Of death, family, and dawn
Halbarad: *After Gorlim's ghost faded away, Halbarad was left sleeping beside his friend's body, head pillowed on his arm. He dreams of afternoons chasing after Gorlim with flour and ducking soap detergent ambushes. The grim, tired lines on his face fade into a faint smile.*
Nadiyah: She settles down next to the bed, sliding one arm over the small of his back, petting his hair back from his eyes. He looks peaceful. Perhaps she should not waken him...but... "Halbarad?" Softly.
Halbarad: Stirring under her touch, he emerges slowly from his dreams and rubs the sleep from his eyes before meeting his wife's gaze. "What is it? Is something wrong?"
Nadiyah: "No...I do not think so...there are, what do you say, rumors. Good ones." She rubs his shoulders, trying not to see the body on the bed, staying low to avoid the sight. "It is cold back here. There is a fire in the mainroom."
Halbarad: He sits up and rolls his shoulders, then casts one last glance at the body. It's a stark contrast to the whole, happy Gorlim that appeared to him. Halbarad turns his back on the mangled flesh and wraps an arm around Nadiyah's waist. "All right." He's recovering from his loss, and it shows. "What kind of rumors?" he asks as they walk into the common room.
Nadiyah: "That the wraith is dead...that Luthien is on the throne...and..." She takes a deep breath, not sure he's ready for everything, not in light of what just happened. "Good rumors. Perhaps we shall see the sky again soon." She slips her hand into his, squeezes. "What were you dreaming?"
Halbarad: "Gorlim." Then, very softly, "He came to say goodbye."
Nadiyah: "I see." She's less surprised than she should be. Seeing nobody else in evidence for the time being, she pulls Halbarad towards the fire, indicating that he should stoke it while she ladles out some stew from a pot. "That was kind of him."
Halbarad: He takes the poker and tends to the smoldering logs as he speaks. "The scars were gone. I thought it was a dream at first." When the fire is burning properly again, he sets the poker aside and goes to help Nadiyah. "Has Haldir improved?"
Nadiyah: "He's sleeping. I think he is. Elves...it is hard to say." She hands him a crude bowl; there are no spoons. They're just have to make do road-style, with fingers. "Gorlim died for him. I am not comfortable with this."
Halbarad: "I know." He kisses her cheek as he takes the bowl, then pulls out some chairs for them at the rough table. After recent events, he's starving, but not quite settled enough to show much enthusiasm for food. "He didn't want help. I don't agree with it, but there's nothing we can do now."
Nadiyah: "I wish he had said something. Woken us up. Something." She's scowling, not hungry either, but she knows she needs the food too. Or at least her passenger does. "Why would he never get better? You loved him, I loved him, Theodred, Firiel, Eomer, everyone, why was it not enough?!"
Halbarad: Startled by the outburst, Halbarad reaches over and takes her hand, gently stroking it with his thumb. "Maybe he was too proud to get better. It hurt him to let people in, to admit he needed help. I think ..." Here a brief pause to form his thoughts into words. "I think that if he finds his way back to us, he will be stronger."
Nadiyah: Nadiyah pushes into his arms, gripping the bowl tight behind his back. "If he comes back. If he loved us enough. Which I do not think he did." She regrets that comment immediately. "I'm sorry...it is just too much...him and the king and the darkness and the baby and, and my brother..."
Halbarad: Halbarad winces at the mention of the last, and has to remind himself to hold Nadiyah, though he wonders if doing so might earn him a severed hand. "Yes ... about that ... I'm sorry I wasn't able to give him a more proper greeting."
Nadiyah: "Or you would have tried to kill each other..."
Halbarad: He flinches a bit at that, and puts the stew on the table so he won't spill it. "No, but if I'd been thinking clearly at the time, I probably would have been worried about him killing me. He didn't sound happy."
Nadiyah: "He was not." He voice is muffled against his shoulder. "My people let women fight, it is not very very rare, but that does not stop the men from trying to guard us against foreign men off the battlefield. It is why I wear the mens' veil, when I travel. It is ...private, that way."
Halbarad: "So that means be careful around him, doesn't it?"
Nadiyah: "Yes." She twiddles with a loose thread in his battered shirt. "I love him, and he's a good man, but...well, you ARE strange to him."
Halbarad: Somewhat amused. "I'm strange to everyone." He gently brushes a loose strand of hair behind her ear and rests his forehead against her own. "I would like to be on good terms with him, but I'm afraid I'll need help learning how. You mentioned something about tests."
Nadiyah: She laughs softly. "If you had a sister, what would you do if she married HIM while you were dead?"
Halbarad: "Fill out the Mandos forms at an inhuman speed, track him down and beat him senseless before listening to any rational explanations."
Nadiyah: Nadiyah just laughs harder, almost shaking with it in your arms. "Exactly...yes...brothers are always brothers... Do you understand now?"
Halbarad: He squeezes her hand and nods. "Yes, but I'd still like to avoid as much pummeling as possible. Jade just fixed my brain, after all."
Nadiyah: "If he hurts you, I will never speak to him again and he knows it." She looks fierce, then torn. "I saw him die, I wish this could be happier..."
Halbarad: "I know." Halbarad pulls her close, into a proper embrace, and strokes her hair. "Do me a favor? Don't let a little male posturing get in the way of your happiness."
Nadiyah: "If you both manage to survive the week, that will be good enough," she mutters direly into his shoulder. "Halbarad...be careful...ghosts call men to their own deaths..."
Halbarad: "I promise," he whispers. "I can't leave you, and I can't leave the baby." Trying to lighten the mood, he jokes (lamely), "We could find Aragorn, ask him to spit on some athelas for us in case I run into trouble again."
Nadiyah: "Kingspit. Very healthy. But very expensive." She smiles a little. "I think you might actually like my brother, when it is over and he stops tormenting you...someday..."
Halbarad: Hopefully, "Can I torment him back? Just a little?"
Nadiyah: "Absolutely. You are family now, whether he likes it or not!"
Halbarad: That brings a grin to his face. "Excellent." Everything about the ranger tells his wife that he's already plotting.
Nadiyah: Nadiyah rolls her eyes but can't help smiling a little. Perhaps this will keep him too busy to mope! "I WILL smack you both with a broom if I must--" She glances aside as something catches the corner of her gaze, and her eyes go wide. There is sunlight creeping through the nailed shutters. "Halbarad?"
Halbarad: "Yes? What is--" But then he notices it too, a small sliver of light caught in her dark hair, too perfectly illuminating to be fire.
Nadiyah: Without a word Nadiyah rises, Halbarad's hand caught in hers, pulling him towards the door. At the last moment she pauses, however, her hand hovering over the handle. "Would you...?"
Halbarad: "Of course." Just in case, he guides her behind him, to protect her and their unborn child. Hesitant, not wanting to believe anything good is waiting on the other side, he reaches out and triggers the latch. The door swings open.
Nadiyah: And light floods in. With no monstrous spider to weave new darkness, the last of the gloom overhead is disappating. There's a feel in the air, like the last notes of a song... Nadiyah closes her eyes and lifts her face, stepping out into daylight with her arms spread and a blissful expression. "Oh...I missed this...is it real?"
Halbarad: Halbarad is stunned for a long moment, and not by the sunlight. It's the sight of his wife relishing the light that stills his heart for one beautiful moment. Then he is beside her, wrapping her in his arms again and smiling. "It certainly feels real. You're glowing," he says, refering in part to the gleam in her dark hair, and in part to the happiness written on her face. He also catches the feel of music in the air, and there's something familiar about it that he can't quite place.
Nadiyah: "I am?" She nuzzles close, already feeling the warmth seeping into him. And color...when's the last time she'd seen him except by firelight? "I wonder what happened? I bet Gorlim did something. When he killed the monster."
Halbarad: He can't stop touching her hair. He loves her hair. It borders on obsession, but he loves the soft, silky thickness of it and the way it captures light. He loves the way it fans out over her pillow at night, the way it brushes against his shoulders when they make love. "The tales say that a spider brought darkness to Valinor once. Maybe this one brought darkness here."
Nadiyah: Nadiyah almost purrs as he pets her, pressing as close as she can. Her stomach is starting to get in the way, but it's not a bad thing. "The Quarters. Should we go there? Maybe Lady Luthien..."
Halbarad: The ranger glances back at the cottage, where Gorlim's body lies, and Haldir rests unaware. The others are there to watch over them, and it seems that the dangers in the city are gone. "I think you're right. She might be able to help Haldir."
Nadiyah: "Yes! I know she can." Nadiyah chews her lip, though, seeing his hesitation and understanding it. "You can run faster than me, right now," she admits, with difficulty. "You get her. I can guard him. Please? Mith will be here too."
Halbarad: "All right." He brushes her hair back, and kisses her temple, then ducks inside for a moment to retrieve a sword and knife, just in case. "I'll be back soon ... with any luck, I'll have an elf with me." Halbarad smiles, kisses his wife again, and then hurries off up the cobbled street.
Nadiyah: She watches his leave then, reluctantly, ducks back inside. WIth luck, she no longer has any reason to stand guard...but just in case, she'll be ready.
Nadiyah: She settles down next to the bed, sliding one arm over the small of his back, petting his hair back from his eyes. He looks peaceful. Perhaps she should not waken him...but... "Halbarad?" Softly.
Halbarad: Stirring under her touch, he emerges slowly from his dreams and rubs the sleep from his eyes before meeting his wife's gaze. "What is it? Is something wrong?"
Nadiyah: "No...I do not think so...there are, what do you say, rumors. Good ones." She rubs his shoulders, trying not to see the body on the bed, staying low to avoid the sight. "It is cold back here. There is a fire in the mainroom."
Halbarad: He sits up and rolls his shoulders, then casts one last glance at the body. It's a stark contrast to the whole, happy Gorlim that appeared to him. Halbarad turns his back on the mangled flesh and wraps an arm around Nadiyah's waist. "All right." He's recovering from his loss, and it shows. "What kind of rumors?" he asks as they walk into the common room.
Nadiyah: "That the wraith is dead...that Luthien is on the throne...and..." She takes a deep breath, not sure he's ready for everything, not in light of what just happened. "Good rumors. Perhaps we shall see the sky again soon." She slips her hand into his, squeezes. "What were you dreaming?"
Halbarad: "Gorlim." Then, very softly, "He came to say goodbye."
Nadiyah: "I see." She's less surprised than she should be. Seeing nobody else in evidence for the time being, she pulls Halbarad towards the fire, indicating that he should stoke it while she ladles out some stew from a pot. "That was kind of him."
Halbarad: He takes the poker and tends to the smoldering logs as he speaks. "The scars were gone. I thought it was a dream at first." When the fire is burning properly again, he sets the poker aside and goes to help Nadiyah. "Has Haldir improved?"
Nadiyah: "He's sleeping. I think he is. Elves...it is hard to say." She hands him a crude bowl; there are no spoons. They're just have to make do road-style, with fingers. "Gorlim died for him. I am not comfortable with this."
Halbarad: "I know." He kisses her cheek as he takes the bowl, then pulls out some chairs for them at the rough table. After recent events, he's starving, but not quite settled enough to show much enthusiasm for food. "He didn't want help. I don't agree with it, but there's nothing we can do now."
Nadiyah: "I wish he had said something. Woken us up. Something." She's scowling, not hungry either, but she knows she needs the food too. Or at least her passenger does. "Why would he never get better? You loved him, I loved him, Theodred, Firiel, Eomer, everyone, why was it not enough?!"
Halbarad: Startled by the outburst, Halbarad reaches over and takes her hand, gently stroking it with his thumb. "Maybe he was too proud to get better. It hurt him to let people in, to admit he needed help. I think ..." Here a brief pause to form his thoughts into words. "I think that if he finds his way back to us, he will be stronger."
Nadiyah: Nadiyah pushes into his arms, gripping the bowl tight behind his back. "If he comes back. If he loved us enough. Which I do not think he did." She regrets that comment immediately. "I'm sorry...it is just too much...him and the king and the darkness and the baby and, and my brother..."
Halbarad: Halbarad winces at the mention of the last, and has to remind himself to hold Nadiyah, though he wonders if doing so might earn him a severed hand. "Yes ... about that ... I'm sorry I wasn't able to give him a more proper greeting."
Nadiyah: "Or you would have tried to kill each other..."
Halbarad: He flinches a bit at that, and puts the stew on the table so he won't spill it. "No, but if I'd been thinking clearly at the time, I probably would have been worried about him killing me. He didn't sound happy."
Nadiyah: "He was not." He voice is muffled against his shoulder. "My people let women fight, it is not very very rare, but that does not stop the men from trying to guard us against foreign men off the battlefield. It is why I wear the mens' veil, when I travel. It is ...private, that way."
Halbarad: "So that means be careful around him, doesn't it?"
Nadiyah: "Yes." She twiddles with a loose thread in his battered shirt. "I love him, and he's a good man, but...well, you ARE strange to him."
Halbarad: Somewhat amused. "I'm strange to everyone." He gently brushes a loose strand of hair behind her ear and rests his forehead against her own. "I would like to be on good terms with him, but I'm afraid I'll need help learning how. You mentioned something about tests."
Nadiyah: She laughs softly. "If you had a sister, what would you do if she married HIM while you were dead?"
Halbarad: "Fill out the Mandos forms at an inhuman speed, track him down and beat him senseless before listening to any rational explanations."
Nadiyah: Nadiyah just laughs harder, almost shaking with it in your arms. "Exactly...yes...brothers are always brothers... Do you understand now?"
Halbarad: He squeezes her hand and nods. "Yes, but I'd still like to avoid as much pummeling as possible. Jade just fixed my brain, after all."
Nadiyah: "If he hurts you, I will never speak to him again and he knows it." She looks fierce, then torn. "I saw him die, I wish this could be happier..."
Halbarad: "I know." Halbarad pulls her close, into a proper embrace, and strokes her hair. "Do me a favor? Don't let a little male posturing get in the way of your happiness."
Nadiyah: "If you both manage to survive the week, that will be good enough," she mutters direly into his shoulder. "Halbarad...be careful...ghosts call men to their own deaths..."
Halbarad: "I promise," he whispers. "I can't leave you, and I can't leave the baby." Trying to lighten the mood, he jokes (lamely), "We could find Aragorn, ask him to spit on some athelas for us in case I run into trouble again."
Nadiyah: "Kingspit. Very healthy. But very expensive." She smiles a little. "I think you might actually like my brother, when it is over and he stops tormenting you...someday..."
Halbarad: Hopefully, "Can I torment him back? Just a little?"
Nadiyah: "Absolutely. You are family now, whether he likes it or not!"
Halbarad: That brings a grin to his face. "Excellent." Everything about the ranger tells his wife that he's already plotting.
Nadiyah: Nadiyah rolls her eyes but can't help smiling a little. Perhaps this will keep him too busy to mope! "I WILL smack you both with a broom if I must--" She glances aside as something catches the corner of her gaze, and her eyes go wide. There is sunlight creeping through the nailed shutters. "Halbarad?"
Halbarad: "Yes? What is--" But then he notices it too, a small sliver of light caught in her dark hair, too perfectly illuminating to be fire.
Nadiyah: Without a word Nadiyah rises, Halbarad's hand caught in hers, pulling him towards the door. At the last moment she pauses, however, her hand hovering over the handle. "Would you...?"
Halbarad: "Of course." Just in case, he guides her behind him, to protect her and their unborn child. Hesitant, not wanting to believe anything good is waiting on the other side, he reaches out and triggers the latch. The door swings open.
Nadiyah: And light floods in. With no monstrous spider to weave new darkness, the last of the gloom overhead is disappating. There's a feel in the air, like the last notes of a song... Nadiyah closes her eyes and lifts her face, stepping out into daylight with her arms spread and a blissful expression. "Oh...I missed this...is it real?"
Halbarad: Halbarad is stunned for a long moment, and not by the sunlight. It's the sight of his wife relishing the light that stills his heart for one beautiful moment. Then he is beside her, wrapping her in his arms again and smiling. "It certainly feels real. You're glowing," he says, refering in part to the gleam in her dark hair, and in part to the happiness written on her face. He also catches the feel of music in the air, and there's something familiar about it that he can't quite place.
Nadiyah: "I am?" She nuzzles close, already feeling the warmth seeping into him. And color...when's the last time she'd seen him except by firelight? "I wonder what happened? I bet Gorlim did something. When he killed the monster."
Halbarad: He can't stop touching her hair. He loves her hair. It borders on obsession, but he loves the soft, silky thickness of it and the way it captures light. He loves the way it fans out over her pillow at night, the way it brushes against his shoulders when they make love. "The tales say that a spider brought darkness to Valinor once. Maybe this one brought darkness here."
Nadiyah: Nadiyah almost purrs as he pets her, pressing as close as she can. Her stomach is starting to get in the way, but it's not a bad thing. "The Quarters. Should we go there? Maybe Lady Luthien..."
Halbarad: The ranger glances back at the cottage, where Gorlim's body lies, and Haldir rests unaware. The others are there to watch over them, and it seems that the dangers in the city are gone. "I think you're right. She might be able to help Haldir."
Nadiyah: "Yes! I know she can." Nadiyah chews her lip, though, seeing his hesitation and understanding it. "You can run faster than me, right now," she admits, with difficulty. "You get her. I can guard him. Please? Mith will be here too."
Halbarad: "All right." He brushes her hair back, and kisses her temple, then ducks inside for a moment to retrieve a sword and knife, just in case. "I'll be back soon ... with any luck, I'll have an elf with me." Halbarad smiles, kisses his wife again, and then hurries off up the cobbled street.
Nadiyah: She watches his leave then, reluctantly, ducks back inside. WIth luck, she no longer has any reason to stand guard...but just in case, she'll be ready.