Paths of Eriador Free RP

[Rillewen]

Gladhron

Gladhron hesitated slightly. "I heard you say something about.. captives." He whispered, though not so quietly as he could have. "Are there a lot? I mean," he hesitated. "Are there any in particular you might.. remember?"

Ruby tilted her head at this unexpected question, then realized. "Ah.. lost someone, did you?" She asked softly, with a little smile of understanding.

He looked down and shrugged slightly in silent admission. "My sister. My brother and I keep hoping we might find her, but.." He looked up again, hopeful. "If these bandits have so many captives, perhaps she's one of them?"

Ruby tilted her head at him. "It's possible," She answered, thinking swiftly how to work this to her advantage. "But how long since you lost her?"

Gladhron spared a glance toward his brother, who still kept his back toward them. He looked back at her. "A few months."

Ruby nodded slightly. "Then there's hope," She murmured softly. "Listen.. untie me, and we can discuss it more?"

"I'd better not..." He answered, with reluctance. "But please.. perhaps you'd know her?" He asked with a hopeful look on his face. "I'm sure you'd remember her if it was your group who took her."

"Sorry," She gave him an apologetic shake of her head. "I mean, there's so many people these guys capture, it'd be really hard for one girl to stick out among all the others."

Gladhron shook his head with a little sigh. "No. You'd definitely remember my sister." Which was very true, he thought with a little pride.

Ruby reconsidered this. If she could convince him they had his sister, alive, then maybe he'd be more willing to free her to help get her back. "Well, what's so notable about her?" She kept her voice down, worried the other one would hear and come over.

"Well, let's just say... she definitely put up much more of a fight than her captors anticipated," He explained with a somewhat proud sort of smile. "Took several of them out for good, if you understand..."

"Oh." Ruby took a moment. "Ohhhh, yes.. her." She widened her eyes. "I know exactly who you're talking about." She smiled charmingly. "Yes, I know her. She is definitely still there."

Gladhron looked hopeful. "Are you sure? Fair hair, with a sort of... stout build? A bit older than I am?"

Ruby nodded. "Yes.. yes, I know who you're talking about." She insisted. "Uh.. what was her name, shoot, it's right at the tip of my tongue..." She seemed to be searching in her memory.

"Gwendolyn?"

"Yes, that's it," Ruby nodded. "I can take you right to her. Come on, just trust me a little? She's talked so much about how her little brothers were going to come for her, I can't believe I'm actually meeting them. Untie me, and I can take you to her."

Gladhron looked down for a moment, before smiling back up at her. "And I assume she's got a plan for rescuing the others? Has she asked you to help?"

"Of course." Ruby smiled. "Us girls are plotting our big move the moment we have a chance.. but y'know, it's only a few of us against all these big strong men..." She batted her eyelashes at him. "But with your help... I bet we could take them easily."

"Only a few?" He frowned. "I thought you said there were many?"

"They.. don't tend to last very long," She explained. "Which is why you need to hurry," She added urgently. "A few months is... well, her time's running out, they don't tend to last much longer than that. This group really doesn't like keeping survivors alive for long."

"Unless they agree to join the bandits. Right?"

"Well," She shrugged. "Whatever you gotta do to survive..."

---

@Arnyn

Gwestion

Gwestion was keeping an ear slightly turned toward the whispered conversation. He could hear much of what they were saying, though not everything the woman said was audible. She was keeping her voice down a little more carefully than Gladhron, naturally. But he was able to make out enough, and it was not really comforting.

As he listened, he tried to focus on tending to the food, but when the topic turned to their sister, he closed his eyes slowly as it renewed the ache in his heart to hear that topic brought up, seemingly with such carelessness. Though Gladhron was finding out some information quite effectively, what he heard was quite saddening. Gwestion lowered his head a little. Believing that everyone else was still fast asleep, with his back toward the bandits, Gwestion had less reason to keep his guarded expression up. His face grew sorrowful as he struggled to deal with the inner pain of heartache. The loss that he couldn't get over.

As much as he would like to ask the questions, he knew this was why he couldn't do it. Quietly, he rubbed at one of his eyes when it began feeling a little damp, then inhaled and exhaled slowly to maintain his composure as well as he could. The food would be done before long, he knew. Fortunately, the sack of coffee was right next to him, so he quietly went about getting a fresh pot going. At least he had something to keep him busy so he wasn't just endlessly staring at the food cook.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Celumë
Third Age - before the War of the Ring
Somewhere along the road to Bree - campsite

From what she could gather, Gladhron was indeed trying to pry information from the woman. In a way, it would be excellent payback, Celumë thought with some satisfaction. After the woman tried to deceive him, he was now deceiving her... Because there was obviously no way Gwestion wasn't hearing any of this. He was. He was listening.

The latter became all the more obvious when she saw him closing his eyes and lowering his head like that. Pain. They had had a sister, then, and it wasn't just for show... Celumë swallowed. The look of grief on Gwestion's face... The honest emotion was almost shocking after the solely guarded expressions she'd seen on him so far. Of course she knew he had to have them, of course she knew he was just being careful and trying to keep her from reading him. It wasn't like she was alien to the concept. How many times had she kept her friends and fellow rangers from reading her?

When Gwestion rubbed at one of his eyes, her heart pinched. She wanted to get up and just hug him. Tell him it was alright. Comfort him somehow.

Instead, she closed her eyes. Feeling guilty about what suddenly felt like an invasion of his privacy. He thought no one was watching him. She was certain he would be embarrassed and possibly even upset if he realized she was watching. Watching without his knowledge. It was unfair. Her eyelids squeezed shut harder as she berated herself.

[Rillewen]

Gladhron
With Ruby

Gladhron thought for a moment. He had found out a few things, but he wondered if he could find out more. He appeared indecisive for a moment, though not about what Ruby would think.

"Come on, ranger.." She whispered temptingly. "What have you got to lose?"

"I don't know.." he whispered back, with a slightly worried glance toward his brother. Actually, he was wondering how he was doing over there, and how much he could hear. "My brother would be very upset with me."

"But wouldn't he forgive you, if you could get your sister back?" She whispered. "Just untie me. Gwenny can vouch for me." She smiled at him.

Gladhron hesitated. "But, where would we all go? I assume your leader would come after any escaped prisoners.." He mentioned. "If there's as many of these bandits as you've implied, the four of us won't stand a chance in taking them out. We'll need somewhere to hide, won't we?" He asked.

Ruby hesitated. "I know a few places.. if we travel far enough." She mentioned slyly. "We could manage it."

"But how far?" He frowned. "I doubt we could get far on foot. Or, do you mean to say he wouldn't pursue us past whatever area he considers his territory?"

"Why don't we worry about all that later?" She asked with a sigh of impatience. "Just let me go and I can tell you everything."

He considered, then reached for her bonds, but didn't do anything yet. "What about this guy, 'Cliff'?" He asked. "I heard one of them mention the name," He nodded toward the other bound bandits. "Is he your leader?"

Ruby barely caught herself to keep from snorting in amusement at that question. She bit her lip and glanced down, trying to hide the amusement at the thought of Clyff leading the Copperheads. "Uh. Yeah," She nodded. "He's a mean guy. Very tough on us." She managed to keep a straight face as she said it, but only just. "Let me go, please, I don't want to have to face him, he'll be so angry."

"He looked familiar.." Gladhron murmured, frowning. "I'm almost certain I saw him in Rohan a few years ago, harassing some travelers..."

Ruby shook her head. "No, couldn't be him. He wouldn't be out that way."

"Are you sure?"

Ruby sighed. "Listen, are you going to untie me or not? I mean, your sister's time might be running out, and you just want to chat about that idiot Clyff?" She kept her impatient voice to a whisper, but she was clearly losing patience. "What'll it be, ranger? Save your sister, or let her die while you sit here chatting?"

Gladhron took a moment to consider before decided that she was done talking. Therefore, so was he. He smiled. "Sorry." He shook his head. "I guess our chat is concluded, then. Did you really think you'd trick me a second time?" He grinned and shook his head. He wasn't whispering so much anymore, but he did keep his voice down so not to disturb those who were still sleeping.

"What..?" Ruby frowned at him, suddenly suspicious.

"You have helped me quite a bit, however," He went on with a little smile. "But I'm done talking to you." He stood.

"Wait.. what about your-"

"My sister," Gladhron cut her off, "looks nothing like the description I gave you, nor is her name Gwendolyn. And she's younger than me, not older.." He gave a sad little sigh. "Also, she's been gone much longer than a few months." He straightened his shoulders a bit. "But I know now that your group was not involved in that." He wasn't actually sure whether this was good or bad news, but he didn't take the time to analyze it just yet. "As I said.. you would remember her."

"I didn't tell you anything." She retorted, scowling.

"Oh, but you did." He smiled. "Much more than you realized, anyway." It wasn't really enough, but it was a start, he figured. "This Clyff, for instance.. he isn't your leader. You clearly found it absurd to think of him being the leader of your group.. but he was in charge of a small group," he motioned to the first ones they'd captured. "So your leader trusts him enough to put him in charge of a few, but he still answers to someone higher up. Just like you," He narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. "You've given plenty of other information too.. but I'll keep that between myself and my fellow rangers..." He smirked.

Turning, he left the young woman to think about that, as he went to join Gwestion by the fire as she let out a frustrated growl, like a teenage girl who'd just been told she couldn't do something all her friends were doing.

---

@Arnyn

Gwestion

Gwestion glanced up as Gladhron join him. He had regained his composure by now, and spoke before Gladhron had a chance to inform him of what he'd learned. "I heard." He said simply, in a quiet tone.

"You alright?" Gladhron whispered.

Gwestion nodded slightly. "Yeah." He let out a soft sigh. "Thanks," He added, quietly. Meaning, for taking that over.

Gladhron smiled. "Of course. What would you do without me?" He grinned and lightly shoved Gwestion's shoulder playfully.

Gwestion smiled faintly, shaking his head a little. A few teasing remarks crossed his mind, but he didn't say any of those. "I have no idea," He muttered softly, with sincerity. Clearing his throat, he nodded toward the fire. "Breakfast is probably done."

"Right." Gladhron hopped up. "I suppose we should wake the others."

"Leave Celume till last.. let her have a bit longer to sleep." Gwestion whispered, figuring it would be courteous to give her as long as possible after the short night's sleep. While Gladhron went to waken the Millsons, he went to find dishes to serve up the food on.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Celumë
Third Age - before the War of the Ring
Somewhere along the road to Bree - campsite

She resisted a smile when she heard Gladhron wrapping up his talk with the female prisoner. Well well. The brothers are sneakier than they look. When Gladhron's boots came closer and she heard his low tones close by the fire, she knew he'd come up to Gwestion. This exchange between them, seemed to go far better. Glad for it, Celumë had to resist a second smile.

What surprised her the most, however, was Gwestion's idea of waking her last. Doubtful as to whether she should pretend to wake now, or whether to wait a moment longer, she deliberated her options.
She supposed that Gwestion had figured out she'd let him sleep longer as well. Now he wanted to return the favor. Allowing him to do so, would probably make him feel more at ease. Otherwise, he might feel like he owed her. Celumë knew that most people didn't like that idea. And someone as reserved and cautious as Gwestion may like it even less than the average Man. Yet she was no longer asleep. As it was, she was tricking them. A concept she did not approve of - on principle. In addition, she also realized she kind of liked the brothers despite only having spent such a short time with them.

What to do?

Gladhron, or so she assumed, stepped away. He would be waking up the Millsons, then. Celumë shifted in her bedroll and turned around so her back was to Gwestion and the campfire. Opening her eyes slowly, she was now looking out at the horses. Nársulë was getting up. She smiled as she marvelled once again at his beautiful brown coat. How she loved that horse. After taking in a deep breath, she shifted again and sat up. Turning to look to the fire, and the food, she gave Gwestion a sleepy smile. "That smells great," she told him quietly. "Good morning."

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Gwestion & Gladhron

Hearing Celume stirring, Gwestion was not surprised when she spoke. He was a little surprised she had woken so early on her own, after such little sleep during the night, but he merely nodded toward her. "Good morning," He replied quietly, passing her a plate of food. "Gladhron is waking them," He informed her with a nod toward the family. He set out a plate for Gladhron and then got one for himself. "There's fresh coffee, also." He informed her. The cup she had so thoughtfully rinsed and put by the fire after her shift was still there.

Soon, Gladhron came to join them, the family not far behind. Between the Millson's wagon of belongings, and the rangers, they had enough plates and cups for each of them, and before long it was time to clean up. Mrs Millson insisted on her and her son doing that, while Mr Millson put their things in the wagon. Gwestion and Gladhron ended up tossing a coin to decide which of them would pack up their bedrolls and other belongings, and which would get the horses ready for travel, so both tasks could be accomplished at the same time.

It ended up with Gladhron having to do the packing, while Gwestion went over to check on the horses, making sure they'd had plenty of grass and shrubbery to eat, and all other such necessities were taken care of.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Celumë
Third Age - before the War of the Ring
Somewhere along the road to Bree - campsite

Breakfast was pleasant. Everyone was friendly, although the Millsons' eyes grew big when they noticed the additional prisoners. The son looked up at Gladhron with no small amount of awe. "Wow, you're all really good!" It was sweet, and funny too - and there wasn't even any awkwardness when the rangers decided on their positions for the rest of the journey to Bree.

Gladhron was quick to say it was Gwestion's turn to ride today. Celumë smiled faintly, pleased with this, although she would have preferred him to speak without having his mouth full. Still, she had been about to state something similar. "Agreed," she merely commented - in between bites. There was no need to delve into the details of why. And Gwestion did not challenge the suggestion either. That was a relief. Celumë appreciated him not pretending like he would be fine walking hours on end yet again.

"Think it might be better if we're on the same side of the road, this time," she quietly suggested to Gladhron before they started packing their things.

The clean-up went quickly. Tasks were divided and honestly Celumë was relieved she only had to worry about herself and Nársulë. She made sure to brush out her hair and braid it securely for the rest of the trip. If they were to have any more surprises... it would best be out of her face. Behind Nársulë, she quickly changed shirts too. She'd been sweating a lot yesterday and they should get to Bree later today - if they had no more surprises. She had one clean shirt left after this one, so it wasn't like she needed to ration her clothes or anything. Everyone else was too busy packing up to notice. Besides, the simple change from a grey shirt underneath her leathers, to a green one, would probably not even catch anyone's eye.
She packed up quickly and prepared Nársulë. "Sorry, big fellow," she told him in Sindarin, leaning into his neck with a little smile and closed eyes for a moment. "You're on your own again for a while. You think you can help us with the wagon again?" Upon his snort, she grinned and Mr Millson helped her attach the wagon to him again.

"I think we're ready," she called out to the brothers once the task was accomplished. After a questioning look at Mr Millson, he nodded and mounted the wagon. Celumë strode over to Gwestion and Gladhron. "Just need to get the prisoners in position." They should probably do that together. "And?" she asked Gladhron cheerfully. Would they find that weird? "How about it? Same side?" She was grinning, as if she was privately amused at something.

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Gwestion & Gladhron

While Gladhron had chatted amiably with Gavyn and his parents, continuing the relationship he had begun building the previous day, Gwestion hardly said a word during breakfast. When Gladhron suddenly burst out with the suggestion that Gwestion should stick to riding today, Gwestion refrained from sighing, because, as usual, he got too impatient to wait until he had finished chewing. As Celume seconded the opinion of his brother, Gwestion gave a nod though in reply; actually, he was quite relieved that he would not have to overstress his leg again. While he wasn't exactly surprised by it, he also hadn't intended to expect or assume anything.

As he was on his way to go pack up, Gladhron was a little surprised by Celume's suggestion. But she didn't give him a chance to inquire more about it, before they each went off to their own tasks. Soon, all the gear was packed and ready to go on the horse. Which, Gladhron realized, would be Gaeroch, since he would be on foot, and Gwestion would be riding.

Gwestion brushed both horses, starting with Gaeroch. Of course, that made Mael jealous, but she would have to get over it. Once he had finished preparing Gladhron's horse for her burdens, he led her over to be laden, before going to focus on Mael. Admittedly, he gave her a bit more attention, partly to pacify the jealousy, but partly because he had hardly had a chance to, yesterday. Thinking he had satisfied her enough, he started to go grab his gear, but she nuzzled his shoulder with a soft snort. A clearly dissatisfied noise. He could almost imagine her saying, 'Where do you think you're going? I'm not done with you!' With a little smile, he rubbed her forehead. "It's alright, I'll be with you the whole time, today," He murmured, and placed a kiss on her muzzle, not really caring what anyone else might think of it. Mael bumped her head against his pockets. Gwestion sighed and shook his head, wishing he had some treat to give her. "We'll see if there's any apples when we get to Bree, alright?" Once she seemed satisfied, he went about putting on her saddle.

Soon, everything was ready except for the prisoners. "How do you suggest we manage it? We've got more now than yesterday.." Gwestion frowned toward the newcomers. "And those two are more tricky than the others, I think. Nor are they injured."

"That sounds fine," Gladhron answered with a slightly puzzled smile, though a bit unsure why she had suggested they stick to the same side. Perhaps because of the encounter Gwestion had had? Because there had been no way of knowing when he fell behind?

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Celumë
Third Age - before the War of the Ring
Somewhere along the road to Bree - campsite

"I'm not sure what the easiest way for you to handle this is. Will you be riding ahead of the wagon? Behind it? Next to it?" she questioned Gwestion when he asked for input. "In my opinion, we should separate the two who joined us last night from each other," Celumë said matter-of-factly. "They're clearly used to working together. For example, add the guy to the other three. And tie the woman to the wagon. You'd have to ride behind the wagon then, to watch her. Or have her walk behind Gaeroch, Gaeroch following Mael - but then the Millsons would need to keep an eye out for her." She bit her lip. "Prisoner transport is honestly not my strong suit." Orcs were not left alive... and the Haradrim and the Southerners usually fought until the last man.

Gladhron's slightly confused smile amused her further, and Celumë only partially hid that from him. Explaining it would take away the fun - because it really wouldn't be all that funny to them, she thought. It was merely some private amusement at the way things were turning out. Gwestion, with all his caution, had chosen the other side of the road - while it would have been better if they'd stayed on the same side. And now, Gladhron, who'd extended at least some level at trust to her from the beginning, would 'take her side'.
"Alright then," she smiled at the brothers, and without comment briefly went to the wagon to retrieve something from her own gear, which was once more stowed in there since Nársulë was pulling the wagon. She returned with three apples, gave one to Nársulë and then lobbed the other two apples to Gwestion and Gladhron. "For your horses," she said, unnecessarily. "I still had some. I can restock in Bree."

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Gwestion & Gladhron

"Will you be riding ahead of the wagon? Behind it? Next to it?"

The question made Gwestion pause to think. Like Celume said, he was not very familiar with prisoner transport, either. But he did agree that the two knife-wielding bandits should be separated. "I don't like the idea of her being near the Millsons," He mentioned quietly. "She's too.. tricksy, if you understand." He didn't trust her not to try another scheme to try and play on the family's sympathy, or perhaps naivety, and convince them it was all a mistake and she was really on their side, or who knows what.

"Yes, she has quite a forked tongue, you might say," Gladhron agreed, exchanging a glance at Gwestion. Then, in explanation, he added, "This morning, she tried her hardest to convince both of us, separately, to let her go. Said she could help us, and that she was with these people against her will, and all sorts of things." He rolled his eyes.

While Gladhron was speaking, Gwestion considered the logistics of having her walk behind Gaeroch. A thought made him nearly smirk, but he managed to keep a straight face. "She might not enjoy walking behind Gaeroch," He mentioned dryly.

Gladhron glanced questioningly at Gwestion. "Why- oh," He laughed. "Well, I'm sure she'll survive if she steps in a little horse dung." He grinned in amusement at the thought.

Gwestion tilted his head. "Oh. That too. But I actually meant if Gaeroch decides to kick..." He shrugged and bit his lip, trying to smother a little amusement of his own.

"True." Gladhron nodded thoughtfully, still with a bit of laughter. "Though I think it would be well-deserved if she does." He nodded his head toward Ruby. "She did try awfully hard to kill us, last night."

While they further discussed how to arrange the prisoners, Celume had gone over to get something from the wagon. When she unexpectedly tossed some apples at them, both brothers were able to react swiftly and caught them without any trouble. Gladhron looked at her questioningly, then, hearing that it was for Gaeroch, his smile spread wide. "Thanks!" he called, happy to give her something more than grass. He immediately went to Gaeroch to give it to her, figuring it would be nice to spend a little time with her before being separated the rest of the day.

Gwestion glanced up from the apple he'd caught, but had no need to wonder for long, since she explained. He smiled faintly and gave a nod of thanks, in agreement with Gladhron's more verbally expressed gratitude. "I'll speak for Mael, and say thank you from both of us." He added. "I'm sure she will greatly appreciate this." He took a moment to let her eat it while he stroked her neck lightly.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Celumë
Third Age - before the War of the Ring
Somewhere along the road to Bree - campsite

"Oh, she did?" Celumë asked when Gladhron mentioned the woman tried to convince them both to let her go. "Then maybe you should tie the original three to the wagon and have one of last night's newcomers tied to Gaeroch and the other to Mael," she suggested.

Gladhron's response to the apple was spontaneous and positive. Celumë smiled at him. Gwestion's response was positive as well, though still reserved. It was probably the length of the reply that made it sound rather... formal. Especially compared to Gladhron's reaction. She still smiled, though. Positive was positive! "You're very welcome," she told both of them.

"Left or right, ranger?" she asked Gladhron then, not wanting to hand out orders. "This is your home turf, after all."

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Gwestion & Gladhron

Once the arrangements were decided, and the prisoners secured and set for travel, Gwestion mounted onto Mael. He kept his bow ready for use, just in case, and nodded to show he was ready to go. He would be keeping a close eye on the prisoners, and did not intend to chat with the Millsons during the trip. He also intended to make sure the prisoners closest to the wagon would not try to talk, either among themselves or with the Millsons. The last thing they needed was for one of the newcomers to trick someone into untying them, after all.

"Uh, right." Gladhron decided quickly, but let out a little laugh at the next part of what she'd said. "Not exactly 'home turf'," He disagreed, but smiled as he headed toward the woods on the right side with Celumë. "Actually, we've only been to the Bree area once before." He smiled and glanced back toward where Gwestion was just starting off with the others. "It was his first time joining my father and I on a mission, actually." He recalled, thinking how much younger they had both been on that occasion. His smile faded slightly though as he recalled that it had been their father's last mission. "Hasn't gotten much safer, it seems." He sighed. "We were fighting wolves then. Seems we're dealing with snakes, now."

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Celumë
Third Age - before the War of the Ring
Somewhere along the road to Bree

"Oh?" she asked as they headed into the trees. "Then what would you call your home turf?"

She grunted at Gladhron's assessment about the snakes. She wondered whether the wolves were also meant as a metaphor. Yet that road didn't seem to be the right one. Something about the way his smile faded... Maybe later. "So...." she therefore said, quickly thereafter. "Then what is bringing you two out here?"

Celumë smiled. "A need for adventure?" she suggested a bit playfully. "Proving you are both capable of wandering the northern wilds for weeks on end? Is it a manly thing?" she asked, more quietly but now obviously teasing as they took up position and waited for the family and Gwestion to set out. "Chasing girls, perhaps?" She resisted a chuckle.

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Gladhron

Gladhron paused to consider how to answer. What would he call home turf? "A bit closer to Rohan," He answered with a little shrug. "Or at least, it used to be." He added, though he didn't specify where. "We... don't really have a home, anymore." He explained, and made sure to keep his voice low enough not to be heard by those by the wagon, but he couldn't help being pleased to have someone to talk to besides Gwestion for once. It was nice to be able to actually talk with a traveling companion. It was a nice day, and a walk through the woods didn't seem like much of a chore. Especially since he had company.

Before he could ask her about her own home turf, Celume had asked another question that invited a response. After a brief hesitation at the initial question, he grinned slightly as she asked if it was a need for adventure. "Well, we get plenty of that, as you might have noticed." He laughed softly and shook his head to show that was not it. Then, he smiled further when she inquired if it was to prove they were capable of wandering the wilds for weeks on end. "Hmm, more like years on end, actually." He corrected, feeling almost as if he'd lost track of how long they had been wandering. Finally, he gave a little laugh at the joke about chasing girls. "Of course. That is the obvious reason, right?" He answered, also teasingly. "Though, in Gwestion's case, I think the girl is the one doing the chasing." He smirked. "We've just left his girlfriend behind a few days ago."

"Actually," He went on, shrugging. "At the moment, we're heading for Bree because my brother needs to get his gear replaced, and we hear there's a blacksmith stall there where we might be able to get what he needs." He explained. "Bree is much closer than any of the armorers in Gondor, so it seemed better to take a few day's journey to check there first, rather than the weeks-long journey to Gondor." He took a look around as they walked. "He lost his sword when he was injured," He went on, recalling having told her about Gwestion being injured. "and several pieces of his armor was damaged and rendered unusable." He explained. "I recovered what was left of his sword, but I doubt much of it will be salvageable." He shrugged. "I only hope we'll have enough money to buy what we need." He really was not sure how much all of this was going to cost, but he suspected a new sword would be quite expensive.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Celumë
Third Age - before the War of the Ring
Somewhere along the road to Bree

"Well, I suppose your home can be with your bother rather than in a location," Celumë offered. "I would choose people over bricks or wood any day." Never mind that she'd had all of it in Minas Tirith, but had still left. It wasn't permanent, she told herself. She just needed... a break.

They'd been out here for years? She raised her eyebrows wordlessly. She almost laughed when Gladhron said Gwestion had a girlfriend. "A girlfriend?" she asked. "Huh. I wonder if he could even say the word 'girlfriend' without wincing." A pause, as she seemed to think it over. "I can't see it. Though I can definitely see that Gwestion would need to be chased rather than do the chasing himself. It's amazing anyone got past his defenses."

When he mentioned Gondor, her eyes flew to him, but she managed to keep her face perfectly neutral. "Bree is definitely closer," she simply agreed. Why would they go all the way to Gondor to find an armorer? She bit back the question, though. Obviously, they wouldn't. Because they weren't. "Armor and a sword? Could be expensive." She sighed lightly. "Myself, I am mostly looking forward to a hot bath, washing my hair and clean clothes that actually stay clean for a few hours," she laughed quietly. "And beef stew or something really savoury like that. Pie." Her warm smile grew. "Hot chocolate."

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Gladhron

Gladhron couldn't help a little snort of amusement as Celume wondered aloud whether Gwestion could manage to say the word girlfriend. "Oh, he would adamantly deny it of course," He assured her. "He insists that he's not involved and they are not a couple, and he's got no time for 'distractoins' like romance and all that." He rolled his eyes. "But it's so obvious he likes her a lot more than just a passing crush. And she's made no secret of liking him a great deal. So..." He shrugged. "I tease him a bit but honestly, I think it's nice. And, I think she's good for him."

He grinned slightly at the comment that she wasn't sure how this girl could've gotten past his brother's defenses. "Hm, well.. neither am I, actually. I mean, you've only known him a day, but I've known him his whole life. He's pretty much always been quiet and a bit reserved, but.. he.." Gladhron paused. "He got worse after our parents died. Anyway, Bel, well.. we met her a couple of years ago, and it was clear that he liked her, but he's so stubborn," He rolled his eyes. "I thought he'd try to forget about her. But then we just spend about half a year with her while he recovered from his wounds, and she was there all that time, taking care of him, and helping him through it all." He smiled slightly. "Still, she's so.. not like him." He shook his head a little, puzzled. "I mean, she's friendly and outgoing and, well nothing like him. And yet I saw him smiling and laughing when he talked with her." He was still a bit amazed by that.

"And I also saw her set him straight about a few things.. scolded him and everything. Now that was worth watching." He grinned, then thought for a moment. "I guess he was sorry to leave her behind, but we'd already been there for months, and he was the one who insisted that we couldn't linger any longer. That we had things to do, blah blah." He paused and grinned. "You know, when we were about to set out.. she actually kissed him." He whispered as if sharing a major secret.

When she mentioned that it was likely to be expensive to get the things they'd need, he nodded in agreement. "Yes, I fear that." He sighed. "We've still got what's left of the sword. We're hoping if they can reuse the metal from it, it'll diminish the cost a little. I've heard the metal is the most expensive part about it, so.. we'll see. But, anyway. We'll cross that bridge as we come to it, I suppose." He shrugged, then smiled as Celume spoke about what she was looking forward to in Bree. Having recently come from the inn where Bel had insisted on keeping both their clothes clean and mended, that was not really on the list of top priorities for Gladhron, but he could see how Celume would be eager for clean clothes.

It was the beef stew that got his attention more. "Mmm, yes," he agreed. "Definitely something with beef, if they have it. That would be amazing." He rarely ever got to have beef, as their typical meals consisted of whatever they could hunt or forage in the wild. Mostly rabbit or venison or some sort of fowl. "Hot chocolate.. yumm. I don't even remember the last time I had any of that," He added with a little wistful sigh, thinking back about the deliciousness he remembered from childhood. "That will definitely be on my list of things to do, now that you've mentioned it." He decided.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Celumë
Third Age - before the War of the Ring
Somewhere along the road to Bree

So, then. Gwestion was naturally more quiet and reserved. Even when it did not come to strangers like her. Celumë thought on that while Gladhron continued to speak and mentioned the death of their parents. "I am sorry to hear that." She smiled faintly at Gladhron's description of 'Bel'. "I've seen that happen before. A lot of couples are made up of one more serious person, who plans ahead and is very responsible and future-oriented, all about playing things safe. And then the other person can be much more impetuous and adventurous. Searching for the beauty in the now, and unafraid of taking risks." She smiled at him. "It's as if they are drawn to each other. The more impulsive person finds saftey and comfort in their more cautious counterpart. They can hold them back when they're being absolutely crazy. And the more reserved person looks for someone more adventurous to draw them out of their comfort zone." Celumë shrugged, as if she didn't want to make her observations and thoughts on the matter seemed too 'weighty'.

Gwestion's girlfriend had scolded him? Celumë almost snickered. "Should you be telling me all of these things?" she chided, though her tone was playful. "Kisses, scoldings... I am sure your brother would not like it. And I'm being very euphemistic." Gwestion might even get rather upset with Gladhron, she realized.

The topic of food and sweets lifted both their spirits, it seemed. "Right?" she asked, clearly looking forward to it. "And then, in the morning, coffee with milk and freshly baked bread." She could almost feel her mouth watering. "And a feather bed. With pillows. And lush blankets." She sighed. "I love the woods, but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate the comforts of a well-stocked in. Not having to forage or hunt for your own meals. I think I might stay in Bree for a few nights, before heading back out. I'll see how it goes."

"I assume you two have other plans. You 'have things to do', after all?"

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Gladhron

Gladhron rolled his eyes. "There's hardly anything Gwestion does like," He joked. "No, he wouldn't be pleased even if all I told you was that he has dark hair and blue-grey eyes, though you can see that for yourself." He laughed softly. "But don't worry, he'll get over it." He added with a shrug. He sighed though, figuring maybe she was right. It was just a bit too easy to get carried away with talking, when he had the rare chance to talk to someone besides Gwestion.

The talk of food seemed safe enough though. "Mmm, and some butter on the bread. Ooh, or some fruit preserves." He sighed wistfully. "We're going to end up getting hungry, at this rate." He realized, shaking his head a little. It wasn't long ago they'd finished breakfast, and it had been a very good breakfast, but there were just some things that weren't available to cook with, out here.

He shrugged when she commented that they had 'things to do' and other plans. "I don't know how long it'll take before Gwestion has his gear replaced." He answered. "The smith may have to make what he needs, so we may be there a while. Then again.." he tilted his head as he considered something. "The smith may only be around on certain days. I think Ms Seri said something like that." He shrugged. "So, I figure we may end up being there a while. Or, we may not." He frowned slightly, then remembered to be glancing around as he walked.

"I didn't learn as much from the bandit woman as I would've liked," he mentioned quietly. "Though I told her I had learned much more." He shrugged. "The man who rode away with the Millson's horse," He hesitated, glancing at Celume. "They called him Clyff. I believe he is the same one who led a small group of bandits that Bel encountered, some months ago." He frowned. "She was fortunate. If not for a friend who happened along at just the right moment..." He shook his head and went on. "The bandit woman there, she tried to hide her amusement when I asked if he was the bandit's leader, but I could tell she wanted to laugh at the idea. So, I figure he must be someone the bandit leader puts in charge of some men, but he still follows orders from someone higher."

He was still thinking about all that he had managed to find out from her. "She really thought she could talk her way free again, so I thought I'd see what I could get out of her if she thought I was going to let her go." He explained, unaware that Celume had heard all of that. "I got the impression that they don't venture all that far from this area, but I could be wrong about that." He went on, then shrugged. "The only other thing I learned that was the least bit helpful, was.. well, of a more personal nature to Gwestion and myself." He sighed. "Which means.. we're back down to zero leads."

He realized he'd said that out loud, and cleared his throat. "Sorry, that isn't your problem. Nothing we can do about that, anyway. But, I would like to do something about these 'copperheads'. If we could just find their 'nest', maybe we could stamp them out." He frowned at what he knew of them so far. He wished he knew what his father would do. "I wish I knew their numbers, and where to find them."

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Celumë
Third Age - before the War of the Ring
Somewhere along the road to Bree

She grinned when Gladhron said Gwestion would probably be unhappy with sharing obvious information like eye and hair color, as well. That was funny. "Right," she smiled when ladhron said his brother would get over it, although she wasn't at all sure whether that was true.

A shake of her head was the reply he got to his words about them getting hungry. Not hungry, she though. Just eager for the taste of certain things. There was a big difference. Yet she understood what he meant, and it was nice to talk like this for a moment. Even as that thought hit her, she intensified her focus on the woods around them as well as the party moving along the road.

At the information he shared with her, she frowned. "If this Clyff only led a smaller band, this bandit group is a large one," she mused out loud, while considering whether or not to tell him she had overheard. She did not want to lie, but she also did not want Gwestion feeling more uncomfortable around her than he already did - should he realize that if she overheard, she probably also saw his reaction to Gladhron's conversation with the woman.

Hesitating before her next words, Celumë bit her bottom lip and resisted a shrug. "Well. If you two end up staying in Bree for a few days as well, I would not mind." She swallowed back the urge to clear her throat. "I could use a break from wandering around alone." Even if she had Nársulë, she was starting to miss other people's company. She was realizing that going off all alone like this, while necessary for her emotional and mental state at the time she started out, was not something she could keep up for long. "So... even if it isn't 'my' problem... and if your brother could stand the thought... I know it's just me, and I won't make a big difference against a very large group of bandits... Anyway, I might consider helping you out with these..." She frowned slightly. "Did you call them 'copperheads'?"

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Gladhron

Gladhron nodded slightly in answer to Celume's comment about the bandits being a large group. "Yes, that's what worries me." He sighed softly. "When Bel was attacked, she said there were.." He paused to recall. "Four or five of them, I think. Five counting Clyff. When our friend arrived to help her, he fought four while the fifth, the one I believe was Clyff, tried to carry Bel off for himself." Gladhron's expression darkened slightly at that. "Fortunately, Bel isn't a helpless little flower," He smiled faintly, wishing he could've seen that. "She managed to get his dagger away from him and fended him off until our friend had finished with the other four." He explained, with a small bit of pride toward the girl whom he considered a friend. "As I recall, Clyff was the only one who got away. The rest..." He assumed that Gwandhyra had killed them, but merely shrugged and left it vague, as he wasn't certain.

He glanced around as he walked, keeping a close eye out for anything that might be worth paying closer attention to, but saw nothing but the forest around them. His smile widened a bit when Celume seemed to suggest that they could potentially work together to go after the bandits. "It would be nice if we could find out more information about them," he mentioned, thinking of how they might be able to take the whole group out if they just knew a bit more information. Where they were hiding out, for instance.

"I know of a couple of other rangers, if we could find them..." He mentioned thoughtfully, then became slightly sidetracked from that thought as Celume asked if he'd said Copperheads. "Yes, that is what they seem to call themselves, anyway." He confirmed. "I remember hearing that one guy mention that they were only following orders, that 'the Copperheads' don't leave any survivors." He frowned at that. "Except Clyff, who takes woman prisoners." He didn't like the idea of that.

"But beef stew and hot chocolate first." He decided. "Right? We've had enough dealings with these 'snakes' for now. In fact, I can't help wondering if they're expecting some sort of rescue." He glanced in the direction of the wagon, frowning slightly. "I seem to recall that woman making some comment that sounded as if she expected their leader and liberate her. But, then.. no one came during the night." He added thoughtfully. "Perhaps she began worrying that the leader wouldn't care enough to send another rescue party." He recalled how hard she had tried to convince him to let her go. Maybe she was getting desperate?

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Celumë
Third Age - before the War of the Ring
Somewhere along the road to Bree

So it sounded like Gwestion hadn't fallen for someone who froze or was defenseless. And it sounded like Gladhron was glad about that. Celumë smiled softly. It was nice when family approved.
When she heard that they had a friend helping them out, she figured that at least that meant the brothers weren't unused to working with others. That would work in her favour, hopefully. And this friend had fought off four others? Not bad.

"If you are going to do this... if we are going to do this... then, yes, we'll need more people. If you know some other rangers who could join in, that would be..." She drew in a breath. "Well, necessary," she finished in a mumble. She didn't like what Gladhron had said about the bandit group leaving no survivors. Except for the man they apparently let escape. There was only one reason she could think of why a man only took female prisoners. It wasn't a good one.

"Right," she agreed on the beef stew and hot chocolate. "I wonder what Gwestion will have to say about that," she smiled. She raised an eyebrow, glancing at Gladhron. "He would not approve of us babbling while doing this." She wasn't sure if she really approved herself. But she was still being watchful while they spoke, and the idea of the bandits attacking in force to liberate their own somehow didn't seem likely. "They would have to be camping nearby for them to find us quickly enough," Celumë suddenly mused. "Clyff had a horse of course... but he doesn't know about the woman and the last man joining the others. And he doesn't even know whether we took any prisoners at all..."

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Gladhron

Gladhron glanced at Celume when she changed her statement from 'you' to 'we'. He nodded slightly, thoughtful as his gaze scanned the woods. "I wish I had better way to contact them." He confessed, sighing. "I have only met three others. The one I spoke of a moment ago, who rescued Bel, and two others, whom I only recently met. I don't know either of them very well, but.. I believe they would help. If we had some way of contacting them."

He went quiet for a moment, thinking a little more before he continued. "We could leave messages with Bel, at the Forsaken Inn." he suggested thoughtfully. "She sees more rangers come through there than I've ever met. But there's never any guarantee that anyone at all will come by there anytime in the next three months or so. It could take a long while to contact even one other." He shrugged. There was a reason the place was called 'forsaken'. "We were there for months, and those three I mentioned are the only ones who came at all, the whole time."

A moment later, he grinned as Celume wondered what his brother would say about their talk of hot chocolate and stew. "Oh, he'd probably keep his thoughts to himself, but he'd probably be silently thinking we should be out looking for the bandits instead of enjoying luxuries like beef stew and chocolate." he answered, half joking. She was right though, that Gwestion would be frowning about the way they were chatting so much. "He needs to lighten up." He commented quietly, with a little shrug. "Sometimes I think he's forgotten how to make a joke, but then.. randomly, he'll surprise me when I least expect it."

Going back to the topic of the bandits, he thought about what Celume had said. "That's true. He wouldn't know whether we killed the bandits or not. He left as soon as arrows started flying." That seemed to him to imply a coward. That might be useful to keep in mind. "Unless Clyff ran into those other two on his way back to the main group, and told them what had happened?" He presented another possibility. "Maybe they decided to go see how the battle ended, and followed us so they could try and free their buddies. They would've had time to do that, since it was near the end of my watch when they came." He frowned thoughtfully. "I'd like to know more about their operation." His theory felt as if it had too many holes, and he didn't think it very likely, either. "I don't know though," He went on. "The girl definitely doesn't seem like the type to care enough to go through all that effort just to rescue a few insignificant underlings. Do you think someone might have told those two to try and free them?" He wondered.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Celumë
Third Age - before the War of the Ring
Somewhere along the road to Bree

"It's all speculation at this point," she replied to Gladhron's question. "But given the usual inclinations of bandit groups... Especially bandit groups who apparently take no prisoners.. I don't think any of them would come and save their fellows unless they had to. They could have been ordered to, as you say. Or the woman and man who joined us last, know one of their buddies has something they still need. Maybe one of them is important to the leader?" Celumë shrugged. "So yeah, I think they would have either been ordered or they'd know the order would have been given - even without speaking to their leader."

Listening to something beyond the trees, Celumë slowed her pace and lifted a hand to stall any reaction by Gladhron. When no new noises caught her attention, she still put a finger on her lips and gestured for Gladhron to follow along the same trajectory they had been heading.
As for herself, Celumë made off into the trees. She'd check a bit further away from the road, to see if she could find the source of the noise. It could have been an animal, of course - but she wanted to make sure.

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Gladhron

Gladhron considered her words with a thoughtful nod. Then, recalling something Gwestion had said as they discussed the prisoners briefly, just before Celume tossed them the apples, he decided to bring it up and see what Celume thought of it. "Gwestion suggested," he mentioned tentatively, "that it's possible they weren't as interested in rescuing their fellows, as they were in finishing off the hostages who got away from those fellows." He had no idea what the truth was, of course, and he figured that there was little chance they would ever find out. "In which case," He ventured to add his own thoughts on the matter, "Perhaps they meant to free their fellow bandits so they could all help one another in that endeavor."

Unexpectedly, Celume slowed as she seemed to hear something. He paused, but then seeing her motion for him to go on, he nodded and kept walking. Just in case, he quietly drew an arrow and readied it on his string, as Celume set off into the trees. Whatever she had heard, he wanted to be ready to help fight if needed. He looked around warily as he walked. At first, he was trying to make sure not to walk too noisily. Yet, he then decided not to walk too quietly, so that if there was an assailant nearby, they would be drawn toward the sound of his steps and perhaps not realize she was no longer with him.

Just in case there was someone stalking them, he decided to keep some speech going just so that it wouldn't seem as if they had abruptly stopped chatting. Even though she was no longer with him, he began talking in Sindarin, low enough not to be too easily heard by anyone who might be eavesdropping, but just under the level of volume they had been using before branching apart. Since it seemed better than saying whatever came to his mind to say, he began telling the tale of the Siege of Angband, ending with the Battle of Sudden Flame; one of his favorite tales from history. It would also make sense if anyone besides Celume heard him, and understood what he was saying, that she had suddenly gone silent and let him do all of the talking. Meanwhile, she could be sneaking up on someone, if there was someone there at all.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Celumë
Third Age - before the War of the Ring
Somewhere along the road to Bree

When Gladhron had told her of Gwestion's suggestion, Celumë's face had darkened. It was a possibility, yes. Probably more than a mere possibility. If they truly never left any survivors. Hadn't one of the brothers mentioned that, earlier?

Now, she was moving through the trees with something else on her mind, though. Trying to find out the source of the noises she'd heard. Stalking through the forest, she made sure not to venture too far away.

She found no one. Not human, nor any other kind of animal. If something had been out here, it had left. The forest had many tracks of course, many signs of life. Several was fresh, but she had no way to link any to the sounds she'd heard.
After a while, she turned back toward Gladhron and the road. She came upon him easily enough, since he was making more noise walking alone than the two of them had been, before - or so it seemed. Coming up on him from the side silently, he would probably see her before he could hear her.

Slanting her head, the blonde gave him a little smile. "No fair," she said quietly. "I missed the beginning. Start over for me?"

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Gladhron

He only intended to keep the story-telling going as long as Celume was away, and he tried to keep his voice down enough so that, to anyone who might be within earshot, it would seem only as if they were continuing a conversation. His hope was that it would only sound like a distant murmur of voices, to anyone who might be following or spying.

When she reappeared next to him, he blinked in surprise to discover her there, and half-wondered how long she had been there. The request for him to start over on the story, however, was even more surprising, and brought a soft laugh out of him. "If you like," He answered with a grin, keeping his voice down. "Would you prefer that I switch to common, so that you may understand easier? Or is Sindarin easy enough? Or, if you prefer, I can even switch to Rohirrim," He offered, having previously assumed that was her nativity. And he spoke each of those languages fluently enough to use any of them; in fact, if he'd wanted to, he could have mingled them all together, as he and Gwestion did at times.

Once she had given an answer about which language she preferred, he gave a little nod, smiling, and launched into the story anew, this time in Celume's chosen language. Since he had an audience this time, he had to remind himself not to get too carried away with his enthusiasm for telling tales, especially one filled with such excitement as this one, for they still had to keep quiet as they journeyed. But, as he spoke, it was evident that he was well-used to telling stories, so that the thrill of action was easy to imagine, and the fear of danger would bring a listener to the edge of their seat (if they had one) and so forth. It might also be evident that he was more accustomed to speaking to a younger audience, when delivering stories.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Celumë
Third Age - before the War of the Ring
Somewhere along the road to Bree

Pleasantly surprised that he would indulge her, and not only continue his story but even start anew, Celumë smiled. His question about her preferred language, made her slant her head. Common and Sindarin would be the easiest to follow. But listening to an epic story in the language of Rohan would allow her to get the most out of it. Not the very best understanding, perhaps, but it would refresh some passive knowledge and she could learn something new, hopefully, if she could deduce what the words meant from context. It did not take all that long to make up her mind. "Rohirric," she decided.

She couldn't deny that her walk on the same side of the road with Gladhron was doing wonders to lift her spirits. He had a good voice for a tale, she found, and she was enjoying herself. By the time he concluded the Battle of Sudden Flame, Celumë had a huge smile plastered all over her face. She fake-applauded, silently touching her hands together as if clapping. "Well done!" she said, in the Commong Tongue. "I enjoyed that. Thank you. I'm afraid I cannot quite return the favor, though; I'm much too matter-of-fact for story-telling." Her smile grew into a momentary grin. "Sorry."

Meanwhile, the forest around them was quiet, and nothing had happened to the family, Gwestion and the prisoners on the road either. Celumë often did a small check-in on the wagon, for multiple reasons but also because that is where Nársulë was. And while he had no trouble pulling a cart that size, she still wanted to make sure her horse was alright with the task she'd dumped on him.

"Do you know how long we still have ahead of us, at this rate?" she asked Gladhron.

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Gladhron

He grinned as she fake-applauded. "Thank you," He replied, returning to Common as well. "No need," He assured her when she apologized for not being able to return the favor. "I don't mind." His grin faded to a smile, but no less pleased. "I'm the oldest of my own siblings, and I have three cousins as well, all younger than myself." He informed her, figuring that explained a lot concerning his story-telling skills. "Gwestion, by the way, was one of the primary ones who used to beg me for stories." he added with a small grin, figuring that might be a bit of a surprise to hear. That was a long time ago, of course, and he missed the period of time when they were all still children.

When she asked him whether he knew if they were close to Bree, Gladhron shrugged. "Sorry, no idea. But, look," Even as he was speaking, he had suddenly noticed wisps of smoke rising into the air above the trees, some distance ahead of them. He paused to examine it thoughtfully. "Looks like more than what you'd see from a single campfire, doesn't it? More like.. several chimneys, perhaps.." He remarked, hoping his observation seemed correct to her. "Perhaps we're close. An hour, maybe.." He tried to guess, but really didn't know.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Celumë
Third Age - before the War of the Ring
Somewhere along the road to Bree

"He no longer asks for them?" Celumë asked, mildly surprised. "I'd think it would be a great way to end a day of roaming. A tale by the fire by a gifted story-teller." A soft smile lay on her lips as she looked ahead through the trees. "Perhaps I'll ask for another one, this evening." With a sideways glance and a twinkle in her eyes, she added: "Well. If you do not mind, at least?"

Considering something, she fell silent for a moment. That's when Gladhron pointed out the smoke above the trees. Celumë narrowed her eyes slightly. "Maybe we are. However - and I don't know if it's speaking of beef and hot chocolate," she laughed quietly, "or because we've been walking for a few hours... but my stomach is telling me it's about time for the midday meal. You figure the Millsons might want to stop a while? And your brother? So they can all stretch their legs?"

They at least agreed to find out. The two of them came out from the trees to approach the rest of their party. Celumë stepped up to Nársulë. He seemed to be doing well. "It is about noon, Mister and Mrs Millson," she told the couple. "Could be the right time for a short break. What do you think?"

The family readily agreed, and although their break was short, the fact that they had a family and prisoners with them soon meant that they spent an hour on the side of the road. When Mrs Millson asked if they also needed to give the prisoners something, Celumë shook her head. "Water will do, I think. If we were not to reach Bree by nightfall, it would be best to get some food in them, since they are walking. But a while longer without it, will not kill them. They have taken enough from you as it is," she offered. "It is your choice who you wish to share your supplies with," she concluded. Wondering what Gwestion and Gladhron would think of that, she glanced at them briefly.

Soon everyone had finished their meal and they were preparing to set out again.

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Gladhron

Her question caught him off guard a little, and also saddened him slightly. He gave a little shake of his head in reply, but didn't have a chance to say any more before she had suggested asking for a tale in the evening. He grinned. "That would be fine with me," He declared with a smile.

When she suggested the idea of stopping for lunch, he nodded enthusiastically. "Definitely." Or at least, he wanted to stop. "I figure Gwestion wouldn't object too much," He smiled. "He might be glad to get down and stretch his legs a bit, and take a little break from watching the prisoners." He figured the Millsons would probably be glad for a break, too.

---

Gwestion & Gladhron

As they sat down to eat, Gladhron and Gwestion shared with each other what things were going on each of their ends. Gladhron said that nothing had really happened on their end, while Gwestion reported that the woman bandit had continually tried to sneak words with the Millson's son, so he had ended up tying their mouths so to prevent her from persuading the boy into anything. Both brothers agreed that they would be fine without a lunch, but that they should have water. They helped pass the canteen around and removed the woman's gag long enough to give her water, but they put it back on before they got back on the road.

After visiting with Gaeroch for a bit, Gladhron came back over to the rest of them. "Shall we get going again?" He asked, looking forward to the hot chocolate and beef stew they had been talking about. "We saw smoke in the distance, I'm hoping that it's Bree."

"I saw it too," Gwestion replied. "The area does seem vaguely familiar.." He mentioned, hesitating slightly with uncertainty, as he hadn't been here since he was about sixteen. Figuring Gladhron would be more likely to remember for sure, he motioned around. "Doesn't it?"

"I.. think so, yes," Gladhron agreed, slightly tentatively, though he wasn't entirely sure, himself. "It couldn't be much further, I'm sure. Hopefully, we can arrive before suppertime." Turning to Celume then, he asked, "Think we should take the other side of the road, this time?"

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Celumë
Third Age - before the War of the Ring
Somewhere along the road to Bree - Arriving

"Might as well," she agreed with Gladhron. Moving to the left side of the road now, they moved into the trees there. Celumë's eyes scanned the area, or as much as she could see at least. Then she smiled at Gladhron. "I enjoyed talking earlier," she said quietly. "But we might be better off focusing on our watch duty. If Bree is close, and if we are being followed or targeted, it would be now or never for the bandits to make their move. We'll have plenty of time to speak more in Bree, I figure." Brown eyes twinkled. "If your brother doesn't whisk you away the first chance he gets."

The rest of the journey was uneventful. The smoke had indeed come from the town, and while it took a few more hours, the road led them to a gate. The gate was where they explained who they were - briefly. That Gwestion, Gladhron and Celume were rangers helping out the Millsons after a bandit attack. That they had brought the bandits they could, here.

The Hill Watch had some questions for them after that introduction. It took a little time, but the Watch seemed to believe them and agreed to take over custody of the bandits. And so both the Millsons and the three rangers were free to enter the township of Bree.

[Rillewen]

(Private)

In the woods
(previous night - In reference to the events of this post)

Ruby said to wait here. So, the boy was waiting. Biting his lip, listening anxiously, fingering the dagger she'd said to keep in hand. He couldn't see much from here, sitting at the base of a tree, several yards from the edge of the road. But she'd told him to keep quiet and not move, so he figured he'd better listen to her. His sister could be very mean, and he definitely didn't want to make her angry at him. Then she would complain to their mother and then she would also be angry at him. The less people were angry at him, the better.

After a little while, he heard sounds of fighting, and considered standing up so he could see what was going on. Then, he decided he was glad he couldn't see. Ruby and Blade had talked about how they were going to kill everyone in the camp, finishing the job that Clyff had failed at, and how she especially wanted to kill the rangers for interfering with their operation. She had a particular dislike for Rangers, just like their mother did. As for him, he didn't know anything about them other than what he'd been told all his life, so naturally, he was afraid of them.

Earlier, he had been sent to follow them, gather information, and infiltrate their camp so that when Ruby went to attack, he could help from within. But he didn't want to do that. Not only did the rangers frighten him, but he didn't want to be part of any slaughter, which is exactly what Ruby had in mind. Especially after hearing there was a boy about his own age in the group. Instead, when the young ranger had caught him following, the boy had been so started, he'd fled. Besides, it seemed like the only way he could think of to get out of being pushed to join their group, which is exactly what the bandits had wanted, and.. well, he just didn't know what else to do. So, he'd run away, and hoped the ranger wouldn't chase him. Thankfully, he hadn't. Now, Ruby had another plan and she was not very happy with her little brother for messing up the first one.

He bit his lip harder as he heard it all go quiet after a little while. No more clash of weapons. It was unsettlingly quiet for a bit. He didn't know what was going on, but let out a soft sigh of disappointment. While he didn't exactly know what he hoped would happen, he was a little disappointed to think of all those people being slain needlessly. And, if he knew Ruby, she probably made sure they suffered, too. Thankfully, she hadn't come back yet, although he was dreading the inevitable moment when she did come back to get him. She'd probably make him help with the 'cleanup', and he hated that.

But then, to his surprise, he heard his sister's angry voice break the quiet stillness that had settled over the area, although it was a little hard to hear from where he sat. Still, he was able to make out the first bit.

"You really think you've won, don't you?"

The news shocked him. Ruby had lost? Both her and Blade had been defeated? She had been so certain of their victory! Clearly, her plan had somehow gone awry. Not only did that stun the boy, but also the fact that they were defeated and yet, not dead, was a little surprising to him, too. He was a bit puzzled by that. If the rangers had defeated them, why were they still alive? His mother said rangers all went around murdering people, and had no mercy to bandits. That it was a mutual thing between the two groups. That the rangers were cruel and vicious, and took no prisoners, just like the 'Copperheads'. According to his mother, the only real difference between the two groups was that the rangers were specific enemies of the Copperheads; that they hunted and persecuted them in particular. Frowning, the boy leaned a little closer to try and catch more of his sister's words, but he missed part of what she said.

"Like a thorn in our side ... going to be in big trouble ... our leader hears about this."

The last part was spoken more loudly, as if.. with the intention of making sure that he could hear from where he was. He swallowed as he caught her hidden message, and knew just what she wanted of him. She wanted him to tell their mother what happened. She was counting on him to go back and get reinforcements, so she and Blade could be rescued. Mother would do it, if she knew Ruby was captured. Ruby was her favorite.

But he.. well, he didn't really want Ruby to be freed, to be honest. She frightened him, and she wasn't very nice to him. And, besides, he didn't really want to go back all by himself. But then, he also didn't really want to stay out here by himself all night, either. But what else could he do? He glanced around uncertainly, then wrapped his arms around his knees, hugging them tight. If he moved now, the rangers would hear him moving through the forest, right? So, he was stuck here, anyway. The thought of that excuse made him feel a tiny bit better about not doing as his sister wanted, but he figured she would probably be very angry at him later. Unless.. what if she didn't get free? The thought of that brought a tiny glimmer of hope, but then he shook his head, shattering such thoughts. She would find a way to get free. He was sure of that. And then she'd demand to know why he didn't follow her instructions. But he'd deal with that later.

With a soft sigh, he tried to make himself comfortable at the base of the tree, wrapping his cloak around himself and hoped he was concealed well enough in case those rangers started searching around the area. But why should they? He looked around, then decided maybe he was far enough away from their camp. Off and on through the night, he lightly dozed, until eventually the smell of food cooking and muted voices drew him back to wakefulness. He sat up, his stomach begging for some of what they were eating.

It was difficult, waiting around for them to pack up their camp and move on, but eventually, they left. Now what? He slowly stood up, stretching his stiff legs and listened for a long moment. When he could no longer hear the rolling wheels of the wagon, nor the clip-clop of the horse's hooves, he cautiously ventured out to the edge of the road and looked this way and that. No sign of them, nor anyone. Nor, anything left behind. He had half-hoped for some food, but it seemed that he was not going to be so lucky. Well. At least now he could go home, but he was dreading it somewhat.

As he set out, he decided that when his mother asked where Ruby and Blade and the others were, he could tell her that they'd left him behind while they went on, and then didn't come back. And.. that he figured they must have decided to go home without him, because they do that sort of thing sometimes, just to be mean. That was true, so she'd believe that. He'd do his best to avoid mentioning that they had been captured by the rangers, in hopes that he might never have to endure her company ever again.

He idly wondered what would become of her, but he tried very hard not to care.. because she wouldn't care if it was him, right? If it was the other way around, he was sure that she'd only attempt to help him if their mother demanded it. And he figured life would be much more pleasant with one less bully to push him around... right? So, trying to play around with the wording in his head as he walked, Thorn set off to return home to his mother.. alone.


(Edit: fixing broken picture)

[Rillewen]

(set a couple of years following the previous post)
@Romeran

|
A pair of runaways - Somewhere in the vicinity of the Blue Mountains

“Where are we?” Fern wondered, looking around with uncertainty.

Thorn was glad she had brought along her bow and arrows, but wished that he had brought more supplies. “Not far enough, I’ll bet,” He answered with a frown. He had no idea, honestly, but he felt that it wasn’t far enough. “We shouldn’t rest long. We need to continue on.”

“But where’ll we end up?” Fern frowned, tilting her head at him.

Thorn hesitated. “Well,” How could he answer her when he didn’t know, himself? “I guess we’ll just..see when we get there.” The fifteen-year-old smiled nervously.

Fern rolled her eyes. “So, in other words, you don’t know. Just say so, Thorn.” The little sister grinned and stood up. “I guess we better go, huh?”

“Yeah, we better.” He took a glance down at the ground and tried to pat down the deadfall with one foot, where their feet had disturbed it a little. “We’d better be more careful from here on, if we don’t want any of them finding us.” He told her, unsure what sort of punishment they could expect if their family found them again.

The pair continued traveling until dusk began to settle in around them. Thorn felt a few sprinkles landing on his face, and glanced up. The sky was rather grey, he realized, which had brought dusk on a little quicker than normal. “It’s starting to rain,” He commented, suddenly a little nervous. He hadn’t anticipated rain. They had minimal supplies, since they hadn’t been able to bring much along without anyone wondering why they had their packs. What would they do?

“It’s a getting colder, too,” Fern observed with a frown, hugging her arms around herself.

“Yeah, I noticed.” Thorn stopped for a moment to think. “Let’s gather up some firewood, before it gets too wet.” He decided.

“What good will that do?” Fern questioned, glancing at him with a tilted head. “It’ll get just as wet in our arms as it would on the ground.”

“Well, maybe we’ll find a shelter,” He retorted, a little annoyed that his plan to run away wasn’t going as smoothly as he had hoped.

“Whatever.” She shrugged and picked up a nearby stick, then another.

Thorn grabbed a few larger ones, trying to carry heavier wood than she could, and soon both of their arms were filled up. Thorn looked at what they had, and wondered if it would get them through the night. He kept wondering about that as the two continued onward, until he came up with an idea. Dropping his bundle, he took off his cloak and laid it flat on the ground, then put all his sticks in it, and gathered it up by the corners, like a sack. “That should protect it some,” He commented.

“Good idea.” Fern nodded, tossing her sticks into it.

“Hey,” he protested. “You still gotta help,” He frowned, sighing. He left the sticks in though. "Use your cloak. We'll gather more as we go."

“Fine,” She rolled her eyes, then copied her brother’s idea and soon she held a large bundle of smaller sticks in her cloak.


As they continued, Thorn paused to grab a stick or two that looked useful, until his cloak-sack was rather heavy and full.

“Look! Ahead, see?” Fern called excitedly, and ran forward.

The rain was still holding off to just a steady sprinkle for now, but Thorn had a feeling that it would soon be pouring rain. He looked ahead to see where Fern was hurrying, and was surprised to see a dark hole opening up at the base of where a tree met with a rocky area. “Fern, be careful!” He called, a little worried.

Fern paused, glancing back toward him as she waited.

When he caught up to her, Thorn set down his bundle and drew his dagger, cautiously peering into the dark hole. He couldn’t see anything. Thorn wasn’t sure how to tell if there might be an animal in there, but it did seem like a sensible idea to check it out. He crept in a little further, listening. “Hello?” He called. The smell was musty, like old earth. Big surprise. He listened for a moment, then ventured in a little further, and found that it seemed a nice enough little hole for them to huddle in, yet it appeared abandoned. “I think it’s safe, sis.” He called back up.

Fern joined him a moment later, dragging both their bundles. “What do we do with all these sticks, now?” She wondered.

“We’ll put them off in a pile over there,” He motioned to the back of the little cave, “and I’ll build a fire. That’ll help us be able to see a little better, too.”

---

The rain changed from a light drizzle to a heavier downpour. The temperature dropped further with the onset of darkness, as well. Thorn could see his breath faintly, and scowled in annoyance as he struck the stone against his dagger, yet again. No sparks came, and the boy was growing more and more frustrated by the moment.

“I’m cold,” Fern complained, though she was wrapped up in both their cloaks, huddling near where their fire was supposed to have been blazing by now.

“I know,” Thorn sighed. “I don’t know what else to try! It always looked easy enough when I saw the others do this.” He frowned and glared down at the dry wood in front of him, baffled and angry that it refused to light. “I thought I’d be able to do it, too.” He looked down at the stones in his hands unhappily, just as a low rumble of thunder sounded. Glancing nervously toward the outside, he guessed that meant that the rain would soon become a storm. This was not good. He couldn’t help feeling rather useless right now, being unable to do something that looked so simple when others did it.

“Thorn?” Fern spoke up after a moment of quiet. “What’ll we do about food?”

Thorn felt his heart sink further at that question. This was getting worse by the minute. “We’ll..find something,” He assured her, though he was getting more and more worried. They had a bow, and could shoot game, but without a fire, what good would that do? And he hadn’t seen any animals the whole day. How would they shoot at anything if there wasn’t anything to shoot?

Frowning deeply, he tried yet again to strike the useless rocks together, trying in vain to create a spark of some sort. He had plenty of dry twigs and broken-up branches assembled and ready to hold a fire, just no fire. Not even a spark. “Why won’t it work?” He frowned.

“Maybe you’ve got the wrong kind of stone?” Fern suggested with a shrug.

Thorn stopped and looked toward the sound of her voice, then at the rock in his hand, frowning. That had never actually occurred to him before. “Does the kind of rock matter?” He wondered if his sister might know something about this that he didn’t.

“I dunno… where’d it come from, anyway?”

“I just found them here, in the cave.” He frowned. “I couldn’t bring any from home without anyone asking questions. Figured any old stones would work...” He sighed. There was a lot they hadn’t been able to bring, lest it draw questions from those they were running away from. “I guess I could rub some sticks together? I’ve seen some of the guys do that before.”

“If that’ll work, might as well try it.” Fern shrugged, hugging her knees tighter. He could hear the slight shivering in her voice as she huddled at the back of the little cave, despite the two cloaks.

Thorn was shivering a good bit himself, and growing a little desperate to get that fire going. Selecting a couple of promising sticks out of their very large wood pile, he began rubbing them together the way he had seen others do. A few minutes passed, and still nothing had happened except a little bit of bark getting rubbed off. Ten minutes passed.. twenty.. and the sticks were only vaguely warm.

Deciding the chilly air blowing in from the opening was cooling the sticks too fast to let it build up any heat, Thorn finally flung them down in frustration. “This isn’t working.” He declared, sighing. Outside, the rain was sounding a bit different. Like slush, rather than rain. If the temperature dropped any further, it would soon be snow, he thought with some concern. And that would make things much worse. He sat back on his heels, trying to think of what to do.

[Romeran]

|
Haldan and Scout
Somewhere in the vicinity of the Blue Mountains
@Rillewen

As the pitter-patter of rain drops slowly increased in tempo, Scout’s nose twitched picking up a faint but distinctive smell in the air. The scent in the air was incontrovertible, humans were nearby, and not just any humans, if his nose was worth anything, and Haldan certainly seemed to think it was worth a lot, it was the scent of children. Haldan had been clear with his directions, however, and the routine search for signs of game had often begun with Scout searching for signs to assist his master. But the strange and unfamiliar scent was both distracting and intoxicating. It had been many years since Scout had smelled children. He couldn’t help himself.

The thicket of trees grew denser as the rain increased in tempo and Scout veered further and further from the routine trails following the smell of the children. More than once, Scout passed the tracks of small creatures, weasels and foxes and the like, the sort of thing he had been sent out to track, but he ignored them. In the back of his mind, Scout knew that this wasn’t what Haldan would want, but he was far too curious and far too excited to learn the origin of that strange smell. What were young humans doing out so far in the wilderness and so close to winter, he wondered.

As the rain began to come down, the outer coat of Scout’s fur slowly became saturated and the water began to drip from him. If Scout would have known better he would have been glad for his double coat, protecting him from the chill and wetness, but Scout did not know any better and simply plodded along, doggedly pursuing the curious smell. Soon he heard the clacking of rocks quietly struck together and the muffled sounds of disappointment. The scent grew stronger and scout picked up the pace.

“Where is that damned dog” Haldan muttered, pulling his hood over his head despite the cover of the shelter protecting him from the growing rain. “He should be back by now”. Although he talked quietly to himself, his tone of voice belied both concern and love beyond the gruffness of the words themselves.

The sound of striking rocks was soon replaced by a quiet rustling of sticks as the scent drew Scout closer and closer to his quarry. Soon a small clearing opened in the thicket and Scout sighted a large, bent, tree with an open tree well hole from which the scent and the sound originated. Scout approached quietly. While confident that he only smelled two children, Haldan had taught Scout caution and he did not want to disappoint his master even though he knew he was already disobeying in following the scent and not searching for game.

The quiet sounds of frustrated and afraid voices permeated from the tree well, as the rustling of sticks drew to a halt. Scout approached slowly and, crouching to peak within the “shelter”, the wolfhound sighted two pairs of sad looking eyes looking out of the shelter. Already the rain was beginning to pool water by the entrance. The children had gathered some fire wood, which indicated at least some understanding of survival, but a below-ground shelter in these conditions would have ensured their wood would be soaked to uselessness in short order, and their shelter turned into a pond. Scout sniffed deeply to confirm there were no other creatures, human or otherwise, hiding deeper in the shelter.

Convinced that the children were indeed alone, Scout let out a quiet whine and open mouthed pant, hoping to cue the children to the sound of a nearby friendly dog. He did not want to startle them and so he stepped back from the entrance of the tree well. Scout sat down and peered towards the entrance waiting for the small faces to emerge and look for him. He let out another soft whine and panted louder, hoping to catch their attention and otherwise sat patiently in the growing rain, his thick double coat protecting him from the weather.

[Rillewen]

@Romeran

|
A pair of runaways - Somewhere in the vicinity of the Blue Mountains

Feeling wetness seeping under his knees, Thorn frowned in mild confusion. Why were his knees cold and wet? He felt the ground, as it was really too dark to see anything. He had been counting on having a fire lit by now, and that would have provided them with light to see their surroundings. But nothing was working as he'd planned. And now, as if things couldn't get any worse, there was a trickle of icy water running down from the opening and pooling right about where he was kneeling!

Suddenly, an animal noise startled them both. Fern gasped softly, gripping her bow as her other hand flew to the quiver. "What was that?" She whispered in a mildly panicked tone, eyes widening in the darkness to try and see.

Thorn held his breath. He had tensed, stilling his movements when he heard a soft whining of some animal. A dog? Or wolf, perhaps.. he swallowed as his hand wrapped around the handle of his dagger. He stared at the opening, heart racing. There it was again.

"Is it a wolf?" Fern whispered. "Or.. maybe a bear?"

Barely noticeable through the sound of sleet outside, and the nervous whisper of his sister's voice, Thorn heard a faint click of an arrow being fitted onto a bowstring. The sound came from behind him. He kept his gaze straining toward the opening, and hoped that if she did shoot an arrow, she wouldn't hit him by mistake due to not being able to see where she was shooting.

Reminding himself that he was the big brother here, and that he'd been trying to protect his sister by getting her away from their family.. Thorn took a slow, deep breath. He needed to be the brave one, right? And anyway, if it was a wolf, it was awfully quiet, he thought. "I.. don't think so," He answered her question in a mutter, trying to sound more confident than he felt. Then he spoke a little louder, addressing whatever was there, "Who's out there?" He demanded, trying not to sound like a frightened kid.

[Romeran]

|
Haldan and Scout
Somewhere in the vicinity of the Blue Mountains
@Rillewen

When the young humans did not peek out of their den at Scout’s noises, the wolfhound sighed audibly, letting out a small whine again. They were probably afraid, he thought, cold and afraid and likely getting wetter by the minute. Scout had hoped to encourage the two to follow him back to Haldan and their more robust shelter but it seemed that they were too afraid, probably not a bad instinct thought Scout. Plan B then.

Taking a few shuffled steps backwards from the entrance to the tree well, Scout dropped his hind quarters and raised his nose to the sky. He let out a distinct pattern of barks, first one then a small pause and then two in quick succession. Usually Scout did not call for Haldan in such a fashion as to do so would most likely scare off any game they had been tracking, this particular call was reserved for emergencies when Scout needed Haldan to come and find him. Having completed his signaling, the wolfhound again sat down nearby, but not too near, the entrance to the den, panting quietly. Wolves did not bark, he thought, so perhaps the barking would also serve to indicate to the children who waited for them outside.

The sound of Scout’s barking flew through the trees, bouncing and echoing. Haldan heard the noise and shot up from his seat like a sprung trap. Scout did not seem injured from the sound of his barks and he did not add the customary fourth bark if he was in imminent danger. Scout had discovered something unusual and instead of leading Haldan back to it and not stirring nearby prey with his barks, Scout had deemed it necessary to summon him. Haldan furrowed a brow as he slung his quiver and bow over his shoulder. Despite Scout indicating no signs of danger, Haldan knew that the sound of Scout’s bark alone could easily catch unwanted attention. Haldan dislodged the tomahawk from the large log and slotted it in the loop at his belt. Before leaving, he smothered the fire with dirt to put it out and prevent it from smoking too much. He left the remainder of his belongings at the camp, covering them with the leaves and branches he had gathered for precisely this purpose.

Scout’s barking had come from due south from their campsite. “I’m coming my boy” Haldan said quietly to himself as he trudged through the thicket. The fur lined hood over his head was starting to get more wet from the rain which was progressing into sleet as the temperature continued to drop. But much like the wolf from whom the fur on his cloak had been harvested, and like Scout, the pelt was double coated and only the outer more water resistant layer was getting wet. It would protect Haldan from both the cold and the rain and would quickly dry by the fire.

As the thicket slowly began to open up, Haldan could start to hear the quiet panting of Scout when he paused to listen. At first this had alarmed Haldan fearing that Scout had indeed been injured, but it was not the wet and pained sounds of an injured dog, but rather a forced panting. Haldan picked up his pace as he got closer.

Shortly thereafter, Haldan spotted Scout’s blond and brown coat from between two trees. The dog must have caught his scent because he immediately stood up from his seated position and bounded towards Haldan.

“What is it Scout?” He asked the dog, petting him as Scout rubbed his wet face across Haldan’s thick trousers. Haldan shook his head, no matter what he did he couldn’t seem to train this out of him. Secretly he enjoyed the attention as he patted Scout’s head once more. A few moments later, Scout diverted his attention and walked slowly towards the den, circling back several times towards Haldan to encourage him to follow. It didn’t take too many steps for Haldan to notice the tree well, as the entrance was large and prominent. The rainwater was visibly beginning to pour into the entrance of the hovel. Anything living inside there would soon hope to be a fish.

“You think something’s in there boy?” Haldan asked Scout who whined in acknowledgment as Haldan crouched down twenty feet from the entrance to get a look inside but it was too dark to see. Haldan squinted and shuffled a few more paces forward to see if he could get a better view. But with no fire and no sunlight it was difficult to make anything out in the rain. He agreed with Scout though as he thought he heard the sound of shuffling from within the hole and smelled an unfamiliar scent.

If it had been a wild animal it likely wouldn’t have chosen such a poor shelter for the weather nor could it have been an experienced hunter or ranger for the same reason. If whoever it was aimed to ambush them, it was a curious choice of an ambush location. Haldan concluded it was likely someone, or someones, inexperienced and probably cold, wet, and afraid.

“Whoever is in there, you’re about to be very wet and cold if you stay there. The water is already pouring in” Haldan said in a loud enough voice to carry inside the den. He paused for a moment waiting a response.

“Why don’t you come out here and come join me and Scout at our shelter?” He offered. In most circumstances he would have preferred no such company but Scout seemed to think this was important.

“My name is Haldan and I am a Ranger. This is my dog Scout” he introduced themselves in an attempt to endear them to whoever hid within the rain trap.

[Rillewen]

@Romeran

|
A pair of runaways - Somewhere in the vicinity of the Blue Mountains

The noise soon identified the creature without much doubt; a dog. But that didn't provide a whole lot of reassurance to either of the siblings. Widening his eyes slightly, Thorn shifted out of the pooling water, and huddled beside his sister.

"Do you think.." Fern whispered, but went quiet as Thorn quickly 'shh'd her.

He was thinking fast, unsure what to do. There was a dog they were both familiar with, and it was not nice at all. Being the only dog either had really encountered, they did not know what to expect. But Thorn thought.. he was pretty sure anyway.. that this dog sounded different than the other.

They waited, practically holding their breaths. Fern couldn't see where to aim her arrow, so she didn't have her string drawn back, but her arrow was ready if anything should try and come in and attack them.

Some time passed, and all was silent except for the sound of the dog breathing. As if it was waiting for them to come out, and tear them apart. The little pool of water gradually grew, now creeping as far as their feet. Thorn felt the dust turning to wet mud beneath his boots, and frowned. How much more was it going to fill up?

A voice suddenly startled them both. An unfamiliar voice, addressing the dog. Thorn shifted a little more upright, tensing again. His dagger gripped tight in his hand as he focused his gaze on the opening. He may not be able to see who or what was out there, but he could hear. Beside him, Fern shifted as well, but both remained quiet for now. It was a man, clearly, they could tell that by the voice. And the dog seemed to be his. A hunting dog, maybe? But it was not the voice of the man who owned the dog they both knew of. That seemed.. promising, perhaps. But a moment later, the man spoke again and seemed to be addressing them.

Silence greeted the man, but that did not seem to discourage him. He then offered an invitation to join him at his shelter. Fern glanced at (or toward) her brother, feeling hopeful. A shelter? She elbowed him lightly, and whispered, "Maybe we could-" Before she finished her whisper, the man spoke again, and announced his name. And that he was a ranger. Fern went very quiet at hearing this, inching a little closer to her brother.

Thorn bit his lip, hearing this. He didn't really know what to do. This whole adventure was turning out very badly. He'd sure picked a bad time to try this running away thing, and it just kept getting worse. And now there was a ranger.. and they couldn't get out of this little cave without the guy catching them. He adjusted his grip on the knife, feeling nervous but also.. his hands were getting really cold. And Fern had both of their cloaks... he frowned. It was really cold outside, and water was indeed pouring in. They couldn't really stay in here, but was it safe to go out there? He stared at the opening, thinking of all the tales he'd been told about the rangers. False tales, but they didn't know that. Could they trust this guy? Could they afford not to?

After a moment's hesitation, he leaned in and whispered to Fern's ear as quietly as he could. "Stay here until I say it's safe."

She immediately clutched his arm. "No, don't go," She whispered in alarm.

"We can't stay here," He replied back in a whisper, and pulled his arm free. "Shh," He added, then hesitated before speaking out a little louder, "Alright, I'm coming out." 'Please don't hurt me' he added in his thoughts. "Gimme my cloak," He muttered to her, and once he had it and wrapped it around himself, he moved cautiously toward the opening.

It was wet, with a little rivulet of water trickling down the entrance. The rain was freezing cold, and he felt it against his face as he climbed out of the hole, keeping the dagger tucked in his belt in case he needed it. Once he was out of the hole, he glanced toward the dog, then faced the man with uncertainty. "What now?" he asked, trying to ignore his shivering as he waited to find out what the ranger would do.

[Romeran]

|
Haldan and Scout
Somewhere in the vicinity of the Blue Mountains
@Rillewen

A nearby rock made for a reasonable enough perch for Haldan to sit and wait while the strangers inside the tree hole decided on a course of action. Scout sat down patiently next to him as they both peered into the darkness. Haldan hadn’t expected them to jump out excitedly at his offer, he wasn’t sure he would have in their position either. Who was this strange man and dog, he would have wondered, and felt confident they likely felt the same way. Nevertheless he waited calmly. A hand went up to stroke his beard before he restrained himself, the impulsive habit would serve only to help the cold rain soak to his skin. He put the hand down and rested it on Scout’s shoulders instead.

The quiet sound of muffled voices could be heard from the den, at least to those with sharp ears and who were already listening intently. While Haldan could not make out the words being spoken he was confident there were two individuals inside the cave and young at that, based on the pitch of even a muffled voice. Runaways he wondered? Or simply lost from their traveling party? It was a strange place for travelers with family.

Haldan did not have to wait much longer before at least one voice revealed itself. A young man, cloaked but wet, emerged from the ‘shelter’ - if it could even be called that. Haldan remained seated but Scout stood up at the movement but did not stray from his master’s side. Haldan glanced briefly at the young man before looking up into the sky. Raindrops fell on his face, the cold sharpness stinging the uncovered portions of his cheeks.

“This will turn to snow soon.” He observed, not answering Thorn’s question. Haldan lifted up the cowl on his cloak, covering his head but leaving his face revealed. The fur lining the hood in conjunction with Haldan’s thick hair and beard gave the Ranger an animalistic appearance that seemed fitting with the wolfhound next to him.

“Why don’t you tell your,” he paused “sister?” Haldan conjectured “to come out here as well. I’m not going to hurt either of you, but if you don’t get warm and dry soon you’ll die of exposure” he explained, bluntly.

“I’ll be honest with you, lad” he said, reaching to unclip the outer fur cloak layer from his own shoulders “I’m really not much of a kid person, or really a people person at all, to be truthful”. Haldan stood up slowly with the words trying not to startle the boy, the last thing he wanted to do was have to wrestle that knife so obviously tucked in his belt from him.

“But Scout here” he said, patting the dog one more time whose tongue lolled out affectionately at the attention. “Loves children”. Haldan reached forward with his right hand outstretched, extending the fur cloak in his hand towards Fern. “Why don’t you give this to your sister” he said in a different tone, as if making a remark as an aside, offering the warmth. “There’s one for you if you come with me” he continued.

“And Scout” he continued in the first tone “that’s my dog if you recall” again as an aside “would sulk for at least week straight if I just left you here, even though honestly it’s not my damn responsibility to take care of wilderness children” he said the last part clearly to Scout, looking down at the dog, who let out an exaggerated sigh as if this was an argument the two had somehow had many times in the past.

“So do me a favor and let me at least try to help you get dry and back on whatever track you were supposed to be. For Scout’s sake” he added the last remark after a moment. The part about Scout sulking would certainly be true and pragmatically that would make hunting and trapping considerably harder for Haldan, even if he truly was as callous as his words would imply. Scout at least did not think his master was so heartless.

[Rillewen]

@Romeran

|
A pair of runaways - Somewhere in the vicinity of the Blue Mountains

Glancing briefly upward, Thorn frowned. Snow? He was already shivering. If it turned to snow, that meant it would be getting colder, right? How would they keep warm without a fire? Aside from the swift glance upward, he kept his gaze on the ranger, watching him as well as he could in the dark, wary. But his eyes widened a little as he heard the man refer to his sister. How could he know that his sister was in there? His mouth opened slightly, but then he closed it as he felt his teeth chattering lightly. Tucking his hands under his arms, he hugged himself tightly to try and ward off the cold.

While he didn't really believe much of what the man said, he did know that he spoke the truth about one thing; they would freeze to death if they didn't get warm, and by now he had no idea how to even find his way back to the home they had left. But, watching the guy take off his cloak as he stood up, Thorn felt himself tense a little as he wondered what to expect. What he did next was not at all what he expected. He offered the cloak to Thorn's sister? He blinked, and slowly looked toward the opening. She had crawled up to the opening, enough to watch, as well as she could anyway, with it being night time, and with rain clouds hiding the moon and stars.

"Might's well," Thorn muttered to her with a shrug, and watched her hurry out of the cave the rest of the way. She kept her bow and arrow in one hand while taking the cloak. Thorn glanced at the ranger while he reached to put the cloak around her shoulders better, so she could still hold onto her weapon.

"Does Scout bite?" Fern asked with a bit of wariness, despite the guy having claimed the dog loved children. Honestly, that could mean he loves to eat children, for all she knew, and it was an awfully big dog. "How'd you know I was in there, anyway?" She wondered, holding the cloak closed at the neck with her free hand, while the other hung by her side, holding the bow with an arrow still on it. Ready, but pointed downward for now.

Glancing at the dog, Thorn suspected that he was not a mean dog like the other one they knew, or else he would have been growling and snapping at them and stuff, right? But he glanced at the man next. He clearly didn't want much to do with them, yet was still offering to help them. Strange. He looked next at Fern. She was not used to being out in this sort of weather, any more than himself. And he had meant to keep her safe, not bring her out here to die of cold and whatever else. He looked toward their 'shelter' and bit his lip. While he didn't feel like it was really much safer to go with the ranger, it did seem a better option than staying out here to freeze in the snow.

He back to the man, frowning. "Alright," He spoke as if reluctant, and begrudgingly, "we'll go with you, just to warm up and get dry, but that's all. And you don't have to 'take care' of us," He added with a little scowl. "We can take care of ourselves."

"Except for lighting fires." Fern reminded him. "And remembering to bring food. And finding shelter. And-"

"Shut up," Thorn grumbled in annoyance. "That wasn't my fault. You're the one who picked this place, remember? I got firewood..."

"Which you couldn't set on fire. Can you light a fire, mister?" She asked, turning back to Haldan curiously.

[Romeran]

|
Haldan and Scout
Somewhere in the vicinity of the Blue Mountains
@Rillewen

It was clear the boy was suspicious of him, Haldan nodded approvingly. Despite not picking the best shelter, at least he had sense enough to be skeptical of strange men. The offer of his cloak, however, seemed to come as a surprise and may have gone some step towards trusting or at least tolerating him. When Thorn took the cloak from Haldan the Ranger took two steps back and sat back down on the rock in as non threatening of a manner as he could.

Fern peaked out from the hovel as Thorn turned back to put the cloak on her. Haldan was clearly right that the boy felt some protective responsibility over the young girl, so his guess at sister was likely correct. The girl was young, not quite a teenager yet, he guessed, and the boy only a few years older. What were they doing out here?

“Scout only bites bad people” he said with a smirk and a scratched Scout behind the ears. The dog looked up appreciatively and leaned against Haldan as he did so. “You two don’t look like bad people. You can pet him if you like, although he’s a bit wet”. Scout looked over to Fern as Haldan spoke and smiled, or at least as much as a dog can. The young girl seemed more curious and eager to ask questions.

“Darkness only protects you from being seen not heard. A good hunter uses all of his senses including his ears. When I spoke I listened carefully for sounds of discussion. It’s unusual for a person hiding and alone to talk to themselves so despite not being able to make out what you said, I heard two voices.” Haldan explained, although that so far seemed obvious to him.

“Then when this young man” he motioned to Thorn “came out alone it seemed likely he was protecting the other person in the tree hole.” Haldan continued to explain his logic calmly while remaining seated. “And who would a teenage boy feel protective of?” He asked, rhetorically, “likely a younger brother or sister.” He reasoned. “I took a wild guess that it was a sister rather than a brother”. Haldan then looked over to Fern with a smile, wondering if that would satisfy her curiosity.

The lad seemed to intelligently realize that their best option for survival was likely to trust Haldan and agreed to come with him. Haldan looked down at Scout. “Well you got what you wanted Scout, you little softie” Haldan was never really sure how much Scout really was the cause and how much he was simply projecting his own concern for the youths onto the dog.

When Thorn went to defend his ability to care for them himself, Haldan opened his mouth ready to strike back with a retort but the young girl took care of that for him. Haldan let out a muffled laugh as the two briefly bickered. Siblings seemed almost certain.

“There will be a fire back at my shelter and some food too” he said, hoping that would make them feel more comfortable. “Come now” he stood up as he spoke. “Let’s get out of this weather and get your brother a matching fur for the cold”. Not waiting to see if they would agree or follow, Haldan marched off north in the direction he had come, towards the denser thicket of trees. Branches and brush had already been pushed aside as Haldan had made the journey towards Scout which would make the return trip easier, especially for the smaller and lighter children.

Unlike Haldan, Scout did not immediately follow, and instead waited to see if the two youths would do so. Scout planned follow them from behind to ensure they did not fall or get lost with the breakneck pace his master was likely to set.

“So what are your names then, since you know mine?” He asked, without looking behind him. “Unless you’d like me to continue to refer to you as ‘the children’ of course”. Haldan wondered whether that would get a rise out of the young man and how he would react. On the one hand he may feel cautious about giving his name, Haldan wondered if he would be quick enough to give a fake name, on the other hand he got the impression the young man did not like being referred to as a child or insinuating that he needed caring for.

Trudging through the thicket was considerably easier having the trail that Haldan had left behind to follow and the return journey was short, less than twenty minutes. The rain was already beginning to turn into snow. Given a choice between nearly freezing rain and snow, Haldan would pick snow every time. He looked up at the clouds as they walked through the darkness, although it was hard to make anything out, the lack of stars or moon meant the cloud cover was dense. It seemed unlikely that the snow would stop soon, and quite likely it would get worse.

A large wickiup could soon be seen through the brush in a clearing. The shelter was clearly a more permanent one and Haldan had likely spent several days or more in constructing it. The shelter was easily large enough to fit the three of them and Scout plus all of their gear and a small fire. Dirt covered where the fire had been and tall sticks set upright with a smaller stick braced horizontally across them was positioned over where the fire had been. Some scraps of meat of some form seemed to be drying alongside a pelt which a reasonably astute observer would have guessed was related to the meat. The shelter had a strong smell of meat, smoke, tannin, and wet fur. It was a heady mix of smells that hardly bothered Haldan anymore.

The sound of a horse snorting and tapping its foot on the ground came as a startle as the Ranger entered the clearing. Scout rushed ahead and greeted the horse. The horse bent her head down to accept the nuzzles and kisses from Scout who seemed clearly happy to see the horse. The dark brown mare was of a usual size, neither particularly small nor particularly large. Pelts and furs covered her back and melded in with the black mane that ran up her neck. Despite the weather, the mare was sufficiently covered to stay warm even outside the shelter.

“Home sweet home” he said, motioning to the wickiup. “This is Willow” he said, patting the horse on the side of the neck. Willow snorted approvingly.

Haldan then moved inside, walking to the back of the shelter to dig for one of the cured hides to offer to Thorn and a replacement for his own. Finding two suitable candidates he offered a grey and black fur to Thorn. It was clearly a wolf’s pelt, with an eyeless and toothless head still attached, and had the natural double coat which would protect them from wind, snow, and rain. It was a recently finished pelt and smelled of the strong tannins used to cure the leather on the inside.

Having found suitable warm furs, Haldan crouched down by his makeshift fireplace and brushed away the dirt, turning it into a small pit. The ‘fireplace’ was in the middle of the wickiup giving it the maximum space for the flames not to catch any of the wood inside. “Hand me some of that kindling” he said, pointing to a small stack of dried twigs and branches in the far back of the shelter near the stack of pelts.

[Rillewen]

@Romeran

|
A pair of runaways - Somewhere in the vicinity of the Blue Mountains

"What do you consider "bad people"?" Fern asked warily as she looked at the dog, as if he would answer. She kept her hands under the fur, and did not reach to try and pet the dog. Looking up at the man, she listened to the response he gave about how he'd come to conclude that she was there. "Alright, fair enough." She admitted with a little nod. She'd thought they were quiet enough but apparently not.

Thorn made no comment about the ranger’s reasoning. He was watching him and listening, but a little too cold to bother speaking unless necessary. Still, he could think of other situations where he would have been protective of someone besides his little sister. He felt no need to point it out though.

The promise of a fire was good enough for Fern, and she brightened somewhat to hear it. "Come on!" She urged Thorn as the ranger set off toward the shelter.

Thorn hurried to keep up with his more eager sister, and caught her shoulder with a cold hand. "Be cautious," He warned softly in her ear. He noticed the dog behind them and glanced back a few times as they walked along in the ranger’s wake, but it didn't seem threatening in any way.

When the man asked for their names, Fern briefly glanced toward her brother but he seemed focused on trudging onward, much colder than she was with the fur to help her keep warm. "I'm Fern," She answered, seeing no harm in giving their names. "He's Thorn."

There was little else to say for the rest of the journey, and soon they arrived at an impressive little shelter built of sticks and leaves, from the look of it. They were glad to get out of the rain, which was looking more like snow by now, but disappointed there was no fire already burning. "You said there would be a fire." Fern reminded him, almost accusingly. Her gaze rested on the horse for a moment as he introduced it as Willow, then looked around at all the pelts and hides and other things inside the shelter.

Thorn was shivering when Haldan handed him a wolf pelt to wrap up in. He took it, and blinked at the "face" before wrapping the fur around himself without any protest. The smell was strong but nothing he hadn't smelled before, and he could tolerate it if it meant getting warm. "You don't leave a fire burning in the woods without watching it," He told Fern with a little eye roll, showing he at least knew that much.

Looking where Haldan had pointed, Thorn grabbed up a suitable amount of kindling and brought it to the ranger. "We've got more wood stashed in our cave, if we run out here." He mentioned, very much hoping not to run out of firewood in the night. He glanced outside again, thinking of the man saying it would turn to snow soon, and thought that was probably actually a good thing. Snow would cover up their tracks, and make it difficult for their family to locate them, right?

[Romeran]

|
Haldan and Scout
Somewhere in the vicinity of the Blue Mountains
@Rillewen

A large, pink, wet tongue lolled out of Scout’s mouth and he cocked his head when Fern asked him who he considered bad people, as if genuinely considering the question. Of course he just recognized that Fern was addressing him and listening for any commands he actually recognized.

“Your ears get better, the more you practice with them and I’ve done a lot of sitting and listening.” He explained. As a hunter and trapper and especially as a ranger his ears and nose had often been more valuable than his eyes.

“It was still a bit of a guess, truly, as I could have misheard and even given the voices it’s certainly no fact that the only individual that a young lad would feel protective over would be a sibling. A dear friend or lover, for example” Haldan wondered whether ‘lover’ was really an appropriate word in this case but did not correct himself “But in a game of chance, it’s usually best to bet on the most likely outcome.” Haldan was an experienced gambler, not that he was likely to confess as much to two youths he has only just met, and even if he did know them, Haldan was aware that gambling was a vice and not a virtue.

Scout followed along happily behind Fern and Thorn as they attempted to keep up with Haldan’s relentless pace. The old Ranger was unused to traveling with others, besides Willow and Scout of course, and was unlikely to adjust his speed accordingly. Scout left a reasonable distance between himself and the children, not wanting to scare them.

It was only the voice of Fern answering Haldan’s question that confirmed that they had indeed followed and were not too far behind. Haldan had also heard their footfalls following behind.

“It’s nice to meet you Fern and Thorn” he responded but initiated no further conversation and simply trudged on unceasingly through the thicket.

Haldan ignored Fern’s remark about the fire. He had in fact not plan to respond at all, busying himself with finding suitable furs for himself and Thorn. Haldan had picked out another more recent one for himself, in this case a combination fur cloak made from stitching together multiple pelts from several smaller water beavers.

“Your brother is right” he replied when Thorn correctly pointed out the reason but did not elaborate any further, it was generally not an instinct for Haldan to educate, unless explicitly asked.

“Thorn is your brother, right?” He added, realizing that Fern had not explicitly confirmed his conjecture. Not that he would put it past them to lie. The answer for their names had come so quickly that he assumed they were their correct names but he knew so little about these children to know how comfortable they were with lying.

“That’s good to know” Haldan said, taking the kindling from Thorn. He didn’t expect that they would need the fire wood, but knowing it was there could certainly prove useful. Haldan reached into a pocket on the inside of his jacket and retrieved a small tin. From within the tin he removed a small strip of blackened cloth and placed it on the kindling he had arranged in the small fire pit. From a different pocket he retrieved a small leather pouch with several stones in them and removed some flint.

“I’m going to remove my knife from my belt to start a fire” he said, looking between Fern and Thorn for confirmation they had heard him. He did not seek permission, but did not want to frighten them by pulling out a weapon. After looking between the two youths he pushed back the cloak covering his right arm and unsheathed a long knife — over a foot in total length with a blade of about nine inches.

Striking the flint stone on the back of the knife, which was not sharp and instead rectangular with square ninety degree edges, shot a blast of sparks. Several of them landed exactly on the char cloth and it took light nearly instantly. Haldan made it look trivial but it took a great deal of practice to strike the flint and aim the sparks so adroitly.

Once the char cloth caught, Haldan crouched his head down so that his beard practically brushed the dirt floor as he turned his head to the side and gently blew on the small flame. Quickly the oxygen helped ignite the flame even more and soon the smaller twigs and branches were on fire.

Haldan pointed to a stack of larger logs nearby where the kindling was. “Hand me three reasonably sized logs from that stack over there” he said, pointing to the logs, but not specifying what exactly he meant by ‘reasonably sized’. Haldan did not even considered his tone in practically ordering Fern and Thorn around. If they had protested it’s likely Haldan would have asked if they’d prefer to be back in the tree hole.

Once the fire had started and was growing nicely, Haldan nodded in satisfaction. He waved Fern and Thorn closer. “Make sure you dry off. In the cold weather being wet is a death sentence.” Haldan himself got up to tend to Willow, feeding and quickly brushing the horse before ensuring she was adequately covered for the night.

Scout happily watched Fern and Thorn and took advantage of Haldan’s exit to care for Willow by taking Haldan’s spot by the fire. The wolfhound laid down a foot or two from the fire and the water on his pelt started to steam as it dried off. Scout did not seem bothered in the slightest. It was clear, other than the presence of the two youths, that this was largely business as usual.

“I caught a brace of coneys earlier to day” he gestured to the meat and hide now drying above the fire. “Are you hungry?” He asked. Assuming the answer would yes, but Haldan would eat either way, Haldan took some of the meat and began to salt and season it before skewering it to cook over the fire.

“So where exactly are you two going then, if I am to aright your path?” He asked eventually. It seemed Thorn was eager to leave as soon as he was dry, although Haldan would recommend they stay at least until the morning. He was mighty curious by now what had brought these two out in the wild in the first place. They hardly looked like this was something they did often. From their demeanor, Haldan wondered whether they would even answer.

[Rillewen]

@Romeran

|
A pair of runaways - Somewhere in the vicinity of the Blue Mountains

"Yeah, he's my brother." Fern confirmed, watching him get stuff out to light a fire. She glanced over at Thorn, then slowly put her arrow into the small quiver at her side. It seemed unnecessary by this point, and she set her bow down as she kneeled down to watch more closely as it seemed like he was going to start a fire.

When the ranger mentioned drawing his knife, Thorn moved a few steps nearer to Fern and watched him closely. The ease with which he managed to start a fire was rather amazing. The siblings glanced at each other briefly before looking back to watch him. Fern frowned slightly in confusion as he put his head down close to the wood, but soon it became evident what he was doing. "Thorn, that's what you forgot, you didn't blow on it or nothing." She told him.

"I didn't forget." He muttered. "I just didn't get that far." He reminded her, a little annoyed she kept bringing up how he had failed to do something this guy made look so easy. And, technically, he would not have known to blow on it even if he had gotten that far along in starting a fire. Hearing thet man order him to bring some logs over, Thorn hesitated, glancing toward the logs, then at Fern and the knife briefly, but stepped over to grab the first three logs from the pile that he found. Thorn said nothing about being bossed around, being fairly used to that from home. Instead, he was making mental notes: the guy had used a knife with the stone. And he'd used the back of it. Now he had a better idea of how to do it, but there were still a few things he wasn't sure about. He stored those questions in the back of his mind though as he brought the logs over. He joined Fern in kneeling by the little flames, and held out his hands.

As the fire began burning better, the siblings eagerly huddled close to it, glad for the warmth. They watched the ranger take off to tend to his horse, and left the siblings to warm themselves, after a gruff warning about the danger of being wet. Fern held her hands out to the fire and glanced at Thorn. "What do we do now?" She asked softly, once the ranger was gone from the shelter.

"Get warm." Thorn answered, also putting his hands out toward the fire. "Just wait and see what happens, I guess."

“What d’you think the others are doing right now?” Fern asked, while looking curiously toward the dog and wondering if he could understand what they were saying.

Thorn thought about it for a moment and laughed slightly. “Sitting inside, by a warm fire, drinking something warm, and grumbling about us not doing our part, earlier.”

Fern smiled slightly as she nodded. “I’d almost like to have seen Clyff’s and Ruby’s faces when we didn't show up… but at the same time, I’m glad we weren’t around.”

“Me too.” Thorn smiled slightly at his sister next to him, though he couldn’t help wondering if she was really any safer here than if they’d stayed with their family.

"What about him, though?" Fern asked in a hushed tone as if she somehow knew what he was thinking, while nodding toward where the sound of the horse came from. "Do you think he's going to kill us?"

"I don't know," Thorn answered thoughtfully, keeping to a whisper. "He doesn't act like he's planning to," He admitted. To be honest, he was a little puzzled by this. "Weird, isn't it? I mean, he could've just left us to freeze in that cave. But I don't know wh-"

He didn't get to finish his thought. The abrupt mention of coneys heralded the man's return, and Thorn hastily stopped whatever he had been going to say, as the two both looked up. Were they hungry?

"Very!" Fern replied without any hesitation, while Thorn merely nodded quietly, still somewhat watchful of the stranger. They both watched while he got to work on seasoning the meat and getting it cooking. When he asked about where they were going, they looked at him in silence for a moment before exchanging a glance with each other. Fern was waiting for her brother to give an answer, since this was his whole idea and all.

"Um," Thorn spoke up at last, and shrugged. "We were going.. southeast." He shifted a little to find a more comfortable position. "But, then the rain started, and-"

"What he means is, he doesn't know." Fern interrupted, rolling her eyes. "We're going wherever our-"

"Fern!" Thorn cast a scowl toward her for what she had said, and what he believed she had almost said, and sighed, frustrated as he turned back to Haldan. "We.. um, we just stopped for the night, to wait out the rain. We're not really off course or anything."

[Romeran]

|
Haldan and Scout
Somewhere in the vicinity of the Blue Mountains
@Rillewen

Outside of the wickiup, Haldan had constructed a makeshift barn stall by lashing together branches and covering them with a combination of debris and leaves. This created a reasonable enough shelter for Willow, in conjunction with several large furs which Haldan covered her with to keep the horse warm in the night. Willow was already standing underneath the shelter, having moved there during the rain, and Haldan checked that she was still tied to the tree. The rope was actually to slow down a thief and give Willow a chance to alert Haldan, rather than to stop Willow, as the rope had been tied around her in such a way that she could easily pull free. Haldan trusted Willow not to run off into the wilds -- it was hardly in her best interest and, other than Scout, Willow was Haldan's closest friend.

Watching the children bicker at first was entertaining to Haldan, who smiled behind his beard, but soon it sent a pang of sadness through him and his face turned sullen. Haldan looked down towards the fire and tended to the roasting meat. The change in his face had been subtle, and Haldan thought it unlikely either would have noticed, but a lump in his throat grew.

Letting people talk without interruption was often the best way to gather the most information, he found, and so remained uncomfortably quiet even after Thorn had attempted to recover from Fern's interruption. Scout sat there passively watching, lying on the ground with his face forward, pointing towards the fire. The steam continued to rise from his coat as the water evaporated.

For several minutes Haldan sat in silence waiting to see if either of them would continue speaking and let out any more information unprompted. The skewers of meat sputtered and sizzled as the fire licked beneath. The smell of cooked and seasoned meat began to dominate the smell of tannins and smoke inside the shelter. Scout's inched closer to the fire, drooling by this point and making it obvious that he was paying more attention to the food than the children. Once the three skewers of rabbit were cooked he handed one each to Fern and Thorn before taking some of his and tossing it to Scout who consumed it eagerly.

"I'm sorry I don't have any vegetables or at least potatoes to go with the meat. I haven't had a chance to gather them in the last few days." He explained nonchalantly, taking a first bite. At first he had made no acknowledgement of what Fern and Thorn had said and took a few more bites.

"So, what's southeast?" he eventually asked between bites of his food as if nothing had been suspicious about Thorn and Fern's interaction.

[Rillewen]

@Romeran

|
A pair of runaways - Somewhere in the vicinity of the Blue Mountains

"S'alright," Fern replied to the apology about vegetables, shrugging. "We've not eaten all day." She eagerly started eating as soon as the meat was passed to her. It was absolutely delicious and she couldn't care less about vegetables.

"We had breakfast," Thorn corrected her in between bites. It had been early, just after dawn, but they had eaten. He ate more slowly, but no less hungrily.

"It wasn't much though," She mumbled with a shrug, then went on with eating. The silence went on for a while as they all ate.

While he ate, Thorn was keeping an eye on both the ranger and his sister, unsure which needed more watching. The silence stretched on, and he could almost imagine that the man had not even heard their words. But he must have, right? After what felt like a really long time, the question that finally came almost startled him. He lowered the meat he had been eating, and blinked at the man. What's southeast? He wasn't sure why the ranger would ask that. Hadn't the man ever been there, before? "You know. Cities and stuff," He shrugged. "People. Jobs." He wasn't really sure what else to say.

He took another bite. He was just as hungry as her, perhaps more, but he'd gone without a few more meals in his life than she had, so he had learned to endure it a little more. "What're you doing here, anyway?" He wondered, figuring they had a right to ask a few questions in return.

[Romeran]

|
Haldan and Scout
Somewhere in the vicinity of the Blue Mountains
@Rillewen

A cool wind whistled through the air as the sleet seemed to suddenly turn to snow now that the temperature had dropped below freezing. The heavy sound of dropping rain was replaced by the eerie silence of snowfall and the rustling of Willow outside could now be heard from inside the wickiup. Haldan and Scout sat nearest the entrance to the shelter, on either side of the opening, but not with their back to the entrance. The fur on both of them helped temper the cool wind air that accompanied the snow.

The explanation of where they were going made it clear that they likely had no specific destination in mind. The boy did not name a location or individual they were heading towards. That and their suspicious lack of survival skills for being found wandering in the wilderness convinced Haldan further that these children were likely running away from something. That would also explain the young lad’s particular caution.

When Thorn asked Haldan a question he paused to take a bite from his food. He supposed he owed them as much and he was willing to go question for question, if that’s what Thorn wanted.

“Trapping” Haldan explained succinctly and motioned to the stack of fur, hides, and leather in the back of the shelter in various states of completion, as if the smell of tannin and all of the furs had not given it away. If he wanted to know more, he would have to spend another answer.

“How many people will be looking for you two?” Haldan asked in a surprisingly serious tone. The ranger looked between Thorn and Fern and then nonchalantly took a bite of his food.

Without getting up, Haldan reached for a canteen of water behind where Scout sat, the dog was still seated where Haldan had originally been, Haldan having taken a new position on his return. Opening the canteen, Haldan took a drink. A bead of water dripped down his moustache and the ranger caught it with the back of his hand. He then offered the canteen to Fern. “It’s water” he clarified. If they hadn’t eaten since early morning they may also have not drank.

[Rillewen]

@Romeran

|
A pair of runaways - Somewhere in the vicinity of the Blue Mountains

Trapping, of course. That made sense. Both siblings could see the furs and hides all around them. As the wind swept across the opening, Fern shifted a little closer to her brother and was extra glad for the fire and the nice hot food to eat. Much better than a few plants that they might have tried gathering from the woods. Without being able to build a fire, there would not have been much else for them to try and eat, after all.

Thorn was a bit startled by the return question, and blinked at the man. Slowly, he looked sidelong at his sister, who returned the same look. He hesitated, thinking about how to reply to that.

While they were hesitating, undecided on what to say, the canteen being passed to Fern was a surprise. She nodded as he confirmed it was water, then grabbed it and paused before slowly taking a drink. She passed it to Thorn next. Having some water definitely helped wash down the meat. She looked at Haldan after swallowing, and took the answer into her own hands since Thorn was hesitating to give one. "Lots of people will be looking for us," She declared in a rather matter-of-fact tone, while Thorn, with wide eyes, turned to her with a look like, 'what are you doing?!'.

She ignored him and continued, "So, if you had any thoughts about killing us, you'd better think again, cause they'd for sure want to get revenge, if you hurt us. And they're not the sort of people you want to mess with." She added with narrowed eyes. Having finished saying what was on her mind, she watched the ranger almost challengingly, waiting to see how he would respond to that.

Beside her, Thorn stared at her, his mouth dropping open slightly in disbelief that she'd be so bold. He turned and looked toward the ranger, unsure what to say. Honestly, he wasn't sure how to react to this unexpected turn, and while he wanted to chide Fern for speaking so bluntly, he also couldn't help wondering, himself, how the man would react.

[Romeran]

|
Haldan and Scout
Somewhere in the vicinity of the Blue Mountains
@Rillewen

The water seemed to embolden Fern and Haldan couldn’t help but chuckle at the assertion. He took another bite from his food. Haldan was slow to respond, a habit of his.

“Fern” he used the girl’s name specifically, “if I had wanted you dead, I could have just left you in that tree hole” he said, taking a final bite of his food before wiping the metal skewer with a rag and hanging it back on the makeshift fire spit by a ring forged by bending the end of the skewer to create a circle. Scout swapped his attention from his master, now that he had finished his food, over to the two youths.

“You’re welcome to leave, if you’d like”. Haldan motioned with his hand to the open shelter entrance. “Though I might recommend you at least stay out the night.” As he spoke, Haldan reached into his interior pocket and retrieved a wooden pipe. He packed the pipe with some dried leaves kept in a tin in the same pocket.

Haldan reached down and picked up a twig which had not been caught in the initial fire and lit the end of the twig by holding it into the flames. He then used the twig to light the pipe. Haldan cocked the pipe to one side as he inserted the flaming twig into the pipe bowl like a match. Three shallow breaths in and the pipe was lit. Haldan exhaled the smoke out of the wickiup’s entrance, avoiding blowing it into the youth’s faces.

“I take it there are actually people looking for you, and either that’s why you are running or the running is why they are looking for you.” Haldan took a sip from a small flask kept in the same pocket as the tin of leaves he was smoking. He did not offer this flask to either Thorn or Fern.

The night was drawing on now, and already the snow was beginning to stick, forming a thin but steadily growing dust along the ground. The heat of the fire reflected on the walls of the wickiup and bounced upwards and back across the opposing wall, creating a convection effect and warming the whole shelter. The open shelter entrance by which Scout and Haldan sat was the only source of cold air.

[Rillewen]

@Romeran

|
A pair of runaways - Somewhere in the vicinity of the Blue Mountains

Both siblings watched him warily as he answered. Of course, his answer made perfect sense. Fern considered the answer, and glanced at Thorn before looking back at Haldan. "That's what Thorn said, too." She let him know. She relaxed slightly, feeling as if this had somehow been confirmed, since both Thorn and Haldan agreed on the fact.

As opposed to his sister, Thorn tensed ever so slightly when the man reached into his pocket for something. But, seeing it was only a pipe and the equipment to light it, he let some of the tension in his shoulders relax. He took a small drink of water, and then another as he realized how very thirsty he had become. They'd stopped at a few streams to drink during the day, but it had been a while. After offering the canteen back to Haldan, Thorn another small bite of his meat, thinking about the whole matter in mild confusion.

Fern had finished her meat by now, and after a moment of hesitation, she offered the skewer back to Haldan, since he had the cloth to wipe it and all. "But.. you said you're a ranger." She frowned, finding this very conflicting with what she 'knew'. "That's what rangers do. They're mean and scary, and go around killing people, for no reason at all! And they hunt down people for fun, so they can skin them and.. all sorts of other terrible things." She glanced around them at the piles of hides before returning her wide green-grey gaze up at the man.

"Shh, Fern." Thorn nudged her side lightly with his elbow, and glanced apprehensively toward Haldan, wondering if her words might upset him, possibly set him off to become the very monster they had suspected all along.. as if perhaps, he had only been playing nice to deceive them for some trick. Despite his words saying that they could leave, he was sort of blocking their exit, Thorn realized, feeling a little uneasy about that. "We don't mean any offense, and we don't want any trouble," He promised quietly. "And.. she was only exaggerating about the people being after us," He fidgeted slightly. "There's not any bounty on us or anything, either."

[Romeran]

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Haldan and Scout
Somewhere in the vicinity of the Blue Mountains
@Rillewen

The tension seemed to ease slightly, as Fern and Thorn accepted his reasonable explanation about not wanting to kill them. Haldan took the canteen from Thorn as he handed it back and placed it on the ground a few feet from the fire, after motioning to Fern and Thorn that he was putting it there, hoping they'd gather he what he was implying: if they wanted more to pick it up. Haldan was a man of few words and what he could convey with gestures over words he would.

In the same manner in which he had 'cleaned' his own skewer, he took Fern's and did the same thing: wiped it off with the rag and then hung it across the makeshift fire spit, the metal clanked together as the two skewers hung from the hook.

A surprised laugh escaped from Haldan, who stifled it quickly so as not to scare the two youths. Haldan had been accused of a lot of things over the years -- drunkard, gambler, mountain-man -- all true, but nothing so far from the truth as murderer, especially of children.

"Where have you heard these old-wives tales eh?" he asked, but before letting them answer continued "I've heard of rangers being called dangerous and even distrustful but nothing quite so wild as to suggest we hunt people; we're not orcs!" he said with a gruff laugh. "But no, my people -- well my mother's people -- are of the former kingdom of Arnor, that is before its eventual collapse. Now we act as watchers and guardians of the lands of Eriador, although mostly the northern parts" Haldan said, in his best imitation of his mother who had taught him the history of her people.

Haldan took another deep puff from his pipe and blew the smoke outside of the shelter, he resisted the urge to take another swig from his flask. The youths were clearly uncomfortable, and he could hardly blame them, especially if they believed such tall tales about the rangers.

"You haven't offended me lad" he assured them, having mostly taken humor from Fern's ridiculous -- but terrifying -- statements.

"Runaways then. But you didn't clarify: are you running from people seeking you, or might they be seeking you because you're running?" he asked, not that it made a particular difference but if he had a better understanding of why these two were off in the wilderness he might be able to best help them. It was, after all, part of his duties as a Ranger to protect those in need in his domain, and Haldan had a particular soft-spot for children.

Scout lifted up his large, still wet, head and rested his chin on Haldan's knee. The ranger proceeded to stroke the large dog's head absent mindedly as he took another draw from his pipe and waited for their response.

[Rillewen]

@Romeran

|
A pair of runaways - Somewhere in the vicinity of the Blue Mountains

To the siblings, the ranger's laugh sounded more like a scoff, and they waited quietly to hear what he would say to that. When he asked where they heard 'that old wives tale', they were both somewhat confused. Though unsure what anyone's wife had to do with anything, Fern spoke up in answer to the question. "Our mother told us." She glanced at Thorn.

He nodded quietly. "And like.. everyone we know." He added in agreement.

"Our grandmother was murdered by rangers, a long time ago." She added, frowning. "Said these rangers just came in and slaughtered the whole village. Our grandmother was dragged out of bed and killed, for no reason at all." She said with wide eyes.

As Haldan explained his idea of what rangers were, the siblings were quiet and listening. Fern still looked a bit skeptical about it all.

Thorn watched his face while he spoke, trying to decide if he was lying or really sincere. He'd heard all the same stories as Fern, and knew all about all that. Yet there were things that he found confusing about that, and it was intriguing to hear a different version of what rangers are about. "Watch? Guard.. from what?" He asked curiously.

He looked away as the question was repeated about what they were running from. He took a lengthy moment to think about how to reply to it. The motion of Scout lifting his head drew his gaze back up, and he watched Scout for a few seconds before looking past him at the snow falling outside. The wind was still blowing, but most of it was accumulating outside the shelter. "Does it matter?" He asked as he returned his gaze to Haldan, feeling a little unsure still about telling him anything more.