Lord of the Rings Fanatics Plaza

@Arnyn
"In the barrack's wash room," Trastion answered. "I washed it as soon as I got back. Over and over. It wouldn't come out," He sighed. "Then I spent like half an hour cleaning up the washroom before anyone else saw the mess.. stuck this hat on and went to bed. I didn't dare try it again after I got up, because there were other people there, by then." He explained.

"Lemon?" He asked, a bit surprised. "It's winter though.. are there any lemons still around?" He wondered, curious if the kitchen would have enough for that purpose. After she had assured him that there were lemons, he decided he'd take her word for it. "And.. you're sure that'll work?" She did seem pretty sure, but he still felt slightly doubtful. How could a lemon do what soap wouldn't, after all? Still, he had trusted her with dying his hair, so he figured he could trust her to un-dye it, too. "Alright, I'll try that then."

He paused though, when she asked if he needed help, and offered to try it at her place. "If you aren't too busy?" He asked hopefully. "I mean, I do have training early tomorrow, so I'd rather not stay up super late trying to wash my hair.. so if I could get it looking normal by suppertime, that'd be great. I really would rather not have too many people realize that I was the fox guy," He shrugged. Of course, he couldn't tell her about a certain family that was in town, who he really did not want realizing who he was.


Gladhron grinned as Tercen declared that they did not know who he was, and that he looked like he could pass for a ranger. But when the other guy asked about his brother and if he was a procrastinator, he laughed. "Clearly, you have not met him, so I won't judge you too harshly for that question," He informed him, highly amused.

"Gwestion would get up before dawn just so he can get something done as soon as possible." He explained. "I wouldn't be surprised if he did that first thing this morning, to get it done as early as he could. I bet he'll have whatever permission we need by the time he meets us for supper." He smirked and leaned back, sipping his drink. This would work, he was sure of it. And then another amusing thought hit him.

"Oh.. and the best part is.. our mother was Rohirric, so it's completely logical to assume that one of us might have taken our looks more after her, which would explain you having blond hair." He added with a satisfied grin as he looked at Tercen. He wouldn't even have to tell a lie! "Yes, I think that'll work.. the guards wouldn't know that I'm the older one, either.." Not that Tercen looked all that much older than Gladhron, but he was clearly older than Gwestion.

@Rillewen

"We should be able to raid the number we need from Pete's special storage," Kaylin shrugged. "He doesn't lock it. All we have to do, is not get caught. We could get the lemons on the way to the house." She smirked at Tras' question of whether she was sure it'd work. "It might leave your hair just a little bit blonder... but it would be hardly noticable in winter. If it were summer, the lingering lemon in the sun could bleach it a bit more." Stepping next to him, she put her arm around his shoulders again and shot him a grin. "Never too busy for my little bro," she said lightly, pushing open the door to the inn again. "But no, seriously. I'm off duty today. Applied for the day off months ago. We'll stay here a little longer, then head back. That should give us plenty of time to take care of your hair. Thûllir might be around, though. If you can live with that?"

Tercen laughed quietly. "He sounds like such an Arnyn," he said, rolling his eyes. "Well, it would be perfect. So I hope you're right. We could just walk right in, along with Tras. And he could show us from where he watched last time, right?" he wondered out loud.

Kaylin caught the last of Tercen's words. "What is all this?" she asked suddenly, from behind the blond man, making him cringe and turn in his seat. "Busted," he said, though he soon grinned at her. "Surely a master sword like you has the confidence to weather a small audience?" he asked, unabashed.

Kaylin let go of Tras and reclaimed her seat, looking unimpressed. "Obviously. Half the ranger unit could be watching, I wouldn't give a damn. It might even make me up my game," she mused, after which she raised both her eyebrows at Tras. "Take them, tomorrow. Hide. But I'll know you're there, watching. It'll push me." She seemed to be getting excited by the idea. It might give her just the edge she needed!

@Arnyn
Trastion nodded, relieved to hear her answers. "Lighter is alright," he agreed. "I just didn't want anyone who was at the masquerade to recognize me as having been there." Since he had danced with his sister.. and believed that he had also danced more than once with another lady from back home.. and had even spoken to someone he was quite sure was Abrazimir.. he really would rather he was not recognized, now.

He smiled as she declared that she was never too busy for him. "Thanks. I really appreciate it." He answered, then shrugged at the addition she added on about Thullir maybe being there. "Why should I mind that? I've got nothing against him." He wasn't sure if the same could be said in reverse, after that last incident here at the Wayfarer, but he didn't mention that. At least today she wasn't drinking heavily, and his request for her help ought to keep her from doing so.


Gladhron laughed. "What is there, like some rule about siblings being total opposite of one another or something?" He asked, amused that Tercen's sister seemed to be so much like his brother, while the two of them seemed to be greatly alike. He took a drink while he thought about the uncanny similarities.

Before he could swallow his drink and warn Tercen of the other two returning, the redhead had spoken up to ask about their 'top secret plans'. He swallowed, then offered an apologetic shrug to Tercen for not being able to warn him. But at least the lady had no objection, so that worked out great. He found her response amusing. "How many is that, anyway?" He wondered. "Half the ranger unit?" He was curious, since the way she said it made it sound like a large number.

Trastion's mouth dropped slightly as Kaylin instructed him to bring them both along. He was.. a bit stunned. Not so much that Kaylin was fine with them watching, but that she didn't even care that Tercen was not a ranger, and that that meant, he might get in trouble if he were caught. Yet.. he smiled slightly and nodded. Yeah, while she wasn't the lieutenant or captain, she was still his superior.. technically. And Arnyn had assigned him to train with Kaylin sometimes, so he was supposed to follow her orders, right? And therefore, he considered that an order.. from a superior ranger. Apparently, Trastion had been hanging around Nal a bit and had adopted a few of his roommate's ways of thinking concerning such matters.. but whatever. He had a perfect failsafe now, if anyone tried to give him trouble about this. "Whatever you say, Hyandanar." He replied with a grin.

"Well, now you'll have to make sure and put on a good show, you know." Gladhron grinned at Kaylin. "I'm very curious, now. One Master swordswoman, against another? I'm guessing that doesn't happen every day around here, right?" He also couldn't help wondering how he would compare in his own skills against her, or against this Arnyn they kept mentioning.

@Rillewen

"He might see your hair," Kaylin told Tras quietly when he seemed confused about why she would ask him if he'd mind Thûllir's presence. "I haven't told him, so he doesn't know." They had done his hair at Arnyn's, after all.


When asked how many that number was, Kaylin shrugged. "I don't keep a tally or anything. That's the officers' job." She shrugged while grinning at Gladhron. Meanwhile, Trastion looked surprised at her words about bringing Gladhron and Tercen. She was thinking that while he smiled, not seeming entirely convinced, and nodded. Was he worried about Arnyn seeing them and getting annoyed? That probably wouldn't great, she admitted. When he agreed, she smiled sweetly. "Oh, good. I was beginning to think you'd chicken out, not wanting to upset your darling mentor." Honestly, Arnyn could give him a hard time if he did get caught, she realized. Those morning training sessions of theirs could become exceptionally brutal for a while. But wouldn't that help him get better, faster? All things considered?

She looked entirely undaunted when Gladhron said he expected a good show. "The show, sir," she said pointedly, "will be excellent. I assure you."

Tercen grinned while the innkeeper brought over the drinks Kaylin had called for earlier. "Thanks," he told the man, before addressing the group at the table. "Well, whatever the case, tomorrow will surely prove interesting. Tras, Gladhron has a way of getting him and myself in," he told the younger man, not wanting him to worry about that. "So we'll be there with permission, so to speak. That means the hiding part is only relevant to my sister's preferences. But I promise I will do exactly as you say. So we should be able to stay under her radar, right?"

Kind of done with the topic, now everything seemed to be taken care of, Kaylin sipped her drink and changed the subject. "Right. So! I told a story. Your turn, ranger from the north," she declared, looking at Gladhron.

@Arnyn
The thought that Thullir might see his hair was less of a concern to Trastion, really. Since the other ranger was at least partially aware of the cover story thing with Trastion and Kaylin, it should be alright.. right? He shrugged slightly and made no further comment about that, though, as they were rejoining the others at the table.

With a little scoff and eyeroll, he waved away her 'concerns' about upsetting Arnyn. "She can hardly protest to my following an order from a hyandanar, whom she's asked to aid in my training, now can she?" He asked with an innocent smile. "I mean, it's not like she or the captain had given me specific orders NOT to do that.. and I don't intend to mention it to her. Which means she wouldn't be able to override that order," He shrugged and grinned, sitting back in his chair, rather satisfied with himself for that.

Gladhron glanced toward Tercen, then back at Trastion with an approving grin. As Kaylin assured them that the show would be excellent, he glanced around the table with a smile. "Yeah. I like you people." He declared, happy to have found friends so quickly. And they all seemed much like himself! This was great! He had just finished off his first drink when the innkeeper arrived with the second. "Ahh, thank you!" He smiled at the guy as he received his fresh glass, the empty one being whisked away.

As Tercen explained that they already had a plan to get in, Trastion was rather glad to hear it. That saved him a lot of thinking and effort. "Great! So now my only question is," he turned to Kaylin. "Will you and Arnyn be using the same sparring area as the first one?" If that were the case, then that would certainly make things much easier on them, so they could get there early and already be in position to watch.

Once all of those details were sorted, Gladhron smiled widely as he was asked to tell a story. Nevermind the fact that he had, technically, already told one.. which was what had drawn Kaylin over here in the first place. He sat up a bit, eyes gleaming with excitement to have someone requesting a tale. "Well, alright! What sort of tale would you like to hear?" He asked with a little laugh. Once the audience had given their request, he took a moment to think about which one to tell. "Alright, I got a good one," He declared, leaning forward as he prepared to begin. After taking a drink to ready his mouth for a good bit of talking, he then launched into an exciting story about a past adventure, when he and his brother had teamed up with their friend Emma, to hunt down a vicious pack of wolves that were terrorizing the Chetwood forest and surrounding areas, which he figured they would find to be an interesting and exciting tale to hear.

@Rillewen

Tercen grinned when Gladhron stated he liked the people around the table, and he slightly raised his ale at the man. Kaylin looked rather smug at Gladhron's declaration, before she nodded at Tras' question. "We were planning on the same area, yeah. You should have no problem to lie in wait." She raised her eyebrows in amusement.

It was easy for both Kaylin and Tercen to tune into Gladhron's story. Kaylin watched and listened to him with growing pleasure and entertainment, shifting to the edge of her seat, while Tercen leaned back against his chair's back support as he followed the story of how this Emma had decided to go out there and the brothers had hardly had any other choice but to go with her. As if they had not wanted to... After a light chuckle, Tercen sipped his ale.

By the end, Kaylin was clapping. "Masterfully told!" she complimented Gladhron. She looked at Trastion, as if to say: 'see how it is done?' Gladhron definitely had storytelling down to an art!

"Now, would mister Tercen like a go?" she asked him. Tercen held up with hands in surrender. "I am nowhere near as gifted. Please, master sword. Take it away!"

With a little shrug and a casual grin, Kaylin didn't press the matter. Instead, she presented two options. "Alright then. Would you like to hear about the time some friends and I turned the Guesthouse on the first circle into a food fight battle scene, upended tabled and all? Or would you rather hear the tale of the fate of the evil sorceress who destroyed part of the barracks?" She shot Trastion a grin. As if there was really a choice, here.

When Kaylin presented a choice between two stories, Tercen frowned and glanced at Trastion. He was in no mood for that second option, and had much preferred the nature of the story Kaylin had told previously. Where his sister didn't put herself in a crazy amount of danger and everything. Even though Trastion had explained to him that it had been a necessary danger, and that Arnyn had been the only one present to stand a chance at the time - that didn't mean he had to like it.
One look at Gladhron, though, and he knew which one the northern ranger wanted to hear the most. Tercen resisted a sigh and sought his center of calm. It had been months now. Nearly half a year. It had all worked out. It was fine. So he merely shrugged one shoulder at the redhead's question, leaving it up to Gladhron. Besides... it might be interesting to hear the story from a different perspective, he thought to himself with a sidelong glance at Trastion.

Kaylin launched into the story with a fervour. Of how an Umbarian sorceress had shapeshifted into the guise of a recruit seeking a better life! Of how she had challenged their Captain in an attempt to kill their leadership! How she had set one of the barracks wings on fire in her anger! How the witch had shapeshifted into Arnyn! How she had used that disguise to kill two rangers in the mess hall, and almost killing Trastion's roommate Mourgan in the process - poisoning and cutting him! How the Captain and the Lieutenant had arrived - and how the Captain, as a skilled healer, had saved Mourgan's life while Arnyn had fought Arnyn!

Tercen's jaw dropped slowly throughout the story, and even though he wanted to look at Trastion to verify if this was a load of baloney or an actual close-to-the-truth representation, he couldn't. Not at the moment. He could only stare at Kaylin as she weaved her tale. While a knot grew increasingly bigger and tighter in his stomach.

Kaylin took Tercen's evident surprise as a good sign - and was completely unaware of his inner brooding. So she doubled down for the big finale: How fake-Arnyn had turned into a giant, red wolf with yellow fangs the size of her fingers! How she and Trastion had arrived at the scene, with blood everywhere, including all over the ranger smith and the Lieutenant, the red wolf snapping its teeth viciously, standing on a sword with its paw and keeping it from Arnyn! How the Lieutenant had had nothing else but the witch's own dagger to use against the giant wolf!

(Gladhron's choice was agreed upon with his writer, Rillewen)

@Arnyn
Gladhron grinned as Kaylin actually applauded. "Thank you," He answered to her compliment with a nod of his head. "I quite enjoy telling stories," He added with a little laugh. "It's all the more enjoyable when I have an enthusiastic audience. I should probably note that Emma's mother was very much displeased with that entire escapade," he added with a sheepish grin. "Nor was our father, but neither of them could deny the fact that we had succeeded in our quest."

Trastion had listened to the story, but couldn't help feeling slightly distracted throughout. It was interesting, of course, and he smiled at the way their friend had all but manipulated the situation into giving the brothers an excuse to do exactly what they'd wanted to do anyway. He missed Kaylin's glance as he was taking a sip of his water, then became a bit lost in thought now that the tale had ended. It wasn't until a bit too late that he caught what Kaylin had asked.

Gladhron blinked at the options presented to him. "Well, you already told a story about a food fight," He shrugged.. that one sounded humorous, but hardly all that interesting. "What's this about a sorceress? Is that tied in with the fire thing you mentioned earlier?" he asked, leaning forward a bit, eyes widened with curiosity. "I thought all things of that sort would have been ended after the battle here, a few years ago? You mean to tell me there are sorceresses and things like that still around?"

Blinking, Trastion realized the tale Kaylin was preparing to tell. He glanced toward Tercen with a mild bit of alarm.. then back to her. "Uhh, sis.. I don't know if that's really..." He tried to stop her, but she had already launched into the story with enthusiasm. Trastion inwardly cringed, recalling how he had tried his best to tone down certain parts of the story when he had told it to Tercen months ago. How he had tried not to paint such a vivid picture of the horrific scene, nor the way Arnyn had flung herself heedlessly toward danger in order to defeat the beast. He was about to hear the other version, now, and Trastion was a bit unsure how he might take it.

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat and cast a side glance toward Tercen, watching as his expression changed. Gladhron was hanging on every word as well, but Trastion didn't really mind that.. it was Arnyn's brother he was thinking of. As Kaylin neared the part that he most wanted to avoid Tercen hearing, Trastion cleared his throat. "And then she slew the wolf without any more trouble, and everyone was alright.. right Sis?" He tried to get Kaylin to catch the hint that the upcoming detail was best left unshared with the present audience.

@Rillewen

Kaylin halted, speechless for a moment when Tras interrupted her right when she was getting to the best part. Why would he do that?! "You do remember me explaining to you how to tell a story, right?" she asked him, incredulous he would want to ruin the end like that. "So no, that is not right!" She refused to end one of her best stories end on that note and shook her head. "As I was saying," she reclaimed the story with no small amount of emphasis, her eyes darting between the guys, "The large wolf was snapping at her, blocking a sword with one of its paws - and Arnyn had nothing but what seemed like a very puny dagger in comparison to the largest wolf I have ever seen..."

Tercen's breathing was slowed, deepened, his face serious now as he watched Kaylin closely. He was straight out ignoring Trastion by this point. For he had decided he wanted to hear this version of the story. Odds are that the truth would lie somewhere in between Kaylin's version and Trastion's. And he would know it. He had to know it, now.

"The wolf seemed just about ready to charge at her and eat her whole," she said, suddenly almost in hushed toned. "It had already gotten a taste, see -" Kaylin told them, as if the information was confidential, and she tapped one side of the base of her neck.

Tercen held his breath, his eyes hitching on the spot where Kaylin was touching her own neck, and he had the good sense to let go of his drink and grab the edge of the table instead.

"And it was looking to finish the job. But-" Kaylin's eyes sparkled as she turned to Tercen. "Your sister didn't wait for the inevitable. No! Instead, Arnyn was the one who charged first. She yelled at the smithy to stab the monster, to distract it no doubt, and then she ran right toward it, and dropped to her knees -" Kaylin banged her fists down on the table, cringing at the thought of knees hitting the stone floor. Meanwhile Tercen's knuckles were turning white.

"- and slid the rest of the way toward the sorceress-turned-wolf! It could have just closed its jaws right around her head - I remember wondering if the Lieutenant had a death wish or something, because she was so close..."

Tercen gritted his teeth. HIs jaw visibly clenched.

"But Arnyn slid in just enough to plunge the dagger into the monster's throat! It slid into the thing like a knife slides into butter. Arnyn grabbed for the sword under the wolf's paw, which was now right there... and pulled. But it wouldn't budge..."

It is over, Tercen told himself adamantly. It is over. She is fine.

"Until the smithy came through and plunged a dagger into the beast's flank! Arnyn pulled the dagger from the wolf's throat - blood went absolutely everywhere," Kaylin's words came fast now, to set the tone for the speed with which the scene had unfolded. "She threw the dagger away, somewhere behind her - pulled at the sword again - pulled it free from the wolf's grasp at last - cracked an elbow into the wolf's head from below the jaw - and pierced the monster's chest with the blade!" Kaylin paused, just for a heartbeat, looking at her audience. "The. Blade. Went. All. The. Way. In."

Staring at the wood of the table top now, Tercen's eyes looked a little glazed over as he slowly shook his head. It sounded.... so close. So reckless with her own life.

"The witch screamed and screamed - one long scream, it was a terrible sound. Her wolf form changed back into a human shape - not Arnyn's this time, but her own true form. And she was left to bleed out against and on our Lieutenant, who was still holding the sorceress up partially by the sword still lodged into her chest..." Kaylin shook her head, first at the story itself - then at Trastion. "And you would have just said she 'slew the wolf'? Seriously, Trastion!"

"Yeah, seriously, Trastion," Tercen repeated, almost deadpan, while he slowly lifted his gaze from the table to the young man. "Saying she just slew the wolf sounds almost like an injustice."

"It IS an injustice to merely describe it like that," Kaylin agreed wholeheartedly, crossing her arms as she leaned back into her chair. Completely unaware of what was going on beneath the surface for Tercen - and also for Trastion. Kaylin just thought Tercen looked mightily impressed by his sister's accomplishment, which was to be expected. She smiled at him. "I can't imagine Arnyn telling you the story right," she said with an eyeroll. "Let me guess - she downplayed the whole thing?"

Tercen was still looking at Trastion, but he finally turned his attention to Kaylin when he replied. "She didn't speak of it at all, actually."

That... that hit differently. Kaylin stilled, blinked, and seemed to notice some of the tension between Tercen and Tras for the first time. She wasn't sure what that was about... or how it could be connected to Arnyn not telling Tercen about the Relic story... unless... Kaylin cleared her throat. "Well. She must have realized you'd hear one way or another," she tried to explain why Arnyn might not have told him anything. "I mean, a story like this doesn't stay on the wraps. And she hates making a spectacle of herself, right?"

Slowly, Tercen let go of the edge of the table and stretched his cramping fingers. "She hates getting scolded for dismissing her overanalytical brain when she needs it the most - to saveguard her own life," Tercen almost growled. He rose from the table. "I'll be right back," he muttered, before heading off to the inn's facilities. He needed a break.

Kaylin watched him go with a sorry expression. When he was surely out of earshot, she swore under her breath and looked at Gladhron and Trastion. "Sorry. I put my foot in it... clearly... I just thought he'd be impressed with his sister. Rather than... whatever that was."

@Arnyn
Trastion buried his face in his hands, elbows propped on the table, as Kaylin refused to accept the toned-down ending, and proceeded to continue telling it in the most thrilling manner possible. Which he understood, from a storyteller's perspective. But as a big brother, imagining how Tercen must be feeling hearing about this... he looked up and took a glance at him, wondering just how upset the other guy was.

Gladhron, meanwhile, was rather puzzled by the young man's interruption, but quickly turned his attention back to Kaylin when she continued. He couldn't help wondering how much embellishments were being added to this. Was the wolf really that huge? How was that possible?! He had seen plenty of wolves in his life, and had had a few very close encounters, in fact. But to imagine one that enormous.. it made him feel a bit of a chill down his back. He was on the edge of his seat, leaning closer as he didn't want to miss a single word. Therefore, he didn't notice how Tercen was reacting.

Trastion flinched involuntarily at the bang Kaylin's fist made on the table, as he had not been expecting it. He glanced from her to Tercen, trying to take note of all he could to try and get a sense of how he was taking this. White knuckles did not look good, he thought. Gritted teeth, clenched jaw.. yeah, he was angry. He fidgeted a little as Kaylin went on with the story.

"Wow! That is some story!" Gladhron uttered when at last the tale had concluded, and shook his head slightly in astonishment. He turned to comment to Tercen that his sister sounded really amazing, and only then noticed the tense look about him. He hesitated, then glanced toward Kaylin and Trastion as the former spoke to the latter, almost scoldingly. His gaze shifted back to Tercen when he added an agreement, then he decided to keep quiet for the moment during the resulting conversation, as he recognized that it did not involve him.

Trastion cleared his throat, a little uncomfortable. "I.. didn't think Arnyn would want you knowing about.. all the sordid details," He mumbled. And he also had hoped to spare the guy from what he'd just went through, hearing all about it as he had. But he didn't know quite how to put that without it sounding a little offensive, so he didn't try.

As Kaylin guessed that Arnyn had downplayed the story, and Tercen replied that she hadn't mentioned it, Trastion shifted slightly in his seat. After Tercen had gone off, Trastion cleared his throat quietly, again. "I downplayed it a lot, when he made me tell him about it a few months ago." he explained to Kaylin, a bit awkward now to admit it. "I'd slipped up and mentioned something about it.. assuming, like you, that he must have heard something about it by then. And he was.. so upset to hear about how close she'd come to.. well, I thought it'd probably be best if he didn't hear this version. So, I tried to tell it in a way that she didn't sound so reckless." He sighed. "Maybe I messed up.."

Gladhron watched as Tercen walked out, and found that he felt bad for the guy, realizing what a shock it must be to hear about a tale like this.. about one's own sister. He tried to imagine how he might feel about it, if it had been his sister in the story. But then, that was rather difficult, considering the circumstances around that. So, instead, he tried to imagine how he'd feel if it were Gwestion who had done that, trying to decide how he'd feel about it.

After a moment of reflection, he cleared his throat. "Well, it is definitely an incredible story." He informed Kaylin with a little grin. "I don't even know this Arnyn, but I feel as if I should meet her," He laughed slightly at that. "I don't think I have any stories that can top that, unfortunately." he added with an apologetic smile to Kaylin.

@Rillewen

"Oh," Kaylin said in response to Trastion saying he had been the one to downplay the story, her mood much lower now she realized that the story had gone over so badly with Arnyn's brother. "I didn't realize you were trying to stop me from telling it because of all that," she mumbled. "At least you liked the story," she told Gladhron, trying to find some silver lining. "And you'll get to see her at the least, tomorrow, right? If it all goes well? I'm sure you could figure out a way to meet her, too, after the match." Kaylin shrugged, and chanced a smile as Gladhron said he didn't have any stories that could beat the wolf one. "I'm sure there will be a story to beat that one," she said with a whistful sigh. "One day." The Umbar business sure had potential...

She offered Tras a little smile, too. "I don't think you messed up, little bro. I did."

"Neither of you did," Tercen said, who had just returned to the table. He reclaimed his earlier seat. "Arnyn did. She should have just told me what happened this summer. Herself."

Kaylin wasn't sure what to say about that. Arnyn had become a friend, and she didn't want to talk about stuff like this behind her back. Telling stories was one thing. Casting judgment was another.

Tercen shrugged. "It was a good story, Kaylin. And you told it well. I just got in my own way. I apologize for ruining the mood." He sighed. "I'm not usually the buzzkill," he said with a little smile. "Promise."

Kaylin had started smiling, and now nodded at him with a little grin. "That's okay. Tras and I sort of have to get going anyway, I'm afraid. And I promise it wasn't your buzzkilling that is driving us away. Nor Gladhron's lack of better stories," she said with obviously feigned disappointment directed at the northern ranger. "We have very important bro/sis matters to attend to, you see," she bragged, rising from her seat and downing most of her ale in the meantime. That would be her alcohol limit for the day, too, if she wanted to stand a chance tomorrow.

"We wouldn't dare and impose on those." Tercen smiled. "See you around, guys." He raised a hand in goodbye at them as they made to leave, then turned his attention to Gladhron. "But you're not leaving yet, right?" He tilted his head toward a spot near the back of the common room. "You up for a game of darts?"

@Arnyn
"It was a great story!" Gladhron confirmed, when Kaylin said that at least he'd liked it. "And yes, I am looking forward to seeing, and perhaps meeting, her." He agreed, wondering whether he could manage to do so without suddenly popping out of the bushes and revealing that they'd been observing. Well.. he'd probably find a way to manage it somehow. And as for the story... he really wanted to ask if the wolf had really been that huge, but he figured maybe that was a question for another time, hearing the exchange between Trastion and Kaylin.

Tercen's return was a bit unexpected so soon, but his words were even more so. Trastion had been about to reply to Kaylin, when he heard the other guy return. While he was glad to hear that Tercen did not seem upset at either him, or Kaylin, he felt bad that it sounded as if he was upset with Arnyn, now. He was a bit at a loss for words, feeling unsure how to reply to it. But he smiled slightly when the other guy promised he was not usually a buzzkill. "I can vouch for that," He grinned, recalling some of the fun they'd had touring the city before, when Tercen was here in the summer.

"Right," He agreed as Kaylin mentioned they had to go. "It was good seeing you again, Tercen, and good meeting you, Gladhron." He added, smiling as he stood and offered a hand to the latter, then waved to the former.

"Likewise!" Gladhron smiled and shook Trastion's hand, then offered the same to Kaylin. "And nice to meet you more officially, Kaylin." He added, grinning as he resisted the urge to call her 'lady Butterfly' instead. "See you both tomorrow." He waved at them as they both left.

"Of course, I'm not!" Gladhron assured him, then grinned at the suggestion. "Darts! Sure, that sounds like fun. I didn't realize they had that here." He hadn't really taken a lot of time to look around, of course, and today was the first time he had really properly spent any time in the common room. Yesterday had been quite busy, what with going off to find something to wear to the masquerade, and then spending the whole afternoon trying to learn to dance for it, and then finally, attending the event itself. But, now that Tercen nodded toward it, he saw the board easily enough. "Well, it's a good thing it wasn't a snake," He joked, shaking his head a little at himself for missing that.

@Rillewen

Kaylin shook Gladhron's hand and waved at Tercen, taking her cues from the guys' actions. Then she (and her errands) and Trastion left. Off to get their hands on some lemons, so they might try and get Tras' hair back to its regular shade before anyone could really notice.

"A snake?" Tercen asked, wondering where that had just come from. Was he missing something? Regardless of that, though, he rose from his seat - taking his drink with him - and preceeded Gladhron to the darts board. "You've played, right?" He checked as he set down his ale on the nearest table and plucked the darts from the board. He kept three green darts for himself and handed Gladhron the three blues. "You can start," he offered. "People who live the farthest away get to throw first." He twirled one of the darts between his fingers, holding the other two in his off hand. "Does your brother play this game, too? Or anyone else in the group you travelled here with?" It was a fun game to play with more people - though playing it with just two people was already good fun in and by itself of course. "I realize it's not something you can play by a campire on the road," he shrugged. "But when you stop at an inn, or something?"

@Arnyn
Gladhron snorted slightly in amusement. "Sorry, it's an expression I grew up with," He explained apologetically. "My father used to say it at times.. for instance, if you were looking for something that turned out to be right out in the open or right under your nose, so to speak, then he would say 'if it was a snake, it would've bitten you'." He grinned as he grabbed his own drink and followed Tercen over to the dart area.

"Oh yeah, of course." He nodded in answer to the question of whether he had played before. "Although, we don't carry darts around with us, so it is limited to the times like this, when someplace we stay has something of the sort." He accepted the blue darts and took a quick look at them to see if the tips were in suitable condition, and so forth.

"Oh, is that the rule?" He asked with a little laugh, when Tercen said that those who lived furthest away threw first. He had no argument with that, however, and took his first throw. "My brother? Yes," He smiled as he indicated for Tercen to throw his. "Actually, I rarely have a chance to play this with anyone besides him. So this ought to be fun," He grinned, curious to see how well Tercen could throw.

He paused to think about the other part to the question. "You know.. I have no idea if any of them would know. I didn't ask." He thought for a moment as he leaned against a table. "I wouldn't expect Ms. Seri to be much interested.. and I doubt either of the girls have ever played.. but you never know. Maybe they would go for it. Aislin is a little more open to trying new things, I think, than Brooke," He added thoughtfully. "I couldn't get her to play anything, the whole trip here." He sighed, shaking his head. "Stuck in her books the whole time." He added as an explanation. "She doesn't know what she's missing out."

@Rillewen

He snorted at the snake bit. "That's a pretty good saying," he allowed. "I want to remember that one." Looking infinitely pleased when Gladhron confirmed that he'd played before, even if perhaps not that frequently, Tercen smiled broadly. He could only offer a shrug when Gladhron asked if it was a rule for the person living the farthest away to begin. "It is today," he stated, revealing it wasn't any kind of official rule at all.

He threw his own dart at Gladhron's indication. "Well, if your brother plays, surely he cannot be that boring," Tercen remarked. "Darts isn't a boring people kind of game." He gestured between the two of them. "Case and point."

"Ladies enjoy it too from time to time," he noted, not at all opposed to it. "Plus, the rules are easy enough, aren't they?" He gestured for Gladhron to throw again. And girnned. "Get the pointy end into the board. Aim for the center. It's not exactly a scholar's game." He tapped his chin. "Maybe you could get the book girl to play if you promise her more books?"

"Now tell me, Gladhron!" Tercen suddenly said, grinning from ear to ear. "How good of a loser are you? Cause I'm pretty good at this game. Just saying." He took a swig of his ale.

@Arnyn
He grinned, pleased to hear that Tercen thought it was a good saying. "He was a pretty wise man," He answered with a little shrug, smiling. He was amused at the other guy's reply about the 'rule', and took that to mean that he'd made it up. And why not? He grinned, thinking of all the times he had made up things on the spot like that.

"Hmm," He prepared to throw his next dart after Tercen had thrown his, thinking about his comment about Gwestion. "He's not always boring. But he's so.." He took a breath and let it out in a little sigh, then threw the dart. It was not as close to the bullseye as he would have liked, but still reasonably close. "quiet and reserved, I guess," He was trying to think of the nicest way of putting it. "Maybe.. you could even say he is shy." He shrugged. "He isn't a very social person.. and he can be a bit of a buzzkill at times. But he figures something like this," He raised his remaining dart to indicate what he was talking about, "has to do with improving our fighting abilities. So he's willing to practice at it whenever possible." Gladhron explained, rolling his eyes slightly. "But yes," He grinned. "Definitely not a game for boring people," He agreed.

At the suggestion of getting Brooke more books, he laughed. "If I bribed her with more books for every activity we tried to get her to join in, we wouldn't be able to cart them all back home at the end of our trip." He grinned, amused at the thought of trying to carry an entire library back to Bree on the wagon. "She has a serious addition to those things."

He absently twirled his last dart between his fingers while he waited on Tercen to throw his next one, and laughed at the question. "Well, I'm sure I'm not the greatest at it," He admitted. "I like to think I'm pretty good.. but I won't be sore if you beat me at it." He promised. "I'm.. well.. not too unused to being beat at games." Shrugging, he took another drink from his own glass.

"Oh," He suddenly thought of something. "You don't have any problems with dogs, do you? In case you do meet Brooke, I figure I ought to warn you; she keeps a big dog at her side all the time. He's really friendly, so long as he doesn't see you as a threat to her. Which he shouldn't, but just in case you do have problems with dogs..." He had heard that some people got itchy or sneezy, or even broke out in rashes, because of the fur of some animals or something. Then again, he'd heard of some people being afraid of dogs, even the friendly ones.. so, it seemed like a good idea to check now, in case the issue came up later.

@Rillewen

"Well, not everyone can be as loud and outgoing as we are," Tercen countered. "Maybe you could even say we are bold," he continued the juxtaposition. He nodded though,when Gladhron said his brother could be a bit of a buzzkill, despite his amusement at that. Because he got the sense that Gladhron got 'buzzed' pretty quickly, and more than that..."Well, I don't get the idea that you let others kill your 'buzz' all that easily. Including your brother." Tercen casually flicked his next dart. It ended up just below Gladhron's. He had to laugh when his friend said his brother thought of it as skill practice. "Don't tell me he has throwing knives," he laughed. Arnyn was kind of the same way, but he knew she also played just for the fun of it. It sounded like Gladhron's brother was even more serious than Tercen's sister. Could that even be a thing, he wondered?

"You could get an additional cart," he grinned. "That way the girl can take all the books she liked. And it would be better than two trips. It's a pretty long road, isn't it?"

Shaking his head at the question about dogs, he smiled. "No, I don't have a problem with them. We didn't really have pets in Ithilien,other than chickens or cats- and I suppose those who stayed are mostly still getting used to that. But I like dogs just fine. How big is this dog?" he wondered, finding it curious Gladhron would describe the dog as big.

@Arnyn
"Bold would be an apt description, I think." Gladhron agreed with a grin. "And no, I don't let him, but he still tries." He shrugged. "He's just way too serious. I think if I wasn't around, he'd never crack a smile. Ever." Rolling his eyes, he watched where Tercen's dart went, while rolling his last dart between his palms, then he laughed. "Actually.. no throwing knives. He would like to," He added, while shifting his dart into his hand to throw it. "But he hasn't had a chance to acquire any of his own." Shrugging, he threw his dart and watched it land just a bit to the left of the bullseye.

At the suggestion of getting a second cart, Gladhron laughed. "Oh, don't even suggest that, when she's around!" He shook his head in amusement. "We don't have the money to buy a second cart, nor the books she would want to buy to fill it.. and even if we did.. neither my horse nor Gwestion's are really trained for pulling wagons. And buying another horse certainly wouldn't be an option." He explained. He paused, then added, "Mine or Gwestion's could do it if it was really necessary, but they sure wouldn't like it. And I wouldn't put Gaeroch through that just so Brooke can haul back her own personal library. I doubt Gwestion would have be willing to make Mael endure that, either.. Besides, I don't think any of our party could afford that many books anyway. The girl is insatiable when it comes to books, I'm telling you." He shook his head in amusement while he waited for Tercen to throw his last dart.

When Tercen asked how big the dog was, he paused to think, then held his hand down to about his knee, where the canine came to on Gladhron. "Chewy's about this tall. But he also likes to stand up on his hind legs and put his front paws up on a person, so he can try to lick their face or something," He added with a little snort of laughter. "I haven't really been around dogs very much before this trip.. so I don't know if that's an average height for a dog? I mean, he's not as big as some wolves I've fought, but he seems pretty big to me, for a pet dog." He shrugged. "Seri has a dog of a similar breed, but she left her behind at her home." He added, not knowing that Seri had mentioned her dog to Tercen while dancing with him.

Just as Tercen had thrown his dart, however, something quite unexpected happened... it never made it to the dartboard. Instead, just as a girl's voice called out, "Chewy, no!", a big red/brown dog appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, leaping through the air to catch the flying object in his mouth in an impressive display of timing and agility. Startled, Gladhron stared at him, then spun around as Brooke hurried toward her dog. "Sorry!" She apologized hastily, even before she had reached them.

Meanwhile, Chewy readjusted his grip a couple of times on the dart that he held in his teeth, while he looked from one man to the other, tail wagging as he proudly awaited their praise of his skill, and for them to tell him what a good dog he was for catching the 'toy' they had thrown.. obviously for him. Why else would anyone throw something, after all?

@Rillewen

"Ever?" Tercen questioned. "That seems... either exaggerated on your part, or excessive on his," he grinned. "Well, there are plenty of chances to get his hands on some throwing knives here. If he has the money for them, I guess." And, based on what Gladhron said next about having no money for a second cart or for a horse and things- probably meant they didn't have much money to spare for throwing knives,either. He assumed that Gaeroch was the name of Gladhron's horse, and Mael was the name of Gwestion's - given the context.

He shrugged when Gladhron said that this Brooke was insatiable when it came to books. Better books than some vice, right? It didn't really seem like an issue. The additional information on Brooke's dog, made Tercen nod. "On the larger side, I'd say," he seemed to agree. Thinking back on the lady who'd been Gladhron's friend at the masquerade, Lady Blossom, Tercen hummed. "Right. The dancing dog," he recalled, right before he threw his last dart.

The dog that jumped right ahead of them seemingly came out of nowhere. Tercen frowned, and it took a few seconds to realize where his dart had gone. In the dog's mouth. His lips parted in surprise, right before someone called out 'Chewy, no!' and Tercen started laughing. He leaned forward to peek beyond Gladhron, spotting a young lady. "Sooooo... you must be Brooke?" he checked. "And you called the dog Chewy?" Making a face as he saw the dog half-chewing on the dart, he huffed out another laugh. "I can see why..."

@Arnyn
Gladhron hadn't had a chance to reply to what Tercen said, as things happened rather quickly after that. He grinned as he stood back and watched in amusement at the furry distraction that interrupted the dart game. "Brooke, it's fine. It's just a dart." Gladhron assured her with a little laugh.

No sooner had they stepped inside, than Chewy took off. Brooke was not expecting him to run from her side, and therefore did not manage to stop him in time. Before she knew it, he had caught the dart. She had no idea who the guy with Gladhron might be, nor if he might be upset... after all, her dog had just ruined his dart throw. Thankfully, even as she was apologizing for Chewy, and for her own failure in keeping him from misbehaving, the stranger seemed to be laughing. At least.. he wasn't upset? Hopefully.

Gwestion, meanwhile, stopped at the door, blinking as the scene unfolded too fast for him to do anything to prevent it. His gaze swiftly scanned the room to take in whatever details he could. Gladhron. The stranger who, unsurprisingly, seemed to be hanging out with him. The dartboard and darts. Several empty glasses left behind at the table, which had not yet been gathered by the inn's staff. How many drinks had those two had between them, he wondered? And, most importantly, Chewy.

Pausing as she neared them, Brooke was surprised to hear the stranger call both her and her dog by name.. but with a glance toward Gladhron, she realized that he must have been telling him about them. Probably about all of their group.. not just her. Right? She hesitated. "Um.. yeah, I.. I'm Brooke." She confirmed, a little uncertain of quite how to respond. Who was this guy, anyway? She was sure she'd never seen him before.. and wondered how much Gladhron actually knew about him.. and how long he had known the guy.

"Oh.. by the way, meet my friend Tercen," Gladhron remembered to give introductions, and did so with a smile. "Tercen, Brooke.. and Chewy." He grinned. "And over there by the door is my brother, Gwestion." He added, nodding in his direction.

"Hello," Brooke answered quietly, one hand idly fidgeting with the buckle on her bag. She motioned toward her dog. "I'll.. um, try to get him to give it back," She promised. While she was relieved that he seemed amused, and not upset, she still felt bad that Chewy had 'stolen' the dart. She moved toward the dog. "Come on Chewy.. give it back."

Instead of doing as she had asked, the dog decided that it was time for a different game. Tail wagging, he took off for another part of the room, still gripping the dart with a mischievous 'grin' on his doggy face.

"No, stop.. please... Chewy!" Feeling a little frustrated, Brooke hurried to try and intercept him, which caused Chewy to alter his course.. running under a table and out the other side before she could get around the obstacle. And then he proceeded to merrily evade her and anyone else who may try to catch him, as if it were all a big game that he was enjoying very much.

Frowning, and concerned at the possibility that Chewy could end up swallowing the dart, Gwestion decided it would be best to stay by the door and make sure that he didn't manage to slip out, while waiting for a chance to try and grab him if the dog passed close to him, in hopes that they could get the dart away from him.

@Rillewen

The girl confirmed her name was Brooke, and Tercen gave her a lazy wave while Gladhron introduced him. "Aha," he said when Gladhron pointed out his brother by the door. Gwestion. It was good that name was repeated, as well, or he probably wouldn't have been able to recall. Tercen looked toward the man and nodded, still smiling.

Watching the dog turn the situation into a game, Tercen laughed quietly. It was a bit comical to see Brooke trying to catch him - and failing - but he also knew that it must be frustrating for Brooke to try and get her dog to calm down. They were indoors after all, and the owners or staff might not appreciate the ruckus. Right, then.

He made his way over to the bar - dodging Chewy and Brooke along the way - and asked for something, giving a tilt of his head in the direction of the small bit of commotion. The innkeep gave a knowing nod and briefly retreated into the kitchen. The man returned quickly, however, handing something over to Tercen. After thanking the innkeeper, Tercen returned to where he and Gladhron had been playing darts and whistled on his thumb and index finger, to get the dog's attention. "Chewy!" he said clearly, while lowering himself down on a chair and holding out what appeared to be a small sausage. "Food!"

That should be more interesting than a dart, shouldn't it?

@Arnyn
Gwestion nearly didn't see the guy's wave, as he was busy keeping an eye on Chewy. But he did catch it, and offered a small nod in response. He had not come near enough to where they were standing to have heard and of what was said, and therefore did not catch the guy's name or anything else that was said.

At the sound of a whistle, Chewy stopped and looked at the stranger curiously. He eyed the sausage, then looked at the stranger again. Then at Brooke, the sausage, and back to Brooke. But he did not move toward it. He did, however, let Brooke approach him, tail wagging as she got nearer.

"Good boy, stay..." She slowly kneeled down and rubbed his fur with a little smile. "Now, can I have it?" She put out a hand, hoping he would give it to her. Instead, he readjusted his grip on it again and sat down.

Sighing, Brooke saw that now, a little of the feathered end was sticking out of one side of his jaws, so she grabbed onto it. "Come on Chewy, let, go." She pleaded. Instead, he seemed to think this was a cue to play tug of war, and happily played along until Brooke gave up and let out another sigh as she sat back on her heels.

"Maybe it would work if Brooke offered it to him?" Gladhron suggested quietly to Tercen, watching the way Chewy seemed intrigued but not enough to approach the unknown man. "He doesn't know you, after all." He shrugged, recalling that he did tend to be wary of strange men.. much like his owner.

@Rillewen

"You're probably right," Tercen agreed with Gladhron, and slowly approached Brooke to hand the sausage to her. Not too fast - so Chewy wouldn't start running again. Once Brooke had the meat, he stepped back again. Returning once more to where he and Gladhron had been playing darts, he picked up his ale and took another sip, watching Brooke and the dog a moment.

But then he smiled broadly and called out to Gladhron's brother by the door. "Gwestion! Would you like to join our darts game?" He looked at Brooke, too, not being one to exclude a single soul. "And what about you, Brooke? Clearly, Chewy has already decided to play..." Tercen grinned at Gladhron. "The more the merrier right? Before I go and find my sis to talk to her about our little housing situation. I probably shouldn't just barge in," he explained to his friend, having decided in the meantime that he'd go easy on Arnyn this time around. Despite this sorceress business.

@Arnyn
"Thanks," Brooke said softly, a bit shy about it, and self-conscious of the fact her dog was causing trouble.

Chewy watched Tercen very closely while he approached, and then his gaze transferred to Brooke as she offered the sausage to him. After sniffing it, he relinquished his grip on the dart so that he might take the sausage gently from her hand.

Sighing in relief, Brooke then made a face as she held up the slobber-covered dart, held between her thumb and first finger. "Eww." She glanced apologetically toward them, then stood up. "Sorry.." She figured they would probably be upset at her for this, and kept her head down as she headed toward the washroom with the dart, even as Tercen was calling out to Gwestion.

Seeing that the dart was finally done being a chew-toy, Gwestion relaxed from his 'post' by the door, and started toward the others. He stopped briefly and looked at the stranger when he called him by name, however. Not that he was surprised.. Gladhron was all the time doing that. He glanced at his brother, curious what else he had been telling his new friend, then looked back to the stranger. "Are there enough darts?" He asked, raising an eyebrow slightly as he glanced pointedly toward Chewy, then back to Tercen.

Gladhron grinned slightly at the joke about Chewy playing darts, then looked over as Brooke paused in her course toward the washroom. "Yes, come on! Join us!" He encouraged. "We can just hold onto Chewy when someone's throwing." He addressed the concern he thought would be most likely on her mind.

Hesitating, Brooke glanced at each of them. "I.. I don't know." She looked at the dart she was holding. "I was just going to wash this off."

"Well, wash it off, then come play with us." Gladhron shrugged. "We'll wait."

After a moment's hesitation, she went onward to the washroom.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name." Gwestion mentioned to Tercen.

When Brooke returned, she offered the dart out to Tercen, who had thrown it.

"So, are you playing, Brooke?" Gladhron asked, curious if they might actually succeed in getting her to play a game.. since she'd made it clear she did not want to play any card games.

"I don't think I'd be very good at it," She shrugged slightly, looking down.

Gwestion frowned, trying to think how to encourage her to give it a try, then blinked in surprise at his brother when he spoke up,

"Well, no, probably not." Gladhron told her, shrugging. "Not if you don't ever give it a try. Right?" He glanced at Tercen for support on this. "How do you think anyone gets good at.. well, anything? Practice!" He grinned.

Blinking, she was at a slight loss for words for a few seconds. "I.. I just.. I don't want to ruin it for you guys," She mumbled, fidgeting a little.

"It is easier to play with four people than three," Gwestion mentioned calmly, watching for her reaction, letting her come to the realization that her playing would actually do less to drag down the fun, than if she refused to play.

"Right! And it's not like it's some sort of tournament, anyway..." Gladhron agreed. "So what if you're no good at it? Come on. Wanna be on my team, or Gwestion's?" Gladhron asked, hopeful.

Arms wrapped around herself, Brooke looked from one to the other, thinking, and finally gave in. "Alright.." She agreed, but she shrugged in answer to whose team to be on. "What do you prefer?" She asked them, reluctant to pick one over the other.

Seeing a perfect chance to take Celume's advice, Gwestion shook his head. "No, you're the lady here, you decide." He insisted.

Looking from him to Gladhron, she hesitated. Which one? She got along better with Gwestion, but she also liked Gladhron. But then, if she and Gwestion were on the same team, he and his friend could be on the same team.. whereas, if she and Gladhron were on the same team, then Gwestion would have to be on a team with a guy he didn't know.. but he might make a friend. Then again, if she wasn't much good at this, then whoever's team she was on would probably not do as well as the other...

They were waiting, she realized. She drew a breath, trying not to get too buried in the various options. "Me and Gwestion?" Somehow, she felt that he would probably prefer that, and also, deep down, she knew she sort of did, too. And Gladhron probably would rather be on the same side as his new friend, right?

@Rillewen

"There are always enough darts, one way or the other," Tercen shrugged at Gwestion's question, offering the man his hand in greeting once he'd approached. "Tercen," he told him. "Gladhron and I met at the masquerade, yesterday."

When Brooke returned and offered him the now washed dart, Tercen smiled at her and accepted it. "Thanks." He followed the interaction between the two brothers and the young lady while his fingers played with the dart a little. "Absolutely," he agreed with Gladhron about what was involved with learning a new skill. "Seemingly endless failure, determination, practice, and lots of merriment. If you have the right attitude about it," he grinned. "And I don't really feel like keeping score, anyway." He shrugged, before taking more of a back seat as the rest of the conversation played out.

Brooke chose to team up with Gwestion. That left him and Gladhron. "Alright then!" Tercen declared, flicking the dart at the board almost casually. It ended up near, though not in the very center of the board. "Let's get all the darts back and start anew!" Without waiting for someone to do it for him, he went over to the darts board and picked them all off. He held out the blue ones to Brooke. "These will be yours, young lady," he declared with a little bow. "Your team gets to go first."

Then he turned to Gladhron and held out the green darts. "And these shall be ours, Green Dragon!"

"What will you two be drinking?" he asked Brooke and Gwestion. "You can't be in an inn's common room and not order something. I'm buying."

@Arnyn
"Well met," Gwestion replied to Tercen as he shook his hand. He had no need to offer his own name, since Gladhron had already told it. As Brooke chose to team with him, he gave a little nod to her, somewhat more pleased that she had made a choice, than what the choice was.

As Tercen threw the dart, Brooke made sure to keep Chewy back so he wouldn't go after the dart again. It was a surprisingly good throw, especially considering the dart had been dog-chewed. Then when he handed her the blue set, she accepted them with a bit of uncertainty, then glanced at Gwestion.

Gladhron laughed at the reference to his masquerade name. "Perfect!"

While Gwestion quietly offered Brooke some instruction on how to hold and throw the dart, Chewy curiously wandered over to investigate the smell of Tercen's shoes and legs, trying to decide if he liked this stranger or not.

Gwestion had just finished showing Brooke how to throw the dart when Tercen asked about their drinks. He hadn't thought of having drinks, and had to think for a moment. "That's very generous of you, Tercen. I wouldn't mind some coffee." While he would have declined, saying it wasn't necessary, he didn't want to offend the guy by rejecting the offer to buy drinks.

Brooke was more at a loss, unsure what to say. Her gaze flicked to the glasses that they had, guessing that it was some sort of alcoholic stuff which she wanted nothing to do with. After hearing Gwestion's reply, she was still unsure. She had little interest in coffee, either and was debating asking what other options there were, but Gladhron spoke up before she had a chance.

"Oh, they have hot chocolate here!" Gladhron mentioned, suggesting what drink he guessed Brooke would most enjoy. "Maybe not as good as the place last night had, but it should be pretty good, right?" he glanced at Tercen, figuring he'd be more familiar with the place.

Relieved to hear something that she would like, Brooke nodded. "Oh.. yes. Hot chocolate would be nice.. if you're sure?" She checked, unsure, and not wanting to be an imposition on the guy.

@Rillewen

"Do you take milk or sugar?" Tercen asked Gwestion. He nodded at Gladhron's question. "The hot chocolate here is quite good, yeah. You can hardly notice the difference from the tavern, really." He smiled at both Brooke and Gwestion. "Of course I'm sure." He wondered what was going on with these two, that they were making such a big deal out of this. It was just two drinks. He wasn't buying them a new wardrobe or anything. Sauntering over to the bar, he put in the order and later returned with the two drinks. First offering it to the young lady, then Gladhron's brother.

"Did you get started?" he asked. "Brooke was up first! I figure we can take turns? Brooke throws the darts for her team, then Gladhron for ours, then Gwestion, then me. We only keep track of the score for the round we are playing. Sound good?"

@Arnyn
"No, thank you." Gwestion replied, shaking his head in answer to the question about milk or sugar. While Tercen was getting those orders placed, Gladhron suggested that Brooke take a few practice throws. By the time he had returned, she felt fairly comfortable with throwing the darts.

"Thank you." She smiled as Tercen passed her the steaming cup of delicious-smelling liquid. It seemed a bit too hot to try sipping just yet, and, as Tercen said, it was her turn to throw first. So she set it down for now, and hesitated as he asked if she had taken her turn yet. "Umm, sorta, but not?" She answered, unsure what to consider that.

"Just some practice throws," Gladhron explained. "And sure, that sounds fine with me," he added, as Gwestion and Brooke nodded their agreement. "Alright, now for the real throws, Brooke. Ready?" Gladhron asked her, smiling encouragingly.

She tried not to feel too self-conscious about the 'audience' watching her and took her turn while Gwestion kept a grip on Chewy. Two of the darts made it into the dartboard, but the other hit just below it.

Gladhron went next, with all three of his darts getting into the board, but not quite as close to the center as he would have liked. Gwestion would say he was not as focused as he should be, but whatever. It was, as he said, not a tournament where the score even matter. After collecting all of the darts and offering them to Gwestion and Tercen, respectively, he stepped back to watch while Gwestion took his turn.

Keeping well focused on what he was doing, Gwestion got all three of his closer to the center than Gladhron had. Part of him wanted to try and compensate for Brooke's throws, although he wasn't exactly trying to be competitive. Yet, he also felt that if you're going to do a thing, you should do it to the best of your ability... Especially something like this. He figured, in a situation where you could end up needing to throw a dart at an enemy, having a good aim was essential.

"By the way, Gladhron," Gwestion said as he stepped back to let Tercen take his turn. "I made some dinner plans for us, for tomorrow night. All of us, unless you ladies would rather not join us," he added, addressing Brooke.

Gladhron blinked and looked at him. "What? But I already made plans with someone!" He protested.

"You did?" Gwestion frowned, wondering which of their plans they would have to cancel.

"I'm sure I told you about it, I can't believe you'd forget that so easily!" Gladhron stared at his brother in surprise. "Wait.. you made plans? What plans did you make? Who would you even know around here?"

"I invited Celume to join us for supper, here, tomorrow evening." Gwestion replied more calmly.

Blinking, Gladhron shook his head. "No... I did." He corrected his brother. "Last night, at the ball, she and I agreed... Gwestion, I told you all about this."

Gwestion had to bite the inside of his cheek to stop himself from saying 'You mean when you woke me up in the middle of the night, babbling about a lot of nonsense while I was still half-asleep?'. Instead, he gave a slightly amused shake of his head. So, Celume had already had those plans made, and hadn't said anything? He wondered if she had found that amusing. "Apparently, neither of us needs to cancel any plans, at least..."

"But, wait.. when did you..."

"Brooke and I ran into her at the library." Gwestion explained. "Anyway.. we can talk about that later." He said, not wanting to get too absorbed in their own conversation and leave the other two out. "You throw well, Tercen." He complimented Gladhron's friend. "Do you come here often to play?" He asked, not knowing much of anything about the guy.

Gladhron stared at him for a few seconds even after Gwestion had addressed Tercen, a little unsure how to respond to this information, but finally shook his head with a little chuckle. A joke on Celume's part, perhaps? He could hardly wait to call her on it. Glancing at Brooke as she sat sipping her hot chocolate and trying not to look too amused at the brother's exchange, he smiled. "Right.. so shall we start a new round?" He suggested, once it was clear that Tercen had finished his turn.

@Rillewen

"Ah, practice throws," he acknowledged. "Good idea." He got cosy in a chair while the others executed their throws. Once Brooke had thrown her darts, Tercen grinned. "Well done!" After catching what he thought was a 'look', he quickly explained: "I know guys who miss after years of doing playing this game casually, so..."

Gladhron did alright. Gwestion did better. Tercen was just stepping up to make his throws, when he caught the exchange between the two brothers. He threw his first dart. Then chuckled at the apparent double-booking Gladhron and Gwestion got themselves into. He paused when he heard Gwestion saying he had invited Celume to eat with them the next evening. That was interesting, since Gladhron clearly had an interest in her. Or at least, that is what Tercen had deduced during the masquerade.

He threw his second dart even as Gladhron said he had been the one who had invited her to do exactly the same thing. Surprised but chuckling at the humor of that, Tercen readied his third dart. After throwing this last one, he turned toward the others, waiting for them to finish up their little intermezzo. It was highly entertaining how Gwestion was brushing the matter under the table and how Gladhron was staring at his brother like a tree frog. He didn't laugh, however, and only smoothly replied to Gwestion's compliment and question. "Why, thank you! I'm not here that often. I actually live in Ithilien. But I do have a darts set back home. Just a bit of fun, from time to time, you know?"

He went to pull out all of the darts and placed them on the table. When Gladhron suggested another round, Tercen nodded with a smile. "I think I can squeeze in another. Should probably find my sister after that." For Gwestion and Brooke's sake, he added a bit more information as he looked at them. "Gladhron mentioned that you, Brooke, and two other ladies in your company share a room, at present. I have a room here, too - but I can give it up to go stay at my sister's. It shouldn't be a problem. Then you ladies have a bit more space," he told Brooke with a smile.

@Arnyn
Brooke was surprised, and a bit skeptical, when Tercen said she had done well. She glanced at him, but his explanation seemed even more surprising. But she merely nodded slowly as she took a seat, making sure to hold onto Chewy while the others took their turns, and trying not to look overly amused as the brothers had their discussion.

Somewhat relieved that Gladhron had let the matter drop as well, Gwestion nodded with interest in response to Tercen's reply. "Ah, you're from Ithilien, then. I've heard a lot about that place." Glancing at Gladhron when he suggested another round, Gwestion hesitated, but gave in with a slight nod. Hearing that Tercen would be leaving after this one, he figured it ought to be safe enough, so that he wouldn't get pulled into game after game. However, hearing Tercen's reason for why he would be leaving, Gwestion was a bit surprised. With a brief glance toward Gladhron, he wondered why exactly his brother had been talking about the lady's room situation.. but it seemed to have ended in favorable results, so he couldn't protest too much.

"Oh, I'm sure Aunt Seri would be very pleased to hear that." Brooke answered, surprised. "Thank you. I hope it won't be any trouble for you or your sister, though." He said it shouldn't be a problem, though, so she nodded slightly. "Thank you." She said again, not quite sure what else to say.

"Well, what about another round of darts, Brooke?" Gladhron asked, hopeful. "Willing to stick around that long?"

"Well.." She glanced toward the entrance, where Gwestion had set the stack of books he had carried for her. "I am eager to get started on one of those, but.. sure." She nodded.

Glancing toward the stack, Gladhron blinked, then let out a sigh. "Oh no. She's resorted to robbing the library." He lamented, in a mock-serious tone. "Brooke, you do realize they arrest people for that.. right?"

She giggled softly. "They aren't stolen. But I do have to have some of them back sooner than others.. so I figured I should start on them as soon as I can."

Grinning, Gladhron nodded to indicate she should go first. "You know I'm only teasing. But I do hope you aren't going to spend the entire time here, reading! That would be such a waste. Right?" He asked Tercen, figuring the other guy would back him up.

Rolling his eyes slightly while Brooke went to take her turn, Gwestion decided not to comment that he thought reading was far from 'a waste'. "Oh," He remembered something, and pulled a folded paper out from his inner jacket pocket. "Before I forget, Gladhron.. this is for you." He held out the paper to Gladhron, then gave him a very serious look as Gladhron went to take it, holding onto the paper briefly so that they both had a grip on it. "Do not lose this, alright? I had to convince the captain to grant this permission, and I highly doubt she will be willing to write us up another copy if you lose yours." He said before releasing his hold on it to let Gladhron take it.

Gladhron looked at the paper and had to fight to hold back a grin. "Oh, goodie. Permission to use the training grounds.." he replied in a rather unenthused tone that sounded as if he was on the verge of rolling his eyes. "Great. Cause I'm so looking forward to that." Inwardly, he was struggling not to cheer. And he made sure not to look at Tercen at that moment, lest he give in to the grin that wanted to break through. "I'll guard it with my life, don't worry." He smirked slightly and set it beside his glass. "So, my turn, right?"

Once confirmed, he took his turn, wearing a lingering little smirk of satisfaction before gathering the darts and passing them to Gwestion. Once his brother had stepped up to take his turn, and was focused on throwing the darts with his back to the rest of them, Gladhron finally risked a glance toward Tercen and gave in to a quick grin, and offered a fist bump to his friend, to celebrate that minor victory in the most restrained manner he could manage at the moment. He ignored the puzzled glance Brooke gave them, and she didn't ask any questions.

@Rillewen

"Heard a lot?" Tercen asked Gwestion. "But you haven't been to Ithilien? If you're still here in spring, you should get out there sometime. It's worth a visit." Smiling at Brooke, he shook his head. "It's no trouble. I stay with her most times when I'm in the city, anyway."

Gladhron's statement that reading while in Minas Tirith would be a waste, made Tercen raise his hands. "The entire time? Yes, I'd advise against that," he agreed. "But to each their own, you know?" he added with a shrug.

Focusing on finishing his drink during the last round of darts now, Tercen watched Brooke while listening to Gwestion and Gladhron speak. "Oh, goodie. Permission to use the training grounds.." He glanced at Gladhron then, noticing how his friend was avoiding looking at him. With a half smile, Tercen looked back to the darts board, taking the hint. When Gwestion had his back to them, he looked back at Gladhron, and grinned back at his friend. He went along with the fist bump, too. Awesome. They would actually manage. He would get to see his sister sparring against Kaylin - a master sword! All they'd need to do is make it convincing enough they were brothers, the next morning. Shouldn't be too hard, right?

Once it was his turn, he stepped up and threw his darts in quick succession. Two of them were nowhere near as accurate as the first time, but his last one ended up right in the bull's eye. "And on that note," Tercen said, turning around triumphantly, "I should get going. See you soon. Hopefully in a few hours, so we can make arrangements for the room." He flashed a grin at Gladhron, since they both knew they would also definitely be seeing each other again the next morning. "But if you aren't around, I'll make sure to tell Alf, the innkeeper, that my room needs to go to your party. He won't object, since it's a guaranteed occupancy."

He offered everyone a casual goodbye with an all-encompassing wave. "See you around, people." He wasn't one to get awkward or self-conscious about these things. He went back upstairs to get his cloak, at the very least, to arm himself against the cold before venturing up to the fourth circle. Hopefully, his sister would be at home...

@Arnyn
"No, not really." Gwestion answered, shaking his head. "Perhaps we will get a chance to visit before we return North."

Brooke made no answer about the reading comments from both Gladhron and Tercen. The library was the main reason she had come here at all! But now, with the option to take more books from the library, she could at least do a little more exploring and bring the books along to read. She had not much better luck with her darts on this second round, and was a bit glad to let the guys take over after she was done.

After Tercen had thrown his last dart, he declared it was time to leave. Gladhron was minutely disappointed, but he understood, too.

"Good note to end on," Gwestion agreed, and nodded to him as he said his goodbyes to them. "It was good meeting you, Tercen. I hope the rest of your day goes well."

"See you around, Tercen!" Gladhron agreed, waving, while inwardly rolling his eyes at Gwestion's lack of enthusiasm.

Brooke returned the wave, but remained quiet. Once he had gone from the room, she went to gather her books. "I'd better get these up to the room." She halfway wondered how doable it would be to rig up a sort of backpack thing for Chewy to be able to carry books for her. Thinking about that, she set off upstairs.

"Wanna play another round?" Gladhron asked, once it was just he and Gwestion.

"Actually, I was thinking of finding Seri and Aislin. If they haven't already got other plans for tomorrow, I thought I would let them know.. unless you've already told them about the dinner plans with Celume?"

"Umm, no, actually.. I haven't seen either of them today at all." Gladhron admitted with a shrug. "Fine. I'll stay here in case they return while you're gone." After watching his brother leave, he sighed and then took all six darts, deciding to practice his throwing so he'd be a bit better at it, next time.

(end)

@Arnyn @Pele Alarion
Gladhron placed another card on the pile, then smiled faintly as the one under it worked for one of his stacks. After playing the card, he glanced up when the common room door opened. In walked Brooke, with Chewy at her side. Gladhron sat back, shaking his head a bit in both amusement and amazement, as the girl walked with a book held open, reading even as she walked. And somehow, she didn't run into anything! By some mysterious means, she made her way unfalteringly toward his table, slowing a little as she neared the table, and finally paused from reading long enough to look up and around.

"No one else is here yet?" She asked, surprised.

"Oh, so I'm 'no one' now?" Gladhron asked with a teasing grin.

"Oh.. no, I didn't mean, I meant.."

"Relax, Brooke, I know, I was just teasing." He sighed and shook his head. "No, you're the first. I thought Gwestion was with you?" he asked, curiously glancing toward the door.

"I haven't seen him," Brooke answered quietly as she slid into a seat at the large table he had claimed for them. It was large enough for six to sit comfortably together without being crowded. "I thought he must have already come. I heard the bells, and figured.. it was probably about time, so.. yeah."

"Hmm, well. I guess if you could hear the bells even in your book trance, he probably did too, from wherever he is." He tried not to feel too anxious about it, but he was hoping to speak to his brother before Celume arrived.

"I'm sure he'll be here," Brooke assured him, not too concerned. While Chewy stretched out nearby, she returned to her book.

Gladhron looked around for a moment, then returned his attention to his game of solitaire, but kept glancing up now and then. Several more minutes passed in relative silence, with only background noises and the sound of Gladhron flipping through his cards.

---

Wrapped in a shawl, Seri entered a few minutes later. Having hurried down from the sixth, she was hoping she had not arrived late, but when she looked around, she saw only two of the group there so far. "Ah, good!" She smiled as she came to join them. "I'm not the last one here." She smiled as she hung her shawl over the back of one of the chairs and then took the seat next to Brooke. "Where's everyone else?" She meant of their own group, of course, since she doubted they could answer for Celume.

"I thought Aislin would be with you?" Gladhron replied, laughing slightly as he realized that it seemed like none of them really knew where any of the others were.

"Not today," Seri shook her head. "I told her she should take the day to explore around the city." She nudged Brooke lightly. "Perhaps you'll join her next time?" She suggested. "You ought to take a look around the city, instead of staying in the library the whole time..."

Glancing up, Brooke blinked. "But there's so much of the library I haven't even seen yet." She protested, frowning slightly.

"It'd probably be more fun for you both to go together," Seri shrugged. "The library will still be there later, you know."

Brooke considered saying 'so will the rest of the city' but Seri did have a point. Aislin would probably rather have had company, but it was a bit too late to join her now. "There's Gwestion," She pointed out as a convenient change of subject, after catching a glimpse of him as he passed one of the windows.

Gladhron turned swiftly in relief, even though he was too late to actually see him, he trusted Brooke's word on it. "Good, it's about time! I'll be right back.. I need to talk to him." He declared, jumping up from the table and abandoning his game. He reached the door right about the time Gwestion was opening it, blocking his path. "There you are!" Gladhron caught him by the arm. "Step out here a moment, will you? I need to tell you something." He ignored the puzzled glance Gwestion gave him, and guided his brother right back outside.

---

"What's going on?" Gwestion frowned, concerned as they stepped off to the side so they weren't blocking the doorway. "Is everything alright?"

"What? Yeah, of course, why would anything be wrong?" Gladhron asked, confused why he would jump to that.

"Well, you're acting.. weird." Gwestion frowned. "And.. sort of rush-y... why does it seem like you're in a hurry?" They were already at the place they needed to be, so he didn't really understand what this was about.

"I've been waiting ages for you to get here, that's why. But no.. nothing's wrong. I just needed to tell about you something, before.. she gets here." Gladhron explained, a little unsure what to call her, now. "I was hoping we'd have a little more time, though. What kept you?"

Gwestion folded his arms, frowning slightly. "Sorry to inconvenience you? I was deep down in the archive area, then I heard the bell, so I started looking for Brooke, and then the librarian told me she had already left." He explained. "So, now I'm here. Tell me, what's so important?"

@Rillewen
It had been a very long day so far. Early morning training with Trastion. Sparring with Kaylin. Riding Narsulë along the Pelennor. An afternoon shift at headquarters, with one unexpected and one scheduled meeting which had served as welcome breaks from the paperwork and planning. Even so, she was quite alert as she walked down the streets of the second circle toward the Wayfarers. Alert, and hungry. Because there had been little to no time to eat around midday - and she had ended up skipping the meal.

Nerves nipped at her. Because she had not managed to find a better, or quicker way to tell Gladhron and Gwestion about her real name and who she was here - at her home. She figured her position here would hardly matter to them. But having lied about her name? In a way? That would not go over well with most people. Especially not since she hadn't merely spent a few days with them. But perhaps.. hopefully... she was making a bigger deal out of the situation in her head than it had to be. Whatever the case, she would soon find out, she told herself as she watched her black boots kicking up her heavy, black winter cloak as she walked. She'd pulled up her hood against the bite of the sharp evening winds that swept around the streets, rendering her to little more than a tall figure in black in the darkness which had already settled over Minas Tirith.

As she approached the inn and the entrance came into view, she saw someone entering - or at least, about to enter. Someone else seemed to guide him right back out, however. As the distance between her and the door quickly became smaller, she saw it was Gladhron. Not wearing any kind of cloak or coat. And the other... yes, Gwestion.

Well. Alright then. It looked like she had been handed the opportunity on a neat little platter. There was nothing else to do but take it. She could not wait until they were all seated around a table with Ms Seri, Brooke and this other young woman. The two brothers at the very least deserved some privacy to process what she had to say. Otherwise they might feel held back in their response. And if they no longer wanted her to join them for dinner once they found out she had not given them her real name, it was best to find out out here, rather than in there.

She slowed her steps when there were only a few yards left between the two brothers and herself. She just heard Gwestion asking Gladhron what was so important when she pulled back her hood. "I'm sorry to interrupt..." she said, halting a few paces away from them, her tone slightly questioning. "But I'm glad to find you both here, rather than already inside with the rest of your group." She hesitated for a moment, but then ploughed through. "I need to talk to you two, first. If that is alright?"

@Arnyn @Pele Alarion
Gladhron had just opened his mouth to begin finding a way to let his brother know what he had found out earlier, when Celume's voice broke in from just behind him. He froze, then offered Gwestion an apologetic shrug. Too late. Well.. he'd tried, anyway. It was Gwestion's own fault he hadn't had a chance to tell him before she arrived. He turned, wearing a smile as he greeted her. "Celume, you're right on time." As for talking with them? He folded his arms as he looked at her curiously. "Sure. We have time, not all of our group is here yet, anyway." He added.

Gwestion maintained a questioning look even as his brother froze with his mouth open. If he hadn't known better, he might have concluded that the cold had literally frozen him in place. But they were accustomed to camping in much colder weather than this, and in fact, he'd seen his brother wander outside with snow on the ground, barefoot, and shrug it off as if he wasn't cold at all. Which meant that it was Celume's appearance that had stopped him. What was going on? Gwestion had observed her approach through the darkness, so he wasn't surprised when she spoke. It was, however, what she said that made him curious. "Certainly," He agreed, wondering what was going on that both Gladhron and Celume wanted to talk privately. Was it related, or separate matters?

@Arnyn , @Rillewen
Aislin
Common room - December 23

Aislin had spent much of the day out in the city, and had exchanged that for exploration of the gardens of the inn, walking the small labyrinth of pathways in the light of lanterns and then enjoying the porch swings until she felt the cold finally get to her. She guessed that it might be the supper time either way, so she had left the swings and headed for the room first to shed her light cloak - she had not dressed too warmly since exploration was a rather warming activity.

Eventually she ran down the stairs, winter still colouring her cheeks and tip of the nose. She was dressed in a simple yellow and brown woolen dress with a silvery belt around the middle, her dark hair braided in two neat braids that bounced on her back as she jumped off the last step. Time spent with Seri had done her well, and she no longer was skin and bones as she had been at first, though she was still lean. And under Seri's watchful and cherishing care she had grown rather tall.

"What news, ladies?" she said by the way of greeting Seri and Brooke as she found the large table and slid into one of the empty chairs. "And where are our guys? And where's the food?"

@Rillewen
Paying close attention to the two of them, she noticed the way Gladhron stilled when she spoke, and caught Gwestion's questioning look at his brother. She knew she was interrupting something, having heard Gladhron's last statement, but... "I really am sorry to interrupt, but I feel like this cannot wait, because I want to be the one to tell you. And if I were to go in already, then it might be hard to speak with you two separately, without the others," she explained.

At least they were both agreeing to hear her out. That was the first step - not that she would have expected any trouble at this point. Taking a deep breath, she offered them a faint smile in reply to their curious and questioning expressions.

"As you both well know, I never really said anything about what place I called home, or about my background. I also definitely appreciated neither of you really trying to press the matter or even trying to find out more." They seemed to have quite simply taken the hint and rolled with it." Her eyes slowly shifted between them as she assessed their expressions. "At the time, I needed to... disconnect. Get some distance from the person I had needed to be here for years. From other people's expectations, but also from the expectations I placed upon myself. So I just wanted to be..." She did not finish the sentence immediately, but in reality it was finished. She had just wanted to be. "Just be." She resisted a shrug, something she would not have done in the north. "Without filtering my words or actions the way I need to here."

It would be best to rip off the bandage, she knew. Not drag it out overlong. Besides, at any given moment someone could pass them by on their way in or out of the Inn, and if they knew her they would likely address her by name. "So when I came across people on my travels, I did not tell them about my background and I gave them a different name than the one my parents gave me - the one I am known best by at home. So I could just be the person I was - am - underneath it all."
Looking away for a moment, having some trouble blending whom she was used to being around them with whom she was used to being here in Minas Tirith, she fell silent for a few heartbeats. "And the two of you were no exception."

Her dark brown eyes returned to their faces, looking from one brother to the other. "It was not meant to deceive," she promised them, more quietly than before."In a way it became both harder and easier as the days progressed," she admitted. "Harder because we became friends. Easier because I got more comfortable with letting go of certain things."

"My actual name is Arnyn." It was an offering, a prelude. One that likely came all too late, but she would offer it nonetheless. Her words were still quiet but clearly audible. "Citizen of Gondor. Lieutenant and second in command of the King's Rangers, a unit formed by King Elessar after the war. When we met, I was the newly resigned commander of a different and larger ranger corps... where some rangers in the sword division - my division - also called me Axinecelumë. So the name I gave you - my telling you that you could call me Celumë - it was not entirely a fiction."

She held their eyes in turn, first Gwestion's and then Gladhron's. The hope shining through the insecurity as her gaze lingered on the older brother. "At the masquerade, you said - not knowing someone's name, not knowing where they came from, didn't mean you couldn't be friends with them." Her voice lowered further, now little more than a whisper. "Did you mean it?" And as for Gwestion... "And do you agree?" she asked the younger brother, just as quietly.

@Arnyn @Pele Alarion

"Ah, there you are, Aislin." Seri smiled to see her other niece arrive. "Did you have a good time? See anything exciting?" She asked, motioning for the girl to join them at the table.

As Aislin joined them, asking about the guys and the food, Brooke pointed to the front door. "They just went out.. actually, Gladhron went outside. Gwestion was already out there, about to come in. But Gladhron wanted to tell him something." She glanced that direction, wondering if it could have anything to do with something she had learned at the library earlier. "I've only been here a few minutes, myself." She added, then put a ribbon into the book and slid it into the leather bag at her side.

"We haven't ordered any food yet, because not everyone was here yet." Seri added. "I'm sure it won't be long, although I'm not sure when uh.. Lady Fairy will arrive." She said with a little amusement, as she had not been informed the lady's actual name. She glanced around, then at the two young ladies in her care. "Perhaps we could order some drinks while we wait. What would you two like?"

---

"It's fine," Gladhron assured her, when she apologized for interrupting. Although he was somewhat regretful that he had not been able to prepare his brother for what it sounded like she was about to tell them. As she went on, his suspicion was confirmed.. and he was actually relieved to hear her telling them this. Because he had wondered whether she would tell them, or keep it from them. He was glad for the former. Her explanation was quite understandable, in fact, and he couldn't really harbor any resentment toward her for that.

He remained quiet while she was speaking, giving her the chance to finish all that she wanted to say. He nodded a little here and there, silently encouraging her to go on, or to show that she still had his attention. As she mentioned that it had become harder to maintain this, as they became friends back then, he felt a bit saddened for her sake, that she had apparently been stressing about this. That she must have felt she could not tell them her real name, once she had gotten to know them more. And that she felt that she needed to filter her words and actions so much in the first place.. that was also saddening.

The explanation about where 'Celumë' had actually come from was rather enlightening, although it seemed like a bit of a mouthful, really. He preferred just 'Celume', although he wasn't sure whether she would prefer that they continued to call her that or her real name. Something to ask her, he supposed. Finally, as she referred to what he had said at the masquerade, smiled slightly. "Of course, I meant it, Arnyn." He assured her easily. He cleared his throat. "Anyway, I actually uh.. I already knew about your real name, as well as your position as lieutenant." He admitted with a little shrug.

---

Gwestion was rather puzzled. First Gladhron wanted to talk to him in private, now Celume wanted to talk to them both in private.. and he had no idea what either were about. He folded his arms, mostly to keep his cloak held close around him. He gave Gladhron a sidelong glance, wondering how his brother was not starting to feel the cold by now. Maybe he was, and was simply not willing to admit it.

Mentally shrugging that away, Gwestion turned his focus toward Celume, listening with a small frown as she talked. He was inwardly surprised at how quiet Gladhron was being, but he was glad for Celume's sake that he was not interrupting her, but rather letting her get through all that she needed to say. Gwestion did the same, quietly processing all that she was telling them. He kept his own expression mostly neutral all throughout her speech. Even when she admitted to having used a false name, he did not have a visible reaction.

When she offered up her proper name, he mentally repeated it a couple of times, but outwardly only nodded slowly, once. That she held the rank of lieutenant was more of a surprise, but he only blinked at that, and glanced slightly toward Gladhron, as if curious how he was taking all of this. His brother seemed.. strangely unruffled by any of this news. That surprised him almost as much as the news of their friend having become a lieutenant of the King's rangers since they last saw her. As she concluded, basically asking if they still considered her a friend, he tilted his head slightly as if in thought. After taking a moment to think of the best way to give his response, he was just opening his mouth to speak it, when Gladhron spoke first.

At his brother's words, Gwestion turned to him in clear surprise. "Wait.. you knew?" He asked, blinking. How could he have known this?! "How long have you known, and why didn't you mention it to me?" He added, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, I was about to!" Gladhron protested. "I just found out this morning, so it's not like I've been keeping it from you for days or anything. Anyway, that's what I was about to tell you, but then.." he motioned to Celume vaguely to indicate that she had arrived too soon. "I'd have mentioned it earlier, but I couldn't find you before." He added, as if that made it all better.

Gwestion continued looking at him with a raised eyebrow for a moment. "You might have tried the library," He pointed out, since he was sure that Gladhron must have known that was a very likely place to find him. "Oh, but that's right.. you're probably afraid you'll burst into flames if you set foot in a building devoted to books." He added dryly, with a hint of a smirk. Clearing his expression as he shook his head, Gwestion then turned back to her as he resumed a more serious expression. Behind him, Gladhron rolled his eyes.

"Anyway..." Gwestion cleared his throat, addressing the woman's concerns first. "As for your question.. yes, I agree. As you should know already. We never did know where you came from, and yet we considered you a friend, did we not?" He pointed out, confused why she would feel the need to question it. "Just as you never knew where we came from, nor much else about us other than our names and our personalities and the goal we shared in dealing with those bandits." He paused. "Anyway... while I didn't actually know that Celume was not your real name, I did always sort of suspect it might not be." He admitted quietly. "And I can't blame you for that, really. Meeting two strangers in the middle of the woods? After getting to know you better, I might have been disappointed in your lack of caution, if Celume had turned out to be your actual given name." Shrugging, he went on, "Besides... I might have given false names for ourselves as well, except that option was taken away before I had the chance." He did not mention any names, but his eyes cut over to his brother, rather pointedly, before returning to Celume's. "It's not that uncommon for rangers in the north to do that, you know. Our father often used other names while he was away from home.. and others that we have met do the same. Even our king did so, as I hear." He shrugged, having heard that King Elessar had gone by many names, like Strider, Longshanks, and the like, while in Bree. And other names like Thorongil while doing missions in other lands.

He shifted, clearing his throat. "To be further honest.. I can't say I'm all that surprised to learn you had been a commander of rangers, either." He informed her with a small shrug. "The way you pushed us to do better in sparring, taught us more about tracking and other skills, offered your aid and expertise in the bandit matter... it was not terribly obvious, but there was something about all of those things which led me to suspect that you were familiar with teaching others such things as those, and perhaps even giving orders and such. So, now, hearing that you were a commander just before you met us? It explains a lot." He offered a small smile. "Also... congratulations on your more recent title of lieutenant."

@Rillewen
She'd found it difficult to predict their reactions. On the one hand, maybe Gladhron was most likely to simply shrug at it and accept it. Then again, he might also understand the what and why the least, since he was such an open book himself. And Gwestion... it had been much more challenging to get behind his walls. Even if he might understand her reasons better, perhaps he would think of this as a reason to shut her out again.
Considering all of that, she had no idea where she would stand with them now she had told them the truth.

Gladhron's answer had her mentally breathing a sigh of relief. She was still physically holding her breath, though, surprised at the calm his answer exuded. Part of the why behind his calm demeanour was explained by what he said next, though she was as surprised at the statement as Gwestion was, and did not at all mind the younger brother's immediate reaction to Gladhron's own little reveal. Her eyes widened in shock. She wanted to know everything Gwestion was asking, too, even if he hadn't asked what she felt was the most important one. How had Gladhron found out?

Apparently, he hadn't known for long. Since that morning. Arnyn still looked utterly surprised as she stared at Gladhron while he and Gwestion had their little exchange. Unbelievable. Gwestion's 'anyway' had her slowly shifting her attention to the younger brother. He agreed, and even went so far as to say she should already know. Her eyes remained wider as she now stared at Gwestion as he offered his own reply, which was much longer than Gladhron's. Much more analytical. It did come as a surprise that Gwestion had gone so far as to suspect Celumë was not even her real name. She didn't miss his glance at Gladhron when he said he might have offered different names for him and his brother, as well, if that option hadn't immediately been taken away. But she was too surprised by their positive reactions, still, to react with a smile or a little laugh. She did finally release her breath, though, as he went on to explain why it didn't even surprise him to learn about her history as a ranger officer.

Swallowing, perhaps in an attempt to get rid of most of her surprise and to make room for the utter sense of relief and happiness that was washing over her, Arnyn glanced between them and found it hard to speak. Neither of them were angry. Neither even seemed upset. They simply... accepted it. Her eyes gained a watery gleam at the implicit trust that they were offering her. That she had not been pretending about other things than her name. She drew in a deep breath and let it out in an audible sigh of relief. Finally a soft smile of disbelief worked its way to her features, and she slowly shook her head. "I... don't know what to say," she admitted. "I had no idea what to expect but..." Her smile grew, though it was still incredulous. "Surely not that one of you would tell me you'd figured it out already, and that the other would congratulate me on my rank..."

@Rillewen , @Arnyn
Aislin
Common room - December 23

"Oh, it was excellent," her eyes alight with lingering excitement, Aislin drew in a long breath as if she was about to tell a story on all she had achieved during the day, but then she let it out again in small inaudible puffs, when she learned that the brothers were outside. She glanced towards the door, and then back at Brooke and Seri.

"Lady Fairy," she chuckled softly, though she thought it would not be a bad nickname to have. She had heard and overheard some snippets of the masquerade and was somewhat sorry she had not taken a chance to go there. But then again the whole hassle with the outfit would have been a pain. "I think a cup of tea would be lovely," she said when Seri mentioned the possibility of ordering drinks.

She cast a sideways glance at Brooke, then looked back at Seri and burst out in a quick recounting of her deeds: "I made a quick tour through most levels, at least of what I could see from going all the way up as far as I was allowed, and then back down. And visited some shops, perhaps annoying some owners with my questions and eventual not buying of anything. I tried to be as polite as I could though."

@Arnyn @Pele Alarion

"Yes, tea would be nice," Brooke agreed, curious what Aislin was so eager to talk about. She refrained from mentioning anything about the library, figuring the other girl might be tired of hearing about how amazing and huge and wonderful the place was, as she had been going on about it for nearly three days now.

After hearing what both of the girls would like, Seri nodded and went over to speak to the bartender for a moment, to make their drink requests.

"Lady Fairy is um.. Celume," Brooke mentioned, choosing her wording carefully as she decided to stick with the name that was familiar to them all. Since, as far as she knew, she was the only one who had learned anything about her name here.

As Seri returned, she caught that. "Yes, Gwestion said something about that!" She said, reclaiming her seat with a little smile. "I met her at the masquerade, but I am looking forward to meeting her more.. for real, I suppose." She smiled then as she listened to Aislin speak about her adventures for the day. "That all sounds lovely. I'm glad you're enjoying your time here so far. Maybe tomorrow, you two should go explore together?" She suggested.

"Yes, that would be nice." Brooke agreed. "Maybe.. you could show me some of the places you've seen, and I can show you the library a bit?" She suggested to Aislin. "I promise I wouldn't keep you there for too long, either." She added, realizing she had been neglecting her 'sister' a little bit since they had arrived in town.

---

The surprise was almost comical to Gladhron. On both of them, actually. While he had really meant to tell his brother about the discovery he had made concerning their friend, before he heard it elsewhere, he was also quite amused by how he had managed to surprise him with the knowledge. Still, he didn't laugh at the way Celume/Arnyn was staring at him, although in another situation, he might have.

As Celume declared that she had not expected the responses they'd given, Gwestion dipped his head slightly in understanding of that. He was glad, however, to see that she seemed happy with it. "Should I not congratulate you?" he asked with a slightly raised eyebrow. It could even have been said teasingly, if one could believe it of him.

Gladhron glanced at Gwestion, curious if he had just made a joke, then turned his gaze back to her. She didn't know what to say? He grinned. "How about.. let's go in and eat?" he suggested. "I'm starving..." He laughed, then rubbed his arms slightly. "And well.. I didn't exactly feel like going up to the room to grab a cloak, since I was only meaning to be out her for a minute.." He mentioned with a little shrug. "Shall we?" He moved toward the door in anticipation, so he could open it and then hold it for the both of them.

"Fine with me," Gwestion said slowly, but looked at Celume. "Unless there was more that you needed to share with us, first? I suspect the ladies of our party are already inside," He mentioned, as a warning in case she had anything else she wanted to say that she didn't want to say in front of them, although he couldn't actually think of anything in particular that she might want to say. If she was ready to go inside, then he would motion for her to go ahead of him, and wait for her to go inside before following.

@Rillewen
She narrowed her eyes slightly when Gwestion asked if he should not congratulate her. The relief she felt was still prevalent, but happiness at how impossibly well this had gone was suffusing her as well. It enabled Arnyn to give him an easy grin in response. "Sometimes, I wonder," she said casually, with a light shrug of one of her shoulders. In some ways, her happiest time had been as a Hyandaner without an officer's rank. But being an officer could also be more fulfilling. A precarious balance and difficult comparison to put into words. Hence, she chose not to. Besides, it was not the time for such topics, she sensed.

Sure enough, Gladhron soon suggested going inside, moving on from the subject entirely and making the situation easy in that way he had. It was true that he was terribly underdressed for being outside.

In the background of her mind, somewhere behind the happy high she was still riding, the wheels in her mind were beginning to turn. How had Gladhron found out? He said he'd only found out that same morning, which meant he had not yet known at the masquerade. It hadn't seemed like he'd known then, but he had literally told her at the dance that he paid more attention to things than he'd let on, so she couldn't help but take a second look at the option. But Gladhron was no liar. So, if he said he'd found out just this morning, then she believed him. She wondered if her brother had anything to do with this unexpected knowledge Gladhron had acquired. Obviously she remembered they had spent a while talking at the masquerade, as she had been part of a large part of the conversation. Arnyn also remembered Gladhron saying the man in gold and white - her brother - had thought she was his sister. Which was true of course, but neither Tercen had not known for sure that she was the woman behind the Fairy. He had told her, at dinner yesterday, that he'd suspected but then had been proven wrong. And she had not spoken up to take that illusion away. So if Gladhron had found out through her brother, ifthose two had put it together somehow, it had to have been today. In that respect, 'this morning' was an option.

All that flicked through her head even as she was still smiling at them and Gwestion asked if there was anything else she needed to share. "I don't think so. I didn't pretend to be any better or worse than I am," she laughed quietly, "if that is what you are checking." As Gwestion motioned for her to go inside then, and Gladhron held the door, Arnyn walked in - but as she passed Gladhron by, she slowed down to give him an inquisitive look. "Did you meet with my brother this morning?" she asked him as she continued on into the inn, stepped away from the door once she was inside, but waiting close to it for the brothers to enter behind her. Meanwhile, she took off her cloak and the light coat she'd put on underneath, hanging them from the pegs near the entrance. Arnyn was wearing mostly black, though her shirt was subtly embroidered along the edges and certain seams. Over the shirt, she was wearing a sleeveless, orange-red vest, cinched at the waist with a black leather belt. Her long blonde hair provided a sharp contrast to the black, but fit well with the golden tones of the vest, especially in the fire- and candle-lit common room of the Wayfarers.

Once both brothers had entered, as well, she looked at Gladhron again. "Is that how you found out? Did you and Tercen put it together?" It was of course not the only possible option - but it was the only lead she had and the only option she could see, besides him seeing her wearing her Lieutenant's badge or something and asking around.

@Arnyn@Pele Alarion
"Did you meet with my brother this morning?"

The question made him blink as Gladhron stood holding the door open for the other two. Did she know? He felt a sudden flicker of concern that perhaps they had not been quite as well hidden as they had thought. But then, she would've surely said something about it by now, right? If she had known that her brother was in the training grounds, something would have been said about it by now. Especially if it got out that Gladhron had been the one to smuggle him in there. No, he decided, she surely wasn't aware of that. So, this question must be her figuring the most logical answer must be that.

As she went on to ask if he and Tercen had worked it out together, Gladhron grinned, inwardly relieved that she did not seem to be aware that they had been secretly watching her sparring match. "How else?" He answered, amused. "Yes, we met this morning to spend some time together." He answered, as Gwestion followed her through the door. Gladhron let the door close.

"I also saw "Lady Butterfly"," He added with a little smirk, allowing her just a bit more information from which she could choose from as to how he had figured it out. While they had not actually spoken together today, he figured she didn't have to know that. And she could draw from that, whatever conclusions she liked. Maybe Kaylin had said something that made him realize. Maybe she had pointed out her lieutenant to him, or any number of things.

Gwestion glanced at him with a raised eyebrow as he turned from hanging up his cloak. "Does this lady not have a name?" He asked, finding that an odd way to refer to someone. Maybe during the masquerade, but once you found out a person's name, why keep using the fake one after the dance is over?

"No, Gwestion. She lost it." Gladhron rolled his eyes, then grinned as he motioned toward their table to direct Celume toward it. "Come meet our friends." He invited her, grinning.

Gwestion shook his head slightly and then trailed along after them, then paused and reached out lightly to halt Gladhron before he had gone over to the large table at the far end of the room. Turning to her, he asked, "I suppose you'd rather go by Arnyn, rather than Celume, now that we know?" He asked, checking with her before Gladhron introduced her to the others.

Pausing to wait for her response, Gladhron nodded upon hearing her answer, then continued toward the others, wearing a big smile. "Ah, we're all here together now!" He declared, pleased to see that Aislin had joined them in his absence. "Ladies, I would like you to meet a good friend of ours," He included Gwestion in that, "This is Arnyn.. also known as Celume." He added with a little smile, because.. well, it might puzzle them if he didn't. He had mentioned rather excitedly about how Celume was going to join them for dinner tonight, so they would surely be puzzled if someone by another name joined them instead. And honestly, while Brooke was the only one of the three who had actually met Celume before, the others had certainly heard plenty about her...

Clearing his throat softly, Gwestion picked up where Gladhron neglected to continue the introductions, "Arnyn, this is Ms. Sérëní Moss, healer of the Breelands, and her apprentice and niece, Aislin. You've already met her other niece, Brooke, and of course.. Chewy." He introduced the others to Arnyn in return, while indicating each one as he mentioned their names.

---

When the guys entered the inn along with a blond lady, Seri smiled slightly. Yes, that looked enough like 'Lady Fairy' to easily be her. The blond hair, the posture, the height, build.. all of it fit with the lady she had spoken with the other evening. "Here they come," She mentioned, to draw the girls' attention toward the other members of the group.
"Pleased to meet you, Arnyn." Seri smiled as she stood and reached out to offer a handshake, although she was not sure whether that was typically the custom in this city, at least for women. But it was what she was familiar with, herself. "Everyone actually just calls me Seri." She informed her with a warm smile. "Although, at the masquerade, you met me as 'Lady Blossom'." She added with a little laugh.

Chewy wagged his tail as the familiar people approached the table. He had been stretched out on the floor behind Brooke's chair. As if he was hoping to trip her if she should decide to get up from her chair or something.. or else keep her trapped at the table. Now, he sat up and looked toward the folks approaching as if hoping for some ear scratches or something. When his name was mentioned, he gave an excited bark, unwilling to be left out of anything.

Brooke smiled to hear the name that Gladhron used to introduce her, a little relieved to hear that she didn't need to keep the secret any longer. "Hello again." She greeted Arnyn. "I um, returned all those books you got for me." She added casually, mainly to let the woman know that she would not need to worry about any sort of repercussions from books not being returned in the designated time period. But also to possibly warn her in case she might realize that the librarian might have commented on the fact that Arnyn didn't return the books personally...

@Rillewen @Pele Alarion
When her suspicions were confirmed, she held back an eyeroll and a sigh. Of course. What a Tercen thing to do. Slightly bothered by that for a second, she soon reconsidered. What if those two working it out together had helped Gladhron to process the news? Both Tercen and Gladhron were... well, they were similar in a few ways. Both rather spontaneous, sociable. Maybe talking it over with someone else who was less likely to overthink stuff like this, had helped? She had no way of knowing, of course, unless she just asked one or both of them outright. In the end, she supposed it did not really matter. And things seemed to be turning out more than alright.

When Gladhron added he'd also seen 'Lady Butterfly', Arnyn almost groaned. Kaylin, too? If the redhead and Gladhron had been talking about her, there was no telling what kind of stories might have come up. Suddenly, her eyes widened with what could only be concern. Had Gladhron said anything about her singing songs in a tavern? That would be bad... And surely, he hadn't mentioned her drawing? For a moment, Arnyn fidgeted with her vest, now understanding much better why Gwestion was sometimes concerned with Gladhron just telling people he hardly knew about all kinds of things.

Only realizing Gladhron hadn't spoken Kaylin's name out loud when Gwestion asked about it, Arnyn also rolled her eyes,but it was at Gladhron rather than at Gwestion. "Her name is Kaylin," she quietly told Gwestion as they walked over to the table where the others were waiting. Just then, Gwestion drew them to a halt and asked about how she wanted to be introduced. "Sure," she replied. Arnyn was probably best. She wondered soon thereafter, though, whether she should talk to Gwestion and Gladhron about a few things - like the singing, the wasp thing, the drawing - and ask them to keep that to themselves. Gwestion probably would without her even asking. But Gladhron? Arnyn gave him a thoughtful look as he was smiling broadly at the women around the table.

Focusing on the ladies next, Arnyn offered them a friendly smile, which came quite easily after hearing Gladhron saying she was a good friend. "Good evening," she said, and she was about to say hello to Brooke first when she heard Gwestion clearing his throat. He completed the introductions, and she was grateful at the very least to have now learned Aislin's name. For even if she had already known Brooke's and Seri's, Aislin's had been a mystery still.

Seri was the first to take charge, and Arnyn didn't hesitate when the lady reached out to her. Arnyn shook her hand lightly. "Hello, Seri! Even though I could still recognize you, it is nice to see you without the mask." Arnyn slanted her head a little, looking apologetic. "Sorry about the accent, the other night." She was speaking in a much more neutral Westron now, with only a slight tilt that indicated the local region. As opposed to the clear Belfalasian accept she'd adopted at the masquerade. "Part of the disguise," she explained with an apologetic smile.

Brooke's greeting kept the smile on her face, now no longer apologetic. "Ah, good, thank you," she said graciously, but then frowned with a bit of a question in her eyes as she regarded Brooke. "Right," she replied, knowing the librarian knew her by name, face and reputation. "That was fast. I imagine the librarian was surprised I was not returning them myself?" she commented casually. "Did you just return from the library?" That would explain why she hadn't mentioned anything to the brothers... Because if Gladhron hadn't even had the time to tell Gwestion yet, would there have been time to Brooke? No, she was going down the wrong path. If the librarian had mentioned her real name to Brooke, then the question was whether Brooke could have told Gladhron. But that wouldn't have been the case - because Gladhron had confirmed he had figured it out with Tercen.

Ugh. Deciding to stop overthinking it for the moment, Arnyn turned her attention to Aislin. "Nice to meet you, Aislin," she told her. "Have you been enjoying your time here? All of you?" she added, also looking at Seri and Brooke. Glancing at Chewy, Arnyn slipped past Gwestion a bit to crouch down next to the dog and grin at him whilegently scratching behind his ear. "And hello to you, as well," she told him quietly, before getting back to her feet and smiling at the group as a whole.
"Have any of you placed any kind of order so far?" she inquired. "I didn't have time to eat since breakfast, so if I'm honest - I'm pretty famished," she explained, choosing a seat and slipping into it.

@Rillewen , @Arnyn
Aislin
Common room - December 23

"Ah, oh. All right," Aislin reacted with a small chuckle, when she thought to herself that the image of a fierce and skilled warrior woman she had formed in her mind from the stories she had heard did not really fit with anything to do with fairies. She now wanted to see whether the 'fairy' aspect would be something that could be seen without any masks to enforce it.

She happily smiled at Seri and Brooke and then nodded vigorously: "Sure, I would not mind us exploring together, also within the library if you do keep that promise, Brooke. Is it not a place for much silence? I'd feel unduly cooped up if I had to stay in such a place too long."

Soon Gladhron and Gwestion arrived with their guest, and introduced her as Arnyn in addition to Celume. Aislin looked on during introductions, not hiding her curiosity much, and when the opportunity presented itself, she flashed a hearty smile at Arnyn.

"Nice to meet you as well!" she claimed unashamedly. "Else I've been hearing all those stories of this amazing lady. And, yes, thank you - I absolutely love it here! Much different from our little in-the-middle-of-nowhere place." She tapped her fingertips lightly on the table and added: "We haven't ordered any food yet, waited for all to gather."

@Rillewen @Pele Alarion
Raising her eyebrows a little at Aislin's words, Arnyn slanted her head and glanced at Gladhron. She could hardly imagine Gwestion saying much if anything about her, so by process of elimination alone, it had to have been Gladhron. He did very much enjoy telling stories, too. "What stories?" she asked, looking a moment longer at Gladhron before returning her attention to Aislin and the other ladies around the table. "Whatever he told you - I'm sure he exaggerated," she said.

She lit up when Aislin said she loved it here. "Well, the middle of nowhere has a charm in and by itself," she nuanced first and foremost, "but yes - this city is rather different," she agreed, smiling. "I am honoured you have taken such a liking to my home!" Half-rising from her seat, she looked toward the bar and signalled the innkeeper when their eyes met.

"Hildy makes a mean chicken pie," she told Gwestion. "And her beef stew is basically legendary," she told Gladhron, easily remembering the dishes that had stood out for each of them, years ago.

@Arnyn@Pele Alarion

Aislin's question about the library made Brooke smile. "It is, yes. But there's so many books! If I lived here for a year, I don't think I'd be able to read every single one of them. But it's so impressive to look at." She could go on talking about it, but decided she had probably already told Aislin all there was to hear about the place, in the past couple of days. "I could just take you through a few of the aisles, and then we can move on." She agreed, with only a little reluctance. Soon after, the brothers had returned, bringing Celume with them.


With a little nod, Gwestion acknowledged the name that Celume had provided, since Gladhron had decided to respond sarcastically. After the introductions had been completed, Gwestion waited for Celume to choose her seat before he took one.

Gladhron couldn't help being quite excited to have Celume actually joining their whole group at last. He realized, after Gwestion spoke up, that he had neglected to actually complete the introductions, but since Gwestion handled it, it all worked out after all.

Seri laughed lightly. "Yes, you as well! Your disguise far more complete than mine. I was not hiding very much, anyway. I actually did not expect to meet anyone there that I already knew," She added with eyes gleaming happily, "and I am glad I didn't, as it turned out." She smiled, delighted at the way the masquerade had turned out for her. As for Arnyn's apology for the accent, she waved the concerns away. "It seems many people there went all out on their disguises. It's fine." She assured her. "Mine is real, however, as you can surely hear." She added amusedly.

Watching Celume/Arnyn curiously, Brooke wondered about the accent she was referring to, but it seemed to be a 'masquerade thing', so she didn't ask. Instead, she nodded slightly as Celume asked her about the librarian being surprised. "He asked about you." She added, leaving it at that. The basic message had been conveyed. Instead, she focused on Celume's other question. "I got here a few minutes ago." She nodded. "I thought Gwestion had already left, so I didn't wait on him.." She looked at him. "Sorry, by the way.. I didn't know you were still there."

"It's alright. It's easy enough to lose track of someone in the main floor alone," He answered. "I was in the records section." He did not venture into that topic any further, and hoped no one asked him more about that.

Seri was about to answer Arnyn's question about the food, but Aislin beat her to it. "Yes, we ordered some tea, so the water is probably about done heating by now, I imagine." She smiled in amusement as Arnyn declared that Gladhron had probably exaggerated whatever stories he had told them. "Gladhron, exaggerating? Surely not." She said in mock-surprise, amused.

With a small grin when she asked 'what stories', Gladhron then shook his head slightly at the claim that he must have exaggerated. "Not at all! As for what stories, well.. I uh, may have mentioned how you helped us to take out a large bandit operation, and save a family, and a few other tales of our adventures." He shrugged, as if that were 'nothing'.

Gwestion made a noise that might have been a scoff. "Yes. He exaggerated." He stated. "But not too much."

"Well, how could I, when you kept correcting me every two sentences?" Gladhron rolled his eyes, annoyed at his brother 'ruining the story' as he had.

When Arnyn seemed to light up hearing Aislin speak of how much she liked the city, Seri nodded her agreement. "It is a lovely city! Although I must say, it's a little bit intimidating, being so large." She laughed softly. "Before coming here, the largest 'city' I had ever been in, was Bree. But I'm not sure that it counts as a city, compared to this one." She admitted. "Thankfully, I have an excellent guide who has offered to show me everything there is to see, here." She added with a little smile, although she left out that he had also exaggerated a bit on that.


Hearing that chicken pie was an option, Gwestion gave a tiny smile. Partially, surprised that Celume would remember that it was his favorite, but also pleased that it was available here. That she also remembered Gladhron's favorite dish was also noted mentally, as well as the grin that her words brought to Gladhron's face.

"Well, that answers the question of what I'll be having," Gladhron declared. "Have you ladies decided yet?"

@Rillewen @Pele Alarion
She smiled at Seri's words about her disguise. "My friend Kaylin helped with that immensely. She had me changing the way I talked, walked - all of it," Arnyn said with a little grin. "Yes, your accent does sound real. Honestly, I find accents can be charming," she added genuinely.

Brooke dropping that the librarian had asked about her, made Arnyn give Brooke a thoughtful look in return to her curious one. A slight smile still played about her lips. She didn't say anything else on the matter, but assumed that the librarian would have said her actual name. The smile grew when Seri pretended as if Gladhron would never exaggerate, and she had to laugh at Gwestion's reaction, closely followed by Gladhron's. "Storyteller's prerogative, I suppose," Arnyn said, amused.

When Seri mentioned Minas Tirith was lovely but large, and how glad she was she had someone to show her around, Arnyn slanted her head. "Oh, really? Who is that?" she inquired, wondering if it was the same man Seri had been dancing with at some point during the masquerade. "Might I know him, you think?"

"I think I'll just go with today's special or something," she said casually. As long as it was meaty and filling, she was good. She'd never had anything bad here and it was about time for something new. Unless today's unique dish was something the barracks served regularly, she probably wouldn't ask for something else. "To drink I'll just have water," she mused out loud.

Meanwhile, Alf had made his way over to their table, and he'd caught Arnyn's words. "Hello, everyone!" he greeted them merrily. "Today's special is a boar roast with warm, seasonal vegetables and baked potatoes," he told them, though he glanced at Arnyn in particular. She gave him a quiet thumbs up. "Is anyone else having water, as well in addition to Ms Arnyn?" He would want to know how many glasses to bring, of course.

After Alf had taken everyone's order and answered any of the questions they might have before making their final choice, Arnyn asked him to bring out some of Hildy's fresh baked bread as well. He nodded with an easy smile. "Of course! And I will bring some butter, as well. Regular and spiced?" Arnyn nodded. "Thanks, mister Alf."
"Now, now, I've told you not to call me that," he protested.
"And I've told you not to call me 'Ms Arnyn'," she countered cheerily.
The older man almost succumbed to an eyeroll. Instead, he grinned and took his leave.

"So, Brooke," Arnyn began. "What is the most interesting book you've found in our library, so far?"

@Arnyn@Pele Alarion
Shrugging, Gladhron didn't comment further on the story thing. He had told the ladies more tales than just the ones involving Celume, but he didn't figure she was asking about those. Rather, probably wondering what he had told them about her. And it had all been good, so he didn't think there was much need to assure her of what he'd told them.

As Arnyn asked about her 'guide', Seri paused to consider with a little smile. "You might, actually, if you are a ranger.. as someone gave me the impression of..?" She glanced toward Gladhron at that, before looking back at Arnyn. "I know that he grew up here, but he has been away for many years, serving as a ranger of the north." She explained. "Yet, earlier this year, he returned to Minas Tirith on business for the King, and has been here for several months." She paused to think about which name he would be most likely to use here, and figured.. the city of his birth? Probably his birth name. "His name is Domanol, although he goes by a different name in the North." She added, curious whether Arnyn had heard of him.

Gladhron snickered quietly. "If he's been in town that long, I would be shocked if she hasn't heard of him." He mentioned, recalling that she was a ranger lieutenant.. so she must have met him, and probably had some dealings with him during his time here, right? "In the North, he goes by Gwandhyra, which is how we've always known him." He added, partly in case she had not heard his other name, but also partly, to let her know that she was not the only one that they knew who had gone by another name.

About that time, the innkeeper came by to take their orders. Gwestion indicated for the ladies to give their order first, waiting until they were done before making his request for chicken pie. Once Gladhron had asked for his stew, the only thing left was to decide on drinks. Gladhron already had a drink he'd been sipping on while he waited for everyone else, so he just asked for a fresh glass of that. Gwestion asked for some water. Seri, Brooke, and Aislin had already placed an order for tea, which should be coming out soon.

When Arnyn turned to Brooke to ask about the books, she paused, thinking about the ones she had read so far. "That's... a really tough decision," She began, hesitant to pick any particular book over another. "It's really hard to pick just one.." She frowned thoughtfully. "They're all really interesting, in their own ways. I do really like the historical ones, but I also really like the fictional ones.." She paused, hesitating slightly. "Actually.. I wonder... you might be able to help me with something." She fidgeted, a bit shy about asking, but she had committed now. "Is there um, some shop or whatever here, where a person can get a book.. fixed?"

After saying it, she realized that the question might sound as if she had damaged one of the library books, so she hastened to add, "I brought a book from home that I was hoping to get repaired.. but I don't know where to go. And the librarian guy is always dozing, and.. I just wasn't sure who else to ask.. but you live here, so I thought.. maybe you could help?"

@Rillewen , @Arnyn
Aislin
Common room - December 23

"Yup, stories of that sort," Aislin added in between the conversation to confirm Gladhron's confession. "I imagined you near to being a dragon slayer of sorts," she added the exaggeration of her own.

The choice of food came next on her to do list, and without thinking overly much she opted for roast boar and veggies which sounded rather warming and delicious after much of the day she had spent going about the city, even when the weather was not exactly warm.

She then leaned back in her chair and slid down slightly, taking a rather idle-looking posture as she listened in to all the various threads of conversation at the table. She did not comment on anything, though a small smile seemed to be permanently glued on her lips, and her eyes followed the conversation as well, looking from one speaker to the next.

@Rillewen @Pele Alarion
When Seri checked whether she was a ranger, Arnyn nodded with a faint smile. The name Domanol, followed by the name Gwandhyra, made her blink. Seriously? Her eyes flicked fromSeri, to Gladhron,to Gwestion. "Domanol. Raxelilta?" she couldn't help but verify, even if there was basically zero chance of there being two people who went by the name Domanol as well as Gwandhyra. Arnyn almost let out a brief laugh in surprise, but managed to tone it down to a grin and shake of her head. "Alright. That was... unexpected. I've met him, yes." At the barracks. And then there was a conversation, later, at headquarters. "Not that we have seen much of each other at all," she added, to clarify that while they did know of each other, they did not really know each other.

Listening to Brooke's reply, Arnyn first smiled at the young woman's indecision about which book she liked best. It appeared Brooke couldn't decide at all, because she veered into a different albeit related subject. Arnyn nodded. "There is a bookshop that also offers book rebindings and such. That seems like a good place to askfor your... repairs. Is it the binding?" she asked, assuming as much, and wondering what else might need repairing about a book.

Arnyn had to laugh at Aislin's comment. "I am sorry to disappoint, but I have slain no dragons just yet," she told her, and she couldn't help but shoot a grin at Gladhron. Slanting her head in thought, Arnyn thought what creatures she might offer instead. "Wargs, yes. A shapeshifter-Wolf. Orcs, goblins and uruks, obviously. There may have been a troll or two at some point," she added with a shrug. "And all sorts of evil Men. Unfortunately." She clasped her hands together, feigning an apologetic look. "But no dragons."