: Um, WHAT animosity are you referring to?

snip

: But I find the word "animosity" striking far from the mark. Legolas and Gimli had been travelling together for weeks before the three incidents which have been given so much weight by some people.

From Webster's II: animostiy-long-standing or deep-seated hostility.

I'm not certain of a better word for the feelings that dwarves bore toward elves, or that elves bore for dwarves. Perhaps the word wasn't the best choice as stated between Gimli and Legolas as individuals, I was referencing more the animosity between elves and dwarves, which the text does bear out. If I am not mistaken, and I often am, the elves of Lorien were most upset about Gimli's pressence in their woods at the begining, but because of the company he travelled with, he was allowed to pass through and even welcomed. I would think that the old prejudice would still be carried by these two upon their initial meeting, even if it was only a degree of the old ways.

-RobRoy