"Twenty – love!"
"That's fifteen – love, Oro! Stop cheating!"
Orophin lowered his racket. "Halli, please. If I had wanted to cheat, I'd have- done this!" he said quickly, and served before Haldir had a chance to lift his back up. "Ha! Thirty – love!" he called out gleefully as Rumil made a half-hearted attempt to save.
Haldir glared across the net. "Oro, that's not very nice. I'm of a mind not to play anymore."
Celeborn walked over to Orophin before he could serve again. "Here, let me. Perhaps we'll actually win a few points fairly this way."
As Celeborn judged the distance from his place to the net, the sound of a very unhappy elf clearing his throat was heard. All four turned to find Erestor, eyes narrowed and tapping his foot, on the other side of the fence. "Part of me knew I would find them out here, and part of me hoped I would not."
"Well, if you go back in the house," Orophin told him, "you could pretend you didn't."
Sighing, Erestor lifted the latch on the gate. "I am well aware that my cooking leaves much to be desired, but those muffins are not intended to be used for your silly games."
Orophin dropped his racket and grabbed hold of the basket of muffins. "Mine," he said indignantly, holding them tightly to his chest.
"Erestor, we ran out of balls," Celeborn simply said to him.
Erestor paused and stared at him silently, hands balled into fists at either side.
"Look at how bouncy they are," commented Rumil. He picked up a stray one and began to paddle it in the air on his racket.
Erestor's gaze shifted to the youngest elf present, in an obvious attempt to bore holes through him with his eyes.
"Really, it's not like anyone was going to eat them anyway," reasoned Haldir.
"Mine," agreed Orophin, hugging the basket.
Erestor, still saying nothing, left the gate open and walked back up to the house, slamming the door behind him.
Zhie looked up from her writing. "Did you find your missing muffins, Ress?"
"No," he lied, leaning against a wall, deciding there was no way he was going to admit just what was being done to them outside.
"Sorry about that. Poor Li'l Brother," she said, addressing the Newfie mix lounging on the wicker couch in the kitchen. "I think he was hoping you'd give him one as a treat," explained Zhie as she gathered up her notes and left the room with a wink.
Silently, Erestor slid back over to the door and opened it a crack, looking out. The four elves were still playing tennis, batting the bakery across the net. Narrowing his eyes and smirking, he patted his leg gently to get the puppy's attention. "Bear," he hissed. "Want a treat?" The Newfie's head snapped up and Erestor patted his leg again. Bear trotted over obediently and sat at the door wagging his tail. "See that?" he whispered, opening the door a little wider.
Bear peered around the corner, his tail speeding up as he saw the muffin that was hit over the net. Erestor gave him an encouraging nudge. "Bear! Go fetch!" he commanded, closing the door again and locking it as soon as the dog was down the porch steps.
"Aiya! Bad dog! Bad dog!" came the shout from the tennis court.
Erestor chuckled to himself. "Good boy," he said as he checked the lock on the door and walked to the living room.
