The light hit the trees, reflecting a golden-green light and making the leaves shimmer most beautifully. Rumil closed his eyes and tried to imprint the image in his mind. Memorize the sounds of the birds. Remember the feel of the wind. When he finally opened his eyes again, the Sun had chosen to move elsewhere and his brother stared openly at him, eyebrows furrowed and mouth frowning sharply.
“What in Mordor are you doing, Rumil?”
Rumil grinned and said in a sweet, completely oblivious voice, “I have no idea.” He began to whistle, but abruptly stopped and leaned over to where Orophin was perched on the tree branch next to him. Eyes squinted and head cocked, Rumil reached a hand out and plucked a stray leaf from his hair.
Holding it between his thumb and forefinger, he examined it for what seemed like an eternity. Then he let it go, watching- mesmerized- as it floated down the hundred or so feet it was to the ground.
There was a long silence between the two, until Rumil turned again to his brother and asked, “Is there any reason we're sitting out here?”
“I do not know. You tell me. You are the one who insisted dragging me here.”
“Oh…”
“So you mean to tell that you don’t know either?”
“Yup.”
“You are drunk, aren’t you?”
“Yup.”
“Mordor take you, Rumil.”
“It already has…”


