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Nodding his thanks to Alf and agreement with his thought process, Thûllir concurred with Kaylin’s statement. “Yes, let's go home.” He cleared his throat slightly before addressing the others in brief farewell. “Until next time. Cadil, Trastion.” Perhaps they could talk through whatever had led to this another time, but he didn’t want to stick around longer. Not with Kaylin almost silent beside him.

Thûllir snugged Kaylin against his side as he turned them away from the Wayfarers Inn and up the long road home. He had briefly considered staying there and making use of Alf and Hildy's hospitality and one of their rooms, but it was both too close to what had just occurred, and there wasn’t sufficient privacy for what he wanted. They needed their own space now, with no reminder of the traumatic events of the past hour.
The walk would do them both good, even if their steps were slow. He had every intention of carrying her if need be, but knew she would want to be seen walking away on her own two feet. His posture did not invite anyone else to walk along with them, even if they were going in the same direction.

He bent his head beside hers so that their conversation was entirely private, keeping his eyes enough on the street that he could direct their steps and watch for danger, but most of his attention focused on Kaylin. He could sense her continued unease, and wanted to cut it off. His voice was a low murmur when he spoke. “It's a good thing we are going to Linhir soon. I need time with you Kaylin. Just us. For a while at least.” It was more in his face here in Minas Tirith that almost all of her acquaintances were men, and this drinking with the guys could easily get out of hand with her competitive nature. He wasn’t exactly any better at saying no to her than the others, but also never spurred her into such mischiefs. The drinking worried him, but mostly what he felt was relief that she was there, with him, walking home by his side. That was the best part of living here with her instead of in Ithilien most of the year. They might have her attention for the day, but she came home to him each night. Eventually at least. “Tonight…tonight I want to take care of you, pamper you, and make you feel better.” Thûllir gave her a light squeeze with his hand at her waist to emphasize that he meant it. It would also help him feel better to be able to care for her after that scare.

His voice continued its low murmur. “Willow bark tea with honey to ease your head, and a steaming hot bath to ease the bumps and bruises. You let me wash you and comb out your hair and apply all the ointments, and then…” He dipped his head closer to her ear and his voice dropped lower. “If you want me to just hold you or leave you to sleep it all off I shall, but what I want to do…what I want to do is…” His voice dropped even quieter as he whispered his suggestions in her ear, paused briefly to let those words sink in, and then spoke again in his previous normal low murmur. “But I will do whatever you wish. I love you Kaylin, Melethril mine. I want to celebrate life together with you.”

Home. Home sounded good to her. If only... If only it weren't so bloody far away. And if only she did not have to dread the angry scolding she was likely - and justifiably- in for. After a moment's consideration she was suddenly glad for the distance to their house on the Sixth. For it was within their own home where Thûllir would feel most at ease to show his emotions. Kaylin knew he hated to make a spectacle of himself in public. He would wait to scold her… the distance gave her a stay of execution.

"Bye, guys," she said as she looked at Trastion and Cadil, her tone a mix of guilt and tension. What was she even supposed to say after all of this? "Sorry," she added quickly, fully intending to make a better apology at some later date. She wanted to add whether they could say goodbye to Mourgan, too, because she didn't have the heart to explain much to him at the moment. But she hesitated too long, and Thûllir seemed to have a plan.

[Post continued in the Streets of MT thread]

@Arnyn @Isolde Alarion @Pele Alarion @Karis Ziranphel
He wasn't very surprised to hear that Mourgan had taken care of the other guy, considering what he had seen of them both when he went outside to look for Kaylin. But, it was still good to hear it confirmed, after some time had passed in which he hadn't seen what was going on with the Mourgan. Especially, since this was Mourgan's first day being released from the houses of healing. It would've been terrible for him to have to go right back with fresh injuries!

The next moment, Alf asked whether he'd like him to check the knots he had tied, and then added a reminder that he had supposedly been drinking almost as much as Kaylin had been. Oh, right. Trastion had sort of forgotten about that momentarily, with all the stuff going on, and his worry for Kaylin had briefly driven the whole fake-drunk thing out of his mind. He hoped he hadn't blown it by now, but he gave a slow nod in reply to the innnkeeper. He figured it wouldn't be a bad idea even if he wasn't supposedly drunk, since he mostly only knew knots for climbing, not for restraining criminals. "Might be a good idea," He agreed quietly, almost in a mumble, in an effort to try and reclaim at least some of the drunken act.

It probably helped, in that regard, that he'd gotten a bit of Cadil's drink and Mourgan's drink splashed and dripped on his clothing. Which explained why he was feeling a little itchy, he realized. He'd ignored it so far, but there were definitely places on his arms, shoulders, and torso which had begun itching over the past couple of minutes, and he only hoped that it wouldn't be as severe as the last time he got alcohol on him... during the midsummer event. But he seriously doubted it would, since ale was a whole lot weaker than that stuff in Mourgan's flask, and it hadn't gotten soaked into his shirt and left on him for hours and hours. So, yes.. he'd be fine, just a little itchy for a while.

Glancing up as he heard both Thullir and Kaylin bidding he and Cadil goodbye, Trastion lifted a hand in a wave of farewell, but for the moment he couldn't quite think of anything to say. This whole evening had gotten very much out of hand, far too quickly, and he was more convinced than ever that nothing good ever came of alcohol, and even less good came from hanging around places where people go to drink it. Which made it all the more difficult for him, that it was necessary to pretend that he did drink, and to convince people of that.

With a sigh, Trastion tried to think how to pick up where he left off with the act, before the thugs started picking a fight. He stood up with the intention of moving out of the way so that Alf could check the ropes he had tied around Elmir's wrists. As he did, he staggered slightly and put out a hand to brace himself against the wall closest to him. "Whoa.." He mumbled, blinking a couple of times as if he was suddenly lightheaded. In actuality, he had just stood up a little too fast and had a brief moment of dizziness, but he decided to go with it, since it seemed to help with what he was trying to accomplish.

Cadil
Third Week of August

It felt good to have a task entrusted to him and to be able to focus on something useful instead of staring at these men who annoyed him to no end with their words.

"Right. Guards," Cadil stated matter-of-factly and waved his hand at Thûllir and Kaylin as he set off on his assignment and let the two walk past him first on their way home. He lingered only for a moment to look after them and hoped this situation would not turn into some family scandal. Then he resumed on his own way half running half walking. Surely, the guards at one of the gates should be able to direct him towards any out on the patrol.

It was no easy task to convince the gate guards that he was in serious need of a whole patrol to take four men into custody, and begrudgingly he ended up describing more details to them than he cared for, but eventually he received directions for the nearest patrol of three guards. When he finally found them, he was not pleased to have to repeat the whole story yet again to convince them to come along.

"But there are four of them. All like... proper mountains of muscle, bound though they be," he warned as he led them towards the inn as quickly as he could.

When they came to the location, the leader of the group talked with Alf to confirm the details Cadil had shared, and hear everything from someone who did not seem like a... someone who can easily get into trouble himself. The others took to herding the slightly or quite badly damaged thugs together for a march to the jail.

"Yeah," he sighed, turning to Trastion and Mourgan. "You, guys, going up to the barracks? I could join you for at least a bit on the way to my own home. Or are you staying or something?"

Hearing the threat he intended for Trastion, Mourgan answered him. "Best thing you can do is forget he exist." The threat in his voice held a stern promise of retribution if anything were to happen to his friend. He would have punctuated his threat with a punch to the mouth but just then Alf interrupted him. He took the rope and quickly tied up the downed man. He nodded at Alfs threat because he did wish to return at some point.

"I got this." He added shortly after hearing something coming from the alley and watched Alf take off. He looked down at his charge but shortly he watched Cadil take off somewhere. He wanted to know what was happening, but he'd promised Alf. He looked at the guy again and was about to take him by his bound arms and drag him to the alley when a patrol arrived with Cadil.

Shortly his charge was being taken away and he made his way over to Trastion and Cadil. He looked for Kaylin. "Where's Kaylin? She alright?" There was concern in his voice seeing as she was nowhere to be seen. He waited for an explanation before answering Cadil. He motioned to Trastion. "I don't know about him, but I think I've had enough excitement for the night. Besides, I need to get cleaned up." He motioned to the sliced shirt with a few hints of blood on it. He held up a hand to stop Trastion from asking and being worried. "Nothing serious, just a couple scratches." He looked back to the fading scene of the patrol taking the men away. "Besides, we could use the time walking back to the barracks for Trastion to explain how he broke that guy's nose." He half grinned as he turned to look at his roomie with a curious upturn of his brow.

@Isolde Alarion @Pele Alarion
Though it was probably unnecessary, Trastion kept an eye on the other two while Alf was checking Elmir's bonds, and stayed close to the wall, leaning his shoulder against it, as if the wall were helping to keep him upright. It was disappointing that things had gone so far wrong. They'd been trying to celebrate a good thing.. two good things actually, and now that was ruined. He felt bad for Mourgan's first day out of the houses of healing having turned into this. But he felt even worst for how bad things had gotten for Kaylin. And now, it occurred to him, that with her gone, and no one to ask for advice about acting drunk, and he wasn't really sure how to continue this act. Yet, he couldn't just drop it, suddenly. Right?

Being unsure what to do, he kept quiet while he waited, hoping it would only seem as if he was not feeling so great. Kaylin had gone quiet, he recalled, so that seemed believable enough, anyway. Eventually, Cadil returned with several guards to haul away the thugs. Trastion was relieved that they did not seem to be the same guards who had taken custody of Elmir and Balthor before, and listened as Alf gave an account of the ordeal. He nodded here and there in the background, but there was really no need for him to speak up and before long, the guards were leaving with their prisoners.

Then Mourgan joined them, and Trastion was very glad to see him, although the cuts on his shirt made Trastion widen his eyes slightly. Before he could ask or express concern, his roommate had asked about Kaylin. "Thullir was here.. actually, he did most of the fighting," He explained, slightly sheepish that he hadn't done very much. "He took her home a little bit ago." He was preparing to ask if Mourgan was alright, but Mourgan apparently guessed what he was thinking, and assured Trastion he was fine, just a couple of scratches. Trastion nodded slightly, taking Mourgan's word for that. It was clearly nothing compared to the stabs he had endured not too long ago, anyway, and it seemed maybe the shirt had taken more damage than Mourgan, though some blood showed on the edges of the cuts. Those would definitely need to be cleaned, he figured, so it was no surprise that Mourgan wanted to go and get cleaned up.

"Yeah, I'm definitely going to the barracks now." Trastion agreed with him about that. "I want to get cleaned up and into some other clothes.. hope we can sneak by Lt Brian," He mentioned to Mourgan with a little amusement. His shirt smelled rather strong of alcohol now. It was getting a little difficult to resist the itching sensation under his shirt, but he somehow managed. Still, he figured if the lieutenant saw them, he'd have a few things to say about their condition. But he wasn't terribly worried about it, at the moment. He looked over at Cadil, remembering he had asked about walking with them. "You can join us 'til we get to your stop, sure. How far are you going?" He asked curiously. Turning to the innkeeper, he gave a little nod of gratitude. "Thanks for everything, sir. Sorry that this happened in your place, though."

Once it seemed that they were ready to set off toward the barracks, he stepped away from the wall, walking a bit unsteadily as he set off with the other two, and let out a little laugh when Mourgan asked about how he'd broken Dalloran's nose. "I actually didn't!" He insisted, putting his hands up as if in protest. "Really, that was his friend's doing." He nodded to Cadil. "That one you were wrestling with, Corgad or whatever, it was his fist that did that." Trastion smiled innocently. "All I did was duck."

@Rillewen , @Isolde Alarion
Cadil
Third Week of August

"Yeah, Thûllir swooped in like a furious eagle, tossed the thugs this way and that, and took Kaylin home," Cadil added his view of how things turned out to fill in Mourgan on how things had gone around the corner. "I'm sure Kaylin could not be in better hands, so she'll be just all right."

He rubbed his bruised torso where he had taken a heavy punch and winced. The whole drama had made his own wish for more time at the pub diminish rapidly, but neither did he look forward to possible explanations to his folks back home. He was only slightly tipsy, and his damage was not visible, so perhaps it would not be too bad.

"Not that far to go with you, only to the third circle," he said regretfully and for a moment considered taking a longer walk. But then again... why bother walking all the way up and then down again after - and that all alone. He was glad that Trastion got to telling the story of breaking the guy's nose right away, for he was wanting to hear that.

"Ha! Served 'm well, no doubt," he snorted. "They better learn their lesson and stop itching for more, now that there's even more of us against them."

"Do you have any available rooms?" Gladhron inquired at the desk, hopeful. Having made inquiries at all the inns on the first level, the group had moved on to the next level with hopes of finding some sort of vacancy.

The innkeeper had to check, due to how many rooms had been books during the past few weeks. "Looks like we've got two left," He replied.

"We'll take them," The lady spoke up swiftly before anyone else could come along and snatch the rooms out from under them. She exchanged a relieved glance with the young man standing near her. They'd had a thankfully uneventful journey, though it was quite long, and they were more than glad to have reached their journey's end, at last. But finding somewhere to stay now that they had arrived.. was proving more difficult than they had anticipated.

"But there's only two," Gladhron protested, expecting disappointment from the ladies. There had, during the course of their trip, been talk of the two girls sharing one room while their aunt took one for herself. The brothers, of course, would share a room as they usually did.

"That's fine," Seri insisted. "The girls and I can share one room together, and you and your brother can have the other." With rooms being in short demand, they would just have to make do with what they had. A third room would have cost more money, anyway, she thought, seeking the silver lining in their situation.

"Alright then, two rooms it is." Gladhron declared, as if the innkeeper had not heard the lady who was, technically, old enough to be his mother, though only just. And, she still appeared young enough for this fact not to be terribly obvious, though her motherly sort of mannerisms might just give that away to the close observer.

Seri took out her coin purse and came forward to pay the innkeeper for the rooms.

"Wow, this is incredible. I knew the city had become more populated since the king's return, but I didn't expect to have such trouble getting a couple of rooms!" Gladhron commented in amazement.

"Ahh, well, you picked just about the worst time to be trying to get a room," The innkeeper's wife informed them, shaking her head a little. "People are coming from all over the country, you know. The ball's supposed to be quite grand, and many folks have been looking forward to it for weeks.. even months!"

"Ball?" Gladhron glanced from the lady to the innkeeper, and back to the lady, intrigued. "What ball?"

"What ball? The masquerade, of course." The innkeeper gave them all a curious look. "Isn't that why you've come?" He handed the bearded young man a flier, which announced the Midwinter Ball and all of the details concerning it.

"No, sir, must confess, that is not our purpose in visiting your city," Seri answered, as she curiously read the information on the flier from around Gladhron's arm, as he held it where they both could read it. She looked back up at the innkeeper once she had finished. "No, as it happens, I have some business here, and we've traveled a long way to get here. We didn't know anything about a ball, until this very moment."

"I see. Well, perhaps you'll be able to make it to the ball, while you're here." The innkeeper's wife suggested, smiling. "It promises to be quite an evening, and it would be a shame to miss it."

"Oh, I don't know," Seri laughed lightly as she glanced down at her travel-stained dress, and smiled a bit blushingly. "We didn't bring anything quite so fancy as that," She explained with a slight laugh.

"Oh," The lady of the inn interjected, "Well, if you are interested in going, you might try some of the clothing shops in the market. Some of them are renting out gowns and things, for those who are.. lower budget, or don't want to outright buy something just for one evening." She explained. "But you'd best go quickly, because I'd say most of the good dresses will be gone before the day grows much older. I can tell you where to find the better shops to look at, if you'd like. Three lovely ladies as yourselves would surely be a welcome addition to the ballroom," She added with a smile toward the ladies of the group.

"Well, thank you, we'll consider it." Seri glanced briefly out of the window, where the rest of their party waited. "Oh," She suddenly realized what she had forgotten. "Do you allow dogs?" She checked. Her own dog had been left behind, in Archet, under the care of her daughter, but the young lady she called her niece would not be separated from her own beloved canine. Especially not for such a length of time.

"So long as this dog is house broken," The innkeeper replied with slight hesitancy.

"Oh, he is," Seri assured him in relief. "He's very well behaved," Well, except for chewing on things...

"Well, then if he doesn't disturb the other guests, I have no problem with him. No barking at night, things like that."

Seri nodded. "We'll be sure that he won't," She promised on her niece's behalf. "I'll go and tell the others they can come inside," She declared, glad they wouldn't have to move on to the next inn and try again.


"Well, this looks very nice." Seri declared, as she took a look around the room that the innkeeper's wife had led them to. "Thank you," She smiled at the lady, who gave them all the information they'd need, such as where to find the washroom, and so forth. As well as giving the guests some instructions concerning the dog and when he would, inevitably, need to take a walk.

Gwestion followed behind the ladies, and set down what he had been able to carry of their luggage, just inside the room. "Gladhron is bringing the rest," He informed Seri, as the brothers had agreed the ladies ought not have to carry the luggage.

"Thank you," Seri smiled at him. "You didn't have to carry those, though. We could have carried some of it," She pointed out.

"It's fine, really." He answered insistently.

There were two, neatly made beds, which Brooke was fine with, since she rarely slept anyway, and would most likely end up curled up in the comfy looking couch situated by the window, rather than going to bed. Beside it was a low table. One of the beds had been claimed immediately by her sister, whom she had regrettably kept awake well into the early hours of the morning. Both girls had been too excited to sleep last night, after realizing how close they were to their destination, and although Brooke was not tired, her sister did not share her insomnia. Against another wall was a large chest of drawers, with plenty of drawers for all three of them to use.

"Is there anything else you need, before I go?" The lady asked, keeping her voice down upon seeing the youngest member of the group was so weary.

"Oh, um.. Ma'am?" Brooke spoke up timidly, hesitating until she saw that the innkeeper's wife had turned her attention toward her. "I just.. um, wondered." She bit her lip lightly, but couldn't resist asking, "Where would I find the library?" She fidgeted slightly with the worn leather bag that hung at her side, from a strap that crossed her torso, from shoulder to opposite hip. Her other hand rested lightly on her dog's head, absently rubbing around his ears. He stood calmly beside her, tail wagging lightly.

Seri laughed softly and put an arm around Brooke's shoulders, gently. "Let's get settled into our room, first, and unpack. Then, we'll see all the sights, including the library. Alright?" She smiled in amusement at the girl's insatiable appetite for books. In fact, her primary reason for choosing to come along on this trip at all, was to see the library of Minas Tirith, and that topic had filled a great portion of her conversation ever since they left home.

Brooke nodded, though with some reluctance and disappointment. She'd heard so much about this wonderful library, it seemed nearly impossible to wait a moment longer when she was already this close!

The innkeeper's wife smiled kindly, however. "You'll find it on the second level, miss." She informed the girl with a little smile.

This brought a little smile to Brooke's face. The library! It was so close! "The second level? That's... where we are now, right?" She glanced at Seri and then the innkeeper, who nodded.

"You can't miss it. Big place.. very grand. I doubt they'll let your dog in, though." She added with a glance to the large canine who had stationed himself at the girl's side.

Her brown eyes practically shone with excitement as she heard this. "I can't wait to see it!" Her enthusiasm then faded slightly when she heard the bit about her dog, though. "Aw. Well.. maybe Chewy could wait outside," She looked down at him with a little smile. He looked up at her and wagged his tail, almost as if he understood her words.

"I'm sure that would be better," The lady agreed, before wishing them well and taking her leave of them.

Gladhron joined them a moment later, with a similar load as his brother. "Wow! Did you bring every book you own, Brooke?" He asked with a little laugh, as if his share of the luggage were far heavier than any other.

This brought a swift 'shh' from Seri, and a quick glance toward the napping member of their party.

Blinking in brief confusion, Brooke debating how to answer that question. Technically.. yes, she did.. but she only had a few books, really. "Um.. you don't even have any of my bags," She pointed out quietly, after noticing this fact. She motioned to the others, which Gwestion had brought in. "Mine are there, with some of Aunt Seri's."

"I was only kidding," He rolled his eyes but smiled, carefully dropping his load down near the other, before catching the lady's 'shh'. Glancing over, he winced slightly upon seeing the sleeping girl. "Sorry." He whispered, and kept his voice down to a whisper, for the moment at least. "Alright, now... I think it's time we go and pick out what we're going to wear to this dance," He declared, glancing around eagerly. "Before all the good stuff is taken. Right?"

"Oh, I don't think I'm going to go to that." Seri shrugged. "You're free to go, of course.. but, I don't know about it, myself." She began picking out which bags were hers so she could begin putting her things away in one of the drawers in the room. "Do you have any interest in going?" She asked, with a glance to Brooke. She didn't want to bother Aislin with the question for the moment, but Brooke immediately shook her head. She had gone to look out of the window.. perhaps to see if she could spot the library from here.

"What?" Gladhron asked, a little amazed, and forgetting to keep his voice down for Aislin's sake. "Neither of you? But.. it's a ball! I've never been to a ball. It sounds like so much fun!"

"Dancing? With a bunch of strangers?" Brooke's voice was full of skepticism as she took a seat on one end of the couch. It took all of her willpower not to scrunch up her nose at the thought of it. Her reddish-brown dog hopped up with her and curled up so that he was mostly covering her lap, and sat there with his tongue hanging out, looking quite proud of himself for 'fitting' on her lap. "What could be fun about that?"

Rolling his eyes, Gladhron disregarded her input. "You wouldn't understand," He replied, aware that Brooke was entirely uninterested in any sort of romance whatsoever, despite being plenty old enough to have suitors of her own. "And, besides," He added, smiling. "If you all went along too, then there'd be at least four people there that I know." He pointed out.

"Count me out," Gwestion declared quietly. "And speaking of 'getting out'.. I believe it's about time we got out of here, and let the ladies unpack?" He added, as a not-so-subtle hint to his brother that they ought to go and get settled into their own room, and leave the ladies alone for now.

"Anyway, so what if they're strangers?" Gladhron shrugged, ignoring Gwestion's prompt in his mission to recruit fellow ball-goers. "Maybe I would meet a pretty girl there who really likes me." The idea of that was quite favorable to him, which was evident by the silly grin on his face. "Wouldn't it be just wonderful, to have arrived just in time for the dance, and then.. maybe I could end up falling in love with some beautiful young lady? Like a scene out of one of your storybooks, Brooke!"

"But you wouldn't be able to see her face," Seri laughed lightly. "How could you be sure how pretty she is?"

This brought a somewhat puzzled look to his face. "Why wouldn't I be able to see her face?" He asked, baffled by this.

"Um.. it's a masquerade." Brooke mentioned, picking up the flier which they'd brought to the room, to hold up as a reminder. Sure enough, it said big and bold 'masquerade'.

"So..?"

Brooke blinked at him. "Um. That means everyone's going to be wearing a mask.." She explained, trying not to sound too much like it should be obvious.

Gladhron blinked back. "Right, of course," He answered with just a second's pause. "Obviously, everyone knows that. But.. well..." he failed to come up with anything to explain how he knew that, yet expected to see faces.

"Do you even know how to dance, Gladhron?" Gwestion inquired, leaning his shoulder against the doorframe, while raising an eyebrow.

Gladhron hesitated. "Um.. well.." He paused, then shrugged with a little laugh. "How hard could it be?"

Seri bit her lip to keep from laughing at that, while Gwestion turned his eyes up to the ceiling.

After a brief pause, Brooke spoke up again, with what she thought was a very reasonable solution. "Maybe I could find a book about it, at the library?"

"A book? Of course you would find a book about it," Gladhron rolled his eyes, but, well it actually wasn't a bad suggestion, he realized. "Can you actually find a book about it?" He added with curiosity.

Seri did laugh, then. "Brooke can find a book about anything, Gladhron." She informed him, amused. Unlike him, Seri and Brooke had managed to keep their voices hushed all of this time, in hopes of not disturbing Aislin.

"Well, maybe it's worth a try, then," he mused thoughtfully.

"Come on," Gwestion tugged at his brother's arm. "Let's leave them alone now." He spoke softly, so not to disturb the napping girl.

Turning to his brother as he resisted the tug, Gladhron grinned at him as a sudden idea struck him. "Ohh, Gwestion! You should come to this thing too!" He declared excitedly, having stopped in the doorway. "It's so perfect for you!"

Gwestion blinked at him, wearing a blank expression that somehow also seemed to question whether Gladhron had suddenly lost his mind. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Really! Think about it, it's exactly the sort of stuff you love!" Gladhron tried to convince his brother with enthusiasm.

"Have you.. actually met me? Like..ever?" Gwestion wondered, incredulous. "Since when have I ever liked.. things like dancing, and meeting strangers, and.. parties?" He asked, baffled and a little stunned that his brother would even think those were the sort of things he was interested in.

"No, not that," Gladhron rolled his eyes. "I mean, you know.. wearing a mask, and being mysterious, trying to find out who other people might be.. that sort of stuff. You love that sort of thing!"

Gwestion folded his arms, one eyebrow slightly raised. He slowly shook his head. "I'm not interested, Gladhron. You go if you want to, but I'm not going." He wasn't going to budge on this.

Gladhron let out a sigh of defeat once he saw the stubborn, determined look on his brother's face. "Finnne." He pouted, but turned back toward the ladies' room, of which the door was still open, because he was blocking it. "What about you, Ms. Seri?" He asked hopefully. "Perhaps you'll consider coming along, so I know at least one person there?" He was really hoping not to go by himself, because it was more fun with someone you know!

Seri bit her lip lightly. "Oh, I don't know," She hesitated. "Maybe. But I've already got someone in whom I'm quite interested," She smiled softly, thinking of him, wherever he might be. "I'm certainly not looking to add any other men to my list of suitors," She added jokingly.

"Well, so what?" Gladhron shrugged. "It's just a dance, it's not very likely you're going to meet some stranger and suddenly fall in love," He pointed out.

"Do you ever actually listen to yourself, Gladhron?" Gwestion couldn't help asking, looking at his brother with quiet amusement from the hallway.

"What do you mean?" Gladhron turned, wondering what he meant with that.

Beyond Gladhron, Gwestion noticed Brooke bite her lip lightly in an attempt not to snicker, and he was inwardly pleased to note that she had caught on to what Gwestion was referring to, at least. "Nothing," He muttered in reply to Gladhron, shaking his head slightly in his own private amusement. "Come on. We'll unpack, then go to the market to look for you something to wear to the thing." He declared with a little sigh, refraining from an eyeroll. "And we'll see that Brooke gets to the library safely, so she can find a book to teach you to dance," He added as he cast a glance her way, before nodding in temporary farewell to the ladies. Taking his brother's arm, he firmly guided Gladhron out of the doorway and closed the door after them.

After the two young men had left, Brooke couldn't help a soft giggle escaping, while Seri laughed softly under her breath. The brothers were certainly entertaining, at least. Leaving Chewy on the couch, Brooke quietly got up to go get her bags from where Gwestion had left them, so she could begin to unpack as well. Glancing at her sleepy sister, the girl wondered if she ought to unpack Aislin's stuff for her, or leave them to let her do it later.


(Aislin's napping was pre-approved by @Pele Alarion )

@Rillewen
Aislin

She had taken in all the sights up to the inn they had finally been able to settle in, amazed at the hugeness of the city and its white stone, and lots of people. All the excitement of the travel and newness of the place seemed almost overwhelming.

Eventually they had been able to find rooms to stay in, and Aislin happily lay down on one of the beds as soon as she spotted it. She breathed in the scent of clean bed sheets and thought that perhaps she should at least change out of her travelworn clothing, but excitement and the sleepless night or two had taken its toll, and she found the bed so comfortable and the pillow so soft that she could not resist the weariness washing over her and closed her eyes with a contented smile.

She fully intended to listen in to the conversation about the ball, yet she soon found herself fast asleep and began snoring softly, missing out on most of the conversation and its outcome.

@Rillewen
He had slept in. Well. He had slept in and then some. It was just past noon when he finally rolled out of bed and got ready for the day, donning one of his green shirts with a darker green tunic and even darker green trousers - so dark they were nearly black. No pontytail today - but he figured that wouldn't stop the Dragon from picking him out of the crowd in the common room. If there was a crowd. He was rather late for lunch. And if all went amiss, he supposed he could just go up to a few bearded fellows and poke at them, right?

Tercen approached the bar, first and foremost. He wasn't about to wait for someone to come and take his order. He was famished, and the world belonged to those who went after what they wanted! He smirked a little at that thought.
"Good sir!" he addressed the barkeep with a smile. "Can I bother you for a cup of coffee, some water and if you are still serving lunch...?" He waited for a little nod from the barkeep. "Ahh, luck is with me today! One serving of whatever dish you have left or want to get rid of." He paid immediately and then turned around, one elbow on the bar, to survey the other patrons of the wayfarers' common room. Anyone who might fit the image of his newest friend?

@Arnyn
It was just a bit after noon when Gladhron made his way down the stairs to the common room, yawning behind one hand, but after coming into the common room, he took a look around, wondering if his new friend was there yet. Since Gladhron had taken a bit of time to trim and tidy his hair and beard before coming down, he thought he might have to be the one to recognize the other guy. How hard could that be, though? How many blond guys would there be around Minas Tirith? In Rohan maybe it would have been questing, but they were in Gondor, where most folks were dark haired.

And sure enough, it wasn't long before his gaze landed on a fellow at the bar with hair the right color and length. He was the right build, and so forth. Though he had only seen part of "Sunbeam's" face last night, Gladhron had very little doubt that he had the right guy. So he had little reserves about it as he offered a smile and wave toward him while crossing the room. "I'm gonna take a wild guess and say you were at the dance last night." He grinned and put out his hand for a handshake. "How are you?"

@Rillewen
He eyed the guy waving at him thoughtfully upon his approach, but at his words, the grin and the offered hand, Tercen grinned right back. "A-ha. My favorite firedrake, in the flesh." He shook the man's hand. "Well rested," he replied with a brief laugh. "I basically just woke up. What about you?"

Waving for the bartender's attention, Tercen nodded at his new friend. "What will you be having, friend?"

When the bartender appeared, he placed the water and coffee on the bar which Tercen had ordered earlier. "Thanks," the latter smiled. "I'd like to put in an order foooooor...." He glanced at the Dragon expectantly.

@Arnyn
His smile widened into a grin at the guy's reply. "Same here," He laughed, admitting how late he had awakened. But why not? It wasn't like he had anywhere to be until now, and he was technically on vacation. Of sorts. "Nice when you don't have any pressing reasons to have to get up early, isn't it?"

"Oh, I don't even care." He answered, when asked what he would be having. "I'm not picky at all," He grinned. "As long as they aren't serving that ridiculously hard, bland stuff my brother calls bread." He added, referring to the stuff meant for travelers, intentionally meant to last long without spoiling.

"I'll have whatever he's having, " He said to the bartender when he came to bring his friend's coffee, figuring that would be easiest all around, then turned to.. he realized he still had not learned his friend's name. "I'm Gladhron, by the way." He grinned. "I'm also starving.. I hope I didn't make a mistake by ordering the same as you. Please tell me I didn't just order a tiny salad or something of the sort?"

@Rillewen
He laughed at the mention of a salad. "A salad!" he chuckled. "Maybe I did," Tercen grinned broadly. "I just asked them to get me whatever they had left or wanted to get rid of." He downed his glass of water in one sitting before grinning back at the Dragon - whom he now knew to be called Gladhron. "So, we're in for a surprise! Could be a salad, who knows. If so, I'll be zero steps away from a rich ale. I'll have to drown my sorrows if I'm getting a salad." He peered at the bartender, wondering if the guy had heard and caught the hint.

He turned back to his newest friend. "You always this adventurous?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. "My name is Tercen. Definitely don't want anyone calling me Sunbeam anymore. It was fine for an evening - but I'm done with it." Soon, the bartender placed a glass of water and a cup of coffee in front of Gladhron as well. Tercen stopped him before he could step away. "Do you happen to have some milk and sugar, too?" Soon, a small bottle of milk and a jar with an even smaller spoon was placed before them, and Tercen added some of the white liquid and crystals to his dark brew, with lazy and fluid movements, until it had coloured very light brown.

"I'm actually staying here too." He'd forgotten to mention that the day before. Honestly, he hadn't been entirely sure of the name of the inn he'd been staying at. He'd just laughed when he'd come back to the Wayfarers and had seen the name on the sign outside. "Decided to give my sis a break this time and not bother her at home." He seemed to reconsider for a moment. "Or, you know. At least not for the first week." Tercen grinned. I'm not sure yet how long I'll be in the city." Wrapping one hand around the cup, he lifted it to his mouth for a sip. "What about you? Staying long? If we spoke of it yesterday, I'll admit I forgot."

@Arnyn
Hearing that his new friend, Tercen, had basically asked to be surprised, Gladhron laughed. "Let's hope it's something good then." He was highly amused that they'd done the same thing, essentially. "Much to my brother's dismay, I am." He grinned at the question of whether he was always so adventurous. "Makes things more fun that way, anyway." He rolled his eyes with a smile. "If it were up to Gwestion, we'd never get any kind of thrill or adventure."

After Tercen had gotten what he wanted of the milk and sugar, Gladhron fixed up his own coffee similarly. "So, Tercen." He repeated the name, then nodded. "Yeah I think that one fits you a bit better than Sunbeam." He grinned with amusement. "Although, you danced with quite a few ladies using that name, so maybe it works for you?" He teased.

"Oh, you are?" He was a bit surprised to hear that Tercen was also staying here. "Hmm," He nodded at the mention of "the first week". "So you think you'll be sticking around longer than a week?" He took a careful sip of his coffee and thought about that a bit as Tercen said he wasn't sure how long he'd be in the city. "I'm not sure either," He answered, setting his cup down. He didn't remember what all he'd told Tercen last night at the dance but figured if he couldn't remember, Tercen probably didn't either. Especially since he just said that he didn't remember if they'd talked about that.

"We came to town to escort Ms Seri.. sorry, you'd know her as lady Blossom.. to escort her to the city." He explained. "She's got some business at the houses of healing.. and I don't know how long she'll be wanting to stick around, but definitely longer than a week. In fact.. when we got here, there were only two rooms left available, so, Seri and the girls had to share one. They're hoping, now that the masquerade is over, that some rooms might open up and then Seri can get a room separate from the girl's. She's hoping to get one close to them, though." He smiled. "She tends to be rather motherly toward them." He took another sip of coffee, thoughtful.

@Rillewen
"It does," Tercen agreed. "And who could say fun is wrong?" He raised his eyebrows. "Sounds like your brother is lucky to have you, so he has a little excitement in his life at least," he said with a little shrug.

The reference to his dance list, which was admittedly on the lengthier side, made Tercen shoot Gladhron a half-grin. "You didn't do badly yourself, if I remember correctly. Does that mean you're thinking about keeping 'Dragon' as a nickname?" Tercen shook his head slowly. "I think 'Sunbeam' had little to do with that." He made a flourish with his free hand, the one not holding his coffee. "Pretty sure it was all my natural flair," he laughed in self-mockery, his brown eyes twinkling.

A hum was the first reply to the question about sticking around longer than a week. "I've always visited for midwinter, but the past few years I'm usually in the city for around two weeks. Give or take." He'd noticed his sister could use a bit of cheering up around the darker times of the year. And now... depending on Lady Cat's own plans, perhaps... Tercen took another sip of his coffee, pushing those thoughts away.

"Right... you and your brother - Gwestion - and lady Blossom.. and the girls." Had Gladhron mentioned 'girls' at the ball? "Are they hers? Ms Seri's?" he switched to using Blossom's real name. That would be an adjustment. Listening to their predicament about the rooms, Tercen slanted his head. "Well, I can always vacate my room and ask my sister for a room. She has two spares at her house anyway." One was half filled with her drawing stuff, which she all kept together in there, behind a carefully closed door... but he usually just took the other one. "Then Ms Seri can almost instantly have a room of her own, if she likes?" He smiled. "Problem solved!"

@Arnyn
Gladhron grinned. "He is lucky to have me around." He agreed. "Of course, he says that I'm lucky to have him," He added, rolling his eyes. "Maybe you'll meet him at some point. But if you do.. just a forewarning, he's a bit.. um, antisocial, I guess is the word. He can take a while to warm up to strangers," He shrugged. Totally opposite from Gladhron, obviously.

As Tercen asked if he meant to keep the title Dragon, it made him think of what the woman in Red had said, which made him cringe inwardly. Outwardly, he laughed. "No way. I mean, I love stories and legends about dragons, but.. no, that isn't a name I intend to keep." He shook his head. "In fact, you may notice I've trimmed up a bit," He motioned to his hair. "I figured, if I totally embarrassed myself at the dance, then maybe if I change my hair and beard a bit, no one will realize it was me." He explained his plan. Of course, it didn't really alter his appearance that much, but for someone who had only seen his scruffy beard from being on the road for many weeks, it might be enough to throw them off a bit.

"That must be nice," He commented on the fact that Tercen came every year around this time. He took a sip of coffee, then glanced around. What was taking so long on the food? It felt like ages ago that they'd ordered, although he realized it really wasn't that long ago. His stomach was convinced it was days ago, however. "Hm, the girls?" He turned back to Tercen. "Well, they're her nieces. So, yes, in a way?" He smiled. "Brooke is with Gwestion at the library, today. I think Aislin said something about wanting to explore the city, so I don't know when she might return. Perhaps you'll meet them at some point, if the occasion arises." He smiled, thinking Aislin would probably like this guy, even if Brooke was less sociable with strangers.

He tilted his head in curiosity as Tercen suggested a solution to their problem. "That.. is a great idea! I'm sure Seri would be grateful. Not that she minds it all that much, I'm sure, but, three to a room is a bit crowded.. not to mention Brooke's dog, so.. yeah." He grinned. "I'm sure she's anxious to get into her own room." He said with a little laugh. "So yes, that might work out well for everyone."

"Speaking of your sister," He changed topic slightly, "that reminds me of the question of Lady Fairy's identity." He smiled as he leaned an elbow on the bar counter. "Did you investigate any further, after we made our deal?" He wondered, curious what he might have learned about the lady in question, while waiting just a bit to reveal his own information.

@Rillewen
"You're probably both lucky to have each other," Tercen commented casually, knowing he felt that way about his sibling - even despite their differences. They were alike in some ways, complementary in others. It could be exasperating but it also offered opportunities for insight and cooperation, and generally made them better together. He nodded when Gladhron warned that his brother could take a while to warm up to people. "I'll keep that in mind, should I meet him," he promised.

What was this about trimming? Tercen frowned as he eyed Gladhron. "I don't know," he drawled. "I'm not sure I would have noticed if you hadn't mentioned anything. I must have been paying more attention to the ladies' appearances than to yours." He looked rather unapologetic about that. As if a friend would hold it against him? Tercen didn't think so.

When Gladhron seemed to think his idea was a good one, Tercen smiled happily. "I'm just glad I can be of such assistance," he smiled genuinely. "It seems like an easy solution to your problem." He debated speaking to his sister first, before giving up the room at the inn. Was it necessary? He did have a key to her house - he could just walk in, even if she wasn't there. And there wasn't a chance on any of the Seven Circles that she'd deny his request once he asked, so... Distracted by his own thoughts, he only registered the change in topic after a brief silence. Tercen frowned as the words finally registered, after which his face cleared up instantly.

"Oh! The Fairy. Well I figured you would do the investigating for me," he said with a rather fittingly lazy smile. "I didn't have to investigate further, I'm basically sure that was her. I've known my sister my whole life. She can adopt all the fancy wings and masks she likes." Tercen narrowed his eyes, turning fully to Gladhron. "What about you? Did you ask the Fairy if she was your Celumë?" With a more thoughtful look, he added: "And - if so - how disappointed were you when she said she wasn't?"

@Arnyn
"True enough," He smiled, thinking of various times the brothers had each appreciated each other being around. They made a great team, that was for sure. Even if they often argued or didn't agree about things. And considering they were the only family that each other had left, that was also rather important to them both.

Gladhron laughed when Tercen mentioned he'd been paying more attention to the ladies than to him. "I can't blame you for that," He grinned. "I think I only recognized you because your looks are so different from the majority of folks around here. But if we'd been in Rohan," He shrugged and shook his head. "no way I'd have been able to pick you out of a crowd." Not with only having met him last night, in a mask.

It was nice to have a possible solution to the problem of rooms. While there were likely going to be several folks checking out in the next day or two, it was good to know there was definitely one that would likely be available soon. "Which room is yours, anyway?" He asked, wondering how close it was. Because he figured Seri would like to have a room close to the girls, at least. That way there weren't a lot of strangers in between them and so forth.

When Tercen admitted he'd figured on Gladhron doing the investigation, he grinned. "No worries, investigating is one of the things I do quite well." He informed his friend. "Sort of part of the job my brother and I do, you might say." He shrugged and then raised an eyebrow in amusement as the guy asked him how disappointed he was when she said she wasn't Celume. "Well, not at all, actually." Gladhron replied. "Sorry to burst your bubble, but it was Celume." He informed him with confidence.

As he spoke, the server came out with a couple of dishes that he placed in front of them. "Ah! That looks delicious!" Gladhron was delighted to see it was not a salad, but rather appeared to be a big, round loaf of bread, hollowed out and filled with some thick stew. The pieces of bread that had been pulled from the loaf were on the side of the plate, in case they wanted to eat that part as well.

@Rillewen
"Out of a crowd, perhaps not," he agreed. "But if you got close enough..." He tapped the corner of one of his light brown eyes. "Only a sea of mostly blue and some grey up there." He feigned offense. "Or do you mean to say you did not stare into my eyes while we spoke?" His lips curles up ever so slightly. "The nerve."

"I'm in room five," he answered Gladhron's inquiry, rather than being weird and asking for the girls' room number. That would be inappropriate. "Investigating is part of your job?" he repeated questioningly. "What IS your job, then?" But he soon got distracted by Gladhron's claim. That the Fairy had not been his sister at all. But indeed that Celumë lady! "What?" he reacted spontaneously, his jaw dropping open in surprise. "No way. Seriously?" Tercen seemed recalcitrant. He even forgot about the food for a moment as it was presented to them. His mumbled words of thanks to the server were nothing more than automatic. "You are sure of this? She told you herself?"

@Arnyn
He took a look at the other guy, and noticed that his eyes were, indeed, brown. If he had noticed it before, it hadn't stuck in his memory enough for him to have been aware of their color. "Ha, I didn't even notice your eyes before," He admitted with a little laugh. "Any more than you took notice of my hair." He grinned. "I think it's fair to say we were both quite a bit more interested in taking notice of the ladies."

As he started on his food, the answer about the room came. "Hmm," He swallowed his first bite of food. It was absolutely delicious, despite being probably the last of the pot. "Room five.. that's actually quite near us!" he realized. "I'm in room seven, and the ladies were in the room across from ours, so," he paused to think, as he hadn't really paid a lot of attention to the number on the girl's door. "So, yes. That's perfect!" He declared happily.

When he asked what their job is, Gladhron smiled. "We're rangers, actually. From the northern lands. So, lots of investigating stuff and fighting enemies.. that sort of thing. What about you?" He wondered, curious about his new friend. That was something that hadn't come up during their conversation at the ball.

The surprise on Tercen's face when he declared that it was Celume, it was tempting to laugh. He gave a nod. "I am sure." he insisted. "I went up to her and asked her something, which I knew Celume would answer a certain way." he paused. "Instead, she answered me all.. evasively. Which is also a bit like her.." he acknowledged, with some amusement. "Anyway, she wanted to know why I had asked that, so I told her that I thought she was Celume. Then she asked me what had made me think so, and I told her. All of what had led me to think so." He explained, pausing for a moment to let the suspense build up a bit.

He took a sip of coffee in the meanwhile, before continuing. "Then she admitted that she was, indeed, Celume, and she called me by name and hugged me, so there's no chance the lady was only saying that to fool me." He grinned. "It was great to catch up with her. Even if she did push me to go dance with a few others after.." He rolled his eyes slightly at that. "Anyway, I hope to see her again.. hopefully as much as possible before we leave town. I still can't believe it.. I never thought I'd get to see her again, and now, here she is.. against all odds." He shook his head a little in amazement. "It was quite a surprise."

@Rillewen
Rangers. It didn't surprise him much. At the masquerade, Gladhron had spoken of weapons and woods and traveling. That seemed to be the 'typical' ranger combo, didn't it? Tercen smiled enigmatically, waving his fork through the air above his bowl. "I do something much more exciting," he stated. "I make furniture."

He still couldn't believe that the Fairy had turned out to be Celumë, though. Shaking his head, he finally dug into the meal. Even the way this lady had grilled Gladhron sounded like what his sister would do. But if she'd called Gladhron by name... and had admitted to being Celumë... well, what else was left to say? "Wow," he finally said, in between bites. "That is wild. She just..." How could he have been so wrong? Letting out a deep sigh, he shrugged. "Well. Guess drinks are on me," he said, as if it couldn't be helped. "Unbelievable!"

Peering at Gladhron, Tercen's eyes narrowed in thought. "Hmm." He remembered how much Gladhron had wanted to see Celumë again the previous evening, and apparently the reunion hadnt disappointed. It was obvious to Tercen that the guy likes this woman. "Careful there, friend," he warned gently. "You sound more than just pleasantly surprised. You say you want to see her as much as you can, but in the same breath..." Tercen raised his eyebrows. "You know you'll part ways again. That's a dangerous game to play." He raised his free hand, as if to ward off any objections. "I'm just saying."

@Arnyn
"You make furniture?" Gladhron repeated, a bit surprised. It was not quite what he would have expected, but quite interesting. "That sounds interesting. I'm not sure I'd label it exciting, though." he grinned. "Although, I don't know.. I've never tried to make any furniture. It could be more exciting than I realize..." he shrugged and continued eating as he let Tercen absorb the fact that lady Fairy had turned out to be Celume after all, rather than his sister.

He was quite happily thinking of seeing Celume again, when Tercen pointed out a fact that wiped the smile off his face. He stared down at his bowl as that realization hit him. "Oh. Yeah." He frowned slightly, his mood sinking a little for a moment. Of course.. they would be the ones leaving, this time. But then, he thought of another fact. "Well," he cheered slightly as he brought this up, "if I understood right, she lives around here. So.. at least, this time, I know where to find her." He smiled a bit as hope began to return.

"I mean.. last time, when she left, it was..." He hesitated. "well, hard. Because she had to go away quite abruptly, and I had no idea where to find her after that, and whether I'd ever see her again, or.. anything." He shrugged and pulled off a piece of bread from the top edge of his bowl. "This time, I know where to find her again. We can come back here, now and then." He tried to feel hopeful about that idea. If he could convince his brother of it... and why not? They returned to the Forsaken inn frequently enough, even if Gwestion claimed it was only to check that Bel was safe and that she had all that she needed.

"Anyway," He cleared his throat and turned back to Tercen, trying to change topics. "So, I believe I owe you a story." He grinned a bit. "After we've eaten?" He figured that would be easier than trying to tell the tale in between bites, or letting the food get cold while he was telling it.

@Rillewen
He laughed a bit at Gladhron as he seemed to take him seriously when he said making furniture was exctiing. "It's not exciting," Tercen said. "But - I enjoy it. The hours fly by. And I take satisfaction from the results." With a smile, he looked over at his new friend. "Is rangering that way for you? With the added bonus of actually being exciting from time to time. Do things get dangerous for you a lot?" Like it did for his sister? Less so now than before the defeat of the Enemy, of course... but still.

Mentally, Tercen winced when he saw the way his words of caution wiped the smile from Gladhron's face. Yet the man didn't seem to take long before he started picking himself up again, thinking of positives and how this new situation was still much better than the last time. With a bit of a doubtful smile, wanting to encourage his friend but also unconvinced an arrangement like that was for everyone, Tercen nodded. "There is that," he agreed, doing his best to sound supportive. Even though he wanted to ask about how the rest of Gladhron's reunion with this Celumë went (out of curiosity), he felt like the subject was probably best left alone at the moment.

He was grateful, therefore, when Gladhron switched topics. "Right!" he agreed more energetically. "After lunch would be good." The meal would be best eaten warm, after all. And it was very good. While Tercen hadn't minded missing breakfast after the spread at the masquerade, he hadn't exactly overeaten yesterday either. Overeating was never good if you intended to dance...

@Arnyn
Gladhron took a moment to think about the question, whether the hours flew by or not, while he chewed a bite of food. After washing that down with some coffee, he shrugged. "Well, there can be a lot of dull moments. Sitting around camp, trying to get Gwestion to join me for a game of cards or something." He shook his head. "Or traveling. We spend a lot of time on our horses. Which is fine.. we like them, but it can be.. dull. All the long hours traveling. But then there's the other moments that make up for it. And those can be.. dangerous. Like, there's this one particular group of bandits that's been troublesome for years," He sighed, shaking his head in frustration. "Every time we start thinking we've got them nearly stamped out, they disappear for a while, and then pop up again a few months later, somewhere else." He huffed in annoyance at that.

"But I wouldn't say it gets dangerous a lot. Just.. every once in a while. And, better some danger for us, who can handle it, than for some innocent family, who can't." He shrugged. "Beside, if there were no danger involved at all, I think the boredom would kill me." He joked. "It keeps our skills sharp, at least."

He was glad the other guy agreed about waiting on the story until after lunch. He nodded. "I'll tell it in common this time," He grinned. "Since we're not trying to find out if she understands Rohirric, this time." He also wasn't sure if Tercen knew Rohirric as well as Gladhron, so it seemed easiest for him to use the one he spoke the best. After that, he focused on his meal. It was definitely delicious, and he enjoyed the entire thing immensely.

Before long, he was finishing off the last bit of bread, soaked in the stew's gravy. "Mmm, delicious." he declared. It looked like Tercen was finishing up as well. "Well.. I didn't think to ask this before, but should we stick to the bar, or move to a table?" He laughed, realizing they could have actually moved to a table to eat. Oh well. "Makes no difference to me." he added with a casual shrug.

@Rillewen
Tercen gave Gladhron a thoughtful look. "I knew I liked you," he said casually after Gladhron said it was better for him and his brother to get into dangerous situations than people who wouldn't know how to fight them. He recognized the boistering when it followed - about it killing the boredom, so the boredom wouldn't kill him. With a little smirk, Tercen just hummed some sort of acknowledgment.

The meal was excellent. Tercen sighed contently as he nodded in agreement with Gladhron's assessment of the dish. He finished eating right after that, himself. "Let's grab a table," Tercen decided. "What do you want for a drink?" Once Gladhron answered, Tercen ordered an ale for himself and whatever it was Gladhron had chosen. He paid immediately and grabbed both drinks, sauntering over to the nearest table and putting them down.

"Sir," he said emphatically, gesturing at the drink and the chair it was positioned in front of, as if they were at the masquerade. Then Tercen claimed a different seat. He leaned back in the chair and sipped his ale. "So, let's hear it, then," he encouraged Gladhron.

@Arnyn
As they moved to a table, Gladhron also thought of another plus to the rangering, and laughed lightly. "Another good thing about it," He grinned. "I tend to accumulate some great stories." He claimed the seat and took a sip of his drink, then nodded in approval. It was good. "Right! So," He took a moment. "Let's see.." He set his drink aside for now as he launched into the accurate tale of how he and Gwestion had met Celume.

Of course, the beginning of the tale had been told almost exactly how it really went, yesterday. So there were hardly any changes there. But when he got to the point when he had altered it.. he now told it accurately. With only a few embellishments added, in order to make the story just a little better. A few of the less pleasant details eliminated.. like how one of the bandits had suffered spinal damage, so the lady had put him out of his misery.

At last, he got to the point in the story when they were at Bree, and he told how Celume had gone up to a random stranger and made a deal with him to sing two songs, in exchange for a couple of bars of chocolate.. so they could have the hot chocolate that they'd had their taste buds set on.

@Rillewen

He was able to enjoy the story much more, now. Not only because it was in common instead of in Rohirric, but also because he wasn't half watching for someone else's responses. Gladhron was a good story teller. And the story itself was also interesting enough.

He paid close attention to Gladhron's expression as he told him about encountering this Celumë near a stream. Tercen chuckled a few times, like when she'd said her apples weren't poisoned, and when she had called Gladhron 'warleader' and had baited one of the bandits they'd captured. He'd leaned forward on the table when Gladhron told the part about the bandits ambushing the Millsons as well as the part about Ruby.

By the time Gladhron got to how Celumë was making her deal with a stranger, a hobbit, to sing in exchange for chocolate, he was feeling confident again about how this Celumë couldn't possibly be his sister. This Celumë sounded much less guarded, for one. Though her sense of humour did seem to fit, and she hadn't told Gladhron or his brother Gwestion much about who she was, apparently. But... come on. Singing in a tavern? Making deals like that with stranger?

No way.

She was in an exceptionally good mood after last night, and was whistling as she walked down the street, her pack filled with a load of errands she'd just finished running in the marketplace. Off duty for the day, she had just pulled on casual clothes, most notably of these the dark grey trousers and a thick, dark blue sweater that made her eyes look more blue than grey today. With her errands done already, but so much time to spare, she had thought to come into the Wayfarers and say hi to Alf and Hildy.

With the easiness that could only come to someone who felt almost at home here, she threw her winter cloak onto one of the pegs by the doors and took her pack straight to the bar. She passed by a table with two men, not thinking much of it. They were engrossed in conversation.

"Alf!" she grinned at the man behind the bar. He gave her a welcoming smile. "Kaylin, dear," he greeted her. "How was the masquerade?"

Kaylin's smile was bright. "Perfection," she claimed. "Did you and Hildy go?"

Alf shook his head. "We have a full house. We couldn't just up and leave."

She pursed her lips. "That's too bad. Maybe next time you should let someone else watch the place for you?"

"You offerin', lass?" Alf asked her, with a knowing smile.

Kaylin rolled her eyes. "As if you'd trust me with the whole place. I'd just empty the liquor cabinet and you'd have 5 complaints by the time you get back," she said casually.

"What'll be your poison today, then?" he asked her with a grin.

The redhead narrowed her eyes at him. "I will take it easy," she drawled. "It is just past noon. How about... hot chocolate?"

Alf raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not kidding," Kaylin said, feigning offense. Then she leaned in a little. "Just add some of that sweet Lamedionian liquor to it, will you?"

The innkeeper chuckled and moved off to prepare her request. Kaylin leaned her forearms on the bar, tuning into the noise around her. The common room wasn't crowded, and the words of one of the guys on the table behind her carried over to her ears. He seemed to be telling some story. Intrigued, she shamelessly started listening in. And thought the voice sounded strangely familiar. She turned around, to lean her back against the bar and observe the table. Could it be?

By the time Alf placed her order on top of the bar, she was fairly sure. Enough to risk it. After thanking Alf for her drink, Kaylin moved her pack, her hot chocolate, and herself, over to hover by an empty chair at the men's table. She put her cup down and slid into the chair - which had been standing just far enough away from the table for her to do so without moving it.

"So?" Kaylin asked, as if she were a good friend to both of them and needed no introduction. Even though she was only about 80% sure that the brown-haired guy was the Dragon from the masquerade. And even if she had no clue who the blond guy was. "So? Did she sing, then? And - more importantly - was she any good?"

@Arnyn
He had just paused in the tale long enough to take a drink, when they were unexpectedly joined by a woman that he was quite sure he'd never seen before. Gladhron blinked at the redhead who slid into a chair at their table. But then, maybe she was a friend of Tercen's? It wasn't like he was opposed to meeting new friends, anyway. So he grinned at the lady's question. "Good? She was amazing!" He answered with a little laugh. "She sang not one, but two songs, and had everyone begging for another by the time she finished. But alas, nothing would make her sing a third."

He sat back with a little smirk. "And then we got the prize; three steaming mugs of hot chocolate, just as we'd hoped for. I couldn't believe it," he laughed. "Here wed just been told there was no chocolate to be had anywhere, and she somehow magicked up enough for the three of us to have a cup, anyway. It was a great evening, I tell you. Not as exciting as the next few weeks ended up being, but it was just... nice." He wasn't sure how else to put it. But as boring as simple pleasures like a hot cooked meal in a tavern might sound to someone who had that every day, it was something else when they'd lived in the woods for weeks and had run low on supplies, or having company all around after weeks of no one but Gwestion.

@Rillewen

Tercen blinked at the woman who joined them so casually - with such ease - that she must be a friend of Gladhron's. When she didn't offer her name, he glanced expectantly at him, but his friend didn't offer any introductions, either. With a grin and a shake of his head, his attention shifted between the two of them. Looked like everyone around this table was rather easy-going. Distracted by Gladhron's answer and continuation of the story, Tercen laughed quietly. "You clearly had a good time that evening."

Meanwhile, Kaylin was pretty sure that the guy telling the story was the Dragon. "How could he not have had a good time? With songs and hot chocolate," she said, before pointedly taking a sip from her own cup filled with the sweet and warm drink. "Sounds like a good starting point for a nice evening." With a grin, she stretched out a hand across the table, to Tercen. "I'm Kaylin. Nice to meet you."

He shook her hand, disarmed by her open attitude. "Tercen. Nice to meet you, too." He took another sip from his ale and asked Gladhron: "Did your brother warm up to her a little, then? After the songs and the hot chocolate?" Hiding a grin that was more on the sly side behind his ale, he added: "And did Celumë warm up to you a little, in the meantime, you think?"

Kaylin raised an eyebrow, waiting for the Dragon's reply and trying to pick into the story.

@Arnyn
He grinned. "We did have a good time," He answered. "Not to mention an amazing meal, with plum cobbler for dessert.." He smiled happily, recalling that almost perfect meal. "Delicious." Plus, the excellent company. Even if there had been a moment where it seemed things would fall apart, it had been patched back together again swiftly, so all had ended well for that night.

As the redhead introduced herself to Tercen, Gladhron blinked. Wait. So, that wasn't a friend of his? "Good to meet you, Kaylin. I'm Gladhron," He threw in his own introduction, so they would all know who's called what, as he offered his hand across the table to her with a smile. "Uh.. I actually thought you two must have been friends or something," He laughed, thinking with amusement what his brother would probably say.. cautioning the lady against joining strange men in a bar, or some such thing.

When Tercen asked about his brother warming up to her, Gladhron snorted softly in amusement. "You don't know my brother very well, or you wouldn't have asked that." He smirked. "Well, actually.." He shrugged. "He eventually did, but that was later on. I think, at that point, he was mostly humoring me by trying to be sociable toward her." He took a small sip of his drink while he considered the second part of the question, and trying to decide whether he wanted to actually answer it or not.

"The next day, we left the inn to begin our search," He continued the tale, without actually giving a direct answer to that. "It took us a while to track down any information about the guy who was supposed to have bought the inn," He resumed the story, but cut out a few of the less exciting bits, like all the searching through town, and the irritating conversation with the Graylakes during breakfast. He told how they'd ended up meeting a girl who helped them get the info from the hall of records, and how they saved her from a bully, although he deliberately left out anything else about who that bully was, nor the fact he had encountered her prior to that, in the inn's common room. He especially did not say anything about what Celume had told this girl to get her to leave Gladhron alone.. as funny as it was, as an inside thing between the three of them, he didn't really want to share it with his new friends. At all.

So, the tale skimmed over things like that which could be left out, and instead, jumped ahead to them finding the ransacked cabin, and from there, the trio's decision to hunt down the bandits any way that they could. "After we brought a load of supplies to Gwestion's girlfriend, of course," He added. "She had hardly anything left by the time we returned with a cartload of stuff," That also reminded him, in the back of his mind, that they never had been able to pay her back for those supplies. Something he probably ought to remedy at some point, if possible. He'd have to think of some way to get enough money for that, though.

@Rillewen

"Plum cobbler is good," Kaylin judged with approval. She was amused by Gladhron's surprise at her only introducing herself to Tercen. He had no idea of who she was! Then he hadn't noticed her with her actual red hair during the second part of the evening? "Sorry," she grinned at him. "I thought you would have known! Do you need me to twirl you again, so you'll remember properly?" Her blue-grey eyes gleamed. "Gladhron," she repeated, then glanced at the blond guy. "And Tercen." Easy enough to remember. Only two names.

She frowned with some confusion when Gladhron said his brother hadn't warmed up to that lady. She had missed most of the story, of course. It didn't go unnoticed when Gladhron didn't answer the question Tercen had followed up with. Tercen snorted in clear amusement, but didn't comment. Kaylin figured it was best she followed his lead. Instead, she listened to the rest of the story and only when Gladhron reached a natural pause, she started to comment, unable to curb her curiosity. "Are you and your brother really so different?" she wondered.

Tercen laughed. "They are no exception, miss Kaylin."

Kaylin held up her hand, showing her ring. "Excuse you," she grinned. "But I'm no miss."

Raising his hands with a grin, Tercen shook his head. "Well, alright! Ms Kaylin. Or should I use your husband's name?" he asked, teasing her. She didn't strike him as the kind of woman who wanted to disappear behind another's name.

"Not if you don't want him running through those doors looking for threats," she answered casually before sipping her hot chocolate. "What do you mean when you say Gladhron and his brother are no exception?"

Tercen rubbed his chin as he gave Gladhron a rueful look. At least they understood each other. "Well... My sister and I are also rather different." He nodded at Gladhron. "And now I see what you mean by investigating being like part of your job. It's a bit like detective work, isn't it?"

"What do you do?" Kaylin asked, frowning slightly. "First it sounds like you were just helping out a friend - your brother's girlfriend, right? By trying to track the new inn owner down? But then hunting those bandits... are you affiliated with some kind of militia near Bree?"

That brought Tercen to another question. "Your brother has a girlfriend? But she didn't come with you?" Gladhron had only mentioned Seri, her two nieces, and then himself and his brother.

@Arnyn
As she seemed surprised that he didn't know who she was, Gladhron looked at her a bit more closely, trying to think if he should know, and starting to feel bad that he did not think she looked familiar.. but when she asked whether she should twirl him again to remind him, his eyes widened, and his jaw even dropped slightly. "Wait.. no way! Butterfly?" He asked with a bit of astonishment, then laughed. "Your disguise was excellent, I had no idea you were the same person." He shook his head, marveling a little at the transformation. Then grinned in amusement at that thought. Butterfly. Transformation. Gwestion would've enjoyed that pun. As would Celume, he thought idly.

He was a bit relieved that neither of them pressed the matter of he and Celume, and let him tell the tale. When the questions did finally come, he was a little amused by the first. With a grin, he returned Kaylin's question with one of his own, "Are the Sun and Moon really so different?" He asked rhetorically, amused.

Tercen knew what he was talking about. He nodded with approval as the other guy backed him up with the fact that siblings could be so vastly different. But Gladhron became momentarily confused when she made a point of letting Tercen know she was not a 'miss'. He quickly thought back, and recalled making a mental note, during that dance they'd had, that she did not have a ring on, yet now, he saw one plain as day on her hand. Huh, interesting. He listened with amused interest as she and Tercen talked together a moment, then the topic returned to her previous question, followed by a variety of others.

Before he could answer Tercen's comment about the work being a bit like detective work, Kaylin was asking what he did, and a few more things. And then Tercen's question about Bel.. Gladhron glanced from one to the other, amused as he tried to decide what to answer first. After a moment he figured, ladies first. So he addressed Kaylin first. "Well, ma'am," He almost smirked as he emphasized the proper title for a married woman, rather than miss. "my brother and I are rangers, as I was telling Tercen earlier." he explained. "We sort of.. roam between most of the areas up north. At that point, we were very focused on the area around Bree, since there was an obvious threat lurking about." He paused. "And, as far as I know, Bree doesn't really have much of a.. militia force. Just a few locals who try and enforce the law, but not very many of them. They could do with a bit more training, too, I imagine." He rolled his eyes. "They couldn't even hang onto those prisoners we brought them, as we later found out..."

He turned to Tercen next. "As for Gwestion's "girlfriend".." He tried not to look too amused to refer to her as such, since that had never been officialized by them. "He would insist he does not have a girlfriend," He rolled his eyes. "But it's obvious they both really like each other, and he looks noticeably happier around her.. he does things for her.. what else would you call it?" He shrugged. "Anyway." he cleared his throat, refocusing on the other part of the question. "She runs one of the only inns out beyond the cities, so she felt obligated to stay behind, in case someone needs shelter, or whatever. She's all about being helpful to any rangers who pass through."

@Rillewen

"The one and only," Kaylin grinned, quite pleased with his bafflement. "Thank you," she said smugly when he complimented her disguise. At his rhetorical question about the Sun and the Moon in response to her question about siblings, she rolled her eyes. "Well, I wouldn't know," she shrugged. "I don't have any siblings. I just always kind of found my own," she said with a wink. "So which one of you is the Sun and which one is the Moon?" she asked Gladhron, knowing that isn't what he'd meant, but figuring it was still an interesting comparison. She looked at Tercen, raising her eyebrows at him, as if asking him the same question.

"Hard to say," Tercen responded first. "Both my sister and I prefer day and the Sun to night and the Moon. Knife to my throat, though?" He debated saying he was more like the Sun, but... his sister shone bright in her own way. Then again, so did the moon. He shrugged. "Maybe she's the moon then. And I would be the sun."

When Gladhron said his brother and him were rangers, Kaylin perked up in her chair. "Rangers?" Her eyes widened as her smile grew. "Northern, wandering rangers?" The smile grew into a grin as she listened to the rest of what he had to say, about the absence of any kind of protective force in Bree.

Tercen huffed out a laugh at Gladhron's explanation about the girlfriend matter. "Then I'd call her his love interest, not his girlfriend. You can't have a girlfriend while you're denying it." He shrugged. "But I suppose it's just semantics. She sounds like a nice lady, though," he offered. "Helpful."

Kaylin nodded thoughtfully. For the life of her she couldn't understand why Gladhron's brother and his... love interest... weren't a thing yet, if they both really liked each other. Maybe because the brothers travelled too much? Or because their activities as rangers were so dangerous? Maybe Gladhron's brother wanted to spare her the pain of losing him, should things go wrong. She'd known plenty of people like that in her time with the military. Which brought her back to... "This is just perfect. You're a northern ranger - and you're looking at a southern ranger," she grinned. "Former soldier and current ranger, actually." She narrowed her eyes, intrigued. "What's your weapon of choice?"

Tercen blinked and took a second look at Kaylin. He hadn't pegged her for a ranger, or a soldier, with that long, loose red hair and... well, he wasn't sure why. It wasn't like his sister didn't have long hair. He could just feel her reproach already if she'd known his surprise. So he just buried his face into his drink as much as he could for a moment. Then he wondered: "If you're a ranger, you must know my sister?"

@Arnyn
Gladhron feigned shock at the question Kaylin asked. "What? You mean my dazzling personality isn't a dead giveaway as to which of us is the sun?" He asked, shaking his head as if this offended him, though of course his barely suppressed grin would easily give away the fact he was only teasing. "Can you believe her?" He asked Tercen, before the grin broke through. "Ah, yes, of course you would be the sun as well," He confirmed Tercen's comment about himself compared to his sister. "You were the Golden Sunbeam of the masquerade, after all!" He reminded him, amused.

At the 'correction' to what would be a more proper thing to call Bel, Gladhron shrugged. "I call her his girlfriend because it annoys him," He admitted. "And it gets him talking at times when he's a bit too quiet. Sometimes, I swear, if I wasn't around, he'd simply become an absolute hermit." He shook his head in dismay. "But yes! She is very nice. She and I get along quite well, too." He added. "I could easily see her as my sister-in-law, someday..." He smirked slightly before taking a drink.

As lady Butterfly, aka Kaylin, declared herself a southern ranger, Gladhron blinked. "You are?" He was quite intrigued by this news. "Well met, then!" He added, pleased to meet a fellow ranger, though they hailed from different regions. Her latter question brought a grin to his face. "I favor the sword first, and bow, second. My brother is reverse of that," he added, before she could ask. "And, yourself?"

@Rillewen

Tercen grinned broadly at the way Gladhron responded to Kaylin's question, letting out a chuckle. Kaylin laughed and nodded. "If you're so sure, then it must be true," she stated, raising her eyebrows and thus casting doubt at whether she meant her words. At Gladhron's agreement that he was the sun too, Tercen waved a hand at him, as if to say he could let it go. "It doesn't matter anyway,"

Kaylin lightly facepalmed herself when Gladhron said he used the term girlfriend just to annoy his brother, which made Tercen laugh again. "Siblings you grew up with, in the same house and everything, are different than chosen brothers and sisters later in life," he told Kaylin. The redhead sighed emphatically. "I suppose I'll just believe you. Sometimes people do need a little nudge," she agreed tentatively. The enthusiasm at her revealing she was a ranger, too, made Kaylin smile. "I am!" she laughed. "I'm all about swords, too," she nodded, pleased he preferred the same. "I like my fights up close. Which is why my secondary weapons are knives. Of all sorts. Though I'm also pretty good with a bow. And a spear," she added casually. She didn't mind to brag a little - it was all true.

At Tercen's question, she blinked. "Your sister is a ranger too?" Rather than ask him who his sister was outright, Kaylin observed the blond man. "Meren?" she mentioned a blonde she knew. But Tercen shook his head, sipping his ale, seemingly waiting for another guess. Kaylin frowned. "But the only other blonde woman I know who's a ranger..." Her blue-grey eyes widened a little as she took note of Tercen's brown eyes. His were lighter, but... "You're not telling me... Arnyn has a brother?!"

Tercen almost choked on his ale. Her complete surprise was hilarious. "Ohhhhh, but I am. I am telling you exactly that."

"But she never..."

"Mentions me? Yeah." He leaned back in his chair with a little sigh. "She's a rather private person. Even with me, in some ways."

Kaylin sagged back into her chair, mouth agape. "I can't believe she has a brother. I can't believe you're her brother."

Tercen shot a smile at Gladhron before looking back to Kaylin. "Why not? Am I not pretty enough?"

@Arnyn
He had little to say in regards to chosen siblings, as he didn't technically have any. Unless he counted Brooke and Aislin as sisters, but they were also a bit like cousins, in his mind. So it was a sort of combination, as far as he was concerned. He focused on the topic of swords, and grinned at Kaylin's words. "What kind of sword do you prefer?" He wondered, since she mentioned 'up close and personal'. "Mine's a hand and a half, but my brother prefers a one-handed, short sword. And he also uses knives, at times." He added, curious if Kaylin was similar to him in that regard.

He was rather intrigued to hear that Tercen's sister was a ranger. The same sister who they had thought could almost be Celume? Kaylin's reaction to the name of Tercen's sister made Gladhron laugh. "I'm guessing you do know her, then?" He grinned. "I've yet to have the pleasure, but I've heard a great deal about her." He said, amused. He returned Tercen's smile, then turned to Kaylin. "I hear tell that she sounds a great deal like my friend, Celume." He added. "Based on what you heard in my story.. what do you think, Kaylin?" He was curious for a second opinion.

@Rillewen

Kaylin shrugged at Gladhron's question, though her eyes sparkled. "I can't seem to make up my mind. I like the shortsword and shield combination. I like two short swords, too. I like a hand-and-a-half, too." She sipped her drink again, which was now the perfect temperature. "And I'm good with all of them." There was no hesitation in her tone, and no braggery either. She had just spoken it with a calm, factual confidence.

"Do I know her?" Kaylin repeated, and laughed. "Oh yeah - I know her. She's my Lieutenant and everything. And she's also become a friend, of late." She eyed Tercen, assessing him. "I don't think you need to tell me that you are pretty," she said, eyes narrowed slightly. She was sure the guy knew he was. It didn't come off as too annoying, though. "You two do look alike," she added thoughtfully. The long blond hair, the brown eyes...

At Gladhron's question, she made a face. "Are Arnyn and this Celumë alike?" she asked out loud, as if trying to make up her mind. "I mean... I'm sure that Arnyn could track like her. It sounds just like her to take that trail business upon herself, find out more, save time, all that sort of thing. And it also sounds like her that she would teach you and your brother how to do the same, later." She let out a deep breath. "But like... singing in a tavern? I can't see Arnyn doing something that. Like Tercen here said... she's a private person. She hardly shows her hand to anyone." Kaylin leaned her forearms on the table, grinning at Tercen. "Though I've learned she has a playful streak, too," she shared, as if it were a secret. As her brother, Tercen should already know... but still.

"Let me tell you the story, lads - of Lieutenant Arnyn Dealedwen. And the mysterious summons to the barracks common room." Kaylin's demeanor shifted then, from active listener and conversationalist, to story-teller. She took them along the story, of how they had all shown up at the barracks, none of them aware of why they had to be there, but having been instructed to show up without weapons, armour or uniform.
She left out the bit about Unalmis' uncle showing up, amusing as that had been to her personally - she figured neither of the men here would find it as interesting, and it didn't pertain to why she was telling the story. She did share of how one of the rangers had made a comment about needing to cut his hair, and how Arnyn had oh-so-casually challenged his roommate, Mourgan, to cut his hair off for him. "With a knife from her boot," Kaylin emphasized. "Apparently Mourgan felt so challenged, he actually agreed . I wasn't there for the build-up, unfortunately - but the guys told me about it later," she said regretfully. "I just arrived when Mourgan got started." She grinned broadly, and continued to tell them about how Arnyn had led them to a closed off wing - which had been burned to a near crisp by an evil sorceress. "... though that is a different story," she said with lights in her eyes.

And then she built it up, describing the sorry state of the wing as they walked to wherever it was the Lieutenant was taking them. Describing her curiosity, her lack of understanding at what was going on - her shock at the state of the building... right up to the utter surprise of the Lieutenant presenting them with two sledgehammers. She told Tercen and Gladhron of how Arnyn had seemed to see right through at least a number of them, with her brief explanation of why she'd brought them there. To work off tension, and emotion. "By smashing the walls to smithereens," she said gleefully.

@Arnyn
His grin widened with intrigue as she mentioned the various kinds of swords she enjoyed using. "All of them? Impressive." He grinned, thinking about how surprised he and Gwestion had been to discover Celume's skill level. He listened curiously then, as she declared that Tercen's sister, Arnyn, was her lieutenant. Interesting. Had Tercen mentioned that? He glanced at him, rather impressed by this news. "That's pretty high ranking, isn't it?" He asked, figuring the guy ought to be quite proud of his sister for that.

It seemed that Kaylin also concurred with the fact that this Arnyn would never in a million years be caught singing in a tavern, which confirmed what he and Tercen had determined the previous evening; that Celume and Arnyn could not be the same person. Not that he still had much doubt, but as he listened to Kaylin's tale, he was finding that this Arnyn lady sounded quite intriguing. Not to mention, he couldn't help noticing that Kaylin was an excellent story teller, and that made him grin. Gwestion wouldn't have thought it possible for Gladhron to have found two new friends who were so much like him, in such a short space of time. But somehow, he'd done it!

To hear that she had challenged the two young men, one to give a haircut, and the other to receive it, with a knife from her boot, Gladhron shook his head in amazement, but he kept quiet for now, listening to the rest of the story. As she described the scenario, he was a bit curious about why the barracks had been in such a state to begin with, but he let the matter be, since she said it was another story. Upon hearing the actual cause for it, his eyes widened in surprise. "You're kidding, right?" He asked in amazement. "And what about the haircut guy? Did the haircut turn out alright?" He wondered in amusement. "Or did the poor kid lose an ear?" He joked. "He actually accepted the challenge though?"

"I did." Another voice spoke up, as the young man in question actually happened to have come in while they were talking, and couldn't help but overhear Kaylin's voice talking, especially when she mentioned him and Mourgan. "And why shouldn't I?" Trastion grinned as he waved at Kaylin and Tercen, then turned to the stranger. "Mourgan's my roommate, he's usually the one who gives me haircuts anyway. He's pretty good at it, too.. no need to fear for my ears. Anyway, I'm Trastion," He held out his hand with a grin.

"Gladhron! Pleased to meet you." He shook the other's hand. "Would you care to join us?" He offered, since there were plenty of chairs around.

"Thanks," Trastion smiled as he nodded and chose a seat near Kaylin. "How's it going, sis? And Tercen? Nice to see you in town again." He looked at Kaylin. "Did you get to the next part yet?" He asked, unsure if he'd missed the food part or not.

@Rillewen

Tercen rolled his eyes when Gladhron asked if being a Lieutenant was impressive. "In her current unit that means she's second in command," he mumbled, somehow not looking too excited about that. "At least it's marginally better than when she was commander, years ago."

Kaylin gave him a weird look at that, but Tercen waved it off, so she dropped it. She shook her head, eyes shining bright, when Gladhron asked if she was kidding about the reason why part of the barracks had burned down. "Not in the slightest," she reassured him. Upon hearing an all too familiar voice, Kaylin matched Trastion's grin. "Hey, little brother. I'm great," she told him.

Tercen smiled at Trastion, nodding his hello. Then he frowned. "Sis?" he asked Trastion, before raising an eyebrow at Kaylin. "Is he one of your...self-proclaimed siblings?"

"I used to babysit him so much, he was like a little brother even then," she shrugged. "Meanwhile, we've gotten into enough mischief as adults.. or whatever we are that passes for that... that it's become a thing." She smiled. "And, just like me - little bro has excellent timing. As evidenced by his entrance." Her smile broadened into a grin as she answered Tras' question next. "No, not yet - I still have to get to Arnyn's talk with the barracks master." Her grin threatened to nearly split her face in two.

And then... she regailed Tercen and Gladhron (for the first time) with, and reminding Trastion of, the absolutely perfect conversation between Lieutenant Arnyn and Lieutenant Brian. First she made a character sketch of the Barracks Master, so they understood the type. Stick-in-the-mud. Paperpusher. Orderly. Strict. Unyielding. Demanding. Annoying.
Kaylin followed that up by recounting the conversation between the two Lieutenants almost word for word. Clearly particularly enjoying how Arnyn had kept her calm under Brian's scrutiny, and how she had maneuvered her way into the victor by using the very same tools Brian tended to lean on when he was displeased with someone.

"And then," Kaylin continued, almost breathless, "she managed to make him thank her. THANK HER!" She laughed, slapping the table. "For leaving him looking like a chump! After that, she just came back over to us, and gave us this little wave -" Kaylin mimicked the gesture - "wordlessly telling us to proceed!" Kaylin rubbed her own face, clearly still hardly believing it herself. "I might not have believed it if I hadn't actually been there."

She looked at Trastion, looking for agreement. "I mean, I'm not exaggerating, am I?"

Tercen was staring, first at Kaylin, then at Trastion as she asked for confirmation. He knew his sister could be a bit of a strategist, and that she'd probably used that logical mind of hers all the time in the war or on the less frequent missions nowadays. But the conversation that Kaylin had retol...it sounded unbelievable. It sounded more like some kind of personal or political beef between his sister and this Lieutenant Brian. Something she had never breathed a word about to him. "I knew the barracks master didn't particularly like her," Tercen said. "But how could she expect him to? If she treats him that way? In front of subordinates?" He frowned, looking at Kaylin. "I can't really see her doing that."

"Well, start seeing it," Kaylin said, unbothered. She knew what had happened. Every ranger present knew what had happened. "After we finished breaking down the wall, she told us she'd arranged a special spread at the mess. It seemed like she had tried to find out what every ranger there liked, and had precured something for everyone. Berries, pie, cake, chocolate pastries - you name it. It was there. I couldn't help but make a veiled reference to using the food for an altogether different purpose than eating it," Kaylin grinned. She turned fully toward Tercen. "Do you know what your sister said?"

"No," Tercen drawled, apprehensively.

"She told me; 'We all do what we must. So do what you have to do'." Kaylin shook her head. "So when the ranger standing next to her starting talking about the re-enactment of stories... I couldn't resist. I threw a piece of cheesecake at him. Your sister twisted in such a way that the pie would splatter all over the back of her shoulder, rather than into the guy's neck." She made a face at Trastion. "I was aiming for Unalmis' face, really, but yeah..." She sighed, remembering the day fondly. "Ahhh, the resulting food fight was glorious." The Hyandaner grinned before taking another sip of her warm drink. "Your sister, sir," she told Tercen, "can be wonderfully unpredictable."

@Arnyn
"Commander?" Gladhron was a bit surprised, and wondered why it would seem as if she had been demoted to merely second in command.. but then he thought, maybe it was more like she had stepped down, instead. And since he didn't really know Tercen's sister, it was difficult to make any guesses about that.

Trastion, meanwhile, blinked at this bit of info and looked at Tercen. Arnyn had been commander? As in, captain? Before he could ask anything more about that, the question arose about him calling Kaylin 'sis'. He grinned. "What, you don't think we look enough alike to be blood related?" He asked in mock surprise. Actually.. if he had taken off the hat he was wearing to hide the lingering traces of orange hair, they might actually think so. After all.. he and Kaylin both had blue eyes, and with the hair being similar color? Why shouldn't someone think that? Of course, he was unaware that she had just told them that she didn't have any siblings. Still, he was glad to hear how smoothly Kaylin explained it based on the story they had made up. He grinned. "She might as well be my big sis," He shrugged, amused as she declared him to have excellent timing. "I had an excellent example." He added, meaning, of course, his 'big sis'.

Gladhron was intrigued, but also thought it nice that they had become so close that they considered each other siblings. He smiled, thinking of how close he and Gwestion were, and yet still got on each other's nerves so much they sometimes needed a little time apart. As she resumed her tale, giving a sordid description of the ultra-strict barrack's master, Gladhron's eyes grew wider the more he heard about the guy. "Sounds horrible!" He shook his head in amazement that anyone could endure such things.

Trastion, meanwhile, smiled slightly but didn't really laugh as Kaylin was. He was curious about the other two guy's reactions, however, as Kaylin embarked on the tale of how Arnyn had maneuvered around the Lt's own rules and regulations with her own. When asked to confirm the story, Trastion gave a little shake of his head. "She's not exaggerating a bit," He answered, although his amusement was a bit more muted than Kaylin's. Glancing at Tercen, he was a bit unsure what he meant with his comment, though.

"Incredible!" Gladhron laughed. "Well, she did say they stepped off to speak in private, so it wasn't meant to be overheard," He defended the sister he didn't even know, with a little shrug. He didn't see what the big deal was, anyway, as far as that went. But the way she had managed to work the rules around to her favor.. that was impressive. He was rather interested to meet this lady sometime, despite the fact that he was certain now that she could not possibly be Celume, even if they did have a few similarities.

As Kaylin went on to tell about the spread of food that ended up being used as ammunition in a fun battle, Trastion grinned a little more, and laughed when she admitted that she'd been aiming for Unalmis's face. "Don't forget how she reacted when I took your side in that battle, instead of hers." Trastion reminded Kaylin with an innocent sort of smile, figuring it would be more amusing coming from her than him.

"What did she do?" Gladhron wondered as he leaned forward a little, caught up in this tale. "It sounds like it was all in good fun, so she surely didn't get offended? Right?"

@Rillewen

Tercen hummed in confirmation to Gladhron. It looked like Arnyn hadn't seemed to share her past ranks with Trastion. Kaylin had known for a long time by now, of course, from the talk of some of the other Hyandaner she hung out with, but it had merely surprised her that Tercen didn't seem to like his sister holding such a position. He was glad, though, that the conversation so easily flowed on. He didn't particularly wanted to explain how he thought Arnyn had seemed happier in a way when she did not have such a great responsibility on her shoulders.

Kaylin smiled gratefully when Trastion called her an excellent example. "Thank you," she told him with a little wink. Gladhron received a grave nod when he said Lieutenant Brian sounded terrible. "I know. One of the best decisions of my life was moving out of the barracks," she said, "and part of the good about that was definitely no longer needing to be confronted with that man on a daily basis." Of course, the biggest boon had been moving in with Thûllir. She smiled a bit differently at that thought.

He had nearly finished his ale by now, and Tercen snickered at Gladhron's defense of his sister. He figured Arnyn had known exactly what she was doing. But then some doubt crept in. Maybe not. He couldn't confuse sibling teasing with serious business. When Kaylin went on to describe the start of the food fight, Tercen couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Hahaha! I thought she would have grown out of those shenanigans by now," he grinned broadly.

Kaylin was glad he finally seemed to be warming up to the story. "Guess not," she grinned back. "Because she claimed Unalmis was on her team now, and retaliated against me with. A. Whole. Entire. Cake." Kaylin gestured at her face. "It hit right here." She laughed. "It was great!"

When Trastion reminded her of what happened next, Kaylin chuckled. "I called out to my little bro over here," she said with a nod and a smile at Trastion, "basically telling him to help me get back at Arnyn." She took a deep breath, as if she was about to say something of a more sensitive nature. Her voice lowered. "But the rub, there, you see - is that Trastion was assigned to Arnyn for his training. He had been training with her for months, and I don't know if either of you have any experience with things like that - but it can really create a bond. And it was clear to everyone by then that Arnyn and Trastion had really found their recruit-mentor rhythm, you know?"

Kaylin shook her head. "Honestly, I hadn't really expected you listening to me and taking my side. I didn't think you'd just go with it and fling food right at her!" The redhead chuckled, clearly still quite pleased with Trastion's choice. "Arnyn warned him not to, but then he just..." She moved her arm in a throwing motion. "It didn't hit, I think?" she said, looking to Tras for confirmation. "But I clearly remember the Lieutenant laughing and called you a rat!" she told Trastion, wildly amused. "And then you hit her - ohhhh, did you hit her!" She could hardly keep herself from laughing. "One piece of pie or cake - hit her right here," Kaylin grinned, tapping her collarbone. "But the other gloriously splashed apart on her cheek."

She didn't laugh anymore now, forcing her face into a serious expression as she glanced at Tercen. "Your sister froze. And honestly, so did I a little bit - at seeing that. She wiped some of the pie from her face. Calm, like the sky before a storm. Once she realized it was Trastion..." Kaylin whistled low. "She stomped over to him and grabbed his collar. She proclaimed he was no longer her recruit." Kaylin paused, to let that sink in. Tercen frowned, for that didn't sound like Arnyn at all, to get so upset over being hit in a food fight she had only encouraged. "Yeah," Kaylin agreed, raising her eyebrows. "The whole room fell silent in surprise at that."

Slowly, a grin spread over Kaylin's face. "And then she promoted him. To her trainee."

Tercen laughed. That sounded much more like Arnyn. "Now that doesn't surprise me," he chuckled. "It sounds just like her to see a recruit hitting her in the face with pie as proof he's ready for his next rank." Kaylin frowned at him with a half smile on her face. It was difficult to tell if the man was kidding. Yeah. She could see the resemblance in his and Arnyn's behaviour in that.

@Arnyn
Listening to the tale, it sounded incredible. Gladhron was trying to picture this lady. From things Tercen had said, she had sounded a lot like Celume. But from what Kaylin was telling them, she sounded nothing like her! He wondered if she really looked like Celume. Tercen had mistaken her for his sister, after all, so it seemed like she must.

As the two explained that the young man was assigned to Arnyn for training, and that they'd developed a sort of bond. He nodded slowly, trying to imagine that. He could only figure it had been similar to his father training him, but that still seemed a bit different, since they had already shared a father/son bond.

Trastion was grinning slightly as Kaylin described the scene. As she reached the tale of how he received his promotion, the grin fell from his face and he maintained a solemn sort of expression for as long as he could. Meanwhile, he glanced from one guy to the other, curious how they reacted when Kaylin explained how Arnyn stopped abruptly, stomped over, and told everyone he wasn't her recruit anymore.

"What?" Gladhron's eyes widened in surprise at that. "But.. why would she.." He glanced at Kaylin, then Trastion, then at Tercen. He was also frowning. It seemed this was news to him as well. That seemed like a major overreaction.. but a moment later, Kaylin cleared it all up. Gladhron laughed lightly. "Ahh, well that must have been quite a relief then!"

Trastion's solemn expression gave way to a grin again. "Yeah.. apparently she was waiting for the right moment or something," He smirked and sat back with a bit of pride. "And it was a pretty good hit, I have to admit." He added with a grin.

"Do you guys have that much fun all the time?" Gladhron asked with amusement, curious what sort of fun he might be missing out on.

@Rillewen

"She does have a knack for timing, doesn't she," Kaylin mused thoughtfully. "Still haven't quite figured out how she knew about our little adventure," she added more quietly to Trastion. "Honestly I haven't really broached the subject anymore. I don't want to know what might follow if we were to actually discuss it, you know?"

The redhead laughed at Gladhron's question. "No," she said emphatically. "In fact, Trastion's first order as a trainee was to head up the cleaning of the food fight." She shot a grin at Tras.

Tercen rumbled out a low laugh. "Well, I'm sure she helped with the clean-up."

Kaylin nodded. "She did." Raising an eyebrow at Gladhron, she shrugged. "Though I guess... I have plenty of fun. Life is as fun as you make it. Good company makes all the difference, though!"

"Hear, hear!" Tercen said, and realizing his mug was empty when he wanted to toast the redhead, he reached up to gesture to the bar. Kaylin beat him to it. "Alf!" she called out. "Can we have another round? I'll take an ale, too, like the older gentlemen," she teased Tercen and Gladhron without batting an eye. "And for little brother....?" She looked expectantly at Trastion. "You don't have a drink yet."

Once Trastion had said what he wanted, Kaylin signaled it to Alf so he could get started on their order. "I'll have to take things easy today, though," she told the guys around the table. Taking a deep breath, she raised her eyebrows, before breathing out with a little smile. Her eyes flicked to Tras. "I'm meeting your mentor for sparring tomorrow morning."

That made Tercen sit up more, casting a glance of his own at Trastion. "Sparring?"

"Yup. You know... two people... with weapons... having at it?" Kaylin turned to Gladhron. "I'm still speaking common, right?"

@Arnyn
"Ugh, cleanup. Sorry to hear that." Gladhron made a face at that, shaking his head as he took a drink from his glass.

"It wasn't so bad," Trastion shrugged. "I mean, there were plenty of us there, and we all sorta pitched in and it was done in no time. And yes, she did help." He added, nodding to confirm what Kaylin had said. As for their adventure, he merely nodded slightly in reply to Kaylin, unsure they should even bring that up, lest the other two might want to hear about it. And he didn't think that was a good idea.

Gladhron, instead, focused on what Kaylin had said, after. "Agreed!" He joined in with Tercen's 'hear hear'. He ought to grab Gwestion and force him to spend some time with this group, he thought with a vague, inward smirk. Outwardly, he laughed at Kaylin's words to the bartender. "Older, really? We couldn't possibly be all that much older," He protested, amused, gesturing to himself and Tercen. Actually, he didn't know how old the other guy was, but he thought they both seemed pretty close in age.

"Oh, just water for me," Trastion answered, before getting a bit distracted by the mention of Kaylin sparring Arnyn. Again! He blinked, then met Tercen's glance. Interesting. He recalled what they had talked about, some months ago when he was last in the city. "Wait, how early? Cause I thought I had a training session with her in the morning," He added with a slightly confused look.

Amused at the easy joking manner between them all, Gladhron offered a shrug. "I dunno, I thought it sounded like common," He answered. "Sounds interesting, though. What sort of weapon does she use? Tercen's sister?" He was a bit unsure how to refer to her, since there were so many options. Tercen's sister, Arnyn, Lieutenant Dealedwen, Trastion's mentor...

@Rillewen

Kaylin gave Trastion a half-amused, half-suspicious look. "She said the fourth morning bell (nine o'clock). So we have the light. Don't you two meet ridiculously early, though? If she didn't tell you it was cancelled, I'm sure she's planning to do both." With a little sigh, Kaylin looked at Tercen. "I swear, sometimes it seems like your sister likes to cram two days into one." Tercen just grunted in reply to that.

"Older than Tras, surely," Kaylin told Gladhron, unbothered.

Gladhron's question made Kaylin shrug. "I'm sure it depends. I've only sparred with her once before - this past summer. We each used two short swords then. Even though I lost-" there might have been a small note of annoyance on that particular word, "-it was glorious. My muscles ached for days," she said with satisfaction. "This time we'll be using different weapons. I'm using a custom-made weapon the ranger smith made for me. Arnyn will be using her pretty hand-and-a-half sword." Kaylin grinned. "I've been practicing with my new weapon a lot. Hopefully, she won't know what hit her. Hopefully, I'll hit her a lot." Some doubt seemed to creep onto her face then. Not something that seemed to suit her very well. She glanced at Trastion. "You think I could win this time?"

Meanwhile, Tercen shifted in his seat. Trastion had gotten him curious when they'd discussed this, months ago now. Would his friend still be willing to sneak him onto the grounds? Should he wait for Kaylin to leave before broaching that subject? Though the redhead didn't seem like the type to be bothered by a minor infraction on the rules (surely, that is what it would be - minor - right?), she might not appreciate some kind of hidden audience to a sparring match that would prove a challenge.

@Arnyn
"Yeah, before dawn," Trastion confirmed with a nod. "Alright, just checking." he added, mentally filing away the time. Fourth bell. He cast a brief glance toward Tercen, but didn't let it linger overlong. He had not forgotten their discussion, back in September. But how could he manage that? He thought about that while he listened to the rest of the conversation between the others.

Hearing that Tercen's sister, Arnyn, could cram two days' worth of training into one, Gladhron shook his head. "Sounds like Gwestion, there," he muttered, amazed that anyone would want to do that to themselves. He also didn't really understand Kaylin's joy at having her muscles ache. For days, at that! While he did enjoy being well-skilled with his weapon, he didn't enjoy having sore, aching muscles. And thus, he gave her a bit of an odd look at that, but let it slide without comment. "A custom-made weapon?" He asked, raising an eyebrow with intrigue. "What kind of customization? A sword, I assume, but what's special about it?" He wondered.

Trastion was mildly distracted when Kaylin turned to ask him his opinion, but he had been listening. He paused to think, hesitating. "I think.. it's going to be close." He answered with an apologetic shrug. "I mean, she is really good. But so are you." He pointed out. "But.. like you said, you'll be using a weapon that isn't your main one. So..." Shrugging again, he left the rest of the sentence for the others to fill in as they saw fit.

"This sounds really interesting!" Gladhron declared. "I wouldn't mind witnessing this sparring match... is she really that good?" he wondered, though he paused to think about that. Would he really be willing to get up that early? Maybe.. since he wasn't planning to be at a dance until very late into the night, tonight. Last night had been a special occasion, after all. It wasn't nearly as early as the poor kid across from him had to get up, though! He couldn't imagine having a schedule like that, living here in the city. It seemed absurd, but then he wouldn't be surprised if Gwestion would end up doing that. Inwardly, he rolled his eyes at that thought.

"They're both extremely good." Trastion confirmed with a little smile toward Kaylin. "It would definitely be worth seeing, if you can. But alas.. they will no doubt choose to do this match on the ranger training grounds.. which, I hate to tell you, but they only let rangers in to use it." He explained with a bit of regret in his tone.

"I am a ranger," Gladhron laughed, having forgotten that Trastion wasn't here yet when he'd told that to Kaylin. "Although, I'm from the north, not south." He added with a smile.

"Oh! Really?" Trastion was a little surprised by that. "Sorry. Didn't realize... hmm, maybe they'd let you in, then?" He really had no idea whether that counted. He recalled the northern ranger who'd come up to speak to Arnyn, back in September, and wondered if he'd had the same privileges as the rest of them here in the city. He decided he'd ask Nal about that at some point, recalling that it had been his uncle.

"I'm pretty sure my brother's going to petition for access to it, at some point during our stay." He shrugged. "He'll find out whether we're allowed to use it or not." He figured they'd end up training together whether they used the training grounds or not, since Gwestion was fairly persistent about that. But he was perfectly happy to let his brother do the legwork of seeking out the person in charge and asking for the permission and all that.

After a moment of silence, Trastion nudged Kaylin's elbow. "Um, Kaylin.." He waited for an opportune moment to address her in a slightly quieter tone. "I uh, wanted to ask you about something," He mentioned. "When you get a chance, could I talk to you in private?"

@Rillewen

Kaylin's expression changed entirely when Gladhron asked about her new weapon. "Oh - it's glorious. I should bring it by sometime and show it to you. Cali - our smith - she figured out how to make this... okay. Imagine twin blades," she said, lifting up her forearms and then touching the tip of her fingers to her elbows, "that sheathe into each other, like so. So in that position, it looks like a quarterstaff, right? Pretty basic. But when I pull them apart-" she separated her forearms again. "They are like dual short swords. And when I turn them around, the smith found a way to attach the ends." Kaylin touched her elbows together, realized that looked kind of comical, and made a face. "Well, you get the idea. Then it's like a two-ended polearm-sword thing."

She nodded when Trastion said it's a new weapon and not the one she had most experience with. "I know. However - it won't be a weapon Arnyn has any experience fighting against, either. And I have been practicing with it - a lot. Hopefully that will give me the edge."

When Gladhron asked if Arnyn was really that good, Kaylin grunted. "She really is, unfortunately. I used to be the only master sword in the army branch in Minas Tirith - the title wasn't given lightly." She frowned at Tercen. "And your sister beat me. Even if I'll admit that the master sword rank back then in the army is like the Hyandaner ranger rank... So technically there were more master swords around. And Arnyn was one of them. It was still a bit of a blow to my pride," she said with a brief laugh that seemed to countermand her own words. "I'm just hoping to even the score tomorrow."

Tercen was listening more quietly, taking it all in. He'd only heard Trastion raving about Arnyn's skills, before now. But no matter how much he liked Tras, he was still just starting out in the ranger ranks. Now he heard someone with Kaylin's past rank - and he assumed current Hyandaner rank, as well - talking about his sister like that... he really wanted to see it. He just had to know: were they exaggerating or was it really true?

It was easy for Kaylin to confirm Trastion's assumption. "Yes, we're going to the grounds." She shot an apologetic smile at both Gladhron and Tercen. "Sorry, boys. They won't let you through the gate without permission. And I know our Arnyn doesn't particularly like an audience." She leaned back. "Personally, I wouldn't mind. It's a good way to earn some respect." She grinned fiendishly. "Especially from the guys."

Tercen smiled faintly. "The less people know about how you fight, the easier it is to defeat them," he mumbled. Kaylin frowned at him. Tercen shrugged. "It's what our father used to tell us. But that was assuming you might be fighting them for real someday. That shouldn't apply here."

The reminder that Gladhron was a ranger from the north, made Kaylin doubt. "Yeah they might. But you'd probably have to check with headquarters. The guards at the gate won't just buy into some claim. But if your brother succeeds in getting you access... then it'd have to be today, though. You won't have time to petition for it tomorrow and still get down to the grounds on time." Kaylin wiggled her eyebrows at Tras. "You could still come watch, though. Though maybe it'd be best not to just walk up to us. Part of why Arnyn wants to do it early enough is because that's when the grounds are at their calmest."

Tras' nudge and his quieter words made her blink for a moment. Then she moved to sling an arm over his shoulders. "Of course we can talk, little bro," she said, her voice the same volume as before. "Excuuuuse us," she told Tercen and Gladhron with a smirk, "but Tras probably needs some very important guidance from his big sis." Simple as that, she led Trastion away from their table, off toward the garden exit. Releasing him, she lingered in front of the doors. No tables were near here, so if they spoke quietly, no one would overhear. "What's going on?" she asked, still smiling, and clapping a hand on his shoulder. All for show, in case it was about something serious...

Meanwhile, Tercen sighed. "Well, Gladhron - sounds like you might still get in to watch if you like. I'd really like a look myself, but I can't claim to be a ranger any more than I can claim to be a cook." He leaned forward a little. "Trastion said he might try to get me in, though, if he knew about Arnyn sparring again sometime. Still, I'm not sure how we might pull that off, short of climbing over the wall somewhere. And then he could get in big trouble for it. And I'm not sure I want him risking that, just so I can see my sister fight. You know? So I don't really want to press the matter with him."

@Arnyn
Gladhron listened with intrigue as Kaylin described her weapon. "That sounds.. interesting!" He was really curious to see a weapon like that. The way she did her arms was a bit amusing, but he got the idea. "Sounds very useful." He smiled, trying to picture it. Hearing that Kaylin was once the only master sword around, he was curious. How good was she, actually? After hearing that Arnyn was now another 'master' of the sword, and that she had actually beat Kaylin in their last sparring match, he raised an eyebrow, curious. It sounded as if this Arnyn might be about as skilled as Celume, which he actually found rather unlikely. "Well, good luck tomorrow, then, it sounds like it will be a close match." One which he really wanted to witness. But alas, it sounded as if he might not get to.

Trastion scoffed lightly. "Yeah, she doesn't like an audience, but she is really good. I happened to be in the training grounds when they sparred last time," He admitted with a little smile toward Kaylin.

Tercen's words made Gladhron a bit thoughtful. "Sounds like something my brother would say.." He mentioned. Or their father, but he didn't say that part. Hearing that they wouldn't have time to get the necessary permission and still get to the training grounds in time, Gladhron frowned slightly. "Too bad." He wondered if Gwestion was going to do that today, but he hadn't talked with him. He'd been gone long before Gladhron awakened.. which was too bad, since he was pretty sure Gwestion hadn't fully comprehended what he tried to tell him last night when he came back from the dance.

When Kaylin and Trastion asked to be excused, Gladhron nodded and grinned at the excuse Kaylin gave for it. As they left the table, he turned to Tercen. "I know," He sighed, resting his chin in his hand, elbow on the table. He thought for a moment. "I wonder.." He smiled slightly. "I'm sure Gwestion said something about wanting to get permission for us to use the training grounds.. I don't know where he's at right now, but maybe he's already done it?" He suggested, forming a plan. "And.. if he has already got us permission.. that could work out well for you as well." He grinned. "After all. The guards at the training grounds wouldn't know what my brother looks like. Would they know who you are?" He asked, with an innocent smile.


Meanwhile, Trastion hadn't expected Kaylin to leave the table right then, but since she did, he wasn't going to argue. He walked along with her until they were in the back garden. He glanced around carefully to make sure no one was in sight, then he pulled off the knitted hat he had on, which so far had kept his hair completely covered. It was not as vibrantly orange as the night before, but it still held a very noticeable orange color. "I can't get it out, and I was hoping you might have some advice?" He smiled a little awkwardly. "I uh.. I really need it to look like it normally does, so..." He cleared his throat and started to pull the hat back on.

@Rillewen

Kaylin couldn't help the amused grin that won over her features when Trastion revealed his hair and the orange hue it still held. "Well, how did you wash it so far?" she asked. The soap and water reply wasn't surprising. "And how many times?" The answer there, was a surprise. "Five times already?" she wondered out loud, looking at the hair he was still tucking under neath his hat. When she saw the concern on his face, she quickly adopted a reassuring expression. "It'll be fine," she impressed upon him, helping him tuck away a few loose strands in a sisterly fashion. "Your hair is holding to it a bit more strongly than I would have anticipated. You have a few options. Start with lemon. Squeeze them out, soak your hair in the juice or saturate it in the juice - just get it all up in all of your hair. Don't let it get in your eyes. Leave it for half an hour. Then wash out the lemon first. When you think you washed it out properly, wash your hair with soap again. That should do it."

She looked pensive. "If it doesn't get rid of everything, you could also try the bleach that the washers add to white clothes... but that could really irritate your scalp. I'd rather do the lemon thing twice than have you trying that. Especially if you'd be attempting it alone..." Her expression softened. "You need help? We can do the lemon thing at my place. No one who might walk in on you. Where did you wash it five times already, anyway??" The barracks baths were not exactly private!

Tercen raised an eyebrow when Gladhron basically suggested the two of them could pretend to be brothers. Soon, his mouth curled up into a sly grin. "They would not know who I am," he said, sounding rather pleased. "And I do look tough enough to be one of you lot," he said casually. "That's actually a really good idea." He rubbed his chin. "But that would only work if your brother takes care of that today. Is he a procrastinator?" Brown eyes twinkled with amusement. Like them - but he left that part unsaid.