Minas Tirith Streets and Levels (Free RP)

[Arnyn]

Tercen
with Gwestion
Play Aftermath: Getting Arnyn to clear up the mess
December 30th, night
Continued from Tower Guard
A collaboration with @Rillewen

Tercen was still sulking over the fact that Gwestion had been right about the guards. They hadn’t let Ava go — and now here he was, in the middle of the night, trudging beside a northern ranger he hardly knew through the dark streets of Minas Tirith, climbing up toward Arnyn’s house in the Fourth Circle.

Gwestion was silent from the guard headquarters up until they had gotten past the gate to the third circle. Thinking, mostly. Trying to sort through the jumble of thoughts clouding his mind. It was late, and he was tired, and a lot had happened. He was already second-guessing his choice to tell the guards what he had told them. Maybe he’d made things worse? Maybe he should have kept quiet. What if they decided to press Domanol even harder for answers, because Gwestion had said that? He couldn’t take it back now, of course, but he wished, yet again, that life allowed second chances. Unfortunately, it did not. So, here they were.

Once they had moved past the point where anyone at the gates could overhear them, he spoke up, quietly. “For what it’s worth, I am sorry that this whole mess has occurred.” He told him, sincerely. He didn’t want him to think that he was feeling smug about being right about them not releasing her, either, but he didn’t know whether he should even mention that at all. “I do hope that Arnyn will be able to sort it out.” He wished it had not come to that, since he really hated having to wake her.

“Yes, well. So much for a nice night out,” Tercen muttered. Loud enough to be heard. He sighed. “She’ll fix it. She always does. Just… this is not how I pictured spending our final days here. And your friend…” he shook his head, jaw tight. “I don’t know what to think about him.”

Gwestion nodded silently, mentally agreeing with that. He couldn’t exactly defend Dom, yet he also didn’t want to speak against him, as they had been friends for years. He was caught in the middle and unwilling to take sides, one way or another. He also worried about the secrecy of the mission being ruined, because of all of this. Hopefully, Arnyn would find a way to make it work. Hopefully, Tercen was right about his sister. They seemed to know each other well, and had a close relationship, at least. Just like... no. Swiftly, Gwestion mentally pushed down the memories of his own relationship with his own sister, which were threatening to invade his mind. He would not think about that right now. That was the last thing he needed right now…

Seeking something else to occupy his mind with, he gave a faint little smile. “Did you know that this whole ‘going to the theater’ thing, all began as part of a plan that Gladhron and your sister cooked up, because they thought that I needed some enjoyable things to do while our group is here in the city?” He mentioned. “So, yes…indeed. So much for a nice evening out.” Since he’d ended up getting all caught up in the middle of all this mess, it hadn’t been all that enjoyable for him, after all…

Tercen gave a quiet, almost reluctant smirk. “At least they tried.” He glanced sideways at Gwestion. “Right?” And if Arnyn had been involved in this ‘plan’, then she must care about at least one of them - probably both.

Gwestion paused to glance at him, then gave a small nod. “Right,” He agreed, with a tiny smile of his own. “They did try.” And it was a nice thought, even if it had all fallen to pieces. He still couldn’t believe they had both fallen asleep, though, after it was their idea to go see a play. And what was that about, anyway? It was odd for Arnyn to fall asleep like that, right? At least, from what he recalled of her during their time traveling in the North, she hadn’t been the type to just fall asleep in the middle of a public event, but then.. There were a few things about her that seemed a little different, now. He sort of wanted to ask Tercen about that, but instead, he remained quiet as they passed through the next gate into the fourth circle. Soon, they would be arriving at Arnyn’s house, right? He didn’t know how far it would be, though, so he just kept following Tercen’s lead.

Tercen felt awkward walking in silence with someone he barely knew. Usually, he’d make conversation, break the ice, just be himself and not worry about anything else - but tonight his thoughts were too scattered, his emotions too tangled. He couldn’t find his usual peace in the chaos. “Her house is about halfway up the Circle,” he finally offered. “Not far now.”

Gwestion nodded but didn’t reply.

They didn’t speak again until the house came into view. Dimly lit, quiet. Tercen led the way up the few steps, stopping at the front door. He gestured toward it and stepped back. “Go on. You do the honors,” he said, voice low. “Rather have her punch you than me.” Since Gwestion had wanted to come and rouse Arnyn from her bed from the very beginning, Tercen figured the other man had already made peace with bearing the brunt of Arnyn’s displeasure anyway.

Gwestion gave a wry little smile. “I’m sure Ava would prefer that, as well.” He commented, without specifically saying anything about such a punch potentially ruining the guy’s good looks.

Tercen’s lips tilted into a small smirk, and he crossed his arms. Amidst all the chaos, he did wonder about this brief bout of humor. If there were more where that came from, Tercen and Gwestion might actually be able to get along.

Gwestion let out a little sigh as he stepped up onto the porch. He really hated to wake her, but this seemed far too important to leave until morning, in his opinion. Especially after those rumors he’d heard about a lieutenant in the guard being on the wrong side, potentially being involved with people from Umbar. Even if such a rumor wasn’t true, he didn’t want to take the chance on that, at least without getting confirmation one way or another.

He knocked on the door, then stepped back to wait. After a moment, he stepped up and knocked again, louder, and for a longer time… all the while hoping it wasn’t so loud as to wake any neighbors.

[Rillewen]

Gladhron, awakened in the middle of the night... against his will
Arnyn's house, 4th level

A sudden banging noise awakened Gladhron, jolting him out of whatever dream he’d been having. His eyes were reluctant to open. His eyelids felt almost like they were glued shut, and he had no desire to fight them open. Instead, he groaned and turned on his other side, pulling his pillow over his ears, as if that would muffle the intrusive, annoying sound. Why would someone be hammering in the middle of the night? He felt like he hadn’t even been asleep yet! Like he had only just laid down and closed his eyes, and now… this. No, wait.. His brain slowly began to realize the most logical explanation for the noise. It was knocking. Someone was knocking on the door. But he didn’t want to get up! Maybe, if he ignored it, they’d go away. Thankfully, it stopped very soon after it began, and he began to drift off again.

But just as he was slipping back into blissful sleep, perhaps to return to that elusive dream he didn’t even quite remember, the banging resumed with a vengeance. The pillow couldn’t drown it out! Gradually, it began to dawn on him that it must be Gil, coming to wake him up at some ridiculously early hour again. When he didn’t stop at knocking just three times, as before, Gladhron flung the pillow toward the source with a grumble. “Go away, Gil!” He half-growled, half-grumbled. Seriously, what was his obsession with waking people so early!

Hearing a thud and crash as his pillow knocked something off of a surface, Gladhron slowly pushed himself upright in the bed, squinting to try and see what he’d just knocked off. His eyes protested being open, even though it was still dark out. As he scanned the room with groggy, unwilling eyes, he began to notice that something about the room seemed off. Huh? He’d thrown the pillow at… the dresser? Under a window? Wait, shouldn’t the door be there? It took him a long moment to realize why. This wasn’t the room at Isys’ house. He was in Arnyn’s house. In the guest room, right.

He’d gotten sweaty at some point, wrapped up in too many blankets, and now that he was sitting up, the air felt cold. His jacket had been tossed somewhere into the room, and he had apparently untucked and unbuttoned his (now wrinkled)shirt while he slept. He didn’t even remember that happening, but then he also didn’t remember sleeping at all. He contemplated lying down again to resume sleeping, but then a third bout of knocking drew his attention back to the reason he had awakened in the first place. And now that he had recalled the fact that he was staying at Arnyn’s house, he realized that someone was knocking on her door. Her front door.

For a moment, his first thought was ‘ah well, not my problem then, they aren’t looking for me’. He would have been fine with lying down and going to sleep again. But then a back part of his mind poked him with a reminder that Arnyn had been even more exhausted than him, and that she was not feeling well. That was why he had decided to stay the night, after all. To look after her if needed, or to reassure himself that she was fine, if she didn’t.

Groaning, he ran a hand over his face and dragged himself up to his feet, reluctantly. If she had not already been awakened, then maybe he could send this pest on their way before they interrupted her sleep, too. But it was cold in the house, now that he wasn't still under the covers. Shivering a bit, he grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around his shoulders like a cloak before leaving the room. The whole way down the stairs, he felt like a zombie. His shirt was undone, his hair a mess, and he was barefoot. His eyes squinted in the darkness as he tried to find his way through the cold, dark house without bumping anything, because he didn’t want to light a candle. It felt as if his body was protesting the fact that he’d only let it have a sample of sleep before that was snatched away.

Yawning widely, Gladhron made it down the stairs and finally reached the door. He fumbled with the lock briefly before pulling the door open, frowning sleepily at whoever had been so rude as to pound on the door in the middle of the night. “Wha-?” He began asking, only to stop as he recognized… his brother?

---

Gwestion
Play Aftermath: Getting Arnyn to clear up the mess
with Tercen
December 30th, night
Continued from Tower Guard
@Arnyn

Gwestion waited, wondering if he needed to knock louder still. Was she able to hear the knock from wherever her bedroom might be? He debated inwardly for a moment, and he was about to knock for the fourth time when he finally heard someone coming. He prepared for Arnyn to open the door. Instead, when the door opened, Gwestion found himself staring in surprise at his brother, standing in the doorway partially-undressed, wrapped in a blue blanket, looking like an absolute mess! His mouth dropped open and he stared speechlessly at this unexpected sight.

Gladhron blinked in confusion at Gwestion, feeling just as disheveled as he looked. He felt as if he was missing something, but he was too sleepy to even try to make sense of it. “Gwestion…? What are you doing here?” He asked in a half-asleep mumble, folding his arms against his chest to try and block out some of the cold wafting in through the open door, pulling the blanket closer around himself. He was about to ask if Gwestion had any idea what time it was, but he didn’t get the chance.

“What am I doing here?” Gwestion asked in disbelief. “I could ask you the same question. What are you doing here, Gladhron?” He asked, before instantly thinking better of that question. He held up his hands in a ‘no’ gesture. “No, wait. Nevermind, don’t answer that…” He decided that he would really rather not know...

[Arnyn]

Tercen
with Gwestion - and now... Gladhron...
Play Aftermath: Getting Arnyn to clear up the mess
Arnyn's house - December 30th, night
A collaboration with @Rillewen

After an initial moment of surprise, where he'd stared at Gladhron with a slack jaw, Tercen closed his mouth. His folded arms tightened a little as he took in his friend’s open shirt, and overall dishevelled appearance. Not to mention, the blanket. The blanket that, last he knew, had been spread across the foot of Arnyn’s bed. It took a moment for his automatic protective response to settle, but once it had… Rather than looking upset or annoyed, Tercen looked… amused. He wasn’t sure what to think about the fact that Gladhron was opening the door to his sister’s house in the middle of the night. Well, other than that, apparently, the guy had made ridiculous progress over the course of, what? A day?!
Tercen let out a low whistle. “Woooow.”

Gladhron turned his head toward the sound of the whistle, squinting sleepily through the darkness of the night as he noticed Tercen for the first time. He was surprised to see him, especially that he was here with Gwestion. And what was that whistle about? He rubbed his sleepy eyes. “What?” He looked back at Gwestion, feeling more puzzled than before. Why were they both here? He frowned and leaned against the doorway, letting out a tired sigh. “What’s going on?” He asked sleepily. “ Why are you here?” He asked Tercen. “She didn’t think you’d be coming back tonight.” He mentioned, thinking that should explain his confusion.

“Clearly,” Tercen noted dryly, lifting an eyebrow.

Gwestion shook his head slightly as he witnessed this scene, telling himself to keep focused on the task at hand. “I need to talk to Celume.” He informed Gladhron, frowning a little. “It’s important, or I wouldn’t… well, I would’ve waited.” He cleared his throat, not even sure how to feel about this, or how to handle it. He definitely had not been expecting Gladhron to answer the door at Arnyn’s house… In the middle of the night.

Gladhron frowned to hear this, and shook his head slightly. “She’s still in bed,” He answered, reluctant to have to disturb her rest when she was already not feeling well, and quite exhausted. “I didn’t want to wake her..” He said, but paused when he saw how incredulously Gwestion was staring at him. “What?” He asked, puzzled by how he was looking at him. “She’s really tired.”

Despite his concern over Ava, Tercen was biting his lip by this point, trying not to laugh.
“Nice,” he managed to get out, without breaking his composure.

Gwestion couldn’t believe he just heard Gladhron say that. Staring with incredulity, he gave a slow shake of his head, completely astounded by what he was hearing. “Well… uh.” He coughed lightly. “Sorry to um, ruin your night, but this is important.” He re-emphasized, speaking slowly, and raised an eyebrow. Clearly, Gladhron was still half asleep himself, and Gwestion was beginning to recognize the fact that his brother didn’t seem to fully realize that what he was saying was sounding like… something else than what he meant. Probably. Right?

“Did you keep her up that long?” Tercen asked, grin widening.

“Surely, you don’t really want to ask that,” Gwestion muttered, half amused by now as well.

“Huh?” Gladhron turned to Tercen, puzzled by that question, even as Gwestion nudged the guy with his elbow. “We didn’t stay up all that long,” He answered, thinking of the tea. That hadn’t taken very long… “We went to bed pretty soon after we got here.” He mumbled with a little shrug as he leaned his head against the doorpost, his eyes beginning to close. After a few seconds, he lifted his head again and shook it to try and wake up.

“I mean,” Tercen shrugged, glancing at Gwestion with a look of feigned deliberation, “I need to know if I should punch him or high-five him.”

Gwestion managed to obtain a deeply thoughtful expression for a moment, as if considering, then gave a little nod. “I suppose that makes sense,” he agreed with Tercen, deciding this was too good an opportunity to tease his brother, to pass it up.

Gladhron frowned, staring at them in complete confusion, and felt as if his head was about to fall onto his chest. He was definitely too sleepy for this sort of nonsense. “Right…” He mumbled as he looked from one to the other. “Well, while you two are trying to figure that out, I’m going back to bed.” He declared.

“Which bed?” Tercen asked innocently, his eyes catching on the blanket again.

Gladhron paused, looking at Tercen and took a moment to try to understand why he was asking that. “The one I was asleep in, before you two came banging on the door, obviously.” Gladhron answered, starting to turn back into the house, still not sure what they were finding so funny.

“Obviously,” Tercen repeated, drawling.
“Well then. Since you seem to have gotten my sister into bed, can you now go get her out of it?”

Gwestion bit his lip, having to actually look away briefly to regain his composure. He drew a slow breath, then cleared his throat when Gladhron started going inside. “I still need to speak to Celume,” He managed to remind Gladhron in a serious tone. If ever there was a time he was close to breaking into laughter, this was it…

Gladhron sighed, rubbing a hand over his sleepy face as he rested his head against the doorframe, now. “I'd really rather not... Can’t this wait?” He mumbled. “She is really tired… I mean, after everything… you know?” He frowned. “I hate to have to wake her up. I sure didn’t want to get up. I mean, we’ve both only just gotten to sleep.” He frowned, thinking of how unwell she had been only the night before, and how she’d actually fallen asleep during the play because she was so worn out from… well, he assumed, from all her responsibilities and things she has to do. And he also remembered how exhausted he was, himself. She must be even more tired!

“Are you actually serious?” Gwestion asked, staring at him with disbelief, amazed at what he just heard Gladhron say, then sighed. “Yes.” He insisted. “It is important. Did I not say that like three times or more?” He asked Tercen, then turned back to Gladhron. “Go get her, please.”

Tercen had to clamp a hand over his mouth to keep from laughing by this point. But he did… actually wonder. Gladhron wasn’t actually denying anything!
“Yes, you did mention it once or twice,” he confirmed, for Gwestion’s sake. But his light brown eyes were still on Gladhron, and that shirt. And that darned blanket. Tercen wasn’t about to deny he was curious. Really, really curious. “After everything?” Tercen echoed, trying to get more of a telling response. “Geez, man. What did you two even do?”

Gladhron felt like he could doze off right where he stood, but he forced his eyes open as they tried to close, and looked at Tercen. He stared at him a moment in silence as he tried to remember if he even knew anything about Arnyn not feeling well. “I.. probably shouldn’t say..” He decided at last, thinking she might be upset if he mentioned that she’d felt ill, if Tercen didn’t know. He pushed off from the doorframe though, deciding that they weren’t likely to go away until they’d talked to Arnyn, since they didn’t seem like they were going to leave any time soon. He sighed. “Alright, fine, come in. I’ll go get her,” he motioned for them to come in. It was pretty cold standing there with the door open, after all. He left it for them to close, as he wandered back inside and toward the stairs. The sooner they got this over with, the sooner everyone could get back to sleep, right? Hopefully.

Gwestion stared after him, slowly shaking his head in wonder and amazement as Gladhron just left them to let themselves in. He glanced at Tercen, amused as he stepped inside after him. “You realize, I’m pretty sure he isn’t talking about what it sounds like he’s talking about... right?”

After stepping in and watching Gladhron head up the stairs, Tercen hummed at Gwestion's question.
“Maybe he knows exactly what it sounds like. Maybe he’s just being evasive.”

Gwestion shook his head in disagreement as he closed the door after them, biting his lip to keep from laughing at the situation. “He’s half asleep,” He mentioned. “I don’t think he’s even heard half of what we’ve said, nor what he’s said himself. In fact, I’d guess a few hours from now, something of what was said will suddenly click, and he’ll be shocked by the revelation of what we found so funny.” He could be wrong, of course. But he did know his brother pretty well… and he felt pretty confident in this guess.

“Does that mean you think nothing happened?” Tercen asked, raising his eyebrows.

Gwestion glanced toward the stairs and back at Tercen, hesitating to even discuss this… but since he asked, he tried to give an honest answer. “I think,” he spoke slowly, thoughtful, “that if anything had happened, he would have been embarrassed to be ‘caught’ here… and by her brother of all people.” He mentioned, then shrugged as he added, “I believe so, anyway.” He sure didn’t feel like it was his place to tell Tercen and of Gladhron’s past history with women, so he wasn’t about to do that.

Tercen grimaced. “I guess. But he is still half asleep, like you said,” he pointed out doubtfully.
“And they did fall asleep on each other, earlier... But you know him best. You’re probably right. Maybe we can get some clarity from Arnyn, when she gets down here.”

[Rillewen]

|
Gwestion & Gladhron
December 30th, night
Arnyn's house, 4th level
A collaboration with @Arnyn

Upstairs

Gladhron sighed as he knocked lightly on Arnyn’s door, feeling bad to have to wake her up. In fact, he thought maybe he should have just told Gwestion to wake her himself, if it was so important. But then, he hadn’t really been thinking. And also, he didn’t know if she would feel weird about Gwestion coming to her house and waking her. She might feel weird about Gladhron waking her, for all he knew. Darn. Why did Gwestion have to talk to her right now?

He couldn’t hear much through the door. A rustle of sheets, perhaps, as Arnyn turned in her bed, trying to get away from the source of the noise that was trying to pull her from dearly-needed sleep.

Downstairs

“I could be wrong,” Gwestion allowed, feeling very uncomfortable even discussing his brother’s private business. “But I really think that he has no idea that the things he said seemed to imply…” He shrugged and left the sentence unfinished. “Still,” he added with a little smile of amusement as he leaned a little closer to Tercen, “that doesn’t mean we can’t tease him about it. Particularly now, while he’s clearly too sleepy to even realize what we’re teasing him about..”

Tercen grinned. “Mercilessly,” he agreed. If something had happened, neither Gladhron nor Arnyn would be able to object. And if nothing had happened, well - it would still be hilarious.

Upstairs

Gladhron waited for a moment, resting his shoulder against the wall. When he nearly dozed off there, he shook his head to wake up again, and figured he ought to try again. Knocking, he paused, then called out. “Celume?”

Arnyn groaned quietly, turning onto her other side. More noise. She felt hot, and sluggish, and her body fought against waking up. When the noise paused, it seemed to give her permission to tumble back into sleep. She didn’t need more than that.

After not getting a reply, Gladhron shook his head and decided that she needed the sleep. Just like he needed to sleep. He contemplated returning to the guestroom to lie down, but remembered that the other two were waiting. Sighing, he went back downstairs, just missing Tercen saying ‘mercilessly’.

Back Downstairs

“Sorry,” Gladhron said, without really meaning it, and was interrupted for a moment as he covered a yawn. He continued, once he was able. “She doesn’t want to get out of bed. And I want to go back to bed.. So, I think you two should come back in the morning.”

Gwestion coughed, in a way that sounded almost suspiciously like a laugh, and couldn’t even bring himself to say anything just yet.

Tercen bit his lip to keep from laughing. “Did you actually talk to her and did she refuse to come down? Or did you see her and get… um… distracted?” Tercen scratched the back of his neck, trying to stay serious enough to actually be able to talk.

Gladhron leaned against the railing on the stairs, blinking sleepily at Tercen as he tried to make sense of that comment. “Distracted.” He repeated blankly, not sure what to make of that. If he meant ‘falling asleep in the hallway’, then that would be close enough to being accurate, right? He shrugged. “Sure, we’ll call it that.”

Gwestion ran a hand over his face, taking a slow breath to try and keep his shoulders still as he strove very hard to keep his amusement suppressed. He looked at Gladhron after a moment, shaking his head. “You are absolutely incorrigible.” He declared, holding back a little grin as he used the word that Celume had once bestowed upon him.

He shook his head, recalling their purpose in coming here. “As amusing as this is,” He added after a moment, “would you please get her… now? Like I said, if this could wait until morning, I would have waited until morning.” He grew a bit more serious with the last bit of his sentence. “She might not like being awakened,” He added before Gladhron could utter the protest that he could tell was forming on his lips, “but she would probably rather know about the developments going on even as we speak, so she can stop things from getting any worse. Before it’s too late.” He raised an eyebrow. “Unless you think that enjoying a few more hours in bed is more important than the mission she’s been stressing over for however long…” He added in a quieter tone, carefully maintaining a straight face. Somehow.

[Arnyn]

Tercen
with Gwestion - and now... Gladhron...
Play Aftermath: Getting Arnyn to clear up the mess
Arnyn's house - December 30th, night
A collaboration with @Rillewen

Tercen leaned back against the wall, staying silent as he watched the brothers, first amused at Gladhron’s reply to his earlier question, and then realizing that, as Arnyn’s brother, he would be best placed to actually try and wake her - if that was the problem. It was just… he was kind of enjoying putting Gladhron in that position, instead. He had been staying the night, after all, even though Tercen wasn’t sure in which capacity. But whether Gladhron was staying over platonically or romantically, Tercen still figured it wasn’t bad to let the guy solve this himself. If Gladhron wanted to get together with Arnyn, he’d need to be able to handle stuff like this. So, Tercen had no problem at all with simply leaning back and not offering any help whatsoever.

Gladhron frowned. Developments? What about the mission? He felt like he’d only been asleep for maybe five minutes or so, and his brain definitely still felt groggy. But he could recognize that there must be something serious going on. He sighed. “Fiiine.” He grumbled. “A few more hours under the blankets would’ve been nice, but.. Fine. Whatever.” He set off back up the stairs, frowning as he went back toward her door.

Gwestion clamped his teeth together to keep himself from grinning in amusement at that comment. He didn’t even dare risking a glance at Tercen at this point. He waited until Gladhron had gone upstairs, then covered his face with a hand. After a few deep breaths, he shook his head and looked over at Tercen. “He’s.. completely oblivious, I’m sure of it.” He declared, hiding his amusement as well as he could.

Tercen’s shoulders were shaking a little with withheld laughter. “He sure looks like it,” he managed to get out. “Or - he’s a good actor.”

Arnyn
with Gladhron
Upstairs

After knocking again, and getting no answer, Gladhron tentatively opened the door enough to poke his head in. “Celume?” He called, waiting a moment. “Arnyn?”

The world felt like it was underwater. Every move she made was slowed, as if there was more resistance to the air than there should be. That was the first thing Arnyn registered. The second was a voice that came through the fog. Familiar. A man’s. Gladhron?
She frowned before her eyes opened.
“What time is it?” she asked, voice low and sleepy. Her hand shifted against the sheets - slow, like her fingers weren’t quite convinced they belonged to her.

It was still dark.

Arnyn turned her head toward the door. Right. He was in the guest room. The thought had barely formed before the next one pushed past it. “Is something wrong?”

Gladhron barely heard her response, and it was clear that she seemed very sleepy. He felt the same. He also felt bad for having to wake her. Especially since he hadn’t even wanted to be awakened, himself. So, he could definitely relate. “Sorry to wake you,” he stepped partially in, so she could hear him better. “I’m not sure what time it is, but Gwestion and Tercen are here, and they insisted on talking to you right away.” He sighed. “Gwestion said it’s urgent. Something to do with the mission, he says.”

Arnyn forced herself up onto her elbows, and it was immediately clear to her that she’d misjudged how fast she should be moving. Something in her head seemed to slosh unpleasantly. Her stomach gave a warning lurch. But - Gladhron had mentioned the mission. So she got upright anyway. Her legs swung over the side of the bed, her feet hitting the floor with less coordination than was normal. She could feel her knees almost buckling when she stood, but she caught herself in time.
“Fine,” she said, realizing only then that she shouldn’t go down in her nightclothes, even if they were decent. She glanced at Gladhron. “No details?”

Gladhron shook his head, not thinking about how dark it was, and that she might not even see him, unless there was enough moonlight coming through the window. “No, he just keeps saying it’s important and that it couldn’t wait until morning.” He answered regretfully. “They’re downstairs.” He let her know, then withdrew from her doorway. “I’ll.. go now, so you can change and all that. I’ll be down there with them..” He added, before closing the door to give her some privacy. As he started down the stairs, the blanket slipped off of his shoulders without him noticing. He did, however, notice the state of his shirt and figured he might be less chilled if he buttoned it again.

She nodded reluctantly, finding she had awakened much too abruptly for her body to follow. When the door closed, Arnyn drew in a deep breath, closed her eyes, and let it out slowly. Dang it. Why… Why are things happening at night now, even? Nights are supposed to be mine. She shook her head. She couldn’t be upset with anyone, really, save herself. Why had she decided to experiment with poison, again? Arnyn ran a hand over her face and dragged herself to her wardrobe. Back to business, then. If she could manage. Stars. She had to manage.

Tercen
with Gwestion - and Gladhron
Downstairs

Tercen watched Gladhron coming down the stairs. He raised an eyebrow.
“And?” he asked. “Looks like she left you in one piece.”

“She’ll be down soon,” Gladhron promised, absently fumbling with his buttons, which he had managed to misaligned somehow. “She has to get dressed first. She wasn’t expecting company at this hour, after all.”

Gwestion stared at him for a few seconds as he waited to see if the words Gladhron just said would sink in, but when they didn’t, he covered his face with one hand, shaking his head slowly. This was almost too much…

“Right,” Tercen said, staring at Gladhron in disbelief, and leaning more and more toward the idea that plenty had happened, tonight. Despite Gwestion’s reservations.

Gladhron found that he couldn’t quite focus on his buttons, and looked up at them. He looked from one to the other, frowning with incomprehension. “What?” He wondered. “You two are acting weird.” He commented.

“Says the guy who can’t even button his shirt correctly.” Gwestion replied, raising an eyebrow. “So, do we just stand around waiting here, then?” He added.

“Oh, right.” Gladhron very belatedly remembered that there was a living room with chairs. “Yeah, we might as well sit and be comfortable.” He decided, motioning toward the living room before leading the way.

“Sounds like you’re already a bit too comfortable here.” Gwestion remarked dryly, with an amused little side-glance at Tercen, who groaned his agreement. He simply couldn’t resist that remark, and was all the more amused when Gladhron didn’t even catch on.

Tercen draped himself in one of the arm chairs and dropped his head back. He really didn’t know what to think about this. “You at home enough already to get us a drink, too, Gladhron?” he asked. “Some water would be fine.” Might as well make him sweat a little.

Eager to get comfortable again, Gladhron was about to sink into another chair, but paused with a little frown at his friend. “You know where things are more than I do.” He pointed out to Tercen, not quite sure why he would be asking Gladhron to get anything, as if he lived here or something. “I’ve only even been in the kitchen once, when I was here last night.” He added without thinking. It had been last night when he’d looked for something for her to eat, right? He was pretty sure. But he shrugged, deciding it was irrelevant. “I guess there might be a pitcher of water around somewhere?”

“Cold water sounds like exactly what you need,” Gwestion agreed with a glimmer of humor in his eyes, somehow managing to keep his tone serious. “It also ought to help you wake up far better than sitting in a comfy chair would.” He added, while raising an eyebrow to hear that Gladhron had also been here last night. Really!? He had not been aware of that… but he decided not to inquire more about that. “And I’m sure Celume would like a glass, too.” He mentioned encouragingly, focusing on trying to get Gladhron to wake up a little.

Gladhron paused as he considered this. That was a good point, he realized. He did want to try and be of help to her, even if he felt like he could hardly keep awake on his feet right now. He nodded as he decided to get them all some water. “Fine. I’ll see what I can find.” He mumbled, setting off for the kitchen.

Gwestion took the seat Gladhron had been about to claim, leaving the couch for Gladhron and Arnyn. Just.. because he could. He stared after Gladhron, taking a moment to think about this.

Tercen opened his eyes again to watch Gladhron go.
“Unbelievable,” he muttered. Then he glanced at Gwestion. “Is he always like this?”

“Incorrigible?” Gwestion asked as he turned to look at him again, amused. “Yes.” He paused. “Oblivious and confused?” He hesitated, tilting his head to consider that, and answered with a half-smile, “Maybe about.. Half of the time…”

Tercen snickered. “That hasn't been so obvious to me, until now.”
Then, after a beat: “Did he say ‘last night’? Arnyn didn’t mention anything to me today. Nor did Gladhron. I’m assuming nothing to you, either? From either of them? While I’d have figured he’d be bouncing off the walls to tell someone, if… - if there was a last night.”

[Rillewen]

|
Gwestion & Gladhron
December 30th, night
Arnyn's house, 4th level
A collaboration with @Arnyn

“Well… He’s still half-asleep, I think.” Gwestion shrugged, in some small defense of his brother. After the pause, he then shook his head in response to the question about last night. “He did say that,” Gwestion answered slowly, thoughtful. “You all went dancing last night, didn't you?” He recalled, looking at Tercen. “You and Ava, with he and Arnyn..? Did they do much dancing together?” He asked with an inquisitively raised eyebrow.

Tercen frowned. “I mean, yes, we did, and yes, they did, but -” A pause. “Arnyn decided to go home earlier. She… was tired,” he decided on, knowing she wouldn’t want him to go blabbing about her not feeling well the night before. And since Gwestion had seen her falling asleep in public already, her being ‘tired’ should be an acceptable excuse. “And Gladhron…” Tercen’s eyes strayed into the direction of the kitchen. “Walked her home.”

Gwestion considered this, nodding thoughtfully. “Interesting.” He said softly, without explaining his thoughts about that particular detail. He thought about it for a few seconds before speaking again. “I did hear something said about his tie having been… retied.” He remarked. “He said nothing to me about… anything more, however.” He concluded, still somewhat stunned by the entire idea. Before they could discuss that any further, a clatter of something metal clashing in the kitchen made him flinch a little, glancing with concern toward the kitchen, then at Tercen. “Maybe a cup of coffee would serve better than water,” He mentioned with a faint smile, debating if he ought to go and assist Gladhron. Kitchens were not exactly his forte, after all. “Perhaps he needs help…”

Tercen let out a laboured sigh. “Maaaaaaaybe I should go and help him. I do know my way around the place, just like he said.” Yet he did not move for another moment, taking a few more breaths before finally sighing again and getting to his feet. “I hope I’ll be right back,” he told Gwestion, before walking off into the kitchen.

Gwestion debated whether he should offer to help as well, but decided to let Tercen deal with it, since he did know the place. Gwestion had never been here before, after all.

In the kitchen

Gladhron had walked into the kitchen with intentions of getting water for everyone. By the time he arrived, his brain had gone blank. What did he come in here for? He stared listlessly off at nothing for a moment, blinking as he tried to force his sleepy brain to cooperate. Why did he go to the kitchen? Absently, he began opening cabinets, thinking maybe if he saw what he had come here for, it would spark the memory in his mind. After opening about three cabinets, he decided that wasn’t working. So, maybe he was going to cook breakfast? His stomach told him that would be a welcome plan, anyway. He started pulling a few pots and pans out, without even having any idea if there was anything to cook. And then he suddenly remembered, no… it was water! Right! Shaking his head at himself, he sighed and started trying to put everything back into the cabinet, but the pans didn’t want to go in the same way they were before… and before he knew it, he had an “avalanche” as they all scattered onto the floor. He stared in dismay for a few seconds before sighing. He was trying to pick them all up for a second try at shoving them into the cabinet, when Tercen came in.

“What are you trying to do?” Tercen asked Gladhron, raising an eyebrow at him. “Do you need me to slap you to wake you up, or something?”

Gladhron glanced up and offered a small, sheepish smile. “Sorry, I was looking for..” He blanked for a second, blinking, then remembered. “Right, glasses. For water.” He rubbed his eyes, trying to wake himself up better. “Anyway, I guess I opened the wrong door, and they um, fell out.” He cleared his throat a bit awkwardly. “So, um, where does she keep the glasses?”

Tercen blinked. Gladhron was really out of it. Maybe he would have to slap him, simply to wake the guy up? “Ooookaaay.” Tercen pointed. “Up there.” After a second, he rolled his eyes. “Wait- Let me. If you’re dropping everything, it’s better that I handle the breakables. Just go sit out there,” he ordered, waving toward the living room. “Keep your brother company.”

“Right.” He looked at the pans and things, some on the floor, some in his arms, and a couple of them already in the cabinet. He had no idea how Arnyn had the pots arranged in there, so his attempts at putting them back in were less than orderly. When Tercen decided that he should just go, Gladhron paused, but decided not to argue. “Maybe… that is best,” He agreed apologetically, with a sigh. He carefully deposited the cookware onto a counter, feeling a little bad that he was pretty useless right now. “I’ll… um, be in there then.” He waved a hand vaguely toward the living room, feeling a strange sense of deja vu. He had just said that a moment ago, hadn’t he? He thought for a second before remembering. Right.. That’s what he’d said to Arnyn a few minutes ago, almost exactly. Right, best not to get in Tercen’s way. He turned and shuffled back to the living room, feeling too tired to even lift his feet all the way as he walked.

“You got it, buddy,” Tercen mumbled, not waiting to see if Gladhron was actually leaving. Methodically and with the ease of someone who knew by heart where everything was, Tercen gathered four glasses. After a moment’s thought, he added four cups as well, and took out a tray to put everything on it.
“Best get some coffee going,” he mumbled out loud, preparing to do just that.

When Gladhron came into the living room, and sank down into the couch, Gwestion raised an eyebrow. Gladhron let out a sigh and leaned his head back against the back of the couch.

Neither said anything for a moment, which stretched on into extended silence. When no explanation was forthcoming, Gwestion decided that he would ask. “So, I guess he is supposed to carry everything in here by himself?” He said questioningly. After a few seconds with no reply, Gwestion frowned. “Did you break something?” He asked. Still no reply. Tilting his head, Gwestion thought for a moment, then leaned forward to look more intently at his brother. Then he shook his head in amazement. “Unbelievable,” He muttered, then got up. He glanced at Gladhron again, rolled his eyes, then set off down the hallway where the other two had gone, and where Gladhron had returned from. It wasn’t difficult for him to find the kitchen. Stepping inside, he found Tercen about to get coffee brewing. “Can I help with anything?” Gwestion offered, eyeing the pots and pans scattered about.

Tercen glanced over his shoulder. Gwestion. “You can get the milk and sugar,” Tercen allowed, nodding in the right direction.

Gwestion motioned to the cookware on the floor. “Gladhron’s doing, I suppose?” He picked up the things from the floor and placed them on the counter, so at least they weren’t on the floor.

“Yeah. Seems like your brother would be likely to forget where his head was, if it weren’t screwed on,” Tercen mumbled. “I’m putting on some coffee. But then it is mostly just waiting for a few minutes. Until it’s done. And carrying that tray with glasses and cups out there.” Tercen ran a hand through his blonde hair. “I’m starting to feel the hour, too. Coffee might be good for all of us. Not just Gladhron.”

"He's even done that before," Gwestion couldn't resist commenting under his breath as he nodded and followed the direction of his nod to find the milk. He set the bottle in the center of the tray so that it would be less likely to topple over while being carried. “Yes, coffee would be good. And I’m sure your sister will likely appreciate a cup to wake her up a bit, as well.” He recalled that she had enjoyed coffee, back in the north. He went to get the sugar next, since he knew Gladhron preferred it. “Gladhron fell asleep, by the way. About thirty seconds or less, after sitting down.” He rolled his eyes as he added the sugar bowl to the tray. “I’ll take this in there, then come back for the water.”

Tercen barked out a short laugh at the news Gladhron already fell back asleep. “Alright. I saw a smaller tray out there, still,” he mentioned. “I’m sure Arnyn would appreciate it if you’d bring that one back in here, too. If you want. I can do it, later, too.”

Gwestion carefully lifted the laden tray. “Sure, it’s no trouble,” He answered. When he returned, he had the other tray with him, and set it in the place where the other had been, then disposed of the used tea stuff that had been left in the infuser on the tray, then rinsed out the infuser before setting it to dry beside a brown mug that was on a drying rack.

Meanwhile, Tercen had placed a pitcher of water on the counter. He was still waiting for the coffee to finish brewing. When Gwestion brought the smaller tray back in, Tercen’s eyes lingered on it. “Unlike her, to leave it out,” he noted absent-mindedly. With nothing on it, too. Weird. “Coffee’s almost done,” he told Gwestion, speaking a bit more clearly. “Thanks for the help.”

“No problem.” Gwestion answered, having noted the comment about her having left the tray out. He did not know what that might mean, that she had done so, but there were a few possibilities that came to mind. Like, perhaps, maybe it was not she who had left it out, but rather Gladhron. But he said nothing, and picked up the pitcher to carry back to the living room.

It didn’t take much longer before both Tercen and Gwestion were once again seated in the armchairs in Arnyn’s living room. Tercen had lit some lamps, but since he wasn’t sure how long they would be staying here before setting out to headquarters, the hearth was still cold. Water and coffee were on the table, in their respective pitcher and pot. Tercen had just finished pouring Gwestion and himself a cup, when Arnyn stepped into the living room doorway.

[Arnyn]

Arnyn
Trying to keep it together
Arnyn's house - December 30th/31st, night

She was in full uniform.

Not the same one from the previous day - this was fresh. Black, immaculate, as if she’d polished every buckle and straightened every seam, though Tercen knew better than anyone how quickly she could make herself presentable when she needed to. Her long blonde hair told a different story. It wasn’t braided. Not even tied back. It hung loose over her shoulders - not tangled, but not brushed either. As if she’d only remembered it at the last moment and hadn’t wanted to waste a second more than necessary.

She looked… pale.

Even with the lamps lit, their golden wash catching on her cheekbones, it couldn’t hide the drained pallor of her skin, nor the faint sheen glossing her forehead. Her eyes - nearly black now - were rimmed with exhaustion, bruised shadows nestling beneath them like smoke. Her lips were nearly colorless, almost grey.

And yet, she moved with clean lines, precise motions, every step quiet and deliberate. She walked in as if nothing were wrong, as if no weariness pulled at her limbs, no heaviness weighed her skull. Her black eyes were steady. Her spine and shoulders, straight. The only link to anything involving relaxation, the only hint at domesticity, was the blue blanket draped over a forearm.

Every movement cost her. Each breath she drew was a deliberate choice, a silent battle fought in the space between her ribs and her clenched jaw. Her limbs felt heavy, weighed down by a fog that no amount of willpower could fully dispel. She could feel the exhaustion pressing in on her from the inside - a constant, dull ache that tugged at the edges of her focus, threatening to crack the surface of her composure.

Yet she would not let it show. Not here. Not now.

So she walked on, every step carved from sheer determination, masking the tremor in her hands and the faint dizziness that flickered behind her steady black eyes. She moved like discipline incarnate - but inside, she was fraying, threadbare and raw.

Tercen was already standing when she reached the edge of the carpet.

He looked her over, his eyes widening slightly. He didn’t speak, but his mouth tightened in a way that was hard to read. He opened his mouth as if to say something, then seemed to think better of it.

Arnyn’s gaze flicked to Gladhron, asleep on the couch, looking like he’d either been in a fight or just tumbled out of bed and tried to have a toddler button his shirt. Then her attention shifted to the other two. “I see you’ve made yourselves comfortable,” she said, her voice level. Clear. And maybe - maybe - faintly amused.

“You said it was urgent,” she continued, quiet but composed as she stepped toward the couch. Cool. Formal. A strange contrast to the way she spread the blanket over a sleeping Gladhron.
“I’m listening.”

Tercen arched a brow.
“Well, we figured we’d wait in the living room… seeing as the guest room was already occupied.”

She did not blink as level eyes focused on her brother.
“Was it?”

“We may have misunderstood, then.” Tercen’s tone was careful, but the edge of a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

Arnyn inclined her head slightly, neither confirming nor denying. The simple gesture demanded focus she could ill afford, but she forced it steady. Still standing, she reached for one of the glasses of water with a smoothness that betrayed none of the chaos beneath. Every movement was a careful negotiation; a delicate performance to keep the swirling dizziness and mounting fatigue locked away, unseen.

Tercen gave her a long look - equal parts scrutiny and suspicion - but didn’t comment further. Not yet.

She drank. Small sips, calm and measured. Her hand didn’t tremble, though inside she fought the weariness threatening to unravel her. The cold water slid down her throat, a brief moment of relief that did little to ease the heaviness pressing down on her chest. Then she lowered the glass and looked at both men.

“You’re here for a reason.” It wasn’t a question. Her exhaustion did lean itself to urgency. She was losing patience. Already.

[Rillewen]

Gwestion
December 30th, night
Arnyn's house, 4th level
A collaboration with @Arnyn

Gwestion was about to thank Tercen for the coffee, when Arnyn appeared. Startled by her appearance, he blinked, observing her with barely hidden surprise. He set his cup down slowly, watching her with a small frown. Something about her did not look right. In fact, many things about her did not look right. Her paleness, how dark her eyes looked, the fact her hair looked like that, the way she was walking... and so on. He frowned slightly as he watched her with concern. She looked… sick. Was she ill? That was certainly not what he had expected, after all of this. Was this why Gladhron had been so reluctant to wake her? If so… then he entirely understood. His gaze strayed briefly to his brother, (whose head had tilted back and off to one side against the back of the couch, mouth partly open in his sleep), then back to Arnyn as he stood up as well, though it was a bit of a delayed reaction.

“Yes,” He agreed with her statement, observing how she spread the blanket over Gladhron. Interesting indeed. “And I apologize,” Gwestion went on, burying his curiosity as well as he could. “but, I felt it could not wait. If I was wrong, then I apologize all the more.” Especially now that he saw how she looked. He motioned to the table with the tray, and indicated that she may want to sit down so she could drink her coffee while they explained the situation. “We made coffee… mostly for you.” He let her know. Perhaps the coffee would serve as a peace offering, to stifle her annoyance at having her sleep disturbed? He cleared his throat softly. “Gladhron said you were.. Very tired.” His eyebrow arched slightly as he mentioned what must surely seem like a vast understatement, now, as his gaze flicked to his sleeping brother, then back to Arnyn. He was clearly somewhat curious, though he didn’t ask the questions that were surely on both of their minds; was she alright? What was going on with her?

Arnyn nodded at Gwestion’s apology, and carefully stepped to the free space that was left on the couch. “Sit,” she told the other two, before slowly lowering herself onto the cushions.
“Coffee would make this more bearable,” she hinted, glancing at Tercen, who promptly picked up the pot to pour her a cup. He also added some milk for her, without her needing to ask. Meanwhile, Arnyn’s eyes narrowed slightly when Gwestion said Gladhron had told them she was very tired. She considered that, then gave a small nod.
“That is true. So why exactly are you waking me up? What is the situation that could not wait?”

Gwestion took his seat again, and picked up his own cup of coffee. It was a bit cooler now, at least. He blew across the top while Tercen was pouring Arnyn’s cup, and managed one tiny sip before she asked what was the situation. Right… how to begin to explain this?

He held back a sigh. “Domanol.. apparently realized that Ava is from Umbar, before any of us had a chance to speak to him.” He began hesitantly. “I had no idea he’d… I mean, I know he has issues with corsairs of that land,” That was quite an understatement… “so, I thought it would be a good idea to speak to him about the matter, to give him a heads up. But he didn’t arrive until after the play had begun, and I thought it could wait until intermission.” He paused, remembering that Arnyn had been asleep during the entire dog incident. “Unfortunately, that is where it gets… complicated,” He added with a little frown.

Arnyn’s nearly black eyes fell to the coffee waiting for her on the tray, when Gwestion said Domanol had realized that Ava was Umbarian before anyone could speak to him about the whole situation. She, too, had figured she would inform Domanol by taking him aside, either before the play or during intermission. This is why you aren’t supposed to fall asleep, smartass, she mentally chided herself. She wanted to pick up the coffee, but she knew that, in this moment, her hand and fingers would tremble. So she held off. Domanol and Umbar… not the best combination. She’d managed to gather that much even from the limited time they had spoken together.

Gwestion sighed as he continued to explain what she had missed while napping, without commenting on her ‘taking a nap’ at all. “Chewy somehow found his way into the theater, and into the box seating area… and he was very muddy. He also got a bit too friendly with Ava, and jumped up on her.” He explained, shaking his head regretfully. “So, when intermission came, she wanted to go clean the mud from her dress. Tercen went to show her the way to the washroom,” He glanced at the man. “Or so they said..?” He looked back at Arnyn without waiting for Tercen to confirm or deny anything. “Anyway, Domanol also went out almost immediately after them… he said he was taking his coat to get checked in with the attendants. But he apparently had another idea in mind…” He paused then and looked at Tercen, nodding for him to continue the tale, since Gwestion had not been there for that part.

[Arnyn]

|
Tercen | Arnyn
with Gwestion (and a sleeping Gladhron)
Arnyn's house - December 30th/31st, night
A collaboration with @Rillewen

Arnyn lifted her eyes back to Gwestion as he continued. She did not interrupt, did not nod, and did not look away again - until he indicated Tercen. Which is when she dragged her gaze over to her brother, who’d reclaimed the other armchair in the meantime.

Tercen let out an uncomfortable sigh and ran a hand through his hair.
“During the play… Ava told me she thought the man who’d entered and sat down behind us was the one she’d danced with at the masquerade. The one she thought might be a spy for the blood priest. The one who’d made her so… uncomfortable.”

Gwestion glanced at him in surprise at that, but kept quiet and listened. But really… an Umbar spy? Domanol? He couldn’t help wondering how in Arda the woman could have gotten that idea, about that particular man. He might have laughed if it were in his nature to do so. “Well, that explains a lot…” He muttered as he shook his head, then went quiet and listened closely to everything Tercen said, which filled in a lot of the gaps in what Gwestion knew about the matter.

“She actually wanted to talk to you about it,” Tercen admitted, avoiding Arnyn’s scrutinizing gaze for the moment as his hands rubbed together.
“But I… I didn’t want to belittle her concerns, but I also did not want to make a big scene when I figured it was probably nothing…” He glanced up at Arnyn, to find nothing more than a neutral expression and a level gaze staring back at him.
“I probably should have–” he began, but Arnyn cut him off.

“Too late now,” she said, a bit of an edge to her voice. “Go on.”

Tercen swallowed.
“She wanted to talk. I wanted to talk. I don’t even remember whether it was her or my idea. We just used the mud on her dress as an excuse, once intermission came around, to get out of there fast and be able to talk about her concerns without anyone listening in. So in the foyer, I pulled Ava aside, behind a curtain that shielded off part of the space. And before we knew it, Domanol followed us. And he had a knife out.”

He paused, rubbing his hands together again, clearly unwilling to continue, but knowing he needed to.
“Ava had heard his accent, see - and… that combined with him being at the play… she thought he was one of theirs. I didn’t really want to believe it, but when he followed us behind that curtain, and with the way he was holding that knife… and the way he was looking at Ava…”

Arnyn interrupted.
“I get it, brother. It looked bad. Go on,” she urged him on.

“Okay,” Tercen mumbled. “Domanol was talking like Ava was… Well. He threatened her. More than once. But almost everything he said was also very confusing,” he said with a frown.
“I couldn’t make sense of it at the time. He accused me of defending everything you stood against," he said, watching Arnyn. “After I asked him something along the lines of how he had managed to fool you into thinking he was on our side. Things were... said. Things got… heated.”
His gaze dropped to the rug on the floor. “I called in the guards. They took us all to their headquarters to get our statements and figure out the problem.”

Arnyn kept staring at him while she processed his words as if she was trying to pick them out through a fog. She could still think - she had to think - but each connection her mind made, felt like it sparked too slowly.

“You two are here,” she pointed out, speaking slowly. More tellingly - Tercen was here. While Ava was not.
“They kept Ava,” she deduced, now turning her attention to Gwestion.
“Domanol?”

[Rillewen]

Gwestion
December 30th, night
Arnyn's house, 4th level
A collaboration with @Arnyn

Gwestion sat back as Tercen explained his side, and he finally got the full picture. He wanted to groan and put his hands over his face. Instead, he let his gaze rest down on the coffee as he held back a sigh. “Domanol had not yet been questioned when we left.” He answered her quietly.

Arnyn clasped her hands together, to keep them from trembling. So, last Tercen and Gwestion knew - both Ava and Domanol were still being held by the Guard. But they might release Domanol, after questioning him. Depending on what explanation the man might choose to give. And she did not nearly know the man well enough to guess.

Gwestion then backed up a little with the tale, so Arnyn would have the full picture. “During intermission, I went with Seri to get some snacks, and on the way back, I heard Tercen’s voice behind the curtain.. Only just. The noise of the crowd mostly drowned out their voices, but,” He hesitated. “Well, it sounded like trouble, though I didn’t know what sort. It even occurred to me that someone may have been attempting to rob Tercen and Ava, but I had yet to assess the situation. And, as I had Seri with me, I didn’t want to risk her getting dragged into a potentially dangerous situation, so I continued with her to the box. Then, I quickly went back to see what was going on. Because… things sounded heated, and I thought perhaps they might have found some sort of trouble.” And he had been right, obviously, although not the sort of trouble he had expected.

He gazed into his coffee, frowning. “When I arrived, Tercen had just left to go and get the guards, and I was too late to stop him. Domanol had the knife out like he was trying to keep her from getting away, and, Ava… looked like a cornered animal, waiting for a serpent to strike…” He sighed. “And, for some reason which I could not find any explanation for, at the time anyway, she seemed to be rather hostile toward me, and made comments like she didn’t trust me. That made no sense to me, at the time, after our meeting this morning.” Now, of course, it was beginning to make sense. He could only assume her mistrust came from the fact that he and Domanol were friends, which, to her, thinking that he was working for her enemies, probably made anyone associated with him look like an enemy as well. He frowned as he wondered how things might have changed for their plans, now. Would she now distrust them so much that she would not want them to come along? Gwestion shook his head slightly and continued to explain.

“Domanol informed me that she was an Umbarian, obviously expecting it to be a great surprise to me. He said that she had confessed to plotting to destroy Gondor or something of the sort… to which she reacted with great confusion, and insisted that she had said nothing of the sort.” Gwestion paused, but, given the fact that Tercen was present at the moment, he thought it best not to call into question the possibility that she might have actually said something like that when she was alone with Domanol. He did, however, look over at Tercen questioningly, to see if he might have any ideas to explain what was or wasn’t said.

Tercen was still staring at the rug, frown deepening as he heard Gwestion speak. He shook his head. “Of course she insisted she didn’t say anything like that,” he grumbled, annoyed. “Because she didn’t. She said that she wanted to take down that asinine temple.” He was still frowning when he finally looked up at Gwestion.

Gwestion nodded in acknowledgement of his reply. “Right.” He had suspected, and hoped, that it was something like that. “So, it became evident that I needed to try and sort this matter out, because clearly there was a massive misunderstanding between them… but I didn’t want to do it there, in such a public place.” Gwestion sighed then and took a brief sip of coffee. Lowering his cup, he looked at Arnyn, still inwardly troubled by her appearance. He tried not to focus on that, however. “Dom seemed upset when I didn’t immediately join him to form a lynch mob against her, and even more upset when I asked him to trust me and keep quiet about her. He… ended up throwing the knife at the floor. It hit a mouse that happened to be there.. I’m not sure if that was deliberate or coincidental. But when he mentioned that Tercen had gone to get the guards, I told him that it might just be the worst thing to have done, but it was too late then to do anything about that.” He was trying to remember the exact details of what happened, but as Tercen had said earlier… he was feeling the hour by now.

Sighing, Gwestion frowned and went on with his explanation. “Meanwhile, Ava seemed to be very wary of us both, and then Domanol got fed up with it all and was about to go off to the washroom, when the guards arrived and stopped him, and insisted we go with them to their headquarters.” He shook his head a little in frustration. “All I had time to do was whisper to him that she’s undercover, and I tried to convey that it was important not to let anyone know where she’s from. They wouldn’t let us speak any more, however.” He paused for a few seconds before adding more information he thought might be relevant. “They searched us all, took any weapons we had on us. I had my hunting knife, and Ava… had a small blade hidden in her dress.” He paused, wondering if this would come as a surprise to Arnyn, or if it might be something she would find interesting.

Arnyn gave them nothing.

Tercen’s jaw ticked. “Anyone in her position would,” he mumbled. “Unless they were an idiot.” His words were quiet, though, not meant to interrupt - simply interject.

Gwestion’s gaze flicked briefly to him and gave a small nod. “It was not a criticism, only an observation.” He assured him, before returning his gaze to Arnyn. As for the rest… he was hoping she would not find fault with his own actions. He held back a sigh. “As for myself, I told them as much as I felt was necessary to tell them. I tried to be cooperative, without giving too much, but it wasn’t very easy. Also, in an attempt to prevent them from inquiring too much into the root of the problem, I informed the guard conducting my questioning that I could not discuss certain details, under your orders. And that none of us were free to discuss that particular topic.” Gwestion paused, then looked up at her, his tone softer, and apologetic. “I don’t know if it was the right choice. But I was at a loss for what else to do, since the opportunity to resolve the issue myself had been snatched away from me.”

“I said nothing about you,” Tercen added with a mumble, figuring he’d at least done that right. “Only that you’re my sister. And that you were at the theatre.”

Gwestion hesitated a little, mentally acknowledging that little jab, before he continued. “After they had questioned us both, they let us go,” he went on. “But they’ve decided to keep Ava there until you come and say that it’s alright to release her. And the longer she is there, the more risk I feel there is, in someone learning something about her that they ought not, which could cause serious issues for everyone involved…” He sat back, sighing as he prepared to tell her of another concern on his mind. He glanced briefly at Tercen, then back to Arnyn as he concluded. “Furthermore, I don’t know how true it is, but I have heard a vague rumor that some, or one, of the guards may be working for someone in Umbar.” He confessed, reluctant to say that in front of Tercen, but he felt he might as well. “Therefore, I didn’t know whether they could be entirely trusted, but I thought it best to be on the safe side until such a rumor could be proven or disproven, and keep them from learning who she really is, or where she is from.” While he refrained from looking to see whether Tercen would have a visible reaction to that news, he did wonder if he might now realize why Gwestion had been so concerned about the guards having Ava in custody.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Arnyn
Trying to keep it together
with Tercen, Gwestion (and a sleeping Gladhron)
Arnyn's house - December 30th/31st, night

Absolute silence settled over the room while Arnyn looked at them both for a long moment - Gwestion first, then Tercen - before turning her eyes toward the ceiling and exhaling through her nose. “Of course.”
There was another moment of silence, before she finally reached out for the coffee Tercen had prepared for her. Her hand was steady. The cup was warm.

Usually, she would have asked questions, to get an even better grasp of the situation. What had been said exactly, and by whom. How had such a misunderstanding been able to grow and grow - and not be resolved as they were hurling accusations at one another? But it was clear that, somehow, that was exactly what had happened.

And while Tercen bringing in the guards had not been a stellar move, given the situation, Arnyn understood why he had done so. She also saw, from how uncomfortable her brother was, and judging by the way he was speaking, that he regretted it. So even if he did not fully understand the situation (and Arnyn was not sure he really did), he clearly understood enough by now to realize that gaining the attention of the Guard had, indeed, not been their best option.

Hindsight. She saw no point in chiding him.

As for Gwestion telling the guard they were under her orders not to discuss certain details… well. She understood that, too, even if it made her want to hang her head between her knees.

Arnyn held back a sigh, and forced herself to focus on the present situation. It was clear enough. While more detailed information would be nice, it was not absolutely necessary, and so she decided to leave that be. Must haves, only.
She also did not have the energy to take Gwestion and Tercen through her thought process concerning all they had just finished telling her.

“Where did you hear that rumor?” Arnyn asked of Gwestion, eyes narrowing slightly. That was one element she had not heard explained, amidst all the words. And an element she most definitely wanted to know about.

[Rillewen]

|
Gwestion & Gladhron
December 30th, night
Arnyn's house, 4th level
A collaboration with @Arnyn

Gwestion paused, watching her. It was… unlike her, wasn’t it? Not to be full of questions. Or did he just not know her as well as he had thought? She’d asked more questions than this just sitting around a campfire listening to a story as Gladhron told it. And while he hadn’t spent as much time around her as the lieutenant here, he still found it strange how utterly silent she was all the while he had been speaking. Until he finally finished, and she asked… only one.

One which he had to take a moment to think how best to answer. “Well, Brooke and Aislin have been spending some time with Eryn Raedor,” He mentioned hesitantly. “I haven’t heard exactly what she told them, but it seems that Brooke, at least, has heard something from her concerning a guard who may be corrupt.” He paused, debating whether to say anything more. “That happens to be a matter which has worried Brooke somewhat." He did not go into any further details about why this would worry her, but instead focused on the matter at hand. "But I have not heard much about it, myself, except from her. Nor do I know how factual it is. In fact, I intended to ask if you knew anything about it, as soon as I heard of it. But I haven’t had a chance until now. Do you know anything about this, and can you confirm it, or is it merely an unfounded rumor?” He would like to be able to reassure Brooke on that, if possible. Not to mention, reassuring himself on that matter.

Arnyn seemed to contemplate that for a moment. It sounded like she would need to have a little talk with Erynneth Raedor, for one -

In the brief silence while Arnyn was thinking about this, an abrupt snore erupted from the couch beside her, interrupting the discussion in a nearly comical way as Gladhron actually startled himself awake. He looked up in surprise, and blinked blearily around the room, confused to find them all sitting around him. As soon as he realized, first, that he’d dozed off, and second, that he’d just been snoring and everyone must have heard it, he tried to sit up, a bit embarrassed, yet trying to pretend it hadn’t happened.

Tercen almost dropped his coffee, just barely saved it from spilling all over Arnyn’s rug, and turned startled eyes onto Gladhron.

Unperturbed, Arnyn didn’t even look next to her, and took a sip of her coffee as if she’d heard nothing at all.

Gwestion also didn’t even spare a glance in his brother’s direction. He was quite used to that sort of thing happening, so it hardly phased him at all. Inwardly, he did have a slight bit of amusement at the way Tercen reacted, however, but he kept his focus on Arnyn, right now.

Tercen scowled a little. “Welcome back to the living,” he muttered at his friend.

Still ignoring that situation, Arnyn quietly assessed Gwestion’s expression.
“Do you think I would not know about it?” she wondered quietly.

Gladhron put a hand up to briefly cover his eyes, as it was now much brighter in the room than when he had dozed off. His eyes were not happy with being open yet, but after a few seconds to give them time to adjust, he cast a glance toward Tercen, puzzled by the scowl as he welcomed him ‘back to the living’. “Ugh... I don’t feel like it,” Gladhron mumbled, still feeling pretty tired. More like he was half-dead, actually. He really just wanted to go curl up in bed again and sleep for at least a day. Instead, he rubbed his eyes with both hands before sitting up a little straighter, rolling his neck around a couple of times to try and alleviate a bit of stiffness in his neck, which he thought might be trying to lead to a headache. In the process, as he turned his head downward toward his chest, he noticed the blanket spread over him. He paused and tried to remember if he had put it there, because last he remembered, it had been around his shoulders. His mind still felt a little too sluggish to figure that out, while also trying to catch up on what everyone was talking about.

Meanwhile, Gwestion continued as if nothing had happened, “One person can’t be expected to know everything that goes on in a city, especially one this size.” He pointed out quietly. “Don’t take offense that I asked. How can I know what you do or don’t know? Besides, you’re a ranger, not a guard-” He was going to add more, but didn’t get the chance.

“Yes, Gwestion, thank you,” Arnyn said, cutting him off. She hadn’t yet answered his initial question, about the rumor being true. And left it sitting there while she returned to think about the situation at headquarters.

Tercen shook his head at Gladhron. “Worn out?” he asked in a loud whisper, leaning toward his friend a little.

Covering a yawn as he tried to finish waking up, Gladhron gave a little nod in answer to his friend, without quite catching the exact wording of what Tercen had asked him. He still felt very tired, and so yes. He did feel worn out, despite having not done anything very tiring lately. In fact, he felt way more tired than he would have thought, but he had no explanation for that other than being awakened in the middle of the night. But why Tercen was asking such an obvious question went over his head at the moment.

Trying hard to ignore his and Arnyn’s brothers, Gwestion waited for a moment to see if Arnyn was going to give him any better answer to his inquiry, while noting that she seemed rather curt. Not that he could really blame her, though, given the situation. When she didn’t supply anything further, he leaned back with his coffee and mentally accepted that she was not planning to give him any sort of confirmation about that. Which meant he still had to treat it as if it was true, while hoping that it wasn’t. “Well.” He said at last. “I think I’ve told all that I can about the situation. And now, at least, I understand what made her act as she did,” he added with a nod toward Tercen. His portion of the tale had been rather enlightening, anyway.

[Arnyn]

|
Tercen | Arnyn
with Gwestion and Gladhron)
Arnyn's house - December 30th/31st, night
A collaboration with @Rillewen

“Still not sure why you acted how you did, though,” Tercen mumbled at his sister, nodding at Gladhron.

Arnyn took another sip, her eyes flicking from Gwestion to Tercen.
“Was that a question?”

Tercen tilted his head curiously.
“No, no - I’d never ask anything like that. Besides… I’m sure there is nothing to explain. Right?” he asked, giving Gladhron a once-over while he asked.

Gwestion coughed lightly. “Are you sure?” He asked dryly, raising an eyebrow at Tercen. Obviously, Tercen was dying to ask her if anything had happened between her and Gladhron, but Gwestion wasn’t sure why.

Arnyn put down her cup. It was still half full.
“Great. Then I won’t,” she said calmly.

Her brother’s eyes narrowed at her.
“You’re giving us nothing? At all? Really?”

“I gave you water, apparently,” she noted.
“And coffee.”

“You didn’t make the coffee,” Tercen mumbled.

“I bought the coffee,” Arnyn said, entirely composed. “I consider that a key contribution.” Mentally, she was trying to convince herself to stand. Stand. Stand!
“We need to move,” she told the others, slowly rising, stubbornly willing herself not to sway on her feet.

Gladhron frowned, surprised to hear that apparently, they were about to have to go somewhere. And that it was not back to sleep! “Wait, huh?” He glanced at them, then at Arnyn. “You mean we don’t get to go back to bed?” He asked, sighing in disappointment.

Gwestion coughed behind his coffee cup, quite glad he had not yet taken a sip.

“Maybe later,” Arnyn told Gladhron mildly.

Tercen’s eyes widened.

Gladhron groaned quietly in complaint. “Why not now?” He asked, almost whining. He really did not feel like he’d had enough sleep. He could feel it in how his mind felt foggy, and his eyes felt dry, and different things like that which felt different than when he was fully rested. And if he hadn’t had enough sleep, he knew that Arnyn hadn’t, either. And if she was about to have to go do important stuff, he figured he probably shouldn’t stay behind and sleep, because that would be kind of frowned upon, right? Surely, this could wait until she was properly rested! It didn’t sound like a life-or-death emergency, whatever it was. Besides, whatever it was probably required her to be professional and alert, so she’d be better off getting more sleep! “You’ve barely had any time in bed.” He mumbled, reminding her, although with his mumble, ‘you’ve’ sounded a lot like ‘we’ve’. “I’d rather have a lot more time, wouldn’t you?”

One corner of Arnyn’s mouth lifted minutely.
“I could use some more, too.”

Gwestion had mistakenly thought it was safe to take a sip of his coffee now. He ended up coughing a few times, and somehow managed not to choke on it. Setting the cup down hastily, he turned away for a moment as he got his breathing under control, then glanced at Arnyn. He looked from her to Gladhron, and back again. He still felt pretty sure about his earlier assessment, but she didn’t seem to be denying the implications which Gladhron seemed to be making without even meaning to. In fact, he honestly felt that Gladhron was in a world of his own and not talking about anything near to what it sounded like to the rest of them…

“It’s been a rough night,” Arnyn mentioned, as she stepped past Gladhron, and she gently tapped a hand on the ranger’s shoulder in passing.
“But thanks, brother,” she added with a glance at Tercen. “For not punching anyone.”

Tercen scowled. He had also put his coffee down, and had crossed his arms by now.
“So, we’re not even pretending anymore?”

“I don’t pretend,” Arnyn said calmly.

“You don’t usually… take in guests,” Tercen tried, one last time.
“I’d figure you’d have been more likely to throw him out, if he wanted to stay.”

“I don’t throw guests,” Arnyn said, dry as kindling.
“It creates a mess.”

Tercen raised his hands.
“Ah! So he is a guest?”

Gladhron looked confused as he glanced from one to the other, trying to follow along, but his head was starting to hurt. “Huh?” He asked, blinking.

Arnyn tilted her head.
“I never said that.”

Her brother’s arms crossed again.
“So… he’s… not a guest?”

“I didn’t say that, either.”

Exasperated, Tercen looked at Gwestion, who was tilting his head thoughtfully, with a hint of a smile tugging at his mouth as he tried to assess this whole thing.

Gladhron still looked a bit lost as he tried to follow the conversation. “You invited me to stay the night,” He reminded Arnyn, confused when she said he was not a guest, and even more confused when she said that he was. “Almost insisted, in fact…” What did that even mean? “So…” He sighed, resting his head back on the couch in disappointment. “We are not going to finish..?” He waved a hand toward the upstairs, to check that he understood right, meaning… finish sleeping.

Gwestion couldn’t believe he’d just heard his brother ask that, and slowly shook his head as he brought one hand up to cover his face, the elbow resting in his other hand. Wow. Just… wow. He looked over at Arnyn to see how she might respond, then looked over at Tercen, and back to Gladhron, wondering if he actually realized what he had said.

Tercen was staring at Gladhron with parted lips. Was he actually serious? Even if he was kidding around - this - well - come on! He put his elbows on his knees and leaned face first into the palms of his hands. “Sweet Yavanna,” he mumbled under his breath.

Arnyn ignored Gladhron’s slightly skewed summary of what had transpired. Instead, she moved for the spot she kept her longsword. Turning to face the wall, she hid a smile as her fingers fumbled with the clasp a few times. She didn’t trust herself to keep laughter from her voice, so she didn’t say anything at all. Even without trying - without realizing, or so it seemed, though she wasn’t all that sure whether that was truly the case - Gladhron was succeeding in bringing a little light into an otherwise very glum situation.

The reality of her own predicament, however, was nowhere near amusing. She willed herself to keep trying the buckle, and finally got it right. Instead of waiting for the three men to catch up, however, Arnyn headed straight for the hallway. Hopefully they would take a moment longer between them, and then maybe she would be able to put on her own cloak without them noticing anything was off about her. Stars. How was she going to get all the way to Guard Headquarters, deal with this and return, all without falling to pieces?
Arnyn felt like what little energy she had left was draining fast. But what choice did she have? After what Gwestion had told the Guard, she was the only solution to them releasing at least Ava. And Tercen would not appreciate it if she insisted Ava should just spend the night in some holding room, while Arnyn could simply go and clear it up.
Besides, from what she had heard about Domanol… it would be best to speak to him as quickly as possible, as well. If she did not want the understanding between the two of them to fall apart completely, at least. It might already be too late for that, part of her mind noted.

At the coat rack, Arnyn leaned a hand against the wall, dropping her head for a moment. And told herself she could do this. She could do all of it. She could manage.

[Rillewen]

|
Gwestion & Gladhron
December 30th, night
Arnyn's house, 4th level
A collaboration with @Arnyn

As Arnyn just... walked off to the hallway, rather than offering any sort of explanation, Gwestion stared after her for a few seconds, then looked at Gladhron, and finally at Tercen again. He sat back in his chair, no longer quite so sure what to make of this. He looked at Tercen. “Well… that was unexpected.” He cleared his throat. Obviously, there was a giant question mark floating in the room between them. He gave a small shrug in answer to the unspoken question. “You know her better than I do,” he commented, unsure how to even respond to what either of them had just said. He still couldn’t believe he’d just heard his brother say the things he’d said!

Tercen was staring at the arched doorway his sister had just walked through, frowning slightly.
“I… don’t know what to think,” he admitted honestly. Not about what might have happened or not between Arnyn and Gladhron. Not about which bed Gladhron had really been in. Not about what it meant, if something had happened between them, either. Had Arnyn decided to finally let someone in - maybe? Or had her motivations been… simpler?

Trying not to dwell on it, Gwestion finished what was left of his coffee and stood up. “I’d better catch up to her.” He didn’t want to get left behind, so after setting his cup on the tray, he started after Arnyn, preferring to leave that conversation, and all of its implications, behind.

Gladhron looked after them both, still feeling reluctant to actually be awake. Feeling like he could barely function, he found it difficult to concentrate as the headache began to be a little more pronounced. It was no longer just a threat of a headache, and made him want to go back to bed all the more. Or just curl up right there on the couch. But obviously, sleep didn’t seem to be an option yet. “Wait, where are we going?” he wondered, having missed most of what was going on.

Gwestion paused and looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “I’m thinking you should probably go back to bed… alone,” He told him, with hidden amusement lacing his tone. “But, if you do want to join us… there’s a cup of coffee for you, which should help to wake up your brain a little. Enough, perhaps, that you’ll at least be aware of what’s coming out of your mouth,” He told him, nodding toward the cup. “There’s also a glass of cold water there.” Without waiting to see what he chose to do, Gwestion set off to follow Arnyn.

---

That left Tercen alone with Gladhron. The former gave the latter a doubtful look. “Sounds like you need a cold bath rather than a cold drink,” he mumbled, frowning and folding his arms again. “Why did you stay here with her?” he decided to ask Gladhron quietly, so Arnyn or Gwestion wouldn’t hear from the hallway.

Gladhron blinked at the tray, focusing slowly on the two drinks his brother had informed him were his. Grabbing the water first, he took a long drink of it. He hadn’t realized quite how thirsty he was until he started drinking. The glass was half empty by the time he lowered it and turned his gaze toward Tercen. What was that comment supposed to mean? He looked briefly down at himself, wondering if he looked dirty or smelled bad, but he’d taken a bath just before getting dressed for the theater… was it because he’d sweated a little while he was asleep? A bath could wait until morning, for goodness’ sake.

Instead of trying to figure that out, Gladhron focused on the question, which was less puzzling. “Because she wa-” He stopped as he realized that he should think about what he said, first. “Well, we decided… I mean…” He frowned as he tried to think of what was safe to tell him. The automatic reply he wanted to give to his friend was because she hadn’t been feeling well and that he wanted to be sure she was alright, so they had decided that he would walk her home and then stay so he could be reassured that she was alright. But, he had just enough alertness in his tired brain to recall that he’d promised Arnyn he wouldn’t tell anyone that. Hadn’t she even said ‘especially’ not Tercen? He couldn’t recall for certain, but he hesitated slightly to think more carefully before giving his friend an answer. After a few seconds, he shook his head with a sigh. “Sorry, I don’t think I’d better say anymore. I promised her I wouldn’t tell,” He confessed honestly. The only thing he could think of to say, at the moment, which would hopefully quell further questions. "It’s… kind of personal, and it’s between me and her.” He shrugged apologetically.

“Seriously?” Tercen couldn’t help but ask, the disbelief on his face making room for annoyance.
“Fine,” he decided. “I suppose it’s none of my business anyways. Just yours. And Arnyn’s.”
Tercen rose to his feet, and decided to finish his coffee.
“But if you’re planning on coming back here, at least warn me next time?” He had no desire to walk into anything. If that was what was going on.

Confusion reigned on Gladhron’s face yet again. “Uh… alright?” He answered, somewhat puzzled why Tercen would want to know if he came over to Arnyn’s house again. Belatedly, he concluded that maybe because that would mean Gladhron would be occupying the guestroom, which meant Tercen would have to sleep elsewhere. “This wasn’t exactly planned, though,” He added, not sure what Tercen seemed annoyed about. Wouldn’t he be sleeping at Ava’s, anyway? Gladhron continued, “I mean, I thought we’d be staying for the whole play, but then… stuff happened.” He shrugged and left the rest unspoken. He finished off the rest of the glass, then swapped it for the coffee.

Tercen snorted. It sounded a lot like the evening had turned out much better than Gladhron could have hoped for.

---

In the hallway, Arnyn straightened up with a jerk when she heard the approach of footsteps.
Crap.
She still hadn’t put on her cloak. A quick glance revealed it was Gwestion. Taking a slow, deep breath, she focused on her cloak - the peg - and reached out to take it.
Success.
Now she just had to put it on.

Gwestion wasn’t quite sure what was going on with Arnyn, but when he saw her leaning against the wall, he couldn’t help wondering if she was feeling overwhelmed by the situation. But then, he also couldn’t shake off the feeling that she was ill, given her appearance. He couldn’t think of anything to say, however… so when she took her cloak slowly from the peg, he decided not to make things awkward, and simply didn’t ask anything.

“Are they coming?” she asked Gwestion, while draping the thick winter cloak around her shoulders. She kept her spine straight, her head level. She hoped everything was still level, anyway. Her head was swimming. Just as they had done with the clasp of her scabbard, her fingers had difficulty with the clasp of her cloak. Trying to hide that, she half turned toward the door.

Gwestion glanced back down the hallway, unsure. “I think Gladhron is trying to decide if he’s even awake. I’m not sure if he's coming, but I assume Tercen will be along shortly.”

Arnyn frowned a little when Gwestion said Gladhron was still deciding. If Gladhron was going to stay here, she supposed he hadn’t been as concerned as he’d claimed to be, after all. Although that was probably a good thing, the thought still irked her for some reason. Her chin tilted up a fraction. “Well. They can take however long they like. My brother has a key. I’m going,” she stated succinctly, and since her fingers had finally managed the clasp, she grabbed her gloves from the stand near the door and opened it.
“Let’s go.”

Gwestion had been wearing his cloak all this time, so he didn’t need to put it back on, now. He nodded and set off after her, falling in step beside her once they were outside on the street. He was glad to see that now that she had heard all of the details and knew the situation, she was ready to leap into action.

---

The door banging shut made Tercen glance toward the hallway. They’d left. Tercen mumbled a little curse, and quickly set out after Arnyn and Gwestion.
“If you’re coming, come now,” he called over his shoulder to Gladhron. “I’m locking the door behind me.”

Gladhron made a face at the bitterness of the black coffee, because of course it hadn’t been sweetened yet. He was reaching for the sugar bowl on the tray when Tercen suddenly took off for the hallway, saying for him to decide now. “Wait.. huh?” He looked after him, not sure what the hurry was all of the sudden.

Hadn’t they all been just talking a moment ago, and now suddenly everyone was rushing off, and he still didn’t know what the big problem was. “But I…” He looked at his coffee, then after Tercen, wanting to find out going on, but there wasn’t enough time to really ask. “Fine, I’m coming.” He grumbled. Sighing, he set his coffee down and tossed the blanket off of him and onto the couch as he stood up. intending to hurry after Tercen.

The moment he was upright, however, Gladhron felt like he’d stood up way too fast. A wave of dizziness hit him as if he suddenly had a bad case of vertigo. He staggered a little and hastily grabbed onto the back of the nearest chair, his vision going blurred. He shook his head and blinked several times, wondering if this was a symptom of not getting enough sleep, or what. His heart pounded a little as he stood very still for a moment, waiting for the dizziness to pass. “You know... actually.. you just go ahead without me. I’ll lock up after you.” He called out to Tercen, slowly sinking back down onto the couch. “I’d just slow you down,” He muttered, focusing on taking slow breaths to calm down as he heard the front door slam as Tercen left. Whatever just happened, he didn’t like it. What happened to this being a restful vacation? He thought idly that he seemed to be getting less sleep here in Minas Tirith than he typically did while out traveling in the wilds.

Once alone, Gladhron rested his elbows down on his knees, resting his forehead in his palms as he tried to think through an increasing headache. While he was worried about Arnyn, he told himself that it wasn’t like she needed him there to babysit her… she probably wouldn’t even appreciate it if he hung around just to try and take care of her while she was doing her job. Especially with both Tercen and Gwestion there. Sighing, he decided to accept the fact that if he was really needed, they would have told him they needed him to come, too.

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Gladhron
December 31st, sometime in the night, before dawn
Arnyn's house, 4th level
While the others are away...

Once alone, Gladhron took a few slow, deep breaths, waiting a few minutes to let the dizziness subside. After a bit, he sat up and finished adding stuff to his cup of coffee, and took a drink. It was much better with sugar and milk added. The milk helped to cool it down a little, so it didn't take him long to finish it. He set the empty cup down on the tray and took a long moment to try and remember if he was supposed to be doing anything now.

Ah, right. He'd said he would lock the door behind them. He'd better do that now, before he forgot. Slowly, carefully, Gladhron stood, holding his hand out toward the nearby chair, in case he felt dizzy again. So far, so good. It must have just been from standing up too quickly before, right? He attributed that, once again, to not having had enough sleep. He let out a slow breath, then slowly made his way down the hallway, one hand lightly hovering near the wall the whole way, just in case he felt a little unsteady.

Turning the lock from the inside took only a second, but he felt tired. Just being upright felt like a chore, at this point. He rested his hand on the wall beside the door and leaned forward until his head rested against his arm. He wasn't feeling well at all, and his symptoms seemed to be growing worse. For the next half minute or so, Gladhron focused on taking slow, steady breaths in and out. His head was pounding, and he wasn't sure anymore if it was due to the stiff neck. It seemed a bit excessive just from sleeping with his head at a wrong angle, right? Maybe, then, it was due to not getting enough sleep. Then again, he was feeling really thirsty, too. His mouth felt pretty dry. Maybe he hadn't been drinking enough water lately?

Straightening again, Gladhron's feet dragged a little as he returned to the living room and sank into the first chair he came to. His brother's glass had hardly been touched. It wasn't long before it was empty. Gladhron leaned forward to set the glass down, but he missed the tray he was aiming for, and the glass ended up partially on the edge of the tray, fell sideways when he let go of it. It rolled off the coffee table. Taking a hard blink, he tried to bring it into focus, and slowly leaned forward to pick it up. Thankfully, it was carpeted there, so the glass hadn't broken. This time, he was more careful in his attempts to put it on the tray.

That accomplished, he stared listlessly at the table for a while, fighting drowsiness. As much as he wanted to sleep more, Gladhron sort of felt guilty going to sleep when Arnyn had to go off and do work stuff in the middle of the night. He wondered how long she would be. If he'd known where they were going, he would have actually gone to try to meet up with them, but he'd forgotten to even ask that. Ah, well.

As his head nearly dropped onto his chest, Gladhron stirred and rubbed his eyes, hoping to clear away the blurriness. It was then that he realized that he was still dressed in his clothes from the theater. He let out a sigh and shook his head slowly at himself. He hadn't meant to sleep in that, but apparently, he had done just that. So... what to do? He had no idea how long Arnyn and the others would be. After a long moment of thought, he slowly got up again, taking one of the lamps with him as he started up the stairs, fighting a yawn. He turned it down, however, since it was too bright for what he needed.

As tempting as it was to lay down again, Gladhron resisted. Instead, he found something out of Tercen's pile of clothes that looked like it'd fit him, which looked more comfortable and far less formal. Hopefully, Tercen wouldn't mind. Gladhron should have asked him while he was here, but he hadn't thought of it then.

His mind felt like it was thick with fog, but he managed the simple activity of changing clothes without having to put too much thought into it. Then he looked around the room, bleary eyes blinking slowly as he observed the clothes strewn about. He could practically hear Gwestion complaining about him making a mess and leaving his things all over the room. But these were not his things, and he was not in an inn room, sharing with his brother. He was in Arnyn's house. And these were his friend's belongings.

Which made him pause. He remembered, long ago, Arnyn complaining about how messy her brother could be. How she was often having to clean up after him, whenever he stayed over. Gladhron stared with a frown at the mess he had just made. It was one thing to leave his own things wherever, in a room that was his own space for the duration of his stay. But this was not his stuff, and he was a brief guest here in Arnyn's house. He let out a little sigh as he began to gather up the clothing so that it was in a pile by the pack, as it had been before Gladhron arrived.

Satisfied, he turned to deal with his theater attire, only to have his balance threatened. He grabbed onto the nightstand for support, waiting for the wave of sudden dizziness to pass. As it did, his gaze focused instead on the teacup on the nightstand. Ah... right. Another mess he'd left there. One which he didn't want Arnyn to have to clean up, later. One which he could take care of easily enough, in fact. He gathered his clothes into a bundle before also grabbing the cup, spoon, and the tea infuser that was left in the cup. The latter was mostly dry by now, since he had squeezed out as much liquid as he could from the used herbs inside, before he'd gone to sleep. Which was helpful now, since he could simply carry the cup with a finger hooked through the loop of the handle without having to worry about any lingering liquid remaining inside.

---

Back downstairs, Gladhron squinted against the brightness of the living room as he re-entered. Why were there so many lamps lit? He turned his head slightly away from the lights as he deposited his bundle of clothes on the couch. With one hand coming up to shield his eyes, he carefully set the teacup onto the tray, then went around the room, turning the wicks down as low as they could go while still providing enough light to see by. His eyes were still a bit blurry, and they felt dry. Probably from all the lamp oil fumes, he figured.

And they still weren't back. Gladhron sat down and put his head down in his hands, letting out a sigh as he rubbed his eyes and temples. His headache felt worse. Mentally, he blamed it partially on the fumes of the lamps burning so much oil. Maybe it wasn't from that, but it did seem like an excessive number of lamps to be lit, just for the brief time the others had been there talking. Maybe... maybe if he went to the washroom and splashed a little water on his face from the pitcher he figured would be there, he'd wake up a bit, and he could maybe clear his vision a little.

---

Upon his return from the washroom, Gladhron had run his fingers through his hair to try and tame it a little, so it wouldn't look quite as unruly. He still wasn't feeling great, however. He felt worse, actually. In fact, he hadn't really felt this awful in a long time. He held onto the back of one of the armchairs, trying to think. Why did he feel so awful? He remembered walking from the theater with Arnyn, only a few hours ago. He had been very sleepy, but otherwise fine. He could think of no logical explanations, other than those he had already considered, to explain the various things going on with him. The short amount of sleep, the lamp oil fumes, and so on. He felt like he was missing something though, and no matter how hard he tried to focus on it, he simply couldn't.

Shaking his head slowly, Gladhron gave up trying to think about that. The pitcher of drinking water was empty now, but he was still thirsty. And the coffee pot was empty, too. Picking up the tray, he concentrated very hard on keeping it level and not letting anything fall off as he made his way into the kitchen, struggling not to sway as he walked. He remembered the mood Arnyn had been in before she left, after being awakened with too little sleep. He figured that it might improve her mood a little if she didn't come home to a mess. And it might improve it further still if she came home to find that he had cleaned up the mess that others had left. Even though it was a bit more challenging, given the fact he wasn't feeling well.

Thinking of the end goal - making things easier for Arnyn, and hopefully showing her that he cared and wanted to bring her happiness - he determinedly pushed aside his natural tendency to let someone else do the cleaning up. And his strong desire to sleep. And all of the other things making it difficult to even be up and about right now.

Instead, Gladhron washed the glasses. And the coffee cups. And his teacup from earlier. And the pitcher, coffee pot, and any other dishes that they'd used. Fortunately, the dish washing basin was still full of dishwater from what Gwestion had done, earlier, and he had no difficulty finding the sponge and soap for the dishes.

Gladhron didn't quite trust himself to towel-dry anything breakable right now, so he put everything on the dish drying rack. When he came to the tea infuser/dispenser, he wasn't sure what to do with it, nor with its contents. After staring at it for a few seconds in contemplation, he shrugged and set it aside for now, hanging from the edge of the wash basin. Then he went to sit down at the table with his head resting on his arms. It was throbbing so much by this point, he could hardly think, and he was feeling dizzier by the minute. He'd finish up in a minute... he just needed to take a short break.


(edit: adding a detail I forgot
edit 2: adding more details for clarity)

[Arnyn]

@Lantaelen

Torniel
January - Third Circle, Minas Tirith

She closed her eyes, smiling softly as Dauntless touched his cheek to her forehead so gently. Words of appreciation left his lips and ensured her smile stayed there, on her lips and in her eyes, which had opened once more to watch him. His hands, preparing food.

Brown eyes flicked back to his face with surprise, however, when he so easily continued. So void of hesitation. So... trusting. Abrazimir. Steadfast-Jewel. One another like us could survive us, right? She swallowed, seeking to wet her suddenly dry throat. His lips against her forehead made her blinks, brought her back from the depths of her thoughts. The pot, he requested. Right. The pot.

As usual, she moved slowly, deliberately, sensually. Moving that way had become a habit rather than a farce. It was who she had become, now. Torniel opened a cupboard to retrieve the pot she was looking for, and set it right next to his cutting board. "One pot," she said quietly. "As requested... Abrazimir." She would not use any sirs or lords with him. When they were alone together, they were no more than a man and a woman, were they not? A man and a woman who enjoyed each other's company. Immensely.

They finished their meal prep. Together. They spoke and laughed. Together. They sneaked little touches, here and there - the both of them. Yet it did not become lustful. It felt... sweet. Romantic. Someone else might have dubbed it 'normal' - but this was far from normal for her. This could not be much further from the norm, in fact. Because, this time... he was not a target. He was not some okay for money or power. He was simply... a man. Abrazimir.

As the food was cooking, Torniel stepped behind him and slipped her arms around his waist from there. With the side of her face resting on his upper back. "Just a few more minutes, Dauntless," she said, not giving up her own nickname for him. "Then we can eat." Her tone turned teasing. "You can tell me all about your favorite things in the world," she cooed. "Your favorite meal. Your favorite colour. Your favorite drink. Your favorite book. Your favorite music. Your favorite sport." Her arms slackened, allowing for him to turn around to face her. "How about you go first, this time?" she suggested mildly. "Then I'll go first when it is time for dessert," she added, her big brown eyes flickering with amusement, and anticipation.

[Rillewen]

@Lantaelen

| |
| |
Dulinneth, Eryn Raedor & Brooke
Gwestion, Chewy, & Togg
Dec 24, afternoon
2nd level, in a cafe

As Gaer, Brooke, and Eryn all took seats around the table, Linn shook her head in reply to Gaer's question. "Don't worry, I'm going," She assured her. She had already planned on going to speak to him. But first, she paused. "Are you sure you don't want one, Brooke?" She asked, checking. "It's really no trouble." She insisted, knowing Togg might grumble a bit, but he had plenty of money.

Hesitating, Brooke fidgeted slightly. Feeling a slight nudge from Gwestion's elbow, she answered timidly, "Well, maybe.. a small cup, if you're sure?"

"Of course!" Linn replied cheerfully with a nod. And so, off she went to join her brother at the counter, while the others decided on their seating.


At the table, Gwestion gave a little nod. "No need to apologize," He assured her. "Chewy and I.. kept busy." He decided, for now at least, that there was no need to mention Togg's secretive trip into the market. Perhaps it had to do with this 'gift' he'd mentioned. "Oh, did she?" He asked with a faint smile toward Brooke, then back to Gaer.

"Gladhron's the one who does the best 'regaling people with stories'," Brooke mentioned with a little smile. "If Chewy could talk," She added in amusement, "I bet he'd probably only have stories about squirrel chasing and such."

"Ohh, he and Hattie would have so much fun together," Eryn declared with a laugh. "You and Chewy have to come out to my house sometime, Brooke. And Aislin! Of course." She grinned. Hattie's my friend's dog, but she lives at my house. She's smaller than Chewy, but she's just as energetic and friendly."

Brooke smiled at that. "I'm sure they'd be instant friends." She said, petting Chewy as she spoke.

"I think Gaer and Linn are planning to come out to my house again, one day soon, to practice archery again," Eryn mentioned with a glance at them, to double-check that. "You mentioned your sister would like to do that, right?"

Brooke nodded. "Yes, that was why Arnyn mentioned that we should meet you. That... and, um," She looked a bit shy at this. "Well, I was wondering about the idea of making a sort of... obstacle course type of thing, but for dogs.. you know? And she mentioned you have Hattie, and.. yeah."

"Ohh.. interesting." Eryn sat back thoughtfully, considering that idea. "That could really be interesting. I wonder if Nal would want to help with that... I could ask his father if he has any ideas. He's a carpenter," She added in explanation. "And Nal is always saying how they should train some dogs to help the rangers with stuff. That could be a fun project, which could be useful too." She grinned. "My dad might help, too."


Meanwhile, at the ordering counter, Linn approached Togg. "What are you doing?" She asked in a whisper.

"Ordering the drinks you demanded." He retorted with an eyeroll.

"What's this about a gift for Gaer?" Linn asked, folding her arms with a frown. "Oh, and we need another hot chocolate, Brooke changed her mind.

"It's a gift." He said as he handed over some money to the person taking his order, then paused and glanced at her before sighing. "Add another, then." He told the employee, handing over more money to cover that.

"What is it though?" Linn asked, hands planted on her hips.

He turned to her with a frown while the cafe worker went to get their drinks ready. "That is none of your business, little sister."

"It is too," She disagreed. "She's my best friend, and after the last gift you gave her," Linn's eyes narrowed as she glared at him, "I want to know that you aren't giving her anything... horrible..."

"Don't worry about that." Togg scoffed, leaning on the counter. "She'll like this gift." He said confidently. The first drinks were set on the counter. "If you want to help, grab those and take them to the table." He motioned to the drinks in a dismissive manner, as if to say 'you can go away now'.

Linn frowned at him for several seconds before grabbing the drinks, one in each hand. She refrained, with much difficulty, from sticking her tongue out at him. And instead, she went to the table and set the hot chocolates down carefully. "Here you are," She smiled cheerily as she set one down for Eryn and one for Brooke. She hastened back to the counter. "How can you be certain?" She asked, as if there had been no interruption to the conversation.

Togg sighed. "I told you not to worry about it, alright?" He told her. "Just keep out of it. It's between me and her."

"Then you should give it to her when it's just you and her." Linn retorted, grabbing the next two cups to be set out. The last two were set out seconds after. Each hot chocolate had a freshly-whipped dollop of cream on top, drizzled with chocolate syrup. They looked delicious! Linn carried two more cups over to the table, with Togg just behind her, with the last two. Linn passed one to Gwestion, and was going to pass the other to Gaer, but Togg got to her first, handing her the other one in his hand, before he gladly claimed the spot she had saved for him.

Now, everyone had a cup of hot chocolate. "Well, my lady, how is the hot chocolate?" Togg asked, deliberately addressing Gaer. "And would you like any pastries to go with it? I could get something else for you, if you like."

"Actually," Eryn spoke up suddenly, "I'll get some sweets. For everyone." She volunteered, smiling. As the only one actually local here, plus after Gaer and Linn inviting her to join them and all that, she figured it would be a nice thing to do. "Gaer, Brooke, Linn, want to come help me pick some out?" She asked, motioning for the other girls to join her.

Somewhat surprised, Brooke hesitated before nodding. She and Linn both joined Eryn as she set off for the counter, followed by some of the others. "Of course, the pastries at Nell's bakery are way better, but these are good too." Eryn added in a whisper, to those who had joined her, not wanting to offend the people who ran the cafe. They did have some nice sweets to choose from, so she motioned for the other girls to take their pick from what was on display behind the glass.

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Gladhron
Sometime in the night, between December 30th & 31st
Arnyn's house, 4th level
While the others are away...

He didn't know how long he sat there with his head on his arms, but Gladhron ended up dozing off after a little while. He woke due to an increasing discomfort in multiple areas; first, his head continued to throb with an increasingly intense headache. Second, his throat was feeling increasingly dry, and his thirst was getting too strong to ignore. Third, his stomach was starting to hurt. And fourth, his arms were falling asleep.

Gladhron mumbled incoherently as he stirred, trying to reposition so that he could free his arms from the pressure causing them to go numb. But he had forgotten where he was, and believed that he was lying on the couch, rather than sitting at the table. When he tried to turn to his other side, he went tumbling out of the chair and hit the floor. Surprised as he was abruptly jarred back to full wakefulness, Gladhron looked around in confusion. Where... what?

He looked at the floor, trying to make sense of why he was there. Then he slowly shifted onto his knees, grabbed the chair that had just 'thrown' him out of it, and dragged himself upright. Once he felt steady enough to stand without support of the chair, he closed his eyes and rubbed them, hoping that would make the blurriness go away. But the dryness remained, and his eyes still didn't see properly. He sighed, wondering how much sleep he would need to get before he felt normal again. Even his stomach was feeling funny, but he figured maybe he was just hungry. It had been a while now since he'd last eaten.

Moving slowly, he ventured into the pantry and began poking around, looking in the cupboards for something to eat. In his search, he came across a small container that held some sort of herbs, but since it was clearly not a food of any sort, he put it back and moved to the next cabinet. Before, when he'd scrounged up what little he could for Arnyn, he had only managed to come up with a few crackers, some cheese, and apples. He was pretty sure there was still of those some left, so he stepped back and thought. Which cabinet had that been? After remembering, he got out a few crackers, and sliced off a portion of cheese, and began nibbling on those while he went back to the kitchen, intending to fill up a glass of water. He was still extremely thirsy, after all.

But after eating a couple of crackers and cheese, he became aware that they did not agree with his stomach, and he quickly abandoned his plans for water, and instead rushed for the washroom. He couldn't help wondering how long had those crackers been in her cabinets, and if eating stale crackers were the sort of thing that could make someone sick. They hadn't tasted stale, though... Maybe it was the cheese, then? Perhaps it was old? At the moment, he forgot that he had nibbled a few of the same cheese and crackers only the night before, when he had brought a tray for Arnyn.

Upon returning from the washroom, Gladhron still wasn't feeling any better. He felt like his movements were slow and sluggish. His head still ached, and he felt dizzy. On his way to get a glass, he stayed close to the counters, so he could hold onto them as he walked. Suddenly, his headache increased as the stack of pots and pans clattered and banged onto the floor, for a second time tonight. Wincing, he pressed his hands up to his head and closed his eyes, waiting for the noise to settle. Once it did, he slowly opened his eyes to see what had happened. Apparently, the handle of a pan had caught on his clothes as he passed, and he'd pulled the whole stack down from the counter where Gwestion had put them.

Sighing, Gladhron lowered himself to the floor and began to work on putting them into the cabinet, though it took him a few tries to arrange everything into the cabinet in a neat and orderly fashion, where nothing would fall out the moment someone opened the cabinet door again. He closed the door and then leaned his back against it, resting his head back against the door while he waited for the pounding to fade a little. He kept very still while he sat there, feeling like every heartbeat was too fast, which made him feel too hot. Maybe, if he could get some water, he could cool down a little. Where had Tercen gotten the water from, though? He tried to recall. The pitcher had been empty. Was there a well somewhere? He felt very reluctant to get up and search for the water source, however. Maybe in a few minutes, he'd get up and see what he could find. In the meanwhile, he focused on taking slow, deep breaths.

By now, he was aware that he was feeling ill, and that there was more going on than just lack of sleep. While he had no idea what was going on, he thought it might he best to lie down and try to get some rest, and hope that he was over it when he woke again later. With that thought in mind, he struggled to his feet, slowly, feeling the rush of blood to his head when he did. Gripping the counter tightly, he waited for the dizziness to pass, then made his slow, laborious way down the hallway and back to the living room.

As he passed the stairs, he glanced briefly at them, but decided not to try that. Instead, he collapsed onto the couch, stretching out as well as he could, and drew an arm over his forehead/eye area, trying to block out what little light there was in the room. At least there, he was more comfortable while he waited for his head and heart to stop pounding so much. If he could just sleep until this weird sickness had passed, that would be so great. He'd love to wake up feeling fine, but he had no idea what had even brought it on, so it was difficult to know what to expect.

It was difficult to ignore his thirst, as his throat felt like a desert, but since he didn't know where to get water, and he didn't feel well enough to go looking for it, he just endured the thirst and tried to focus on taking slow, steady breaths. It wasn't long before he began to doze off again, although because his head refused to stop hurting, it was a light sleep, accompanied by light snoring. (due to his dry throat, of course)

[Lantaelen]

@Arnyn

Lord Abrazimir “the Dauntless”
January, Minas Tirith, Gondor

It was a strange expression that Torniel wore after this recent compliment on her name and the similarity to his. It seemed unreadable to him. Perhaps she was…in doubt of the sincerity of his words? Skeptical? What, was she not used to the cheese so customary and easy that flowed from his lips? Torniel made even that look good. She blinked, her big, brown eyes full of such depth before his very gaze. With the same flourish, the act of grabbing a pot even had a sensuous element to it.

”Thank you, Torniel.” He returned her name at the mention of his, unable to do nothing but smile so broadly. An interior facet allowed water to flow from the White City’s many reservoirs and aqueducts, brought down from the heights of Mount Mindolluin. The diced vegetables and any additional ingredients were added and the pot was left to dangle over a fire, to heat and stew.

He was embraced in a surprising, bold move, from behind, as he set the pot to boil. It was so unusual to be hugged in such a fashion. He…rather liked it. It was tender and soothing to the soul of the war weary knight, dipping his head back, eyes closed, as his hands settled upon her forearms. Questions were rattled off, making him smile and snicker a little, humming as she rattled off various queries about his favourite things, ending with his favourite sport. That’s when he turned, her grip loosening, allowing him to face her. Well, tuck his jaw down to his upper chest, his eyes peering down at the shorter Torniel, his large hands just resting on her slender shoulders.

There was a mischievous gleam in his eyes but he…restrained his tongue, from getting out of hand at those remarks. His favourite things…let’s see. Not really questions he had been asked before. Meal? ”Beef and onion stew.” Colour? ”Would I be unoriginal if I said…grey? Silver hued. Yours? Crimson I bet.” Drink? ”Dark ales. They have this…rousing effect. Like coffee.” Book? ”The Marches of Minalcar Rómendacil the Second, from the 14th century of the last Age.” Music? ”The Mounds of Munberg by the Rohirric minstrels has been on my mind of late.” Sport?

”The joust, naturally. Maybe you will get to see me perform.” And he could ask for her favour. ”Though if the question was rather what would I rather observe if not participate, it would have to be a horse race. I’d get too antsy if I had to watch a joust. I should be in it.” He let his hands trace down her arms, until they came to her own, holding them gently as he faced her. The aroma of the pot began to fill the air. His stomach rumbled. He wet his lips…and glanced at hers. No, a gentleman does not take dessert before the meal. Only after.

”Did any of my answers surprise you, Torniel?” He purred her name again. ”I think not. My life’s been rather structured with the War and all. But now that the conflict has diminished, there is time for other things, like art and…beauty.” He teased first at his own expense, then hinted at her fulfilling much of the latter category. Dessert seemed a long time away. Too long. But he would wait and play any game she wished. He could be quite competitive if need be.

[Lantaelen]

@Rillewen

Lady Gaerlothriel Dimaethor
December 24th, Minas Tirith Streets, Gondor

Linny volunteered to assist her brother, leaving Gaer momentarily alone with Eryn, Brooke, Gwestion, and the adorable Chewy. She nodded in affirmation when Gwestion mused over Brooke sharing some tales, when Brooke iterated the fact that it was Gladhron who was the real storyteller. Maybe Gaer would be fortunate enough to meet the man one day and head some of these proper takes! Hopefully not too censored on account of her youth or gender. She wanted to know the real world.

Though for the next little while she sat silently and hung on the conversation between Eryn and Brooke, about continued archery practice at Eryn’s and the dogs getting to meet, of Brooke and her sister Aislin wanted to join. An Arnyn was mentioned but Gaer didn’t know that particular individual. Yet. An obstacle course for the dogs seemed intriguing! She heard in some social circles of folks arranging such contests for their hounds, of the hunt or guard, or just prized companions, or racing ones even, like horses. Oh, to be wealthy and independent and having the freedom to explore all these pursuits and hobbies…

Linny delivered the first round of drinks, before finally returning with Toggornir with the rest. Gaer could see at once the underlying tension between the siblings. Linny had not had much luck in discerning the gift and Gaer resigned herself to potentially having to accept something…untoward. She could do it. Put on a smile and a façade. She looked at Linny and tried to signal it was best to let the matter lie and just let Toggornir do as he intended. There was no stopping it. She set her hands around her cup, hot, but invigorating in this winter weather. It smelled so delectable!

She took off her glove and used a finger to prod the bit of cream that floated on top, before putting it to her lips for a taste. ”Mm.” Toggornir though inquired how it was, and if she might like a pastry to go with it. ”Oh, let me try,” Gaer said neutrally, lifting the cup to her lips and having a sip. It was still searing hot but the sweet taste still carried amazingly. ”It’s wonderful, thank you. No, no pastry, you’ve done enough for me.” Gaer gave him a rehearsed smile to convey her gratitude.

Eryn though was happy for a pastry. Same with Linny and Brooke. Gaer smiled and waved herself off, seeing an opportunity to get this…gift, out of the way. Gwestion and Chewy still remained though, to the other side of the table, divided by the vacant chairs of the three girls who just got up. Gaer sipped her hot chocolate again, finding it easier to consume as she got used to the temperature. Toggornir…why did he have to be such a hard head all the time? Somewhere deep down, she still felt reform was possible. If he just…received kindness, maybe he would…convey some to others? Isn’t that how it worked?

”Thank you for all this, the offering to buy everyone drinks and snacks.” Gaer said to Toggornir. ”You really didn’t have to. I could have. I could…compensate you, or something, if you like, Togg.” She asked quietly in Sindarin. A gentleman would refuse, of course. She put her cup aside a moment and rested both her arms on the table, facing Toggornir. He did…have a nice head of hair. Soft blond. It was a shallow thing to admire, exterior beauty. It should be what’s on the inside that counted, right? Gaer could count on one hand all that was nice on the inside of this particular man. But no, that was rude of her even to think. She would marry this man one day. Her mother and his step-mother dreamed of it for years and years. That was her duty to bear.

”So, you got me a gift?” She said, trying to perk up with a smile of anticipation. He could show her now, while the other girls were off inspecting the arrays of pastries, potentially preserving them from too much embarrassment, if that was to happen.

[Arnyn]

@Lantaelen

Torniel
January - Third Circle, Minas Tirith

He ignored her last comment as best he could. She was impressed, and the way she smiled showed her amusement at his restraint. She did not hide it - why would she? If she had learned anything by now, it was that this man was safe for her to be around. As long as he did not learn all she did... all she had done. And anyone who knew such things would surely object to the notion that he was safe in her presence, as well - even though Torniel would swear that he was.

He enjoyed beef and onion stew. The simplicity of it made her smile soften as she cosily leaned into him, staring into the grey of his eyes, which also happened to be his favorite color, it appeared. Upon his guess at her own favorite color, she raised one shoulder - slowly, sensually, as she tilted her chin just so and continued to look up at him. It used to be green, before the Hand had ruined that for her. Now... now she liked draping herself in red, but whether it was her favorite colour? Not really. Did she even still have one? She much more enjoyed listening to his answers, rather than supplying her own. Not that she would deny him any answers that she had, should he insist by asking again.

She could not deny the ever-so-small yet undeniably present leap her heart made when he said she might see him ride in a joust, some day. For she could not deny that she wanted to do so - very much, in fact. Yet she could also not deny that it would be one of the most foolish things she'd ever do, even if she could think of the perfect reason to falsely supply to the Hand to attend such an event, wherever it might end up taking place.

"Not surprised," she answered him softly, smiling as her own gaze rested on his lips for much longer than his eyes had glanced at hers just a breath earlier. "Delighted, rather," she continued, "that you would answer so freely. And truthfully." She lightly squeezed his hands, as hers held his and his held hers. "I do not profess to know much of arts such as painting, sculpting or writing," she confessed, unashamed to admit such a thing to him. "But that does not mean I do not enjoy it. I just rarely find the occasion to do so, I'm afraid." Her teeth briefly caught her bottom lip. "I do not know of that book," she told him. "But it sounds like a tome of military strategy, so that should be no surprise, either." She looked amused at something, right before she outright asked him. "Are you using any of your strategies on me, Dauntless?" she inquired of him.

[Rillewen]

@Lantaelen

| |
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Dulinneth, Eryn Raedor & Brooke
Gwestion, Chewy, & Togg
Dec 24, afternoon
2nd level, in a cafe

Gaer's words, expressing gratitude for the hot chocolate, made Togg smile. "Of course, my lady." He answered. If he had not already been seated, he would have added a bow. "It's my pleasure to see that you and your friends enjoy a little treat." He did not comment on the fact that he had been practically forced into it, by his demanding little sister making the 'helpful' suggestion that he should pay for everyone's. As if he had plenty of money! Well, he did have money, but he had other plans of where he'd like to spend it. But he knew it was best not to say such things in front of persons such as her. It pleased Gaer that he had done it, and therefore he was quite happy to take the credit for it, as if it had been his idea, even though up until this moment, he had been rather bitter about the whole thing.

As for her offer of compensation, he paused to check if she was serious. He could think of a few replies to that, but he smiled again and shook his head. "No, my lady, that isn't necessary at all." He assured her. If it had been anyone else, and if she had not been there to observe, he would have certainly taken the offer. Insisted on it, in fact. But not for her. He wanted her to think well of him. Her, and her family. Their betrothal wasn't official yet... and even if it was, he knew that betrothals could be called off. He wanted to make sure that she and her family had no reasons to want to call it off.

Ah, right! The gift. He smiled when she reminded him of that, retrieving the small box he had procured while she was in the dress shop. Ignoring the other young man at the table, as if Gwestion wasn't there at all, Togg kept his focus on Gaer as he offered her the box of fancy chocolates. "I know I have already offered my apologies for failing to attend the masquerade, but I thought a little gift might make the apology a little more.. acceptable." He explained quietly. "Of all the nights for me to feel ill, that was certainly the worst one." He sighed in regret, "And I am truly sorry that I let you down. I do hope you can forgive me for that."


At the other end of the table, Gwestion kept an eye on the young girls as they went up to the counter. Chewy lingered by the table for a few seconds before hopping up and hastening to Brooke's side, as if he could not bear to be away from her any longer. Gwestion smiled faintly at that, watching as the dog nuzzled up to her side and watched what they were looking at, as if equally excited by the pastries and things.

Though he heard the talk between Gaer and Togg, he didn't try to intrude, as it was clearly a private matter between them. But he did wonder if that might be where Togg had gone, when he slipped off in secret. Strange, though. Why would he go by the back alleys and such, if that's all he was going to do? He mentally shook his head and tried not to get hung up on it. Maybe he was simply trying to surprise the lady he liked, and didn't want to risk her seeing him running off on an errand to buy her a surprise. Gwestion quietly sipped his hot chocolate while keeping an eye on the girls by the counter, and tried to convince himself that maybe he was only being overly suspicious of the other guy.

---

At the counter, Eryn let Linn make some suggestions about what sort of things she liked, and what she knew Gaer enjoyed. She even pointed out an item she suspected her brother would enjoy. While the clerk was selecting the chosen items from the case, to place into a box, Eryn turned to Linn. "Is everything alright between you and your brother?" She asked softly. "I mean.. I don't mean to pry, but it looked a little.. tense? I thought you might want to get away from him for a bit," She explained.

Linn blushed faintly. "Oh... it's fine. He's just, um," She paused to think of the right word. "He still needs a lot of training." She giggled at her choice of words.

"Training?" Eryn laughed, wondering what she might mean by that.

"Oh, you know. Just.. basics on how to be nicer, and what girls like from a guy, that sort of thing." She made a face. "He can be.." She trailed off as she realized she didn't know how to explain it. "Well... he's not the nicest brother, I guess you could say."

"Ah... I'm sorry." Eryn offered a sympathetic smile. "Well." She glanced at Brooke then.

Brooke was standing shyly off to one side, one elbow clasped in the opposite hand, her gaze focused on the pastries in the case. She kept her thoughts to herself, but she listened to the conversation between the other two girls.

"See anything you like, Brooke?" Eryn asked cheerily.

"Um," She hesitated, and glanced up. "A couple of things, I guess." She answered quietly. She pointed out a couple of items that she thought looked tasty, as well as some she thought Gwestion would like.

Eryn nodded and asked for those items to be added to the box as well. Eryn reached out and gently pet Chewy, then asked for a little cup of whipped cream for the dog. "If that's alright?" She added, with a glance at Brooke.

She smiled faintly and nodded. "Yes, I'm sure he'll like that."

"Good." Eryn smiled. "Hattie loves stuff like that, I'm sure Chewy will, too." She paused. "You seem sort of quiet." She added with some concern. "I mean, quieter than you were in the dress shop, like.. something's troubling you." She tilted her head, keeping her tone quiet. "Are you alright?"

Blinking, Brooke looked up at her, then glanced at Linn, and back to Eryn, hesitating. "I... I'm alright." She answered, fidgeting slightly at the attention focused on her.

"Are you sure?" Linn asked quietly. "Did my brother upset you or something?" She hesitated. "Maybe I'm wrong, but it looked sort of like you were acting uncomfortable toward him? But I didn't think you had met him before today." She found that puzzling.

Glancing at Linn, Brooke was a little surprised by that question. After a little hesitation, she shook her head. "No, I haven't," She answered. "It's.. my problem," She assured her, a little awkward by the questions. "I'm sure it isn't his fault, it's just... me. I.. um, he just sort of.. reminds me of someone else, in a way. Not exactly reminds me of someone, I guess.. but, well. It's just something about how he looks..." She paused, realizing that sounded weird. "I guess it doesn't really make sense." She looked at the floor and shrugged slightly. "Anyway, I'm sure he's not really as bad as he looks, so I shouldn't judge him by that." She mumbled, a little embarrassed.

Eryn gave Brooke a curious glance, but didn't comment. She listened curiously while the clerk was adding up her total.

Linn paused and looked a bit puzzled, not sure how to take that comment. She nodded slowly after a moment. "Well, I'm glad he hasn't done anything, at least." She was relieved by that, anyway. "He can be a bit..." She tried to think of the most diplomatic way of wording it, but failed to come up with anything.

In the absence of another word, Brooke mentally filled in, 'creepy' and a few similar words, but said nothing. She nodded slightly. "I think I know what you mean," She offered, with a little sympathetic smile to let Linn know that she needn't finish the statement.

Linn smiled faintly. "Yeah. I wish you could have met my other two brothers," She sighed. "I liked them both much better, and they were very nice."

Brooke took note of the past tense, and gave a small nod without asking anything more about that. Being unsure of what exactly to say, she bit her lip and looked down at Chewy for a bit, rather than try to continue an awkward line of conversation.

Eryn cleared her throat as she got out her coin purse and began counting out the money for the sweets. "Right, well, let's get back to the table then." She smiled as she carried the box of pastries, while motioning for the other two to go before her to return to their seats. Eryn was last to return to the table, and she cheerfully set the box of goodies down where everyone could reach it. "Pastries for everyone who wants one." She announced, smiling around at everyone.

[Rillewen]

Private, solo post

Eryn Raedor
Dec 22, in year 1 of the 4th age - afternoon

She felt a little guilty, having made up an untrue excuse to leave a bit early from the birthday party, but she couldn't exactly announce the real reason for her early departure, since Nal was there and all. Eryn sighed softly to herself as she hurried up through the streets from Cali and Iole's house on the third level, heading for the fifth. At least Cali had plenty of other friends there to enjoy their company, so her absence surely wouldn't be too big of a deal.

Though she was happy to have been invited and included in the party for Cali, and she had stayed for most of it, Eryn had some other things to take care of before the rest of the afternoon arrived. She had made plans with that young girl at the masquerade to meet at the main gate, in a little while. So, she needed to get this other important errand done, first. She certainly didn't want to put this off until tomorrow. The longer she waited to check, the less likely she might be to actually retrieve her lost item. And it was definitely not an item she wanted to remain lost!

Arriving at the tavern, Eryn slowed from her jogging pace, and took a few deep breaths to slow her breathing before entering. She stepped inside and looked around. The masquerade was over, and all the decorations from the night before had already been taken down and put away. The tavern was back to its usual appearance, she supposed, but it was still obviously a very nice and luxurious place. Much nicer than Eryn expected she'd be visiting (as a paying customer anyway) anytime in the near future, anyway.

In fact, Eryn felt very out of place, stepping into the establishment today in her usual, everyday clothes. Without her disguise, or the fancy dress. She stood in the doorway for a moment, fidgeting and glancing around. Trying to remember everywhere she might have gone inside this place. Unfortunately, that was pretty much everywhere. She'd stopped by the bar, she'd been on the dance floor, she'd been over by the buffet tables...

One of the employees took notice of her, giving her attire a glance that she could've sworn was laced with disapproval before he hid it. Clearing his throat, he left his position and walked over. "Can I help you, miss?" He asked.

Eryn looked up at him and offered a smile. "Oh, hello. Yes, I was wondering, does this place have any sort of a 'lost and found', perhaps?" She asked, feeling slightly hopeful. Surely, with as many people were at the dance last night, she wasn't the only one to have lost something, right? Seeing the man's raised eyebrow, she hastened to explain. "I was at the masquerade last night, and I seem to have lost something which I really need to get back, since it was borrowed, and.. I was hoping maybe someone found it and turned it in?"

"Ah.." He gave a little nod of understanding. "It is possible, yes. What is it you've lost, miss? You will need to describe it. I can't hand out lost items to just anyone, you understand. I must be certain it really belongs to you."

Eryn nodded. "I understand." She assured him, then paused to think how to give a good description. "Well, it's a necklace," She began. "It's on a thin, gold chain. And there's a stone," She frowned, her forehead scrunching a little as she tried to remember what the stone was called. "It's sort of leaf-shaped, a bit like the leaves of a Wayfaring Tree, you know? It's not perfectly symmetrical though." She explained. "The stone is colored sort of... like a mix of pale blue and pale green, I guess? And it looked like it has darker veins throughout it. It's about this big," She held up her fingers to show about the size of it. "The stone hangs from the end of the chain, and that's all there is to it. I can't remember what my father said the stone is called, though." She thought harder for a moment. "Labrador, something, maybe.." She made a guess, recalling that she had thought it sounded a lot like the dog breed.

The man listened, giving slow nods now and then. He tilted his head at the name she offered though. "Could it perhaps be Labradorite?" He suggested.

"That sounds right, yes." She nodded eagerly, glad to have the proper name supplied.

"Alright. I will check for you." He promised, then set off behind the bar and into a back room, where lost items had been stored.

Eryn waited near the front, feeling very hopeful and also anxious about whether he would find it there. She hoped he would come out with it triumphantly in hand. It must be here! She couldn't think of anywhere else it could be! It must have fallen off while she was dancing or something, right? She had to find it.

But when the man returned, her hopes were dashed. "I'm sorry. Nothing like that has been turned in, miss." He told her apologetically.

Eryn's shoulders dropped a little. "Oh." She looked around at the floor and tables placed around the room, and motioned around. "What about-"

"I assure you, if it had been here after the dance concluded, the staff would have found it whilst cleaning up last night." He answered. "The entire room was swept very thoroughly, and anything which was left on the floor or tables has since been taken into the back room for safekeeping, where it is kept locked safely away until someone comes to claim such items. No necklace such as you described as in that collection." He gave her an apologetic shake of his head. "I am sorry to have to disappoint you, but it is possible that someone else may have picked it up. If that is the case, I'm afraid you may not be able to recover it."

Eryn felt her heart drop at those words. She bit her lip, nodding slowly as she tried to keep from looking as crushed by this news as she felt. "Right." She answered softly, reminding herself that it was her own fault for not noticing the moment the necklace left her neck. "Thank you for looking, anyway." She concluded, her voice more than a little crestfallen. She left the tavern feeling extremely disappointed, wondering how she was ever going to break that news to her father when he discovered that she had lost her mother's necklace.

The whole way down through the circles, to meet with her new friend from the masquerade, Eryn tried her best to put the matter out of her mind so that she could be properly cheerful and friendly to her young friend from out of town. Despite this terrible loss, Eryn was determined to still enjoy the evening of planned archery practice with her new friend, 'Forest Nymph' and Nymph's friend 'Swan'. She was rather looking forward to the chance to meet them without disguises, at least. So, by the time she neared the first circle, Eryn had successfully put the disappointment behind her for now, and went to stand near the gate to watch for 'Nymph' and the other girl...

(Continued here)

[Lantaelen]

@Arnyn

Lord Abrazimir “the Dauntless”
January, Minas Tirith, Gondor

All the space of the kitchen and home…and they were practically glued together. Their energy was magnetic. Abrazimir had never felt anything like it before. It did not shame him either that he was feeling such a bond with a woman so late in life. The War…had taken so much. And delayed so many things that should have been routine for a young man of the world. But true to his nickname, he was not shy or hesitant. There was lost time to make up for. He was ready to dive in, in more ways than one. As his Torniel – Jade - would already know.

That smile was so perfect and radiant upon her lips. He could see a future with her in those lips and eyes. Sure, some might baulk at her lacking certain social conditions but just look at her. She was fair and hard working and a survivor. She was a soldier, in her way, and that was a better match for a knight like Abrazimir than someone of equal rank.

”What harm can these answers do to me, hm?” He teased back, hand squeezing back against her own, rough against supple. He was agreeable with her about the arts. It could be something they could learn about together. It was the togetherness that should count. ”Work and duty has a way of drawing us from the things we ought to enjoy, but the absence only adds to the sweetness of the eventual indulgence, I believe.”

He then waved off her queries about the book. ”You would find it dry. And while it does wax plentiful about strategies, my original draw was the descriptions of these distant lands, in Rhun, or Harad, or Rhovanion. Lands I should like to see, a possibility seeming all the more brighter with this Peace.” He explained, his voice softening to almost a whisper as he shared this rather…childlike imagining and dream with her, so often buried. By Uinen what was happening to him?

Never mind. It was time to eat. He draped a towel over his hands to protect himself from the worst of the heat, as he grabbed the handles of the pot and lifted it off the fire and onto a readied pad upon the dining table. ”Join me, please.” He beckoned her, to her own table, as he held the ladle, and a bowl, and poured her the first scoop of the stew they had crafted together. His own followed. ”No strategies here, Torniel. Just gut instinct and a sharp tongue. You are not something to be conquered. Owning you is not the goal. Being with you is.” Abrazimir said, setting his bowl before him and his chair, across from her.

But he did not sit. Not yet. With a gentle smile, he gazed westwards. ”Do you partake of the Standing Silence?” He asked her softly, a custom observed by those of Númenorean descent, before meal times. ”Would you join me?” He offered his hand to her. A small indulgence, before the sweetness of the shared meal and company.

[Lantaelen]

@Rillewen

Lady Gaerlothriel Dimaethor
December 24th, Minas Tirith Streets, Gondor

Look at him. He looked so much more harmless when he smiled. Not so stand-offish or confrontational. Did it feel good to be kind to others, a feeling he must surely have been ignorant to, to be selfless? He was not going to like being wed to Gaer if that wasn’t something he inherently did. After all, Gaer paid for the ballet tickets out of her own pocket. All that saved up allowances and gifts over the year, the majority expended in one moment. A married couple had to pool their resources. They had vastly differing conceptions on how it should be used. Or handled.

She smiled herself when he did the right thing and refused any compensation. But now came time for the gift and she lowered his eyes, unable to properly conceal the intake of breath and hold as Togg pulled out a box. Would it be…the pelt of another animal he hunted? A skin? He knew how she felt about that. Would he do it again? So many worries and anxieties ran through her. What would her reaction be if it was? It needed to be controlled – again. It needed to be diplomatic, no matter what she really felt.

But in the end…it was just a box of chocolates. Gaer let out her breath and felt so relieved. Only sweets. She took it in her hands and put it before her, lifting the lid to have a peek. Different shapes, promising different styles. Rich. Soft. Hard. Creamy filling. Crunchy exterior. Each one would be unique. Togg was apologizing for missing the masquerade. She hadn’t heard the other tale yet. ”It’s accepted, Togg. You have it.” She said when she asked for forgiveness. She just couldn’t refuse that, it was just how she was raised. Forgiveness was the mark of a strong and mighty soul, her mother used to say. ”Thank you. This was very thoughtful.” She beamed up at him.

”Will you have one with me?” Gaer asked him, trying to bridge the vast gap of differences between herself and Togg. She knew their fate. She didn’t want to be with someone she was constantly at odds. She could fix him! She had to try. She was still naïve. She took off her gloves and opened the lid of the box, plucking one at random, and using her thumbs to break it apart. She offered half to Togg, then consumed the other herself. ”Mm, delicious.”

Now, he probably assumed, that she would take the box home and enjoy it by herself. But, like her money, Gaer was far too generous and charitable. She was going to share it…with the whole table! Besides Chewy of course. It was fatal for him, poor dog. So when she and Togg had one, while the other girls were still at the counter, Gaer took the box and stood, walking over to Gwestion. ”Would you like a chocolate, Sir?” She asked him, opening the lid to reveal the entirety of the selection to him, to pick one at his leisure, if he wished.

It wouldn’t be long after when the other girls started to return, having their own box of pastries. Pastries for everyone who wants one. Gaer didn’t even hesitate, standing while they sat, presenting the gifted box she got from Togg. ”Chocolate too, for everyone. Linny’s brother gifted it to me.” She smiled at them all. Not Toggornir. ‘Linny’s brother.’ And she set the box down next to the box of pastries that Eryn put down, so that everyone can share. If everyone took one, more than half the chocolate would be consumed. But such gifts were best enjoyed with friends, right? He wouldn’t mind…right?

Gaer sat down next to Linny, giving her friend a brief pat and squeeze on the arm, to nonverbally indicate…the gift had been harmless, thank the Valar! She sipped her hot chocolate and for a moment looked sympathetically upon Chewy. ”Is there anything Chewy can eat that won’t harm him here?” She inquired, knowing most of the fare here would be poor for the dog’s digestive system and health. He should get to partake too in the banqueting!

[Arnyn]

@Lantaelen

Torniel
January - Third Circle, Minas Tirith

Her eyes widened slightly when he shared his wish to travel to distant lands, such as Rhovanion, Harad and Rhun. So he truly was a navigator at heart, wishing to explore the unknown - and far beyond the lands he knew already. She could not deny that such talk spoke to her. For in Gondor, she was tied to the Hand, and he had tendrils in other lands as well, she knew. But in places like that... maybe... maybe she could be free of the Hand, as well.

Was such a thing even possible? It was very difficult to imagine as she stared into Abrazimir's grey eyes, momentarily entranced by all the possibilities that clung to the air all around them.

When he stepped away, her hands were briefly unsure of what to do. Slowly, they lowered, and she moved to bring whatever else they might need to eat to the table. Whatever was not already there. At his request to join him, please, her lips curled into a smile she felt all the way into her bones. She was about to take a seat when he asked her about something called the Standing Silence. Torniel paused to watch the man standing at the table she had selected, the man who had poured her bowl first, and his second. The man who had cooked with her.

"My uncle never has," she replied, slanting her head as her gaze lingered upon the knight. "With you, however, I would like to." She reached for his outstretched hand, fell silent, and followed his gaze westward. To where Numenor had bee, and to the Elvenhome that still was, and to the unfathomable beyond that would always be. Somehow, Dauntless' presence did not make it seem like the pointless thing the Hand had always claimed it to be.

[Rillewen]

@Lantaelen

| |
| |
Dulinneth, Eryn Raedor & Brooke
Gwestion, Chewy, & Togg
Dec 24, afternoon
2nd level, in a cafe

Togg was quite pleased, bordering on smug, when Gaer declared that he had her forgiveness. And at the way she obviously lit up upon seeing the chocolates. He'd told Linn that she'd like it. He continued to smile as she offered him one of the chocolates, broke it in half, and offered the half to him. "That is very generous of you, my lady, thank you. I will." He replied, happy to accept the half-piece of candy. This was going well! She was finally warming up to him. Good, he'd begun to think she would resist being his wife someday, and their betrothal was practically official by this point. They were going to be married someday. Probably in the very near future. Hopefully in the very, very near future.

When she suddenly offered a chocolate to the other guy as well, Togg had to swiftly stifle his desire to tell her not to do that. Why would she do that? She hardly even knew that guy. He wasn't her betrothed! And... it also wasn't fair! Togg only got half a chocolate, and this stranger got a whole one? While she was facing Gwestion, Togg shot a dark look toward him, which was swiftly gone by the time Gaer turned back toward him. Surely, he wouldn't dare take the candy? He wouldn't. He.. did! Togg's hand tightened into a fist under the table, watching as Gwestion accepted a chocolate.

The offer caught him by surprise. Gwestion had been looking out of the window, trying not to 'intrude' in the betrothed couple's matter, but when the young lady walked over and offered him one of her recently acquired chocolates, he turned away from the scene outside, and offered a faint, polite smile. He was about to turn it down, because it was hers and he did not want to intrude on her gift, when he caught sight of the glare that the other young man was sending him. Really? Was he actually jealous? Gwestion couldn't help feeling a little amusement at that. "Thank you, miss," He answered after swiftly taking a moment to decide. Yes, why not? Just to spite the jealousy flaring up at the other end of the table. He selected one that looked appealing, and gave a little nod of gratitude to her. "Very kind of you." There was no smug look sent toward Togg, nor any sort of 'what will you do now?' looks. He didn't even look at him at all.

As the box was set beside the pastries, and offered to the girls who had returned, Gwestion did feel a little better about accepting. Because that meant it was not just himself and her fiancé who had been offered the chocolates.

Togg, meanwhile, felt all the more irritated. He had obtained that box for her, not for everyone in the room to attack and devour! He sat back in his chair, careful not to look annoyed as she announced to everyone that they could have some. He put on a smile and tried to look like he was perfectly fine with this. But he wasn't.

"Oh, nice." Eryn commented, surprised by the generous offer to let them all have some of the chocolates. "Are you sure?" After hearing confirmation that it was really alright, she happily accepted one.

"Chocolates?" Linn looked at her brother. Why couldn't he have just told her that, then? He'd acted like it was some great big secret. She giggled at the ridiculousness of it. "Thanks, Gaer!" She happily chose one, knowing that if Gaer offered, she meant it.

When Gaer asked about a treat for Chewy, Eryn suddenly remembered, and popped back out of her seat. "Oh! I forgot." She hurried back to the counter to get the little cup of whipped cream that she'd asked for. "Indeed, he does get a treat!" She declared, offering the cup to Brooke. "Here you go, a special treat, for your canine friend."

Smiling faintly, Brooke placed it down on the floor for Chewy, watching for a moment as he began licking it up. "He seems to like it." She reported to the others. "Thank you, Eryn." She added, while trying to avoid letting her gaze fall upon Togg. For some reason she couldn't explain, he appeared a lot scarier now than when she had left the table earlier. As if he was angry about something, even though his expression didn't look angry, and no one else seemed to think he looked that way. But she felt sure that he was, even though she had no idea what he would be upset about. After hesitating briefly, she decided not to take one of the chocolates. Instead, she timidly reached for the box of pastries and claimed a little pie, with pecans and gooey caramel filling, something which she had been interested in after spotting it in the case. After sipping her hot chocolate, Brooke turned to Gwestion. "Gaer and Linn have invited me and Aislin to join them for something, tomorrow," She let him know, speaking quietly. "Would you be able to walk us down to meet them, or, if you can't, maybe Gladhron could?" She asked, hopefully.

Gwestion tilted his head, thinking. "I'm sure one of us can manage it," he assured her with a little nod. "We'll be sure to mention it to Seri, though, when we get back to the rooms."

"Good." She smiled slightly. "Thank you." She turned to Gaer with a little nod. "I think we'll be able to come. And I think Aislin will definitely want to, too." She added, feeling fairly sure that she could speak for her sister about that. She was all about exploring and meeting new friends, and seeing new things.

"Speaking of doing things," Gwestion mentioned, glancing out at the sky, trying to gauge the time. "I think you'll need to be getting back to the inn before long, so you can get ready for the dinner with Domanol's family." He told her quietly.

"Oh, right," Brooke had nearly forgotten that was tonight, with all the things that had happened since she and Gwestion had set out for the park earlier. She had mentioned it earlier though, to Gaer and the others.

"You'll still have time to finish your pastry and hot chocolate, though, right?" Linn asked, worried that they might have to rush off this very moment.

"Oh, of course," Brooke assured her, smiling slightly. "I'll finish them, but then I probably should be going, so I won't be late or anything." It was still a bit early, of course, but she had to change and everything. So, by the time she got to dinner, this small pastry would already be a memory.

"Ah, good." Linn relaxed and grabbed a pastry of her own, after finishing her piece of chocolate. "This whole day has been so much fun! I'm glad we met all of you," She declared happily, meaning Eryn, Brooke, Gwestion, and Chewy. "And I can't wait to meet your sister, tomorrow." She added to Brooke. She leaned a little closer and whispered so that Togg wouldn't hear, nor anyone except for Brooke, "Gaer's brother will be with us then, and he's a lot nicer than mine."

Brooke smiled softly, feeling rather relieved to hear that. She nodded slightly and then sipped her hot chocolate, without giving any comment that might reveal what Linn had said. She was definitely getting an uneasy feeling about Togg. She was actually starting to feel anxious to get away from the table, but she did want to finish her hot chocolate. The pastry was almost gone, at least, but she had about half a cup of chocolate left to drink.

"Tell 'Uncle Dom' I said hi," Eryn said, grinning.

Brooke nodded after taking a sip of her hot chocolate. "I will pass on the message." She promised, smiling slightly as she ate her last bite of pastry.

Gwestion quietly worked on finishing his own drink, and the pastry that he had claimed when the girls returned to the table. He kept out of the girl's conversation, however, but he couldn't help but listen. It sounded as if Brooke had made some friends, and he was glad for her, but it was clear to him, knowing her fairly well, that the guy at the other end of the table was making her uncomfortable for some reason. He planned to ask her about it later, but he wondered if she would tell him.

[Ercassie]

@Rillewen

Pharak Halsad and an unconscious Addhor Raxëlilta - FLASHBACK
With Ademar Androllius. An abandoned stable, the First Circle. 6 years ago
Continued from HERE

It did not at all deflate the Umbarian’s confidence to observe a young man of Gondor, so readily eager to come tripping along with him, without ever even caring to hear all of the details or even where they might be headed. If it had been this easy to convince the one, then it should be no hardship at all to convince another. Which is where of course his plan would take Pharak next. But first, his unexpected sidetrack. For the twin, Nâluthor, was even now celebrating at how ‘funny’ it was, that he had so often told things, designed to hurt a peer’s feelings.


“Of course, this city of yours will not arrest anyone for murder, if they do not find the body,” the Umbarian seemed to consider, aloud, as though he only now was recognising the flaw in their plot. “Even if ‘that’,” he flicked eyes toward an oblivious Addhor, still facedown on the stablefloor, “gave them a heartfelt confession .. your brother would tell them that he saw a strange burned man with the drunkard. And his “son”,” the liar’s tone implied the inverted commas. He failed to mention either, that the actual son might at this moment be anywhere, with any potential alibi .. which could lead to a point of conflicting accounts as well.

“They will never find what is left after I am done with your little ‘enemy’,” Pharak returned to the bait of his hook. Drawing the young man before him toward enticement rather than complications. After all, it was not their place to worry how the Dark Lord sorted out the small impediments and inconsistencies. It would be managed. They had only to put in the faith. Had he not himself been facing an almost certain and excruciating death ? And against all odds, the Great One had stepped in. Against all odds … he was standing here because in his most desperate moment, he had called out to his vainest hope and that hope had answered. As it had before. And every time since then. Had it not after all, been his hope and the barest strings of a plan which had led him here .. now .. to this young .. potential ?


“Let us leave them all to wonder, to worry,” the priest shrugged, recalling that young potential himself, still stood at hand. “They can kill themselves with worry and blame and guilt, this one knowing he might have protected his son …and instead ensured only the opposite. Perhaps you can ensure the father's silence on your little trouble, by some promise he will never see his son again, otherwise ...” The one seeing eye cast another heartless glance toward their only remaining, unconscious witness. The Gondorian was never going to see his son again, no matter what. Not after tonight. Pharak brought a hand down upon each shoulder of young Nâluthor.

“I think you will enjoy the performance I have in mind,” he smiled, in that unequal, uncertain way. It looked like no smile ought to look. But the sentiment was evident about the rest of the man’s ruined visage. “But it is a long trek to get to where it must occur. And I could want your assistance to keep our cargo .. entertained,” The pause, followed by the swift flash of teeth implied that it was not the cargo, but it’s keeper, who would likely be more entertained. The youth would earn his place. Or he would join the other. By the time that choice was presented to the young twin of course, the choice would be far easier to make. And the outcome was quite apparent already. Who could ever have foreseen .. that such a formidable .. unbelievable stroke of luck would have wandered into his path ? Only the Shadow. Only the faith.


“This night is yours to decide, and to make ready. If there is anything you wish to bring along, that will be .. useful.” He probably did not need to say any more plainly, for the youth to not bring along his twin. What, if anything, young Nâluthor might consider important in a situation like this would be telling though.

“First, our little delivery ..” the recall robbed the Umbarian’s focus for a short time from the promise within his grasp, to the means of seeing it come to his full potential. “I shall ensure the rest. And you need only make some reason that your people do not miss you. Then meet me at the sun's zenith tomorrow. At an address I shall give you, before we part ways, before the dark comes to be dawn.”


There were still details of course, to be counted, contemplated, countered maybe if necessary, But Pharak was all about the big song and dance number. Soon .. And as the advantages seemed to line up before him, the zealot was more convinced than ever .. that he could not fail. Everything was falling into place .. better than he ever could have hoped.

But first .. the delivery. Of a drunkard. And then the best performance of his life .. this week at least. Ambitious, perhaps. But the reward .. how could he not at least try ? For the Great Shadow, he would do .. anything. He had. And would again. In the morning he would depart this accursed city with an oblivious sacrifice skipping along beside him toward slaughter. And with something more besides ! If the twin was a liar, a test meant to humble the priest .. still, the youth did not know yet where they were going, or how, or even when. He did not even know the Umbarian’s name. He only knew he would have his revenge on a foe.

They both would.

[Ercassie]

@Rillewen

Thorledhos Darthor and Unalmis Raxëlilta
Fifth Circle Gate. Late night on 30th December.
Continued from THIS POST

Thorley was renowned for taking his job seriously but this night he was standing sentry with more focus than he could recall ever employing before. It was not because the Fifth Circle was like to be a dangerous locale. And the person that he was particularly looking out for was no hardened criminal. He was a friend. But as this evening had already proven, that made the Guard’s job more difficult, not less. He was expecting to see at least some of the persons of interest from earlier .. again. Many of them lived on this very Circle. He had not considered Domanol’s nephew though, not until Unalmis approached, on his way back from a dinner on the Second. Seeming weary and wary in equal measure, but for no dread reason besides recognising the sentry himself.

“You are not staying over at your father’s tonight then ?” Thorley deduced, and delivered the assumption almost as a relief. He shifted his spear to appear slightly less formal as well, more approachable. To make it easier than ever for the young man to continue on up to the Sixth Circle.

“I have kitchen duty in the morning,” the young man shrugged. There was no indication of distaste for the plan. Kitchen duty, stable duty, forge duty .. Nal did not mind any of them at all. It was Guard duty which he hated. Standing around and not even supposed to talk with any partner who was assigned to the same time and place .. Brown eyes considered the older man and maybe for the first time pitied him the frequent gate duty, rather than just begrudged to find him there.

“I see. Well. Best you get on then,” Thorley waved the Ranger on. And for the first time he could recall, Unalmis stalled. He was not being delayed ? Searched ? Reminded about certain forms, or certain fines, which he had yet to resolve ? He was actually being .. hastened on his way ?


“Are you feeling right ?” the youth enquired, stepping back some where he stood.

“Always,” Thorley assured him.

“Have you murdered your shift partner and want me to leave quickly before I can notice the bloodied stains on your boots ?” Unalmis watched the Guard’s eyes widen, fly down to inspect his boots in shock, and then narrow as they rose again, unimpressed.

“Do you require an escort ?” Thorley managed through almost gritted teeth.

“Stars, no,” Nal assured him right back, quick as he could speak the word. But as he repositioned the bag over his shoulder, the young Ranger glanced back, and could not help but wonder .. why the Guard wanted him gone all of a sudden. But then he had to wonder, why he was not taking full advantage of the situation. And duly hastened his pace until he could no longer be seen.


Thorley released his breath. His partner was doing a circuit scout and would be back soon. And the man was not sure if he was willing for the company or would rather face what he guessed was coming all alone. But Unalmis was certainly not the right sort of ‘company’ to get caught up in any of it now as well. Best he hasten back to the barracks, for if there did come a need to give Domanol as escort home … he would not have an audience.

---

Domanol Raxëlilta and Thorledhos Darthor
Fifth Circle Gate. Later that night / Early hours of 31st December.
Continued from THIS POST

The other Guard had returned, stood as sentry while Thorley took his scouting turn, and then gone out again on a new route, by the time that the next Raxëlilta approached the Fifth Circle Gate. And Thorley wearily braced himself for the arrival. Domanol’s pace would have earned him the sentry’s attention, even if Thorley had not been witness to the theatre ‘whatever that was’ earlier that evening. His old friend did not quite sprint up to the arch but it was clear that he may have started his trek at such a speed. He was missing the long black coat he’d had with him earlier, and hopefully the knife he had calmly surrendered also. Still, Dom’s dark hair framed a haggard face with the strain to be seen, more to do with emotion than age. Thorley still could not work out what might have happened earlier of the evening, but it did not look as though his friend was here for explanations. He was on a different sort of desperate mission. And the Guard had seen the like before.

Domanol staggered to a slow and then ceased his progress entirely, before the sentried gate. As footsteps echoed in his wake, he glanced back over his shoulder once, and found that Gwestion had not abandoned his pursuit yet. Which was not much of a surprise, since the Northerner was staying in a House on the Fifth Circle. This was his way home. Every time that Domanol had gained a headstart, the dogged chase of the younger man caught him up at the next gate. But this was the last one they would face together tonight.


“Dom” Thorley glanced over the lack of coat, the sheen of sweat and the clear indication that his friend was not all right with the world. Then he caught glimpse of the other man, close behind. The spear aided the Guard’s move into an obstacle. “Where are you heading ?”

“Seri” the other admitted, although it was unclear if this was a question or an answer. Either way, he earned a slow nod in response.

“She’s at the house, with the girls,” the message was conveyed, almost apprehensively. Because somehow he knew that wasn’t going to be an end to it. “And the dog,” he remembered, with an eyeroll.


Then it was Domanol’s turn to acknowledge the news. A great sigh escaped the more bedraggled looking man. And then he stepped forward, as did the Guard. They met in an impassable wall of measured obstinacy. “I must speak to her, now,” the slightly elder tried to press his need. And added, just in case it might be necessary to ward off objections. “You have no call to stop me.”

“It’s late,” Thorley mentioned though.

“It’s early, actually,” his friend countered.

“Too early to go waking her and .. whatever it is can wait until the morning. I’m sure,” Thorley at least sounded sure. But if it wasn’t the case then the other was going to have to explain.


“Gwes is heading in there anyway,” Dom reached, for an advantage he had not thought on until now. “Same house,” he looked for his friend’s understanding. “I won’t make any more noise than he must ..” Brown eyes caught the grey of the Guard, speaking volumes more than a stranger could ever have read in them. This was not just anger, this was not just panic. This was fear. “Please Thor,” Domanol dropped a hand onto each thigh and leaned in to almost a bend forward, accordingly. He did not pant, for he knew the other man would note he had not until then. Instead the dark head dropped, eyes closed, and then the haired face returned to plead with his unmoving ally. “I just need to tell her, .. to make sure she is alright. Look, I’m unarmed .. ”

“She’s probably asleep ..” the Guard pointed out, the voice of reason.

“I’ve woken her before,” Dom did not shy away from admitting, with a flair of confession which cared not for any insinuation that it might induce. “This is important.”

Thorley frowned, fought the want to announce he would have to search him. Instead looked for other evidence at hand on which to base his decision. “And what do you have to say about any of this ?” he asked the other man, Gwestion, curious actually to see the pair together now.

[Rillewen]

@Ercassie

Gwestion
Fifth Circle Gate. Early hours of 31st December
Trying to keep up with Domanol

Gwestion had thought himself to be fit. Running through the woods had never given him any trouble, not even when the woods sloped up or down. But this was rather different. Each level ascended a hundred feet, which meant he had a fairly steep street to run along, in his pursuit to keep up with his friend. He had been walking up and down the levels often enough since he had arrived, but running... was a different matter.

To his credit, Gwestion was not huffing and puffing as he reached each gate. But he also did not get much of a chance to pause between gates. He wasn't really sure whether it was even worthwhile to run after Dom, but he had come this far. He might as well stick with him, even if he ended up lagging behind. He caught up at each gate, only to have to rush on again the moment he was allowed through.

The northern ranger was growing quite weary. He'd already been tired even before this unexpected run up a three-hundred-foot, winding path. The fact that the older ranger was outrunning was a testament to the fact that Dom had grown up in this city, and obviously, he was far more accustomed to its streets. Either that, or his concern for loved ones was lending him the adrenaline needed. Possible both.

Gwestion was more jogging than running by the time the guard at the fifth gate stopped Domanol. Fortunately for Gwestion, it seemed that this one was not planning to let him through as easily as the others had done. Perhaps Gwestion might get a chance to catch his breath, at least, before going the rest of the way 'home'. Not that it was home, but it was where he and the others were calling home, during their stay.

He arrived, with a pain in his side, just in time to hear part of the conversation. Ahh, this was one of the guards who had come in response to Tercen's plea for help. He recognized him now that he was closer. Gwestion kept silent, just a bit behind and to the right of his friend, while the two talked. This gave him a chance to catch his breath a bit, thankfully.

When Dom brought him into it, by pointing out that he was staying at the house where Seri was also staying, Gwestion gave a nod of confirmation. "I am staying there, as a guest of Lady Azrubel." He confirmed. "I have not made other arrangements for sleeping." He supposed that if the guard refused to let him through, he could probably camp in the Pelennor or something, but he would prefer not to have to.

He went quiet again as Dom pleaded with 'Thor' to let him through, to tell Seri. Gwestion's gaze went to Domanol. He recalled that Arnyn had spoken to him, that she must have told him whatever he needed to know. And that she had been the one to insist upon his release. He considered these things while they argued briefly about whether Seri should be woken or not. While he wasn't entirely expecting the guard to ask him for his opinion, he did not need to take any extra time to think by the time that he was asked.

"Ms. Seri is a healer," He explained to the guard. "From the region of Bree. She is, as far as I am aware, the only healer within a few days' travel. She is very accustomed to being woken for medical emergencies of all sorts. While this is not one," He added, with a side glance at Dom, then looked back at Thorley. "I do not think she would mind overly much, being wakened by the man she loves." He paused, only long enough to take a breath. "But I would ask to have a brief word with my friend, before we pass through. If I may?"

[Ercassie]

@Rillewen

Domanol Raxëlilta and Thorledhos Darthor.
with Gwestion at the Fifth Circle Gate.
Early hours of 31st December.

The street was still, and dark, and (almost) silent. And by rights it should remain that way. Nothing that the pair of men had said, yet, had presented a real cause for him to stall them. Except that the Guardsman knew that ‘something’ had happened just hours ago at the theatre. He did not know what had come of that since, and so he could only assume what their minds were about now. The fact that the younger man, Gwestion, confirmed what Domanol had spoken, ought to have relieved him. But Thorley still took his wary glance from one to the other of them, and appraised both in silence. There had been twice their number escorted down to the Guard Headquarters. Only half that had returned so far. Why then the urgency ? Was this some race ?

“If it were just you, returning to your bed,” he assured the Northerner, “I would be less inclined to hinder your seeking out rest.” The Guardsman did not miss how his old friend released a breath through his teeth, impatient, upon hearing that. And it did nothing to change his current opinion. “Although there could be an argument made,” he pondered aloud then. “That the lady and her young charges have not yet turned in an account of how they believe the evening’s dramatics unfolded. You might be hastening to ensure they support the story you have given. I am assuming that you did in fact get permission to leave the interviews ..”


His friend cursed, unrestrainedly and in a tongue Thorley was glad he could not translate. For there was no doubt as to the meaning behind the frustration. “Really ?!” Dom rounded as he half-whirled on the spot to spill some of his feeling .. out …

“It might be better if the pair of you take a word on your way back down to the Second,” the Guard put to Gwestion then, calmly choosing to ignore the other’s restlessness. “Your nephew has retired to his Barracks, so your brother is alone and would forgive your intrusion to lodge there, I believe, just as readily as would the healer.” Thorley saw the ex-Guard’s eyes turn up, although the rest of his face remained where it was.


“They let us leave Headquarters, so clearly your superiors do not have any jot against our seeking out the remainder of our party.” The matter was thrown out with an almost triumphant air, as the one knew exactly how well the other did not take well to any sort of rebellion. “Are you not going to let us pass, and be rid of us, friend, or must I yell why you ought, all down the street until I’ve woken every window on the Fifth ?!” Domanol proposed, threatened ?

Thorley squared his stance with the strength of his polearm to support him. The very last thing that he wanted was a mess, a ‘scene’. And the other man knew it well enough. But where would the lesser evil fall here ? Letting the men liaise with what could turn out to be their alibi ? Or insisting that they take themselves, no doubt with great protest and pandemonium, back down the three circles they had just ascended ? Neither option was without it’s alarm bells. At least, if they had not departed from the interviews with due permission, there could be no question where they were heading. No difficulty in knowing where to come retrieve them … But where did it all end ? If this pair were about the Fifth, then should the other two return this way also this night .. it might lead to further confrontations even as the night diminished so soon dawn would light their stage ! Would it be safe to assume that the strange woman and her beau might not come this far any time soon ?


“If you return to the House where the women are sleeping,” the Guardsman spoke directly to Gwestion, as he seemed the most likely of the two others to take stock of what he said. “It may be entered in the reporting of this night’s debacle, that you both had the means to speak with them, before they gave their official accounting of it all,” there was a warning in there of his own, now. Though Thorley was insinuating the great power of the law alone. It had implications. Everything did. “If either of you is harbouring hopes of altering their understanding of what occurred, then you do so at the risk of their being arrested for perjury, if their testimony is later proved false. I could not allow you to proceed with your intention, without making sure you are aware of that fact.”

Domanol made a rude noise at the very thought that they would endanger the girls. His whole entire missive here was to have them safeguarded ! But Thorley did not move at the belligerent emission. His eyes never left a weighted observation of the younger man. The one whom Thorley was less experienced with, and thus less able to gauge what to expect from him.


“By all means, have your word,” the Guardsman decided, indicating for the two to take some small step away from him. On the side of the Gate they yet held, so without winning any progress through. “Though if it be some ploy to conspire how best you both might make past me, you ought know that I am not alone in patrolling this circle, this gate, this night.” He added, just in case.

“I think we’re in,” Dom confided in Gwestion’s ear., as they moved toward an assumed privacy, of sorts. “Is your thinking truly something that can not wait ?” he wanted to know, though. The last thing he wanted was to hash out more debates on it all here, now .. “I did not speak your little secret, if that’s what you’re concerned about,” Dom added, in the other's native tongue. Or his best try at a rendition of it. Brown eyes flashed a check on whether the Guard stood close by might be lending them undue attention. And then a hand seized Gwestion at the crook of his elbow, and turned him so that more of their backs were shielded toward Thorley.

A loud “Ahem !” from the sentry let them know that even if he could not hear them, he was not prepared to wait about all night.

[Lantaelen]

@Rillewen

Lady Gaerlothriel Dimaethor
December 24th, Minas Tirith Streets, Gondor

Everyone was taking a chocolate! Did Toggornir not see, how graciously and courteously everyone was appreciating his gift? Could he not find joy in that? Had Gaer deigned to glance at him, she might have seen the pouty irritation on his face. She would not have understood it. There was no way Gaer would have hogged the chocolates to herself. A gift like that was made to be shared. The appreciation ought to be known by more. In that way, had Toggornir not in fact gifted joy to everyone at the table? Was that not more honourable, more virtuous?

Are you sure? Eryn had to ask. Gaer nodded at her. Dulinneth took one as well and soon not even Chewy was left out as he got a little bowl of cream to devour. Brooke did not take a chocolate but perhaps she was already sated with the pastries. Honestly, it was all too much but that seemed to be the standard of expectations for Minas Tirith. So many wondrous things, all at once!

Brooke talked Gwestion and garnered permission for herself and Aislin to attend the ballet tomorrow with them. ”Wonderful! That makes six of us.” Gaer said with glee, doing a mental checklist of everyone confirmed to attend. Herself, Linny, Wisteria, Eryn, and now Brooke and Aislin. They had a box for up to ten people but a half dozen was no insignificant amount either. It was going to be a lovely party to remember for ages. She really did feel like she was living in a fairy tale or something. Five years ago, the world felt so constricted and dark. Now it was full of endless possibility.

Brooke had to depart soon, as stated earlier, but they could stick around to conclude their snacks and drinks. She smiled at that and lifted her hot chocolate in a playful, silent toast to the acquiescence. Gaer glanced at Toggornir and saw that he was…brooding. Over what? Why? His gift was amazing and loved by all. Was that not enough for his insatiable ego? Nothing seemed like it would appease that silly boy. Gaer was starting to feel like the whole pursuit was pointless. It exhausted her.

The day was coming to an end though and the others had to depart. ”Every day of this trip seems to get better than the last. Thank you so much for the memories.” Gaer also thanked Eryn, Brooke, Gwestion, and Chewy, as Linny did. She was looking forward to meeting Aislin as well. Gaer turned to Chewy and gave him some pets. ”And you, do not forget to continue being the best, good boy, you.” She playfully teased the dog, speaking sindarin in a singsong voice.

For the final few moments, Gaer turned attention back to the box that Toggornir had gifted the chocolates in. It was a nice, intricate looking box and would be a shame to use it only one time for chocolates. It could have so many other uses! ”The box is quite lovely too.” Gaer pointed out to Linny and the others as they finished up their snack and drink. ”After, I might use it for trinkets or odds and ends.” She mused over the possibilities. So many practical uses for it. ”Any suggestions? Maybe all the letters we write to each other, I’ll keep in there ever afterwards. In memory of the day we all met!”

But when it was time for Brooke to depart, Gaer got up to give her a friendly embrace. ”It was a pleasure to meet you. See you soon, tomorrow, at the Ballet!” She said in farewell. To Gwestion, she gave a proper curtsey as befitting a noblewoman. ”Thank you for your kindness and patience, Sir.” She stated to him. And finally for Chewy, Gaer crouched down to rub his face on both sides with her hands, massaging him tenderly. ”May you find a bone in every hole you dig.” She teased in the usual playful tone.

Soon it would just be Gaer, Linny, Eryn…and Toggornir. ”Shall we depart as well?” Both her and Eryn had their homes outside the City Walls, so they would have to be escorted down first. Then Linny and Toggornir could return to the upper levels where their family was residing. ”I know this is totally out of character for me, but I actually want to go home and get in bed early to be fully rested and ready for tomorrow!” Gaer joked at herself. She was getting old, being all responsible and accountable and stuff. The big City really changed one!

[Lantaelen]

@Arnyn

Lord Abrazimir “the Dauntless”
January, Minas Tirith, Gondor

He smiled so broadly when Torniel agreed to participate in the Standing Silence with him. Holding hands, he drew her to his side, shoulder to shoulder, and together they started westwards, to the walls, to Mount Mindolluin, and the Ered Nimrais, and all the way across the Belegaer, in spirit if not truly seeing with their eyes. Abrazimir recited the old words, in Sindarin. ”We look towards Númenor that was, and beyond to Elvenhome that is, and to that which is beyond Elvenhome and will ever be.”

And before he finished the words, he turned to her, looking deep into Torniel’s eyes, and raised their conjoined hands, hers upon his, and kissed the back of it. He gave a silent nod and indicated they could sit again, like a gentleman, helping Torniel into hers before he took his own. Now, let’s eat!

”Age before beauty. Let’s see how well my attempt was.” he joked, implying perhaps his cooking might not be the best, but he would be the scapegoat to go first, lifting a spoonful to his lips, blowing on it softly, never breaking eye contact, before he attempted a swallow. It was passable. ”Not my first dance routine with the ladle and pot. As a young boy, a squire, sometimes it was my duty to prepare the evening meal for the other soldiers. Standards weren’t very…high.” His eyes flashed with amusement. ”So, apologies.” He laughed a little self-deprecatory.

By that which was beyond Elvenhome indeed…he hoped she liked it. Or found it tolerable. He nodded his head in a most solemn manner. ”I think we’ll survive.” He said, reaching for the cups now, putting them before her and himself, lifting the flagon to pour them a cup of wine each. ”How would you normally fill your evenings Torniel, were I not around to entertain?” He inquired casually as they ate.

[Rillewen]

@Ercassie

Ademar Androllius, FLASHBACK – 6 years ago
Minas Tirith, a stable on the First Circle

Mar's joy at the thought of witnessing the end of 'Analmess' was dampened slightly by the realization that it meant his father would not be arrested for murder. He considered that for a moment while looking at the lump of uselessness, lying on the stable floor. He was right. Ric would dutifully tell what he had seen. Mar refrained from rolling his eyes at the notion, and held back a sigh. So, what then? They couldn't kill the drunk, and they couldn't stage a murder of his family, either? But the promise that "They will never find what is left after I am done with your little ‘enemy’,” sounded far too appealing to not let it happen. He wanted that to happen. He wondered how, why, in all these years, he had never actually considered that he could make such a thing happen.

Leave them to wonder, that sounded good. They would be so focused on wondering where Nal was, that maybe the drunk would forget all about seeing two of the same person. Maybe he was already too drunk to even remember it, anyway. The suggestion that followed was interesting, about ensuring the drunken father's silence. He would consider that. But he wanted to be sure it would not cause any problems, if he did.

As his newfound 'partner' declared that he would enjoy the 'performance' in mind, Mar returned the smile, listening to the part he would be playing. "Entertained," He couldn't help a little grin at that. He had plenty of ways to 'entertain' the young man who would be the cargo. He had done so on plenty of occasions. Only this time, it would be far more enjoyable, surely.

He was somewhat surprised to hear that he would have the night to decide. He didn't need that long, did he? He'd already stated that he wanted to see the end of his long-time enemy. But he nodded. He did need to think about whether to make himself involved in things on this end. Listening carefully to the instructions that followed, Mar nodded, mentally noting the time when the man wished to meet with him. As for ensuring that his people didn't miss him... well, Mar decided not to mention that no one would miss him at all. Not his brother, nor their parents, nor anyone else. No one knew he was in this town, and in fact, his brother had no idea where he was at this time. "That can be arranged, I'm sure." He answered thoughtfully.

As for what he would like to bring, which would be useful? He had no idea where they would even be going. So that made it difficult to 'pack', didn't it? But that was irrelevant anyway. He didn't have much, these days. He'd left practically all of his childhood belongings behind when the brothers went off to join the guard in Pelargir. And most of his clothing had been unnecessary, there, as they had to wear a uniform. After recently resigning his position there, he had barely anything to call his own, anyway. He certainly wouldn't be dropping by his parent's house to pick up any of his old things, and in fact, he doubted they even kept any of them.

"Sounds reasonable enough." He answered, nodding. "Shall we proceed, then?" He inquired, with a nod toward the unconscious lump. He had agreed to show the way to Raxelilta residence, after all, and he might as well carry the invalid as far as the door. His new partner certainly didn't appear to have the ability to do it on his own, and he didn't want anything to hinder the plan to see 'Analmess' meet his end.

---

@Ercassie

Gwestion
Fifth Circle Gate. Early hours of 31st December
with Domanol

Hearing all that the guard had to say about the matter brought a small frown to Gwestion's face. He pondered this, trying to imagine all of the factors. For one thing, he couldn't even imagine what Seri, Brooke, or Aislin could possibly contribute to the guard's investigation. Nor what difference it would make to their testimony, whether they were told by either himself, or Domanol, what had occurred. Then again, he could also see the guard's side, in a way. He understood that they would rather the witnesses not be 'tainted' with whatever he and Domanol might tell them. And, on still another side of the same coin, he felt an... almost defensive desire to inform the guard that none of the three ladies would tell anything untrue. He mentally pushed that desire away, reminding himself that it was not the guard's intention to insult them, nor to imply that they might lie. Only to warn he and Dom that it could give someone else the ability to claim that they had.

There was one thing he could clear up, however. "Lieutenant Dealedwen gave the order for Domanol to be released, with no charges filed against him." He informed Thorley quietly. "And as for myself, I was released some time ago, and I have only been waiting for his release." He gave a nod to Dom to indicate whom he meant.

Fortunately, the guard seemed willing to let them take a moment to speak, and Gwestion was glad for that. But the warning, as if he thought they might actually try to attack him, was.. almost offensive. Gwestion tried not to take it personally, and merely gave a small nod in answer. "I assure you, neither of us has anything of the sort in mind." He promised calmly, before letting Dom pull him aside for the talk that Gwestion had asked for.

As Domanol fell into Rohirric, Gwestion took note, and assumed that the guard must know Sindarin, which would have been an easier language for Domanol to use. Keeping in mind that Domanol was not fluent in the language of Gwestion's mother's people, the younger ranger tried to make sure that his words were clear and simple enough for him to follow, and that he did not speak too fast. "I was only going to remind you, that if you plan to tell her anything, maybe you should avoid certain details, if possible? She will worry, you know." He paused, deciding not to add that they were also not supposed to tell anyone certain things. "But now, I will also add; perhaps your guard friend is right? I don't know what they expect the ladies to tell, but it could complicate the whole matter if we speak with them first." He frowned. "If you think they are in danger, perhaps you might have him check on them?" He suggested. "That will ease your mind, won't it? While not having us 'contaminate their testimony'. Then everyone is satisfied. Right?" He paused, unsure how the man might take that suggestion. He recalled Arnyn's caution. 'Tread carefully with him'. He just hoped he'd understood all of what Gwestion had said, as he had used Rohirric for it all.

[Ercassie]

@Rillewen

Domanol Raxëlilta and Thorledhos Darthor.
with Gwestion at the Fifth Circle Gate.
Early hours of 31st December.

Gwestion may have been ‘assured’ that neither of the two men would dare to try and rush the Guard, to make through the gate. But Thorley was suspicious that at least one of them had just such a wild notion festering about ‘in mind’. And that same one of the two offered him up no such promise either to behave. Still, he had said that they could converse. So, privately wishing the young man better luck than he had seemed to have personally managed, in calming their mutual friend, he stood at hand and waited. A small sigh escaped him when the two dropped into a tongue which was foreign to him. Rohirric, he would wager, at a guess from the sound of it. The language had been an elective option for any student in school who was coping well enough with Sindarin. But few bothered to take on the extra work. And for his own sake, Thorley had elected to learn ancient Adunaic as his ‘extra’ class instead. Whether that might now prove less helpful of course, was irrelevant. His much younger self had cared only to learn about their peoples’ past. Rather than consider which tongue might prove more useful to him in the far future.

It went without saying that Domanol had purposely decided to speak to the Northerner in what he could manage of the Rohirric language, because he knewvery well of Thorley’s proficiency with both the Common and Elvish tongues. So he managed to not openly take offence when he recognised how ‘carefully’ the Northerner was speaking to him as a consequence. A language barrier was possibly not the only reason the younger man was being wary of his words, but it was the one he chose to assume. Rather than lose his temper again.


“She will already be worrying,” he put back, immediately, to his confidante. “And not knowing is worse. But the only detail that I am adamant for her to be aware of is to not go anywhere alone with Ava, nor trust her, nor allow for the girls to do so,” he explained, realising even as he did so that this probably would not make Gwes happy. “If you can think of any way for me to do that without dropping in why exactly, by all means, let me know.”

He held off from remarking that Gwes and company were the ones who had gotten them into this, in the first place. He chose a less aggressive approach, though no less potent. “You came South on a vow to keep Seri, .. to keep all of them .. safe,” he reminded the younger man. “But people like this Ava have come into this city before now, have taken those I care for .. in some guise, for vengeance. For their schemes. You know there is a history there,” he recalled what Gwestion had probably tried to forget, before now. When the elder Ranger’s fears in Lond Daer had taken their plan a ways off course.


“Some children were recently almost abducted in Belfalas, by a similar ruse, led off by someone they had no known reason they ought not trust. Another, here in the Pelennor itself, narrowly escaped, at around the same time. Friends of the family, all. It just keeps happening ! And you would not believe the extents, the lies, that these people will employ, to be believed ! If I had thought you might encounter one of their like, I would have warned you,” he squeezed the other man’s forearm slightly. “But I didn’t even know you all were coming here until you already had arrived. And I had no idea you were socialising with that … ” A weary shake of the man’s head was better than finishing that particular sentence.

“You are usually so careful, Gwes. Can you really not comprehend me on this ? I am simply erring on the side of caution. But the only way to have him,” a jerk of the man’s head indicated the Guard, who was trying very hard to look like he was not listening, “truly see Seri safe, is to tell him what that woman might be, so that he can warn them. But if he knows, and they know, then your secret is further shared. Which you don’t want. But while I don’t want to believe that you, or the .. any of you, are wrong about Ava, it is my family at risk here if they remain unprepared, not yours. Your brother already knows all about it. So tell me, what would you do ? In my place ?”


Thorley cast his eyes in a steady glance down the street as though his ears were not fixed on what he could comprehend from what the muttered whisperings. Their conversation .. a mystery. But there are certain words the same in any language. Names, for example. The Guard knew that his friend had mentioned Seri and Ava, several times already.


“The only reason why Thorley is barking on about testimony and witnesses,” Domanol sighed as he admitted to Gwes, “is because he does not have a clue what is really going on here. He … ” the elder man paused suddenly mid-sentence then and raised an index finger to imply he’d had a thought. “Thor” he turned and summoned the Guardsman, before asking him, in the Common tongue they all could comprehend; “If we ought not speak or in any other way get a message to Seri and the girls, in case it colours their testimony,,” he recollected. “That would mean you can not allow either of the other members of our party to do likewise, am I right ?”

The Gate Guard took a moment to catch up, and considered his friend’s enquiry. After a moment he nodded, albeit warily still. Unsure quite where this line of thought might take them. “Nobody who was amongst your group at the theatre and has already given their account, ought to be allowed opportunity to speak with, or else alter the opinion of those who have not given theirs yet,” he made clear, slowly, as though quoting some rule book which he doubtless would know off by heart. It was more than that though. More than one Guard investigation had devolved into quite a mess because of the testimonies of multiple associating parties compromising facts.


Domanol though gave an almost triumphant glance back toward Gwestion. “So, if we two retire to my brothers for lodgings tonight,” he began a negotiation. “And if anyone else who was taken in already to be questioned about what happened is also released from the Guard’s headquarters tonight,” he moved toward his point, giving time for the other two to catch on before he delivered his resolution. “It is technically your job to keep them away from Seri and the girls until after said womenfolk have given their accounts as well. You can not allow that woman or her love-slave or the Lieutenant to see, or speak with them at all. They can’t go near them. Nor Gladhron,” he added, at the last, although he doubted that one would really prove necessary.

“That would .. seem correct,” the Guard agreed, almost against his better judgement. But he could not see a problem with the proposal. The only reason he was not more sure was due to the Lieutenant. Quite where hierachy might play it's piece there, was unclear.

“Then I think we can rest easy on the understanding,” Dom ascertained the instruction. “That if or when any others of our little group come back to or through the Fifth Circle, before the last testimonies have been handed in, you can not allow them to come anywhere near Seri and the girls. You could, I don’t know, see that they return to their homes, patrol outside Lady A’s house all night if you have to. And you will escort the witnesses yourself to the Guard Headquarters tomorrow to be certain that they remain ‘unapproached’. Yes ?” A more concerned but still compliant nod came from the city official. And a brighter grin spread like a relief over Domanol’s jaw. “Well, alright then,” he exclaimed, abruptly. “I am trusting you,” he put in one final, and deeper toned, admission to his old friend. “I can tell you only that lives literally depend upon you performing this duty, Thor”


“It’s my job” the Guard reminded him, with a sigh at having to do so, rather than any opinion on his job. Which he did enjoy, as long as it kept things all in order.

“Then I shall be at the Guard Headquarters tomorrow to collect the girls, as soon as they have handed in their accounts,” Domanol assured them both. Quite what he could tell them at that point, without ruining the stupid 'secret' would be down to what Gwestion convinced him by that point. He had time. He was giving his friend time. On top of the trust which had seen him hold the dangerous truth thus far .. trusting that the Lieutenant had been made well aware of how important it was to actually safeguard her new friend. “You do not require to send word of when they're done. If we are to Add’s tonight, it is just down the street and so I can keep an eye out easily tomorrow, without ever making contact with them too early,” It sounded like he had it all worked out. “My brother won’t mind putting you up too for the night,” the man then assured Gwestion.


With a merry wave, he started off without any more delay, back down the way they had just come. With none of the urgency save for one hesitant glance back over a shoulder. Trusting Thorley to do his duty ‘by the book’ was a fair assurance, Dom knew. And Isys was in that house with the girls, if it did come to any serious attack. The Belfalasian would not need to know any details if anyone unknown to her came sneaking into her abode in the dead of the night. She would safeguard her guests. It was a shame he could not have gotten a message at least to the lady, but that would put Thorley’s hackles back up. And it was important to be seen as wholly complying. However much the nag had already begun for him to leave Gwes at his brother's and then sneak back out tonight. It wouldn't be interfering if he just kept an eye out. He had recently come to know the rooftops of certain circles very well indeed ...

Yes, he could relax .. some. Not fully, but a little. Though there would be little sleep for him this night now. Even if Gwestion did not begin to question now whether Domanol had a far better grasp of the Rohirric language than he had thus far let on to the Brothers from the North.

[Ercassie]

@Rillewen

Pharak Halsad and an unconscious Addhor Raxëlilta - FLASHBACK
With Ademar Androllius. An abandoned stable, the First Circle. 6 years ago

The night had been ruled by darkness, and the power of the Shadow had been proven, time and time again. As the young find debated the proposed deal, Pharak took a glimpse out through the stable door to ascertain their path forward was clear.

‘That can be arranged,’ his new friend decided, somewhere behind him. ‘Sounds reasonable enough’.


The Umbarian twisted what he had left in the way of facial features, in some fell satisfaction. As hopes he had never even realised he harboured .. came into their own. It seemed that he was not alone in this experience. But to observe the Gondorian favouring Pharak’s end goal over his own. To hear the lad agree to come where he knew what, and do he could only imagine what .. This youth was a gift. And much had been laid in the mind of Nâluthor already to help the twin uncover his own potential. It did not seem that this was a soul who would need much incentive beyond their mutual ambition. To have those who deserved to pay, be punished.

But first they had to get there. “We shall have plenty opportunities to discuss your options going forward, in relation to this matter, and more,” he assured the twin, and as Ademar prepared to make their next move, the Umbarian turned back from surveying the street. “The night is ours,” he agreed. “Take care you are not observed,” he added, as the pair began to ready their hapless burden and set out once more. Somehow a paternal aspect had entered his thinking with the youth.


It transpired that the drunkard’s home was not too far and though Pharak had initially contemplated a try at extinguishing the oil street lamps, there was nothing in the way of tools or ladders at hand which would see this act easily accomplished. Moreover, they could easily explain the taking of a compromised man to his home. But the theft of illumination would be harder to explain. Already one patrolling city guard had proven their presence.

The door that his new friend took them to was no different to any other on the street, dark and drab and utterly observed except for those who staggered on the step with an unbalanced load. It took then but a moment to locate a house key in an unguarded pocket. “On the morrow then,” the Umbarian bade the young Gondorian, because ‘thank you’ was not a term frequented by his folk. He did dismiss the notion of a threat at this late stage however, which suggested more of a generosity in nature than the mere absence might seem. For him. And then he shared the address where his new young accomplice could find him the following day.


The door was opened. The deed set into motion. And the beginnings of an end were at hand.

---

**The following portion of this post has been edited out of a double post in this thread, and placed here instead, for the sake of chronological sequence.

---

An unexpected Visitor – FLASHBACK
Raxelilta home in Minas Tirith, 6 years ago.
In the very early hours of the following morning

Fear and screaming nerves threatened to usurp control of both Odessa’s legs. If she but caressed her limbs she might appease the tremors that ran through her. But she did not dare to move. Breathing was a risk enough and every given moment she expected to be discovered. So a silent, grimacing gargoyle she remained, crouched in terror at the top of her stairs. She might have done better to return to bed, but as much as she could not bring herself to move down the stairs and save her son, neither could she make herself retreat further from where she might bear witness to his fate.


The door to his bed chamber was cast open beside her, bellowing as a silent reminder that he should be laid therein. But it was scarce these days for Addhor to manage the heights. His wooden prop could not propel him to his room of rest and she had lost count of the mornings she would descend to the kitchen and find him sprawled out across the floor there instead. That was why her immediate reaction to noting his prone form at the bottom of the staircase tonight was not a case of “Seven stars ! He’s dead !” It was, by contrast, almost a relief to note that he had hauled himself home at the least, after yet another long night of drinking with his only remaining friends, self-pity and despair.

But then he had stirred. And as she prepared to meet his rheumy eyes and bid him a good night, instead his mother had stiffened. For the movement was not that of a man striving to sit up, nor to scratch some irksome itch. He slid further from view across the floor, as though something dragged him by his one remaining foot. His tawny brown eyes remained closed. His arms draped uselessly on either side of his sallow face. He was not yet wakened. He could not be moving of his own accord. Someone or something was hauling Addhor in quite unnatural a motion clear across the floor below !


A hand dropped upon Odessa’s shoulder, and a gasp escaped the woman’s lips before she could think to arrest it. Shaking, she clasped one hand fast across her mouth, and clutched at her grandson’s ankle with the other. Tugging wordlessly until Unalmis stooped down, his bewildered face meeting her fear. She tried not to frighten him, nor cause him to do anything which might now herald the attention of whatever was downstairs.

“City Guard !” she mouthed, sensibly, in his direction and could only hope that in the relative gloom of the darkened house that he could make her out. “Go out through the bedroom window,” she directed him frantically. “Somebody’s downstairs. Get help !”


There was a brief period where the cloudy interpretation fell into place in her grandson’s mind. Mostly because his grandmother spent most of her time telling him to stop climbing out through the bedroom window. So, noting the extreme shift in circumstances, the young man set his jaw hard. Then he shook his head determinedly and made motion toward descending the stairs. Odessa clawed his leg in protest, fearing to cry out. Unalmis hesitated. If there was something downstairs then it was probably just his father come home drunk again, and grandmother was over-reacting, because it was dark. Because she was old. He took one step, and then caught a glimpse of his prone father’s hands bump across the rug and disappear from view.

And just when the young man of Gondor believed he might indeed submit to paranoia and his grandmother’s suggestion, Odessa herself hammered with trembling hands upon his foot. There stood a dark silhouette, clearly indicative of a standing, two-legged man, casting forth distorted shadow of some mighty bearing wide across the hall below. The shadow shifted. The spectators at the top of the staircase noted the tall bearing of their unexpected guest, slightly stooping as he crossed back over to beyond their sights at this angle. And the door sounded to a close.


“Someone from the Guesthouse must have brought him home” Odessa supposed, unintentionally aloud. Not quite ready to embrace relief yet, she almost tumbled down on swift bare feet to find the answer before ever her grandson could speak doubt. An escort home had never been needed before now. Which was not to say it was beyond all possibility. It was after all, the anniversary …. In any case the panicked parent moved as though she were years younger, as though the last twenty years or so had not happened. She strove with both a desperation and abhorrent fear to realise her own emotions. And more.

For the man whom she had assumed had just left, his errand managed, was in fact still here. The stranger was sat on a chair in her lounge, as though he never had done such a thing as sit before. And as she caught sight of his unusual face, a gasp escaped her as her heart filled her mouth. Their unexpected guest glanced up from scrutinising the state of her eldest son laid on the floor, just as Unalmis came to a rather undignified stop behind her, having grabbed at the first weapon to come to hand, during his own descent. He brandished the broom with embarrassment.


“You are his family.” Pharak considered them each in turn, and curled the twists of his thin lips in amusement. He was definitely come to the right place. “We should talk.”

[Rillewen]

@Ercassie

Ademar Androllius, FLASHBACK – 6 years ago
Minas Tirith, a stable on the First Circle

"Take care you are not observed,”

As if Mar needed that reminder. After all, his whole trouble tonight had begun with him being a bit too careless about being seen. He wasn't planning to make that mistake again. But a part of him was pleased to note the man, to whom he was now an accomplice, having concern about whether he was seen or not. That was.. different.

Anyway, it seemed they were ready to move on, now. Mar grabbed the drunken invalid and dragged him upright, and they resumed their journey. Fortunately, they didn't have very far left to go. At the Raxelilta doorstep, the drunk was deposited carefully, so not to make undue noise. More out of amusement than anything, Mar kicked at the stump of leg, which was nearest to him, while his new friend was searching pockets for a key. "Until tomorrow," The young man nodded his agreement. The address of where they were to meet was shared and memorized, and Mar slipped off into the darkness.

But he did not go far. He cast a quick glance up toward the neighboring house, to assure himself that no observers were perched in the windowsill, then he found his way into the shadows between two houses across the street, where he could observe from a distance and hopefully witness some sort of entertainment.

While he waited, Mar also took the time to think about this evening's encounter, and the possibilities offered to him. He knew that everyone would surely tell him that this burned-face man was bad news, that he should stay away from him, blah blah blah. But in the short time he had known this nameless fellow, he had felt far more of a connection to him than he'd ever felt to anyone else. Even his brother. Until today, Mar had thought that was the best he'd ever have to a real connection with anyone else. And Ric didn't even really know Mar. He knew what Mar let him know, and that was all.

As for this opportunity, the invitation to come and witness the end of Unalmis... of course Mar realized that wherever he had been invited to go, was not going to be the sort of places any law-minded person would ever go, unless it was to put a stop to the things being done there. In fact, if he was like Ric, he would run immediately to tell the guards what was being planned, and tell them the address of where he's supposed to meet this fellow, so they could put a stop to it all.

But while the twins may look identical, Mar was not at all like his twin. He was very curious to find out what sort of things this man had in mind for Unalmis. He wanted to be given the chance to help make his former classmate suffer. And while it did occur to Mar that he, himself, could be going into some sort of danger for himself, he quickly dismissed it, feeling like he could probably handle most situations. He would rather take the risk and satisfy his curiosity and desire to be involved in this, rather than play it 'safe' and miss out. So, there was no way he wouldn't be showing up at that place in Harlond, just before dawn.

Once he was satisfied that there was nothing exciting to see, Mar set off into the Pelennor, deciding he could spend the night at one of the inns there in Harlond, so he'd be close enough to get there quickly. He definitely didn't want to be late for this!

---

@Ercassie

Gwestion
Fifth Circle Gate. Early hours of 31st December
with Domanol

Dom's concern was valid, of course, and Gwestion nodded his understanding. He would also not want for any of the three to go socializing with the woman of Umbar, however friendly and nice she may seem. He rather doubted that they would, since they didn't know her, but then... one never knew. He also recalled that just days ago, Brooke had spent quite a while socializing with three other girls she didn't really know. At least he knew that one of them was acquainted, and even considered like family, to Domanol. And that Arnyn knew her and had even recommended that Brooke seek her out. So that wasn't exactly the same... but it was something to think about.

Before Gwestion had a chance to even offer any ideas he may have had, concerning how to caution the ladies about this, Dom reminded him of his original 'mission' in venturing here. Gwestion's gaze focused on the cobblestones for a moment while his friend explained about how people from Umbar had infiltrated this city before now. And that they might still be doing so. He gave a small nod to confirm that he recalled the fact that there was a history there. He remembered, all too well, how their plan had taken a wrong turn, while they were on board the corsair ship.

He looked up again with a small frown lingering, at the news that some children had nearly been abducted. And another, here in the Pelennor. All friends of Domanol's family?! Gwestion couldn't fault him for not having warned him of this information before now, but he was more glad than ever that he had walked with Brooke to the library, and to walk Chewy, and all about the city. He did wish he had insisted a little harder, for Aislin's explorations, but at least nothing bad had happened to her. Yet, his mind whispered. And what would they do, once Gwestion and Gladhron had gone on this new mission? Perhaps Gil...

He frowned at what Dom said then, and at the implication that he had not been careful. He felt as if he had made a lot of mistakes this evening, but there didn't seem much he could do to alter that, at this point. He could only try to do better, going forward. But he did want to respond to a couple of things. "We weren't socializing with her," He corrected his friend. The rest of it wasn't relevant at the moment. "And I do comprehend, it's just... this is a very difficult situation." He held back a sigh, frowning. This entire day had been difficult. Even the attempt at doing something 'fun' had proven to be a mistake.

He did understand Dom's concerns, but he also had his own concerns, should the information leak as a result of all this. At Domanol's reminder that it was his family, not Gwestions, at stake here... he felt a sharp sting in his heart. A part of him wanted to argue that he thought of them as if they were family. That he cared about Seri as if she were an aunt, that the girls were like little cousins, or.. possibly more like sisters. But he couldn't make those words come out of his mouth. They were not really his family, however much he might like to think of them that way. However much he may care about them, and however close he had become with them all... they weren't related, as far as he knew. And anyway, he didn't deserve any other sisters. Besides.. they could never replace the one he had lost...

"So tell me, what would you do ? In my place ?”

Gwestion rubbed his chin and kept his gaze focused on a random cobblestone a little ways off, unable to face his friend at the moment, for fear that he might not be able to keep his face from showing the emotion that was going on inside. Somehow, he steeled his expression so not to reveal it, unless one looked closely enough, or knew him well enough to see past it. Fortunatley, the light was dimmer over here where they had gone to talk.

Still, he had no good answer for that question. His own choices often seemed to go awry; his own family's fate was proof enough of that. He couldn't risk another mistake of that caliber, with them. But he had also been made aware of how vital it was to the mission, that word didn't spread about Ava's nationality, nor her purpose for being here. And at the same time, he had also agreed to Arnyn's wishes that Ava not be made aware that she was being watched and followed... with all that he was trying to keep up with, it was quite a challenge.

Before Gwestion could decide on how to answer Domanol's question, the man came up with his own solution. An excellent one. Gwestion felt some relief to hear him put his inquiries to Thorley, and realized immediately what his thoughts were. That meant that the guard would have to keep Ava away from the other ladies. It was a perfect solution to the dilemma. And by the time Dom had finished consulting with the guard, there was a plan in place. And before Gwestion could even question whether his friend's brother would mind, Domanol thought of that too, assuring him that he would not mind at all. As if he could speak for his brother. Well, Gwestion and Gladhron could usually guess how the other would react to something, so maybe he could speak for his brother, too.

Grateful for the more leisurely pace set by Dom, Gwestion followed as Dom led the way once again, this time down, rather than up. After a moment, to give them time to get out of earshot of the guard, he spoke quietly, deciding to speak in Rohirric still, in case there were any late-night eavesdroppers around. "Arnyn and Gladhron came up with the idea to go to the theater, as something for us all to do together. Us, Seri, the girls, me, and Arnyn. Something about doing 'fun' things together in the city," He explained. "I only met Ava this morning, at the headquarters, when I was informed.. about all of the developments. Which is when Gladhron volunteered us to go with her, to keep an eye on her for Arnyn." He held back a sigh. "But as far as Ava knows, we are going along to keep her safe." He added. Hoping that would help him to understand why he had addressed her as he had, earlier.

"I had no idea that she had any plans to join us at the theater, until I arrived there." He frowned. "I was.. quite surprised to find her there, clearly with the intention of joining us. I hadn't expected to see her again for a few days, when we would be departing." He frowned. "I have not yet figured out how to explain the situation to the ladies, to let them know that we'll be leaving. I don't know who else there is to escort the girls around the city, once we leave. Gil, perhaps, but I don't know him very well. And Aislin doesn't feel that she needs any escort to go exploring around the city..." He sighed with exasperation about that.

"I don't know what to do, Dom." He admitted, returning to common, and feeling a little more weary than just from a lack of sleep. "This entire day has seemed to throw one thing after another at me, from the very start." He shook his head, recalling when he and Gladhron had walked up to the headquarters this morning, and he'd learned what Gladhron had done. It seemed like weeks ago by now, rather than hours.

[Rillewen]

@Lantaelen

| |
| |
Dulinneth, Eryn Raedor & Brooke
Gwestion, Chewy, & Togg
Dec 24, afternoon
2nd level, in a cafe

"Thank you, for inviting me to join you." Brooke replied to Gaer's words of thanks. "And extending the invitation to Aislin," She added, glad that Gaer seemed eager to meet her. As Brooke finished her hot chocolate, she checked to see if Chewy was done with his whipped cream. He looked up at her with white all around his nose, and she couldn't help a little laugh. She grabbed a napkin and managed to get him to hold still long enough for her to clean his muzzle.

"I've definitely had a fun day." Eryn declared, grinning as she looked around at them all. "I can't wait to meet Aislin, either. It'll be fun having you all come out to the farm to practice shooting with me," She smiled. "I'll be thinking about how to create some doggy obstacles, too," She mentioned to Brooke, feeling rather intrigued by that idea.

As Gaer commented about the box being so nice, Togg cheered up a bit. He was still annoyed that she gave away the chocolates to others, but at least she liked the box.

"Ooh, yes, that's a good idea." Linn agreed. They definitely wrote a lot of letters back and forth. She had a special place of her own where she kept her letters, and she thought it was nice that Gaer would have a fancy box now, in which to keep hers. It would be a special place to keep the letters of the group they had formed here!

As Gwestion finished the last of his own cup, he quietly took the empty cup from Brooke, and went to return them to the staff of the cafe for washing.

Brooke took that as a cue that it was time to go. She had sort of lost track of the time, but she knew that she would need to get changed for dinner, and she had no idea what to wear to the home of a noblelady for dinner. Not that she had much to choose from... but she'd figure that out once she returned to the inn. She got up to go, adjusting her bag on her shoulder. Then, to Brooke's surprise, Gaer actually gave her a hug in parting. She smiled, nodding in reply. "Yes, see you tomorrow!" She agreed, as Gwestion returned.

He offered a faint, but polite smile in return to the lady's curtsy. "It was a pleasure meeting you, ladies." He responded in Sindarin, giving a small bow of his head to each of the three girls. He briefly debated whether it would be properly polite to add 'and sir' to that comment, because of Toggornir. But, well... he didn't want to lie. So instead, he went over to open the door and hold it for Brooke.

Noticing the slightly puzzled look on Eryn's face, Brooke leaned closer to her. "He said it was nice to meet you," She explained, recalling that the other girl didn't speak Sindarin. She didn't remember if Gwestion had still been there when that was mentioned, but if he was, then he must have forgotten. She smiled as she watched Gaer gave Chewy some more attention. Her words to him were also sweet, even if he didn't understand it.

"Oh," Eryn smiled. "Likewise!" She called toward him even though he was by the door already, then grinned back at Brooke. "Bye, Brooke. Bye, Chewy," She petted him one last time.

"I hope we get to see you tomorrow, too," Linn told Chewy, rubbing around his ears with a smile. "Bye, Brooke. I can't wait for tomorrow!" She declared eagerly. The Ballet was going to be so great!

Waving, Brooke and Chewy hurried to join Gwestion at the door, and soon they had set off down the street toward the Wayfarer's inn.


Back in the cafe, Eryn finished her mug of hot chocolate a few moments after they had departed. "I do need to get home," She acknowledged. "I have some chores to do." She'd need to make sure she stayed on top of all her chores, so she would have enough free time for other activities. Like the ballet thing. She just hoped it wouldn't be boring to watch... but at least there'd be plenty of other girls to chat with, right?

Since it seemed like they were all ready to go now, Togg finished his mug of chocolate quickly. He thought it'd be better with a touch of some liquor added, but he didn't have any to add, and he figured the ladies would disapprove. "May I take your cups?" He offered, having seen Gwestion do the same.

"Yes, thank you." Linn smiled sweetly at her brother before turning over her empty cup. "Well, I'm ready to go, if you all are." Linn declared.

Togg accepted their cups, then set off for the counter to leave them where the staff would wash them, then he returned to the table.

"Well, let's go then." Eryn nodded. It all seemed decided. She didn't really feel that she needed any escort, but since it seemed to be a requirement for her friends, she didn't protest.

Togg held the door for the three of them, then made sure that he ended up walking beside Gaer as they set off for the Pelennor.

[Ercassie]

@Rillewen

Domanol Raxëlilta with Gwestion.
Heading back down from the Fifth Circle Gate, to the Second Circle Marketplace.
Early hours of 31st December.

The descent from the Fifth back to the Second Circle was punctured by all the conversation which the two men had been unable to speak, when they had last taken that tour, with the Guards and their hostile company. Domanol did not look over to his friend, when Gwestion took up their quiet conversation under the cloak of the darkness, but he listened. Some of it he heard as well.

“You were out at a social event, Gwes, in a public place. With her,” he pointed out however, unable to keep from emitting the objection. Thankfully they kept up with their foreign tongue, for the length of the talk. “Laughing, conversing, dressed up for some fun in a group. You may not have personally been doing any of that but that was the consensus for the rest of the group this evening. And that’s the definition of what ‘socialising’ is.”

Despite this, it was not beyond his understanding that this particular friend, out of all those he could name, was the one least likely to be ‘acquainted’ with the practice. Of 'socialising'. He sighed then, and relented some. “I do believe you though when you say that she was not expected to show up for the night of theatre. That was not your doing,” he could concede that much sincerely. “She ought not to have been allowed to set foot from a place of guarded observation, since the moment she was revealed to be a risk,” he put in, moments later. Before recalling who he was speaking to. Again, not the one in charge of that ..”That also was not your call to organise,” he sighed. “Perhaps if she had been managed more adequately from the start, then you and Gladders would never have ended up in this mess.”


And then two more people he cared about may not have been exposed to peril which they clearly could barely comprehend. Thinking they could keep an Umbarian safe ... IN Umbar ! Preposterous ! Even if it were not impossible for anyone to be truly safe within such a city, as far as Domanol could see Ava had far better odds than either of the men who thought they would be able to protect her. A nonsensical notion.

The stars blinked overhead as the two men trudged down the frigid cobbles, managing to keep from slipping over the ice polish that their footing wore. Whether their sputters of speech were sparing them from enduring an awkward silence or merely assuring that warm breath could be proven reassuring, as it spilled from their mouths, .. honestly it might have been either or both. But there were certain points of fact which even Domanol could not make himself converse upon. And judging the situation to be ‘difficult’ was the very least of these ! It was only difficult, in his opinion, because they were making it so. By looking only to protect the wrong people !


“Between us we are going to have to come up with something to tell them,” he resorted to that other inescapable fact, instead. It was at least something they could both agree upon. Even if the how of managing it was more of a thing to be debated. “If it is not to be the truth which you insist on silencing. For I refuse to speak a lie that will leave them vulnerable. If you would not have me tell them what is the trouble, then you will have to agree upon some compromise before we see them again.”

Privately he considered what time was now even available to them. His brother must mind the shop on the morrow and Narradir, he knew, was due to show up early, with a wagon laid with readied timbers for the business. Those two would thereby be involved with that delivery from then on, long before the streets would become too busy for a wagon to trouble the market crowds. And, knowing the sorts of forms that Thorley devised for the City Guard, the girls would likely not be done with scribing out their testimonies until noon or there abouts. Even if they headed straight to Guard HQ at first light. Quietly Domanol did the math.


“We will have probably most of the morning, to work out an explanation which suits us both,” he concluded aloud. “If you can manage any sort of rest in the remainder of this night, I suggest you try. As soon as the shop opens, we will be without my brother’s keen ears, although against the clock to agree on any resolution.”

Dom had not missed his friend’s concerns about who might now escort Seri and her nieces, when Gwes and his brother were turning their attention to protecting an Umbarian, in Umbar. Somehow he managed to keep from retorting that such concerns had not troubled the young man before now. Could the Northerner have truly been so blind to the risk before Dom had been forced to point it out ? As for Gil; the young valet had been sent from the coast for his own protection from the same creed of people the girls needed a guard from. And any other day Dom might have trusted Gwestion with that information. But .. not this night.


“I shall not leave any of ours unprotected,” he said, instead. Even if he silently added the word ‘again’. He could not bring himself to try and find common ground with the younger man. Not now. Maybe later. If they were allowed a later ... “I already have had to put thoughts toward the matter of some guard detail for them, for all of you, since you showed up here so unexpectedly.” They had discussed it, in their private Circle. Although most had felt he was being paranoid, to even think on such a need. Now … now he knew he had been right. But now he was already too late. He had not known a snake was already in the grass …

“Word has already been sent, and help shall arrive in due course. If I thought I could trust you as I have in days past, I might tell you all about it. But not this night. It matters not to you regardless. You will not be here. Unless I can convince the King to halt this entire ridiculous affair.”


He had purposely waited to share that last remark until fitting his key into the lock of the woodshop door. As sounds emanated from upstairs, indicating that Addhor had been roused, that man’s younger brother unlocked the door to the stairs as well, with the sort of fluid ease which suggested he’d snuck in similar circumstances before now.

---

Addhor and Domanol Raxëlilta, with Gwestion.
Rooms above 'Wood Works' store, in the Second Circle Marketplace.
Early hours of 31st December.

“You are returned,” Addhor mentioned as he met them in the rooms upstairs.

“With company,” he was informed. Unnecessarily. For brown eyes saw still, even in the dim, candle-lit room. “I said Gwes could stay,” Domanol reminded his sibling of the younger man’s name.

Addhor put eyes from one of them to the other, and then nodded his head slowly. “Very well. The chairs are comfortable enough and the fireplace is still warm.” He watched them calmly with the sort of expectation that he was getting only half the tale here.


“He doesn’t ask questions.,” Dom celebrated, with a smile thrown on to keep up the ruse of nothing being wrong.

“He has learnt from experience what manner of wearying answers, even sensible asking may lead to,” Addhor corrected. And then turned a warmer welcome not their guest. “Please make yourself welcome Gwestion. Dom knows where everything that you might need is. Just .. don’t make with too much noise if you can help it.” This last suggestion was delivered with eyes laid quite pointedly about his brother, rather than the guest. “The hour is late.”

“Early,” Dom repeated the same correction of his own, as he had flung toward Thorley not long before. But he closed the second door behind his friend and encouraged him to take a seat. “Most of your ‘neighbours’ are stock rooms over the shops,” he then reminded his brother.


“I have an early start,” was the only response to that. Until the hesitant stare which kept the tradesman from leaving them failed to incite some prompt in his kinsman. “You have forgotten something,” Addhor was forced to tell Domanol.

“My knife, I know,” Dom groaned and yet simultaneously shrugged. “Thor took it off me. I will doodle through one of his forms tomorrow. Don’t worry about ..”

“My coat,” the elder mentioned, and tilted his head slightly and offered a silent ‘Oh ..” to perfectly time with the vocal offering his brother gave up. Domanol scratched the side of his head with one hand, glanced momentarily toward Gwes and then sighed.

“It’s fine, its not a problem. I know exactly where it is … only there’s no way to get it back tonight. Tomorrow !” An index finger rose with seeming excitement about the prospect. The unspoken promise. “Honestly I don’t know why you insist on lending me your things. You know what I’m .. ” the soft click of the bedroom door got in, sequestering their host out of sight, just before Dom gave his last word .. “like.”


His smile vanished in that self same second. And then throwing a cushion toward Gwestion, Domanol went to the cupboard to fetch a couple of blankets. He would have his friend be as comfortable as was humanly possible.

The sooner that Gwestion fell asleep, the sooner that Domanol could sneak back out and find a good perch on a roof, to keep watch. That would not break any of the Guard’s rules about contact, after all. And there was no way at all that he was going to rest easy tonight. He could pass time thinking of exactly what he would tell Seri the next day. Or the king. And the king, he corrected himself mentally. As soon as he could ensure Isys could watch the girls, so that he could go to the Citadel. And so he’d have to work out what he was going to tell the Belfalasian as well.

Oh what an absolute mess !

[Rillewen]

@Ercassie

Gwestion
Fifth Circle Gate, all the way down to Woodworks shop, 2nd level
Early hours of 31st December
with Domanol, and then Addhor

As Dom pointed out that Gwestion had been at a social event "with" the Umbarian in question, he couldn't help but point out in return, "So were you." Of course, he understood what the older man was getting at, but he did feel it worth mentioning that they had both been sitting in that box, and that Ava turning up there had been as much of a surprise to him, as it had been for Dom. As for 'talking and laughing', he couldn't recall any of their group actually doing that, least of all himself. The only conversing he had actually done, had been with those that he had come there with, and with Domanol. Until he'd been forced to interrupt an altercation, that is.

He frowned thoughtfully as he walked, mentally digesting the comments dropped by his friend. "She was being watched, though." he made mention, keeping his voice quiet. He ventured a glance toward Domanol, frowning slightly. "Or at least, I was under the impression that more than one ranger of this city had been assigned to keep an eye on her. As I understand it, she is not meant to know about it. That is why I have yet to say anything, because I did not wish to make it known to others. But now that we are alone," He gave a soft sigh, rubbing his eyes. He was really quite tired by now, but hopefully he could rest soon. Somewhere in the back of his mind, his brain caught a part of what Dom had said, and he blinked. Did Dom just call Gladhron 'Gladders'?

He walked in silence for a moment, sort of trying to remember what he had been going to say before his thoughts were derailed. Instead, he found his way onto another line of thought as Dom pointed out that they would have to come up with something. "I have been trying to think of that," He admitted. "I figured I would just tell them that we had volunteered for a mission, to assist Celume in something which we could not talk about." He stuffed his cold hands into his pockets, frowning thoughtfully. Seri had plenty of experience with ranger folk, she would understand, he figured. She would know not to press for more information, right?

Nodding as he heard Dom's thoughts about the time frame they had in which to reach a solution, Gwestion wondered if they could reach any sort of agreement now, before attempting to sleep. Before reaching his brother's shop. He was already trying to come up with some solution, but given the fact that he did not quite know what it was that Dom was so concerned about, what he felt was so important to tell them, he wasn't sure what sort of alternative to offer.

While he was trying to think of that, the other gave him a bit of information that surprised him. Gwestion glanced over at him in a mix of surprise and curiosity when told that he had already begun to put thoughts toward a guard for them. That whoever this was, was already on their way. The next words cut deep, and for a second time tonight he felt the sting in his heart.

"If I thought I could trust you as I have in days past, I might tell you all about it. But not this night."

He had no answer for that. Not that he had any chance to offer one, since Domanol was already opening the door to his brother's shop. He remained paused on the doorstep for a heartbeat before stepping in out of the cold. Swallowing down a lump of emotion in his throat, he wordlessly trailed after Dom. And before he could recover any further, they were being greeted by the brother whom Gwestion had only met once before, a few days ago.

He had the length of the stair climb in which to manage to recover his voice. As Addhor agreed with Dom, that he could stay, Gwes dipped his head slightly in gratitude. "Thank you. I apologize for the imposition." He said quietly, before hearing the exchange between the two brothers, in regards to asking questions. Any other time, he might have smiled slightly to hear it, for the other man's brother gave a reply which sounded very much like something Gwestion might say, himself. But tonight, he was definitely not feeling any inclination toward smiling. He simply gave a wordless nod in answer to the request not to make any undue noise.

Having moved closer to the fire, Gwestion remained quietly holding his hands out to warm them, while the two brothers discussed the loss of a jacket, and only then did he note that Dom was, in fact, missing the jacket he had been wearing when he arrived at the theater. He was so unused to seeing the man dressed up, that it had entirely gone unnoticed until now. He could not help but notice, again, how very similar the two sets of brothers were. He thought it was nice though, that they had finally reunited, after however many years being apart.

Gwestion was jolted out of his thoughts as a cushion came flying at him. He caught it by instinctive reflex, then watched Dom dig out some blankets from a cabinet. He looked down at the cushion and inspected it with more interest than it deserved. After a moment, he spoke quietly. "I'm sorry," He paused, swallowed, and risked a glance up. "That I have failed to meet your expectations of me. I apologize." He was not entirely sure what exactly what had made him lose Dom's trust, but clearly, something had done it. Or else, he'd never actually had any of it to begin with. Which made him feel rather foolish now for having assumed that there was some level of trust between them. But that was not really the important issue.

"Perhaps... it would be best to focus on figuring out what to do, now." He added, thinking it might be best if they both had a clear plan in mind. Before morning came, which it would be doing all to soon by this point. He let out a quiet sigh. "It seems that we are at a checkmate in regards to what should be said to Seri, if anything." He went quiet then, to hear what Dom might have to say in reply to that. So that, hopefully, they could reach some sort of agreement before they both got some sleep.

[Ercassie]

@Rillewen

Domanol Raxëlilta with Gwestion.
Rooms above ‘Wood Works’ store, in the Second Circle Marketplace.
At some early hour of 31st December.

Neither one of the chairs was as comfortable as a proper bed, but Domanol had grown so accustomed to sleeping outside by now, that a chair was more than adequate. Putting his brother out of his own bed after all, might have been a step too far. There were still days when he felt that he was lucky to be allowed inside his sibling’s house at all. But relations between the two had improved some over the last few months. Unalmis and Dessy had thrown more than a hand into helping that along. Still as the tell tale glow of Addhor’s lantern dimmed down to nothing at the bottom slight gap of the door, the younger brother felt a great relief. Honestly he was grateful to have not faced a greater inquisition about the missing coat. And he probably had Gwestion’s unexpected company to thank for that. But misplaced clothing was the least of any of their troubles. Now that their host had settled down for the night, the Ranger readied to note when their guest would as well .. be lost to slumber. With such an aim in mind, Domanol reached to dim their lamp also, and was thwarted by the sudden inspiration of his friend.

The Northerner wanted to ‘focus on figuring out what to do .. now ?’ The elder man shared the younger’s sigh. Talking more about it now was the very last thing which he was in any mood to do. It was a shame none of the conspirators had wanted to discuss this all before it was too late. Anger tested the back of his teeth, for a way to fling more words from an untamed tongue. Not now. NOT NOW .. his mind was screaming. As for the apology .. things were still entirely too raw to even respond to that yet. He couldn't have given his friend any sort of the response right now, that they likely both wanted him to.


It wasn’t only the risk that his brother might overhear them. It wasn’t even the fact that the entire problem had been left up in the air. The reality was that Domanol wanted to act. Not talk any more about it. Talking was only making him more furious. Because it was too late to be simply talking about it. And it was only making everything worse. Telling them what they ought to have been able to work out for themselves .. was really not going too well so far. While actually getting out there and doing something productive .. well, that would be productive. If the likes of Thorley and now Gwestion would just let him !! Coming just short of raising an index finger to his lips, and shushing his companion, Dom moved instead to quash the light. In the very moment that Gwestion used his ace.

“It seems that we are in a checkmate as regards what should be said to Seri, if anything ..”


Domanol paused in the very second before dowsing all light, so that the room remained but shrouded. And the expression that sat about his features in the moment he turned back to face his friend was anything but friendly. But sense and experience had led him a merry enough dance this night to not lose his senses entirely.

There were some lines which it was far too easy to step over, the sorts of lines you could never cross back from. So he did, raise his index finger, to shush his friend. At the same time that he indicated with a sharp inclination of his head toward his brother’s bedroom door.


“If you honestly think that I am going to say nothing to Seri .. about ‘that woman’ and what it all means for us now ..,” Dom took their converse back beneath a veil of Rohirric, in a try to maintain some privacy. His brother had taken a visit to Rohan in the spring, with Duinion, Eryn and Unalmis. As far as Domanol knew, the excursion had been mostly to do with Addhor getting some serious back into the saddle riding practice, since his recovery. Hopefully none of the party had taken much time, then, to commit to learning the local language .. He had heard many humorous tales about their time on the road. But nothing about anyone picking up a new skill ..

Of course the fact that Dom could not now even complete his own sentence in the foreign speech was certainly not a matter of knowhow. He more literally did not have the words that would apparently make his mind clear. Any more than he had the patience to ignore the other man’s clearly deliberate provocation. “You are deluding yourself” he concluded aloud, eventually. “The time for palming her off with some vaguery about a ‘secret mission’ is well and truly buried. After what you’ve allowed ? There is absolutely no way I am leaving anything to chance. I thought I had made that clear. ”


He punched the cushion he had taken for himself, for good measure. “There was ‘someone watching’ at the theatre ?” he muttered in ever growing disbelief, and only partly to himself, recalling what attempt his friend had made as excuses, before they’d come upstairs. And shook his head firmly in disbelief. “What good is watching if they don’t step in, tell me that ! Someone might have all too easily died tonight ! And Seri is damn sure not going to be next. I’m telling her.”

Dom didn’t know any more whether he was more annoyed at the fact that nobody else seemed to think a woman they all claimed to care about was worth protecting. Or that Gwestion was unlikely to let this rest and sleep now. Which meant that there could be no sneaking out to keep an eye out. He blew out the light. Prayed that would be an end to it. Doubted it of course.

[Arnyn]

|
Tercen | Arnyn
with Ava, Vorondil and Calan
From the Second Circle to a safe house on Fourth
The early hours of the 31st

The walk from the Second to the Fourth felt both too short and too long. The occasional lantern lit the streets with scattered pools of gold. The wind tugged at their cloaks. Vorondil, at the head of their small group, led them to a quiet row of houses set back from the main street, unmarked to any ordinary passerby. Only the Rangers and the Guards knew which doors here opened to secured houses, which windows and back doors had been made not to open from the inside unless you had the key for it. Which ones had specific escape routes.

Vorondil stopped before a modest stone house with pale shutters, its doorway tucked under an ivy-clad arch.

Arnyn let her arms fall loose at her sides, forced steadiness into her voice as she stepped up to Ava. “This is where you’ll stay. For now.” She held out a set of keys to Vorondil.

It was all Vorondil needed before he slipped inside ahead of them to check the rooms. Arnyn waited, keeping her expression even. Calan stayed closeby, keeping an eye on bith Ava and their surroundings. Tercen shifted uneasily at Ava's side. He wanted to speak to his sister but could not find words that would not shame either him or her.

It was the Lieutenant's voice which addressed Ava. “You will have a bed, food, and whatever you require within reason. Rangers will be present at all hours. If you need to send word to me or to Captain Pele, you may ask them. Otherwise - your movements will remain here, until it is decided how we are to proceed.”

[Rillewen]

Gwestion, with Domanol
Woodworks shop, 2nd level
Early hours of 31st December
A collaboration with @Ercassie

Though he had begun to get somewhat accustomed to sleeping in a bed, since he'd arrived in this city, Gwestion was also not opposed to sleeping in a comfortable chair, rather than stretched out on a hard floor. He only wished he had been better prepared for sleeping somewhere besides where he had left his belongings. This meant, of course, that he would have to sleep in what he was wearing, and without anything to change into in the morning. Which was not as far off as he would have liked, come to think of it.

Settling into one chair while his friend situated himself in the other, Gwestion looked to Domanol, waiting to take his lead on whether to remain using the Rohirric language to discuss this matter. He did not know the man's brother, after all, nor what languages he may know. He didn't intend to speak loudly enough to be overheard, but... just in case.

When Dom looked back to him, though, Gwestion wasn't sure whether he was angry at him, or upset about the entire situation. He thought it best not to ask, but he did recall Arnyn's warning, again. He gave a silent nod in reply to the silent 'shush' sign. And held back a sigh when Dom insisted that he was going to tell Seri about 'that woman'. He rested his head against cushion on the back of the chair while Dom attacked his own with a punch that emphasized his words about not leaving anything to chance.

While he was feeling too weary to have this conversation, Gwestion also had a feeling that it was best to have it now, rather than wait until the sun had returned. It would be too late, by then. And so he listened to Dom's complained that 'someone could have died'. He considered pointing out that Domanol had been the only one brandishing a weapon around, but he thought better of it. As for the 'watchers', well, Gwestion had been wondering about that as well... he wasn't sure anymore whether there had been anyone watching the woman... yet. He only knew that Arnyn had said she was sending out the order, so he'd assumed it would have been in affect by that point. He could have been mistaken.. and if that was the case, he did feel bad.

Staring off at the dark wall for a long moment, Gwestion tried to think of a solution that would leave them both satisfied. He didn't want to argue. He was too tired, and Dom was obviously too upset. And he did not want to become upset, himself. "Perhaps.. you could tell her that there is a dangerous person, possibly more than one, here in the city. And that she should be extra cautious and vigilant." Gwestion suggested quietly, figuring that would give Seri enough information to be cautious, while not telling her anything that was meant to be kept secret.

At Gwestion’s suggestion, Domanol rolled his eyes in the dark. “I’m not her grandmother, Gwes. ‘Dangerous person’” he mimicked, and then made a rude noise. “What I need to tell her is that Ava is dangerous. Particularly dangerous for her and for the girls.” The matter was not easy to hear, even as the man spoke it himself. And he took a moment to really hear it. Which did nothing to crumble his resolve. “Thanks to you lot, they have already met,” he grumbled. “Which means that Seri currently believes this woman is a friend of her friends. And if Ava took it into her head to invite Seri and the girls off .. some place alone for, I don’t know .. to go get coffee or something, .. then, without knowing, they might go. And end up getting .. well, not coffee. So that can’t happen.”

Gwestion frowned at what Dom had to say in response to his suggestion. "Right..." He could see why that would be a concern, but why would Seri meet with Ava for coffee or something? Then again... if Ava was up to something, and she took a notion to try and lure Seri off somewhere... she might orchestrate a 'chance' meeting at such a place, and invite Seri to join her. She had already shown much generosity at the theater, by purchasing the box seat, sparing Seri the cost of tickets. She could use that same generosity in a trick of sorts. Despite his tiredness, Gwestion could understand why Dom was concerned. But how could they warn Seri, without revealing anything about Ava? Therein lay the dilemma. For a moment, he lay in silence, thinking. Until, after a while, he almost felt like he could doze off, but just at that moment, Dom's voice roused him again.

“Look, we either tell them that Ava is not to be trusted. Or we make sure that Ava gets nowhere near to any of them, anymore. Oh, and that she doesn’t leave, so that she can run and go tell anybody else in Umbar about them either.” He sighed, more wearied by the problem than he was able to surrender to sleep and escape it. It was too important. “We still need to explain how we all ended up escorted out by Guards out of the theatre in the first place,” he reminded the Northerner. “Its not like she isn’t going to ask what is going on here !”

Gwestion rested his head on the back of the chair, frowning as he tried to think of a solution that would make them both 'happy'. Not that much of anything about this would leave anyone feeling happy, but.. whatever. As for being escorted out of the theater, they didn't even know for sure what Seri and the girls had been told about that. They might not even be aware of that. He focused his attention toward a solution for the Ava problem.

After taking a long while to think about the matter, Gwestion spoke up again, proving that he was not yet asleep. "We could simply tell her to be wary of anyone she doesn't know well..." The moment he'd said it, he thought of a couple of problems that went along with that suggestion. "Of course, they're literally staying in the house with people they just met..." He acknowledged with a sigh. "And that would also mean she oughtn't trust any of the healers at the houses of healing... or she can only trust those who are deemed trustworthy by one of us?" He frowned. No. That wouldn't work, because then that would lead her to believe that Ava was in the 'friend of a friend' level of trust, because Arnyn had introduced them. He shook his head slightly and focused on the other matter. He frowned as he stared off into the darkness, trying to come up with a better solution.

"I don’t know why you are so against my telling her that Ava is the actual person not to be trusted. I mean, why would Seri go running around telling that to anybody else anyway ? Besides that none of you have given me any good reason why not to,” he was forced to point out, for not the first time this evening. “I was going to tell her everything anyway before I ..” he began and then caught himself before speaking of his plans to Gwestion. If the guy was insistent on hanging out with dubious Umbarians and going into the reach of evil interrogators … ”Just in case,” he relented instead. “But now ?!” Reason or the lack of same forced a gag of anger to silence the Gondorian. If only briefly.

Gwestion frowned at those words, pondering on what Domanol had started to say before changing it. But he said nothing for a while, thinking on the rest. He didn't doubt that Seri could keep a secret. But that didn't mean she ought to be told that there was an Umbarian in their midst, and that they all might be in danger? They didn't even know for sure if there was any. "I thought you were intent on also telling her where Ava comes from," He mentioned as he turned his head, as if this would enable him to see his friend through the dark. Only a faint light filtered through the window, enough to let him see that Dom was still there, at least.

He sighed again, wanting to reach a compromise. Wanting to settle this without further upset. Wanting to remain on friendly terms with Domanol. "Alright, what about this; we can just tell her to be wary of Ava, because we have reason to believe she may not be as she seems?" He suggested at last, deciding that he may have to be willing to give in a little bit.

“I literally do have reason to believe that Ava may not be as she seems” Dom threw back, moments after deciding to ignore the other man. “That’s the whole point !” he exclaimed, instead. “Look, if we tell Seri the truth, then not only will she be safer, but she can help to keep the girls safe too. Because telling them else …. ” Domanol broke off at the very thought of making that a reality. It wasn’t that he did not realise the potential in creating a panic. He wasn’t exactly saying he would announce it in the market square and neither did he believe that the healer would either. But the girls .. they were at risk. They deserved to be warned. “At least I mean, especially Aislin, she won’t be careful else. She wants to explore all the time. She won’t understand. She’s just a kid. Brooke would probably keep it to herself , but even that ..” No sooner had he spoke the sentiment, but he regretted it. For it was followed up by thoughts such as ‘She already does keep too much to herself. And how much would this be damaging if we were to encourage that ? When they had all been trying to bring her out of her shell, not scare her back into it ..

Gwestion frowned, fighting against feelings of frustration. The feeling that he was in an impossible situation. He wanted to be able to agree with Dom. It wasn't that he didn't think they ought to have warning of possible danger. Or that he thought Seri would go blabbing the secret around or something. But he wasn't even sure how much of this Umbar mission was alright for him to speak about, even to Dom. Because he had promised Arnyn that neither he or Gladhron would breathe another word about what they'd discovered of her plans. And if he started mentioning it to Dom, now, then he would be breaking that vow. And therefore, he couldn't fully explain why it was so important not to tell anyone about Ava's origins, which could lead to other people drawing similar conclusions to the one that had led Gladhron to think it was alright to ask her if she was helping Arnyn with 'the Umbar thing'.

As for Aislin wanting to explore and not being as careful as she ought to be... Gwestion couldn't offer any argument about that. But he didn't like the idea of giving Brooke more reasons to be afraid to go around the streets, to make friends, and to do more than bury her nose in all the books she could find. He drew in a slow breath and held it for a moment while he let Dom finished. Slowly, he let the breath out silently, trying to let go of his own frustration and upset feelings, as if he could simply send those feelings away with his exhale. It didn't exactly work, but he tried.

"Do you intend to tell them, as well? I thought you only wanted to tell Seri. There's no need to frighten the girls, is there?" He asked, surprised to hear that it sounded like he did, and troubled at what Dom may be planning to reveal to that whole group. "Telling Seri is bad enough," He muttered under his breath, shaking his head. "Would it not suffice to tell her to ensure they don't go anywhere without an escort?" He asked, preferring to avoid telling the girls anything to frighten them. He worried how something like that might affect either one of them. He did feel bad that, if he and Gladhron were to go into Umbar, that meant they would no longer be available to escort the girls around. He had no doubt that Chewy would protect Brooke if anyone tried to harm her. In fact, he was usually quite protective of his girl, and Brooke claimed that he could sense 'bad people' and that he could tell them from 'good people'. Although the dog hadn't had any problem with Ava, he recalled. And dogs could be slain or poisoned, if an attacker was determined...

“Girls aside, I certainly trust Seri more than I trust the likes of Gladhron to keep a secret.” Dom spat out, rather more vehemently than he might have realised. “Arnyn told me what happened, how he said the wrong thing when and where he should not have even had the chance to. And you want to have him in Umbar ? What turned out as only an accidental admission here is going to mean murder if you do it over there !”

Gwestion cringed at the reminder about Gladhron's blunder. As if he needed a reminder. He literally bit his lip to stop himself from retorting something back. Because even though he completely agreed that it had been terribly stupid of his brother... a part of him still naturally wanted to defend his brother. But that was only going to upset Dom more, he knew. And while Gwestion could certainly remind his friend of how his own actions had nearly gotten them both killed once, he would not say anything which he might regret. Instead, he swallowed down the words that could have escalated this 'debate' into something worse. Dom was already angry. Gwestion couldn't risk letting himself lose his temper, too.

"My concern," He spoke at last, once he trusted himself to keep to a low, calm tone, "has more to do with telling yet more people that there's an Umbarian in the city. And that such news will alarm civilians, who shouldn't even be knowing this info... which could lead to a lot of panic and rumors, which could then end up falling on the wrong ears." He explained, trying really hard not to feel further exasperated by the whole situation.

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Ava
From the Second Circle to a safe house on Fourth
The early hours of the 31st

Ava had been relieved when Tercen agreed to come with her, not that she was terribly surprised. Upon leaving the guard headquarters, however, she had paused briefly at the sight of two dark, hooded figures waiting beside Arnyn. She caught her breath, her hand tightening slightly on Tercen's arm. Somehow, this felt like she was walking into danger, not 'safety'. As one of them set off leading the way, and the other fell in to walk behind them, Ava glanced back at him, then looked at Tercen. She recalled that Arnyn had said there would be rangers assigned to the house as guards, that they would watch the entrances and the street, and so forth. That must be who these were, then. She tried to relax as she walked along beside Tercen.

When they arrived at a small stone house, Ava's eyes scanned it curiously. This was where she would stay for the remainder of her time in the city. She drew in a slow breath of frigid night air. "What about changes of clothing?" She inquired, after Arnyn informed her that there would be a bed, food, and whatever she needed. "For both of us," She added, nodding toward Tercen. They likely wouldn't need any sort of sleepwear, but they'd want something more comfortable to wear in the morning, and not to mention the things needed for personal hygiene.

"Also, if I am not to be permitted to return to my house, then may I at least send a note to inform my staff?" She asked, thinking it would be best to sort out a few things like that. She wouldn't still be needing a cook, for instance, and she'd need to have someone pack her things for her, and so on.

[Lantaelen]

@Rillewen

Lady Gaerlothriel Dimaethor
December 24th, Minas Tirith Streets, Gondor

It was a bit chaotic, everyone jostling to say their goodbyes to each respective individual and all, but they managed, without a soul seemingly being missed. Even Chewy got the same treatment as if he was a whole person. Brooke, Gwestion and Chewy soon departed, heading back to their home or next social obligation, leaving the group of four with the remnants of their drinks and snacks. Gaer sighed happily, fingering and admiring the box, thinking of the plentiful letters she’ll receive and the manner in which she’ll organize them and all. Maybe even a copy of her own letters too, to maintain a consistent record of discussion, but her parents would call that excessive and the extra parchment a needless expense…

She giggled a little at Eryn’s remark on chores left to do. ”Here we are on vacation but for you it’s still a regular day. Maybe one day you’ll visit us and you can sit back and relax while we do all the fussing.” Gaer said, finishing her own hot chocolate, relishing in the warm sensation in her belly. She wasn’t looking forward to going back out into the cold, even if it wasn’t that bad. A snowy winter was still a strange phenomena for the young woman who grew up by the sea, where the cold season was much milder. But it was something she was determined to get used to.

Toggornir offered to take their cups away, like a gentleman, and Gaer thought that an improvement. ”Oh yes, thank you.” She said to him, same as the others, and rose to make ready to depart, fixing her coat, gloves and hair. And clutching her box. It was still half full with chocolates. She’ll share some with her family. Maybe not Abrazimir though, he was liable to eat more than his allotment.

”Ready.” Gaer stated and the four of them could set out, Toggornir again displaying his quality in holding the door open. It should not have been so unique but the young man could be so…temperamental. Hopefully this would be a permanent improvement but perhaps she was just being naïve in hoping. ”Thank you.” She said again to him, joining the others in the streets.

But falling into line with Gaer would garner him nothing as, like when Abrazimir chaperoned them, Gaer moved up to walk with Eryn and Linny, to talk. About the City around them. The sights and sounds to see and hear, or the quiet sadness of an estate or villa vacant from the long decline Minas Tirith had been in during the prelude to the War, or indeed, here and there, some leftover damage from the Siege itself as they got to the lower levels. But all in all, there seemed to be a general atmosphere of invigoration, renewal, and hope for the future. She couldn’t wait to dwell here in such a place of history and prestige!

They walked Eryn to her home first, beckoning farewell with hugs and promises to see one another early in time for the ballet. It would be fun! Even if Gaer was in the same boat as Eryn and did not know what to expect really. There was a slight delay though, as they had to greet Hattie, who seemed aware that the girls had been seeing…another dog!

Then it was the walk to the estate that the Dimaethors were renting and lodged in. By then, the hour was growing late and the sun was setting, though it was hardly late in the afternoon. The days should start getting longer though, having passed the winter solstice. Gaer invited the step-siblings in to rest and warm up if they liked, but they had a long trek ahead of them, so she would understand if they chose not to. They had to go all the way back up to the upper levels to get to their tavern. She made sure to give Linny a long hug in farewell and again, offering a piece of chocolate for the road.

For Toggornir, Gaer thanked him again, and only gave him a formal curtsey as a gesture of farewell.

”Goodbye! My brother and I will see you tomorrow. It will be a night to remember.” Gaer called out to them, waving profusely until they were gone back up the road and to the great gates of the City. Every day just seemed to be better and better.

End Scene

[Ercassie]

Domanol Raxëlilta with Gwestion.
Rooms above ‘Wood Works’ store, in the Second Circle Marketplace.
At some early hour of 31st December.
A collaboration with @Rillewen

Domanol could scarcely see Gwestion properly now, in the distinct lack of light. He had thought it might help. To conceal the exasperation which was nonetheless evident in both of their hushed tones. To allow the younger man to lull more easily off unto sleep perhaps … Though both goals were seeming less and less likely as time went on. As was another worry becoming ever more apparent. The Gondorian was beginning to wonder, by this point, if he truly had as competent a grasp upon the other’s native tongue as he had thought ! Because it seemed the two men were certainly losing something in the way of translation here.


“You don’t want to 'alarm' them ?” he marvelled aloud, trying not to outright scoff, while sinking his head further back into the chair. “Do you think I do ? And, I mean, if there was a wolf running around the streets, I suppose you wouldn’t want to tell anyone that either. In case it alarms them ? Stars, Gwes !”

The Gondorian peered out into the gloom of their lodgings and could see not the sense any more than he could rightly see the speaker. Any more than he could see why his friend was so fixated on talk of escorting and limiting the liberties of Seri or the girls. When it could all be so very easily resolved by simply restricting and effectively supervising Ava herself. Which none of those in the know had apparently really tried to do, even since the time they'd been made aware of the risk she posed. Besides the fact that the Umbarian was the only one they weren't sure could really be trusted, there was also the fact that there was only the one of her. That they knew of. Versus the trouble of trying to contain and limit and follow around three separate women otherwise. All of whom were absolutely no risk at all to the general public themselves.


“My concern has more to do with yet more people getting killed or hurt because they were not told there is an Umbarian in the city," the debate raged on. Simply suggesting that a grown woman ought be 'careful' around strangers, or even around Ava personally might not manage the due amount of actual risk. If Seri was not made very clear of the nature of the danger, she might belittle it in her mind and be not careful enough still. As everyone else had done thus far !

"Panic and rumour are at the mild end of concern here, compared to murder and abduction. Which is what you’re risking by keeping this stupid secret ! Seri is absolutely need to know,” he refused to compromise on that point. The Umbarian woman knew now; who and what his lover was. It was only fair play to equal the ground and give the healer a fighting chance, was it not ?!

"She wouldn’t even be in this danger if it wasn’t for you lot. So the least you can do is try help to keep her safe now.” he felt like he must have made the same point now in several different languages.

Of course, if he had his way, Dom would have liked to warn all those who had been potentially made vulnerable by the Unbarian's presence in Minas Tirith. But he could settle at least for Seri. Who they undeniably knew that Ava had met and identified. The girls would be safer if Seri knew as well. But they too would have to be told something. After being abandoned at the theatre.

And no matter which position or where he lay, the man could not find himself comfortable. And he’d slept enough in the wilds to know that his brother’s lounge was not what was keeping him from settling for sleep.


“First off, she is going to have to be told something to explain what happened at the theatre. Second, she is going to have to be told not to trust Ava, a good reason why not to. You know, like the truth. Because if your only reason for me not to tell her something that might save her life, is so noone will know your stupid secret, I really don’t care. You messed up. This is the cost. What were you even planning to tell her about where you and Gladh are going off to anyway ?”


Gwestion sighed heavily, knowing Dom knew better than that. He was the one who had once told Gwestion to ease off from trying to warn innkeeper about wolves, because he might cause panic! Still, this wasn't the same. Gwestion had dealt with wolves. That was a far different sort of enemy. As far as the murder and abduction thing, Gwestion frowned, wondering what Dom thought Ava was going to do. Clearly, he was missing something here, but he was almost afraid to ask what it might be. Especially when the other's accusation lashed at him. That it was his fault that Seri was in danger. Gwestion guessed he meant Gladhron, more than Gwestion, but it didn't hurt any less. He felt the sting of those words burn in his chest, adding to other, older wounds of a similar nature. He was glad it was too dark to see each other's expressions. Just the same, he turned his face away while the sting of the words grew to an ache which he fought to suppress. Otherwise, it might just grow and grow until it suffocated him.

For the next several moments, he remained quiet, drawing one slow breath after another, while thinking about all the things Domanol had said. About why Seri should be told. About how Gwestion had messed up? He wasn't sure he understood that one, but he assumed there was a reason for it.

There was a long stretch of silence before Gwestion slowly turned back to face Dom. Taking another slow breath in, he fought to keep a calm, steady voice. "I realize we will have to tell her something." He answered softly. "I just don't want to unduly alarm the ladies if it isn't necessary. And I don't want to risk any further leaks of information which could compromise.. certain plans." He frowned, realizing he had nearly messed up again and mentioned the Umbar mission to Dom. As if he needed another mistake to add to the growing list..


‘Certain plans ..’ Domanol blew air against his teeth in frustration. Not a one of them clearly gave a damn about risking his plans, and about how all of that .. which had been agreed and plotted out with the King and all, .. might be sunk now. Thanks to this mess. There was a chance of course that Gwestion didn’t know anything about that. Domanol certainly hadn’t told any of them. He had kept them all out of that.

If they hadn’t ever come South, he would not have been faced with the question of telling Seri why he was leaving her to go off .. even further south.. But they had come. And now what he could tell her at all was entirely complicated by the unwelcome element. Ava. Arnyn knew all about his own plans of course, even if she had not told any of her latest cohorts. Which he could only take her word for. And that would never have been in question until .. now. This.

“I mean . .. She's not stupid,” he said instead. “Seri is of Ranger folk herself. Fricking Tercen knows and he's a civilian as well ! But nobody is fretting about him knowing.”


"I know she isn't stupid," Gwestion frowned, feeling too tired to come up with any better argument against telling Seri by this point. "And believe me, if I could take away Tercen's knowledge of this whole thing, I would. But as he is the one who brought this whole thing to Arnyn's attention in the first place, it's not as if any of us can do anything about that."

“Exactly. He is involved,” Domanol let out a groan. “And now thanks to her being at the theatre this evening, Seri is involved as well. Ava has seen her. And the girls. She saw them with me. She knows now that they matter to me. And they’ve hurt enough of the people I care about already … ” Domanol was beginning to feel as bad as Arnyn had looked this evening. “It’s like this Gwes. If your little skulk of foxes want to go on doing as you have been doing, then I’ll do whatever I must, to make sure that my people are safe. Seri will absolutely have to be warned. End of.”


Gwestion sighed inwardly, wondering how much harm it can really do, to tell Seri anything. He lay for a long while, trying to go through the possible options in his head. It was so late. And he was so very tired. He didn't know what to say to Dom. He also didn't know why he seemed to be blaming Gwestion for it all. It hurt, and while he wanted to correct him and try to explain that he had nothing to do with this, to set him straight... at the same time, he really couldn't really blame him for his derisive words. Maybe it was his fault. Maybe he had been too careless. If anything bad that ended up coming of this, it would be his fault. There were too many things that were his fault, in fact.

His mind began to race, trying to go through his own actions for the past day, trying to pinpoint what he might have done that had been wrong. Why was it that he always seemed to manage to make a mess of things, when he tried so hard to do it all just right? He stared silently at the wall while his heart began to beat faster, worrying that he was the wrong person to send on this mission. Though he had accepted it after Gladhron volunteered them, he began to question how qualified he really was for this. He wasn't very good at keeping people safe, after all. It was his fault his father had been injured. It was his fault his sister was taken, his fault Domanol had been caught on the pirate ship years ago... it was his fault about so many things, despite how hard he tried to do things right, he kept on failing. What if he got Seri and the girls hurt, too? He'd already failed to do what he should have, at the theater. What if he failed again, once they were in Umbar?


Domanol was unaware of having inspired his old friend's inner self-doubts. He was used to hurling his opinion about as freely as he hurled his person around. Reckless but paranoid .. a living oxymoron. But it was only since he'd gotten caught up with Pharak Halsad that the Gondorian had ever learnt to be so paranoid. And more even still since he had come back south. But he was privately beginning to think about what Gwestion could even do, if Dom went ahead and told Seri, without their approval, anyway ? The northerner would be .. what ? Disappointed ? They’d be at least even then ! And thus far Dom hadn’t told Thorley or any of the Guards what he'd learnt. He hadn’t told Addhor either. All of whom he had known and trusted for far longer than he had Arnyn or the Northern brothers.

But Seri …. She and the girls had met Ava, up close. And while he could see some sense in not frightening the two younger women, telling Seri would be a boon on having another ally interested in keeping them safe, and herself. "I'm telling her" he decided aloud, unashamed to reveal the plan. Honestly by this point, Gwestion couldn't have missed the unwavering ambition. Stubbornness went hand in hand with grudges where Dom was concerned.


Gwestion swallowed as he tried hard to push away his racing thoughts and doubts. He slowly turned over to face the other wall, frowning as Dom declared his intention of telling her. Gwestion wanted to go to sleep. He was way too tired to be trying to think about such serious matters right now, and his heart was aching too much to continue this discussion right now. He was determined not to return any words spoken in anger, or that he might want to take back later. So instead, he thought it might be best to wait until morning to continue this talk. But sleep would not come. Though he was tired enough, his mind kept racing, going over various possibilities. All of his failings. Trying to think of all he should have done differently. And trying to weigh the options, between telling Seri and not telling her, about Ava being Umbarian. Finally, he turned again and faced his friend again.

"Maybe there is no way around it." He muttered, as he was having difficulty coming up with any reasons Dom would accept by this point. But there was definitely one thing to be wary of... He let out a little sigh as he added, "But if you feel that you must tell her, then I suggest you take her someplace where you can't be overheard. You know how the maid is.. Ms Claery?" He reminded him. If he spoke to Seri in the house, with that young woman present, then there would no longer be any secret at all!


"Oh, but here I was thinking, why not go chat about it in a public dance hall ...” Dom retorted, in some disbelief. "Because THAT would be very dumb. Right ?"


Gwestion gazed back at him with a straight face, inwardly appreciating their mutual agreement about how absolutely idiotic that had been of Gladhron. He responded dryly in agreement, "Exceedingly."


"Your brother has already dropped your stupid secret in a public place. Where anyone could have and might have overheard. And you’re worried that I shouldn’t keep it from somebody we all know and trust ? At the risk of her actual life, if we do not ? No, Gwes. Just .. no. I can't not tell her now."

It might have been more useful for Domanol to mention that he certainly had no plan to openly share such information where the likes of Claery or anyone else could overhear and understand it, accidentally. But the fact that Gwestion was trying to hold Dom up to standards they had failed to bother with themselves already ? How entirely hypocritical was that of them to put on him ?! A 'huff' was swallowed back down his throat, which could never be mistaken for a snore ..


Gwestion had to fight not to grimace at that. "Believe me, he's heard an earful about that already, but feel free to give him another. He does have two ears, after all." He encouraged Dom. It surely couldn't hurt anything to let Gladhron know that Gwestion and Arnyn were not the only ones who thought it was dumb and careless of him to do that. At least Gwestion couldn't be blamed for that mistake, anyway.


"Is that why he's hiding out at Arnyn's ?" the Gondorian felt it might be safe enough to take a tour down a slightly diverted avenue by this point. He had not made anything of it when Gwes had admitted, back at the Guards Hq, where his brother was. There had already been so much to absorb all at once. But .. well, it was an odd revelation, to say the least. And not the most strange thing about this evening either. But was it related somehow ?

"I mean ... all this mess,” Domanol had toned down from exasperated into merely exhausted by this point. “Meanwhile Gladh is .. what now ? Napping ?!"”

Gwestion snorted softly at the question of whether Gladhron was hiding. "Napping, most likely," he agreed quietly. "When the three of us left, he could hardly keep his head up. So, yes, I would imagine he probably fell back asleep."


The notion resurrected an image of the Northerner dozing at the theatre, with the Lieutenant. Thoughts flew back to the conversation which had entertained them so at the Wayfarers Inn. And yet, the odds .. of Arnyn leaving Gladhron alone in her house … particularly at a time when he might have proven some assistance .. it was exceedingly strange. She had struck him as a very private individual. And yet .. her behaviour this evening seemed to suggest the very opposite. And she had looked ... well. NOT at all herself. Barely human in fact.

"I wouldn’t be surprised to discover that Ava is a witch and she's done something to the blonde. And to your brother too,” Weariness and confusion battled for the credit of this latest supposing. Domanol rubbed at both his eyes as though he could dispel all of the insanity with a simple explanation. Too tired to properly decide if it was a 'helpful' observation to make at this point.


Gwestion grew silent and thoughtful then, frowning as he tried to decide if Dom was joking or being silly. A witch ? That was a bit far-fetched, wasn't it ? That was the sort of thing you hear about in fairytale, or the stories Gladhron liked to make up. It wasn't real ... or was it ?


"Well, how else do you explain the ...?" Dom then pulled a face to mimic the recent ghoulish state of the Ranger Lieutenant. "She's certainly not herself. Or she wouldnt be making such obvious deficits as she has with this case. And .. well, Ava comes to town. And Arnyn is suddenly saying 'let's all throw our kinfolk to the dogs and instead be protecting an umbarian !'"

The Gondorian frowned at the invisible canopy of ceiling in the darkened room. "You can not deny that is all very weird ?! Something is certainly very wrong with all of this." The fact was inescapable. As was the man's notion of who he held wholly responsible.

[Arnyn]

|
Tercen | Arnyn
with Ava, Vorondil and Calan
A safe house on the Fourth Circle
The early hours of the 31st

"There should be some clothing inside, though I obviously cannot guarantee it will be to your liking. As well as basic necessities." She knew Tercen wouldn't care. But Ava certainly might. "We can make sure some thing are brought over tomorrow," Arnyn told Ava. "Though I cannot tell you at what time." Not now. Not yet.

"Feel free to write whatever notes you wish to your staff, and hand them over to one of the Rangers who are with you." Who would read them first, of course. To parse them for hidden messages. And who would then take them to Pele or herself, before anything else happened with them. If Arnyn were smart, she'd rewrite them, even if they seemed harmless. She supposed secret codes were secret for a reason. If she rephrased the notes, however, any secret message would be lost.

Tercen was still hovering nearby, fidgeting with the sleeve of his coat, but not speaking. His eyes shifted, every once in a while, between Ava and Arnyn. From the one to the other. And back. Ava did not seem to be too disturbed. But Arnyn...

The Lieutenant waited for Vorondil to return, then briefly shared quiet words with him. He gave her a report of what he had found inside, that every room was clear, that the few knives in the kitchen were not sharp. That the windows and doors, besides the front door, were either barred or locked up tight. That there were limited provisions there, that could serve for a few basic meals. She gave her last orders, then - most had already been given and discussed outside of guard headquarters, with both Calan and Vorondil.

Vorondil inclined his head at her, then turned toward the house, waiting pointedly for Ava and Tercen to enter, first. Arnyn nodded once to her brother, without meeting his eyes. Once all three had stepped inside, Arnyn drew her cloak tighter about herself and stepped away from the door, toward Calan. Another exchange, quiet and calculated.

When she finally stepped away from the house, her stride was still even, still measured, still hers to command. She kept it so until the corner turned.

And then, when the house was out of sight, her knees weakened. The world tilted, black edging her vision. Arnyn caught the wall with one hand, pressing hard into cold stone. Her breath shuddered out, rough and ragged.

The mask slipped, and for a moment she let herself feel all of it - the weight of her choices, the doubt gnawing at its edges, the way her body screamed from within.

Only for a moment.

Then she straightened again, adjusted her cloak, and forced herself onward. Tomorrow, she would answer for all of this to the King.

Tonight, she just had to survive the walk home.

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Ava
Arriving at a safe house on the Fourth Circle
The early hours of the 31st

Ava nodded in acknowledgement of Arnyn's answer. She had no more questions, requests, or anything else to say at this time. It was very late by now, and she was tired. She didn’t really want any more tough conversations for now, and by the looks of the lieutenant, she probably felt the same way... in fact, probably even more so.

Seeing that the ranger was waiting on them to enter the house, Ava allowed Tercen to guide them both inside, holding onto his arm as they went. She was cold. Tired. Hungry. Yes, she realized, it had been several hours since they'd had a light, early supper. She had expected to have snacks during the play, at intermission. Instead, she'd ended up being dragged down to guard headquarters and held for no apparent reason. She frowned slightly as she reflected on the evening. It had started out well enough, but everything had gone sideways rather quickly. She regretted ever talking Tercen into going to the theater. She had thought it would be fine, sitting in a dark-ish room, separated from the majority of other spectators, in a little balcony all to themselves, with only her and a select group of people. People that she believed Arnyn knew and trusted, and therefore, she had extended a level of trust to them as well. What a mistake.

Maybe the whole day had been a mistake. This day didn’t seem like it would ever end, in fact. First, the meeting at headquarters, then the argument earlier, with Tercen, then the drama at the theater… Then the long waiting in the guard’s questioning room, the uncertainty of what they would do with her, and where she would end up. And now... this. Still uncertain what to expect.

She just wanted to let this day end, and to try and start fresh tomorrow. There were only a few days left before she would have to return home to the horrors that she would be forced to participate in. And now, on top of all else, she couldn’t even return to the comfort of the house she had purchased and had furnished to her liking. She stepped inside and looked around the main room. A safe house, apparently. At least it didn’t seem like a prison. But the fact that she would have to spend the rest of her time here, with rangers assigned to guard her - people whom she could not simply dismiss, like her servants - that made her feel all the more like she was a prisoner, even if they said she wasn’t. At least it wasn’t uncomfortable, and there was a fire in the hearth to keep them warm through the night. But she was disappointed not to be sleeping in her bedroom at her mansion, nonetheless.

She turned to the ranger who had come in with them. "The lieutenant mentioned there was food here?" She asked, aware that it had been hours since they’d enjoyed a light supper at her house before going to the theater. Despite wanting to go to sleep and be done with the day, Ava also figured her stomach would keep her awake if she didn’t eat at least something. She also had a feeling Tercen might be hungry, too, so it seemed best if they had something, even if it wasn't much.

Before long, Ava and Tercen sat down at the table to eat a small, simple snack of whatever was available in the pantry. But, although she had been the one to ask for the food, Ava didn’t really feel much like eating. She felt like her stomach was fluttering around, full of butterflies.

After she had made herself eat as much as she could manage from her plate, Ava pushed it away, then propped her chin on her hand with a soft sigh as she rested the elbow on the table, absently watching Tercen with a thoughtful expression, while he worked on his own food. Thinking about… everything. What had happened last night, what was planned to happen in a few days, what they had discussed yesterday… and especially, thinking about her own feelings toward him. About how he made her feel, and how she had felt last night when she thought he was in grave danger. And thinking about how she would feel if that situation were to repeat, only for real.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Tercen
With Ava
A safe house on the Fourth Circle
The early hours of the 31st
A collaboration with @Rillewen

Tercen hadn't been sure what to think about the situation, and it had made him more quiet than usual. He worried - not only about Ava and how she was taking everything that had happened the night before, but about Arnyn, as well. He hadn't asked her about her decision to move Ava to one of these special houses. He hadn’t fought her on it. As she had asked of him. Personally he wasn’t all that opposed to more protection for Ava, anyway. And what did he care what house they stayed in? This place was less cozy than his cabin but it still had all the comforts to be expected from the city.

The safe house was limited on walls and separate rooms, probably to make it easier to watch the occupants. The ranger who was inside with them, however, had kept out of the washroom and out of the bedroom they had used, after the initial inspections. Yet he kept a watch of sorts, in the main room. Where they were also now seated for breakfast. And even though the man kept his distance, the morning found Tercen uncharacteristically silent as he ate his breakfast, until he noticed the way Ava was looking at him. He tilted his head, putting down his utensils. “Starlight?” he prompted her quietly.

Blinking, she drew her focus back to him, rather than her thoughts. “Hm?” She straightened slightly, realizing that she had been sort of lost in thought, and had been gazing at him while she did her thinking.

There was a slight frown on his face as he thought of what he might ask. Because he both did and did not want to ask about the previous evening. A big part of him simply wanted to ignore it. The problem was that he knew he couldn’t pretend none of it had happened. “How… are you doing, with everything?” he finally asked her, his voice still low and quiet, so the ranger on the other side of the room could not overhear.

She hesitated, then sat back and put both hands in her lap, directing her thoughts toward how to answer that, among the current of other thoughts flooding through her mind. “I was not hurt,” She answered after a moment. “I am alright, Sunshine.” She smiled weakly, finding it a little bit difficult to give a full, genuine smile, given everything that had happened. She watched him assessingly as she spoke next. “And, how about you?” She wondered. “I was not the only one affected by..” She found that she had no idea what to even call it. The attack? The confrontation? The inconvenience? She paused briefly as she sought for the right word, then finished with simply, “by what happened.”

Tercen thought about that for a moment, before breathing out a half sigh, half huff. He raised his hands above the table slightly, before lightly dropping them again. He didn’t want to hide anything from Ava, cause he hated playing games with the people he loved, but it was a challenge to put it into words, he found.

“It’s… I was…” He shook his head, eyebrows raised. “When that man - Domanol - followed us… at first, I was afraid. Then angry, too.” He raised his eyebrows a bit higher. “In case that wasn’t clear,” he joked a little, one corner of his mouth lifting despite himself.

“I… was also afraid,” She admitted softly, going back to the first thing he had said, while making sure to keep her tone low enough to hopefully not be overheard by their observer. “But, not as much for myself as.. for you.” She told him, reaching across the small table to take his hands in both of hers.

At his light joke, she did manage to smile faintly. “Oh, you did?” She asked with feigned surprise. “I had no idea.” In spite of the seriousness of the topic, she did find that humorous, and her smile showed it.

He couldn’t resist smiling back. “Yeah. That was what all the swearing was about.” He held her hands in turn, and squeezed them slightly. “Sorry, Temptress,” he added with a little shrug, clearly not sorry about it at all. His gaze dropped to their hands as he contemplated what she had said, about her being afraid for him. “Because I didn’t leave when you asked?” The question was even more quietly spoken than his earlier words had been.

[Rillewen]

A collaboration with @Arnyn

Ava, with Tercen
At a safe house on the Fourth Circle
The early hours of the 31st

Ava remained quiet for a couple of seconds, processing these words. In her peripheral vision, she kept half an eye on the ranger, trying to decide if he was eavesdropping. He had so far not acted as if he could hear anything they said, however.

After a moment, she let out a silent sigh, almost as if she had been holding a breath without realizing it. “I.. understand that you felt protective of me.” She couldn’t deny that, nor could she really claim that she wasn’t pleased that he had felt that way. If he hadn’t, it would surely make her question whether he had really meant it when he said he loved her, after all. “Yet, I was rather relieved when you did go. Because… I really thought, at that time, that he was planning to kill us both. And I feared that… if I tried to fight him, that you might be injured in the process,” She explained, looking down as she confessed this. “I was worried that you were too angry to think properly.. That you might.. I don’t know. I was afraid that–”

“I would do something stupid?” he supplied.

Ava paused, blinking at him, and shook her head slightly. “No, not stupid,” She answered softly. “More like… something unexpected, which I couldn’t plan for.” She wasn’t sure if that made any sense to him.

He nodded, thoughtfully. Yeah, like he’d said - something stupid. “Right,” he agreed, not wanting to take away her preference not to call him dumb. “It was very difficult to… think,” he also agreed, nodding again. “And even though I seem to have managed to do some thinking, apparently the guards were far from the right call.” He frowned, dropping his gaze again, this time to a random spot on the table, as he thought of how Arnyn had looked when she’d come downstairs back at her house, and how she had later looked upon exiting that room at headquarters after her conversation with Domanol. Like a shell of herself.

For how much of that was he to blame?

Tercen swallowed, glancing back up at Ava. “I hated leaving you alone with him. The guards judged me for it, too, before one of them recognized him,” he told her. “That wasn’t my… proudest moment. It was just… I thought it would be best, at the time, and –”

“It’s alright, Tercen.” She spoke softly, interrupting just to try and reassure him with a tiny smile of understanding.

He fell silent after her interjection, clearly not entirely sure that it was, in fact, alright. After a long moment, he gave a slow nod. “I… I hope you don’t see that man’s actions as representable for…” he gestured vaguely toward the side of the house that was closest to the street. He did not want Ava to get the idea that Gondor was made up of people like that.

Ava was not quite expecting that comment. She let her gaze rest on their joined hands for a moment, wondering how to answer it. After taking a few heartbeats to consider it, she gave his hands a little squeeze. “I always try to avoid judging a person until I know more about them,” She said, attempting to be diplomatic with her answer. Then she let out a soft little sigh. “Yet, I do have a suspicion that most of your countrymen would… have similar reactions.” She admitted. “Why do you think I was so careful at the masquerade, not to answer questions about who I am, and where I am from, and so on? I only told you anything about myself when it became clear there was an attraction that was likely to last more than just.. one night.” She added, looking up to meet his eyes. “I wanted it to, anyway.” She swallowed, finding it a bit tough to talk about her feelings so openly. “I was so afraid you would hear ‘Umbar’, and lose all interest in me.” She practically whispered that part, not wishing for that ranger over there to hear, in case he did not already know. Then she smiled faintly at Tercen. “And then, I almost couldn’t believe the way you did react.”

A slow smile spread across his face as she continued. “You can blame my father for that,” he entrusted to Ava, though also not really caring if the ranger overheard what he was saying now. “He always made a big deal about seeing the good that is, or could be.” Tercen slanted his head. “Guess it turned me into an optimist,” he added, winking at her.

She smiled, and a tiny laugh slipped out. “Well, it certainly led to a very… unexpected relationship, I would have to say.” She couldn’t help but mention, smiling at him. “Which I am very glad for.” She added. After a small hesitation, she asked with curiosity, “Do you think your father would approve of me? Of.. us?”