"I can not believe you did that!"

      Legolas looked at his companion, confusion written on his face. "You cannot blame this on me, Estel."

      "Oh really?" the Ranger asked, stopping and leaning against a tree trunk in an attempt to catch his breath. "So I suppose your behavior was my fault?"

      "You were the one who suggested the tavern in the first place." the Elf replied, sitting cross-legged on the ground next to his friend.

      Aragorn threw his hands up in disgust, "So it is my fault that you got drunk on enough wine that a mortal would have died consuming?"

      "Precisely."

      "And how do you figure that?" the man asked, completely perplexed.

      Legolas sighed, "First of all, our errand in Bree was merely for news to take back with us on our return to Imladris. Second, I hate taverns and The Prancing Pony is no exception. Third, I abhor ale, so my drink of choice had to be wine. Fourth..."

      "Wait. Wait. Wait." Aragorn replied, shaking his head in protest. "I am still not seeing how this is my fault."

      "Let me finish." The man nodded and Legolas continued, "Fourth, had I known that Elves were rarely seen there, I would have been a bit more careful. Fifth, I knew not that news of the drink tolerance of the Elves was so widely known and to have refused that poor man's proposal to a drinking contest, would have been terribly rude. Not to mention the fact that angering a drunk can lead to an all out tavern brawl, which we did not need at the time."

      "But..."

      The Elf held up a hand to silence his friend as he continued. "Lastly, had you not insisted on us staying the night at the inn, none of this would have happened."

      Aragorn took a deep breath, calming the rising anger within himself. "Legolas, let me remind you that I was not the one who completely destroyed one of Butterbur's best rooms."

      "Of course you were not, Estel." The Elf paused. "That would be the drunk's fault."

      "Which one?"

      Legolas looked up, catching the smirk on the Ranger's face. "No. No. No. No. No. You cannot blame me for I did not start the fight."

      "But you sure enough finished it." Aragorn replied with a sigh. "How am I going to explain this to poor Butterbur?

      Legolas shrugged, "I know not."

      A silence settled itself between the two friends. The Elf looked up, watching as the leaves of branches high above, swayed gently in the wind.

      "Perhaps if you merely explained."

      This caused Aragorn to slump down next to his friend. "Sure, why not. I shall just return to The Prancing Pony, explain to Butterbur that my friend was merely defending himself from an enraged patron, and he just happened to destroy everything about him in the process."

      The prince shrugged again, "It sounds like a reasonable explanation to me."

      At this, Aragorn nearly screamed.

      He looked at Legolas in a crazed state, "Have you gone mad?"

      "No, but apparently you have."

      "I cannot say that!"

      "Why not?" the Elf countered with a glare of his own.

      Aragorn sighed, "Because, my friend, how do we know that the man who attempted to attack us, was really doing so?"

      "He..." Legolas stopped, thinking to himself. "He broke into our room. Is that not reason enough?"

      Now the man had him however, "Legolas, when I learned, or heard rather, the commotion upstairs, I found you pointing your bow, arrow included, at one of Butterbur's assistants."

      The prince looked to Aragorn, "You jest! An assistant indeed!"

      But the Ranger merely shook his head, "Nay, Legolas. You believed, in your slightly intoxicated state, that poor Thomas was an intruder. He did nothing to you nor to me."

      "Are you suggesting that I attacked someone without reason?"

      "Precisely."

      This however provoked a completely different reaction from Legolas that the man had expected. The Elven Prince of Mirkwood began to laugh. He fell onto his back, holding his sides tight.

      "'Tis not funny, Legolas." The man replied, slightly angered by his friend's reaction.

      "Estel, how many years have you known me?"

      Aragorn shrugged, "Seventy, perhaps eighty. Why?"

      "And have you ever spent time with a truly intoxicated Elf before?"

      The man shook his head.

      "'Tis a dangerous thing, my friend. One of the reasons why Elves have such high tolerances, is because of the slightly paranoid state in which we find ourselves in after consuming too much wine."

      Aragorn sighed, "Why did you not warn me of this before?"

      But Legolas just shrugged, watching the leaves above their heads. "Perhaps it simply slipped my mind. I would have thought you to know such things, growing up in Imaldris after all."

      Aragorn shook his head, "Nay, for I never much enjoyed too much drink. I have also never hung around long enough to see the effects of wine upon either of my brothers."

      "Truly?" The prince questioned, "Elladan and Elrohir are quite interesting when you get too much into their systems."

      The Ranger began to laugh as well, "This I can believe. However, it still does not help with what I should tell Butterbur."

      Legolas sat up, rising quickly to his feet and remainding perfectly still for a long moment.

      Aragorn took notice of his friend's cautious posture, "Man cenich?"

      Turning a smile the man's way, Legolas laughed. "You had better figure that out soon, for I hear the approach of a rather angry and large mob."

      With that, the prince shot off into the woods. Aragorn shook his head, following his companion.

      "Perhaps they shall forget this entire matter with time." Legolas smirked as the two ran.

      "I hope so." Aragorn replied, "For I should certainly be in a spot if I had to return here anytime soon."

      As the two friends ran, the signs of their pursuers lessened and they began to walk at a leisurely pace.

      "Legolas?"

      "Yes, Estel?"

      "What exactly went through your mind when you attacked Thomas?"

      Legolas sighed, looking off into the forest as he walked, "Nothing."

      "Legolas!"

      He was silent for a moment, "I got the strange impression that the man was a crazed Dwarf who held a deep grudge against the First Born."

      At this, Aragorn began to laugh, "I fell sorry for any Dwarf unlucky enough to cross paths with you, mellon nin."

      "Estel?"

      "Yes. Legolas?"

      "Be silent."

      Aragorn could not help but notice the tug of a smile upon the prince's lips as they continued walking.