_________________

Durion woke to the feeling of being drowned. Rocketing himself into a sitting position he spat out the liquid that almost choked him. The liquid, hot and very fowl tasting, spayed the older human woman sitting at Durion's bed. After coughing and gasping for breath, Durion glanced at the woman and her wet clothes. She was staring back at him.

You should not sit up." The woman said in a strange, lilting accent. Durion couldn't quite place it. Dunland, maybe? She was maybe about 50, with long curly jet black hair. Two dancing black eyes looked at him with a keen intelligence. "You are in far very weak. You need to lay down and drink some of my broth. It will give you strength." So that's what the horrendous liquid had been. She walked off with the empty bowl to what appeared to be a pot. Durion looked around the forien room. The place was warmly lit, with rows of cots. Some were occupied, others were empty. Walls of shelves held what looked to be salves and herbs. It was a typical healer's room. The woman returned with the bowl full of the steaming liquid. "Lay down!" she commanded. She thrust him onto the bed with her arm, not spilling even a drop of the broth. "You must drink this too."

"How am I supposed to drink on my back?" He asked, again pushing himself into a sit. The room spun. He tried to hide his dizziness and must have succeeded. The woman mulled it over for a second, then replied.

"Okay, you can sit, but when you are done, you lie down!" Her accented voice waas strong and commanding.

"I understand." Durion replied. "Lay down after eating." She handed him the broth and he took a careful sniff. It didn't smell too bad. He took a sip, and was pleased to find that it didn't taste half bad. He gulped the liquid almost instantly.

"That is very hot, no?" The healer asked with a perplexed look on her face.

"Yes, it is" Durion replied. "But also not very bad tasting. I was very hungry."

The healer shook her head. "Usually even the starving dislike it. You are odd."

"I've been sustained on far worse." Durion said bluntly.

"Yes, a prisoner of Sauron, no doubt. Nasty wounds they gave you. You're going to scar, there's no help for it, but I'll be damned if they don't heal properly."

Durion glanced at his wrists. They used to be chafed, bruised, and bleeding from his shackles. They were now bandaged. He could also feel wrappings on his ankles and on his back. "Thank you....what is your name?" he aked.

"Mylia." She replied gruffly. "And don't thank me. I'm mearly doing my job."

"A very good one." Durion replied. He was already feeling stronger. The broth must have been very powerful. Already could feel some of his energy returning. He felt more substantial, less like a wraith being tossed in the wind.

"Yes, I am good, and I told you to rest when you were finished, did I not?" She glared at him in a motherly way.

"Yes mum" He slipped immediatly under the sheets rather than risk having her push him down again. She was a strong, brazen, maternal woman who commanded her patients respect and obiedience, and he didn't want to tangle with a healer like that. And, the warm sheets, the soft bed, and the down pillow all inveted him into a deep sleep that couldn't be found in a cold dark prison. Smiling, he fell into a calm sleep.

Deawen loved to play it was her nature to love all things immature. " I hate you." she said laughing. " I don't think you understand prudence do you?" she asked moving away from him, she tugged her her tunic so it was straight and rewound her long hair into a braid.
She put everything away and sat away from him least another attack came from him. Deawen suddenly sighed, " I think we should see the wounded Elf." she stood up and stretched " Race you!" she shoved him slightly and dashed out the door.

_________________
Lips, ripe as the berries in June
Red the rose, red the rose
Skin, pale as the light of the moon
Gently as she goes

as always a hero comes home

Vanya screeched as she collided head-on into someone dashing out of the room she was approaching. She fell back, shock and mild irritation flashing over her face. She glanced at the person that she'd collided into; she didn't recognize her.

_________________
<center>
Thanks to Revenge for the lovely set!
~Married Legolas of Gondolin April 6, 2006~<center>

Deawen dashed out of the room and collided with an unknown Elf. Though Deawen was caught unprepared she managed to roll off to the side.
" I am sorry!" she said getting to her feet, " I didn't see you..."

_________________
Lips, ripe as the berries in June
Red the rose, red the rose
Skin, pale as the light of the moon
Gently as she goes

as always a hero comes home

"Apparently," muttered Vanya, picking herself up off the floor. "I don't believe we've met before..."

_________________
<center>
Thanks to Revenge for the lovely set!
~Married Legolas of Gondolin April 6, 2006~<center>

Deawen flushed a bright pink from embarrasement. " Oh we have not met before. My name is Deawen." she said with a hasty curtsy.

_________________
Lips, ripe as the berries in June
Red the rose, red the rose
Skin, pale as the light of the moon
Gently as she goes

as always a hero comes home

_________________

Deawen blushed even more when Tulmind showed up. " I didn't see her" she said honestly. She brushed leaves and dirt from her skirts.

_________________
Lips, ripe as the berries in June
Red the rose, red the rose
Skin, pale as the light of the moon
Gently as she goes

as always a hero comes home

"I am Vanya," she said in response to Tulmind's unspoken question.

_________________
<center>
Thanks to Revenge for the lovely set!
~Married Legolas of Gondolin April 6, 2006~<center>

Deawen suddenly became shy. " I am going to go on ahead and see the wounded elf." she whispered to Tulmind then scurried away tot he healing rooms.

_________________
Lips, ripe as the berries in June
Red the rose, red the rose
Skin, pale as the light of the moon
Gently as she goes

as always a hero comes home

_________________

Durion clutched his pillow with a vice like grip. He slept (as well as elves can sleep) but his face was taut with emotion. Bad nightmares of his imprisonment still haunted him. Orcs and other vile creatures seemed to have permenantly entrenched themselves in his dreams. Mylia watched over him for a distance, finally allowing a small, worried frown of compassion onto her face. Poor elf She thought It'll take him a long time to come back to himself Her frown deepened as he tossed and moaned.
Suddenly the sound of running footsteps could be heard. A human, seemingly in a hurry, entered the doorway. Durion sat up with a gasp, instinctively and he pushed himself as far away from the door as he could. Only after a few moments had passed did he untense. In his haunted dreams this human's footsteps had been that of a foul creature of Sauron. The horror had chased him even to the waking world. It took Durion time to remember he was in a prison no longer. He was in Rivendell, and free. He caught his breath, looking at the human. She seemed interested in him.

(Okay. Do you want to decide when they met?)
Vanya looked at him. "I believe we have, yes."

_________________
<center>
Thanks to Revenge for the lovely set!
~Married Legolas of Gondolin April 6, 2006~<center>

Deawen had entered the chamber quietly but was just as startled as the elf before her, to see him react so. " I mean you no harm" she said her voice soft as if she were calming a spooked stallion. " My name is Deawen. " she introduced herself in the same soft tone she never let her gaze falter from his.

_________________
Lips, ripe as the berries in June
Red the rose, red the rose
Skin, pale as the light of the moon
Gently as she goes

as always a hero comes home

"I..." Durion began, faltering. "I'm sorry I started. Just....Just bad dreams." Her gaze on him was constant, and he returned it. His breath was coming back to him, and the wraiths of his sleep were now just fragments of a distant dream. "Why are you here?"