It will be strange to lie in a bed. Faramir kindly offered it to us. It would be rude to refuse. The cavern room is large enough to afford us some privacy, yet Baine and I are awkward with each other at first. With great care, we lay our weapons beside the bed, within easy reach. She tucks her dagger under one of the pillows, then undresses with her back to me while I strip off my leathers.

"Isn't it funny," she muses, "that we traveled all this way to share a bed in a cave?"

The cook-fire has dwindled to embers that now cast a soft glow over us. Sean is taking a turn at the watch. Nion snores. Faramir rests somewhere in the shadows, silent and invisible. It is my habit to account for us all before I sleep. Naturally I still count Keu among our number. I wonder where he is tonight, if he still lives or if he has given up his fight.

When I reach out to caress Baine's shoulders, the smell of rain drifts into the cave. There is a whisper, then a murmur, then the steady roar of a downpour.

"Making more mud," she shrugs, shivering a little. "For once I'm glad we aren't sleeping in the meadow. Or perhaps not." In the half-light, her eyes flash a nervous glance towards the dark passageway. From that look, I know Baine feels the same as I do - uneasy without the open sky above us and a clear view of every horizon. We could be hunted down and slaughtered like wild animals in this cave before we knew it.

"Sean is out there, watching," I whisper to her. "There's nothing to fear, sweet Baine. No one would venture out in this weather. We are safe here tonight." I brush aside the thick black tresses that flow down her neck, deliberately tangling my fingers in the strands so that I can pull her closer. "Come to bed, pretty blackbird! Your night raven craves your company."

Baine breaks away from my embrace and fades out of sight, hidden in the cloak of her long dark hair. I fumble after her, cursing loudly when I stub my toes on the side of the bedbox. Frustrated, I have to use her mocking laughter as a guiding beacon.

Then suddenly - "Oh, 'Daig!" she gasps in a tone of absolute awe.

Blindly, I stretch out my arms to grope for her in the darkness. "What is it, love? I haven't even touched you yet and you are moaning with pleasure?"

"Look! Look at the ceiling! There are a thousand tiny stars, it's so beautiful!"

I find Baine's soft curves and slide close beside her, lying on my back. Wonder of wonders, the space above the bed is aglow with wee spatters of eerie greenish-white.

"Faramir knows this," she breathes. "Perhaps he put them there himself to pass the time on a lonely night."

"This stuff grows in caves sometimes," I start to explain to her, then stop. Why spoil the magic of such a moment? Instead, I merely remarks, "A strange man he is indeed. We must thank him in the morning for this splendid gift. Now, my pretty one..."

Soon we forget everything except our shared passion for each other. It is impossible to tell where or when we move together into warm and wild dreams.