Into That Good Night

Feelings of Home Away From Home

Dearest Readers,

I AM BACK! 

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XOXO Ally Layne

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I finally got to go to the stream to bathe.

The animals were right, I really did smell. When I went to pull off my coat and tunic, I felt the bile pooling in the back of my throat as I gagged. I had been on some pretty long quests before, but none of them had been quite like this.

At least in Tartarus I wasn't there long enough to deal with the 3 week stench of not being able to clean my hair properly.

Unfortunately, I didn't bring any elvish hair wash so I was kind of screwed in that department.

I dipped a toe in the water, feeling the temperature first before running in with laughter on my lips. My body started to finish healing from the wounds of Goblin Town and the face off with the orcs on the cliff's edge, where the remaining cuts and bruises slowly faded into scars.

I knew that some damage was always going to be there, but that didn't mean that I didn't have the ability to heal.

Just like my mind, I suppose.

"I knew that I'd find you here," Varis's voice cut me out of my thoughts. "It's a good thing, too. You really needed to clean yourself."

I shrugged, splashing some water in her direction aimlessly. "You should wash up too, Vare." I turned around to give her a sly wink. "You have someone you need to impress."

A blush slowly seeped across her features. "I need to impress no one."

She took off her clothes and walked in, undoing her braids more and more with each step she took.

I raised a brow, noticing that she was still flaunting blushed cheeks. "Yeah, that'd be true if no one also meant Kili, but we both know that's not right," I jested, dunking my head under the water to avoid the splash she sent my way. When I surfaced, she had her arms firmly set across her chest in a pout. "Stop lying to yourself, you know the truth."

Varis rolled her eyes before dipping her hair back into the water with a sigh. "I do not know what you mean."

I felt a smile cross my lips. "But you do know what amralime means, don't you?"

Her eyes widened. "Wha-"

I threw my head back and laughed at the blatant shock. "Yes, I heard everything. Tell me, is the little princling a good kisser?"

She let out a choking sound.

I laughed even harder. "I'm gonna take that as a yes."

I kept poking fun at her, but she diligently kept washing herself off of all the mud and grime that came from walking across Middle Earth. I wasn't too surprised that she was obviously avoiding talking about the prince, I mean, it was Varis, and Varis didn't do too well with emotions.

Which was quite odd considering Kili was really an emotional dwarf who wore his heart on his sleeve.

When I questioned her about that, she shrugged. "He compliments me. Just as you do Glorfindel."

I winced. "You do realize that Goldilocks and I aren't on the best of terms, right?"

Varis grinned. "You'll find your way back to each other. I can feel that you are meant to be."