Lord of the Rings Fanatics Plaza

@Arnyn
After the last of the bandits was no longer breathing, Celume's question hung in the air for a moment. Gladhron glanced around, a little uncertain of their location at the moment.

Gwestion stepped away from the horses after a moment, and quietly passed Gladhron's arrows to him, then turned and handed Celume's to her. His own had already joined the rest of his quiver. "We're not far from the Forsaken Inn, if I'm not too far off on my guess." He answered quietly, thoughtful. "We should be able to keep our horses there, along with these extras, for a while. Then.. I would suggest when that stable is full, we could make a trip to Bree to try and find their proper owners, maybe?" He shrugged.

"I wonder if any of these are the Millson's horse?" Gladhron mentioned, thoughtful as he looked at the animals. That one in the middle looked like the right color. "Anyway.. sounds reasonable. Even if it is only an excuse to get to see Bel again." He added a teasing jab at his brother.

Gwestion let out a little sigh, not really finding that humorous. He turned to Celume, waiting to hear what she might think. She seemed favorable to the plan, so he nodded. "I'll retrieve our horses, then." He volunteered. The bodies of the bandits would be left where they lay, so that their fellow bandits would find them, and see that they had been ambushed.


The group didn't spend much time at the inn, much to Bel's disappointment, but she readily agreed to care for all of the horses in their absence, and wished them good fortune in their efforts.

Traveling on foot was much more difficult for Gwestion, and he was beginning to question the wisdom in trying to jump into this whole thing so soon after being able to walk without crutches. But as the days passed and they continued to train with Celume, he began to notice improvements to his mobility as well as his fighting skills. It was good to finally be able to train again, and also good to train with someone that knew more than Gladhron.

Even Gladhron's skill with the sword began to improve, as he applied more effort into his training. The trio continued their efforts, but at times it was difficult to locate the trails. They managed to locate a few old trails that led to nothing, but the brothers were able to get a little practice with that skill. Still, many of the bandits seemed to know enough about tracks to be able to hide theirs, which could be frustrating. The rangers came across a couple of small groups over the next few days, and dealt with them similarly, but none of them would give away anything about where to find the bandit's base. Which was not very surprising, but also frustrating.

@Rillewen
Despite the grimness that lay over their hunt - for that was what it was - despite the cold way they took people's lives away - even if they were ruthless bandits... Despite the difficulties... Celumë mostly enjoyed her time with the brothers. Appreciation grew between all three of them, and their evenings together became more and more easy. It quickly became habit to play at least one game of cards with Gladhron and one game of chess with Gwestion, just like it became routine that they would spar in the mornings. They fell into a pattern without even trying, dividing tasks between them without much if any need for debate or discussion. Celume enjoyed how the younger brother so easily shared in responsibilities at a level she didn't often recognize in others, and how the older brother managed to lighten her spirit - even when she was feeling glum about their... endeavours. Sometimes she tried to do the same for Gwestion, not by blatantly teasing him as Gladhron seemed to want to try and cheer him up a little, but rather by dropping a word pun here or there. Or by throwing a casually teasing comment Gladhron's way. Gladhron could take it, and she'd noticed Gwestion seemed to have moments where he appreciated Gladhron being on the receiving end, for once.

The more time they spent together, the more she was also learning about the dynamic between the two brothers. She picked up on how Gladhron could sometimes do or say just the right thing to have Gwestion pick up on a chore that took more time, so Gladhron could do something that required less effort. At first, she had simply observed, watching it happen. But as the days passed, it seemed to be a recurring event. Not every day, but often enough for her to notice. One morning, when Gladhron said something that was angling to ensure Gwestion woudl prepare breakfast, Celumë was cleaning some dirt from under her fingernails with a small blade. And she couldn't help herself as she commented. "I believe Gwestion needs to do the legwork Ms Seri ordered." Her tone there - it was difficult to decipher. Gwestion would have simply done his exercises after preparing breakfast, she knew, but she was done with enabling these two as she had until now. When she continued, though, her words were casual. "We'd be able to break camp faster if you prepped breakfast today instead." Her gaze lingered on Gladhron a while, until she rose from her spot and started on her own chore. They could do what they wished with that now. But she was done pretending like she didn't notice.

That evening, Gwestion had taken it upon himself to make their dinner. It hadn't gotten lost on Celumë how the meals he prepped, despite their limited provisions, still somehow managed to taste much better than what she was used to. So she paid special attention this time, even asking him a few questions on why he did this or that, or what he was adding in. And even went to far as to tentatively inquire whether she might learn from him, in that respect.

When it was getting late and Gwestion took out the chess game, she grinned. Despite the hour, the two of them settled down for a game. Or three, probably. It didn't take long before Gladhron lost interest and turned in for the night.

"If he ever has trouble falling asleep, you should tell him to count pawns instead of sheep," she mumbled at Gwestion, nodding at Gladhron.

@Arnyn
The longer they worked together, the more they all felt like a team. Gladhron enjoyed having Celume working with them, and it made the unpleasant work less wearisome, to have a few games at the end of the day. As if it helped them to all forget the grimness of their task.

Gwestion appreciated the way Celume might occasionally poke a jab at Gladhron in return, and even more when she made some sort of wordplay pun. Sometimes he had to look down or away, or busy himself looking in a saddlebag or something, in order to hide a smile. He was especially surprised when she spoke up, reminding Gladhron that Gwestion had to do his exercises, while pointing out why it would be better if Gladhron prepped breakfast.

Gladhron hadn't consciously meant to pick on Gwestion, nor to manipulate his brother into doing more work than him, especially since he knew Gwestion still had to do all that stuff to regain his strength after his injuries. In fact, he was trying to remember to be nicer to him, and get along better with him, and share the workload more evenly. Having Celume around made him think a little more actively about how he was treating Gwestion, but at times he still subconcsiously slipped into natural habits, until she spoke up and drew his attention to the fact that he had done so. Then he felt bad for it.

Of course, if making breakfast had involved any cooking at all, Gwestion would have hastily warned her not to ask Gladhron to take on that task. Gladhron could both burn and undercook a meal at once, and therefore.. it was best for all of them if he kept away from any cooking jobs. But, since they had plenty of no-cook options for breakfast, this was fine. Gwestion had some inner satisfaction in seeing Gladhron pause to think about what she had said, then nod and go to the food bags to pick out something for them to eat. Later, when Celume asked Gwestion some questions about how he did his cooking, Gwestion didn't mind at all sharing his knowledge with her. He made no mention of where he had learned these skills, but showed her some of the lesser-known tips he had picked up from helping his mother in the kitchen, growing up. Which herbs and even a few vegetables he had found wild substitutions for, and a few campfire cooking tricks that he'd picked up over the past few years.. some of the different ways that he had adapted to having only an open fire to cook on, rather than a full kitchen. In fact, since Celume expressed an interest, this felt to him like the least he could do, after how much she had helped both he and Gladhron with their sword skills, not to mention helping them improve their tracking abilities as well.

When Gladhron decided, as usual, to go to sleep rather than stay up to watch them play chess, Gwestion wasn't very surprised. He really didn't get why Gladhron found the game so dull, or why he insisted it was too complicated. He figured it was rather a lack of interest and a stubborn refusal to try. But he didn't really mind that much, because Celume would play it with him. Occasionally, Gladhron would agree to play a game of checkers, but not often, since Celume was there play Gwestion in chess.

As she spoke up with a comment about telling Gladhron to count pawns instead of sheep, Gwestion smiled faintly as he turned to look toward where his brother had laid down. He watched and listened for a moment until he was sure that his snoring was genuine. "He rarely has trouble sleeping," He replied with mild amusement, turning back to her. "But I'm sure that would work for him. Not I," He shook his head slightly, then made a move. While she was considering her next move, Gwestion considered something else. After a moment, he made his decision. "He has a birthhday coming up." He informed her quietly. "Next week." He wondered what she might think of that. Would it surprise her to know that he had been keeping up with the days? "It's on the fifteenth," He added.

"I've been working on making something for him, during my shifts watching camp. And, I have something in mind to cook for supper that night, assuming all works out as I hope." It was about a full week away, still. But he had a few certain ingredients he'd been keeping stashed away, hidden in his saddlebags, and he'd been keeping a mental note of various vegetation that they came across, so he'd know where to find this or that, and so forth. He was pretty sure he could make the dish he had in mind, with a few alternatives, and it would be close enough to Gladhron's favorite dish. "I thought I ought to give you a little heads up about it." He wasn't sure whether she would want to bother coming up with any present, but he figured she might appreciate the chance to do so, at least.

@Rillewen
She looked surprised. But it was not surprise at the fact Gwestion was keeping up with the days, for Celumë was doing the same. She listened to him while debating her next move, her eyes switching between him and the board a few times as Gwestion explained he was making something for his brother and how he had an idea for an evening meal that day. A brief silence fell when he was done. Celume made her next move on the board.

"A birthday," she said quietly. Thoughtfully. She looked up at Gwestion, still with that same thoughtful expression. "Alright. Thank you for telling me." She wondered what Gwestion was making for his brother, but wasn't sure whether she should ask. "How many years will he be turning?" she asked instead, out of curiosity. She knew Gwestion was a few years younger, though she did not know exactly how many. And while it was clear the three of them were about in the same age bracket, she still wasn't too sure where to place either brother, number-wise. Looking at their behaviour, she'd have figured Gwestion to be the older brother. Not Gladhron. But they had told her it was the other way around.

For some reason, she felt that Gwestion telling her about Gladhron's birthday was some kind of progress between them. Gwestion was becoming a little less tight-lipped around her. After some deliberation and while she waited for his next move, Celume shifted her position on the grass.
"That day where we were trying to find out more about Harbarad," she started, her voice quiet as to not wake Gladhron, "when you came into the prancing pony and Gladhron spit out half his drink." Her eyes flicked up to his. "I want you to know - that was no joke at your expense. It was at the expense of the blonde - Amber - who was on her way to you."

"When I'd come in just a few minutes before, she'd been bothering your brother." Celume made a slow gesture with one of her hands. "Brushing up to him, trying to get him to come with her somewhere. Gladhron tried brushing her off. She was very persistent, regardless of his rather clear rejection." She paused, observing Gwestion's expression. "So I told her Gladhron was not attracted to women. And that she definitely wouldn't want to upset his... partner." Celume slanted her head, unable to fight the amusement that was seeping back in, though only one corner of her lips curled up into a half-smile. "When she saw you heading for our table... she drew the inevitable conclusion. The wrong one, of course. But at least she turned away..."

@Arnyn
Gwestion gave a little nod when she thanked him. He likely wouldn't have bothered, if it didn't seem likely she would still be with them in a week. But since she had stuck around all this time, he didn't think it too unlikely that she would still be with them by then. As she made her move, he watched, considering briefly how to counter that move. "Twenty-six." He answered her question without looking up from the board and pieces. At times, it was hard to believe how swiftly their ages were increasing, bit by bit.

When Celume spoke again, Gwestion looked up at her, at first wondering where she was going with what she was saying. He listened with a slight frown as she brought up that day, and reminded him of that incident. He sat back with curiosity as she let him know that it was not a joke at his expense. He nodded slowly as she went on, the frown deepening just a bit before she got to the explanation at last. The blond. He remembered her quite well, and not favorably.

Hearing what she had done made his frown increase that much more, but when Celume revealed what she had told the woman, the frown cleared slightly, changing first to brief puzzlement, then to something resembling stunned as he understood what she was implying. For a moment, he couldn't even focus on the game before him and stared at her while trying to sort through the various thoughts and emotions that barraged him at hearing about this. He couldn't quite believe what he was hearing, for a moment. In a way, he felt he had cause to be upset about it, but as he thought about it a bit, he also had to admit that she was right.. it had apparently worked, and made the woman leave Gladhron alone at last. He drew in a slow breath and finally gave a little nod. "So, that explains what she said to me as she passed," He muttered thoughtfully. It could be amusing, if he wanted to let himself be amused. He shook his head slightly and made his move, still thinking.

"Thank you." Gwestion added softly after he had moved his piece. He hesitated. "For.. telling me, but also, for doing what was necessary to protect him." He frowned, recalling all too well the last encounter Gladhron had had with that girl. He definitely didn't need a repeat of that. "Although I am a little surprised it worked, considering.." He added, frowning a little as he wondered about that. If he had known the rest of the story which Gladhron had not told him about, he would not have been so surprised, however. He didn't finish the sentence, realizing that she probably didn't know about Gladhron's history with Amber, and it was certainly not for him to tell.

After a moment, he glanced up at her with a hint of a wry smile. "Don't expect us to act the part though, next time we're in Bree."

@Rillewen
She wouldn't lie and claim it wasn't amusing to see the play of expressions on Gwestion's face. Her half smile grew into a proper one, though she had the smarts not to laugh out loud while Gwestion was still processing. Watching his move on the board as well as the implications for the game, she looked back up when he thanked her. "It was either that, or pretend I was his sweetheart, or strongarm her," she mused in response. "I'm sure you can see why I picked the option I did," she added with a quick grin.

She nodded when he said he was surprised her claim had worked at all, though. "I know," Celumë said quietly, watching Gwestion as he was looking down at the board. "But apparently she has the tendency to forget who she... has met."

Gwestion's last comment made her blink. Once. Twice. Before she pressed her lips together to stifle her laughter. Soon, she had to put a hand over her mouth to aid with that, and she couldn't help some giggles slipping past. Once her initial amusement had passed, she grinned at him. "Wouldn't dream of it."

@Arnyn
Gwestion let out a little huff of breath that could almost have been a quiet snort. "I'd imagine Gladhron would've preferred the former," He muttered. "Although the latter might have proven.. amusing." He shifted into a cross-legged sitting position while keeping his face straight, with just a bit of effort. There was, however, a glint of amusement that could be seen in his eyes if she happened to be looking that way.

When she mentioned that Amber had a tendency to forget those she had met, Gwestion raised an eyebrow slightly at that. He wasn't entirely sure what she meant about that, but he couldn't help but mention someone the woman wasn't likely to ever forget, and for good cause. "Hmm.. I doubt she would forgotten our friend, Emma." He commented, though he kept his gaze down at the board now. His face wanted to shift into a little smirk at that recollection, but he fought it.

As Celume seemed to take a moment to process the other comment, Gwestion had only just managed to calm himself a little when the woman across from him started snickering and giggling. Gwestion found it all the more difficult not to join her. With one elbow cupped in the palm of the other hand, sort of resting on his knee, he pressed the fist of the first hand against his mouth, determinedly staring downward to try and hide any amusement that might be showing in his face or eyes. It required a few careful, deep breaths in and out before he trusted himself to speak again. "Well, at least we're agreed on that." He cleared his throat and breathed in, then out.

Finally, he glanced up at Celume, a little more serious, though a little glint of amusement still lingered in his eyes, faint, but noticeable if she was paying attention. "I am glad we met you, Celume." He told her softly, but genuinely.

@Rillewen
The grin gentled into a smile, lights dancing in her eyes as she watched Gwestion's own amusement. Surprise flashed through her at his admission, and the honesty in his tone. That was just about one of the last things she would have expected, coming from Gwestion. "So am I," she replied, equally genuine.

Unsure of whether she should say anything else about that or move on, and of what Gwestion would prefer, she reminded herself of how similar they were. Celumë thought about what she might prefer if she had been the one to say that. Suddenly, it was an easy decision.
It had been said. The sentiment had been returned. It had made her happy. That was enough. More than enough.

After another move on the board, she couldn't help but wonder at an earlier comment. "When you said you doubted Amber would have forgotten your friend - Emma?" She raised an eyebrow. "I'm trying not to jump to conclusions. You mean they, too...?" The sentence trailed off as she shook her head with a puzzled frown.

@Arnyn
He watched as she made her next move. He had to readjust his plan to account for this, as it wasn't the move he had expected her to make. While he was mentally plotting out his altered strategy, Celume asked about what he had said about Emma. "What?" Gwestion frowned in brief confusion. Then, a second later, it clicked what she was asking. He looked up at her with wide eyes, almost choking as he coughed, a bit shocked by the implication, and also the fact she might have come to that conclusion. "No!" He answered hastily while keeping his voice low. "No, no, no, no, no!" He drew in a breath, feeling like he couldn't say enough 'no's. Emma would probably be offended by such an implication, he was sure.

"No.. I mean.." How to explain this without going into too much detail about what Gladhron had asked him not to tell about? He frowned briefly and sat up more. "After.. what Amber did, Emma was furious, and understandably so. Once she felt that she could leave him in my care, she uh.. went and had a few words with Amber." He explained. "I wish I could have been there to see," He added with an almost wistful look. "But, alas.. she didn't tell anyone she was going looking for her. And I was keeping watch over him, anyway." He shrugged, considering his next move.

"Actually, that day you referred to earlier? That was the first time that I had ever laid eyes on Amber. I would have rather it had been while she still bore the black eye that Emma gave her.. but.. no such luck." Thinking back on the tale Emma had come back with, he hid a little smile with his fist again as he reached the other hand forward to move his piece and claim one of hers. "Emma is.." He considered, glancing up at Celume. "a bit like you, I think, in some ways. I believe you and she would get along. But, anyway, on that occasion, she was quite.. upset that one of her friends nearly died because of that...idiot." He explained quietly. "And she wanted to make sure no one else suffered a similar experience."

@Rillewen
Her expression was a blend of amusement and confusion - and probably curiosity - as Gwestion so vehemently (though still quietly enough not to wake his brother - denied what she was asking. "Okay, so no," she summarized, a little grin on her lips, as Gwestion drew in a breath to get his bearing, before he could explain further. She wondered if he could use some water after the way he had choked out that cough.

Celumë frowned, forgetting about the chess game finally as she watched Gwestion. After what happened between Amber and Gladhron, this Emma found out. And she was furious, for some reason Gwestion seemed to think was valid. Celumë could understand that. You didn't want your friend getting close to someone and then that someone demanding money for certain... activities. It was a scam of sorts. Celumë nodded thoughtfully. She wasn't following certain bits, though, like how Gwestion said 'once she felt she could leave Gladhron in his care' and how he had kept watch over his brother. What had Amber done to Gladhron that he needed to be cared for? Celumë glanced at Gladhron's sleeping form. Had he been that invested, then? Or what kind of bedroom tricks did this Amber possess, exactly?

Their friend had given Amber a black eye? Celumë looked back at Gwestion, frowning slightly and trying to figure out several things at once as Gwestion compared their friend Emma to her. Celumë blinked. "Wait, what?" she finally blurted out, straining to keep her voice low. "He almost died?"

@Arnyn
The way Celume reacted left Gwestion a bit puzzled. When she finally blurted out in shock, "he almost died?", he frowned. Now, he was really confused. "What..? I thought.." He paused, trying to make sense of this obvious misunderstanding. While she hadn't actually said that Gladhron had told her about his unfortunate encounter with Amber, the things she had said had seemed to imply it, and so he had just assumed. Of course, he had found it a bit surprising that he would have told her about that incident, but what else would he have told her, for her to know.. what she seemed to know?

He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times as he tried to find the best way of responding here. Finally, he cleared his throat. It was obvious that she had not been told about that, so he should start there. "My apologies, I thought he had told you about.. that." He frowned, glancing toward his sleeping brother, before returning his gaze to her. "And since he obviously has not.." He hesitated. "Then I cannot. I promised him I would not tell anyone about it." He explained, with a slightly apologetic shrug.

Sighing, he shook his head and thought a bit more. This still didn't quite add up.. how could she seem to know how horrible Amber was, without knowing what she'd actually done to him? He was confused once again. "But if he didn't tell you about that incident," He tilted his head curiously. "What did he tell you about Amber?"

@Rillewen
Instantly trying to dial back her shock once she'd uttered the words, Celumë tried to focus on the chess game again. And failed. Instead she watching Gwestion opening and closing his mouth a few times. Listened to him clearing his throat. And she started to realize this was not a conversation that they should be having without Gladhron.

She therefore gave a slow nod at Gwestion's refusal to share more information. By rights, he shouldn't. Still coming to grips with what information the younger brother had unintentionally dropped on her, though, Celumë frowned. So weird. What could have happened that made it seem like Gladhron could hardly walk after Amber had been through with him? Or something like that, anyway... She'd just have to let go of her questions, though.

"I understand," she offered, her tone as thoughtful as she looked. "Obviously, he told me much less than he told you." She smiled faintly. "Which makes perfect sense, considering you're his brother. And I'm just your latest friend." She couldn't hold it against Gladhron that he hadn't told her everything. Honestly, it had been surprising he had told her as much as he had. "Maybe you should ask him," she suggested, nodding toward Gladhron with a little smile, "what he told me. To avoid any..." She gestured into the air. "Mistakes. I think you and I feel the same way about things like these, anyway."

@Arnyn
After hearing what he'd asked, out loud, Gwestion realized that it was really not something he ought to ask. He was a little relieved, therefore, that she declined to answer. He nodded, agreeing with her statement that he ought to ask Gladhron. "Yes.. that is probably a good idea," He acknowledged. He looked back down at the game with a soft clearing of his throat. "Probably best to forget anything I said concerning the issue, actually." While Gladhron had a habit of blurting out too much information and saying things that he shouldn't, Gwestion did not intend to do the same in return. And, he also had a feeling that this was one matter that Gladhron would be embarrassed to have become too widely known. Otherwise, he wouldn't have asked Gwestion and Emma to keep it quiet.

He couldn't think of anything else to say for a moment, and felt slightly awkward about that. He found himself wondering whose turn it was. It took him a moment of studying the board before seeing that no pieces had moved since his turn, and therefore it was her turn. Gwestion glanced up at her again while he waited for her to make a move. "Would you rather take the first or last watch, by the way?" He asked. If he ended up with the last watch, he would be the one cooking breakfast so it would be ready about the time the other two awakened, as was his habit whenever he had the last one. But if she took the last watch, she could do whatever she preferred as far as that went. But, since Gladhron was already asleep it seemed logical to have him take the middle watch. And since he couldn't help wondering what Gladhron had told Celume, he decided that he might ought to find out, as well as let him know that he'd accidentally let some information slip. So he figured the best time to ask him about that would be during whichever shift change they decided on.

@Rillewen
She smiled, easily agreeing. "I will try," she promised. At the very least, she could leave it be - even if she couldn't really make herself forget. His question about the first or last watch reminded her of their game, and Celume focused on the board again, shifting a piece before replying. "I'll take first watch, if you don't mind." She had an idea for Gladhron's gift and wanted to get started sooner rather than later.


The week almost flew by. They trained and sparred together, Celumë feeling satisfied with the progress she could see both of the men making. They ambushed another bandit group. A larger party this time. Almost as if whoever was leading them was starting to send out bigger groups as a way to try and combat them getting picked off. Gwestion and Celumë started making the dinner meals together, having Gladhron do the cleaning up after. The evening games also continued, though Celumë was now turning in a bit sooner most nights, often taking the middle watch and rousing the brother who was taking the last watch a little later than would be expected.

When the morning of Gladhron's birthday came, and Celume had woken, she made as little noise as possible. Looking over at Gwestion, who had taken the last watch, she gave him a quiet smile before grabbing a bundle and all their waterskins, taking off into the trees for a while. She returned after a while with filled waterskins, dressed in different clothes, her hair still wet. She'd made good use of the nearby stream, it seemed, and spread out a thin travel towel over a low tree branch. As quietly as she could, she approached Gwestion. "Need any help with breakfast?" she asked in a whisper. "Or should we wait a little? Let him sleep in on his birthday?" They both knew how Gladhron wasn't nearly as excited about their early mornings.

@Arnyn
There was nothing more said about the matter of Amber, and although the brothers had had a quiet talk, when Gladhron had woken Gwestion for the last watch that night. After sorting out a little of the confusion, they'd deemed it best to let the matter rest unless their new friend asked for any more information. Since she did not, Gladhron was a little relieved by that, as he didn't really want to bring it up.


As the week passed, the attacks on the bandits seemed to be getting just a bit more challenging as they tried to increase their numbers, but the trio of rangers were excellent archers, even those for whom archery was a secondary weapon. The criminals were getting armor from somewhere, too. Likely stolen, along with everything else they 'owned'. It seemed they spent a lot of time lurking at different points along the road, waiting to ambush unwary travelers, or occasionally raiding small homesteads and settlements around the area.

Gwestion had been thinking a lot about how they ought to spend this day; Gladhron's birthday. The three of them had, by now, spent weeks hunting the bandits almost nonstop. Personally, Gwestion felt that they should keep hunting them without ceasing, until they were completely eradicated. If they stopped for even a day, maybe they would fail to save someone who might have been saved, otherwise? But at the same time, taking a day off might give the rangers a little rest, which might be beneficial. And it might confuse the bandits, and keep them guessing. He felt a bit torn about it, himself. So, he decided to get another opinion.. from Celume, not Gladhron. Because he already knew what Gladhron would choose.

When Celume looked toward him with a little smile, he gave a little nod to greet her. He was tying off the stitches on something made of leather. Seeing her gathering stuff from her gear, Gwestion quietly asked if he could borrow her deck of cards for a moment, and received them from her before she set off into the woods. He was pleased to see that what he had made was just the perfect size. When she returned from the stream, he had stashed what he was working on away, out of sight, by now, so she wouldn't be able to see what he had wanted it for. He waited until she had spread out her damp towel before handing the deck back to her. "Thank you."

Glancing toward Gladhron, he thought briefly in answer to her question. "Let him sleep," He agreed. "at least a little while longer." He stretched, rolling his shoulders a little bit after sitting for a long, working on those stitches. "I have been thinking," He mentioned, slightly hesitant to bring it up, but he did. "We've hardly taken a day to rest since we began this.. battle." He wasn't sure what else to call it, but 'battle' seemed a fitting enough description with what was going on between them and the bandits. "A day off might be.. rejuvenating for us all." He shrugged, mainly suggesting it for Gladhron's sake because he knew his brother would enjoy having a whole day of just relaxing.

@Rillewen
The suggestion surprised her. Celume assessed Gwestion's expression for a moment. "Well," she finally said, thoughtfully, "we have not picked up a new trail yet. That could take us some time, even of we did not opt to take a day's rest." Meaning - the bandits wouldn't necessarily notice. "What does bring me some concern is how we make sure they don't ambush us, instead," she offered quietly. "If we are resting, if we are staying put, and they stumble onto us.. or maybe they won't stumble at all. By this point," she entrusted to Gwestion, her expression grim, "they might be hunting us in turn. If I were their leader, it is what I would do."

"Keeping that in mind... we could rest for the day. Not hunt for them. But we will have to be wary. I would also feel better if we set up a few traps around our location if we are going to stay here." It was a good place though, with the stream nearby and the tree density. Not close to any of the roads. "So we are forewarned when someone approaches." She really was concerned about turning from hunter into prey. For she did not know their enemy's skills in stealth or tracking.

@Arnyn
As Celume expressed another concern, Gwestion nodded. "Yes.. that too." He was not in favor of getting ambushed the way they had been doing to the bandits.. they'd be quite outnumbered, if the bandits continued increasing the numbers in each party, as they had been doing. He noticed the way Celume had seemed to study him for a moment, and he wondered if she picked up on the fact that, privately, he was not entirely enthused about the idea of taking a day off. Yet, he also knew somewhere in the back of his mind, that it was probably not quite healthy to keep going constantly at something like this, without any rest.

"I agree," he said, when she spoke of being wary. Gladhron would probably rather be spending this day at some boisterous inn, but he could at least enjoy a restful day, instead. "Whatever traps we set," He gave a faint smile, "we will have to make sure and let Gladhron know about them." He could only imagine the sort of chaos that could ensue if his brother went off to wash at the stream or something, and stumbled into something like a net. He cleared his throat and turned to get something from his pack, but he couldn't help recalling the time he and Gwandhyra had gotten swept up into a net meant for their enemies. Not a memory he liked to recall, although it was a bit humorous, looking back.

"Let's let him sleep while we do this." He suggested, pulling out some string and other supplies from one of his bags. Working together, they went a reasonable distance from their camp before getting started, forming an uneven (and therefore less predictable) circle of traps going around their camp. Once they were both satisfied with that, it seemed like a good time to start making breakfast. Having found a nest of some sort of fowl while they were setting the traps, Gwestion held the eggs up to the sunlight to check whether they contained a chick. He was able to find three that did not, so he brought them along to supplement their breakfast.

He had an idea in mind for that as well, and asked Celume to slice some cheese while he mixed up some biscuit dough. Since bandits were not the only thing they'd had to hunt during the last few weeks, the rangers had some rabbit meat left over from last night's supper. While the biscuits were cooking on the fire, Gwestion had Celume help him with making sausage. Using the remaining portions of the meat, they added a few herbs and seasonings, and made up some sausage, which were then formed into patties. Those would be cooked after the biscuits were done, since he had only one dish to cook them in. The eggs were last to cook, using the grease from the meat to both flavor and keep the eggs from sticking.

By the time the sausage, egg, and cheese biscuits were finished and assembled, Gladhron was stirring and rubbing his eyes, sniffing the delicious aroma that filled the air. He sat up and looked over to see what was cooking. "That smells.. amazing." He declared.

@Rillewen
She smiled when Gwestion said they would have to inform Gladhron about any traps. "That would be wise," she replied, hiding most of her amusement. "Setting secret traps around us and not informing him might be more of an activity for your birthday," she joked quietly while she turned away from him, still tucking a few things of hers away and meanwhile hiding her grin at the memory of the barracks prank wars such a thought reminded her of. As they set the traps, both of them were rather interested in each other's ideas. She actually enjoyed setting the traps with Gwestion, in a mostly companionable silence.

Not asking what he had in mind for breakfast, but more going along with Gwestion's lead, Celumë helped where she could. As they worked on it, she was looking more and more forward to actually eating it.

When Gladhron finally stirred, Celume couldn't help but shake her head. "Your timing is what's amazing," she replied, shooting a grin at Gwestion before looking back at Gladhron. "All credit goes to your brother," she added casually, taking out their bowls and utensils. She wondered if Gladhron even knew what day it was.

@Arnyn
Gwestion had to admit, Celume had an interesting sense of humor. He couldn't help feeling somewhat amused as she suggested the idea of setting traps to let Gladhron walk into.. as an activity for Gwestion's birthday. When she responded to Gladhron's comment with that, Gwestion had to glance away for a moment. He knew exactly what she meant. Gladhron, however, did not seem to.

"Thanks..?" Gladhron looked at her, wondering what was so amazing about his timing, then Gwestion, wondering why he seemed a bit amused. Shrugging it off, he got up, stretching his arms before he came to join them around the campfire. "Oh, you have coffee going too." He commented, pleased.

Gwestion passed the best-looking breakfast sandwich to Gladhron. "Happy birthday." He then watched in quiet, mostly hidden amusement while Gladhron looked up and blinked at him.

Gladhron held the sandwich down by his lap, taking a moment to try and count up. "Is it?" He asked, sounding a bit baffled. "I could've sworn it was still only the beginning of the month..?"

"It was, when you went to sleep." Gwestion replied with a shrug, picking up his own sandwich as he kept his tone and face rather deadpan. "You slept through the first half of the month."

Rolling his eyes, Gladhron pushed his shoulder playfully. "Sure, whatever. Guess that explains why I'm starving." He grinned and looked at Celume. "Did you hear that? He actually made a joke!" He laughed.

Gwestion allowed a little smile after stopping himself from falling over with a hastily placed hand on the ground to brace himself. Then picked up the coffee pot from the coals. "Here," He nodded for Gladhron to hold out his cup, and poured him some coffee. Gwestion held it out toward Celume, and would fill his own cup last. "No milk," He told Celume, "but there is a bit of sugar," He said that to Gladhron with a nod toward the little pouch of sugar nearby. By now, he knew that Celume liked milk but didn't take sugar, and that Gladhron preferred the latter when he could get it.

@Rillewen
She snickered when Gladhron didn't seem to realize it was actually his birthday. Apparently, Gwestion and she were the only ones keeping good count of the days, At Gladhron's comment that he thought it was the beginning of the month, Gwestion's reply left her a bit open-mouthed. The playful way Gladhron pushed his shoulder, though, made her eyes light up and her lips curve into a smile. As Gladhron expressed his surprise about the joke, Celumë chuckled. "Must be a birthday special." Even Gwestion would have to admit... it was a rare thing.

"Thanks," she told Gwestion, and poured some coffee. Black was better than nothing, though she would stick to half a cup of it in that case. "So, what do you want to do today?" she asked Gladhron with a faintly curious smile. Digging into the breakfast, which was... truly... delicious... she let the two men take care of the conversation for a while.

@Arnyn
"What, we aren't doing the usual?" Gladhron asked in surprise, glancing from her to Gwestion.

"Well, we can, if that's what you'd like to do." Gwestion answered with a shrug. "But Celume and I figured you might prefer to take the day off. We agreed it was probably due.." He paused. "Oh, you should know that we put some traps all around the area, in case any bandits come around. Figured we'd rather not be the recipient of the sort of greetings we've been giving them." He explained.

Gladhron blinked and glanced around, but he couldn't see anything of these traps from where he was sitting. "Good to know, thanks." He nodded and took the first bite of his sandwich. "Mmm," He sighed happily. It was very unexpected to get something like this.. mostly they had been keeping to quick, cook-less breakfasts that didn't require much prep or eating time.

They ate in mostly silence, as the breakfast was really too good to take the time to talk in between bites. Once it was gone, however, Gladhron returned to the topic. "So. We're resting today?" He asked with a smile, surprised but pleased to see Gwestion nodding. "Then as much leisure as we can get, today." He declared with a nod. "Card games," He grinned toward Celume. "And Gwestion has to play, too." He smirked toward his brother, then another idea struck. "Ohhh, hey, isn't there a stream nearby? If it's got a deep spot, maybe we could do a bit of swimming.. it's definitely hot enough for it." He suggested.

@Rillewen
His answer was really no surprise. As much leisure as they could get. Celumë wondered how on earth they would even be able to fill the day? It wasn't like there was that much to do, other than play cards and just sit around talking. Part of her whispered it would be a long day if that was to be the plan. A different part of her tried to shove that down. As far as it could go.

So she managed to smile when Gladhron declared he wanted to play card games and grinned at her like that. She rolled her eyes a little when he said Gwestion had to play, too. But that wasn't a surprising request. Gwestion would have seen it coming. At the suggestion of swimming, though, Celume slanted her head. "There is," she confirmed, wondering why she hadn't thought of that as an option before. Having washed that morning, she had found it deep enough to stand in up to her shoulders, even. "And we wouldn't even have to go far." Her eyes strayed to her towel, still damp and drying. She only had the one. But it was definitely warm outside. Too warm to wear a vest or even long sleeves - which she hadn't, today - and too warm, almost, for the long trousers she always wore. A swim - or several, throughout the day - would definitely cool them down. Setting the traps and helping with breakfast had already been enough to make her forget about the coolness of the water earlier that morning. She wouldn't mind another dip at all. "The day will only get warmer," she mused.

They decided on some cards first, and a swim after. Celumë let Gwestion go first, curious to see how well he would hold up against Gladhron. Then she played Gladhron a few times. And then they played a game all three of them could play together. Gladhron was clearly in his element, and Gwestion and Celume shared a few glances between them from time to time, as if they were telling each other it seemed like they were on the right track.

When the sun had climbed to its highest point, Celumë suggested they leave the cards be and go for that swim Gladhron suggested. They took their packs and belongings with them, not wanting to risk having to move quickly and not having everything nearby. On the way to the stream, Gwestion and Celumë made sure to point out the traps they'd set in this area to Gladhron. Once they arrived at the stream, Celumë pointed out where she'd bathed that morning. "I know that is a deep spot. I just walked in there -" she pointed, "and after about a yard or two it goes really deep. I didn't swim around though, so I don't know if it changed quickly one way or the other." After drinking deeply from her water skin, she first refilled it, returned it to her pack and then started tugging off her boots. "You both know how to swim?" she suddenly thought to ask. Not everyone learned, after all. But Gladhron had made it sound like they did, at least. She dropped her boots, socks and trousers next to her pack. "If either of you want some soap," she said, "I still have some in my pack. It's right at the top, in a little pouch. You can help yourselves," she grinned, leaving it up to them whether they'd see it as her teasing them about needing it or not. Then she jumped out into the stream, where she knew the spot was deep enough. Belatedly, she figured it might have been smart to braid her hair first. But she wasn't about to attempt that now it had just gotten soaked.

@Arnyn
Gwestion refrained from sighing as Gladhron decreed that he had to play. Yes, alright, he thought, and resigned himself to play along with the games his brother liked. Only because it was his birthday. He didn't apply as much effort into winning the games as he could have, yet without making it obvious that he wasn't really invested in the win. Gladhron cared more about that when it came to cards. Gladhron won most of the games, though Gwestion did win at least once, before turning it over to Celume. Their exchanged glances made him wonder if she had picked up on the fact he wasn't trying all that hard to win, nor whether she was doing the same. Neither said anything to that effect, and Gwestion had no intentions of asking about it later.

Gladhron almost couldn't believe he'd gotten Gwestion to agree to a few rounds of card games. For Celume, it wasn't a surprise, but Gwestion? He could only assume that it was special treatment for it being his birthday. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he halfway wondered if he would be expected to do the same on Gwestion's birthday.. to play chess with him. But then he decided he'd worry about that in a few months.

Finally, after several games, when the sun was getting hot and they could all use a chance to get up and stretch their legs, Gladhron was quite pleased to agree with Celume's suggestion of taking that swim now. Along the way to the stream, he spotted a few of the traps just before Gwestion or Celume pointed them out, but only because he had been looking for them. He nodded, making mental notes about where they were.

They sat down to take off their boots, but then the question whether they knew how to swim almost made Gladhron laugh, but instead he just grinned. "Of course." He answered, tossing his boots aside under a bush where his other stuff was strewn, mostly together. "We all learned quite young. Our father made sure of that. And then I helped teach Gwestion and.." He hesitated and glanced at Gwestion then. "Anyway, we had a stream much like this, near where we grew up." He concluded with a little smile.

Gwestion gave a small nod as his own reply, but kept quiet as he set his boots neatly together at the base of a tree, near his other gear. The near mention of their sister's name had dampened his mood slightly, though he tried not to let it show. But now that they were here at the stream, he felt a little awkward as Celume removed some of her clothing, which he supposed was to be expected, but he started feeling a bit hesitant to join them. The last time he had swam with a female, it had been his little sister, and they had been kids, so.. it was a bit different then. And Celume wasn't related to them.

As Celume offered her soap, Gladhron laughed. "Is that a hint?" He asked with an amused grin, then brought up an arm to shield himself from the splashing caused when she jumped in. He waited for her to be clear from that spot before jumping in as well. The water was wonderfully cool, and a bit of a shock to plunge straight in, but in a good way. He came up and shook the water out of his hair, then looked to see where everyone else was. Gwestion was still sitting on the bank, looking.. a little skeptical. "Come on Gwestion!" He encouraged. "What's wrong?"

"I.. am trying to remember if we put out the fire," Gwestion frowned, stalling a little, as he glanced back toward their camp.

"Pretty sure you already double checked that." Gladhron tilted his head in curiosity, then swam back toward the bank. "Are you coming in or what?"

Gwestion shrugged, unable to think of any other excuses, but still felt reluctant to remove any clothes, and also felt a little too awkward to try and explain why.

Gladhron looked toward Celume with a little shrug, then back at Gwestion. He tried to think what might be bothering his brother. Then he remembered that he probably had some scars that he was reluctant to reveal.. and that would mean he wouldn't want to take any of his clothes off to swim. But knowing Gwestion, he figured.. he'd feel like they might judge him if he swam fully dressed as he was. So, there was the dilemma. As soon as Gladhron came to the conclusion what was preventing Gwestion from joining them, he arrived at a solution.

Climbing out of the water, he approached Gwestion, wearing a mischievous little smirk.

Gwestion watched him suspiciously. "What?" He wasn't sure what Gladhron was up to, but he had a feeling he wasn't going to be terribly enthused about it.

"Come on," Gladhron grabbed his arm and pulled him up, tugging him toward the water. "You have to swim too."

Gwestion swiftly twisted his arm out of Gladhron's grip and stepped back with a little frown. "Stop it, you're getting me wet."

"That's the idea!" Gladhron grabbed him with a laugh, this time in a bear hug.

Gwestion squirmed and twisted, trying to break out of his grip again, but Gladhron didn't want to let go, even when they ended up falling over on the ground. For a few minutes, there was a wrestling match between the brothers as Gladhron tried to get Gwestion to the water, while Gwestion was trying to get away from him. To watch them, they were acting like boys playing around, roughhousing and such. If Gladhron tried to tickle Gwestion in the process, it would hardly come as a surprise to anyone.

After much effort, Gladhron managed to get back to his feet, holding a still-struggling Gwestion draped across his shoulders in such a way he couldn't easily get out of it. "HA!" He grinned triumphantly as he moved toward the water's edge.

"Wait.." Gwestion tried to protest, but without success.

"Watch out!" Gladhron warned Celume, running a few steps before he jumped into the water with Gwestion, the younger brother still fully clothed except for his feet. Problem solved.

@Rillewen
Gladhron said that, yes, they both knew how to swim, so that was good. When he added how he had helped teach Gwestion and... well, Celume assumed their sister, from the way he fell silent and the look on Gwestion's face, she didn't ask if her assumption was correct. Neither of them needed reminding of their little sister, today.

"Take from it what you will," she laughed when Gladhron asked if her mentioning her soap was a hint. Soon, Gladhron plunged into the water behind her. But Gwestion... Gwestion hadn't been doing much of anything, after taking off his boots. Upon Gladhron's inquiries, the younger brother didn't seem particularly inclined to answer with his reasons. Celume decided to wisely remain where she was, rather than swim along to the bank. Maybe Gwestion would be more forthcoming just talking to his brother. Even despite the way she and Gwestion had been getting along lately. Swimming in place a little, she still watched them though, as Gladhron climbed back out of the stream and onto the bank and... started physically convincing Gwestion to come into the water. Celume hid most of her amusement, but she couldn't quite look away as they engaged in one of the most brotherly displays she'd seen them in so far.

The wrestling took a little longer than she'd thought it would, and she shook her head before going under a few times and seeing if she could keep her eyes open underwater. It wasn't pleasant, so she soon gave up on that. There was no reason to keep trying, after all. Coming back up and looking back at the two men, Gladhron and Gwestion were still at it. Celumë chuckled quietly. Gladhron ended up with the upper hand, and even as Celumë tucked that bit of information away, she couldn't help but laugh at the way he was hauling Gwestion - who was still trying to fight him every step of the way - toward the water. She moved well out of the way to make room for them, and was grinning when Gladhron jumped in, with Gwestion draped half over him.

"Success!" she cheered, laughing lightly. "Sorry," she told Gwestion when his head emerged out of the water. "But aren't you glad for the cool-down, at least?" Plus, she was glad they could all do this together. Part of her really regretted the way she was always playing cards separately with Gladhron and then chess with Gwestion. She hoped Gwestion would stay in for a while, so they could all have fun with the same activity for once.

When Gladhron's head came back up, she just sent a wave of water his face, so his face would get sloshed again. "Show-off," she just told him.

@Arnyn
Gwestion managed to break free once they'd hit the water, and he came up first, spluttering a little from getting a little water up his nose. He took a moment to steady himself in the water, treading with his feet. He brought his hands up and tried to shake the water off them before trying to wipe the remaining water from his eyes. He glanced toward Celume at her question. "It is cool," He agreed, but for the moment he had some unfinished business with his brother.

As soon as Gladhron emerged, Celume sent a splash toward him. He laughed, trying unsuccessfully to dodge. As if getting splashed would bother him. "There," He grinned toward Gwestion, looking quite proud of himself. "Isn't that better?"

Gwestion swept his arm across the water so that it sent an even bigger splash toward Gladhron, causing him to cough and spit out some of it. Then he lunched forward while he was briefly blinded, and grabbed Gladhron by the shoulders to push him under.

"Hey!" Gladhron spluttered, then managed to push him off and swam away. "Alright, alright, enough!" He laughed. "Have you had your revenge, then?"

"You think that's revenge?" Gwestion raised an eyebrow. "Oh, no. That isn't revenge." He paused. "I'm sooo going to put spiders in your bedroll tonight." Gwestion vowed with feigned seriousness. "Just you wait."

"You wouldn't dare!" Gladhron's eyes widened. His face may have even lost a shade of color. "It is my birthday..." He reminded Gwestion, thinking that ought to be sufficient reason for why he should be nice to him today.

"Not after midnight." Gwestion gave a vague smile that hinted at some sort of devious plotting.

Gladhron narrowed his eyes, wondering if Gwestion was really serious or just teasing him. "Right, I think I'll be taking a nap after we're done swimming." He smirked. "Then I can stay up after midnight and make sure you keep those.. things away from me." He shivered, then swam closer to Celume. "You'll protect me, right?" He asked with a hopeful smile.

@Rillewen
She chuckled when Gwestion got back at Gladhron with a threat that clearly had reason enough to give him pause, for he blanched a little. Afraid of spiders, then. It was almost surprising that he hadn't encountered any in the woods yet during their time together! She'd seen a few small ones, scurrying about. But none who had gotten into her pack or bedroll.

Once she saw Gladhron wasn't panicking at Gwestion's ominous statement about Gladhron's birthday ending at midnight, Celumë grinned. Even though Gladhron played along with the joke a little, she still caught his shiver at the thought on his way over to her.

She raised an eyebrow at the question that followed, at once not having expected such a request as well as being tempted to follow in the brothers' playfulness. "From your brother's wrath?" she asked sweetly as she swam closer as well. She seemed to be thinking it over, just on the verge of actually answering, when instead she swiped her legs against his to push his weight forward, at the same time suddenly pushing down on his shoulder with one hand and his head with the other. They'd both go under like this, but she had been prepared - with a good deep breath of air and closing her eyes before submerging.

When she came back up, she rubbed the water from her eyes and grinned. "Strange," she drawled. "So far, you hadn't struck me as someone who needed much protecting."

@Arnyn
Gladhron yelped in surprise as Celume unexpectedly tangled his legs and pushed him under. As a result, he was coughing and spitting out water as he came up. "You're both..trying to drown me!" He accused between coughs, though not without a little laughter mixed in. He swam away from her, pretending like he was readying to defend himself from both of them.

As Celume commented that Gladhron hadn't seemed like he needed protecting, Gwestion spoke up. "You've never seen him around spiders." He commented with seeming casualness, while shifting to float on his back and drift. "Is that one crawling on your shoulder?" He suddenly added, looking closer at him with slight concern.

"Where? Where?" Gladhron asked in semi-panic, swiftly checking both shoulders thoroughly before determining that Gwestion wasn't serious.

"Better get it, it's crawling onto your head now."

"Oh, hush!" Gladhron sent a splash toward Gwestion with a little scowl, then let out a little laugh of relief that it was (probably) just a tease. Just in case, he went underwater again, of his own accord this time. Maybe it was to make sure there were no spiders lingering on his shoulder, in hopes that they couldn't breathe underwater.


They swam and played in the water for a while, and the afternoon passed almost before they knew it. At last, they mutually agreed that it was time to get out of the water and dry off. Neither Gladhron nor Celume minded letting the sun dry their clothes, but Gwestion set off into the woods to change into dry clothes. He had an ulterior motive he didn't let them know about; gathering some wild raspberries from a bush he'd come across while he and Celume were setting the traps earlier.

While Gwestion was gone, Gladhron stretched out in the sun and enjoyed the warmth to dry him off, chatting quietly with Celume while she relaxed in her own patch of sunlight. When Gwestion returned, he hung up his wet things on a branch to dry. After a while, when he noticed that they were both sleeping, Gwestion made sure to be quieter so not to wake them. However, after waiting a while, he figured it was about time he got to work on supper.

The berries he had collected were stashed in his pack, hidden from sight. He brought them out now, as well as some flour, sugar, finely ground cocoa beans, and other ingredients, along with the cooking pot. After building a fire for cooking, he spent some time mixing all the ingredients together. Once the dessert was mixed up and ready to bake, he set that pot aside with the lid on it, then got out the ingredients for supper, using a second pot. By the time Celume wakened from her nap, he was working on chopping some wild carrots, onions, and whatever other vegetables he had been able to find growing nearby, and had added several chunks of dried meat into the pot of water to let it rehydrate.

@Rillewen
She laughed more than a few times as they were in the water, the most carefree she'd allowed herself to be in... a long time, she'd later realize. When they finally got out of the water, she was glad to find a good spot of grass in the sun. The plan had been to let herself dry that way for the most part and then towel off whatever was left before redressing, but the calm warmth of the sun made her close her eyes, the gentle breeze was like a carress, and the soft chatting with Gladhron finally sent her drifting off into a nap.

The soft noises of Gwestion's meal prep reached through her slumber. Suddenly grasping that she'd fallen asleep, her eyes popped open and she pushed herself up onto her elbows, surveying their surroundings first and foremost. She mentally chided herself for just falling asleep. Hadn't she been the one to worry about the bandits finding them, earlier in the day? Hadn't she said they would need to be cautious? Sitting up fully, Celumë realized she was completely dry, at least, and went off to where she'd left her things to pull the rest of her clothes back on, as well as her boots.

"I'm sorry," she told Gwestion as she pulled out her own knife and started helping him with cutting the vegetables. "I didn't mean to..." to what? Shove the responsibility onto him? "... to fall asleep like that," she added quietly. "That wasn't my intent. Usually, I wouldn't have allowed myself." She hesitated briefly as she worked. "Thanks." For having their backs. For just... letting her be relaxed a while.

As she'd been doing lately, she helped Gwestion with the food where she could. He told her he was making beef stew, with whatever he could, and Celume had to smile at that, briefly touching his shoulder in recognition. She knew Gladhron would love that. Obviously, so did Gwestion. When they were done with that, she saw him putting a different pot on the coals. "What's that?" she asked. She hadn't seen him using that pot. And since it had been covered by a lid, she'd supposed it had still been empty.

@Arnyn
"It's fine," Gwestion assured her in a hushed tone. "I figured you could use the rest." She was always staying up late, getting up early, just like him. If he hadn't had things to do, and if there had been someone else to take his place guarding the others, he might have been tempted to nap as well. He waved off any other concerns she expressed about falling asleep. This was a day for relaxing, after all, and he didn't mind if they did just that.

When she jumped in to help him, he wordlessly nodded his thanks. They were able to get the stew cooking sooner, with them both working together. He was placing the other pot on the coals when she inquired about that. He gave a faint little smile. "Dessert." He answered simply. He didn't elaborate, as he preferred for it to be a surprise for them both, even if it was more for Gladhron.

About that time, Gladhron sat up, propped up on one elbow, while rubbing his eyes with the other. "What smells so good?" He sat up the rest of the way, sniffing the air. "How long did I sleep?"

Gwestion bit his lip to keep from commenting anything like he'd said that morning. "Supper. It'll be done soon." He told him. While the meal was cooking, Gladhron went off to the stream to clean up a little, and returned a little bit later, once again dressed as he had been before swimming.

As they all sat down together and the stew was dished up, Gladhron looked surprised. "Is that beef stew? How did you..?" He looked up in some amazement.

"I've been saving a few ingredients, and found some of the others in the woods. Celume helped," Gwestion replied, with a little nod to her.

"This is incredible." Gladhron grinned. It was quite delicious, though not as good as it would have been had they had access to fresh meat and other things, but given what they had to work with, and how long they'd been living out in the woods, it was tasted wonderful.

@Rillewen
She hadn't said that if she had been able to use the rest, then so could he. But she thought as much. He should probably sleep first, later. Taking the last watch, so he could sleep the earliest and have a long stretch of it. At his reply about dessert, Celumë's eyes widened slightly. "Is that your gift?" she asked him. "Or did you figure out something else, as well?" She was beginning to wonder if what she had for Gladhron wasn't... kind of dumb. It had been a concern from the beginning, really. But she had spent a lot of time on it, and not giving it to him now would be a waste of many hours... Well. She still had a bit of time to think on whether or not to actually hand it over.

But before Gwestion could answer her, Gladhron woke up, asking about the food again. Just like earlier that morning. Chuckling, Celumë shook her head and went to wash out everything she could, so far, to limit the dishes that would be left after they'd had dinner.

Gladhron's amazement at the stew made her smile, and she looked at Gwestion, hoping he too was happy with his brother's response. When Gwestion said she'd helped, Celumë shook her head lightly. She had done little. "The meal was all Gwestion," she told Gladhron genuinely. She enjoyed it immensely herself, and was quite content to be digging into her bowl. She'd learned a lot from Gwestion's cooking, even after the limited time she'd been watching and helping him. Going over some of those tips and tricks as she ate and also participated in dinner conversation, she didn't notice what had flown up to her bowl until she cast her eyes down again to fill her spoon.

A wasp was flying right above the bowl in her hand, heading for the spoon that hovered between the bowl and her mouth. Celumë froze instantly, and closed her mouth mid-sentence. She had to close her mouth. She didn't want that wasp just flying inside and... Celumë drew in a quick, deep breath.

It was too close. It was too close to run. It would follow. It might get spooked because of her sudden movements.

Her eyes grew wide and she was torn between watching the flying monster closely to see where it went and squeezing her eyes shut to have some kind of blissful ignorance. But there could be no ignorance. The wasp was right there. She needed to know where it was until it was gone. She swallowed. She slowly held out the bowl and spoon further away from her. Why had that thing chosen her bowl? Why was it always her bowl? Could they smell the fear?

It took a lot of effort not to let out some sort of noise to plead for help. Her cheeks reddened as she started imagining the endless teasing she'd get for this. But her brown eyes looked a bit wild as they were dead focused on the wasp. The wasp that kept circling over the bowl and was even flying closer to her with every rotation.

@Arnyn
Gwestion had shaken his head at Celume's question about the dessert being his gift. "Only part of the 'birthday meal'," He assured her. He didn't really have much chance to give any other answer, since Gladhron had awakened about that time.

Seeing how delighted Gladhron was to have one of his favorite meals despite the sparsity of ingredients available to them.. it made Gwestion pleased that he had managed to put it together. He recalled back in Bree, when Gladhron had put in a special request to have the kitchen make Gwestion's favorite dish, and how it had made Gwestion feel to know his brother had done something like that for him. "I hope it's good?"

"It's amazing." Gladhron declared happily. "I think I'll withdraw my request to trade brothers with Celume." He grinned jokingly, and glanced toward her. Then his grin faded as he saw the way she was looking at something. He frowned in concern as his gaze focused on the wasp.

Gwestion also followed Gladhron's gaze, and frowned to notice the wasp that Celume was staring at. The same way Gladhron might have looked if a spider had suddenly dangled in front of him. He set his bowl down and leaned forward, reaching out close enough that he could take her bowl if that had been what he was doing. Instead, he calmly shooed the wasp off to the side, away from the bowl. Away from Celume. He was careful to keep his movements gentle and non-threatening so that the wasp wouldn't become angry. It started to move away, then tried to circle back toward her bowl, but he shooed it again more persistently. After a moment, he watched it buzz away. He sat back. "There, it's gone now." He told her reassuringly. "It didn't sting you, you're fine."

@Rillewen
She hardly heard Gladhron's comment about withdrawing his request to trade brothers. Or she might have jokingly replied that she might be putting in one of her own, now Gwestion and she had been getting along so well. All of her focus, however, was on the flying monster.

Orcs, she could handle. Wargs, fine. But wasps? There was an irrational fear there, one that made little sense given what the most damage was that it could do to her. And yet.

And yet.

When Gwestion reached out, Celumë didn't move. She was frozen, staring. Now not only at the wasp but also at that daring hand that was trying to guide it away from the bowl. "Careful!" she said quietly, as if speaking too loudly would upset the thing. She didn't want Gwestion to get stung helping...
But he did not get stung. He stayed calm and simply... herded the wasp away. It even took him two tries, but he just... did it.

Her lips parted in disbelief as she stared at him, eyes wide. "I can't believe you did that," she said, her voice barely above a whisper, her disbelief plain as day. "You just..." she waved a hand, but the movement was languid, as if she was moving through water. Still recovering. "I've never seen anyone do that before. Weren't you afraid it would sting you?"

Getting over her bafflement just enough to realize she wasn't being polite, she blinked. "Thank you," she said emphatically. "Thank you for that. I..." She looked down at the bowl, putting her spoon in what was left of it and sort of stirring the food around without much purpose. "I don't do well around wasps." She shot a faint smile up at Gladhron. "So I can relate to your spider-issue," she said quietly.

That should have been the end of it. She might have explained where the fear came from. They might have teased her some about it. And that should have been it.
Luck, however, was not on her side. Whether it was the same wasp or a different one was unclear. But the black-and-yellow striped flier seemed to be drawn by something about her, because all of a sudden, it was back. The return of the wasp. It seemed to have come from behind her, because she'd been looking for it now - keeping an eye on everything that flew by. Something buzzed right next to her ear. Celume jerked her head away from it and glanced over. To see the thing just inches away from her face. Celume tried to fight down the panic, but she half placed half dropped the bowl on the grass and shifted on the ground - away from the thing. It just followed. Her lips were long pressed shut already, and all that escaped her was a high squeak as she also hurried to cover her ears. No way that thing was flying in anywhere. Why had it come back? This was terrible. She was afraid of the wasp and ashamed of her reaction to it. Would Gwestion come over and shoo it away again? How long, though, before it would just come back?

@Arnyn
Gwestion shrugged slightly. "It didn't though." He replied, when she asked if he wasn't afraid that it would sting him. Which wasn't exactly an answer to what she'd asked, but he wasn't really sure how to explain it. He hadn't really thought much about it. "It had no reason to sting me. Nor you, for that matter." He wasn't really sure what the big deal was, but he nodded with as much understanding as he could manage, when she explained that she didn't do well around wasps. "And, you're welcome." He added, after her thanks.

Gladhron smiled sympathetically when she compared her wasp problem with his spider issue. "Yeah... he doesn't really get it." He whispered, loud enough for all three of them to hear. Just as he was about to say something else, the little insect had returned to torment the woman.

Gwestion frowned. "What do you want? Go on, leave her alone." He scolded the wasp, moving to set his bowl down as he kept his motions slow and calm as he prepared to shoo it away again.

"I got it!" Gladhron declared, setting his bowl down swifter. He jumped up, even as Gwestion sank back into his previous position and watched. Gladhron cautiously moved closer, keeping his eye on the wasp. It buzzed around Celume, and eventually landed. On the back of her shoulder. With her ears covered and all, she would likely only notice that the buzzing had stopped for a moment, and hopefully, would not know where it had landed.

"Hold still," Gladhron cautioned her, fearing she might notice and freak out before he could get it. He glanced around swiftly, then grabbed a piece of bark that had come off a nearby tree. Very, very lightly, he held the edge of it in front of the wasp as it was crawling toward the top of her shoulder. It paused, then crawled onto the bark. He breathed out a sigh of relief and pulled the bark away.. only to have the wasp fly off of it, and resume buzzing around her head. "Oh, come on," He sighed. "Get back here," he growled, watching it for a moment. Then, at just the right moment, he swung with the bark in hand, swatting the wasp right out of the air. Gwestion cringed a little, worried he had just angered it.

It landed on the ground, stunned for a moment by the impact. Just as it was recovering and about to take to the air again, Gladhron stomped on it, grinding his boot into the dirt. "Ha, take that!" He exclaimed triumphantly. "Now it's gone. You're safe at last!" He declared with satisfaction as he went to sit down again, tossing the piece of bark down. "It definitely won't bother you again, unless it returns as a ghost."

"Which isn't possible." Gwestion added hastily in hopes she would not get some idea about ghost wasps haunting her, after rolling his eyes a little at the dramatic way Gladhron had 'slain the beast'. Probably, if he ever repeated the tale back, it would have turned into an entire swarm of wasps that he swatted and battled single-handedly to save the damsel in distress.

@Rillewen
If the wasp hadn't been making it difficult to think straight, Celumë would have been embarrassed by the way she needed not one, but two men - apparently - to come to her resue. For a bug not even as big as a coin. But as it was, she just wanted them to get rid of it. In whatever way they could.

It seemed like Gladhron had decided it was his turn to try now, and she almost winced at the way he jumped up so swiftly. Don't scare it, she thought to herself. If it panics...It cannot panic. They mess people up when they panic.

She wasn't moving much at all, even though she'd lost sight of the wasp. Gladhron was watching it. He would get it. He had to get it. She had no idea where it was. That was somehow more frightening than when she had known exactly how close it was. So when Gladhron told her to hold still, she obeyed and froze completely. Why did she have to stay still? Was it getting somewhere dangerous? What was Gladhron planning on doing? Celumë closed her eyes. Breathe in. Breathe out. Steady. When she felt something touching her, it took everything she had not to jump. Instead, her dark eyes popped open and flicked up to Gladhron, who was standing right next to her, very focused. His relieved sigh got her hopes up, but then she flinched back when the wasp buzzed past her eyes the very next moment.

The swat, mid-air, made her gasp. He was going to make it angry. It would come for her. The wasp fell to the ground, however, and before she could move or say anything at all, Gladhron's boot came down to crush it. She stared at the ground, until he lifted his foot and she saw the ruined little monster corpse that was left behind. Celumë swallowed. It was dead. At his declaration, she blinked. "No," she said, even though it counted as agreement. Her voice sounded a bit hoarse. Rising to her feet, she picked up the piece of bark and scooped up the corpse and some of the earth beneath. "But these things are drawn to each other," she mumbled, before heading off into the trees. She left the damned thing far enough away so any other wasps wouldn't easily find their camp if they smelled it and came looking.

Upon her return, she hesitated at the last few trees, before stepping out to join the other two again. Her embarrassment had caught up with her. She had experience with how silly people thought this fear was. Even if she had managed to hide it superbly well back home, among those she served with. She avoided meeting Gladhron's and Gwestion's gaze as she slowly walked back to them. "Perhaps," she began, and cleared her throat to banish that unwanted fragile tone, "I should explain." She stayed on her feet, her arms loosely crossed. Almost as if she were holding herself. "I know - it's irrational. It looks - silly. But when I was a girl, my family lived in a forest for a time, and my best friend, he - a wasp flew into his ear. And then when it couldn't - wriggle in... any further -- it wanted to turn around. Probably. We don't know. It panicked. And started stinging. And then he panicked." She still avoided looking at them as she spoke, standing a step or so behind where she'd been seated earlier. "In his ear. We were six. Playing a ways off from our parents. I remember - his face. I remember - the swelling. There was so much of it. The yelling, too. Crying. Shrieking." A pause. To breathe. And swallow. "By the time I managed to get him to our parents, and we got him to a healer - the wasp must have stung again and again. He shrieked every time. It was..." She shook her head. "His ear was too swollen for the healer to get the wasp out. But he was in so much pain. And the panic..." Celumë drew in a deep breath. "They ended up cutting the thing out. It was still alive." Her fingernails sank into the skin of her arms. "He was deaf on one side. After everything. I remember the healer thanking the Valar he did not respond as one of the other patients she'd seen. She told us that some people cannot stand whatever it is they inject into you. And if it stings those people in the wrong place, like the neck, it can kill them."

"I just... they're not just a nuisance," she added, barely speaking louder than a whisper now, her arms still wrapped around herself, though her brown eyes finally lifted from the grass to their faces. And offered them, first Gwestion, and then Gladhron, a brittle smile. "So... thank you..." Her gaze rested on Gwestion first. "For trying to get it away from me." Then it switched to Gladhron, lingering. "And for getting rid of it altogether."

@Arnyn
The whole time that Gladhron was fighting the wasp, Gwestion had remained seated, watching Celume more than he watched his brother. Clearly, this was a serious thing for her, and he was concerned and a bit puzzled by how she reacted to such a small insect. As Celume hopped up and took the dead wasp off into the woods, Gladhron and Gwestion glanced at one another, both mildly puzzled, but neither spoke. In fact, this whole thing seemed quite unlike her, or at least from all they had observed of her so far. When she returned, offering an explanation, Gwestion started to shake his head, and was about to say that there was none needed, but she offered it up before he could say so.

The brothers listened quietly as Celume explained. Gladhron's eyes widened in horror as she described the scene, while Gwestion frowned; both reacting in their own versions of sympathy and understanding. Gladhron stepped closer, tentatively reaching to rest a hand on her shoulder. "To witness something like that happen to a close friend must have been awful." He frowned. "I never realized they could be such a danger. You're welcome."

"It did not look silly," Gwestion added softly. "it was unexpected.. you seem fearless about so many things, and a wasp is such a small thing.. I suppose some people may have found it comical, but it was clear to me that it was not something to laugh about. While we did not know your reasons," He shrugged. "I have heard it said that everyone is afraid of something, even if it is something irrational. So, there is nothing to be ashamed of." He mentioned. "And, having heard your reasons.." He paused. "it's quite understandable. I'm sorry that happened to your friend."

Gladhron huffed. "Yet he makes fun of mine," He muttered, then turned to Gwestion. "Mine is not irrational." He insisted.

"I don't 'make fun' of yours," Gwestion frowned slightly. "I simply.. find your story a little.. skeptical." He shrugged as Gladhron returned to his spot to finish eating. "And the threat earlier was only because of what you did, not to make fun of you. But.. really.. spiders. They kill flies, not people. Only a small percent of them actually pose any danger to humans at all, and those aren't very common."

"Hmmph. Sure, a 'small percent'. You wouldn't say that if you'd seen the ones I saw..." Gladhron picked up his bowl again and looked at Celume to explain. "When I was fifteen, I was attacked and carried off by a horde of gigantic spiders that planned to eat me, and he thinks I'm making it all up."

"You do tend to.. exaggerate quite a lot." Gwestion pointed out.

"I do not!"

"Oh?" Gwestion sat back. "Really? How many orcs were there, when we got attacked that day?" He asked challengingly, crossing his arms.

Gladhron hesitated. "Uh.. I don't know.."

"How many were there, Gladhron?"

"Around eight to twelve, I guess, I didn't really count the bodies," Gladhron mumbled with a shrug.

Gwestion nodded. That fit with his recollection of the numbers, as well. "And how many did you tell Bel and the others there were, when you recounted the story to them later?"

Gladhron glared at him for a moment while Gwestion waited. "I forgot." He claimed, fidgeting a little. Gwestion continued to stare at him, waiting. Expectantly. Gladhron sighed. "Alright, I told her something like.. thirty or forty. But, so what? I figured you'd want to impress her." He rolled his eyes.

"And you wonder why I doubt that it was really a 'horde' of spiders, and that they were actually as large as you claim they were?" Gwestion raised an eyebrow.

"But they were!" He turned to Celume. "They were big enough to carry off a horse, I'm telling you. They were horrifying! And there were hundreds of them!"

"Probably one or two," Gwestion muttered under his breath.

"Hundreds." Gladhron corrected, overhearing. "And they were gigantic, like.. this huge." He held out his arms but that didn't seem to do the monsters justice as to their size.

"And you're the only witness to that." Gwestion mentioned with a little shrug. "Just saying..." He held up his hands in surrender. "But alright. Today is your day. We won't argue." he vowed. "Sorry," he added to Celume. "Is everyone ready for dessert, or still working on the stew?" He asked, trying to get them back on track.

@Rillewen
She briefly touched Gladhron's arm as he rested a hand on her shoulder, as if to say the gesture was accepted and even appreciated. Finally, she sat back down in her earlier spot, while she listened to Gwestion's response. Her lips twitched when he said she seemed fearless about so many things. "Not fearless," she said softly. "The fearless are idiots. It's how you handle the fear. But I've never learned to handle that particular one." She'd never wanted to enough. Not unless the social pressure was so high she almost died on the inside trying to circumvent it.

She could only nod when they both expressed their sympathies for what happened to her friend. He had passed away in the meanwhile, in the long fight against the Shadow - but they didn't need to hear that additional bit of sadness. Nor was she particularly keen on them figuring out where she was from.

Somewhat uncertain, she picked up the bowl again, to finish what was still left of the stew, while the brothers switched topics to Gladhron's fear of spiders. That put her more at ease, since it seemed like they were not giving the whole wasp thing any more attention than it really deserved. Or any more attention than she could bear.
Her expression grew thoughtful as she listened to their conversation. When her bowl was empty, she pushed it away. Just in case some other wasp might be drawn to it. And then she assessed Gladhron's expression, before casting a look Gwestion's way. She completely understood the younger brother's skepticism, given how well he knew his brother and his proclivities. However...

When Gladhron turned to her, trying to convince her at least, given Gwestion's refusal to believe him, Celume nodded. Not skeptically. Not ironically. Thoughtfully.

"I'm done with the stew," she told Gwestion when he asked. "It was excellent," she told him with a smile. Turning to Gladhron, she slanted her head. "Sorry to return to the subject, but I'm curious - where did this happen?" she inquired casually.

@Arnyn
Gwestion nodded slightly in agreement with Celume's words, pointing out that those without any fear were idiots. Of course, that was true. He had been absolutely terrified then the orc was looming over him about to slay him. It was that fear that had driven him to try anything, whatever he could, to get hold of a weapon, and kill it before it killed him. It had been fear that kept him from passing out until that danger was dealt with. However, aside from moments like that, he couldn't quite think of any particular thing that he was afraid of, the way Celume had a fear of wasps, and Gladhron his fear of spiders. He grew thoughtful as he contemplated that.

Gladhron hastily finished what was left of his stew, surprised to hear there was dessert. "There's dessert?" He asked, a little amazed. They had so little to work with, he couldn't imagine how his brother could have come up with anything to be a proper dessert.. maybe some berries?

"There is." Gwestion smiled slightly. He set his empty bowl aside as well, then paused as Celume asked her question to Gladhron.

Hesitating, Gladhron wondered why she was asking that. "Just outside Esgaroth." He answered with a little frown. "There were reports of livestock going missing.. as well as a few small children. My father heard about it, and decided someone had better investigate. And.. I begged him to let me come along, because I had always wanted to join him on one of his missions. He was reluctant, but he agreed after a while. Later, I wished he hadn't." He shrugged. "When we arrived, I was talking with.. well, there was this girl, and she had some information, you know? I was trying to find out.."

"Flirting," Gwestion quietly "coughed" to offer his correction to that story, based on what he'd heard later.

"Getting information," Gladhron insisted with a little blush, "about the stuff happening. Anyway, while we were talking, these.. horrible spiders showed up and attacked us, and carried us both off.. I fought them as well as I could, but.. there were too many." He shuddered. "If Father hadn't come to save us.." He trailed off, not wishing to revisit that particular memory, nor to think about what might have happened to him and the girl if help had not come in time. "Why do you ask?"

@Rillewen
Esgaroth. Close to Mirkwood. Celumë's eyes flashed, but she stayed silent as she listened to the rest of it. How their father and Gladhron had gone to investigate reports of missing livestock and... children. One corner of her mouth curled up when Gwestion said Gladhron had been flirting with the girl he mentioned, further evidenced by the slight reddening of Gladhron's cheeks.

She gathered their three bowls and rose to her feet. "I'll go rinse these," she said. When Gladhron asked her why she'd asked about the location, she paused her steps. "If it happened around Mirkwood..." She glanced at Gwestion, held his gaze for a moment, before her eyes met Gladhron's. She nodded at him, not breaking eye contact as she did so. "I believe you." Three simple words - before she was off to rinse the bowls.

@Arnyn
As Celume decided to wash all their bowls, Gwestion lightly protested, but it seemed she was set on doing it. He didn't press the issue, since he had a suspicion what she was thinking. He had done the cooking, and it seemed to be an unspoken agreement between them that Gladhron would not be expected to do chores today, so it made sense, so he did not argue, as he figured she probably felt that she was simply doing her part.

When she stopped to answer Gladhron's question, Gwestion met her gaze with curiosity, saying nothing, but he was intrigued when she declared that she believed him, Gwestion was curious. He had only been to the area once, briefly, but had not encountered any monster spiders. The girl, a woman by that time, had denied the entire incident ever happening, and that had not helped toward convincing the younger brother that it had happened.

Gladhron grinned with satisfaction as Celume went off to wash the bowls. Once he figured she was probably out of earshot, he couldn't resist a quiet, but smug 'Ha!' toward Gwestion. Which brought an eyeroll in reply from his brother, but he didn't care.

Once Celume had returned with their bowls all clean, Gwestion was pleased to take the lid off the mysterious pot and reveal the dessert; a chocolate raspberry cobbler.

Gladhron was delighted, instantly forgiving all talk of spiders and other unpleasantries. "Oh wow! How did you even.. this is.. chocolate? And raspberry! How?" he asked in astonishment, clearly quite excited as Gwestion scooped the first portion into his bowl.

"When we brought supplies to Bel, there was a measure of ground cocoa beans included in it. Last time we were at the inn, I asked if I might take just enough for this, and I've been keeping it in my pack, since." Gwestion explained. "As well as flour and all the rest. I found a patch of wild raspberries growing along the stream, and gathered enough for this earlier, when I was off changing into dry clothes." He looked at Gladhron with a tiny smile, in satisfaction that his efforts had been worthwhile. Then he turned to scoop another portion into Celume's bowl, and lastly, his own. There was about half of the cobbler left for a second portion, unless they decided to save it for tomorrow.

@Rillewen
If the surprise about the dessert was not enough to take her mind off the wasp and spider business, then surely Gladhron's reaction was. Celumë couldn't help the smile that broke through on her face as she watched him getting all excited about how Gwestion had pulled it off.

"Thank you," she said as she accepted her own portion from Gwestion. "You're a talent," she admitted, shaking her head. Once she had her first bite, though, she had to revise that statement. "Scratch that," she noted, once she had swallowed. "You're a genius."

It didn't really take long at all before she had finished her bowl. When Gwestion offered seconds, she declined gracefully. "The birthday boy can have my second portion, if he wants."

@Arnyn
When Celume declared him to be a talent, Gwestion shrugged slightly and focused on his own dessert. It was quite good, for what he had to work with, although he couldn't help mentally thinking, 'if I'd had this, I could've done better' or 'if I'd been in a proper kitchen, I could've done this.' But Gladhron was delighted with his birthday "cake", and so that was really the main thing that mattered. When Celume spoke again to declare him a genius, Gwestion gave a little shake of his head as he looked down at his bowl, feeling a little shy about such praise, but a hint of a smile lingered at the corner of his mouth, for he was pleased that they enjoyed it.

Gladhron was surprised when she declined the second portion and said that he could have it, and considered for a moment. However, to be honest, he was just a bit full, after both the stew and the cake. Besides that, one of the reasons he was so surprised that Gwestion had managed to put this meal and a dessert together was because of the fact that he had noticed their supplies were getting low. He wasn't exactly sure what they might be able to scrounge together for breakfast, but.. maybe it would be best if they could preserve some of the supplies. Instead of eating too much now, and having not enough later, he suggested an alternative; "Actually, maybe we could save what's left back for breakfast, and then we can take less time with meal prep then?" He suggested, surprising Gwestion with the fact he didn't want two more portions.

As they all agreed it seemed like a reasonable plan, Gwestion put the lid back on and set it aside with a hefty rock over the lid to make sure no creatures would invade it during the night, even though someone would be on guard. Then, since Gladhron wanted to spend the remainder of the evening playing cards, Gwestion tried not to sigh too loudly. Actually, he decided, this worked out perfectly, providing him a good chance to give him his gifts. Gladhron was happy that both Gwestion and Celume agreed.

"I'll get the cards," Gwestion offered quietly, going to their bags. He retrieved Gladhron's deck of cards, as well as something from his own bags, before returning to sit with the other two.

"Alright.. what game shall we play?" Gladhron asked, then looked at Gwestion a bit puzzled when the younger brother suggested a game which required cards and dice. "We'd need dice for that one," he reminded him with a little frown.

"Hmm, yes, so we would..." Gwestion nodded thoughtfully, then gave in to a small smile as he held out his fist, then opened his hand, palm up, to reveal a pair of wooden cubes carved into dice. "Will these work, you think?"

Gladhron's eyes widened in surprise. "Wow! You made these?" When Gwestion nodded, he grinned as he picked up the dice and looked at them with curiosity. One of them had the dots dyed red with berry juice, and the other had its dots colored black with embers from their fire.

"As well as this." Gwestion revealed a leather case that was just the right size to hold a deck of cards, and keep them protected from the elements, and from getting bent or something. "Just.. made it from some scraps..." He shrugged as Gladhron looked it over with a smile.

"It's great. Thank you." Gladhron grinned and tested his deck in it, finding they fit quite well. "Well, now we have more options!" He grinned. "Do you know how to play Spiral?" He asked Celume. "Or would you rather play something else?"

@Rillewen
Celumë leaned back on her hands, now positioned on either side behind her as she was sitting with her legs crossed in front of her. Gladhron's suggestion of saving what was left of dessert for breakfast was... economical. She hadn't expected it, exactly, and as she voiced her agreement with the proposition she glanced at Gwestion to see what he might make of his brother's suggestion.

She didn't know the game Gwestion suggested, and frowned curiously when Gladhron said it would also require dice. Which they apparently did not have...or did they? She was impressed when Gwestion revealed the dice he had made, and after her intial surprised expression, she had to smile. When he also produced a leather case for Gladhron's deck of cards, she shook her head, still smiling. Those gifts were... well, perfect. Her own gift didn't compare. Gwestion's gift was practical - the leather case- and would give Gladhron much joy - the dice. Her gift wasn't practical. Nor would Gladhron be able to use it. It would be no more than something to haul along with him as they moved from place to place. She couldn't give it to him.

Her smile had therefore grown a bit more hollow by the time Gladhron asked if she knew how to play Spiral. "No," she admitted. "But I am willing to learn. Explain it to me?"
As they did, she listened carefully, but meanwhile was also fidgeting with her fingernails. As Gladhron was spreading out the cards, she cleared her throat. "I don't really.. have a gift." Even though she did have one. One she'd spent a lot of time on, too. "Sorry. But hopefully picking up your share of the chores this evening, as well as tomorrow morning can count as a gift of sorts, if nothing else?"

@Arnyn
Gwestion explained the game to Celume while Gladhron laid out the cards. It was a simple enough game that was an excellent way to practice mathematics. The cards formed a 'board' to play on, laid out in a spiral pattern, and you roll dice to progress your game pieces. After asking the other's preferences, Gwestion took three pebbles from his chess set; a white knight for Gladhron, a black knight for Celume, and a white rook for himself.

When Celume apologized for not having a gift, Gladhron was not bothered by it. "There's no need for one," He assured her. "I wasn't expecting any. This day has been so great, that alone is enough." He smiled. They'd had a lot of fun, they'd had plenty of relaxation, they'd had excellent meals, and now were wrapping up with yet more fun. What more could he ask?

They played through the game once on 'easy' mode, using addition, but for the next game, they switched to multiplication to make it more challenging. Even though he didn't do as well at it the second time through, Gladhron still enjoyed it a lot, mainly because they were all playing together. Gwestion was far better at math than him, so he did quite well, yet Celume ended up the winner of the second round. After that, it was getting rather late, so they wrapped up, putting the cards, dice, and chess pieces away.

Since Celume volunteered to take the first watch, they brothers made no protest. Gwestion had not had a nap earlier, and had been up since before dawn, so he was quite happy to go to bed. Gladhron could fall asleep pretty easily just about any time, so he also had no objection. He would take the second watch, however, so that Gwestion could have a longer period of sleep.

Before he laid down in his bedroll, Gladhron couldn't resist taking a quick look just to make sure there were no spiders, after casting a slightly suspicious glance toward Gwestion, who was already sleeping soundly. Finding nothing, he bid Celume good night, and laid down, falling asleep rather quickly.

@Rillewen
She was grateful for Gladhron's gallant reply that he needed no additional gift. That he hadn't even been expecting any. That was a relief... but it still nagged at her. Why did you go through all of that effort if you're not even going to hand it over? she asked herself.

The Spiral game was fun, and she enjoyed it. She noted that Gwestion was better at mathematics than Gladhron, but for some reason that didn't come off as a surprise. After two games and after putting everything away that they already could, they agreed on who would take which watch. She bid them both goodnight, and resisted teasing Gladhron by asking if he needed her to check his bedroll for spiders.

Once she was convinced no one other than she was awake, she went to her pack and retrieved a few items. She only spent about half an hour putting some final touches on something, before she wrapped it in a thicker cloth and tied it together with a thin string of leather. During the rest of her watch, she kept going back and forth. Endlessly. Give it to him? Not give it to him? It was a silly gift.. he had no use for it. It would get messed up somehow, sooner or later. But why not show him she had wanted to make him something at least, for his birthday? Dumb or not. Didn't he deserve that much, after the three of them had spent so much time together?

When her watch was over, she woke Gladhron. "Wake up, birthday boy," she whispered close to him, touching his shoulder from her crouched position next to him. "Your turn." Once he was waking, she rose back up to her feet and retreated to her own bedroll without so much as looking back. Celumë settled into her bedroll. "Goodnight," she said quietly, as to not wake Gwestion.

When Gladhron would leave his bedroll, something small but noticable would fall down: a cloth-wrapped, leather-tied, thin and rectangular shape. Almost like an envelope.

He could untie the string. He could open the cloth wrapped around what would turn out to be a folded piece of thick paper. He could unfold the paper. And see the image Celume had meticulously brought to life over the course of her past 7 watch duties. A forest - this forest - in the background. And - front and center - a man looking down at stacks of cards. The fingers of his left hand lifted the top card of one of the stacks, even while his right was dropping another card onto a different stack. And there was no denying it when you looked at the shape of the man's hands, the relaxed set of his shoulders, the way he wore his clothes, how his hair fell forward, or that little quirk at the corner of his lips - even his facial hair was just right. It was Gladhron. Playing a game of Never Nervous.

There was no visible signature at the bottom. Nothing to give away who had drawn it at all, really. But there was only one person in their camp who had seen this image nearly every evening since they had discovered their mutual interest in the game. One person who hadn't yet given him a gift. And who would either be asleep or pretending to be, by now.

@Arnyn
Despite having slept late, despite having had a lengthy nap, Gladhron slept quite well. He'd had a wonderful day, and was wishing they could all be that nice. Despite the threat of spiders in his bedroll, he didn't have any bad dreams, and in fact, his dreams were quite pleasant. He was a bit regretful to be wakened, but he also didn't protest.

A little smile returned as he heard her call him 'birthday boy'. "Pretty sure that's over, now." He pointed out in a whisper, but he was smiling, regardless. He rubbed his eyes to wake up a bit better, and then started to sit up while Celume was moving toward her bedroll. When something slid off of him, he looked swiftly, checking about what it was. Even though Gwestion was still asleep, for a brief second, he'd had the thought that his brother could've put a spider on him, but it turned out to be something entirely different.

Curious, he picked the item up and turned it over a couple of times, then he carried it with him to go and sit on a large stone nearby, which made for a perfect seat. After rubbing the remaining sleep from his eyes, Gladhron untied the little bundle and unfolded the sheet of paper. When he saw what it was, his mouth dropped open slightly in astonishment. He stared at the image for a long moment, then looked over toward where Celume was, apparently, already asleep. He looked back at the picture. His mouth shifted into a smile as he gazed at the artwork appreciatively, wondering if she'd done this during her watch, because she had felt bad for not having a gift. Whatever the case, he smiled widely as he marveled at her skill.

After a while, remembering he was supposed to be watching the camp, he carefully folded it back the way it had been, then went to his things and took out his deck of cards. He slid the folded paper in with them, to ensure that it would stay as safe as it could be. Then, glancing over at her, he wondered if she would hear him if he said anything. Just in case, he did. "Thank you." He whispered, trying to keep his tone just quiet enough not to wake either of them if they were asleep, but loud enough that if she wasn't, she could hear him. Then he returned to his post.

The smile remained on his face all through the rest of his watch. And, thinking about the things Gwestion had done for him yesterday, to make his birthday special, Gladhron decided to make his own watch last a lot longer than normal. When he finally woke Gwestion for his own watch, it was about halfway into when he would normally have woken him.

He decided that, although he would like to keep the picture with him, it would surely be safer if he left it with someone he trusted to keep it for him, like Bel, or perhaps Ms. Seri. He'd think more about that tomorrow. Going back to his bedroll, he was swift to fall asleep, but the smile lingered even as he slept.

@Rillewen
'Thank you.' She heard - and resisted the urge to dive deeper into her bedroll, demanding of herself that she remain still, as if she were already sleeping. But a little smile hinted at the corners of her lips. Even if he was probably just being polite.

In the morning, the first thing she did when she woke - other than bid Gwestion a good morning - was to go and start dismantling the traps Gwestion and she had set up the day before. They could not simply leave them here for anyone to walk into. As she was doing so, she passed the stream and lingered for a moment. After splashing some water onto her face, she returned to their little camp. Gladhron was up by now, and Gwestion was just dividing up what was left of yesterday's dessert for breakfast.
"Good morning," she repeated for Gladhron's benefit, before sinking down into a cross-legged position to eat. She said nothing more of what she'd left out for him in the night, or of his whispered gratitude.

"Since we don't have a trail to follow at present, I'd suggest we follow the stream," she offered once they were breaking up camp. "Bandits or not - everyone needs water. We're bound to come across tracks at some point, if we follow it." Neither brother seemed to find fault within her reasoning - especially since they had nothing else to go on at the moment.

They followed the stream for days, on some days finding tracks that lead nowhere, and on most days finding nothing at all. Celumë was starting to regret her suggestion, even if she knew that randomly traipsing around the woods wouldn't necessarily have gotten them any further. Maybe they were on the wrong side of it? With every day that passed without them finding anything that was useful for more than a mile or so, she got more antsy. Was it all just a coincidence? Or did they realize they were being hunted - and were they learning?

@Arnyn
Though Gladhron didn't mention the picture, a part of him wanted to ask her about that. When did she draw it? How did she get to be such a good artist? And why didn't she want to let anyone know about it? But some other part of him told him that she'd delivered the gift the way she had because she didn't want him to bring it up. So he simply tucked away the knowledge that she had such skill, and pretended like it never happened.

Since their supplies were low, the trio made a trip into Bree to get what they couldn't harvest from the woods. While there, Gwestion checked with the blacksmith stall and was very pleased to find that the smith had completed the work on their gear. He was quite relieved.. almost even happy.. to have his own sword back, whole again. They also brought the horses they had rescued from the bandit groups back to the town with them, and left them with the city authorities so that anyone, like the Millsons, who had been robbed of their horse, could hopefully be reunited with their horse.

After a brief stop back at the Forsaken inn to bring Bel a few things from Bree, Gwestion returned her sword to her. He was glad to be able to do so, since he had never entirely felt comfortable using it, as it felt like something she treasured and he did not wish to damage it. Even if she insisted she'd rather him use it to keep himself from being damaged. After that, the group set off into the woods once again, to continue their bandit hunting work.

As the days passed without success, the brothers were also beginning to wonder if the bandits had begun to get wise to their efforts. There had been no sign of them since before Gladhron's birthday, and their tracks were harder to discover. It was obvious that they were being more careful to cover their tracks now that they knew the rangers were onto them.

Gladhron was hopeful that it might be an indication that they had either eliminated them after the last group, or that the remaining outlaws had moved on or given up.

Gwestion was not so hopeful of that, and rather suspected that they were lying low and waiting to strike, or perhaps they were now hunting the rangers in return. He felt that the leader of this Copperhead gang was too shrewd and clever to have done otherwise, but there was little to support any theory at all, other than the fact the bandits were being more cautious now.

They had gone a few days without finding anything, and Gwestion was about to suggest they pause to reconsider their plan when he nearly bumped into Gladhron, who had stopped suddenly.

"Look!" Gladhron kept his voice hushed, but he was clearly surprised.

Some distance ahead of the group, a little girl of about nine or ten years was sitting on a log with her arms hugging her knees up close to her. "What's a little girl doing all alone out in the woods?" Gladhron frowned in concern and glanced at the other two, unsure whether they should try to approach her, or if that might frighten her.. but she looked lost, and from here she looked as if she might be crying, possibly frightened.

@Rillewen
Celumë came up behind them and stepped next to Gladhron. A little girl in the moddle of the woods. "Alone. Without any kind of pack or supplies," she mumbled, scanning the area around the girl. Or at least not anything visible to them from here. Since she, too, felt the urge to go to the girl, she shook her head. "I don't know about this... I've been having a bad feeling for days. Not having encountered anything. And now..." She gestured toward the girl. "How did she even get here?" They were not close to any residences - she'd learned that at least, by now. "Do these copperheads take children, too?" she asked the brothers quietly.

"We should investigate the area first. And only when we are sure... approach. If she is truly lost, if she truly came all the way out here all alone... then another half an hour won't increase her trauma," she offered recalcitrantly. Celumë watched the brothers, waiting for their opinion.

@Arnyn
Gwestion frowned, considering the situation. He nodded slowly as Celume offered up her suggestion. "I agree," He answered quietly. When asked whether the bandits took children, he could only shrug. "I wouldn't put it past them," He muttered, but he had no idea whether they actually had taken any children. He hadn't heard anything about any children being missing, but then.. if the bandits had attacked a family, they might have killed the parents and taken the children.

"You don't actually think that little girl is working with them?" Gladhron frowned, a little surprised at their suspicion of a frightened child.

"She could be a hostage," Gwestion pointed out quietly. "Like Celume said, it won't hurt anything to check the area." He nodded to her. "I'll take this way," He readied his bow, just in case of trouble. "Same signals as usual," They were all fairly well familiar with these by now, so there was no need to discuss what signals to use and such.

Gladhron nodded, and couldn't deny the sense in that. While he wanted to go and check if the girl was alright, he couldn't argue with the fact that she did not appear to be in any immediate danger, and she did not have any obvious injuries that they could see from here. "Alright," He answered softly. "Me and Celume can go that way, and we meet back here?" He gestured in the other direction from what Gwestion had said, then glanced at her to check. "Or... maybe two of us should check around while the third stays and to keep watch from here?"

Once that was decided, they set out accordingly to search the area around where the girl was sitting. They moved through the forest with extreme stealth, making sure to stay out of sight, even from the girl. At last, they had ascertained that the only tracks around the area belonged to the girl, from wherever she had come from, and there was no one hiding in the bushes or lurking behind trees. All around the area as far as they could tell, it was safe, and the girl was really all alone.

@Rillewen
Celumë checked if her sword was loose in its scabbard. It was. Alright then. She nodded when Gwestion confirmed they could use the regular signals. They'd gotten to know each other: each other's abilities and strengths, and how they worked best together. She shook her head at Gladhron. "No, come with me," she (strongly) suggested. She didn't like the idea of him being tempted to step out to the girl alone. Or of him presenting an easy, stationary target. If it was a trap... they would likely be watching them already.

The thought made her wildly uncomfortable. If it was a trap, and they were already watching... why weren't they springing it yet? What did they have planned? Perhaps they had surrounded the girl and they were waiting for the three rangers to step into the right place. So there was the least risk of one or two of them running off...

While Gladhron and she were investigating the area, she grabbed his arm to pull him up short. "I don't know. Something is wrong with this. Even if I can't say what." Suddenly she didn't like she had left most of her armour with Narsulë. But the summer was warm, even here in the north, among the shade of the trees. And for ranged attacks, they would have little need of it. She had her bracers, but now she felt those fell woefully short. "Let's go back to the starting point." Where Gwestion would return as well.

When they met back up, Celumë looked displeased. "Nothing," she mumbled. Gwestion hadn't found anything either. Celumë took a deep breath. What to do? Stay together? Spread out? Both could be disastrous, if there was a trap - depending on the kind of trap. She frowned. "The trees," she whispered at the brothers. "They could be hiding up there." They hadn't done much of that, themselves, since their numbers were too few to keep their enemies from pinpointing their specific location in a tree, which would have gotten them in trouble especially against larger groups. But she had hidden in trees with a unit of Rangers, in Ithilien, waiting for the Shadow's troop movements. It could be highly effective. "If they are simply waiting to pick us off..." She gestured at all of them. "We don't have the armour to stop those arrows."