Speedwriting #2
This was harder. Still, almost 500 words in an hour is nothing to sneeze at by my standards. Since this scene is pretty much done now, I shall post it.
It's really kind of liberating to just write this and throw it out there. Is it confusing? Too blatant? I don't care! And I have no idea what will happen next! Whee!
The windows of the hunting lodge, glowing softly against the darkness of the forest, guided Mablung through the last few minutes of his solitary patrol. The windows' dim light suggested that the hunters were all asleep: that the lamps had been put out, leaving only the hearth. Sure enough, when Mablung reached the door, he heard no voices within.
The only voice came from up above. "Welcome back," said Beleg from the roof. On this moonless night, he was all but invisible to the ordinary eye. "Any news?"
Mablung hesitated only a moment before leaning his axe against the woodpile and clambering up to join him. "Nothing unexpected. Saw some stags fighting by the forest's edge, but no sign of foul creatures. How was your hunt?"
"It went well enough."
Mablung lounged comfortably at Beleg's right. "Then why are you out here watching the constellations, instead of resting inside?"
"I am counting stars. Did you know that Turin says he can see only two in the Archer's Eye?"
"No, but I am not surprised. Remember, Beren said most mortals could see only one." Mablung looked up at the sky. On a dark but cloudless night like this one, he could count a respectable four. Beleg claimed to see seven, a number nobody else could verify. Mablung had thought him a braggart at first, before learning more of his open, honest heart.
"Mortals are so odd," said Beleg quietly. "So much like us, yet so unlike."
"What has Turin done now?"
"Oh, he..." Beleg shifted a little. "He claims to have awakened to desire. The way he describes it, it sounds rather intense for someone so young... at least, for someone who does not know what desire's fulfillment might feel like."
His voice sounded strange: detached and dreamlike. As usual, it fell to Mablung to be more practical. "Perhaps he does know. He is impulsive, and has spent much time walking the woods with Nellas, perhaps they--"
"Surely not!" Beleg sat up on one elbow. "No, that is quite impossible: he did not even believe our kind could experience such emotions."
Mablung met his animated gaze. "And did you correct his misconception?"
"I told him to seek out his peers. Who knows, perhaps this might help him build a new friendship? Turin needs more friends."
To Mablung's mind, Turin certainly did friends other than Beleg himself: but did he deserve them? Mablung exhaled, and decided not to voice this doubt, saying instead, "You think everyone needs more friends."
"Well, friendship is a fine thing."
"I do not dispute that. But some of us are satisfied with the friends we already have."
Beleg's response was to smile and lay a hand on Mablung's shoulder.
It's really kind of liberating to just write this and throw it out there. Is it confusing? Too blatant? I don't care! And I have no idea what will happen next! Whee!
The windows of the hunting lodge, glowing softly against the darkness of the forest, guided Mablung through the last few minutes of his solitary patrol. The windows' dim light suggested that the hunters were all asleep: that the lamps had been put out, leaving only the hearth. Sure enough, when Mablung reached the door, he heard no voices within.
The only voice came from up above. "Welcome back," said Beleg from the roof. On this moonless night, he was all but invisible to the ordinary eye. "Any news?"
Mablung hesitated only a moment before leaning his axe against the woodpile and clambering up to join him. "Nothing unexpected. Saw some stags fighting by the forest's edge, but no sign of foul creatures. How was your hunt?"
"It went well enough."
Mablung lounged comfortably at Beleg's right. "Then why are you out here watching the constellations, instead of resting inside?"
"I am counting stars. Did you know that Turin says he can see only two in the Archer's Eye?"
"No, but I am not surprised. Remember, Beren said most mortals could see only one." Mablung looked up at the sky. On a dark but cloudless night like this one, he could count a respectable four. Beleg claimed to see seven, a number nobody else could verify. Mablung had thought him a braggart at first, before learning more of his open, honest heart.
"Mortals are so odd," said Beleg quietly. "So much like us, yet so unlike."
"What has Turin done now?"
"Oh, he..." Beleg shifted a little. "He claims to have awakened to desire. The way he describes it, it sounds rather intense for someone so young... at least, for someone who does not know what desire's fulfillment might feel like."
His voice sounded strange: detached and dreamlike. As usual, it fell to Mablung to be more practical. "Perhaps he does know. He is impulsive, and has spent much time walking the woods with Nellas, perhaps they--"
"Surely not!" Beleg sat up on one elbow. "No, that is quite impossible: he did not even believe our kind could experience such emotions."
Mablung met his animated gaze. "And did you correct his misconception?"
"I told him to seek out his peers. Who knows, perhaps this might help him build a new friendship? Turin needs more friends."
To Mablung's mind, Turin certainly did friends other than Beleg himself: but did he deserve them? Mablung exhaled, and decided not to voice this doubt, saying instead, "You think everyone needs more friends."
"Well, friendship is a fine thing."
"I do not dispute that. But some of us are satisfied with the friends we already have."
Beleg's response was to smile and lay a hand on Mablung's shoulder.