Disclaimer: I have no claim whatsoever on The Lord of the Rings...except as an adoring fan!

And now! The story begins:

Legolas sighed with contentment as he felt the rays of sunlight warm his face. He relished the sense of freedom he felt whenever he escaped the watchful eyes of his father and elder brothers to find some solitude in the branches of the highest treetops in Mirkwood. Only there could he feel the fresh breezes and experience full, bright sunlight. Only there did he not feel like some willful child to be constantly monitored and minded.

The elf knew that he was the youngest of his people. He had come of age at his five hundredth year of life just a few seasons ago and so had missed out on all of the major battles the sylvan folk had fought. His experience and knowledge of combat was limited to hunting and roaming in the dark forests of his home, defending himself and his comrades against the giant spiders and other wild beasts that inhabited his father, Thranduil King's lands. He knew that he resembled his late naneth whom Thranduil had adored with every fiber of his being. He'd inherited her charmingly impish dimples, her impossibly dark blue eyes. The sweet bowlike curve of her mouth and the smooth line of her jaw were all clearly echoed in the face of her last child. His laughter chimed with the same winsome bells that had filled hers. And so, he was the apple of his father's eye. And equally beloved by his brothers and his people.

Yes, the youngest Thranduilion realized his position. He understood the fierce protectiveness his family and his people displayed for him. Unfortunately, that did not make it much easier for him to put up with it and often he felt the need to run off to the outer edges of his father's borders and seek solace in the trees. Now that he had finally come of age, he found himself thinking more and more about leaving Mirkwood and exploring the world a bit more. Maybe if he left, he could prove himself to his father and brothers….

Just then, he was pulled out of his thoughts by what he thought was the faint sound of singing, tugging at the edges of his hearing range and quite out of place amongst the natural ambient noises which filled the deep wood. He slipped through the branches of his hiding place and flitted around the densely packed trunks, following his ears to the source of the disturbance. As he drew closer, he became confused. The words of this song were elvish, but the voice couldn't be. It had a deep, throaty quality that seemed to invoke the earth rather than the stars. Yet, it couldn't be dwarvish. Dwarves would never sing an elvish song and their voices were not so….soulful as this one. He remembered from his one encounter with dwarves, when Thorin Oakenshield and his ilk had been held captive in his father's dungeons, the quality of their gravelly voices. No, this voice was definitely too warm to belong to a dwarf.

Legolas slowed his pace and crept forward. He shrank his form as close as possible to the bole of the tree in front of him and used the deep shadows it created to shroud him from the creature's eyes. Cautiously, he peered around the curve of the trunk.

The strange sight which met his eyes turned his confusion to wonder. The creature sat with its back against a tree with one leg stretched out before it and the other bent to rest its arm on the knee. Pitch-black hair hung about its face in somewhat stringy waves and brushed the tops of broad shoulders. Its skin was a shade of brown impossible for any elf to reach, smeared with dirt, and marred here and there with random little cuts and scars. It was dressed in dark, travel-worn clothing with a pair of thick, sturdy boots. Its eyes were closed, the firm lips of its mouth still forming the words of the song.

Suddenly, it stopped. The eyes opened to reveal very clear, sharp slate-grey eyes and its strange voice called out, "Who are you and why are you watching me?"

Legolas froze. How had he been discovered? He'd made sure to be silent in his approach and nothing save an elf's vision could have picked him out from his concealment. The voice sounded again.

"Come out! I'm not going to harm you for I suspect you to be friendly, not fierce."

This time the elf answered, "How could you possibly know that?"

The creature smiled, "intuition. Now won't you come out and keep me company, elf?"

Slowly, Legolas left the protection of the trees and stood before it, allowing it to see him. He watched as its eyes looked him over and appraised him. He was used to appreciative looks as he had always been considered a comely child by his folk but, something in this creatures' gaze struck him as different and made him feel oddly uncomfortable. So, he decided to break the silence.

"What manner of beast are you and what is your name?"

At this the creature lifted its dark, thick eyebrows in surprise and then rich laughter rumbled forth from its chest.

"Have you never met nor heard tell of the race of men, dear elf?"

Now it was Legolas' turn to be surprised.

"One of the race of the edain? I've never seen one, though I've most definitely heard of your kind and its' great deeds! My apologies; I should have recognized you earlier!"

At this the man chuckled softly, "You must be very young indeed to have never even seen a man before."

"I am young, but not so young! I came of age some time ago!" A slight flush came to the elf's cheeks as he answered. Why was this man talking to him this way? He may be young for an elf, but he definitely beat the man out in terms of age!

The man surprised him with his response, "So, did I."

Legolas' frustration diffused quickly as he looked upon the stranger. The man was absently toying with a ring on his right index finger. It was a very kingly ring, with two serpents and an impressive dark emerald. What was such a ring doing on the finger of a lone vagabond?

"My name is Aragorn, son of Arathorn. I am one of the dunedain rangers from the north. I'm taking a slight detour on my way to Rohan…"

At this Legolas gave a rather graceless snort, "A slight detour? If you were coming from the northlands, wouldn't it have made sense to simply go through the gap of Rohan?"

"Yes, it would. But the whims of men don't always make sense."

The elf regarded the man curiously. There was a quality to this…ranger that the elf felt a liking towards. Something deep and conflicted yet oddly calm played about in the strong planes of his face and the steely grey of his eyes. The determined set of his jaw persuaded the elf to trust his word. Legolas walked over to him and sat down cross-legged beside Aragorn to both look at him closer and consider him further. And that was when he noticed it. Short, dark hairs stuck out from his skin, covering his jaw! He'd been so preoccupied with the overall picture; he'd failed to fully take notice of this, this scruff! What a strange creature this man is.

a/n ~ So, what do you think? Like it? Love it? Hate it with the fiery intensity of a thousand exploding suns? Plz review and let me know! :D