Ski cautiously made her way to the clearing—"her" clearing, as she thought of it. She loved that place. It was so beautiful, so peaceful, and it was where she could be alone, away from the Orcs she was forced to call her kind. There, Ski could easily pretend she was an Elf-child, a thing of beauty instead of horror. And there, she had a chance of seeing her first and only friend.

Friend. Mellon-nín. Ski's heart soared into the sky when she recalled Alagos's parting words, his generosity in letting her continue visiting her clearing. She almost couldn't believe that she had made a friend—an Elf, no less! Despite Ski's all-consuming wish to be an Elf, she had been terrified of meeting one; all Orcs knew of the Elves' hatred of evil, of their unerring skill with a bow and their readiness to kill anything even resembling an Orc.

Ski paused, listening carefully for any hint of detection or pursuit. Hearing nothing, she quietly continued on her way, almost running the last few steps into the secluded clearing. Today was sunny, and despite the dappled shade of her path, her skin was tingling painfully, hot to the touch. The young Orc trotted over to the cheery stream and stepped into it, stooping to splash the wonderfully cool water over her burning legs and arms. Having soothed her skin, Ski found a comfortable rock by the stream in the shade of a spreading birch tree and settled down, bare feet dangling in the water.

She loved to watch the water. She loved the way the sunlight bounced off the surface, breaking into a thousand bright, dancing pieces. The happy chattering and bubbling had a sweet, melodic quality that sparked Ski's imagination; she liked to pretend that the stream was singing, carrying its tune swiftly downstream to give joy to all who heard it. The Orc sat back, half-closing her eyes, and began to make up a song to go with the stream's music.

"The water in the woods is pure and clean

It's the prettiest sight that's ever been seen

It sings and it laughs as it flows on down

Down through the woods…"

Ski trailed off, trying to think of a suitable rhyme for "down", but none came to mind.

"'Down through the woods to Adan town'?" came a voice from above her head, and her rear literally lifted off the rock as she jumped. Ski whirled around to get a glimpse of the source of the voice; off-balance, she once again tumbled into the stream.

Alagos dropped from the birch tree, laughing heartily. Ski rose slowly, dripping water and glowering at him. "Please tell me this isn't going to be a regular thing with you," she asked, half-exasperated, half-amused. Alagos flashed her a wide grin. "I fear I cannot. I endeavor to only speak the truth." Ski let out a harrumph and climbed out of the stream. Though she was slightly ticked at the Elf for making her fall into the water again, still she couldn't help laughing.

"All right, I admit I can see the humor," she huffed, grinning all the same. "I must have looked pretty silly."

"Indeed," agreed Alagos, which was perhaps not a very smart answer. Ski rolled her eyes but decided to let it go. "Thanks for giving me an ending," she said lightly, resettling herself on the cool rock. "What does Adan mean?"

Alagos hovered at the bank, hesitating, but then took a seat in the grass near the youngster. "'Man'. This branch of the Nimrodel does not flow to any settlements of Men, but the main river does. I thought it might apply. 'Twas a fair song, by the way."

Ski smiled, pleased. "Thanks! I just made it up right then. I felt like the stream was singing, so I decided to give it some words." She stopped at the strange look Alagos was giving her. "What? Alagos, why are you looking at me like that?"

The Elf shook his head wonderingly. "I suppose I should not be surprised…" he muttered. He turned his gaze back to Ski's face. "I was simply surprised that you could hear the water's song. I had thought only fairer folk—" He stopped himself. "But you, of course, are an exception. I was simply not expecting it."

The young Orc had not even noticed her friend's slight slur. She was too focused on his previous sentence. "You mean—you mean the water really is singing?" she gasped excitedly. "Seriously? What is it saying? Can you understand it?"

Alagos, relieved his new friend hadn't taken offense at his condemnation of her race, nodded. "Aye. All waters have a song of their own, but the Nimrodel's is special to the Elves, more so than others'." Ski scooted closer to him, amber eyes wide, and wrapped her long arms around her shins. Sensing a story, she rested her chin on her knees and stared at Alagos with a look that clearly said, "Go on!"

The Elf settled himself more comfortably in the grass, legs crossed. "Long, long ago, there was an elleth—an Elf-maiden—by the name of Nimrodel. She was radiantly beautiful, and her voice was more beautiful still. She had a great love for the water, and her favorite place in the forest was a lovely waterfall, streaming into a clear pool, whence the river flowed. Nimrodel often could be found by the falls, singing."

"What did she sing of?" Ski inquired curiously.

"Many things," answered Alagos. "The sun, the stars, the golden boughs of Lothlórien; most often, though, I am sure she sang of Valinor—the Undying Lands to the West, where Elves once lived, and whither all pass in the end."

Both were silent a few moments, thinking of this. Then Ski asked in a hushed voice, "So what happened to Nimrodel? Did she go back to Valinor?" Alagos shook his head sadly.

"No, Ski. She simply disappeared—none know whither, or why. Her lover, Amroth, was forced to sail to the Undying Lands without her. But he leapt into the sea, intending to swim back to his love. None know his fate, either. It is said, though, that the Falls and River of Nimrodel still carry her voice, singing evermore of Amroth and the West."

Ski shivered a little and glanced at the stream. "That's a nice story, but it's sad…and a little bit eerie." Alagos raised his eyebrows. "Eerie? In what way?"

Ski shrugged. "Just the thought of a dead Elf's voice haunting the water kind of makes me not want to touch it anymore."

Alagos chuckled. "Indeed. Now you understand why the Nimrodel, above all rivers, is dear to the hearts of the Elves of Lothlórien. All waters are alive, but this water has a spirit, in a way." Both Elf and Orc gazed at the stream for a long moment, their minds far away, the only sound the gurgling of the water.

Shortly Alagos turned to Ski, a quizzical look in his eye. "I have been meaning to ask you, Ski, from whom did you learn to speak the Common Tongue? Your vocabulary is wide, your command of the language excellent; the vocabulary of most Orcs is limited to imperatives, harsh words, and curses."

Ski nodded in understanding. "I'm from Moria. Goblins and Orcs are mingled there, so a greater command of the Common Speech is needed. I also spent some time with the Goblins of Goblin-Town, farther north in the Misty Mountains. That's where I learned a little bit about Elves and the history of Orcs." She smiled ruefully. "Goblins think they're better than Orcs because Orcs used to be Elves, whereas Goblins were Men and Dwarves. They think that since Orcs used to be of an extremely good and noble race, they're somehow not as dark as Goblins."

The Elf made a small noise of dissent. "That is where the Goblins are mistaken. Everything the Evil One twisted for his purpose is the inverse—the opposite—of what it once was. Thus, the more noble the being to begin with, the darker and more evil the result."

Ski thought for a moment. "What were Trolls, then?" she asked. "They must have been something not so good, because Trolls aren't really evil—they're just mean and stupid."

Alagos sighed. "Trolls were once Ents, Ski. They were the Tree-herders: beings that spoke to the trees and befriended them, beings much like trees themselves. Ents are quite possibly the oldest and wisest beings in Middle Earth, older even than Elves. The Trolls you have seen were simple Cave-trolls—degraded and devolved forms of true Trolls. Those are actually quite intelligent, and every bit as evil, but one will only find those in and around the Land of Shadow."

The Orc's eyes were wide. "Oh," was all she said. She seemed subdued for a moment; then she regained her usual cheer. "Well, that's enough of that. Let's play a game!"

OK, short chapter, I know, and uneventful. Don't worry, drama is coming. I've gotta build up this friendship first, though.

I want to say THANK YOU SO MUCH to those who favorited/followed either me or the story. Guest, thank you for your lovely review! Yes, I had this as an idea and finally wrote it, but I wasn't going to post it if there were lots of stories like it. Turns out, there are no stories like it, at least not that I saw! Nahimahmad: fast enough for you? ;) This week is kind of an anomaly though-normally I'm pretty busy. This is kind of an off week. So updates probably won't be as fast as this normally.

Thanks again, guys, and I hope you'll keep reading and reviewing!