Caolia grabbed hold of the branch above her head- the next branch up of the tree she was climbing. She wasnt sure why she was up there in the first place; all she knew was that she had to keep going until she couldnt go anymore. She tried to pull herself up, but her forest- green robe got caught on something below. She lowered herself back down and balenced on the branch. She found where her clothing had caught on some vines. The 17- year old girl tried to untangle herself from the trap, but it wouldnt let go. She gave a great tug, and her robes ripped, the tangled material still stuck in the vines, and the left side of her clothing a mess. 'Great,' she thought, 'Just great.' She examined the tear in her robes, annoyed. They were her favorite robes, a beautiful forest- green material. The left side of her robes wrapped around to her right side and was tied there with a brown leather strand. She was quite upset that they were torn. But she knew she couldnt turn back, now that she was halfway to the top. She had to keep going, for some reason she didnt know. 'Oh, well, at least I'm free!' Caolia thought. And with that, she continued her climb to the top.

An hour later, she was perched on the highest branch of the great tree, overlooking the Elf haven Rivendell. She was amazed at how wonderful Rivendell was, and how lucky she was to have lived there as a guest for the past two years, especcially since she was human. She closed her eyes and tilted her head upward in the cool breeze, her long, curly brown hair floating on the air.

Night crept in upon Rivendell, but the young girl stayed in her tree. She couldnt get down, though she tried. She would have been able to, normally, but something refused to let her leave. She knew she had to stay up there, though it was getting late and Caolia was tired. She leaned against the trunk of the tree and closed her eyes, wrapped in the warm night sky. She drifted off into a deep sleep.

It was still night when she awoke, sore from sleeping in a tree. She decided to get down and go back home, where her nice, warm, comfortable bed awaited her. She started to climb down, but found herself going back up. 'Oh, not again!' she thought. 'I have to get down, yet I must stay up. This is really terrible.' Caolia sat aganst the trunk once more, and fell asleep.

The rest of the night was pretty much like that. When morning finally came, she was too tired to get down even if whatever was keeping her up in that tree would let her. Her stomach growled with incredible force. She watched the Elves passing below her, and she yelled at them to bring her something to eat. But all that happened was they looked around bewildered. 'Is this my fate? To be yelling at Elves to bring me food for ever? And watching as they fail to notice me? And being unable to leave this tree until death takes me?' Caolia thought, as she continued to try and make the Elves notice her.

Nellas had been watching the human maiden in a tree near to the one she lived in. She lived on a talan, or flet, in the branches of a very large oak tree, even though that kind of home was only common in Lothlorien. But she preferred the trees to houses of stone, so it suited her fine. She had been trying to muster up the courage to speak to the girl for quite a while; perhaps she was stuck and needed help. She finally decided to call out to the girl when she started yelling for food at the Elves below. "Hello! Do you need some help?" Nellas called out, in a somewhat timid voice, moving swiftly and gracefully upward so that she could be on more of the same level as the human.

Startled, Caolia stopped calling to the elves below. She stood up quickly and turned around. Before her stood an Elf, the first one to notice her. "Oh, hello." she said, awkwardly. "I- I've been trying to get down for I dont know how long, but every time I begin to go down, something keeps me up here. This feeling that I have to stay up here, because something big is coming. I wish I could get down." Sighing, she sat back down. "Its no use. Im never gonna get out of here." She sat in silence for a while, thinking. "Hey, wait a minute." Caolia stood up quickly, smiling for the first time since the evening before. "Maybe its you that I was waiting for! Maybe its you that- no. It couldnt be. Could it?" she was talking to herself more than the elf. "Oh, by the way, my names Caolia. And thank you, thank you, for finally noticing me- I mean, because no one else does." she said. "Do you, by any chance, have any food? I havent eaten for a while." She reached over and pulled a nut out of the tree. "These dont make very good food." She grinned at the elf, hoping that she had food and that their meeting wold allow her to get down.

Nellas smiled timidly. "I do have some food; I live in the trees, so when I come down I bring back a lot." She climbed back down to her talan, got some fruit and bread and climbed back up. "I'll come over to your tree, I guess," she said. She jumped nimbly to the other tree and sat on a branch next to Caolia. "My name is Nellas, by the way," she said as she gave the food to Caolia.

"Oh, thank you, thank you!" Caolia responded. She was smiling so wide that she feared her face would break. She bit into a piece of bread. "Oh, this is wonderful." Grinning, she quickly finished the bread and fruit. "Thank you, Nellas." she said. She jumped down to the next branch of the tree, then the next. "Wow, this is great! I guess I was waiting for you after all!" she called up. Caolia then began to climb back up to the branch Nellas was on. "So, how long have you lived here? I've lived here for two years now. I came when I was fifteen, and I'm seventeen now. I havent been anywhere except for my village in Rohan, where I lived before I came here, and then, of course, here. Have you traveled a lot?" Caolia tried to make conversation with Nellas.

Nellas was slightly overwhelmed but the stream of information and questions from Caolia, but she had always been quiet. That was one of the reasons she had liked Turin so much; he was never very loud, except in his anger. But she decided to start with the first question and said, "I have been living in Rivendell for a long time now, ever since the shadow came to Mirkwood, though I lived in Lothlorien at the time. Before coming to Lothlorien, I lived in Ossiriand, and prior to that in Doriath. I do not do much travelling, only the travel between homes." She looked up at the sky; the sun was climbing higher every minute. "It gets quite warm in the tops of the trees during the day; would you like to come down to my talan? It's lower and stays cool during the day," she asked.

"Oh, yes, thank you." Caolia repiled. She tilted her head up towards the sun. "It does get pretty warm up here." She looked around. "So, where is your talan? I'm quite sure its not in this tree; I would have seen it on the way up." She then motioned towards the tear in her robe. "Do you have anything to fix this with? I tore it on some vines while I was climbing up."

Nellas nodded. "My talan is in the next tree, and I should still have some thread and a needle... Would you be more comfortable jumping or climbing lower down and getting onto one of my tree's branches where they are closer?" She realized this might be a stupid question; she had never really met anyone else comfortable jumping from the top of one tree to another... the only reason she was was because she'd lived in the trees for over 6,000 years.

"Oh, um, climb, I guess." Caolia replied. She spoke as though she didnt really care. In reality, however, she was afraid of jumping between the tops of trees. She just didnt want Nellas to think she was a coward. She lowered herself down and looked up. "Well? What are you waiting for? Lets go!"

Nellas followed Caolia down the tree. After climbing down about twenty feet, she said, "You should probably cross here; my talan is just a few feet below us right now." She leapt lightly from the tree she was in now into her tree and climbed to her talan. She looked back and asked, "Do you want any help?"

"Oh, no thank you." Caolia replied. She jumped to the other tree, and stood on the branch. She lost her balance for a while, but she was able to regain it. Just as she stood up, she slipped and fell. But, she didnt really fall, she grabbed the branch at the last moment. She hung there for a moment, not realizing what happened, until she came to her senses and screamed. "Help, help!" she cried out. She frantically pawed at the branch for dear life. "Help!" she called, scared to death.

Nellas sucked her breath in as she saw Caolia fall. She heard the delayed scream and was jolted back to her senses as well. "Caolia, don't move. Just hold on, I'm coming to get you." She began to climb down the three feet of tree as fast as she could without shaking the branches too badly. "It's ok, just don't worry and don't look down." She straddled a large branch next the the one Caolia was clinging to. She reached out and grabbed her wrists saying, "Don't worry, I've got you. Just let go of the branch and grab my hands. Try to get you feet up onto another branch. Don't think about it, just do it. I won't let you fall, I promise. Trust me."

Caolia let go with one hand and grabbed onto Nellas's wrist. She pulled herself up so that she could stand a little on the branch below. One of her feet slioiped, but she was able to hold on. She pulled herself up a little more and grabbed Nella's other wrist. Closing her eyes, she pulled herself up with help from the elf.

Nellas sighed with relief when Caolia managed to pull herself up. She stayed on the branch for a while, giving her a chance to rest and recover from her fall. "Are you ok now?" she asked after a few minutes, panting a bit- mostly from fear, but also partly from the effort involved. The talan was only a few feet above them; "Do you want to try climbing to the talan yet, or just go down all the way? Or stay here?"

"Oh, I think I can climb up to the talan from here." Caolia replied. She stood up and held onto the above branch. "Thank you, for saving my life." she said. (OOC: Yeah, I know that was cheesy.) She pulled herself up onto said branch and smiled. "C'mon!" Though she was still shaken up from the fall, she didnt want to look a wuss in front of the elf. She wanted to be strong, fearless, in other words, not like herself. She was so sick of the elves in Rivendell thinking her weak, just because she was a human and she didnt get out much. And whos fault was that? Not hers. The fault of her many foster- mothers and fathers, but not her fault.

Nellas smiled back at Caolia and followed her up to the talan. She climbed onto it and sat down near the edge so Caolia could sit near the trunk of the tree, if she wanted. "Why did you climb up here yesterday anyway?" she asked, knowing it sounded a bit blunt, but she was curious. She never really had been all that curious before, so she was indulging herself a bit.

"Oh, well, it was just one of those things. I had the sudden, crazy, psycotic urge to climb a tree, and once I started, I couldnt stop. It was like something was pulling me up here. And I had to stay. I probably could have gone down, if I wanted to, but I was so curious to as why I felt I needed to stay up there, and what was going to happen. I have always told myself, trust my insticts. And if I didnt, I wouldnt have met you." Caolia smiled at her first friend in a long time, hoping that Nellas felt the same way, upon finding a new friend, and she hoped she didnt annoy the elf to the point where she couldnt stand it anymore and she wanted to throw the human off the tree. 'Woah. Slow down.' Caolia told herself. 'Relax.' Once more, Caolia was trying her best to get carried away with her very interesting mental images.

Nellas smiled back at Caolia; she was a very likeable person. "It is good to have friends," she said. "I have not had a true friend since the First Age, and he has been long dead, being mortal. He was only twenty years old the last time I saw him, and he died before he was forty. Melian told me of this when he did not return to Doriath though his kin had arrived..." Her thoughts began to wander; Turin had almost been like a little brother to her, the way she was always teaching him and watching over him. A breeze picked up and Nellas' hair streamed out behind her slightly. She loved the wind. Somehow, it always lifted her spirits a bit. Even though Turin had died young, she thought, he would have died at some point anyway. There's no use mourning the death of a mortal for too long; it is just the way with them.
Something struck her as slightly odd about Caolia, though. Didn't she have parents who would worry about her if she disappeared for a night? "What of your family?" she asked. "Won't they be worried about you?"

"My parents kicked me out of my house two years ago, when I was only fifteen. I am not really sure why. I ran away for 3 days and two nights, then I sat in a field, crying, for another two days. I then passed out, and woke up here a week later. I do not know what my parents have been doing, where they are, and if they are even still alive. I have been living here as a guest for the past two years." Caolia said. She looked at Nellas. Her eyes seemed sad, mourning for her lost friend. Though she was smiling, enjoying the breeze that lifted her hair. Caolia's tightly curled hair loosened, became less tightly curled, as it raised in the wind as well. She felt like her heart was about to burst. Here she was, sitting in a beautiful tree, up high, she was free, and she had a new friend who felt the same way about their friendship as she did. She was in heaven. "I have a question. Well, two, really." Caolia said to Nellas. "Do you think it usual that guests are kept here for two years, still as guests, and do you also know why the people here seem so keen on keeping me here? I have not been allowed to leave here since I came."

Nellas frowned; it struck her as ood that the Elves in Rivendell would not let this mortal do as she wished; mortals' years were short enough without being held against their will by others who did not die save by great physical injury or grief. "I am not sure why you would be kept here," she said, thinking hard. "Unless something about you frightened them when they found you that caused them to think you would be better off staying here... but surely they would tell you if that were the case."

Caolia shrugged; she really had no idea. "I dont mind anyway. I'm glad I am living here. Its so pretty." She gestured out into the beautiful valley below. "I am not sure why they are keeping me here, but I love it. It is so much better than my village. The rooms are nicer, the beds more comfortable, and the food is so much better. I would hate to leave." she said. Then turning to Nellas, she asked: "Do you like it here?"

Nellas nodded. "It is nice here," she began, "but sometimes I miss the old forests of Doriath. But that can't be helped now. And it certainly is safer in Rivendell than most other remaining places in Middle-Earth." Of course, Melian's girdle made Doriath even safer she thought to herself, but again, mourning for something that is lost forever would not do her any good. "What was your village like?" she asked abruptly. "I have never lived in a non-Elven land, though I have often wondered what it would be like to live in Gondor or Rohan."

"Well, amin lived in Rohan before amin came here. Nin village na on i smaller side, a amin liked that. Everyone knew each other; it na like one big family living in seperate houses. The houses na small but they na comfortable. Especcially mine. Because there na only three people living there. I na an only child." Caolia replied.

Oh. oops. Cao posted as elle. Sorry.

Anyways, every few words are in Elvish for practice. (I figured you'd understand)

((OOC(yeah, i got it...)))

Nellas nodded. "I never really knew my family," she said. "And in Doriath I mostly lived alone." She sighed. "I really am terribly shy most of the time and the stone halls and enclosed spaces made me feel uncomfortable, so even back then I lived in the forests. Most of the Elves either lived in the city or lived far apart in the forests, so I never really had that much contact with many people." She supposed that was why her people skills were so bad, but maybe if she had a friend again she would overcome some of her fears.

"Le did na have contact with many others? That would be terrible for nin. Amin like being around others. It is weird. Amin enjoy climbing up trees, enjoying i peaceful environment. But, amin like company. Amin love noise, loudness, a activity. Amin have na met many others, but amin like those amin have met. Amin would hate to live alone." Then, noticing that Nellas lived alone, she said "But if le like it, that is okay. Amin mean, sometimes it is nice to be alone." Caolia added awkwardly.

((OOC: If u are ok with it, every post from here on out will be partly in elvish. please pm me and tell me if ur ok w/ it.))

"Not always. Sometimes it is good to have someone to talk about things with. The only person I have had to talk to about things important to me before was Turin. I wish he had stayed in Doriath; he never should have left; it was not his fault," Nellas replied. There she was, doing it again. Whenever she was with others, she missed Turin most. Not when she was alone, as would seem natural, but when she was actually having conversations. Perhaps she saw little bits of Turin in those whom she had spoken to for this long. But she really needed to be over it all; it had been more than 6,000 years.

"Oh. Amin am sorry." Caolia responded. She sat in silence for a while, then said, "Why did le choose to live in i trees? Amin would, because amin like hights, and the tree is so pretty. But, why did le choose this home?"

Nellas shrugged. "I don't know, really. I was just raised in the forests, and I'm really used to living around trees, and it was safer to be in a tree than at its base before the Girdle of Melian surrounded Doriath. I suppose I just adapted to living among the branches," she said, thinking. She had never really thought about it before. The breeze freshened, and the tree began to sway the tiniest bit in the wind, not enough for Nellas to notice, but enough to be noticable to someone who wasn't used to it.

Scared, Caolia grabbed hold of her branch. It na like i tree na trying to buck her off. Ra closed her eyes a prayed for it to stop. But as soon as it began, i wind slowed a i tree, as well as Caolia, relaxed. Ra opened her eyes, feeling foolish a worrying that Nellas would think her a chicken. Ra tried to laugh at herself, but it sounded more like a croak. "Amin dont blame le, for wanting to live in a tree. It is so nice up here." Ra leaned back a smiled to herself. "Amin wish amin could stay up here forever."

"Sometimes I feel like that too," Nellas said. "But I have to come down every once in a while, because the leaves don't taste very good... believe me, I've tried them." She grimaced a bit, remembering a time when she was in a sulky mood and hadn't wanted to go down for anything, and in her hunger had tried to eat the leaves of the tree her talan was in at the time. "And anyway, sometimes it is nice to feel firm ground under your feet," she added.

Caolia laughed. "Yeah, Amin have tried to eat lassi before, too. Amin na really bored, a amin na curious to see what they taste like." Standing up, she added, "A it is nice to feel solid ground again. It must get so tiring, looking at i world from i point of view of a bird most of i time." She looked down, and it made re sick. She sat down quickly, as she said "Woah. Maybe that wasnt i best of ideas. She leaned up against the tree- trunk, re eyes closed. "Do le get sick, from looking down? Amin know amin would, but do le? Or are le used to it?"

"I think I'm just used to it," Nellas said, laughing. "This is the highest up I've ever lived, but I think every time I move to another tree the talan goes up higher. I'm not quite sure why, actually- it's harder to get up here when it's really high." She had been noticing Caolia's slight nervousness, such as when she stood up and when the wind had been blowing. Neither of these things bothered her, but then again, she had lived in the trees for a really, really long time. "Do you want to go down now?" she asked, trying not to sound condescending.

Caolia smiled nervously. "If le want to go down, amin will go with le. But if le want to stay up, amin dont mind." She tried to be polite, a that ne i only way practically to avoid an awkward moment. Though deep in re heart, she wished she could get out of that tree. She couldnt wait to feel re feet on solid ground, to jump, twirl, run, dance with no fear of falling. She hoped Nellas could see through re words, a realize how badly Caolia wanted to get down. "Amin mean, if le want to stay up here, amin would gladly accompany le. But if le want to get down, amin would be more than happy to follow." She hoped this restatement was more obvious than i first, a that she would soon get down.

Nellas smiled and said, "Let's go down, then. I'll lead; there are some branches I've learned to avoid through experience, and I know the best path down." She lowered herself from the talan and began to climb down the tree. After she had gone about fifteen feet, she waited for Caolia to get closer before moving on, because it got a bit harder here for a while. "Are you doing alright?" she asked Caolia.

Relieved that she could get down now, Caolia lowered herself down. "Yes, amin am doing okay." she responded to Nellas's question. She clambered down awkwrdly, knowing that her climbing skills were terrible and most un-graceful. She got to Nellas rather quickely, however, a she na very poud of herself for climbing down to that level without falling. 'Ah." she said straightening herself out a smiling at the elf. "Well, lets go!." She jumped down to i next branch, and grabbed on to i one above to keep her balence. She looked up at Nellas a said, "Arent le coming?" knowing that she looked like a stupid, show- off human.

"I'm coming," Nellas replied. "But you need to move over about three branches; the ones below you aren't very big, and they might break if you try to get down onto them," pointing to a large branch a little below Caolia's level. Nellas was climbing diagonally down the tree, making for the branch next to the one she had told Caolia to go to.

"Okay then." Caolia jumped onto i branch Nellas was aiming for, a nearly catapulted ro out of the tree. Luckely, she wasnt that heavy, a i branch na too thick, for ro to do much of anything. In fact, all that happened na Nellas bounced about a centimeter off i branch and then landed back on it. Caolia, however, recieved a slight shock when Nellas landed, a i young human girl grabbed hold of i trunck of i tree to keep from falling. Well, at least to make ro feel better. "Amin am sorry if that shocked le." Caolia told Nellas awkwardly. "Amin am not very good at climbing trees."

Nellas smiled. "It didn't bother me at all," she said. "I barely felt it." She looked down the tree to make sure they wouldn't hit any more hard parts. There was probably about 30 or 40 feet left of the tree to go. "Ok, now we just need to climb diagonally downward to the right," she said. "It will be easier on you than climbing straight down." And she began the descent again.