"There's something special about axes that nothing else can quite match," Gimli said, nodding.

Rory grinned a bit. "Too bad they don't have axe throwing at this competition," she said. "I feel like I'm missing out now."

"There is one in a few months," Gimli supplied with a bit of a grin. "I've registered for it every year for a while now."

Rory laughed quietly. "Well, that could be very fun to watch," she agreed. "I'll have to keep my eyes open for that one."

Gimli grinned in return.

"You could always come with me and watch," he offered. "I wouldn't mind bringing you with me."

Rory smiled slowly. "Well, I'd be a fool to turn down an offer like that," she said. "I'd be glad to."

Gimli glanced up when he heard the signal for the next round of knife throwing.

"Remind me after your round, I'll write down my number for you," he offered.

Rory smiled. "I will," she said. "I'll see you after, then?" She left it open, just in case, even as she took a step back. She did need to get going.

"Of course," Gimli said, nodding. "Good luck."

"Thanks." Rory grinned and went to go see who would win. She didn't really expect to. Which is why she was so surprised when she tied with the other top person and they had to do bonus rounds.

Gimli grinned when he saw he had tied his score with someone else. He stepped up to the bonus round and was a little surprised to see Rory there.

"Well, now," he said when he saw her. "Seems we're evenly matched."

Rory blinked. "I guess so," she agreed. "This is unexpected."

"You're very skilled," Gimli said, nodding to her. "I'm impressed."

Rory blushed and ducked her head a bit at that. "Well, I practice for stress relief," she said, waving a hand. "Just kind of for fun. Never expected to make it this far."

"Practice always pays off," Gimli said, grinning a bit. He held out a hand to her. "Good luck in the final round. May the better of the two of us win, yeah?"

Rory chuckled and took his hand, shaking it firmly. "Good luck," she agreed. The whistle blew again, and she stepped forward to throw her last set.

Gimli watched calmly, knowing that in the end only one of them would win, and there would be no shame in losing to such a skilled opponent.

Once her turn was over, he stepped up to throw his own last set.

Rory watched him with appreciating. And, if she were being honest, it wasn't just his skill in throwing that she was watching. Hey, he was easy on the eyes, and very skilled. She could look. She did smile a bit when she saw he won, though, hardly surprised. She wasn't even disappointed.

After his round, as the scores were being tallied, Gimli went to find her again.

"You did well," he said. "Excellent scores."

"Thanks," Rory said with a little smile. "You as well. I am not at all disappointed to be losing to you."

"I should hope not," Gimli said with a bit of a grin. "You should be proud of your skill." He fished around in his pocket for his phone. "If you'd like, I'll give you my number, perhaps we can meet up again before the competition of axes?"

Rory smiled slowly. "Sounds good to me," she agreed, getting out her own phone. "I live not too far away from here, and if I'm not working I will never say no to coffee, or tea."

"I can work with that," Gimli said, grinning.

A few days later, Vena found herself heading back out towards the little village, this time with her bow strapped to her back. She'd already sent word ahead that she was showing up, so she wasn't worried about getting caught this time.

Legolas dropped down out of a tree a few paces away from her and settled in to walk next to her.

"Sooner than I expected," he told her with a playful smile.

"I was intrigued," Vena replied. She had only jumped a little when he dropped out of a tree. "I figure it was best to bring my own bow with me, so we don't have to fiddle with others to find one that works for me."