Kitten Whiskers

Large blue eyes watched the swaying strands carefully, captivated by the silky dark brown moving over the rich burgundy velvet. The thin strands shone in the bright sunlight, causing the watcher's gaze to drift over the soft waves. The steady perusal didn't waver as its body shifted slightly, moving into a better position. It wanted to touch the strands that moved before it so tantalizingly in the gentle wind and with every tiny motion of the person. The watcher licked its lips, a deadly light in its eyes. Finally, as the shinning strands lay still, it pounced.

Elrond Peredhil yelped in pain as his head jerked back, a weight at the end of his hair yanking on his neck. Tears gathered in Elrond's grey eyes as he felt sharp claws dig into his lower back. The other Elves with him looked up in surprise and concern. Next to him, Glorfindel gave a surprised explanation and suddenly Elrond's hair was being tugged to the side. Elrond's hands flew up and grabbed at his hair, trying to take off some of the pressure from his hurting scalp. The twins and Aragorn had begun to laugh but the Elf lord was too occupied to scold them for their callous behavior.

Finally, Glorfindel was able to separate the kitten from Elrond's hair and dropped the little ball of fur to the grass as it tried to bite him. Elrond pulled his hair gently over his shoulder and scowled at his children, biological or otherwise. "I'm glad you find this so amusing."

Elladan tried his best to stop laughing. "We're sorry, Ada."

Glorfindel was trying, and failing, to keep the same kitten away from the ties of his tunic. "Nasty little bugger." he mumbled and then yelped as the kitten succeeded in biting him. A calico adult cat picked herself up from the sun and carried the offending kitten away between her jaws. "Thank you." said Glorfindel, sucking on the tiny holes in his finger.

"Don't do that," chided Elrond. The twilight haired half-Elf gently pulled the hand to him and slid his own palm against Glorfindel's hand, releasing a little healing energy and sealing the bite.

The blond haired Elf looked at his healed finger and smiled at Elrond. "Thank you." Glorfindel said. "Nasty little bugger." he repeated.

Elrohir cooed at the black and white kitten he held up, nose to nose with the small animal. "Oh, I think they're all adorable."

Glorfindel's mouth twisted. "Oh, I like the kittens as well, Elrohir. It's that one I think is a nasty little bugger," he said, pointing to the orange kitten that was complaining about the bath its mother was giving it.

Elrond ran his fingers through his hair, smoothing out tangles and stray cat fur. "I quite agree." he mumbled. The pure black cat lying comfortably against his thigh, the grandmother to the kittens surrounding them, snorted and curled into a ball. Elrond looked sourly down at the cat.

Glorfindel was currently having a staring contest with a silver blue kitten sitting on his knee. Elladan blinked at the elder Elf, ignoring the white kitten that had climbed into his own lap. "My money is on the cat," said the older twin.

"Hmm?" asked Elrohir, his attention on the grey tortoiseshell kitten trying to climb onto his head. The orange kitten that had attacked Elrond, released from its mother, zipped through the group.

"You know Glorfindel, cats don't blink." said Elrond. Both blond Elf and silver blue kitten turned their heads to look at the Elf lord. Elrond blinked and smiled. "You two are perfect for each other."

"I want to keep one!" cried Aragorn suddenly. All of the Elves looked at the excited child. "Can I keep one, Elrond?"

Elrond bit his lip and his hand fell to the black cat by his side. He began to pet the cat and she purred at the touch. "You do understand that these are Elven cats, Aragorn, don't you?" he asked.

Confused grey eyes met his. "Elven cats?" Aragorn asked.

"That means that they have Elven blood in them and that they have Elven attributes. Such as resistance to illness and long life. It will be many years before these kittens grow out of kittenhood," answered Elrond. The orange kitten raced past again. "Mores the pity," the dark haired half-Elf added. The black cat snorted again.

Aragorn nodded. "I understand, Elrond. I'll take care of it," he said. "Now can I choose a kitten?"

Elrond considered the child for a moment and nodded. "Although, it's not simply who you choose, Aragorn. It's more like which kitten chooses you," he said.

The orange kitten flew through the group again and leapt at Aragorn, landing in the child's lap. The kitten started to meow loudly, licking Aragorn's chin. The child hugged the kitten and laughed at the rough sandpaper tongue. "How about him?"

Elrond made a sound of distress deep in his throat; it was obvious that the kitten and child had chosen each other. The black cat next to him yawned and lifted a paw to cover her eyes. How strange the beings she lived with were sometimes.



It was following him, again. Elrond glanced over his shoulder and quickened his steps as he saw the kitten lunge for the edge of his robes. The orange kitten landed on the floor and was up again in a flash, blue eyes once more tracking the Elf lord. The dark haired half-Elf continued down the hallway, occasionally casting glances back to make sure the kitten was not doing dire damage to his clothing. He could feel the tugging and pulling as the kitten; Kuluina, he forced himself to think, for that was what Aragorn had named his kitten; as Kuluina pounced repeatedly at his robes. The name meant 'orange' in Elvish. Not very original but he was only a child with his first pet.

Elrond sighed as he felt a particularly hard tug on his robes. "Don't you have anything better to do?" he demanded from the kitten. He looked over his shoulder to find Kuluina sitting on his robes, being pulled along by his effort. The dark haired half-Elf sighed again and continued down the hallway. "Lazy thing."

Several turns later Elrond came to some stairs. "Steps." he warned idly. He stared to go down until he heard an undignified mewl from his passenger and turned to find that the kitten had been dumped off on the stairs. "I warned you." Elrond scooped Kuluina up from the steps and continued to the floor. He set the kitten on the ground and stroked his soft head. "You are going to be one to watch out for, I can see." Elrond said. The dark haired half-Elf stood and backed away with a smile. "If you will excuse me, Kuluina, I have to find Erestor." With that, the Elf lord swept off down the hall, leaving the orange kitten alone. Kuluina licked his paw and then raced off in that awkward way of a kitten, paws too large and legs too short.



It was a peaceful enough morning. A small mess had been made in the kitchen when a sack of flour had fallen over. One of the she-Elf servants had broken a plate when a mouse had startled her. Kuu, the mother of the kittens currently running amok around the house, had quickly taken care of it. A broken fence in the north yard had been sighted and repaired before the horses had been let out for the day. A deer had gotten into the gardens last night and eaten some of the plants. And Elrond Peredhil, lord of Rivendell, was once again doing paper work in his Study.

Elrond dipped his quill in ink and signed his name to the parchment in front of him. He moved it to a pile at the corner of his desk, knowing that Glorfindel or Erestor would came and get them a little later. Behind him, a pure black cat, the grandmother of the kittens, sunned herself on the warm balcony stone.

Elrond sighed and set down his pen, leaning back in his chair. The black cat's amber eyes opened and she rolled to her feet. Walking across the floor, the cat went to the desk and stopped next to the chair. Eyeing the distance for a moment, the cat then jumped up into Elrond's lap. The Elf had stopped writing and put down his quill, this meant that his attention was fair game. He really worked too hard anyway, harder than the cat wanted her Elf to work but it seemed that he had yet to understand that. The cat stood up on Elrond's lap and put her paws on his chest, meowing once.

Elrond smiled and raised a hand to pet the cat. "Hello, Dae." he greeted. The black cat purred and curled up in the dark haired Elf's lap, his hands stroking over her soft fur.

There was a light knock on the door and Glorfindel's head appeared when the door opened. "My lord," he said. The blond Elf glared at something down on the floor and Elrond looked down to find the silver blue kitten chewing on the Elf's bootlace. "A delegation from Lothlórien has arrived. Lord Celeborn and Lady Galadriel are with them."

Elrond stood with Dae in his arms and walked around the desk. "Lets go greet them then, Glorfindel," he said.

Glorfindel hopped back, off balance because of the kitten. "Yes, my lord." He pried the kitten from his foot and fell into step beside Elrond.

The dark haired half-Elf chuckled as the kitten tried to climb out of Glorfindel's arms. "Having problems?" Glorfindel looked sourly at Elrond. The half-Elf smiled as he stroked a calm and purring Dae between her ears. Any answer from the blond was cut off as they entered the main courtyard. Galadriel and Celeborn had already dismounted from their horses and their escort was following suit. Both lord and lady smiled as Elrond descended the steps and neared them.

"Mae govannen, Naneth, Adar." greeted Elrond.

"Mae govannen, Elrond," replied Galadriel with a gleam in her eyes. "We understand that you've just had a litter of kittens born."

Elrond blinked and allowed Dae to jump to the ground. "Yes. How did you know?" he asked.

Celeborn lifted the edge of his white robes to reveal the grey tortoiseshell kitten hanging onto the cloth. He smiled with mirth. "Call it an educated guess."

Elrond gasped and hurried forward to remove the kitten. "Lalaith, let go!" he hissed to the kitten. The animal opened her mouth and Elrond pulled her away. "I'm sorry. It seems this little one likes to climb, preferably people."

The smile on Galadriel's face widened and her eyes twinkled. "You're going to need new boots soon, Glorfindel."

The blond male Elf looked down and sighed. Glorfindel bent and once again pried the silver blue kitten from his footwear. "Morlin, please stop that," he begged. The kitten laid back his ears, as if considering, and then went limp in Glorfindel's hands. Elrond was currently trying to keep Lalaith out of his hair.

"Grandmother! Grandfather!" yelled two voices. The twins raced into the courtyard and embraced their grandparents. Two kittens, one pure white and the other white and black, tumbled down the steps and hurried after the dark haired Elves. Erestor followed at a more sedate pace with Kuu, the white and tan mother cat, in his arms.

Celeborn and Galadriel each caught a twin and hugged them. "Taking your lessons with Erestor?" asked Galadriel, smoothing back Elladan's hair. The twins were wearing robes, something they only did when taking their lessons or when someone important visited. Elladan wore robes of green while his brother Elrohir wore robes of blue.

The elder twin nodded. "Yes. We had just finished when news of your arrival reached us," Elladan said.

"History again" lamented Elrohir.

Celeborn smiled at the twin's jest. "I would think that you would like history more, pen-neth. After all, your father was there for most of it."

Elrond gasped as the twins laughed. "Look who's talking!" exclaimed the dark haired Elf lord. Lalaith took the opportunity to latch onto Elrond's collar. "Lalaith, let go!" Glorfindel came to his rescue and managed to detach the kitten. "Thank you." Elrond smoothed his robes and tried to pull the last of his dignity together. Not that there was much at this point. Glorfindel set the grey kitten on the ground and once again pried Morlin from his boots. The silver blue kitten seemed determined to eat his footwear.

The twins laughed and scooped up the two kittens that had followed them to the courtyard. "This is Nimphel," said Elladan, holding up the pure white kitten.

"And this is Raumo," said Elrohir, holding up the white and black kitten. The kitten blinked at Celeborn and mewled loudly. As the twins were showing their grandparents the new kittens and Celeborn was battling Lalaith for possession of his clothing, Elrond backed away and walked up the stairs. He went over to a pillar and leaned around it. There he found a small child with dark hair cuddling an orange kitten.

"Aragorn?" asked the Elf lord softly. The human glanced up at Elrond with fear in his eyes and the half-Elf smiled gently as he knelt on the ground. "Don't you want to met our guests, Aragorn?"

Aragorn quickly peeked around the pillar, seeing the group laugh as Erestor related some funny event about the kittens. "Are they your parents?" he asked.

Elrond nodded and stroked Aragorn hair soothingly. "Yes, through marriage. I have told you about Lord Celeborn and Lady Galadriel of Lothlórien, Aragorn. Won't you meet them?" The orange kitten meowed in the child's arms. "And Kuluina, of course," added Elrond.

Aragorn nodded hesitantly. "I would like to meet them," he said softly. "Will they like me?"

Elrond hugged the child. "I'm sure they will love you just as much as we do." That brought a smile to Aragorn's face and he allowed the half-Elf to gently push him out into the open. Elrond kept one hand on the child's shoulder as he guided him down the stairs and into the courtyard.

Galadriel was the first to see the pair and a smile bloomed across her face. "This must be Aragorn, who you've told us so much about Elrond," she said.

Aragorn looked up at Elrond and the half-Elf smiled gently with a nod. "Aragorn, this is my Adar and Naneth, Celeborn and Galadriel." Aragorn reached backward and grabbed a hold of Elrond's robes in fear.

The twins glanced at each other. "They are also our grandparents, Aragorn," said Elladan.

Elrond put his hand palm down in the air and lowered it, looking meaningfully at Celeborn and Galadriel. Galadriel, following the suggestion, knelt to met Aragorn eye to eye. "Mae govannen, Aragorn," she said with a smile. "It's very nice to meet you."

Aragorn swallowed loudly. "Nice to meet you too," he managed.

Galadriel's eyes dropped to where he was holding the kitten. "And who might this be?" she asked.

Aragorn shifted the orange kitten around so that she could see him better. "This is Kuluina," he said. The orange kitten allowed himself to be manhandled into the blond she-Elf's view. Thankfully, Galadriel reached out and supported his bottom; for which Kuluina decided she was his favorite Elf yet.

"Such a handsome little cat," praised Galadriel. Kuluina was liking this Elf more and more by the second.

Aragorn beamed and blushed. "Your very pretty too," he said.

Galadriel smiled at him. "Thank you very much, Aragorn." She glanced back at her husband and Celeborn knelt next to her. "And this is my husband, Celeborn."

Aragorn pulled up the courage to look at the silver haired Elf and dredged up a smile. "Nice to meet you, Celeborn."

Seeing the unease of the human child, Celeborn pretended to be occupied with getting Lalaith to let go of his robes. "One moment, I'm having difficulties." As predicted, Aragorn began to laugh, causing the rest of the group to follow. Galadriel and Celeborn shared a smile as Elrond relaxed.

Erestor chuckled and set Kuu on the ground. "You might want to go get your offspring, my friend," the adviser said. The mother cat went over to the silver haired Elf and detached the grey kitten from his clothing. Lalaith went limp as her mother dragged her away; if a cat could pout, then she was doing it.

Elrond shook his head, his grey eyes filled with mirth. "Come, let us get you settled into your rooms where you can freshen up for dinner," he said. The dark haired half-Elf picked Aragorn up and headed into the house with everyone following him. The orange kitten in the child's arm eyed the silky dark hair of the Elf lord inches away from his nose and grinned, showing two tiny baby sharp fangs. "Ouch! Kuluina, let go!"

Kuluina = orange Aragorn
Nimphel = pearl Elladan
Raumo = noise of a storm Elrohir
Morlin = Navy-blue Glorfindel
Lalaith = laughter Celeborn
Kuu = crescent moon Erestor
Dae = shadow Elrond (geez, this cat is everywhere!)
Back