To Finally Belong

Chapter 15 – A Bump in the Road


Haldir and Círa lay together on the beach as the sky slowly began to lighten. They had slept little and only then because Haldir insisted that Círa rest up from her recent injuries. Most of the night had been spent exploring each other’s bodies and getting to know each other much more intimately than ever before.

Even now, after almost non-stop lovemaking throughout the night, Haldir was growing hard by simply looking at this elleth that he loved. A smile crossed her face as she became aware of his renewed interest and she touched him, bringing him to full readiness within seconds. This time, she rolled him onto his back. He helped her to mount him, closing his eyes as her warmth enveloped his throbbing member. Grasping his shoulders she leaned forward, allowing him access to her breasts. At first she moved slowly, setting a languid pace but soon it was not enough and she began to push on his shoulders to help give her the leverage that she needed. Haldir sensed that she was hurting and he opened his eyes to look at her. Each time she pressed against his shoulders, a shadow of pain could be seen crossing her countenance. Immediately he grabbed both of her wrists and stopped her.

She looked down at him, startled.

“Círa, you were hurting your arm,” he told her, running his hand along the injured limb. “You must be careful until it heals completely or you will re-injure it.”

“I did not feel it,” she said, honestly.

“I could see it in your face,” he said, taking her hands from his shoulders. He kissed the palm of each hand. “Sit back.”

She leaned back into a sitting position, still straddling him.

“Now, lift up, just a little,” he told her.

She moved up higher on her knees until he was almost ready to come unsheathed.

“Perfect,” he whispered, grasping her waist with both hands. Slowly, he began to thrust up into her, holding her eyes as he did so. Círa leaned back, running her hands up and down his taut thighs as he continued his hard strokes. As they continued, the sky began to glow a light pink, the sun just beginning to rise. It seemed to Círa that the sunrise was a beautiful backdrop to their joining. As Haldir’s strokes became bolder, the colors darkened, turning purple, then orange. At the exact same moment that they both achieved fulfillment, the sun crested the sky. Their cries mingled together in the dawn of the new day.

Sated, for now, Haldir pulled Círa down to his chest and kissed her hair. He did not want to leave the beach, but the others would be awake now, maybe wondering where he and Círa were, maybe already knowing. They rested together for a few moments before bathing in the cool lake and washing each other’s bodies led to something more. Círa soon found her legs wrapped around Haldir’s waist as he pumped into her, panting hard. They came together, once again, and stood with their limbs entwined as the last of their shudders subsided. At last, they could wait no longer. It was time to go to the others.

They talked as they walked back to the talans, hand in hand, and Círa thought that she had never heard Haldir quite so loquacious. For that matter, she didn’t remember ever hearing herself so talkative, either. Then Haldir made a comment that stole the words from her throat.

“Do you think that in a thousand years we will look back at this day and regret that our first time together was on the shore of the lake?” he asked her smiling.

There was no easy answer to give him because they would not be together in a thousand years. He would have settled down with an elleth to raise some elflings by that time. Who knew where she would be? Obviously he had not thought his comment through before issuing it and rather than bring up the whole depressing subject of their future, she smiled.

“I will never regret it,” she said quietly. It will be a memory that I will hold dear to me when I am someday alone again, she told herself.

If Haldir sensed Círa’s shift in mood, he did not show it. From the look on his face, he was too happy at the moment to notice the melancholy that had settled upon her. Not wanting to spoil it for him, Círa changed the subject.

“I only feel bad that my arm interfered. It was not fair for you to have to do all of the work,” she told him.

“I did not mind,” was his response as he ran his thumb over her fingers. “I am sure that you can make it up to me when you heal if it bothers you.”

“I will insist upon it,” she said. “It is only right.”

“Well, there are other things you could do in the meantime if it is truly a concern to you,” he suggested, his smile looking a little bit wicked.

“Like what?” she asked, curious. If she could not use her arm, how could she possibly pleasure him without making him do most of the work? Her very limited experience was not helping right now.

As they drew close to the clearing where the others sat near the campfire, he whispered the answer into her ear. Haldir continued to walk into the clearing but Círa stopped and stared at him in shock.

“You want me to put it in my mouth?” she exclaimed.

Jarl spit his tea everywhere and Haldir turned the deepest red possible for an elf.

“You have not been around Círa much, have you?” Orophin asked as he calmly wiped the tea from his tunic. “You do not ever take a drink when she is about to speak. It is just safer that way.”

“You are jesting, are you not, Haldir?” Círa asked him, folding her arms. “Because that is the most disgusting thing I have ever heard!”

“Oh, yes? Well you did not think it was so disgusting when I used my mouth…” he suddenly remembered that there were three extra pairs of ears listening to every word. “We will talk about it later.”

“No, we will not,” she corrected him.

“Actually, Círa, you might enjoy it,” Rúmil told her. “In fact if you would like to practice…”

“Rúmil!” Haldir said, eyes dark. “That is enough.”

“Just trying to help,” he claimed, though his smile said otherwise.

Orophin snorted.

The previously non-stop conversation seemed to have come to a screeching halt for Haldir and Círa and when he sat down next to her, she slid over a bit.

“Oh, you are not going to act like this all day are you?” he asked her. “It was just a suggestion. Forget I ever brought it up.”

“Believe me, I will,” she told him, taking a piece of Lembas bread and some tea that Orophin offered. “Thank you, Orophin.”

When they finished eating and split into groups for patrolling, Haldir sent his brothers and Jarl in a different direction.

“Do not look at me like that,” he told Círa after they had been walking for a while.

“Like what?” she asked, trying not to look at him.

“Like there is something wrong with me,” he told her. “Believe me, it is a common practice.”

“You have had elleths actually do this to you?” she asked him, stunned.

“Many, many times,” he said, rather smugly. “And I have always enjoyed it tremendously. Why is it any worse than what I do to you?”

She had no answer for that; probably because she wasn’t the one doing it.

“Just consider it,” he asked her.

“No,” she replied.

“Please?”

“No.”

“I guess I should be grateful to know that you did not do that to your Uruk, anyway,” he grumbled.

“What did you say?” she asked, slamming to a halt next to him.

“I said that I am glad that you did not use your mouth on your Uruk,” he repeated.

“Now that is truly disgusting,” she said, crossing her arms.

“No worse than joining with him in the first place,” Haldir told her.

She stared at him for a moment.

“So it does still bother you,” she finally said.

“Sometimes,” he admitted. “Not that I think you are tainted or anything, but it would bother me to think about you being with anybody else and an Uruk is just worse.”

“Am I not to be bothered by the hundreds of elleths you have joined with over the years?” she queried.

“I would not say hundreds,” he answered lamely.

“No, just the same forty or fifty over and over again?” she asked. “Did you rotate them each time or did you find one you liked and stay with her for a while before moving on to the next one?”

“Círa…”

“Haldir, you are in no position to judge me,” she said, firmly.

“No, I am not,” he admitted. “I am sorry.”

“Since it seems to be an issue with you, I am going to tell you the whole story about what happened with Lurtz and then we are never going to mention it or him again. Can we do that?” she asked.

“Yes,” Haldir agreed, not sure he wanted to know. He had managed to avoid hearing much about her union with the Uruk so far.

“It is my past and I want it to remain my past, rather than to continue seeping into my present,” she stated.

For the next hour, she told him everything, hoping that he would not become even more disgusted with her, but wanting closure on that part of her life. When she was done speaking he nodded.

“I think I understand your situation a little better now,” he told her. “It is normal to seek comfort in another and I can understand why you enjoyed feeling desired, if you had felt unwanted for so many years.”

“So can we continue with our relationship without this hanging over our heads?” she asked, hopeful.

“Yes,” he promised. “I will never mention it again.”

The remainder of the day went much better though it did seem to drag a bit, as Haldir and Círa were anxious to be off duty and alone in their talan. Several times during the day, Haldir had caught himself reaching out to grab Círa, with plans in mind. Each time, he had to remind himself that they were on duty and anything else would have to wait. It would only be two more weeks before they could return to Caras Galadhon for a break from Fence Duty and he was looking forward to taking her in his own bed.

They ate their evening meal quickly that night and returned to the talan with haste. The smirks on the other wardens’ faces told them that they knew exactly why, but neither Haldir nor Círa cared. Círa had barely made it up the stairs and into the talan when Haldir attacked her, devouring her mouth with his. He backed her to the bedroll, expertly pulling off her clothing as he moved. When she stood before him, naked, Círa began to undo his tunic with much less dexterity. Impatiently, Haldir tossed the garment aside when it was loose enough. He began to untie his leggings, but Círa moved his hands aside, untying them herself. When she pulled the leggings down, his erection almost sprang into her hand. She smiled at him.

“Are you anxious for me?” she asked unnecessarily.

His crushing kiss and roving hands gave her the answer she sought.

“You have no idea how badly I want you right now, Círa,” he told her, closing his eyes as her hand tentatively touched his hard length.

Quickly, he managed to get his leggings and boots off and almost pounced on Círa, needing her now.

“How do you want it, Círa?” he growled into her ear, hoping she would say that she wanted it immediately.

“I want you behind me, like you showed me the other day,” she told him, her own breathing growing harsh as his hands explored her body. Apparently he liked her response, because he groaned and closed his eyes again as he pulled her tightly to his chest and kissed her thoroughly.

“Get on your hands and knees,” he whispered to her, taking her ear lobe into his mouth for a moment.

She assumed the position that he had put her in a few days earlier but one glance told him that it was not going to work. She was bracing herself on her arms.

“No, Círa, we cannot do it this way. You will hurt your arm,” he said. His eyes lit up suddenly.

“The chest, you can lean over the chest,” he said. She moved over to the wooden chest and placed her arms and upper body across it, looking over her shoulder at him to see if this was what he had in mind. Apparently it was, because he was behind her within seconds, nudging her legs apart with his knees. He didn’t enter her immediately, as she had thought he would, but instead he pulled her hair away from her neck and back. Starting at the small of her back, he feathered her spine with kisses as he reached his hand between her legs and pleasured her. When his kisses finally reached her neck, he smoothly pushed into her. Beginning a slow rhythm while he still used his hand to heighten her pleasure, he whispered little encouragements into her ear. Soon, his pace quickened. Each time his body slammed against hers, it brought her closer to fulfillment but it was hard for her not to use her arms to brace herself as he pounded into her. Realizing this, Haldir began to soften his strokes, though she begged him to go faster, harder.

“When you are healed,” he told her, through clenched teeth as he fought to keep from pounding her into the wooden chest.

Her muscles begin to tense and he knew that she was close. Pushing himself into an upright position now, he continued to touch her with one hand while using the other to try and hold her in place as his thrusts grew harder. When she screamed out her cry of pleasure, he waited until he felt the last of the shudders run through her body before grabbing both hips to hold her still and slamming into her in earnest. His release followed shortly and when he was done, he rested his head on her back for a moment as he allowed his breathing to return to normal.

“Your knees,” he breathed the words out. He pulled out and helped her to stand. “I am sorry. I should have put a pillow beneath your knees.”

“And are my knees any less hardy than yours?” she asked him.

“Fine, next time we shall have a pillow beneath both of our knees,” he told her, pulling her to the bedroll where they lay together.

“How long do you think it will take for me to heal completely?” she asked him, frowning.

“Maybe two weeks for a broken bone?” he guessed.

“I do not know if I can stand this, Haldir,” she told him. “I feel like I am hardly participating in our joining because of my arm and this is wrong.”

“Well if you do not wish to pleasure me as I suggested, you could use your hand,” he smiled. “I can lay back on the pillows and let you do all of the work.”

He rolled onto his back and laced his fingers beneath his head, offering his body to her. Touching him tentatively at first, she soon straddled his thighs and began to follow his suggestions. Watching his eyes the entire time, she could see how different movements affected him. She decided she liked having this power over him and began to understand how he would enjoy having her mouth on him, though she could not bring herself to do it…yet. She would have to get used to the idea first.

Watching now as his eyes began to glaze and his muscles began to tighten, she felt his hand cover hers as he encouraged her to move faster. Complying, she was rewarded with success as his body almost convulsed with his release. Círa almost let go as the milky substance covered her hand, but she knew that it would not be kind to do so and she allowed him to finish before she released his now flaccid member. Seeing her discomfort, Haldir grabbed a drying cloth and wiped her hand clean before wiping himself off.

“Thank you, Círa, that was wonderful,” he told her, kissing her as he pulled her body against his.

“But my mouth would have been better,” she noted.

“Well, yes,” he admitted. “You can do much more with your mouth than you can your hands.”

“Like what?” she asked, not sure she wanted to know.

He told her exactly what he had in mind and he watched as her eyes grew big.

“Oh, I do not think so,” she said, picturing it in her mind.

“Do not concern yourself,” he told her, rolling her beneath him. “Now it is your turn.”

He proceeded to bring her to fulfillment several times before he allowed himself the same pleasure. She was impressed that he could continue thrusting into her for so long without attaining satisfaction for himself, but it was obvious when he finally reached the end of his endurance. When he cried out this time, it was as a very strong orgasm tore through his body, giving him wave after wave of pleasure. He collapsed next to her at last and stroked her face.

“I do not think that we are going to get much sleep again, tonight,” he finally admitted.

“Good,” she told him.

“You will tell me if you need to rest?”

“I promise.”

~~~

The next morning, Jarl was sent back to a different patrol area so that one of the wardens on duty could return to Caras Galadhon. Círa and Haldir both thanked the warden once more, for helping her.

“No thanks are necessary,” he said, holding back a grin. “This tour of duty has become quite entertaining ever since Círa woke up.” The warden placed his hand upon his heart and bowed to the Marchwarden before leaving for his new post.

“What did he mean?” Círa turned to Haldir.

“Just that he found your conversations amusing,” Haldir told her, wryly, thinking back over a few discussions that they’d had in the last couple of days.

Haldir was about to send his brothers in one direction while he went the other way with Círa, but after a moment he decided that it would not be a good idea.

“Círa, you will patrol with…” Haldir took one look at Rúmil’s smiling face and made up his mind, “Orophin. Rúmil, you will come with me.”

Círa looked a little disappointed so Haldir pulled her aside and explained his reasoning.

“If you were any other warden-in-training, I would rotate your patrols between my brothers and myself, so I must do that now. Besides, I do not know if I can keep my hands off you, and that would not be good while on duty,” he said, eyeing her with desire.

“No, there will be time enough for that later,” she agreed.

“Is that a promise?” he asked, pulling her closer.

“Careful, Marchwarden, we are on duty now,” she reminded him as she ran a hand down his chest.

Lowering his mouth to hers, he kissed her chastely on the lips. “Then this will have to suffice for now.”

They returned to his brothers and split into two groups heading in different directions.

As Círa and Orophin walked along, they talked. She found it easy to converse with both of Haldir’s brothers and they did not seem to be bothered by it if she brought up subjects that might be deemed inappropriate by others. At least now she was beginning to realize what these topics were.

“I suppose I should not have made the comment that I did in front of Jarl yesterday,” she told Orophin. “Haldir’s suggestion just took me very much by surprise.”

“I think you shocked Jarl,” the elf admitted, grinning. “Of course, I am sure that it is nothing he has not done himself…well, had done to him, I should say. It is just that we do not normally talk about it in mixed company.”

“What is mixed company?” she asked, never having heard the term.

“Males and females together,” he told her.

“Why would it be appropriate to speak of some things only in front of other males?” she asked.

Orophin turned to look at her. “That is a good question. I am not sure what the answer is, but it just does not feel right to do it.”

“So, you say that Jarl has probably had an elleth do this to him. Is it very common?” she asked.

“Yes,” he answered, grinning. “It is wonderful, too.”

She lost herself in her thoughts for a while.

“Orophin, can I ask you something?”

“I think that we are well past the point of you needing permission to ask me a question,” the elf said, laughing.

“Does Haldir ever speak of wanting to settle down and have elflings?” she asked, not sure how to phrase her question.

“Well, yes, we all do,” he said, eyeing her cautiously, “but do you not think that it is a bit soon to be thinking about that?”

She looked at him, confused, for a moment.

“Oh, I do not mean with me!” she laughed, as though the notion were ridiculous. “I am just curious as to how long I will have with Haldir before he wants to find an elleth and raise some elflings.”

Orophin stopped in his tracks. “What are you saying, Círa? Do you not love Haldir?”

“Of course I do,” she told him. “I love him more than anything, but that does not mean that we have a future together.”

“Why not?” Orophin asked. “It is the natural progression if you both love each other. Not necessarily right away…”

“No,” Círa said, shaking her head, sadly. “It is not possible, Orophin. Can you honestly picture me sitting around with a bunch of she-elves, swapping recipes as we watch our elflings play together?”

Orophin had no answer for that. No, he could not see it. He had to say something, though.

“Círa, you are still young. Maybe your feelings will change and you will learn to like those things.”

“Even if I did change, which I cannot imagine, I would not even know how to be a mother. I hardly remember what a mother is even supposed to be like. I would not wish myself upon any elfling.”

“Have you discussed this with Haldir?” Orophin asked, doubting that she had.

“Not yet,” she admitted. “I was waiting for him to figure it out himself.”

Orophin replied. “If you do not plan on spending the rest of your life with Haldir, I think he needs to know this very quickly. It is only fair.”

She sighed. “Yes, I guess you are right, though he would see it himself if he would only think about it. He is too busy thinking of other things now.”

“Círa, please tell him,” Orophin asked.

“And did he tell all of his elleths that their relationships would be short-term?” she asked.

“No, but it was implied. He assumes that since you and he both love each other that you will not hesitate to bind yourself to him.”

“He has said this?” she asked, surprised.

Orophin only nodded.

“Maybe he should not be so quick to jump to conclusions,” she said, trying to swallow around the lump in her throat. He was going to make this so much harder than it had to be.

“Círa…”

“I will tell him as soon as he mentions it, otherwise I am being presumptuous,” she stated.

They turned and continued their patrol.

~~~

It was the next day at dinnertime that Haldir brought up the very subject that Círa had hoped to avoid and with Orophin present, Círa had no choice but to confront the issue. They had finished eating and now Círa sat in front of Haldir, as he kissed her hair and caressed her.

“Ah, how the time drags when I am waiting to return to my elleths,” Rúmil said, watching the small fire glow. “I hope they are not too lonely without me.”

“Will you choose between your elleths or keep them both?” Círa asked, curiously.

“It is hard to say,” Rúmil admitted. “For now, I am happy to keep the company of both of them. I am not ready to commit to one yet.”

“You obviously have not met the right one,” Haldir said, as he kissed Círa’s cheek.

Orophin looked pointedly at Círa.

Not sure what to say, she fumbled through it. “I would imagine that it would take many years to be sure that somebody is right for you.”

“No, not at all,” Haldir told her. “I already know that you are the one I wish to spend my life with.”

Círa frowned. “Haldir, you have not thought this through all the way.”

“Of course I have,” he told her. “I know how I feel about you and how you feel about me.”

“I am the one that you want be with now,” she corrected him. “I am not the one that you want to bind yourself to.”

“Why would you say that?” he asked, brushing a strand of hair away from her face.

She sighed, collecting her thoughts. Could he not see? This was not a conversation she preferred to have in front of his brothers, yet they were all so close that undoubtedly he would tell them about it anyway. She took a deep breath and rushed ahead.

“You would like to have elflings, Haldir?” she asked, knowing the answer he would give.

“Certainly,” he told her. “We would have beautiful elflings.”

“You can picture what our elflings would look like, but can you picture me being a mother to them?” she asked.

He looked into her eyes, not understanding.

“I was raised by Orcs, remember? I have very little memory of what a mother is supposed to do. I would not have the slightest idea what to do with an elfling, besides teaching it how to use weapons. Besides, I doubt that you would want me to bring them to the Northern Fences with me when I am on duty.”

“Well, I had assumed that when you became a mother you would stay home,” he told her.

“And you can picture that in your mind also?” she asked him.

He stared at her for a moment before looking away. Of course he couldn’t. She would be miserable trapped in a talan day after day, unable to fight. She was a warrior. His heart grew heavy as he began to see that he would have to decide between Círa and fatherhood, as the two might be mutually exclusive.

Círa saw that understanding had finally settled upon Haldir’s features and it finalized what she had suspected all along.

“So you see,” she said, her voice quavering, “that our relationship is temporary until you decide that you want to become a father. At that time, you will have to choose another elleth.”

“Círa,” he began lamely, not sure what to say just yet. He needed time to think about a decision of this magnitude.

Knowing that she was going to start crying and that she could not stand to do it in front of the wardens, she rose.

“I need to be a lone for a while,” she said, walking into the forest.

~~~

Haldir started to go after her, but Orophin shook his head.

“Let her go,” he told his brother. “She does not wish for you to see her cry. To her it is a sign of weakness.”

Rúmil nodded in agreement. “She will come back when she is ready.”

“What she said is true,” Haldir told them, stirring the fire with a stick. The flames reflected agony in his face.

He continued, “I could not ask her to stay home and raise elflings. She is a warrior and will not be happy doing the things that most others do. It is one of the reasons that I was drawn to her in the first place – the fact that she was different from the other elleths that I know. I could say that I do not ever need to be a father but I have to admit that the desire has crossed my mind more and more lately. I would love to have a child created by Círa and myself; someone to raise and protect, someone to whom I can pass on my knowledge and memories.”

His brothers both nodded. They had both had similar thoughts.

“It is possible that my desire will continue to grow to the point where I will be miserable without a family. How can I make a decision now, not knowing how I will feel later? I cannot bind myself to Círa now.”

“No, you cannot,” Orophin told him. “But you can love her, nonetheless.”

“I can do that,” Haldir admitted. “Although our relationship will never achieve the heights that it could with binding. But how do I give my heart to her completely when I know that someday we may be parted?”

His eyes were haunted and neither of his brothers had an answer for him.

When Cira returned, she was subdued and when Haldir tried to talk to her about it, she stopped him.

“Let us not ruin the time we have together worrying about what will happen in the future, hopefully many years from now,” she suggested gently.

He took her hand and led her to their talan.

~~~

Their time at the Fences was finally over now and the wardens were returning to Caras Galadhon. Círa was happy when she saw the gate to the city ahead of them and she smiled at the idea that this was truly her home. They would be in training most days while in the city, but she and Haldir would have some days off to spend together here, as well as a more relaxed schedule on the training days.

She could not wait to spend the night in his bed. She had dreamed of it. When Haldir dismissed the others, he kept Círa behind.

“How would you like to spend the rest of the day?” he asked her.

A slow smile broke across Círa’s face. “I would very much like to try out your fluffy bed.”

“That can certainly be arranged,” he told her, kissing her cheek. “First I must speak with Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn. Would you like to come with me?”

She nodded and soon they were standing in the presence of their Lord and Lady. After the formalities were observed, Círa found her mind drifting a bit, though she was still able to follow most of the conversation. Haldir updated them on the details of their battle with the Uruk-hai and Tamor’s death, though some details were given to the Lord and Lady through his mind, as he didn’t want Círa to have to hear everything. Lady Galadriel promised to speak with Círa about it later, knowing that she would be able to enlighten the elleth on Tamor’s behavior concerning her mother. When they were done updating each other, Lady Galadriel spoke again.

“There is one other issue that must be addressed,” she told her Marchwarden. “Since Tamor is gone, we are now short one instructor.”

Haldir nodded and they discussed moving another warden into his position, but that would leave another spot empty.

“Then we will need somebody to teach weapons to the elflings,” Haldir stated, his mind working.

“Círa, I think that you would be the perfect choice for that duty,” the Lady smiled.

The elleth’s head snapped up at that. “Teaching elflings? Why? I know nothing about elflings.”

She looked at Haldir suspiciously, wondering if this was his way of trying to put her in contact with the little creatures, hoping that it would make her want one of her own.

He threw his hands up. “I had nothing to do with this!” he told her.

Lady Galadriel continued. “I do not doubt that you would be an excellent teacher for our wardens as well, Círa, but it might make some of them uncomfortable if we put you in that position so soon. By starting with the elflings, the others will grow accustomed to seeing you as an instructor. That will make it easier to advance you to a higher position one day.

Círa was not sure that it was Lady Galadriel’s only motive, but the idea of training again appealed to her. True, she was a warrior, but she did not enjoy killing. She enjoyed using weapons and this would give her the chance to pass her skills on to others, even if they were tiny, scary others. She agreed to try it and thanked Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn for offering her this duty.

As they walked back to the talan, she finally blurted out, “Haldir I am afraid.”

“Of what?” he asked, surprised to hear the confession. Círa feared nothing, as far as he knew.

“Of elflings,” she admitted. “I have not been around one since I was one myself. Do I talk to them as I would a full-grown elf or do they speak a different language? It seems that my parents did not use the same words with me that I speak as an adult.”

Haldir had to fight back a smile. She could battle Orcs and Uruks, but she was afraid of elflings.

“They speak the same language, Círa, though many will not have the extensive vocabulary that an adult would. Just explain any words that they have problems with. You can help them with their vocabulary this way, as well.”

“Are they all…housebroken?” she asked, nervously. “I will not be expected to clean up vomit or…worse, will I? I know that elflings do this.”

Haldir couldn’t hold back the laugh this time. She seemed so serious.

“No, Círa. These are not newborn elflings. They are all old enough to handle a weapon so you may rest easy.”

“That is good,” she said, relived. They entered the talan and did not come out for the rest of the day.

~To Be Continued~