"Greetings, greetings! It is wonderful to see you!" Glorfindel cheerfully waved to the members of the small party that had entered the inner city of the Golden Woods. In the midst of the riders dressed in the blues and golds of the Imladris guard was an elf in darker shades, burgundy and black, though he wore traveling clothes as well. After dismounting, the elf motioned for the other elves to stay atop their horses while he approached the golden-haired Noldo. He regarded Glorfindel with less enthusiasm than he himself received, but submitted to a hug and a slap on the back. "I did not know Elrond intended to send anyone here."

"He did not intend to," explained Erestor, clasping his hands behind his back. "We make our way to Greenwood, so our visit will be brief."

"Ah, so you came to pay me a visit, for you all missed me so?" guessed Glorfindel.

"We stopped to make sure you were not being a nuisance..." began Erestor.

"Who, me?"

"…and to drag you home if Amroth requested it."

“Oh, please. Amroth? I doubt anyone knows where he is these days.” Glorfindel answered. “I swear to you, the only time he returns here is when he accidentally wanders through on the way to somewhere else.”

Erestor frowned. “He is still King of Lorien.”

“Yes, of course he is.” Said Glorfindel, quite unconvincingly. "But it does not often seem so. Come, I have something to show you!" Glorfindel began to walk to the Great Mallorn, and Erestor followed, still frowning in regards to Glorfindel’s disrespect of King Amroth.

"Should I bring a guard with me?" asked Erestor warily.

Glorfindel shook his head. "No, you shall not need them."

Erestor turned at the foot of the stairs and motioned for the guards to be at ease. The party relaxed and began to dismount. "What must you show me?" He asked as they began to climb the steps.

"Elflings." answered Glorfindel, and to this, Erestor narrowed his eyes.

"You have gotten yourself into trouble since we left you here, haven't you?"

Glorfindel laughed and hurried up the stairs. "Not at all. These are the sons of the seneschal, Lord Celeborn's young ones."

Erestor looked confused. "I was not aware that Galadriel had been with child."

"She wasn't. This one came like the last. More or less." Glorfindel led his companion to one of the low flets where a young elfling sat on a stool balancing a tiny baby elf in his lap. Glorfindel glanced to Erestor and grinned when he saw the smile spread across the advisor's face. No matter how stoic the elf attempted to be, Erestor had a definite weakness for newborn elflings. "You may remember young Haldir from your last visit, but the newer looking model is named Orophin."

Erestor ignored Glorfindel's attempt at a joke and approached the pair of elflings, crouching down when he reached them. "Mae govannen, penneth. Do you remember me?"

Haldir studied the dark elf with caution, tightening his hold on his little brother. "You are Master Erestor. You told me about Glorfindel's horse."

"Yes, that I did. You have a good memory, to recall my name after only one meeting." nodded Erestor. The advisor believed that elflings should be spoken to as if they were grown, using full sentences and without simplification, for how were they to learn if new words were not presented to them? "I see you have a brother now."

Nodding, Haldir wrapped the blanket that was around Orophin closer, and the elfling fidgeted. “He is my brother and his name is Orophin. I named him.”

“It is a very nice name, penneth.” Erestor paused. “I don’t suppose you might allow me to hold him, would you?”

The little elf’s face squished into a frown and a pout at the same time, and he looked up to Glorfindel for guidance. His teacher gave him a little nod, but Haldir did not yet relinquish tiny Orophin.

“You’ll have to promise to give him back.” Haldir told him. “He’s the only brother I have.”

“You have my word.” Promised Erestor solemnly.

“And if he begins to cry, you shall have to give him back to me.” Explained Haldir, tucking the blanket around Orophin’s wriggling body. “Even Nana can not make him cease his crying, but I am able to.”

“I shall.”

“And if he suddenly looks hungry, I will have to take him to be fed.” Haldir thought for a moment, with his nose scrunched and a look of deep concern on his face. “Although, if he suddenly smells awful, I think I can trust you to do what is necessary.”

Erestor kept his lips sealed tightly so that he did not burst out laughing. He merely nodded and smiled as he held his arms out for the child.

“You have held one of these before, have you not?” asked Haldir, pulling back just as he had been about to place Orophin into Erestor’s arms.

“Yes, of course I have!” countered Erestor in a louder voice than he had intended. He lowered it slightly and added, “Many times.”

“How many children do you have?” questioned Haldir suddenly.

“Well, none, I-“

“Siblings?”

“I do not have any siblings either, but-“

Haldir cuddled Orophin protectively and shook his head. “I am afraid that you are not qualified for this task.”

Erestor, still crouched down with his arms outstretched before him, blinked. “Fin, did he just say I couldn’t hold the baby?” he asked, not moving from his spot.

“That is precisely what he just said.” Answered Glorfindel.

Erestor lowered his arms with a sigh and looked up at Glorfindel. “Well, he certainly does not have a lack of words to worry about.”

“Haldir,” Glorfindel attained the attention of the young elf, and stooped down beside Erestor. “Haldir, you can trust Erestor. I assure you, he will not run off into the night with Orophin or eat him or anything.” This did not have the desired effect; in fact, Haldir pressed himself back in his chair, eyeing up Erestor even more suspiciously. Erestor shot Glorfindel a warning look and lowered himself to the ground so that he was sitting with his arms around his knees, legs bent before him. He was now slightly below Haldir’s eye level, and although this caused the advisor to have to look up, it also meant Haldir needed to scoot forward a bit to properly see the older elf.

“I promise that I will not remove myself from your sight while I hold your brother, if you would still permit me. In fact, I shall stay right here on the floor, if you like.” Offered Erestor.

Haldir still did not look convinced. “But he might fall when I pass him to you.”

“I very much doubt that, penneth.” Offered Erestor reassuringly. “My hands will be quite steady and even so, it is a short distance to the floor.”

“He could still fall.”

“Yes.” Erestor said carefully. “Yes, he could. But, penneth, I fear you try to protect him from what you cannot control. You have fallen before, have you not, penneth?” Haldir nodded. “I have fallen on occasion. Even Glorfindel has fallen.”

“Now there’s an understatement.” Mumbled Glorfindel, but he said it in a good-natured fashion.

“But it hurts to fall.” Haldir tucked Orophin closer to him. “I don’t want him to be hurt.”

Erestor nodded. “That is the most important thing, Haldir. That you don’t want him to be hurt. I have a feeling you will do everything you can to keep him from being hurt.” Haldir nodded his head sincerely. “But sometimes, penneth, you will need to let him go and explore the world on his own. Perhaps sometimes he might fall, but if you are there to help pick him up, then I do not think he will ever be hurt.”

Haldir looked down at his little brother, who smiled up at him before squirming and reaching a tiny hand toward Erestor. Bundling Orophin once again, he stepped from his stool and stepped up to Erestor with caution. Haldir began to extend Orophin to the other elf, but Haldir shook a bit and could not completely hide his frightened expression.

“Wait a moment, penneth. I have a better idea.” Erestor repositioned himself so that his legs were folded and he was sitting up. “My lap is now big enough to accommodate two elflings, so that we can both hold Orophin.” Haldir seemed to rather like this idea more so than the first, and plopped down onto Erestor’s lap, with Orophin now in his own.

“So, his name is Orophin, and you say you named him?” Erestor had placed one arm around Haldir’s shoulder, his other hand occupied by Orophin, who had taken to chewing on one of Erestor’s captured fingers.

Haldir nodded, cradling the baby affectionately. “I had hoped he would have been born bigger, but Adar says it will not be long before Orophin is old enough to come with me on adventures.”

“I do not think it will be long at all.” Erestor assured him, and finally, both of the elflings smiled.

“Will the three of you be well if I leave? I have a few things I must attend to.” said Glorfindel, standing up again. Erestor looked up and nodded before focusing his attention back on the elflings. Glorfindel easily slid from the room and grinned as he made his way off the flet and onto the landing. Not only had he been able to make the serious advisor smile, but he had also found a way out of elfling watching duties for the afternoon. He did a little victory dance down the steps in his honor.