It has a name! Quite a few of them, actually...
The baby stopped crying some time ago, but Nadiyah is still rocking him thoughtfully. She saw Halbarad ride in before nightfall, so she figures after hitting the privy and the kitchen he should arrive at their chamber just...about...
...now. Halbarad tosses his cloak aside and sets his sword against a chair before crossing the room to his family, leaning down to kiss his wife's forehead before dropping to his knees to kiss the baby's cheek. "He's quiet this evening."
"He was not earlier." Half-smiling, she strokes her husband's hair, half tied back and half wild. "I think he misses you when you are not here. Greedy little one, wanting all of our attention all for himself... How is the city?"
The ranger laughs lightly, and rises to pull another chair close so he can rest his tired legs. "Remarkably quiet. Hardly a squabble or shadow to speak of. It's good to have a king again," he replies as he pulls off his boots. "Our son could not have chosen a better time to arrive."
She smiles wider. "Very smart of him. He takes after his mother, then. Common sense." Then, more seriously, "He needs names, love."
Leaning back in his chair, Halbarad nods and runs a hand through tangled locks. "I know. I've been thinking about it." He smiles at her. "I expect you have as well. Any ideas?"
"I want to hear what you would call him. Your name will be first," she says, seriously. "I have thought and it is right and Nabhan can -- what is the word? -- bite my ass."
Halbarad laughs. "If you're certain. I've been thinking over family names, and none of them sound quite right."
"Then create one." Nadiyah looks amused. "Your language is pretty, I think, now that I am used to it. Cold in the mouth like starlight and metal, but that is not ugly." Not at all like her own tongue, which tastes like wind and dancing heat, but this is home now.
"Well, there is one name in particular that I think would be fitting." Mindful of the burdens parents can inadvertently place on their offspring by the simple act of naming them, he takes his time to make certain his suggestion is even suitable for consideration before finally voicing it. "Arthion. It means noble son."
Nadiyah nods thoughtfully, rolling it over her tongue and through her mind. It seemed like a grown man's name, but he would grow into it soon enough if he was anything like his father. "And I would name him Asif, for what brought us together." She leans forward to curl her dark, sword-callused fingers around his hand on his knee; her other arm still cradles the baby to her chest. "It means 'forgiveness.'"
The name already feels right before Nadiyah explains its roots, and Halbarad's hand squeezes hers in a gesture of acceptance and approval. "It suits him." He smiles as he meets her eyes, then glances down at their child. "Asif." The feel of it is right.
"Then it is settled." She shifts the baby into his father's arms, petting his dark-fuzzed head as he yawns and settles right in. "Arthion Asif ibn Halbarad al-Dunedain." She glances up, speaking quickly to forestall his reaction. "Your people are my people now. Except for my brother, of course..."
At the mention of Nabhan, a mischievous gleam enters Halbarad's eyes as he watches his child. "Arthion Asif," he repeats softly, then adds, "Should we tell your uncle what Arthion truly means, or leave him to wonder if it's really the name of a tree?" His son sleepily wraps tiny figures around a large, calloused on, and Halbarad chuckles.
Nadiyah snorts. "Tell him it is the name of a pretty pink flower. I want to see what color he turns."
"If he tries to take my head off, I'm counting on you to protect me."
"Always." She glances past him, to the bed. "Do you have enough arms for both of us...?"
"I seem to have one for each of you," he replies, smiling softly and rising from the chair.
She follows him over, resisting the urge to just tumble him in because, well, baby. Once her two favorite boys are comfortable, however, she moves right in to complete the circle around the sleeping child. "How do people announce this thing, here?"
"There is the traditional running to the top of the tower of Ecthelion to shout it to the world," he quips. "Though a written announcement, a small celebration, or simple introductions work just as well. What is the custom in Harad?"
"I will not let you carry him up there," she retorts practically. But there's amusement in her eyes. "Give him to me and go DO it, then."
He readily hands the child over. "Yes dear. I'll be right back." After giving them each another kiss, he sprints out of the room and up the levels of the citadel until he reaches the top of the tower. Once there, he takes a deep breath and shouts his son's name.
Nadiyah can hear it even from the Quarters. When he returns, she's still laughing... "If there are any dragons left, they have left now I think! It is a good name, then?"
Halbarad grins as he pulls the covers up around them. "It is a very good name."
"It is mostly yours. Of course you say that." She's teasing, of course.
He reaches out beneath the covers and tickles her in revenge. "You're mocking me."
She squeaks and curls around the baby, kicking indignantly. "Yes I am stop it stop it stop iiiiit! I will scream, there will be Gorlim..."
That stops him short, and he snuggles close to his family. "As much as I love Gorlim, I don't think now is the time for him to come running in looking for something to kill."
"Mmmmmno. But he looks so funny while he tries to find it." She yawns -- the baby is an angel now, but not earlier. "Are you staying tonight?"
"Yes. The men don't need me, and if anyone of them disturb us for anything less than the world ending, I'll have them sent back to their mothers in the north."
"Good." She curls closer, shifting the baby to rest on her stomach, pulling Halbarad's arm over them both. She plans to put the child -- Arthion -- in his crib soon, for safely, but for now she does want to let go of either of them. "Where are the men staying, where have you been staying?"
"Various outposts on the Pelennor. There's quite a bit that needs repairing out there." He rests his head against her shoulder, tired from all the work and traveling he's been doing of late.
Her hand wanders through his hair, gently. "I will come with you, then. He is big enough to travel. He would be, back home. We do not stay in one place for long."
Halbarad props himself up on one arm to look down at her, then at their son. "Are you sure? The accommodations are rather...sparse." Then he catches himself, and shakes his head in amusement at his own forgetfulness. "Though that isn't an obstacle for you anymore that it is for me."
"No." She might have taken offense, once, but she does not now. "This city is home now, but...it is too much stone. And Arthion will be a Ranger -- he needs to learn early."
"All right." He lies back and watches the baby resting. "We can prepare supplies tomorrow and ride out the next day."
Nadiyah's surprised at how high her heart lifts at the thought. "I am not sure I remember how to ride, it has been so long!" she laughs, but already she going over supplies in her mind, which horse, what weaponry...how to carry the baby, of course...
Halbarad brushes her hair back from her face, and grins. "The day you forget how to ride is the day I forget which end of the sword is the end you hold," he assures her. "Although now might be a good time to sleep so we don't nod off over our preparations in the morning," he gently urges.
"True." Disentangling from husband and blanket, she pads across the room to lay the baby down in his cradle. Then she's back in Halbarad's arms, much more intimate, less the mother and more the lover. "Do we have to sleep right now?"
He pretends to think for awhile, eyes drifting closed teasingly before he finally pulls the covers over their heads and rolls to prop himself over her. "I suppose we could stay up just a little longer."
"Mmmmm." And by the gleam in her eye and the way she arches against him, he can tell riding isn't the only thing she hasn't forgotten over the last few months. "Just a little..."
...now. Halbarad tosses his cloak aside and sets his sword against a chair before crossing the room to his family, leaning down to kiss his wife's forehead before dropping to his knees to kiss the baby's cheek. "He's quiet this evening."
"He was not earlier." Half-smiling, she strokes her husband's hair, half tied back and half wild. "I think he misses you when you are not here. Greedy little one, wanting all of our attention all for himself... How is the city?"
The ranger laughs lightly, and rises to pull another chair close so he can rest his tired legs. "Remarkably quiet. Hardly a squabble or shadow to speak of. It's good to have a king again," he replies as he pulls off his boots. "Our son could not have chosen a better time to arrive."
She smiles wider. "Very smart of him. He takes after his mother, then. Common sense." Then, more seriously, "He needs names, love."
Leaning back in his chair, Halbarad nods and runs a hand through tangled locks. "I know. I've been thinking about it." He smiles at her. "I expect you have as well. Any ideas?"
"I want to hear what you would call him. Your name will be first," she says, seriously. "I have thought and it is right and Nabhan can -- what is the word? -- bite my ass."
Halbarad laughs. "If you're certain. I've been thinking over family names, and none of them sound quite right."
"Then create one." Nadiyah looks amused. "Your language is pretty, I think, now that I am used to it. Cold in the mouth like starlight and metal, but that is not ugly." Not at all like her own tongue, which tastes like wind and dancing heat, but this is home now.
"Well, there is one name in particular that I think would be fitting." Mindful of the burdens parents can inadvertently place on their offspring by the simple act of naming them, he takes his time to make certain his suggestion is even suitable for consideration before finally voicing it. "Arthion. It means noble son."
Nadiyah nods thoughtfully, rolling it over her tongue and through her mind. It seemed like a grown man's name, but he would grow into it soon enough if he was anything like his father. "And I would name him Asif, for what brought us together." She leans forward to curl her dark, sword-callused fingers around his hand on his knee; her other arm still cradles the baby to her chest. "It means 'forgiveness.'"
The name already feels right before Nadiyah explains its roots, and Halbarad's hand squeezes hers in a gesture of acceptance and approval. "It suits him." He smiles as he meets her eyes, then glances down at their child. "Asif." The feel of it is right.
"Then it is settled." She shifts the baby into his father's arms, petting his dark-fuzzed head as he yawns and settles right in. "Arthion Asif ibn Halbarad al-Dunedain." She glances up, speaking quickly to forestall his reaction. "Your people are my people now. Except for my brother, of course..."
At the mention of Nabhan, a mischievous gleam enters Halbarad's eyes as he watches his child. "Arthion Asif," he repeats softly, then adds, "Should we tell your uncle what Arthion truly means, or leave him to wonder if it's really the name of a tree?" His son sleepily wraps tiny figures around a large, calloused on, and Halbarad chuckles.
Nadiyah snorts. "Tell him it is the name of a pretty pink flower. I want to see what color he turns."
"If he tries to take my head off, I'm counting on you to protect me."
"Always." She glances past him, to the bed. "Do you have enough arms for both of us...?"
"I seem to have one for each of you," he replies, smiling softly and rising from the chair.
She follows him over, resisting the urge to just tumble him in because, well, baby. Once her two favorite boys are comfortable, however, she moves right in to complete the circle around the sleeping child. "How do people announce this thing, here?"
"There is the traditional running to the top of the tower of Ecthelion to shout it to the world," he quips. "Though a written announcement, a small celebration, or simple introductions work just as well. What is the custom in Harad?"
"I will not let you carry him up there," she retorts practically. But there's amusement in her eyes. "Give him to me and go DO it, then."
He readily hands the child over. "Yes dear. I'll be right back." After giving them each another kiss, he sprints out of the room and up the levels of the citadel until he reaches the top of the tower. Once there, he takes a deep breath and shouts his son's name.
Nadiyah can hear it even from the Quarters. When he returns, she's still laughing... "If there are any dragons left, they have left now I think! It is a good name, then?"
Halbarad grins as he pulls the covers up around them. "It is a very good name."
"It is mostly yours. Of course you say that." She's teasing, of course.
He reaches out beneath the covers and tickles her in revenge. "You're mocking me."
She squeaks and curls around the baby, kicking indignantly. "Yes I am stop it stop it stop iiiiit! I will scream, there will be Gorlim..."
That stops him short, and he snuggles close to his family. "As much as I love Gorlim, I don't think now is the time for him to come running in looking for something to kill."
"Mmmmmno. But he looks so funny while he tries to find it." She yawns -- the baby is an angel now, but not earlier. "Are you staying tonight?"
"Yes. The men don't need me, and if anyone of them disturb us for anything less than the world ending, I'll have them sent back to their mothers in the north."
"Good." She curls closer, shifting the baby to rest on her stomach, pulling Halbarad's arm over them both. She plans to put the child -- Arthion -- in his crib soon, for safely, but for now she does want to let go of either of them. "Where are the men staying, where have you been staying?"
"Various outposts on the Pelennor. There's quite a bit that needs repairing out there." He rests his head against her shoulder, tired from all the work and traveling he's been doing of late.
Her hand wanders through his hair, gently. "I will come with you, then. He is big enough to travel. He would be, back home. We do not stay in one place for long."
Halbarad props himself up on one arm to look down at her, then at their son. "Are you sure? The accommodations are rather...sparse." Then he catches himself, and shakes his head in amusement at his own forgetfulness. "Though that isn't an obstacle for you anymore that it is for me."
"No." She might have taken offense, once, but she does not now. "This city is home now, but...it is too much stone. And Arthion will be a Ranger -- he needs to learn early."
"All right." He lies back and watches the baby resting. "We can prepare supplies tomorrow and ride out the next day."
Nadiyah's surprised at how high her heart lifts at the thought. "I am not sure I remember how to ride, it has been so long!" she laughs, but already she going over supplies in her mind, which horse, what weaponry...how to carry the baby, of course...
Halbarad brushes her hair back from her face, and grins. "The day you forget how to ride is the day I forget which end of the sword is the end you hold," he assures her. "Although now might be a good time to sleep so we don't nod off over our preparations in the morning," he gently urges.
"True." Disentangling from husband and blanket, she pads across the room to lay the baby down in his cradle. Then she's back in Halbarad's arms, much more intimate, less the mother and more the lover. "Do we have to sleep right now?"
He pretends to think for awhile, eyes drifting closed teasingly before he finally pulls the covers over their heads and rolls to prop himself over her. "I suppose we could stay up just a little longer."
"Mmmmm." And by the gleam in her eye and the way she arches against him, he can tell riding isn't the only thing she hasn't forgotten over the last few months. "Just a little..."