly behind the group. Kijo's head tilted to the side as she examined the creature. The cat looked quite familiar, though Kijo couldn't figure out why for the life of her. She hadn't ever seen a bobcat, save for a TV show or two on Animal Planet.

Even Tezo found the cat interesting. From his spot beside Kijo, he watched with curious eyes as the cat looked around. Neither paid attention as the group dismounted their horses and moved to speak with Elrond. They only began to notice when the orange and grey cat moved to stand beside a blonde (were any of them not blonde?) woman. Both Tezo and Kijo glanced up at the woman's face, finding it to be very familiar.

Kijo's eyes widened and a huge smile split her face. Before she could even comprehend what she was doing, Kijo had screamed the name of one her best friends and launched herself at the girl. She knew that it wasn't civilized or decent, but she didn't care. She had just found out that her best friend was alive and in the same world as her. So to her, the high strung Mirkwood elves could screw off.

Kijo wrapped her arms tightly around the figure of Suva. After a moment's hesitation, most likely out of surprise, Suva's arms wound around Kijo. They were loose at first, as if unbelieving that the figure in front of her was really her friend, but as the seconds ticked by, they became tighter and tighter as Suva realized that the figure in front of her was truly her friend, alive and well. Once it fully dawned on Suva that Kijo was real, flesh and blood, she squeezed back as hard as she could. "Oh. My. Gosh. You're alive!"

"ME?! YOU'RE ALIVE!" Kijo shouted back. Both girls were so wrapped up in the fact that the other was alive, that they didn't notice the strange looks they were receiving from the elves. Even Tezo and Kixi didn't notice the strange looks that they were receiving. All we just so happy to see the other alive.

"But, how? I thought… I thought you were dead." Suva breathed as she took a step back, looking the taller woman over "You should be dead."

"So should you!" Kijo exclaimed "We were all in the same house. We should all be dead. But, somehow we made it here. How did that happen?" Suva shrugged.

"Believe me, I've been asking that same question for a week now." Suva replied, looking her friend over. "I can't believe you're really here!"

The sound of barking and meows drew their attention to their two companions, both of which were playing. The two girls laughed at the antics, letting go of each other as their friend's companion ran towards them. The four of them were together again. Sure, they were still missing Divan and Rata, but the four of them were together and they could survive if Divan and Rata hadn't made it to Middle Earth like they had.

"Kijo… I assume you know who this is?" It was Lord Elrond. Kijo pulled away from Kixi, turning to look at the elf. She nodded excitedly.

"This is Suva and Kixi. I told you about them. Ya know, when I explained… yeah…" Kijo trailed, knowing she couldn't say anything else with so many others around. She could feel the eyes of everyone on her, and she knew she might have said just a little too much. Elrond didn't say anything else though, just nodded.

"Very well. You will require a room next to her then, I assume?" Elrond asked as he turned towards Suva.

"If it is not too much to ask, I would prefer one near her, yes." Suva replied, slipping back into the Middle Earth way of speaking that Kijo had yet to master. Elrond nodded, turned to an elf beside him and then turned to look at the Mirkwood elves.

"Aldaron will show you to your rooms. I am sure Kijo can show lady Suva to her room." Elrond informed them, shooting a glance at the woman in question. Kijo smiled while secretly hoping she could navigate the elven halls. Even after a week they still confused her. Motioning for Suva to follow her, Kijo started off in the direction of the Homely House.

"Oh, and Kijo?" Elrond called. Kijo paused and turned to look at the man, eyebrow raised.

"Yes, Lord Elrond?" Kijo barely remembered to use the formal title.

"Do try to behave." Elrond warned. Scarlet tinted Kijo's cheeks as she quickly turned back around. Now Suva would know something had happened and she'd get scolded again. Great.

"Of course, my lord." Kijo mumbled as she started walking again. She could have sworn she heard the elf lord laughing at her under his breath.

The day after the Mirkwood elves' arrival on the 23rd of October was one that Kijo was glad for. The entire was spent doing nothing but catching up with her friend. There were no annoying elvish lessons or attempts at acting properly in elven society. Just blissful communication with her friend that she had believed was lost.

Suva, after demanding to know what Elrond had been talking about when he said behave, had told Kijo all about her adventures in Mirkwood, from the very moment she had realized that something was amiss. Kijo found it extraordinary and irritating that Suva knew elvish without ever having learned it. She had been struggling for a week now to even begin learning the language and Suva knew it without even trying! Suva, however, envied that Kijo had been dropped in the Rivendell havens. None of the Mirkwood elves that she had met, save Legolas, had been even remotely nice to her.

They both explained their newfound connections and changes to their furry companions. Kijo was fascinated with the drastic enlargement of Kixi, who had once been a tiny house cat. Suva found Tezo's transformation from a Husky to a wolf rather interesting as well, as not much had changed. It was obvious that he was now a wolf. It was just how exactly he had changed that was confusing.

So the next day, the 24th of October, was a much more exciting day compared to the simple day before. It was rather early that morning that the word came from Elrohir and Elladan, who had gone out on patrol the day before, that the hobbits and Estel were in need of assistance. Arwen immediately took her horse and left, leaving a very confused Kijo.

Having never read the books and never actually gotten to watch the movies, Kijo was completely clueless as to what was going on. Suva knew exactly what was happening, but as she found her friend's distress slightly amusing, she refrained from saying anything. When Arwen returned with the severely injured hobbit, Kijo couldn't believe her eyes. Faintly aware that this hobbit would play a significant role in the story, Kijo sat chewing her nails for hours as Elrond patiently worked. It was during the excruciating wait that the last group to arrive for the council made their appearance.

The dwarves were the only group that had yet to arrive. The Gondorians had arrived a day prior to the Mirkwood elves, leaving the last group as the stout troublemakers known as dwarves. When Arwen received word from a messenger that the party was arriving, she gestured for Kijo and Suva to follow her, Tezo and Kixi hot on their heels.

"With my father and brother preoccupied, you must help me to greet and guide the dwarves." Arwen explained to Kijo. Kijo gulped, not thrilled with the idea. From what she had heard of the dwarves from Arwen and the other elves, she wasn't sure she was going to like them. Suva didn't appear much better.

Her face was schooled into an unemotional expression, an expression she wore when she often didn't like someone or something. No doubt having spent time around elves, she wasn't fond of the dwarves either. Whether the elves knew it or not, they were very influential when it came to matters such as these. When the two elven guards leading the party finally crossed over the bridge, Kijo could tell that they weren't happy. She almost groaned. The dwarves were already starting trouble. Great.

What neither Kijo nor Suva, nor Tezo or Kixi, could have ever expected was the familiar face among the group or short, stout men. Arwen was talking, as politely as possible, with the dwarf that seemed to be in charge. The two guards stood off to the side, allowing a good view of the members of the party. Standing among them was a familiar head of dark brown/black hair, a white object perched on their shoulder. Tezo's tail started to swing back and forth, Kixi's ears perked up and Kijo and Suva just gaped at the figure.

'Looks like we all escaped death.' Suva thought to herself.

Divan

It had been a long two weeks. I couldn't ever remember a time when I had been so exhausted and yet so alert. My mind felt like grey mush while my body was tense, alert and ready to spring, even as we approached the gates of the Elven haven of Rivendell. Even from here, I could see the two guards standing at the gate. I couldn't have told you who they were to save my life, at least not from this distance, and I probably didn't know who they were anyhow.

Rata, still perched on my shoulder as always, let out one of her quiet huffs. My eyes shot sideways to her, one of my eyebrows raising in a silent, tired question.

"We are heading right into a confrontation. Look at the dwarves. They are ready for a fight." Rata muttered "We do not need one, not with the elves. You must try to calm them before we reach the guards." I glanced around at my companions, finding that Rata was right. Their expressions screamed distaste and where that emotion was involved, a fight of some sort almost always ensued. My eyebrows furrowed together and I resisted a sigh.

"You must be civil to them, the elves. We do not need an argument." I announced just loud enough for my dwarven companions to hear. Many stopped in their tracks to turn and stare at me. I tried not to squirm. I hated being watched, examined like I was some sort of rare specimen. That was what they were doing, more or less. They were staring at me like I had grown a second head and I didn't like it.

"Why would we ever be civil to the likes of them? They are not to us!" One of the dwarves growled. I sighed to myself. It was like dealing with children. Very stubborn children.

"Then you must be the bigger man. You must put aside the differences between you long enough to have a civil conversation with them. If you are not, they will not allow you within the walls of the city and you will not attend this council. This council will likely decide the fate of many, including your dwarven halls under the mountain. If you wish to learn more about the threat that looms just over your heads, you will swallow your pride and act decent." I snapped. They stared at me, the looks in their eyes telling me that they had gotten the message but were not happy about it. I didn't care if they were happy, I just cared about actually reaching the city in one piece.

I received nods from my companions and after a moment I nodded back. They had gotten my message and would hopefully act decent towards our elvish hosts. We resumed walking.

"You think they will act well?" Rata asked. I shrugged the best I could with her on my shoulder.

"It is hard to tell. I will do all that I can to keep a confrontation from occurring, though. We do not need one, but only time will tell what our future holds." I muttered back to her. We were approaching the two guards, both of which were eying the dwarves with blatantly obvious distaste. I felt my eye twitch. I thought the elves were supposed to be civil and not show their dislike of things? They were the oldest and (supposedly) wisest of all the races. Were they not supposed to be the mature ones? Obviously not.

Of course, the guards stepped in front of the passage, blocking our way into the city. "State your business here." The elf growled. Immediately I saw every dwarf tense up at the tone of his voice. With a sigh, I shoved my way forward, silencing any reply from my companions.

"We seek passage into the city. We are here for the council to be held by Lord Elrond." I replied. The two elves eyed me with both surprise and distaste, the latter no doubt because I was with the dwarves. I glared right back and on my shoulder Rata let her feathers puff out. Their gazes were drawn to her small form and they stared at her in disbelief. My eyes narrowed.

"May we enter the city or will you refuse us?" I snapped. Their eyes turned back towards me before roaming over the group. I could see they took into account the weapons we carried and I very nearly rolled my eyes.

"We have travelled all the way from Erebor. Unless you have not experienced the outside world, which you very well may not have as you seem to be nothing more than gate guards, you would know that a journey that long would not come without risks." I snipped "The weapons we carry are for our protection, and so long as we are not attacked, they will not be of need."

I could tell these two elves no longer liked me, if they even had in the first place. With a huff, the slightly thicker built elf nodded. "Very well." His musical voice was cold "Follow us."

Without another word he and his companion turned and started down the winding path into the valley. Gesturing for Gimli, Gloín and the others to follow, I started after them.

I couldn't help but stare at the ethereal beauty of the elven city as we descended down into its core. It really was beautiful. I could see why the elves had chosen it as their home. It fit them well, or, at least, fit what they were supposed to be. So far, the few elves I'd had contact with hadn't been very friendly. Whether that was because I was traveling with the dwarves or not, I wasn't too sure of. I was resigned to give them another chance, though. Perhaps it was just my traveling companions, not that it should have mattered. Rata, however, seemed to have already decided her opinion of the elves.

She disliked them. Anyone that had been around her for a decent amount of time could tell you that my dear bird did not think highly of the pointy eared race. She kept quiet, knowing they could hear anything she would say, but you could see the disapproving look in her small brown eyes as she gazed at the back of the elf in front of us. I had no doubt that if any one of the elves had said something snide towards myself or any of the dwarves, she would have been right there to give them a piece of her mind. Small though she was, she could take a serious chunk if she wished.

The sound of gushing water was the most prominent sound to be heard. It was relaxing, the sound of the water, but it did nothing for my nerves. Days on end of being high strung would only be cured by a warm bath and a good nights rest, something I would not receive until I was sure the dwarves would murder our elvish hosts. I let out a sigh of relief though as we crossed the bridge into the heart of the city. At least we were safe. Relatively speaking anyway.

The two guards stopped, said a few things in elvish (which I didn't understand. I did know some dwarvish now, though) and then stepped off to the side. Gloín, who had once again made his way to the front of the group, was standing face to face with a familiar elf. Arwen, the daughter of Elrond. I vaguely wondered where her father was, but decided that asking or even looking required more effort than my sluggish brain was willing to handle. Sleep was starting to sound better and better.

It was because of this sluggishness that I failed to notice the presence of two familiar people and two equally familiar animals. Had I noticed them, I would have been better prepared to deal with the physical attack as a much taller body slammed into my own, sending me to the ground and Rata off into the air with an array of screechy squawks. Perhaps had I been aware of them, we could have avoid the whole ordeal all together.

My head bounced off the concrete below me and I was faintly aware of the shouts from one of the guards and Rata's screechy squawks. Unable to make my body move, the heavy weight laying overtop of me and the now blinding pain in my head made the situation much worse. The next thing I know, the weight and Rata's squawks are gone, replaced by shouting and vicious sounding growls. For a moment I just laid there, not quite ready to face whatever came next. Sometimes, I really hated being the one that always managed to get into the middle of things because of what Suva often called my "hero complex". Apparently, I was too brave for my own good. Whatever that meant.

With a half growl of my own, I shoved myself into a sitting position. The world spun for a moment, no doubt a result of the blow to the head. As soon as my vision cleared, I glared up at the figures in front of me. My knees were drawn up, my arms resting on them as I tried to find the culprit of this chaos.

"What the bloody hell is going on?!" I exclaimed "Perhaps someone would be so kind as to explain the reason for this? I do not fancy being attacked." The growls and shouting stopped as everyone, and I do mean everyone within hearing distance (Basically half the city, including, as I would later find out, pretty much the entire fellowship), turned to look at my seated form. I glanced around, finding my companions all standing around me, weapons held tightly in their hands. Gimli was the closest, standing just in front of me, his axe raised. Another glance around show me that the two guards were brandishing their bows, arrows knocked and ready to be fired. This had me on my feet in an instant, a fierce glare on my face. The dwarves had become my family, and no one threatened my family.

"Put them down. Now." I commanded, my hand reaching for the sword on my back. In a flurry of feathers, Rata flew back to my shoulder. She was all puffed out, looking rather menacing. The two guards shared a glance, unsure as to what to do. I highly doubted I looked very threatening. I was small, standing at only 5'3" and I was also a woman. Few women in Middle Earth could fight.

The sound of my sword being drawn brought their attention back to me. They pulled their bowstrings a little tighter as I gripped my sword at my side. "I won't ask again. Put. Them. Down." I snarled. I had no doubt that we had drawn the attention of everyone in Rivendell by now, but I didn't care. I'd care later, after I did something stupid that screwed everything up, but right now I couldn't have cared less.

Gimli stepped up beside me, brandishing his axe. "Best do what the lassie asks." He growled "She's quite good with that there sword."

For a moment, we all just stared at one another. The elven guards looked unsure as to whether to comply with my demand or not. There were five of us and two of them, but there were also many more elves in Rivendell. I didn't want a fight, I'd been trying to avoid one since the moment we had arrived at the elven city and I knew I was probably being a hypocrite by doing what I was currently doing. I loathed the idea of being considered a hypocrite, I'd met far too many in my life, but I loathed my family getting threatened more. Again, I'd care about this later, after I was done being an idiot.

"Dolin, Faeron. Lower your weapons." I understood absolutely nothing the voice had said, but as the two elves slowly lowered their bows, I guessed it to be a command. Only when their arrows were removed and placed back into their quivers did I relax. Slowly, as to show I wasn't going to harm anyone, I sheathed my sword. I looked back at Gimli and the others, motioning for them to do the same. Begrudgingly they complied, though they all continued to glare at the elves. Even Rata let her feathers flatten out, though she too was unhappy. My eyes never left the two guards as I stepped back and away from them. Then, a loud and very well-known voice broke the silence that had descended.

"I only wanted a hug!" the voice whined. I froze in surprise. I had to admit, that voice was the last one I had been expecting. Rata's top feathers rose up and her head whipped around as she looked for the owner of the voice. I was much slower in my investigation, cursing myself for being an idiot. Of course it would have been her. She was the only one that would have even thought of tackling me. She was also the only one beside my brothers that could get away with it. My eyes closed. I had just made an idiot out of myself because Kijo got excited and, as she often did, managed to tackle me in a hug. My hands raised as I rubbed hard on my temples, trying to quell the oncoming headache.

"A little warning next time, perhaps, and then we would not have these problems." I muttered, though I knew everyone could hear me. Even the noise of the waterfall didn't drown out my voice.

A huff drew my attention to my friend. She set her hands on her hips, scowling half-heartedly at me. Tezo was sitting at her feet, his gaze excited as he stared at Rata and I, then turning wary as his eyes drifted towards my dwarven family. I almost sighed. This day could not get any worse.

"Lady Kijo, you know this… woman?" the tone of his voice as he distastefully spoke the word woman had Gimli growling, his axe raising back up as he started toward the guard. The other guard, in defense of his companion, gripped tightly to the knife at his hip and took a step forward. Even Tezo growled as he sunk down into a crouch, his gaze focused intently upon Gimli. I lied. This day could get worse.

I stepped in front of Gimli, grabbing onto the handle of his axe as I glowered down at him. I swear my eyebrow twitched as I silently tried to convey my message. Apparently, Tezo wasn't happy with my method of handling things, or maybe he just didn't like Gimli. At this point, I didn't know. All I knew was that things were turning out very badly and fixing it was going to take A LOT of effort.

Tezo sprang. By the time I realized that he was moving towards us, it would have been too late to do much. I could have pushed Gimli out of the way and saved him the attack, but I wouldn't have been. It was one giant mess, especially when Rata, in a flurry of feathers, dived right for the black and white wolf. Kijo screamed out Tezo's name at the same time that I yelled out Rata's.

Rata hit Tezo full force causing the wolf to yelp as he tumbled off to the side instead of into Gimli and I. Rata landed on the ground just in front of him, her feathers all puffed up and out as she hissed at the canine. With a growled, Tezo got to his feet, shaking himself before crouching back down. Tezo lunged at Rata, completely disregarding Kijo's cries at him to stop.

Instead of backing down as you would think, Rata only hissed again and swatted at Tezo with her wings. In a blur of black and white, they tangled together as Tezo snapped at Rata. My hands were clenched tightly at my sides, my jaw so clamped so tight that I was surprised I hadn't shattered teeth. How in the world had this happened? Tezo and Rata had always gotten along and now they were trying to take a chunk out of each other! This whole situation made about as much sense as being in Middle Earth did. Absolutely none.

Somehow Rata managed to get the upper hand and bit Tezo on the nose. He yelped, scampering backwards towards Kijo who was crouched down and fisting her hands in his fur the moment he was within reach. Rata was on my shoulder a moment later, hissing continuously. Tezo pawed at his nose before looking up at Rata. He bared his teeth, growling again and I could see that he was preparing to lunge a second time. I knew Kijo was strong, but I wasn't sure she was strong enough to hold a determined Tezo.

Just as Tezo began to tug at Kijo's hold, Kixi, a much larger Kixi but obviously still Kixi, jumped in front of him. She swiped her paw in the air and I could see she had her claws out. Once she was back on all fours, she crouched herself, hissing. Suva was beside her in an instant, a glare prominent on her face.

"What is wrong with you two?!" She exclaimed "You are fighting as if you have never seen each other before and have not spent the last three years becoming the best of friends!" Tezo shrunk back against Kijo, his ears folding downward. Kijo wrapped her arms around him, immediately coming to his defense.

"He's only protecting the people he's come to care about! If Rata and Divan weren't being so brash!" Kijo exclaimed accusingly. I balked.

"You're tryin' to blame this on me now? I don't think so. If your elves here would quit threatenin' my friends, then maybe we wouldn't have this problem. Rata's only protectin' those she cares about." I snapped right back, my hick accent coming back full force. I was ticked and it tended to do that when I was mad. Rata was hissing and Tezo growling before the words had even fully left my mouth. This was so not working out how it needed to.

"Friends? You call them your friends? Do you even know what they're like? What they've done?" Kijo bit back. I rolled my eyes.

"I know damn well what they're like and yes, they're my friends. And what do you mean what they've done? Only thing they've done is stand up against these damn judgmental elves!" I snapped. Kijo opened her mouth to reply but was cut off.

"ENOUGH." Suva shouted, slamming the staff she carried on the ground "I don't know what's wrong with you guys, but if either of you two say another word before we're somewhere where we can talk privately, I will let Kixi do whatever she pleases to the both of you! And as for you two," Suva turned on Tezo and Rata, both of which deflated "growl or hiss at each other again and Kixi will have you for lunch." At least we all had the decency to look ashamed as Suva glared at the four of us.

The sound of someone clearing their throat had all of us turning towards Arwen, who looked quite flustered. "Your rooms, then?" she asked as politely as possible. There were nods all around from my dwarven companions. Arwen nodded back, gesturing for us to follow her. But instead of me going with her, Gimli and the others to be shown our rooms, Suva grabbed my arm.

"Do you mind if I show her to the room next to the one I have?" Suva asked. Arwen paused, shared a look with Suva, and then shook her head.

"By all means. I am sure you three have some… catching up to do." Arwen said. Suva smiled at the woman and nodded. Then she yanked me along behind her, pausing long enough to latch onto Kijo's arm. She began dragging us both with her, Tezo following behind with his tail down.

"Lassie!" Gimli called after me. I turned my head to look back at him and everyone else in the damn city that was staring at us.

"Sorry Gimli! I'll explain later! Omph!" I grunted as I almost fell on my face from the force of Suva's tug. Rata glided forward and back around to land on my shoulder again. We shared a look as Suva continued dragging us towards The Last Homely House. Then I glanced over at Kijo. She wore the same look that I did. One of fear. I had the distinct feeling that our ears wouldn't survive this experience.