Chapter 2 - Exploring

All along their stride, they saw trees of many kinds. Tauriel stopped at a particular view that left her in awe; From within the foliage of the trees descended sun rays, like hair strands, to the ground. Looking closer, some prismatic colors could be seen. Why was this? Surely there was a water body nearby. Indeed, the sound of a waterfall did not take long to be noticeable and, with it, a cold breeze that caressed their faces. She ran to the direction of the sound, only stopped by a bed of berry bushes that was on the way. Kili saw her running, and tried to reach her. But each of her strides was worth three of his. He finally found her. He was totally out of breath and glad for the bushes that stopped her from going any further.

The berries certainly kept their attention, they were red and ripe. Kili began to pick them and Tauriel followed suit. They collected as many berries as they could, until there was no more room left in their hands. They had nowhere to store them, as they wore nothing other than their skins. So it was time for a better idea, time to sit and eat them. Tauriel began to devour her berries one by one and fast. She must have been really hungry because soon enough, she ran out of them. Kili still had some, as he ate slower.

While he was minding his own business, Tauriel began to lick her lips while gazing at the berries in his hand. Kili turned his face to her, questioning with gestures where were her berries gone. In his mind, she picked as many as he did. But she showed him her bare hands, so he decided to share with her the ones he had. He witnessed with astonishment how she made them disappear fast, until there was one left. He narrowed his eyes at her, trying to preserve the one he had. But she was quick to lift it from his hand and place it in her mouth. Half of it was out still, when he decided to risk biting it directly from her lips.

Fast thinking made her lay down. He followed suit, pinning her wrists against the ground to prevent her from blocking his move. With no defense from her part, he proceeded to nibble the berry from her lips. The brushing of his mouth on hers caused them to have a pleasant sensation. It tickled. Tauriel chuckled softly to Kili. They gazed into each other's eyes, repeating the move they made. They began to kiss gently. It felt good, so they kept it up, rolling under the bushes as the kiss intensified...

Yavanna observed her recreation with tenderness, fascinated with how intense could be love between two creatures, whose races were so different from one another. Although they looked cute making gestures, she thought it would be handy for them to be able to communicate.

"Let there be speech between them" She said.

Just as she pronounced those words, Ilúvatar passed her by and saw her so entertained playing with her figurines in the piece of Valinor board. It picked his curiosity...

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I am being creative" she responded..

Ilúvatar took one of the figurines, examining it in detail, "there is something oddly familiar about them. They look like mine and Aulë's children"

Yavanna smiled, "Of course they do. Imitation is the best form of flattery and I copied the best"

Ilúvatar raised an eyebrow at her. "You are an odd one!"

"Why thank you. Can I have that back?" She pointed at the figurine that Ilúvatar took from her board.

"Oh, of course. Here it is" Ilúvatar handed it back to her. She quickly replaced it in the board with a smile.

He shook his head, rolling his eyes and going back to whatever it is he was doing.

After a long time of rolling and kissing, Kili and Tauriel heard the waterfall again. Both rose from the ground to chase the sound. It did not take them long to find it. The view was impressive. There were vines hanging from the trees above the running water. A few boulders here and there, especially behind the waterfall. The borders were covered with mossy grass, and so was the bark of the trees. As usual, Tauriel ran to it, tossing herself into the water with a loud splash. She was joyful. Kili felt odd, but worse was to stay standing there all by himself. So he decided to follow her lead into the river. He coiled as soon as his feet got in contact with those chilling waters.

Tauriel saw him entering shyly. She pulled him by the hand, smiling at him while he looked around with concern. The cold water was not half as amusing to him as it was to her. After a few steps, he misplaced his foot on a mossy rock and slipped, nearly falling if it wasn't for the fact that he held Tauriel tight by her waist. She embraced him tight, making sure he was ok. Only then, she placed both her hands together to fill them with water, which she poured all over Kili's hair. He began to relax, curling his lips into a smile.

Suddenly he looked up and saw the log cabin that was set up for them. He looked at Tauriel and pointed at it, pronouncing his first word, "dûm aya ai-mênu" Tauriel stared at him totally confused, "adab?" she responded when she noticed the cabin. Both stared at each other, unable to understand the words each said. Tauriel did not speak Khuzdul and Kili did not speak Sindarin. After fruitless efforts to help each other understand their words, they both lowered their heads with frustration. Suddenly, Tauriel pronounced the word "Home!" and Kili smiled at her because he could understand it. "Home!" he repeated after her. They smiled, embracing each other.

To be continued...