Lord of the Rings Fanatics Plaza

@Rillewen , @Arnyn
Aislin
Common room - December 23

"Here, Brooke," Aislin said happily as she separated quite a generous bit of her chocolate cake to hand over in exchange for a taste of cream tart. She did not hesitate to pop the tart into her mouth and savour it, as she leaned back in her chair, listening to the conversation.

Once her mouth was empty again, she pitched in with her own comments: "Oh, those obstacle courses certainly sound fun! I would want to test my abilities though perhaps I would fall short miserably in comparison with any of you." She signed with some exaggeration. "Alas, but no one would let me in there anyway, and I do not dare sneaking in elsewhere that is not a gate guarded by watchful eyes." She was about to offer Brooke building a short course from chairs and such in the room but that would probably turn into disaster if they damaged any of the inn's furniture; besides, she was not sure Brooke would even agree to any such thing being the calmest and more serious of them both.

"The tart is great!" she then concluded, turning back towards Brooke fully, "Let's see if I can say the same about my chocolate cake."

@Arnyn@Pele Alarion
Gladhron grinned as she spoke of having something similar, growing up. "It was great fun, right Gwestion?" He asked, but noticed his brother seemed less enthusiastic to be discussing it. He shrugged and turned back to Arnyn. "We used to play all sorts of games. And, we had 'toy' swords, to get us familiar with how to use them."

"And archery sets." Gwestion mentioned quietly, reminding him.

"Oh, right!" Gladhron recalled, feeling glad to have drawn him into the discussion at least a little. "You an-" He quickly caught himself and changed what he'd been going to say, "always preferred the archery, even then." He smiled as he turned to Arnyn. "But I could always beat him with the sword." He added in an exaggerated whisper, as if Gwestion wouldn't hear it.

Gwestion rolled his eyes and gave a little shake of his head in something like amusement, but rather than saying anything more, he remained focused on his dessert. And was glad when the topic shifted to Seri and.. Domanol. All these different names were going to take some getting used to...

Seri grinned at the mention of him, and gave a little nod. "Oh, yes. He's been showing me around everywhere, and introducing me to his family members, and so on. He wants to show me some of the other places around here, too, out in the Pelennor and beyond." She smiled. Then, after a little pause, she added, "It's still strange, hearing him called by that name, though." She admitted. "I'm far more familiar with the name he uses in the North, but I also understand his reasons for using a different one, there." She explained before taking a bite of her dessert.

After passing over the sample for Aislin, Brooke accepted a sample in return of the chocolate cake. "Mmm, it's definitely good." She informed Aislin, enjoying that one bite before she turned her attention to her own dessert. After listening to the talk about the obstacle courses, she grew thoughtful. After a moment she ventured to speak up during a little pause, while it seemed most people were enjoying their respective desserts. "I wonder, do you think something like that could be made.. for dogs?" She glanced at Seri, then Arnyn, and then to the brothers. "I mean... not the same stuff as for people, obviously.. just, you know.. things so a dog could practice stuff.. like, I don't know." She fidgeted slightly as she failed to think up any ideas of things that might work for what she was suggesting.

"I'd think so," Gwestion answered thoughtfully, imagining the woods near Seri's cabin, and trying to think of things that they could put there that might work for that idea.

"Oh.. Hwinia could probably use a bit of exercise like that, too," Seri mentioned, brightening a bit to the idea. "That's a good idea, Brooke!" She looked at Arnyn, curious. "Has anyone ever done that, I wonder? And do you have any suggestions for things like that?"

@Rillewen @Pele Alarion
Next to her, Gwestion was quiet. Across the table, Gladhron was enthusiastic. The difference stuck out to her like a sore spot, and she shot a quick glance at Gwestion. Maybe, for Gwestion, thinking back to that long ago - did it remind him of their sister too much? Their parents? If Gladhron noticed, he didn't show itor let it affect him in any visible way. But Arnyn now knew he noticed more than he let on. And, to her surprise, Gwestion did respond in a way that could be interpreted as amused. In turn, that brought a little smile to her own face. "Could?" she asked, deciding to jump on the bandwagon, so to speak. "Past tense?" she teased, her small smile growing into a little grin as she raised her eyebrows slightly at Gladhron.

Hearing Seri saying that it was strange to hear someone speak about Domanol, Arnyn's eyes flicked to the brothers briefly before returning to Seri. It was probably weird for them, too... to think of her as Arnyn. Rather than Celume. Honestly, it'd be weird for her too, if they started calling her the former instead of the latter. It would definitely take some time for her to acclimate...

"I can refer to him as Gwandhyra, if you prefer," she suggested with a little shrug. "Since he uses both, obviously he won't mind. If it's easier for you." Then why not?

As the conversation turned from ranger obstacle courses to canine obstacle courses, Arnyn squared away a good chunk of her dessert. Surprised when her opinion was sought, she blinked at Seri. She had never had a dog... but... "I do remember, when some of our rangers had trained wolves," she said slowly, "that Turin once said something about agility courses. I never saw one myself, however. His family trained them away from the city, obviously." She wasn't sure how much help she could really be. And she definitely didn't have time to spare to think up an agility course for dogs... What little time she did have left to herself, she wanted to just relax. One way or the other. But that didn't mean she couldn't point out any possibly other people who might like thinking about it.

"Duinion's daughter is taking care of a dog for one of our most... creative younger rangers," Arnyn told Seri and Brooke. "If you might reach out for archery, you might bring that up as well. Eryn struck me as creative, as well. Though I cannot speak for her, maybe she would also like to set something up for Hattie - the dog in question. If Eryn wants to, you could use the opportunity to try and build one. See if Chewy likes it. If Hattie's actual owner comes to help, too, I'm sure it'll be all the dogs can dream of, or more." Unalmis had a penchant for thinking outside of the box.

@Arnyn@Pele Alarion
Gladhron grinned at Arnyn's question. "Past tense, as well as present." He assured her, casting a teasing grin toward his brother, who stubbornly ignored it. Gladhron mentally shrugged and went back to his dessert as Arnyn then turned her attention to Seri.

"Oh, no, you don't have to do that." Seri assured her. "It's just, everyone here in Minas Tirith seems to know him by his given name, and I have known him by the other for quite some time, now." She shrugged. "But then, I suppose it's almost the same with my name," She realized. "Everyone calls me Seri, and folks in Bree think that it's short for 'Serenity', because when I was very little, I guess they thought that was what I was saying when I told people my name. She smiled a bit wryly. "Most folks in Bree seem to have difficulty with elvish names, so I stopped bothering to correct them as I got older." She explained. "Most people are surprised to learn that Seri is actually short for Sérëní." She shrugged. "Anyway.. while he did tell me his real name, the last time I saw him in the North.. I hadn't really heard anyone call him that until after I found him again, the other night." She explained.

"Same here," Gladhron admitted. "I didn't even know 'Gwandhyra' wasn't his real name until.. well, after the masquerade." He mentioned. Partly, to subtly let Arnyn know that she wasn't the only one who had done that.

"They used to have trained wolves?" Seri asked, a little amazed. "I mean.. I know dogs can be trained to be useful. I've got my dog, Hwinia, trained to seek out medicinal plants for me," She smiled. "She's very good at it, too. But wolves... I can't imagine how one would even go about taming one, let alone training it to help." She mentioned, a little fascinated by the thought. Not that she planned to try it, but just to think that someone had done so, it was amazing.

Brooke listened, but made no comment on the name topic, since she saw no reason for her to really say anything there. But she was intrigued when Arnyn answered Seri's question, and mentioned some of the rangers having had wolves. Wolves?! "Not.. shapeshifting wolves, though? Right?" She had to check, speaking up a bit timidly.

Seri paused, hoping the answer to that was 'no, not shapeshifting wolves'. But she focused more on the answer Arnyn had given in regard to the dog-geared obstacle course. "Ohh! That's an excellent idea." She replied with a smile. "I am supposed to be meeting Duinion soon. Perhaps, I could talk to Gwa- to Domanol, I mean, and ask if he'd ask him. They are apparently like brothers to each other."

Nodding thoughtfully, Brooke smiled at Arnyn. "Thanks, that sounds like a good idea." She glanced at Aislin. "Maybe.. if they agree to it.. if she's alright with helping us.. then you and her could practice archery, and maybe we could all make a dog-stacle course together." She suggested, then fidgeted slightly and glanced briefly toward the others, hoping that no one would think her little pun of merged words was stupid.

@Arnyn , @Rillewen
Aislin
Common room - December 23

Aislin feasted on her dessert in silence, though her brown eyes glinted with interest at the conversation of obstacle courses for dogs. She did still have a mind for one meant for people too, though apparently no one would let her into Ranger training grounds. But perhaps she could build something back home, something that was not simple climbing of trees. She eyed the brothers for a moment considering if they would agree to construct something for her and not only for dogs. Perhaps Gwandhyra would? Though, if she could not recruit any help, she could set something up herself.

"Wolves!" it was rather a quiet admiration rather than a loud outburst of exclamation, but Aislin had to agree with Seri that it might turn out to be difficult to even tame one. Unless she managed to save one from the beastly tanner's traps perhaps, and then tame it... yet she had not come upon any wolves in her short wanderings round about the cabin, perhaps luckily for her. But perhaps it was good enough to have dogs to handle and she should not go looking for wolves on purpose.

"Thought that shapeshifter wolf was accounted for," she shrugged, making light of a scary topic. "Hopefully there are not that many others around."

"Well... Archery and building a course for dogs sounds great!" she then replied to Brooke's tentative words, then looked to Seri with a happy smile. She was always happy to get to know people and try out all sorts of new things. "Don't see why they wouldn't agree. Unless they be horribly busy. No?"

A thought then struck her, and she turned towards Arnyn: "Does it mean that currently Rangers have no animals with them in the city? Is it not allowed?"

@Rillewen @Pele Alarion
When Gladhron said he could still beat Gwestion with a sword, Arnyn smiled politely while she raised her cup for a sip of coffee. "Well, it's only fair," she said, before taking her sip. "Since I understand Gwestion still leaves you in the dust when it comes to a bow and arrows."

Interested in Seri's view on names - both Domanol/Gwandhyra's and then even her own, Arnyn was still thinking on what Seri had said when Gladhron chimed in. Lowering her gaze to the coffee in her cup, Arnyn smiled slightly at that. Thanks, Gladhron, for the reassurance... She wondered if he would notice the smile at his words. If he was paying as much attention as he had been at the masquerade, he would.
"I think Sereni is a lovely name," Arnyn said, looking back up, at Seri. "Do you prefer Seri? Or has it simply become a habit to abbreviate your name, so people won't get it wrong all the time?" she asked, figuring that might have happened a lot.

She nodded at Seri's question about the wolves. "Apparently, wolves can be trained similarly, if you start when they are just cubs. You do have to be more careful about them possibly turning against other people, especially when they act in a way they perceive as threatening." She was just shaking her head at Brooke's question, when Aislin replied. Arnyn smiled faintly. "Yes. The shapeshifting one was, as far as we know, just the one. And she's dead, now. Getting impaled through the chest will do that to you," she added. She'd intended for her tone just as light as Aislin's, but her words came out rather different. Arnyn cleared her throat and put on a smile to reply to Aislin's question. "The Rangers living in the barracks don't," she told the girl. "No animals allowed there. Those living in their own homes, can have animals, though. That's their choice. I know of a few who have cats. Not that many people keep dogs in the city, though there are some. Rangers do have to take into account that if they are going on patrol or on a mission, they need someone else to look after their animals, though."

Her dessert as well as her coffee were now gone, and Arnyn shifted in her seat as she glanced around the table, and at Gwestion and Gladhron in particular. Trastion's training, facing off against Kaylin, riding Narsule, heaps of work at headquarters, several meetings, going through part of the log, making arrangements, her (as it turned out unnecessary) anxiety about telling Gladhron and Gwestion who she was here, the dinner... it had been a long day. And while the company was wonderful, and part of her wanted to sit at the table until she could hardly keep her eyes open anymore, she had been up since five that morning. She hoped the group wouldn't mind if she didn't stay for much longer.

"So, about the sunrise in a few days," she began. "Even though wartime is behind us, the guards are still stricter in the very late and very early hours - and they become more strict the higher in the city you go. If they do not know you reside in the Sixth or have daily business there, like Seri... It might be easiest if I come meet you all at the gate."

@Arnyn@Pele Alarion
As Arnyn pointed out that Gwestion could so easily beat him at archery, Gladhron smiled and gave a little gesture as if to say, 'alright, you got me there'. He had a bite of dessert in his mouth though, so he didn't say anything out loud. He was rather pleased to note, however, that Gwestion hid a tiny smile at Arnyn's words, while keeping his attention on his own dessert.

Seri smiled at Arnyn's compliment on her name. "Thank you." She tilted her head as she considered. Had anyone ever asked her that, before? "Hm, well. I am very used to 'Seri'. And I don't mind it." She added. "It's just.. not often that I encounter people who speak elvish. In fact, I can't, myself, except for a tiny bit that I've picked up from Brooke, and from my late husband." She admitted with a slightly shy smile. "I've been told that my father was a ranger of the North, although I never got to meet him." She hesitated. "My mother told me that he died before she had even learned that she was going to have a baby." She paused, deciding not to mention that that had been a lie. That was irrelevant, here. "But, anyway... my mother had apparently learned a few words from him while they were together, and she wanted to give me a name that reflected something about him. As far as I know, it means something like 'serenity', so it never really bothered me that much when people ended up calling me that." She explained, with a little shrug. "So, I really don't mind either, although I am more used to 'Seri'."

It was good to be reminded that the 'shapeshifter wolf' had been the only one, and that it was dead. Although the tone Arnyn used made Brooke mentally cringe, feeling bad for having brought the subject up again. She nodded slightly though, glad to have it confirmed that the wolves used by the rangers had not been that kind of wolves. Still, to think of people training wolves! She wondered how well that really worked. "I... I read a book, where this wolf cub got taken in by humans after his mother died, and they treated him just like he was a dog, and he ended up being a really good guard dog and all." She mentioned, then added more timidly, "I wasn't sure if it could really be done in real life, though."

The prospect of maybe building something for Chewy, and maybe meeting a friend they could talk to, cheered her slightly. Aislin was much more enthusiastic, of course, but then she had never seemed to exhibit much difficulty in making friends. Brooke, on the other hand, felt less optimistic, but she still hoped maybe the other girl would like them both.

Seri smiled encouragingly at the enthusiasm Aislin seemed to have about meeting this Eryn. "I'm sure you girls would have a lot of fun." But she didn't want to count eggs before they hatched, so to speak. They hadn't even met Eryn, yet. She didn't want to assume anything and then potentially have her nieces be disappointed. Still, she figured if Dom introduced them all, that would probably help matters, right? Duinion and Eryn were close friends of his, after all.

When Arnyn turned the topic back to the sunrise, Seri nodded at the mention of the sixth level and how the guards were. "That makes sense." She agreed.

"Sure," Gladhron nodded as well. "We can make sure and be there by..." He hesitated. "What time do you suggest, Cel... Arnyn." He corrected himself, still trying to get used to that. "Sorry."

@Rillewen @Pele Alarion
She caught Gwestion trying to hide a little smile - at least, she caught the way the one corner of his mouth that she could see tilted slightly, and the way he tilted his head the way he would do when trying to hide a amusement all those years ago. Arnyn smiled in turn, glancing briefly at Gladhron to see whether or not mister observant (apparently) had also taken notice.

It sounded like Seri wasn't actually all that sure what she preferred, since most if not all people around her called her Seri... not Sérëní. "Like Gwestion and Gladhron here... I speak Elvish," Arnyn said quietly. "I could call you Sérëní. So you can figure out whether or not you like it at all?" She slanted her head a little, trying to gauge from the other woman's expression what she thought of that suggestion. "Unless you're not interested, of course."

When Gladhron asked what time she would suggest, Arnyn took a moment to think. And to wonder whether she even liked the brothers calling her Arnyn. "The sun is fully visible by about... seven thirty. So I would say at least an hour before then. If you'd like to get the best experience, I'd say be at the Sixth Gate by about ten past six." She grinned at Gladhron. "Think you can handle that?"

@Arnyn@Pele Alarion
Seri considered Arnyn's proposal, and eventually shook her head. "I think... it would be strange," She decided. "Very few people have ever called me by my true name." She shrugged. "My mother died when I was young, and my grandparents, who raised me after that, preferred to call me Seri, or Serenity." She paused. "I think for general use, I'm plenty comfortable with 'Seri'." She explained, a bit unsure if she wanted to mention that Gwandhyra called her Sérëní at times, but mostly in private moments.

As the topic turned toward the sunrise, Gladhron grinned and nodded. "Just after six. Alright." He agreed. It actually seemed a lot later than he would have thought, but then he wasn't used to being this far south. "Sounds good." He was looking forward to watching the sunrise with her, and tried not to mind the fact that the others would be along.

Brooke hesitated slightly before speaking up, "Will Chewy be allowed there?" She asked, hoping she wouldn't have to leave him behind. He always went everywhere with her, but she didn't know if he'd be allowed up on the sixth level, at the houses of healing gardens.

@Rillewen , @Arnyn
Aislin
Common room - December 23

Aislin felt no pity at the shapeshifter wolf having been impaled as Arnyn worded it; after all she had formed the opinion that it had been a very bad wolf... woman... thing. And she did not mind the matter being closed with this statement as it seemed to make Brooke uncomfortable, or so she assumed by glancing her way.

"I suppose many books include real events, no? So I guess it is possible to raise a wolf at home," she noted, and then grinned. "Not that we should add one to Chewy and Hwinia's company."

She now had several things to look forward to - a possible meeting with Eryn and her dog, well... the one she was looking after, and watching the sunrise though the latter promised to be a very early event.

"I figure it would be good to actually get past the guards and into the garden," she observed, half to herself and half to others. "Chewy included." However, she was not sure about the latter, and so she too looked to Arnyn for a response.

@Rillewen @Pele Alarion
"Seri it is, then," Arnyn said with a soft smile. "I think I understand what you mean, about being used to it. And..." Arnyn hesitated briefly, before looking at the two brothers. "I can relate, in a way. I'm used to the people here calling me 'Arnyn', but I have to admit it feels very strange when either of you calls me that," she admitted.
"I am sure I could get used to it in the long run. It's just that it almost sounds wrong, in a way," she said with an apologetic smile. "But since I brought that upon myself, so to speak, feel free to call me Arnyn or Celumë - whichever you prefer."

When Gladhron confirmed that just after six was alright, Arnyn leaned toward Gwestion just a little. "Maybe have him aiming for six?" she suggested in a lower voice, though still loud enough for Gladhron to hear. In the meantime, she also flashed the older brother a quick grin.

Brooke's question about Chewy had Arnyn hesitating. "I'm... not actually sure. I mean - given I'll be there, Chewy will definitely be allowed to go with you through the gate to the Sixth. Technically, I can pull rank on the guards at the gate." Not that she had ever had a need for it. "Chewy won't run off, will he?" From what she had seen of the dog, he tended to stick with Brooke, so Arnyn was operating on that assumption. "I am only not sure whether the Houses of Healing have an animal policy. The healers can be strict - all for the good of their patients, of course. The gardens can also be reached without venturing into the Houses, however, and I cannot see why it would be considered much of a problem if you keep track of his... bodily functions," Arnyn told Brooke with a little smile. "That might be the only reason they would prefer you not to take him into their gardens. So if we anticipate all of that, I do not believe they will give us any real trouble over Chewy."

Arnyn slightly pushed her chair back, and put her hands on her knees. "Well... If that concludes our arrangements for the twenty-sixth... Would you all mind terribly if I were to excuse myself? It's been a long day, and tomorrow will be no different," she explained with a faint smile.

@Arnyn@Pele Alarion
Both Gwestion and Gladhron glanced over as Arnyn mentioned how strange it was to hear them calling her Arnyn. In fact, it was weird for them both to try and remember to call her that.

Gladhron grinned. "So, does that mean you'd rather we go back to Celume?" He asked, sort of hopeful. Despite the fact that she said for them to feel free, he wanted to know what she preferred. He felt like he was doing pretty well as remembering to stick with 'Arnyn', but it did take some remembering.

Meanwhile, Gwestion listened to hear what answer she would give, so that he would know what she preferred. Since Gladhron had already asked, he saw no reason to put forth any questions of his own, after all. Regardless of what answer she gave, he would nod and commit that to memory, so that he would hopefully not slip up.

Once that was settled, Gwestion gave a little nod in reply to her suggestion, with a faint twinkle of amusement gleaming in his eyes, although he did a rather good job of keeping the amusement from showing in his expression. "Five-Thirty it is, then." He remarked with a completely straight face.

"Whoa, hold on there..." Gladhron protested, eyes widening a bit. "There's no need for anyone to be out of bed that early, just to stand around in the cold waiting until six!"

Gwestion looked at his brother, with his elbow on the table, lips pressed against his knuckles to smother any hint of a smile, and gazed thoughtfully at Gladhron. "Hmm. Maybe I should wake you at Five." He decided.

"Not unless you want to get locked out of the room in your underthings." Gladhron glared at him with narrowed eyes, then shook his head, inwardly a bit pleased to hear his brother venturing into a bit of teasing, in his own way.

Gwestion huffed out a breath through his nose, which sounded as if he doubted Gladhron would actually dare do such a thing. Although really, who knows. He sat back and folded his arms as he glanced toward the ladies, a bit pointedly, then back to Gladhron. Would he really do that, knowing their lady friends were next door?

Gladhron grinned and turned an apologetic shrug toward the females. "Anyway." He cleared his throat and listened as their talk turned toward Brooke bringing her dog.

Overhearing the brother's bickering, or teasing, or whatever one might call it, Seri just smiled in amusement and kept her attention toward what Arnyn was saying, in relation to the houses of healing's gardens.

Brooke nodded as Arnyn confirmed that Chewy would be able to come through the gate, since Arnyn would be there, but it was uncertain if he would be allowed to enter the gardens. "Oh, no." She assured her quickly when she asked if he might run off. "I mean," She hesitated. "He usually sticks close to me. Occasionally.. he might run after a squirrel, or something like that. But I could put him on a leash." She did keep one in her bag, for when she was in the city or something. "I'll also be sure to walk him before we go up to the sixth," She added, hesitating slightly. "But, I mean... he does have this weird fascination with sniffing everything, but I think he'd be well behaved enough."

Once all of the matters had been discussed and decided, it seemed that Arnyn was ready to leave. No one had any objection to her leaving, and they each bid her a good night. While Gladhron was a little sad to see her go, he had made up his mind already that he would be seeing her sooner than the sunrise day, and so he wasn't terribly disappointed when she left so soon.

After she had gone, Seri turned to the girls with a little smile. "I'll talk to Dom first chance I get, about meeting his friend, Duinion. And I'll see what he'd think of you girls getting together with the daughter, Eryn." She told them. "Hopefully, the three of you could be friends. I'll also talk to the healers, soon, to ask about Chewy." She added, for Brooke's sake. She knew that the dog's presence usually made her less anxious, and he had also shown an ability to sense when Brooke needed her medicinal tea, which made Seri prefer that Brooke keep him close to her.

@Rillewen @Pele Alarion
"Maybe," she admitted, when asked if she preferred them to go back to Celumë. "Yes," she amended herself, realizing there was no need to feel weird about that preference. It was strange when they called her Arnyn, it was as simple as that. And if they called her Celumë, it would remind her of the time they'd spent in the Breelands. Where they'd gotten to know each other.

Arnyn couldn't help but chuckle at Gwestion's straight-faced, dead-serious statement about the hour. She loved it when Gwestion allowed himself some amusement and poked fun at his older brother. The following interaction between the two, made her grin as she watched them. She was happy to hear the banter and the teasing; that, too, reminded her of years ago. It gave her the illusion she could just walk right back into that time, that forest, that inn - as if nothing had ever changed. Blinking at that thought, Arnyn played with one of the two small silver rings in her right ear. It had been such a short time in her life, really. How could she be so nostalgic for it? Did she yearn so much for a time without responsibilities?

"If you like, feel free to invite Gwandhyra, by the way," she told Seri. "Though I would definitely understand if you would prefer to repeat the experience alone with him, sometime," she added with a little grin. Rising from her seat, Arnyn stepped behind it and lightly pushed it back under the table. "It was great to meet you, Aislin. And to see you without a mask," she smiled at Seri. "Not to mention seeing you three again," she told Brooke, Gwestion and Gladhron. "Thank you all so much for a wonderful evening," Arnyn told them. "I will settle with Alf," she added, realizing it might otherwise seem like she would not pay for anything. "Enjoy the city. I will see you in a few days."

Not feeling comfortable with hugging Seri, Aislin or Brooke, and realizing also there were several rangers scattered throughout the inn's common room, Arnyn did not offer a hug to anyone. "Bye, Chewie - bye, everyone," she said, and with a friendly nod and a genuinely happy smile at them all, she took her leave and angled for the bar, greeting the rangers she passed with a tap on the shoulder or a wave and a quick 'enjoy your evening'. Knowing that her friends, old and new, did not have much coin to spare, she told Alf she would pay for the whole current tab. She almost always had money left by the time her next pay came in, so why not? While pulling her winter covers back on near the door, she glanced back at the table. Then she left.

@Arnyn@Pele Alarion
When she declared that yes, she would prefer that they call her Celume, Gladhron nodded. "Then Celume it is." He declared, trying to make a mental note to stick with that name.

"It does somehow seem more.. fitting, for you," Gwestion admitted hesitantly. "Since it is a name which you likely chose for yourself, I suppose it makes sense." He had not yet gotten used to the thought of calling her Arnyn, anyway, so it shouldn't be terribly difficult to resume calling her Celume.

As Arnyn spoke then to let Seri know that she could invite Gwandhyra, she smiled. "I will mention it to him." She said. "But he may have other plans, already. Either way, I will be there." She smiled as Arnyn stood up to go with a few parting words. "Yes, the same to you." She replied, concerning the mask. "And to meet you, at last," She grinned. "I've heard tales about how you and the boys took out all those bandits. Now, at last, I can put a face to the name." She waved as Arnyn left the table. "Good night, we'll see you again in a few days." She said in parting.

Brooke waved after Arnyn as she set off to take care of her tab. "Bye, until then." She said quietly, a bit awkward as she found that she was a bit unsure which name to use for the woman, now. After she had seen her leave the inn, Brooke glanced around the table at the others who were left. "I think I should've asked if that included me," She mentioned quietly. "About the name..."

"Hm, good point." Seri realized, a little unsure whether she ought to find out, for herself. "We can ask about that, when we meet her for the sunrise." She decided. "Well, that was a very enjoyable gathering. I am glad to have met her." She declared, sitting back in her chair. "But, I have an early day planned for tomorrow, also. I think I will go on to my room and do a bit of reading before bed." She stood, already with a book in mind; a medical one from the city's library that she had been looking forward to checking out, which Brooke had found for her. "Good night, boys," She said to the brothers with a teasing grin, then turned to her nieces, "Good night, girls." Smiling, Seri took her leave of the table and went to see about the tab for her and the girls. Upon learning that their food and drinks had already been paid for, she was surprised. There was no question, of course, as to who had paid it, and Seri wore a small smile as she left the common room and retired to her room for the evening.

@Rillewen , @Arnyn
Aislin
Common room - December 23

Having met Arnyn only now, though she had heard stories before, Aislin thought to herself that she could just as easily use Celume and Arnyn to refer to the wearer of the said names, though she did not join the conversation and only observed in silence.

The thought of standing around for a long time waiting for the sunrise did not sound appealing to her, since she had experienced the cold that seemed to be especially biting just before the sun appeared. However, she was rather likely to find options to keep herself busy if such a thing did in fact happen. Also, the thought of healers separating Chewy and Brooke did not sit well, and her mind began to think up solutions for it, including sneaking the dog in by using a large bag and offering some sort of bribes to healers.

"Sleep well, Arnyn - Celyme!" she offered in farewell with a small grin as the latter left their company.

"Good night!" she responded to Seri, and then looked thoughtfully at Brooke, though she did not offer any suggestions for how to spend the remaining evening. "Will you too go to your books?" she did ask finally with a slight tilt of her head.

@Arnyn@Pele Alarion
After bidding goodnight to Seri, Brooke looked over at Aislin, considering her question. She had thought about going to read, but since she had promised she would not spend the night reading, she figured that if Aislin wanted to do something together, that now would be a good time for it.

"We could do something, if you want?" She suggested, unsure what sort of activity they could do.

"Ohhh, we could play some games!" Gladhron spoke up, hoping to draw both of the shier members into something. "We could... play darts?" He suggested with a glance toward Gwestion, hoping. Then, he looked at the girls. He smiled at Brooke, "Would you join us, if we're all playing?"

She hesitated. "I.. guess, sure." She answered, then remembered something important. "Oh.. but we have to make sure Chewy can't get at the darts."

"Ha, yes." Gladhron grinned at the memory. "Alright!" Gladhron looked at his brother next. "Gwestion?"

"I wouldn't mind." He agreed quietly, somewhat glad to see Brooke willing to play something with the rest of them. And he did actually like darts well enough.

Gladhron smiled and looked at Aislin. "Brooke joined us in a game before, but you weren't around. What do you think, Aislin?" He asked. "There's a dartboard, just over there," He added.

@Rillewen
Aislin
Common room - December 23

Aislin leaned back in her seat contentedly while she listened to the discussion on how they could spend the evening together.

"Yeah! Darts sound good to me," she chimed in happily. "Perhaps we could make it more fun by having the worst loser do something silly and have some award for the winner?" she suggested unsure if competition would be stimulating enough without a good incentive.

"And what happened at that time I wasn't with you? Did Chewy eat a dart?" she asked, thinking that it might be alarming considering the sharp nature of a dart.

@Arnyn@Pele Alarion
Aislin's suggestion about the worst player having to do something silly, made Brooke hesitate. She wasn't really in favor of that idea, as she already had a pretty good idea about who would be the worst at it.

"Perhaps, instead of that, we can all agree that the winner gets a cup of hot chocolate, and we can simply not worry about who throws the worst?" Gwestion suggested, thinking that sounded like a better goal. A nice incentive to strive for being the best, while not being singled out as the worst, for whoever turned out to not be as skilled as others. It didn't seem like a fair challenge, since neither of the girls had anywhere near as much practice at this as he and Gladhron, after all.

Brooke smiled a little and nodded in agreement with that plan.

"Ha... well, he tried!" Gladhron answered Aislin's question about Chewy, grinning in amusement as he launched into a retelling of that incident, when Chewy had so impressively leaped up and caught the dart just as Tercen threw it at the board, and then the rather comical chase around the room as he carried the dart around in his mouth, chewing on it as if it belonged to him now. All the while he was telling the story, Chewy wagged his tail and looked quite pleased with himself, as if he knew that he was the focal point of some story.

After the four had played several rounds of darts, Gwestion actually ended up with the most wins, though it was close with Gladhron. Once they'd agreed they were all ready to turn in for the night, Gwestion ensured that they all got a cup of hot chocolate, because he didn't want anyone to be left out. While they sipped on their chocolate, Gladhron told a few tales before the four bid each other good night, then split up and went to their respective rooms for the night.

(end)

@Ercassie
A yawn threatened to split his jaws open as Gladhron stared at the cards before him. He blinked tired eyes, finding it hard to focus. He'd been turned away from entering the training grounds to meet with Celume as planned, which had rather annoyed him. But perhaps it was for the best, after all. He couldn't even stay focused on the solitaire game he'd set up five minutes ago. His chin rested on his palm, while the table supported his elbow.

The other hand absently picked up a two of hearts, only to realize that it was an eight of spades, not a three. He set it back down with a little sigh and took a long blink. Then a longer one, only this time his eyes just remained closed. Dimly, he thought maybe he ought to go up to the room and take a brief nap, but he thought he ought to at least finish his game. So, he'd do that. In just a minute. Just.. one minute. He only wanted to rest his eyes a little first.

@Rillewen @Arnyn

The two men did not so much enter the establishment as fall through the door after trying to both enter at the same time. One might think from their glad faces and loud mirth that this was not the first pub they had visited this day, but in truth they had only now commenced on their hunt for a good time. Still, having decided that they’d drunk in all the First circle inns too lately, the charms of the second tier had beckoned instead, with the promise of new faces to make fun with and maybe a different breed of drinks than usual to fill their thirst.

The song had certainly begun before the door opened, betraying their impending arrival. And still it carried on some, as they made their way in search of some place to sit. A few faces glanced up and grinned to witness such high spirits. Others simply shook their heads in silence. Neither Domanol or Narradir noticed either flavour of opinion. With one arm apiece about he other’s broad shoulder, they ambled a three legged race across the room, engaged in a rather apt song about the lure of a pub.


“Well it’s two more whiskeys, one more jar !
Said we’re done but we didn’t get far
Left my keys there on the bar
so had to go back to the pub !

I’d sail the Belfalasian shore
if I ever made it out the door
And Ithilien, lush and green
is the greatest place I’ve never seen ..
the greatest place I’ve never seen !

Vowed to visit the great gate
Woke early so’s not be late
I soonly sowed the whiskey straight
never left the pub.”


An unspoken decision, perhaps bourne of too much experience in such acts, saw the pair to separate, even as the end of the most recent verse rose in an amused harmony. The mighty forester released his friend, and side galloped toward the bar to order them something to drink. Which would at least explain away their high spirits, although who knew what affect alcohol might have on two already so buoyant souls. Domanol signalled his intent to settle in the common room, and upon spying a familiar face who looked half asleep at his table, the Ranger took up their song again from where it had been left off. But half in an exaggerated whisper now, and comically tiptoeing in a very exaggerated fashion, he approached the drowsy form of Gladhron

“And just as I was meant to go
Someone came in with an old banjo
Outside storms began to blow
why would I leave the pub ?

I’d climb that mountain to it’s tor
if I could make it out the door
The high white tower, so pristine
is the greatest sight I’ve never seen.

The greatest sight I’ve never seeeeeeeeen ..” *


The concluding line of the song was performed at the original, louder volume, just as Domanol dropped his finale into a seat at his old friend’s table, and the man himself leaned in, to deliver the melodious wake-up call. Because honestly, if there was anyone likely to join in with such amusement, besides Narradir, who obviously already had succombed, it would be the man before him.

“Sorry,” he grinned, unremorseful. “Did I wake you ?”

*(Song lyrics are based on, and therefore credited to 'Back to the Pub' by Gaelic Storm)

@Ercassie @Arnyn
A noise had begun to break through the barrier of sleep, entering into his unconsciousness, slowly dragging him back toward wakefulness. Stubbornly, Gladhron tried to ignore it. His eyes did not want to open, and he wasn't yet done with his minute's rest. Oblivious to how much time may have actually passed, he was glad when the noise finally died down. For a moment, anyway.

Even as he let himself slip back toward drowsiness, Gladhron's chin slipped off his palm and his head jerked up instinctively. He might have settled back into that position and tried again, but he became aware then of the singer drawing nearer to him, now in a hushed manner. For a moment, Gladhron blinked at the man as he dropped into a seat at Gladhron's table, wondering if he knew this fellow. Then it hit him. Seri had said that Gwandhyra was all trimmed and neat looking, now, and that she'd almost not recognized him. Gladhron sat up as the accent itself registered in his mind, and let out a little laugh. "Wake me? You thought I was sleeping?" He asked with a grin and a shake of his head to deny it. "Whatever gave you that idea? I was just.. you know, thinking." He gestured toward his cards, which had gotten a bit askew, then rubbed his eyes as he sat up and looked around. "Was that you singing? Seemed awfully loud.."

@Rillewen @Ercassie
She really had intended to go straight home, this time, after her visit to the training grounds. But there had been two men not far ahead of her, just when she'd passed through the Second Circle Gate. They were clearly in an excellent mood, and they were heading to the Wayfarer's.

Hmm, the Wayfarer's. It had only been a few days since she'd been there last, so that was no excuse. Her pace slowed as she debated against herself. But as the two men started up a song about a pub, Kaylin pursed her lips. It was like it wasn't even up to her, really. She should at least find out how the song continued!

So it was that Kaylin ended up walking through the still open door to the inn, after the two men had powered through as if they were but one giant and merry specimen. She was dustier now than she had been on the way down the circles, after her little tumble in the sparring ring with Gwestion at the grounds, but she didn't look unpresentable. At least, she didn't have mud all over her or anything.

Amused, she watched and listened as the song continued and one of the men turned to the bar while the other made his way further into the common room. Her interest was peeked as she recognized the person sitting at the table the second man was now approaching. Even though Kaylin made her way to the bar herself, also looking to order a drink, and thus ending up nearby Narradir, she was half turned toward the room. As the other guy suddenly sang another line from the song right as he dropped himself into a chair at the table, and right as Gladhron's chin slid out of the palm of his hand. Kaylin couldn't really tell which action had preceeded the other, which kind of made the situation even funnier.

"You sang of whiskey," Kaylin then stated, grinning at Narradir. "Does that mean that is what you and your friend will be drinking today?" she asked, with one slightly raised eyebrow almost turning the simple question into a challenge.

@Rillewen

His question had of course been quite rheutorical. For there was no doubt in Domanol’s mind that Gladhron had dozed off. “Well you put on such a very convincing performance,” he grinned, rather than take any offence at his friend’s denial. “So .. you were thinking .. what exactly ?” He paused a moment to consider if he’d ever seen the other man take time out to think before, while he raised one eyebrow in amusement. “That if you looked like you were fast asleep, I would take my song and go make merry in some other place?”

Standing up, Domanol turned his chair around so that he could lean over the back of the seat’s rim and still face the unexpected company with comfort. “I had some help,” he thumbed a gesture back over one shoulder, and vaguely toward the bar area. He could be said to make a lot of noise, when he was of the mood to, granted. But today had surpassed even his usual efforts.

“Are you winning or losing ?” the man’s jaw jutted forward to indicate the haphazard layout of cards. “Doesn’t look like I’ve just stolen your brother’s seat anyway,” he observed. Clearly the game was set up for one, not two. “So who are you waiting for ?” he supposed.

---

@Arnyn

Being somewhat less familiar with this inn than his usual haunts about the First Circle, Narradir was not immediately greeted by the publican, who shot him a slightly confused look upon noting such a noisy entrance. That was usually the way of folk leaving his establishment, not entering. And so Alf gave the large fellow who slumped over his bar a swift appraisal. Just to judge quite how inebriated he might already be. Just in case.

The arrival of a pretty and undaunted redhead served up a quite suitable distraction, and the forester turned, even before she spoke her question. “I did,” he agreed, without hesitation. “But if I always sang my intention then a great many opportunities would be denied, as soon as folk were given warning.” he regaled her with a tease. “Are you asking, so to take my order, or simply waiting to recommend your favourite ?” he mirrored Kaylin’s expression about as well as a large man with a twice broken nose might attempt, as he waited for her answer. It was unlikely to be his next assumption, after all. That she was waiting for somebody else to brave such a drink first. This one did not look as though she waited to follow another’s lead.

@Ercassie @Arnyn
Gladhron grinned at the compliment to his 'performance'. "Thanks, I've been practicing." He stretched his arms out to either side, briefly, before straightening up a bit more in his seat. Looking at Gwandhyra in surprise as if the latter had just guessed exactly what he'd been thinking, he leaned forward. "When did you learn to read minds?" He asked, amused. "How'd you know that's exactly what I was thinking?"

Glancing then toward the bar, he blinked as he saw a rather familiar person there, although he didn't think that was the one his older friend had been referring to. "Not the redhead, I'm guessing? Although, to be fair, I haven't actually heard her sing..." He added thoughtfully. "Maybe she has a deep voice?" He suggested the unlikely possibility, before redirecting his attention to the cards before him upon hearing Gwand's question. "Um..." Any other time, he would have answered that question easily. Today, however, looking at the cards, he tilted his head trying to figure out how several of the cards had ended up where they were. "Losing, looks like?" He wagered a guess, then shrugged and frowned at them. Should he try and finish, or just put them away already?

"Hm?" Glancing up, he belatedly registered the other question. "Oh.. Gwestion is off at the training grounds, with a friend." He answered with a roll of his eyes. "The guards there wouldn't let me in, though." He mumbled, huffing a bit in annoyance. "So, I wasn't exactly waiting for anyone. Just, trying to decide what to do with the rest of the afternoon." He started to work on stacking the cards into a deck, giving up on the solitaire game. "So, I heard you were around," He mentioned. "And that you were the mysterious gentleman who was dancing with "Lady Blossom" the other night." He grinned up at Gwandhyra. "It's good to see you again, Gwandhyra."

@Rillewen @Ercassie
"True enough," she agreed with the stranger that it was not always best to announce one's intentions. Her grin remained, though, and she did not even take a beat before firing back. "Now, now, mister! Are you asking me to buy you a drink? Before we've even done so much as exchange names?" she chided him good-naturedly, before turning her attention to Alf. "Can you believe this guy?" she asked the innkeeper, pointing a thumb at the stranger by the bar and laughing in a way that clearly indicated she was enjoying herself. It seemed to relax Alf a little. "I don't work here," Kaylin clarified to the stranger, even if the fact that she was not part of the staff was probably pretty obvious, with her wearing her leather training gear and carrying a sword, quiver and bow.

Alf smiled. "Thankfully. Or there might not be enough of the good stuff left for the guests," he teased the redhead with an almost paternal smile. Kaylin nodded wisely at the man. "Exactly. Gotta be smart about your hiring process." Her hand lightly slapped the top of the bar. "Alf! I will take four whiskeys," she stated confidently as she pulled out the necessary payment. She did not have to ask how much she owed him, which was telling in its own way. That the owner need not ask which exactl whiskey she meant, was perhaps even more telling.

Once Alf had put the first glass on top of the bar, she slid it over to Narradir. "For the song," she explained with a wink, before gathering the other three glasses together with both hands, in a way that spoke of extensive previous experience, and turned to face the common room. Her blue-grey eyes sought out the table the stranger's friend had approached. The one where Gladhron had been sitting. Aha! And still was sitting. Excellent. "Well, come on," she told the stranger by the bar, before heading to that very same table.

Having reached the table, she deftly deposited the three glasses near its centre, and put her right hand flat on the tabletop as she slid one of the three glasses over to the second stranger (whom she did not recognize from his months-ago, brief visit to the barracks). She just gave the man a happy smile and nothing more in the way of explanation, before sliding another glass to Gladhron. She pulled out one of the empty chairs, claiming it without any reservation. Then she picked up the last of the whiskeys, lazily swirling the liquor in its glass before glancing at Gladhron. "They sang of whiskey," she blamed the two strangers, with a little shrug.

@Rillewen

Domanol laughed aloud as Gladhron asked how he had known what he was thinking. “You wouldn’t be the first,” he assured his friend. “Have to do better than that though, to shut this down.”He could not help but to add, as an afterthought. He could not entirely blame the Northerner either. For they had been singing solely for their own amusement, with very little thought put toward any body else who might hear them. “But no, not the redhead,” he agreed though his head stopped it’s slow shake at the recognition of Kaylin. The woman was not large enough to entirely obstruct any glimpse of Narradir, but she managed a good job of distracting a man’s attention unto her regardless. So that even the mightiest of men behind her would fade out of focus.

“Gwestion has a friend ?!” he marvelled then, falling back unto the conversation in apparent shock. He was certainly surprised to hear that it was the more reticent brother gone off with company, albeit for the cause of training, .. which was certainly the only sort of ‘fun’ that Gwestion was likely to seek out, whilst on holiday. Quite why the Guards had denied Gladhron himself entry, he did not wish to enquire over. Not when such a subject seemed likely to dispirit the other man yet further.


“They probably did you a favour,” he decided instead. “I mean, large and fancy as they are, those grounds are fenced in. Rangers like you and I .. we like our freedom.” With a nod, Gwandhyra caught his friend’s hand in his own, a meet and friendly hold. “Besides, you’re not fooling anyone, my friend. You knew I was around, .. and you just happened to decide to loiter where I had arranged to meet with Seri herself ?” Admittedly he had found his way back to the inn several hours earlier than he had told the healer he’d come by. “But here I thought my disguise would fool all ! Still I couldn’t even keep up with the number of ladies that you favoured that night !” With a grin, Domanol released the younger man from his grasp, just as Kaylin and Narradir approached.

---

@Arnyn

“Now now … ” the man’s lips parted in some awe, and a slow smile grew the length of his great jaw before he slapped one hand down on the bar and dropped his face. “I have been called unbelievable ..” Narradir assured the woman, even as he raised his gaze back up, unfazed. “Mighty nice of you to notice,” he flashed his teeth and cocked his head at the exchange between the woman and the publican.

“Damn Red, but you must have worked yourself up some thirst, with all the ‘not bar- keeping’ !” he laughed, unreservedly as Kaylin ordered not one, not even two, but four drinks. Her favourite it might be then, after all. But it seemed that she did not have any intention of drinking alone.


Marking the whisky she had left him and the gesture both, the forester raised his glass in a silent toast to the innkeeper and knew better than to offer to carry the woman’s load across the room. “Alf ..” he took note of the only name he had learned, and with that respect granted, then slid his arm in a smooth continuance off the bar, without spilling a drop.

‘Come on,’ she’d bade him. And since she was already heading to the table that his companion was sat at, the only disappointment which Narry could nurture was that she’d assigned a single drink each .. for each of the four of them. Still the night was young, and it seemed that the Second Circle was not so very far removed from the First, when it came to drinking houses.


“And she bought us up a round,” he explained, after the redhead settled in as though they were all old friends. “Before we’d even done so much as exchange names ..” he added, raising one eyebrow toward the ‘lady’ as he took his own seat in turn.
“Kaylin ..” Domanol recalled with an approving nod, moments before Narradir caught the bearded man’s index finger in his larger hand.

“Don’t point, young’un,” the taller man teased, and squeezed tight in a show of strength before eventually releasing his younger friend. “Think rather what we might sing into being next !” he winked, and then laughed, and then leaned back. Even as Domanol caught up the cards which Gladhron had so recently begun to stack, upfrom the table in one hand and fanned them in a flying assault at his accomplice’s face. To which Narradir only shook his head from side to side, as though it was a refreshing shower of water. Coming at him. But there was no water, not at this table.


“Gladhron, Narradir” Domanol waved his free hand between them, to conclude the meet and greet, demonstrating that he had of course met all of them to varying degrees before. His unusual accent might jog Kaylin’s memory of where they two had briefly met before. Although something already told him that this second encounter would likely be much harder to forget.

@Ercassie @Arnyn
Gladhron laughed lightly as Gwandhyra informed him that he wouldn't be getting rid of him so easily. "Well, then, I suppose I may as well join you instead." He declared, feeling the pull of sleep far less, now that the peace had been disturbed, anyway. Another laugh burst out at Gwandhyra's surprised words about Gwestion. "One or two, anyway." He grinned. "Rumor has it, one of those fabled friends might even be sitting across from me." He added, dropping his tone to a fake whisper. "If you can believe such gossip." He added, sitting up again with a little smile.

Meeting the other's grasp, Gladhron's smile spread to a grin when the other spoke of the guards having done him a favor. "I was thinking that, myself, really." Of course, he had been thinking of it because he was debating taking a nap... then, Gwandhyra's next words brought out another laugh. "Or maybe I was 'loitering around here' because I happen to be staying here?" he suggested an alternative possibility. In fact, if he had known that Seri planned to meet Gwandhyra here, this evening, he had not remembered that at all. To hear though, that Gwandhyra seemed to have kept track of how many ladies Gladhron had danced with the other night.. he was surprised. "What, you were trying to keep up?" He asked, raising an eyebrow curiously, because he hadn't thought the other ranger would have even known who he was, let alone trying to keep track of how many ladies he'd danced with.

Just then, one of those ladies arrived at the table, along with Gwandhyra's singing partner. Gladhron blinked at her as she slid drinks around to each of them before taking a seat. Now, the question he couldn't help but ask inwardly, did she already know these two? Or was she doing the same thing she'd done the other day, with he and Tercen? His question was answered nearly immediately when Gwandhyra's buddy joined the table, mentioning the fact that he and the redhead had not even so much as exchanged names before she was buying the drinks. Her explanation made him grin in amusement, as well as the other guy's jest about what else they could 'sing into being'. "Well, it worked for the Ainur?" He commented with a little shrug, but before he could say anything further, his deck of cards were snatched and flung toward the bigger guy. "Hey," Gladhron protested, but he couldn't be cross while in the lighthearted company of these others. This was all too amusing, so his grin remained even as he made the protest.

"Good to meet you, Narradir." Gladhron stretched out his hand to greet the other, then smiled again toward Kaylin. "Thank you, by the way," He gestured toward the drink. "Though, I might fare better with a cup of coffee, before anything else." He admitted. Not that he hadn't already had several cups, during the night, but that was apparently wearing off. Turning back to Gwandhyra, he gave a little amazed shake of his head as he took in the neatly trimmed beard there. "I still can't get over... all this." He motioned around the area of his beard, amused. "I nearly didn't recognize you, with so much of your actual face showing." He teased. Not that he had any room to talk, himself, considered he had neatened up his own beard just after the masquerade.

@Rillewen @Ercassie
She gave Domanol a strange look when he said her name. Did she know him? The voice sounded kind of familiar, maybe, not that him just saying her name was giving her exactly much to go on. Her blue-grey eyes narrowed in thought as she took the man in and slowly sipped from her glass. She didn't recognize him.

When the guy from the bar grabbed Domanol's finger and suggested they might sing some more, Kaylin grinned and lowered her glass, nodding with approval. "As long as you don't start singing about strawberry water or some such nonsense, I'm all for it," she promised, her posture and expression completely relaxed. She chuckled as cards went flying, and at Narradir's reaction to this.

"Ahhh, Narradir," she nodded, when the other stranger filled in the first stranger's name for her, at least, and as Gladhron greeted the man as well. Once he had, she reached out across the table with a grin, offering Narradir her hand. "Now I have no more need to call you unbelievable ! Like he said," she tilted her head at his friend, "I'm Kaylin."

Soon, she shot a smile at Gladhron. "You're welcome! And you can have the coffee after this one," she told him, rolling her eyes. Listening to Gladhron's comments about the as of yet unnamed man, she once again tried to remember how it was that she didn't recognize him, while he so easily called her by name. "Now, your name I already knew, of course," she told Gladhron, stating the obvious to the two of them, but thus informing the older two of the fact. Slanting her head, she focused on Domanol again. "But yours...?"

"Though I'd love to think my reputation is so widespread that people can name me on sight even if they don't know me," she grinned. "I'm assuming the recollection escapes me. My apologies, for that! Also... there is a far better use of those cards than flinging them at your friend's face," she remarked. Suggested. "Not that I feel very inclined to get on my knees and gather them up," she added, with a raised eyebrow. "But if one of you gents feels the urge to take care of that, the four of us could play."

Then Kaylin raised an eyebrow at Gladhron. "All this?" she repeated questioningly, gesturing around her own face. "Did he have such a bushy beard, before, or something?" she assumed, glancing back at Domanol, but still not coming up with a memory. Regardless, she chuckled, shifting her gaze back to Gladhron. "I could say the same about you. Half of your face was masked and the other half was hairy, when we met," she pointed out. "And then I see you the next day and you got all tidy." Knowing what she had learned just earlier, she didn't bother to hide her grin. Leaning back in her seat, she pursed her lips slightly. "Would that have been for the benefit of the enigmatic Celume?" she teased blatantly.

@Ercassie @Arnyn
"Oh, is that so?" He asked with a little amusement when Kaylin declared that he could only have a coffee after he'd finished the other drink. He grinned slightly and considered the glass, but didn't venture a sip just yet. Mostly because he got distracted by her asking for Gwandhyra's name. He let out a laugh. "Is this a regular habit for you, Kaylin?" He asked, teasingly, then looked at the other two guys. "She came over and sat with me and my other friend the other day.. we both assumed she was a friend of the other, but neither of us had any idea who she was." He explained, grinning with amusement at the recollection of that confused moment.

"You know," He turned back to Kaylin, "my brother would probably caution you about how dangerous it is to go talking to strangers, and how you could put yourself in a bad situation, and blah blah blah..." He rolled his eyes. "But, he's boring and overcautious. It's a great way to make friends, isn't it?" He declared, then motioned toward his friend and leaned in as if to share a secret "This fellow goes by a couple of names." He informed her conspiratorially, though he didn't lower his voice and spoke more in a stage whisper, before straightening again and smiling at Domanol. "Which name would you prefer we use, anyway?" He asked the other man with a grin. It seemed a fair question, before divulging the name he knew best for him. "And yes, someone should pick them up," He agreed with Kaylin, while smirking pointedly at the one who had caused them to be all over the floor in the first place.

Giving an amused glance back as Kaylin asked about 'all of this', he grinned as she mentioned his own change in countenance from the masquerade night. "True, but you haven't seen this guy covered in mud, like I have." He teased Gwandhyra, recalling some of the other occasions when he'd seen him, in the north. "He's usually all rugged and scruffy-looking.." He grinned, then ventured to take a drink from his mug at last.

Her question caught him off guard, though, and while he managed not to spew any of the drink out, he ended up choking and coughing into his arm for a moment.. although whether it was from her question, or from being unused to the drink, was anyone's guess. Once he'd finally recovered a bit, Gladhron looked at Kaylin, surprised by the mention of the name Celume. "I.. uh, what?" He cleared his throat and coughed once more, then shook his head, hoping his face wasn't turning red or anything. It was slightly pink, enough so that someone sitting close, and looking closely, could tell it. But at least it was not so red that someone across the room could easily tell. Yet.. it could also be from him having just choked on his drink, right?

"Actually, that was already the plan," He admitted. "Before I..." Wait.. he hadn't known that Celume was Arnyn, the last time he spoke to Kaylin. He gave her a curious look. "How'd you know she was here?"
 

(sorry, couldn't resist replying again, hope you don't mind, Ercassie!)

Solo/Private
Sunlight exploded into the room suddenly as the curtain was drawn back without warning. Gladhron groaned and rolled to his other side, throwing an arm over his face to try and block the vicious assault of light. “Go awayyy.” He grumbled under his arm, dragging the blankets up higher over his head, to use for a shield against the evil glaring daylight.

“Gladhron, it’s nearly two in the afternoon.” Gwestion told him with a sigh. “Are you going to sleep all day?”

“Why not?” He mumbled. It ought to be allowed, after he’d stayed awake all night the day before, and late into the past night. Or whatever day this was. He was too sleepy to even care if he’d slept through a whole day already.

Gwestion rolled his eyes and used his foot to shove some of his brother’s strewn-about things together into a pile, so they were at least not all over the floor, and blocking the walkway of the room. “How much did you have to drink, anyway?" He wondered, glancing at his brother. After getting no reply, he changed tactics. "I thought you had some sort of plans with Celume.” He shrugged. “I guess I’ll tell her you’re too tired.”

After a moment to let that hit him, Gladhron sat up, alarmed. “Wait, is it almost time for the dance?” He asked, suddenly unsure what day it even was. “I haven’t even figured out what to wear to it!”

After calmly watching his brother tumble hastily out of bed, squinting from the daylight as he hastily searched for a clean(ish) shirt to put on, Gwestion debated whether he ought to tell him that the day was actually the 27th. He decided to wait a little bit longer, and also didn’t mention bother to remind him that the midwinter ball had been days ago. “Did you have a good time yesterday?” He asked, tilting his head curiously, in a tone that suggested Gladhron should recall something significant having happened.

“Yesterday..” Gladhron paused, looking up from his search for socks. He blinked a couple of times. “What even was yesterday?”

Gwestion folded his arms, leaning back against the wall. “I can’t believe you don’t remember..” He declared in feigned astonishment, in his own version of teasing.

Gladhron frowned, thinking a little harder. He felt a little fuzzy-headed at the moment, and moved to sit on the side of the bed he had recently abandoned. “Yesterday..” He stared at Gwestion. “Yesterday was.. when we watched the sunrise, wasn’t it?”

“Ah.. so you remember some of it.” Gwestion nodded approvingly.

“And then Celume and I went for a ride.” Gladhron frowned. “And I was going to join her at the training grounds, later.” He stood up, facing his brother. “But for some reason, the guards wouldn’t let me in. You wouldn’t happen to know why, would you?” He asked, arms folded as he looked accusingly at his brother.

Gwestion raised his eyebrows as if in surprise. “They wouldn’t?” He feigned innocence. “How inconvenient that must have been. Very frustrating, isn't it?”

Gladhron narrowed his eyes. “Ha ha, real funny.” He huffed and then threw a dirty sock at Gwestion.

Gwestion swiftly ducked, avoiding the missile as if it were a deadly weapon. “What are you trying to do, kill me?” He asked, gagging a bit over-exaggeratedly.

“Oh hush, yours are just as bad.” Gladhron laughed, shaking his head. “In fact, I think that might have been yours,” he realized, after taking a closer look.

“I should hope not, considering you’ve worn a hole in it.” Gwestion frowned as he, too, took a glance with a wrinkled nose at where it had landed on his bed.

Shrugging, Gladhron mentally dismissed the matter. Their things tended to get a bit mixed up at times, if it wasn’t clear what belonged to who.

“So.” Gwestion resumed his former position, looking at Gladhron. “Did they happen to give you any for reason why they wouldn’t let you in?”

Gladhron rolled his eyes. “I know you were behind it, if that’s what you want to know?” He answered, then sighed. “I guess you got your payback for the other day. So, now we’re even. Right?”

Gwestion considered him for a moment. “Maybe.”

“What do you mean, ‘maybe’?” Gladhron sighed. “What do you want, a confession?”

“An explanation might be nice?” Gwestion suggested, instead.

Gladhron frowned, then turned his eyes up to the ceiling for a moment, taking a long breath in. “Alright.” He sighed. “You mean, about the training ground pass, I presume?”
Gwestion nodded. “I know you helped Celume’s brother sneak into the training grounds, using my pass." He raised a hand, "Don't worry, I didn't tell on either of you. What I don’t know, is why?” He folded his arms and waited for him to continue.

“I never meant to cause you any problems, I swear.” Gladhron assured him. “It’s just.. I heard there was going to be a sparring match between Lieutenant Arnyn and Hyandaner Kaylin.. that’s before I knew Arnyn was Celume, by the way,” he clarified. “And Tercen had never seen her fight. Not, really fight, I mean. And Kaylin was bragging about how great it was going to be, and the other guy was going on about how great the last one had been to see, and Tercen looked sorta disappointed that he would have to miss it, and said he'd never actually gotten to see his sister spar against someone full out like that. And I sorta wanted to see too, and… well, anyway, I just offered that maybe we could work it out, so we could both get a chance to see it.”

Gwestion listened, his gaze drifting off toward a random spot on the floor. Now it was his turn to draw in a slow breath, releasing it even more slowly. “I see.” He said quietly. “And, I assume it was a good match?”

“Definitely.” Gladhron grinned, nodding. “You shoulda-” A glance from Gwestion cut him off, and he cleared his throat a bit awkwardly. “I mean, it was really great to watch..”

“And it never even occurred to you to invite me.” Gwestion wasn’t really that surprised, just.. a little sad. Instead, his brother had taken Gwestion's training ground pass, and let this guy he’d only just met use it... to gain illegitimate access to the grounds. So they could watch this sparring match.

Gladhron was a bit at a loss for what to say to that. After opening his mouth a couple of times and failing to find any sufficient excuse, he dropped his head in shame. “Sorry. I.. guess I deserved that, yesterday.” After a small hesitation, he glanced up at Gwestion, curious. “Would you have wanted to, by the way? If we’d invited you?”

Gwestion shrugged. “Maybe. But we won't know, will we?” He answered quietly, then shrugged. “For all you know, maybe I could’ve found a better way to help your friend get in there to see his sister fight. But, that ship has sailed, hasn’t it?”

Gladhron sat on the edge of the bed again, thinking. He was silent for a moment. That comment had jogged his memory a bit of something he and Arnyn had talked about. “Speaking of ships,” He spoke quietly, a little tentatively. “That reminds me.. I needed to tell you about something. Celume and I were talking yesterday, and she was asking about the bandit trouble in the North.” He looked up. “I told her about.. their latest activity, and she mentioned that she’d heard some reports about them. She confirmed our theory, Gwestion. The copperheads, they’re allied with some pirates, now.”

Gwestion frowned at the more serious turn this conversation had taken, and came to sit on the edge of the other bed, facing Gladhron. “What else did she know about it?” He asked, wondering if he should ask her anything, himself.

“She said they’ve got some sort of signal system, and that they meet on the shore at a particular place.. and..” He frowned, thinking back. “Something about selling their captives.” He frowned. "She said she got a report about it."

Gwestion frowned thoughtfully. “We talked about that, a little. She didn’t seem to want to say much about it, though.”

Gladhron nodded. “I’ve noticed there are a few things she’s a bit.. closed up about.” He frowned. “I think it has to do with some mission thing she’s working on, for the spring.”

“Spring?” Gwestion tilted his head. “Are you sure it isn’t sooner?”

“Uh.. spring is what she said.” Gladhron answered, frowning slightly. “Why? Did you hear something different?”

Gwestion hesitated, thinking about what to tell his brother. “At the training grounds, someone mentioned something I don’t think they were supposed to, to me.” He explained, carefully leaving out who that someone was. “And, Celume told me that it was a training exercise that’s for the Gondor rangers, only. But it will be soon, she said. And, not at the training grounds.” He added thoughtfully.

Gladhron leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “What sort of training?” He asked, curious.

“I don’t know. She said that some of their unit will be leaving the city for a few weeks. Two or three, at least. She said that at first, she wasn’t sure if we might leave before she went to this training thing, but then she started worrying that she might have to leave before we went back north, and she didn’t know if we’d still be here when she returned.” He frowned, thinking back to the conversation the previous day. “I told her I thought we’d be staying through the winter.” He explained.

Gladhron nodded slowly, thinking about that. “Three weeks, outside the city. For training?” He leaned back on his elbows, trying to think. “She did say she was preparing for something… sorta big.” He mentioned. “And it was stressing her out a bit. I offered to help however I can, but the only help she’d accept was if I wanted to distract her now and then, so she doesn’t get lost in all the papers.” he huffed a little laugh.

“What sort of papers?” Gwestion frowned.

“I didn’t see very much,” Gladhron admitted. “I mostly only caught a glimpse of a map.” He sat up again as he realized something. “A map.. of the southern coast, near Umbar.”

Gwestion drew in a slow breath. “She spoke briefly about the slave trade going on there.. how people were abducted and sold into that...”

“She mentioned that to me, too.” Gladhron agreed, nodding. “And how much it bothers her.”

The brothers sat for a moment in silence, looking at each other, knowing they were thinking the same thing.

“That would certainly be a stressful thing to try and prepare for.” Gwestion agreed quietly, breaking the silence after a moment.

“But… surely..” Gladhron began, mentally trying to deny it to himself.

“It makes sense,” Gwestion cut him off. “Remember how she asked what we knew about ships? And she wanted to know if we knew which captain it was?”

Gladhron’s eyes widened slightly. “Right… and she did say she was worried about trying to make sure everyone was as prepared as they can be… that would explain having such a lengthy training thing, right?”

Gwestion nodded slowly as he considered all of these factors, also remembering some of the other questions she had asked him. “It all seems to point to that, anyway.” He muttered thoughtfully. “Of course, I’m sure she wouldn’t confirm it. She may not even be able to, if she’s under orders not to speak of it,” He frowned, thinking. “I got the impression that the person who made a small mention about the training, was not supposed to have said even that much.” He explained his thoughts on that.

“But… surely, we could offer some help? We’re rangers, too…” Gladhron frowned, a little concerned to think of what danger she could be going into.

“But if they aren’t even supposed to talk about it… then we aren’t even supposed to know about it.” Gwestion pointed out.

Gladhron frowned. “Yeah. Come to think of it, she looked.. almost alarmed, when I offered to help, if they needed more people.” He recalled. “But.. if that really is what the mission is, we do want to help, right?” He asked, checking they were on the same page there.

“Absolutely,” Gwestion agreed quietly, nodding. He went quiet for a few moments before speaking again. “Let’s.. think on this for a few more days, alright?” He suggested. “We don’t know anything, yet. But maybe if we keep our eyes and ears open, we might learn a bit more. Once we’ve confirmed our thoughts… maybe we could go and ask her directly, and see what she says. Perhaps if we volunteer to join..”

“I already did, though.”

“You offered to help with ‘whatever’,” Gwestion pointed out. “If we know exactly what we’re offering to help with, that should make a difference.” He shrugged and took a moment to let the thoughts simmer. Then, he spoke again of another topic, “By the way, you do know that the dance was several days ago, right?”

Gladhron blinked and looked at him in puzzlement at this change of topic. “Huh?”

“You seemed worried that you might miss it, earlier.” Gwestion reminded him.

“Oh!” Gladhron laughed, shaking his head once he realized what Gwestion was talking about. “No, not that dance…” He explained. “Celume invited me to...” He paused, realizing he should word that better. “Well, I mean, technically, she said Tercen is taking her dancing, but he's also bringing his lady and that he’d end up dancing with her most of the time, and she suggested that I could come too, so she isn’t sitting there all bored..” He clarified, then cleared his throat softly. “Anyway, I just.. for a moment, I thought I’d slept through it or something… or that I was running late.”

Gwestion tilted his head thoughtfully, regarding him for a moment. “You really like her don’t you?”

Gladhron blinked, a little surprised by that question. He nodded seriously. “Very much.”

Gwestion nodded slightly as his suspicion was confirmed. He didn't offer any teasing, in this matter. “I hope you two have a good time, at this dance.”

Gladhron smiled. “Thanks.” Then, after pausing, he added, “Uh, you didn’t want to be invited to that, did you?”

Gwestion scoffed. “No, thanks.”

“Good,” Gladhron laughed. “Cause I wasn’t planning to.”

Rolling his eyes, Gwestion grabbed the sock that had ended up on his bed, and threw it back at Gladhron. “If you don’t hurry up and get dressed, you’ll miss your chance to get anything to wear to that dance.” He told him, as he started for the door.

“Where’re you going?” Gladhron asked, picking the sock off his shoulder with while wrinkling his nose.

Gwestion paused at the door. “Well, I figure, if you’re going to be getting fancy new clothes every other day for dances and parties, I’d better get started finding somewhere to sell all those hides and pelts we collected during the trip, so we have enough money to actually keep ourselves fed while we’re here.” He replied, then gave a little teasing, half-smile before leaving the room.

@Rillewen @Arnyn

If Domanol had courted a smile when Gladhron suggested that he was in fact one of Gwestion’s very few friends .. then it grew yet wider when ‘Sir Dragon’ teased him about the recent masquerade. “There were certainly some interesting sights to see that night,” he recalled, shaking away his momentary concern about one particular such surprise. “But none more surprising to behold, for me, than the Lady Blossom herself,” he admitted, unashamed.

“And yourself also,” Narradir agreed, meeting the Northerner’s hand in a hearty shake and ignoring any threat of coffee. “Thanks all round indeed,” he added as the redhead agreed with her given name. “To Kaylin ! Kind patron of our cups. The whisky queen !” he added raising his drinking vessel as he celebrated the cause. If they all and each got a round in, who knew where the night would take them ?! But as the talk turned toward beards, the large man ran the thumb and index finger of one hand to trace his own, now naked, jaw, as though mourning a lost loved one.


“So the more of my face you see, the less you recognise me,” Domanol paused where he had stooped to gather up the discarded playing cards, and grinned with a shake of his head. ”Disguise,” he emphasised with a wink toward Gladhron. “I was my brother.”

“Not from what I’ve heard …” Narradir chuckled, as he lowered his drink. And then nodded his head and pointed, regardless of his previous ‘manners’, toward the Northerner himself. “His brother is the quiet one,” the forester confided, knowingly tilting his head to indicate Domanol. “My best friend,” he tapped his chest proudly, as though ‘quieter’ than him was more so what he meant. And clearly that did not necessarily mean the same thing. “No one who knows either one of you would ever mistake the two of you ..” he tried out the sentence aloud before puzzling over whether it made sense. And then shrugged, regardless.


Setting the retrieved cards back before Gladhron, Domanol tried the whiskey and let his lips wake to the taste a little, as he climbed back onto his chair. “It’s called camouflage,” he grinned, unoffended at the description, which was of course, rather apt, as per his usual get up. “And you can call me Dom,” he let the northerner know. As far as names went, that was the moniker most likely to be kinder to them, once they’d had a few drinks. “So long as one of you tells me who this Celume is ?” He turned to Kaylin, before sliding a look back towards Gladhron. “That who you were really waiting here for ?” he supposed, with a single raised eyebrow which leant further mischief and suspicion to the ask.

@Rillewen @Ercassie
Whiskey queen! Now that was a nickname she did not mind. (Not that she had, in fact, encountered many -if any- nicknames which she could not appreciate on some level.) Kaylin grinned lazily at Narradir, raising her own glass in a silent thank you of her own, for his easygoing but exuberant gratitude.

"A habit?" She repeated questioningly, as if trying to determine if it truly was a habit of hers. "Probably just with people who look and sound interesting enough," she decided, thus handing a roundabout compliment to all the men at the table. When Gladhron said Gwestion would say that kind of behaviour might also put her in a bad situation, Kaylin subconsciously shifted in her seat. Then she shrugged, and raised her glass of liquor to take a slow sip. It had panned out favorably for her all her life - save one or two situations. She didn't much feel like commenting on all that. One or two bad experiences weren't about to change who she was.

With Dom speaking more, the man's unique accent finally seemed to jog her memory. Kaylin felt like she was so close to figuring it out - it was honestly getting annoying she couldn't connect that last thread. But when the name 'Dom' was supplied, and the apparently regularly mud-faced man spoke more and more, Kaylin's eyes widened in triumph as her glass thudded perhaps a tad too enthusiastically onto the table top. "Raxelilta!" She declared in triumph. "From that visit to the Barracks!"
Content with the realization, Kaylin chuckled, remembering that day rather fondly. For several reasons.

Soon thereafter, Gladhron's response to her mentioning 'Celume' was very satisfying. With a smug little grin, Kaylin lifted one shoulder. "I have my sources," she said casually, her grin growing at the sight of the color on the man's face. Dom's question made Kaylkn chuckle. "Well, I don't know if you have met her " she first told Narradir, "but I know you have," she continued as she turned her gaze to Dom. "I do believe you accused her of having a tail?"

@Ercassie @Arnyn
Gladhron grinned as Dom mentioned the many surprising sights to see, the other night. Indeed! For he had certainly never expected to find Celume there, of all people! After parting from her, back in the north, he had honestly never expected to see her again. And that had saddened him greatly. Given the fact that he'd had no idea how to even try to locate her again, he had even tried to stop thinking about her, but found it to be a difficult task. Now, to his great delight, he knew where she lived and could come and visit her, now.

Of course, that was not what Dom had been thinking of, when he spoke of 'interesting sights' and 'surprises'. "I believe it was just as much of a surprise for her," He assured the man, grinning. He really was happy that the two had found each other, for the lady had been growing increasingly more concerned about her missing 'fellow'. He might have told him what she had said when Gladhron had been trying to talk her into going to the masquerade, but given the other two in attendance, he decided maybe it would be out of line to share those words with the entire group.

Instead, he laughed when Narradir offered up a cheer to Kaylin, dubbing her the 'whiskey queen', then smiled at her compliment, to call them 'interesting enough' to join. "Oh, the quiet one, huh?" He glanced at Dom with a grin. "So, your brother is more like my brother. Does that mean you're more like me?" He asked, curious. It was strange, getting to know the guy in his hometown, after having met him so far from here, under a different name. "You're lucky your disguise didn't work on Seri." he added with a little teasing grin, before taking a curious glance toward Kaylin when she burst out 'Raxelilta!' and something about barracks. What was that about? He assumed it had to do with Dom, however, so he turned to look at him, curiously smiling in hopes of an explanation for that intriguing outburst, as he offered the deck of cards to Kaylin so that she could choose a game and deal.

The smile faded slightly to a slightly more self-conscious version of itself though, when Dom then asked about who Celume was. Before Gladhron could offer a response, Kaylin surprised him by supplying her own reply to it. He gave her a puzzled look. "A tail?" He asked, then glanced toward Dom questioningly. "What?" He asked with a puzzled laugh. "And actually.. I was waiting for my brother, if you want to know." He added. "I have something I want to ask him about when he returns." Like why he'd told the guards at the training grounds not to let him in!

@Rillewen @Arnyn

“The best sort of habit,” Narradir applauded the sentiment, throwing his drink recklessly down his gullet, the stiff burn barely touching the sides, as Kaylin and Gladhron debated her social tendencies. “As they say, a stranger is a friend you haven’t met ..”

“Yet ..” Domanol concluded, recognising the saying. He watched the forester consider his now emptied glass, duly frowning as though he only now realised that he ought not to have hurled his whole refreshment without savouring the taste. But a shrug soon convinced the larger man that, well, he was simply fuelling the fun to come. The other, slightly younger, man let his own drink make itself rather more at home within the confines of his mouth. It gradually rose a fire about the carpet of his tongue and crept with growing potency toward the back of his throat, like smoke curls from the hearth along the channel of the chimney.


“I have been called paranoid to such extremes that it would make your brother proud,” he confided frankly, when the Northerner asked if they two were the more alike. In truth, the comparison was thought-provoking. He could also prove as reckless as the brother who sat before him, however. “But there is no one quite like you, my friend !” Having set his glass back down upon the table now, Domanol grinned. “In truth I’m somewhat embarrassed that she recognised me before I could her !” he shared then, about finding Seri here. Of course, the woman had known that he’d come here, whereas he had had no cause to suspect she would have done so as well.

Narradir jumped in his seat as Kaylin triumphantly recalled her brief previous encounter with the older Ranger of the North. And then shook his head to either side with a show of mirth in the aftermath. “Stars ! Woman !” Dom laughed aloud for his own sake. But the redhead had already turned toward apparently amusing herself over a subject that caused Gladhron to stammer some. And when the stunned younger man asked how she’d known ‘Celume’ was ‘here’ .. the forester checked, none too subtly, underneath the table; as though he expected to find some stranger there. Dom took another lip numbing taste of his drink and then crossed his arms calmly over the top of his chair’s back, showing his teeth now as he shook with silent amusement as the burlier man resumed his seat, proper, with an exaggerated shrug.


It was Domanol’s turn to be taken aback then however, when Kaylin recalled another brief previous encounter. “The blonde,” he realised, sitting up with interest.

Even as Narradir slammed his palm excitedly on the table top. “Tail .. what ?” he wanted to know.


“If you are waiting to ask your brother how to talk to women,” Dom remarked, as Gladhron admitted his hope for Gwestion to arrive. “First off, let’s all agree, he wouldn’t have come this far south if he had any clue what to do with that.” He knew, from Seri’s account of their journey south, that Attubel had not come with them, after all. “And for the second. Learn from one who knows. Don’t ever refer to a woman’s throw of hair as any sort of tail. Apparently they’re not fond of such terms.” He nodded sagely, as though the subject matter was far more grave than it really was. “Though .. apparently .. this one does use other names for herself on occasion,” he noted, surprised. He would not have suspected that so upfront and organised a woman would employ such clandestine tactics. “But how do you know her ?” Domanol poked Gladhron in the arm. Not cruelly, but enough to make his .. point. Twice. As any obnoxious kid brother knows how, regardless of their age. “You visited the barracks too ?”

“Why is everybody visiting the barracks all of a sudden ?” Narradir puzzled in his turn. “Or is that the name of some new drinking hole I have somehow yet to learn of ?”

@Rillewen @Ercassie
When Gladhron offered her the cards, Kaylin accepted them without protest. She put down her glass and started shuffling with a practiced ease, without needing to so much as glance at the cards while she did so. She just chuckled when Gladhron didn't understand the 'tail' reference. But when Dom sat up a bit and spoke of 'the blonde', Kaylin grinned and nodded even as she started dealing the cards.

She left Dom and Gladhron to their little conversation about Celume or the blonde, and shook her head at Narradir instead. "No, not some new drinking hole. Although - that does give me a great idea! Even if it might result in the barracks master ending up in an early grave..." she mused thoughtfully. "The man should someday realize that fostering camaraderie among rangers or soldiers alike, is more important than sticking to his much too detailed rule book," she sighed.

Then she did glance at Dom. "We're not," she confirmed his opinion about women not being fond of the term 'tail'. "Honestly, the 'tail' thing makes it sound like the hair is coming from our ass. Not our head. You see why it's a problem, right?" she asked Narradir and Gladhron, her eyebrows raised. "Considering that, she honestly didn't take it all that badly." A lopsided smile followed.

@Ercassie @Arnyn
A grin of amusement came, upon Dom's comment that there was none else quite like him. "And Gwestion would say 'thank goodness' to that," He laughed, having little doubt as to his brother's response to that comment. He smiled as Dom then spoke of Seri recognizing him. "I don't know how she did," Gladhron spoke his own confession, shaking his head slightly in amazement. "I sure didn't," He admitted teasingly, recalling how puzzled he had been when he saw Seri dancing so closely with a fellow he didn't recognize. "But then, I guess maybe you get more cleaned up around her than you ever have around me or Gwestion."

As the talk shifted to Celume, Gladhron took a glance around, as if concerned that she might walk in that very moment and catch them talking about her. Kaylin wasted no time in helping the other two realize who Celume was, and he certainly didn't miss the way Dom sat up, suddenly interested once he realized they were speaking of 'the blonde'. Trying very hard not to let himself blush(as if he could control that), Gladhron decided to try a more careful sip of his drink, which brought on another little cough before he glanced up again with puzzlement. "Tail?" He repeated, at the same time as Narradir, then let out a laugh at Kaylin's answer. "Yeahhhhh, I can imagine that wouldn't seem too flattering," He laughed, then glanced from Dom to Kaylin, curious. "But when did this happen? Why was he calling her hair a tail?" He asked, grinning at the thought of possibly getting to hear some sort of amusing tale. Ha, tale.

He shook his head in answer to Dom's comment. "Sorry to disappoint you," He grinned at his older friend. "Just a matter between Gwestion and me," He assured him. "And no... you're right," He agreed with amusement. "If he had any clue about that, he'd have invited her to come along on this trip, at least." He shrugged. Not that he thought Bel would've come with them, but still.

He looked slightly puzzled though, why Dom would be asking if he'd visited the barracks. "Barracks? No.. why would I go there?" he asked, assuming that he meant the ranger barracks, as he didn't know of any others. He found it rather puzzling that anyone would ask him if he'd gone there to meet her, since she didn't even live there, but decided not to go down that line of topic. "Actually, I met her in the North." he admitted, sitting back. "Years ago. We spent several weeks tracking down those bandits, together. She, Gwestion and I," He clarified who 'we' was. "We never knew her real name until.. well," He grinned at Kaylin. "When I saw Celume meet you at the training grounds for that sparring match you had planned with your Lieutenant Arnyn, actually. Until then, I'd never known her by any other name than Celume." He shrugged and sat back, taking up his glass again.

"Sooo," He turned to Kaylin with a little grin. "What's the story behind this 'tail' thing, anyway?" He asked, hoping to distract a bit from the matter of his own interest in Celume, while giving Kaylin a chance to demonstrate her wonderful story telling abilities.

@Rillewen @Arnyn

Narradir looked both disappointed and somehow intrigued, as Kaylin explained there was no real ‘drinking’ at the actual Barracks. At least reportedly. He knew from his own very brief time abiding in such an establishment, that drinking did tend to occur, although it was hardly advertised, for fear of repercussions. Although, for all that, the Barracks as they stood today still seemed to have been the setting for some sort of shenanigans. “Someone should open a tavern named for ‘The Barracks’” he sighed almost wistfully. “And then every rumour and reputation which came of drinking there would cause your Barracks Master to really pull his hair out. As people wondered whether such things had come about under his rule.”

“Would be perhaps simpler to rewrite the rulebook and leave it in an identical cover,” Domanol proposed, eager to join in the conspiracy. “How can he then blame anyone for breaking his rules, when they point out what the rules in his book actually say ?”


Thankfully before they could further plot the downfall of a fastidious legend whom neither of the men had actually met themselves .. the general consensus was made that women felt ‘tail’ was an offensive term. “I swear I meant no offence,” the culprit laughed, somewhat damaging his claim with his expression. “Back when I lived in the North, not Arnor,” he was quick to clarify. “But in the village, we had dances, for the harvest and the new moon and pretty much any excuse we could come up with, in all honesty. People took a pride in dressing up as the animals we knew thereabouts, most of them even before the drinking started. And donning a false tail in the get-up of a squirrel, or a fox, or even an eagle for that matter, was quite a popular move by the young women. Emphasised each movement during the dance, gave them something to play with .. tickle a fellow’s chin .. that sort of thing.”

“Where is this ?” Narradir snuck the other man’s drinking glass back in front of him, a little less full now, as the teller completed his little .. tale.

“Not so far away that your wife wouldn’t track you down and smack you over the head for even thinking of visiting,” Dom warned him. “And I .. have not been back there .. not in years now,” he assured Gladhron, in defence of his commitment to their mutual healer friend. The village in question had after all been utterly devastated and left a barren space by a swift and fatal sickness that ran through the small settlement like a storm. But there was no point in dampening the mood by mentioning .. that.

“I don’t suppose you noticed any ladies donning tails at this masquerade, did you ?” he was asked, by a wide-eyed forester.

“Your daughter didn’t .. if that’s why you are asking ..?” the accented man grinned. “They like big skirts too well down here,” he shrugged. “No place for tails I guess. It is a shame, I must say.” Narradir took another nudge of whiskey from Domanol’s glass, as that man turned to answer his younger friend’s question.


“I merely complimented the Lieutenant upon her gleaming golden tail .. you know, when I put my head in to introduce myself.” Domanol turned back and caught the larger man almost choking on his drink .. which he relieved from the spluttering, amused man’s hand.

“You put your head in .. where ?” the oldest present felt that the question really had to be asked.

“In the barracks ..” his friend enunciated and sniffed at the remaining drink before putting it back down. And throwing his enquiry back toward Gladhron. “Well if it’s good enough for the King to use an alias when he travels ..?” he left the remainder of his point to be interpreted. Arnyn had told him she’d been to the North, and tracking the bandits who frequented there, of course. But she had never mentioned she’d been working with others on that. Or that she had used an alias.


“And yet here you stand .. ” Narradir seemed astounded, and perhaps as though he’d heard a thing or two about this particular blonde lieutenant himself. “She let you live .. ” he shook his head, and was kicked under the table for his trouble. “Right, well, what is all this anyway ?” The large man indicated the cards which Kaylin had been apparently dealing out all this time.

@Rillewen @Ercassie
She laughed at Narradir's idea, and she had to admit she liked that idea more than she should. "Brilliant," she almost sighed. "You don't happen to be in the market for opening such a tavern?" she asked the man with a half grin. "Or are you more of a die-hard visitor, rather than an owner?"

The idea that followed, was Dom's, and it made her chuckle. "I've heard your nephew is also rather creative," she told Dom. "I assume he gets that from you, then. The fault in your plan, is of course that the Barracks Master would instantly know who replaced his rule book with the new one, in case they pointed out such a 'rule' to him. And part of me suspects there are stacks of the original rule book supporting his own mattress at the barracks, rather than an actual bed frame..."

With some surprise, Kaylin listened to Dom's description of people dressing up like animals to dance and celebrate. She laughed at the part where he mentioned the chin tickling. "Sounds kind of great, actually," she spoke her mind freely. "Beats getting all fancy all the time. Thankfully the fanciness is only required about once a year, here," she added with a grin. "And while I'll admit there were indeed many big skirts at the masquerade, I'll also admit I had a good time watching my husband try and hunt for me," she chuckled.

Gladhron asked her to tell him the story about how Dom had commented on Arnyn's ''tail', Kaylin grinned and leaned back. It was only right to wait a moment and see what Dom would choose to reply, first. The cards were all dealt between the four of them, except for the very last one, which she put in the center of the table, face up. She was drinking the last bit of her own whisky when Dom said it had been a compliment, and Kaylin's lips parted a little at the man's phrasing. Narradir asked the perfect question in response just as Kaylin put her empty glass on the table, and nearly succumbed to a fit of the giggles at the return reply. "These two are hilarious," she commented to Gladhron, as if Narradir and Dom would not be able to hear - when in fact she did not give two figs whether they could or could not.

Kaylin then grinned at Dom. "Are you saying Arnyn should go by Golden Tail? Maybe we should translate it to Elvish, have ourselves some fun with giving her a new nickname? Maybe she can use that one as her next alias, then. It's what she did for the one she used with you," she told Gladhron. "Take an old division nickname and use that." Kaylin chuckled.

"Though I do believe you said sunlit tail," she corrected Dom, before flashing a smile at Gladhron. "Very poetic, this one. He blew in like the fall wind, dropped all sorts of little puns and bits of information on the Lieutenant, and then he wooshed out of there just as quickly. It was absolutely hilarious. A perfect little intro to the rest of that day," she decided. "That was the same day Arnyn had us smashing the walls to smithereens and basically gave that go for a food fight in the little mess," she explained to Gladhron, having told him that story before. "Such a great day," she said whistfully, knowing it'd be hard to beat.

Kaylin rolled her eyes when Narradir mused that Arnyn had let Dom live, but she clapped her hands together excitedly when he was the one to finally ask about the cards. "Well!" she began, smiling brightly, "in the honour of Miss Sunlit Tail - admired in some way or other by more than one person at this table , even if only for her ability not to kill a man who references to her hair as a tail - I present you with a game she happened to teach me and a few others during our last mission out to the mountains: Liar Liar!"

"The concept is very easy: everyone has to follow the suit that is displayed in the center of the table. You can all see that we have a diamond there, now. So now the next person puts a card on top of it, face down. Claiming it is also a diamond. Then the next person puts another card on it, face down. And then the next person, then me, and so on. Of course, there are only so many diamonds in a game. So, inevitably, we should all be lying at some point."

She leaned forward a little, eyes gleaming. "Now. The goal of the game is to be the first one with no more cards left. So - the first one who can lose all of their cards, wins. But - anyone can call out anyone else right after that person has played a card. So let's say we have gone a few rounds and Gladhon plays a card and Narradir thinks Gladhron is lying. Even if it isn't Narradir's turn to go next, he can call Gladhron a liar right after Gladhron played his card. Narradir then gets to turn over Gladhron's card."

"If Gladhon is in fact lying, which makes Narradir right to call him a liar, Gladhron has to take all the cards that were played on the center of the table. Then Gladhron gets to pick the suit he wants to be played next and puts down one such card, face up. Which the rest again has to follow."

"But! If Gladhron was not lying... and played a diamond... then Narradir has to take all the cards in the center of the table, and Narradir can choose the suit he wants to play next."

"This goes on until one of us is out of cards." Kaylin leans back. "It's especially funny when you've been lying for several rounds, finally decide to play another true card, and THAT is when someone decides to flip your card." She grinned. "You can try to play it cool. Or not play it cool at all. But everything could be a ruse..." She gestured at the table. "So, what do you say, boys? Want to play a game?"

@Ercassie @Arnyn
He couldn't help grinning, and then laughing, as first Narradir, then Dom, made suggestions concerning the barracks and their rulebook. "So, what I'm hearing is.. there are definitely benefits to sleeping under the stars and living wherever you happen to throw down your bedroll?" He asked with a little grin, mostly aimed toward Dom, since out of their present company, he seemed the most likely to know how that was. "No barracks master to give me some stupid rulebook to follow!" He laughed and took another small drink of his glass. A tiny sip, as he was not used to such strong drinks as whiskey.

One thing that Kaylin said, however, didn't quite make sense. At least, not to his tired mind. "How would he know who had replaced the rulebook though?" He asked, a bit confused. "If Dom here did it, well, he's not even in the barracks. Right?" He checked with his friend, fairly sure he'd heard otherwise as far as where the man was living these days. "So if that lieutenant fellow doesn't know Dom, how would he know he had done it? Or, would he just blame someone else?" He puzzled over that thought briefly.

Instead, he focused on the 'tail' tale, and grinned when Dom insisted he'd meant no offence, then proceeded to explain about some of the customs in a village far away, where Dom had once lived. Gladhron listened with curiosity to that, intrigued at the thought of the ladies dressing up. "Come to think of it," He mentioned, trying to recall after the question arose whether any of the ladies at the masquerade had been dressed up as animals, "I don't think I saw any of the ladies dressed as animals.. if you don't count butterflies," He added with a teasing grin toward Kaylin. "But several of the fellows did. I saw a fox, a bird, a wolf.. I was a dragon," He grinned proudly at that point. "But.. an entire dance with the theme of dressing up as animals?" He smiled slightly. "That sounds like it'd be a fun dance." He idly watched Kaylin dealing out the cards while he considered that, momentarily feeling a touch of sadness as he thought his sister would've probably enjoyed something like that. She'd liked animals. But he put that thought firmly aside, so not to drag the mood down. Instead, he grinned when Kaylin 'confided' in him that she thought the other two were hilarious. "Very," he agreed with amusement.

He let out a laugh at Dom's reply to Narradir, when the latter asked where this was. Grinning, Gladhron debated whether to take another sip, then became distracted and smiled when Dom mentioned the king even using an alias. "That's what I mentioned," He agreed. "And of course, Gwestion probably would have some ridiculous 'code names' for the two of us, if I went along with it." He rolled his eyes. "I still can't believe he wasn't into the Masquerade idea..." He shook his head a bit in wonder, and took another, absent drink. Only to remember suddenly why he had been taking small, shallow sips. It was a struggle not to cough or give any indication that the drink was too much for his poor throat to handle, but he managed to swallow with only one little cough before setting the glass down.

He took a slow breath in and back out as he listened to Kaylin announced that the game was one that Arnyn had taught her, and then gave a laugh when he heard the name of it. "We played this together in the north." He declared with a grin. "One of the few times I managed to drag Gwestion into a card game," he smirked and picked up his cards. "I'm definitely up for a game. Ladies first, though." He grinned and nodded to indicate that Kaylin should begin the round.

@Rillewen @Arnyn


“I have all my best ideas when I am in no fit state to remember them the next day,” Narradir assured Kaylin, when she encouraged him about the ‘Barracks’ Tavern.

“Hear hear,” Domanol struck his open fists against the table in an overzealous applause, as Gladhron lauded sleeping under the stars, as opposed to under the Barracks Masters’s rule. “You do seem to be putting some very serious thought into this,” Domanol laughed right along with the woman’s remarks on potential pranking. “Although clearly I am getting the blame for even how ‘creative’ my nephew may become !” he merrily ‘despaired’ over the Northerner’s puzzle. “Stil, it sounds to me like we could get a whole lot more ‘creative’ with these nicknames ..” he added, as the Ranger reminisced about the somewhat unconventional training day which Arnyn had hosted. Then, as he raised his drink to toast her claim of ‘hilarious’, he could not help but narrow brown eyes and inspect how the contents of his glass seemed less than he had left it.


Avoiding any indication that he might have been responsible for that, Narradir clasped both his hands before him, and looked for all the world as though he were a good student listening to Kaylin’s card game instruction. He maintained this ‘innocence’ up until Gladhron suggested a courtesy of ‘Ladies first’.

Though the art of chivalry was not one of Domanol’s strengths, he nonetheless nodded his approval to the motion. “Seeing as you two know what you’re doing, after all,” he ventured. Exhibiting maybe more sense than he had for the last several hours.

“Agreed,” his associate declared. “And although it should not impact anybody’s motives toward good form and fair play, but if Dom here loses, I propose that his penance be to prove just how he thinks he won my bet ..”


The next kick underneath the table threatened to shudder all cards back down to the floor, but the two men then fell to an exchange of meaningful facial expressions which seemed to be having some kind of private conversation, without any need for words. Once both had come to an apparent understanding, or else tired of the antics, Domanol conceded a smile with the slow shake of his head, and a gesture with one hand that prompted Kaylin to proceed.

@Rillewen @Ercassie
"Sometimes, pranking requires thoughtfulness. Other times..." The redhead shrugged knowingly. "It's the spontaneity that brings on the genius. And which keeps you from reconsidering," she added with a laugh to Dom, before giving Gladhron a genial smile. "Another way to escape the barracks is to get married and move into the married housing," she mused with no small amount of amusement. "It's how I got away from the barracks master's stick in his ass. For the most part. I think me moving out added a few years onto his life. But that was before some others moved in, to give Lieutenant Brian some more grey hair." She also thought better of mentioning she'd been inadvertently responsible for slapping glass shards into the poor man's back during the barracks fire... she had only been trying to stop the man from catching aflame...

When Gladhron asked how the barracks master would know who replaced the rulebook, the merry Hyandaner smiled and frowned at the same time whilst giving the northener a closer look. Why would he be confused about this? "Well... As a ranger... you either know the actual rules- Brian's rules -... or, you are blissfully unaware of any rules at all. Brian knows that all too well. Therefore, anyone who pointed out a wrong rule to him, would instantly fall under his suspicions. Even if it was some unsuspecting and innocent recruit who had been fooled by the culprit himself... that wouldn't matter to Brian. In his mind, the new recruit would just need to be aware of the actual rules, anyway. And it would be more likely that that the culprit would be the one to throw the fake rules at him, anyway." She shrugged. "Are you okay, though?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Either you didn't look this tired when I sat down, or I've just noticed now!" She raised her hands a little. "No offense. You still look lovely, sir Dragon," she teased.

The men all agreed to play Liar Liar, which pleased Kaylin very much, and evidently so. When Gladhron mentioned he'd played this in the north, she was unclear on whether that had been just with his brother, or with Arnyn. But she didn't really care. Probably with Arnyn though - it was more of a dull game with just two people...

Narradir's comment about Dom proving he had won a bet against him, peeked Kaylin's interest. "Bet?" she said, leaning forward, even as the two men engaged in some sort of mime display that had her wondering about this bet even more. "What bet? And why would one of you mention it so readily, when the other rather he wouldn't?" she continued, unashamed to call them out on it. She leaned back in her chair with a casual smile. "Come on," she prompted Domanol persuasively, "if you won it, how could it be a bad thing to share?"

"Alright," she said as well, when everyone seemed to agree she should begin. And perhaps do a little show and tell. "We'll do a few practice rounds. I put down my card. Face down. Of course my card is a diamond. It would be foolish of any of you to turn it already," she stated. "So let's say Gladhron is next..." She raised her eyebrows, waiting for him to lay down a card on top of hers, also face down. "Liar!" she claimed promptly, with a grin, and she turned over his card. To reveal...

@Ercassie @Arnyn
The talk about the rulebook honestly was a bit of a foreign idea to Gladhron, and having never had the misfortune of encountering lieutenant Brian, he had no idea what sort of tyrant those at the barracks had to endure. But he was also very tired at the moment, and his brain not working at its best, right now. So, when Kaylin explained, he could have facepalmed. But instead, he gave a little laugh when she asked if he was alright. "I'm fine." He assured her. "Just sleepy, but don't worry about me." He grinned at her addition that he looked 'lovely'. "Thanks, glad to hear it." He laughed.

Gladhron's attention was diverted then, as Narradir spoke of some sort of bet, and then the two began doing some sort of facial expression battle that was quite comical to observe. Honestly, it sort of reminded him a bit of the way he and Gwestion might carry on at times, and he wondered if they looked as ridiculous as that. He had no idea what bet they might be talking about, but it seemed clear that it was none of his business. But regardless, he didn't even have to ask, for Kaylin did. He looked on curiously while Kaylin prompted Dom to share.

When Kaylin began dealing out the cards, Gladhron ventured another little sip of the drink, and managed to keep from coughing, although his throat burned from it. That was enough reason to keep quiet while she finished dealing the cards. Once she had put her first card down, proclaiming it to be a diamond, he eyed the redhead a bit suspiciously, but he didn't call her out on it. Not this time. It was his turn next, and he gave a little smirk as he placed a card on the deck. He felt suspicious that she was going to try something. Sure enough, Kaylin immediately called out that he was a liar, and Gladhron sat back with a rather smug grin as she turned over a two of diamonds.

@Rillewen @Arnyn

“See ?” Narradir remarked and smacked his friend ‘lightly’ (for him) across the man’s chest, when Kaylin mentioned about moving into married quarters. “That’s what I did. That’s what anybody with any sense would do.”

“My brother stayed at home, with the wife as well, to help with bills,” Dom explained. “Though I’m fairly sure this Barracks Master would only have been in nursery back when you were breaking into the ladies’ quarters.” He shook his head, in amusement.

“I did nothing of the sort ..” the forester began and then conceded, in unison with the slightly younger Gondorian as they both said together “Not since I/you got married, anyway.” Narradir laughed, clearly unembarrassed by the admission. He may have married young, but Serenda had been the best choice he had ever made in his life, and the only choice he was really remotely interested in since that very day. And he kissed his wedding ring for not the first time, now, to prove it.


“Oh very very lovely,” Dom put in, to Kaylin’s opinion of Gladhron, as he combed the man’s hair with a closed hand, and a large grin. “Oh but that’s the thing,” he turned toward the woman as she had queried the ‘bet’ situation. “I did it, but it’s hard to prove it. And he doesn’t believe I did it at all.”

“Start at the beginning !” the other man compelled him. “See, this one has been getting all under his brother’s feet so I said he should come help me some with my work. And to keep us both awake, we played bets,” he explained, as the card game began, under instruction.

“I bet him to shave off his beard,” Domanol put in. “He bet me to hide my brother’s leg. I bet him to wear his wife’s apron all afternoon .. and so on.” The examples were offered, as Narradir indicated his smooth-faced chin, and then laughed and mentioned that his wife’s apron had scarcely tied around one thigh ..


And then Kaylin called “Liar !” and was forced to pick up the entire pack (admittedly not many) that had been put down so far.

“Nice” his friend observed, approvingly. And then “Hey !” he called out, as Narradir reached to take a card. “I think she has to go again now ?” he mentioned. Not sure, to be honest. But Narradir flicked the card at the other man’s face as though it was a hot potato. When it landed on the floor, Domanol slid off his seat to go and retrieve it, only for the table to rise a moment later, with a bump. And the reason found his way back into his seat, now grasping his head with one hand. Just in time to miss Narradir returning the man’s glass which he’d snuck another sip from when the man was not aware. The only problem was that he was laughing too hard at the guilt, the table bump, the card game, and lets face it, the alcohol might have had an impact too.

“So ..” he managed to sputter, before holding one hand up to swallow and recover himself. “So . ahem. Who won ?” he just about managed to ask, before laughing again, this time sinking into his hand, which was propped up on the table by one elbow.

@Rillewen @Ercassie
She had her doubts about just how 'fine' Gladhron was. "You sound just like her," she said, without explained whom she meant, or what exactly she was referring to, and then raised her own glass to Narradir's comment. "Marrying Thûllir is definitely in my top three of the most 'sensical' decisions in my whole life," she stated, agreeing. "Though it did make me marginally more boring, perhaps," she pointed out once the older men both stated Narradir had stopped breaking into the ladies' quarters. "Though I never went man hunting, before him," she remarked.

"Oooh, you don't have proof!" she repeated Dom's words at him. That already gave her a better understanding of the situation. She slanted her head at Narradir. "Why wouldn't you believe your friend, though? Is it soooo unthinkable, whatever it is?"

When the two set out to explain it, Kaylin contentedly started listening, with less interrupting. Bets, to stay awake? These two were getting more interesting by the minute! She nodded at shaving the beard. Noted. Hiding a leg... that one was more confusing. Yet she managed not to ask, and take it in stride. It was shame her glass was empty, however. Kaylin peered at it with an almost suspîcious kind of look. Yet she knew - everyone at the table knew - that Narradir had been giving her none of the help he was clearly giving Dom. She rolled her eyes at Gladhron's tiny little sip. "Dainty," she remarked to him, before seeming to tak pity. "Need some help with that?"

When the card she turned over was a two of diamonds, she hissed first, but grinned next. "Well," she shrugged, "now I take all the played cards. The diamond calling the suit, my card, and Gladhron's. If the stack had been made up of 20 cards before I turned it over, I would have had to take 20," she added, just to try and clarify a little.

"I do need to go again," she pointed out Dom's correct understanding, ignoring the card Narradir flipped at Dom and putting down a spade in the center of the table. As they all started throwing down cards, face down, until one of them would turn someone's else's card over, Kaylin was eager to get back to the topic of bets. "So what did Narradir bet you, next? Was that the one you can't prove?"

@Ercassie @Arnyn
"Like her?" Gladhron questioned, raising an eyebrow with a bit of a laugh, as if he found the statement absurd or amusing. But actually, he was trying to think of what 'her' she was referring to. He really needed a nap, but he wasn't about to go to sleep here at the table. Not now, with the current sort of company he had. And he wasn't willing to leave, either, because it was very fun company. And he didn't get that sort of company very often.

As if to prove it, Dom and Narradir ended up speaking at the same time about the sort of adventures Narradir had got up to, before his marriage, and Gladhron laughed at the pair of them as the four of them continued playing the game.

As the attention fell on him and how 'lovely' he looked, Gladhron rolled his eyes and batted Dom's hand away from his hair, eyeing him suspiciously. As he thought he might have deposited something there that would not be wanted. Only to laugh again a moment later, as they spoke of some of the silly pranks that had been dared. "Is your work so boring that you have to resort to such means, to keep from falling asleep?" He wondered in amusement, curious what Narradir's job might be.

Kaylin's comment distracted him. Gladhron glanced at his glass, a bit unsure how to reply about the 'dainty' thing, but then she offered to take care of it for him. He looked at the glass. He had not really wanted it, but had felt a bit awkward turning it down. He also didn't want to appear like a wimp. Instead of eagerly agreeing to let her have it, he laughed. "Is that your way of saying you want my drink?" He joked, then slid the glass toward her. "I think you might want it a bit more than I do, so have at it." He grinned.

He paused then, as something belatedly caught his attention. "Wait. You hid your brother's leg?" He asked, puzzled, before his brain caught up with something he'd heard briefly. "Oh, wait. He's the one who..." He felt bad now for calling attention to that, in case it was a touchy subject. "Sorry, I forgot, Seri said something about that... don't mind me. I'm really tired... I was up all night," He admitted, figuring he might as well come out and say so, before anyone else started wondering if he was alright or what was going on with him.

@Rillewen @Arnyn


Dom continued to nurse his head with one hand; the cards which he had left face down on the table now safely pouched back in the other hand. He wasn’t sure who the ‘her’ was that Kaylin and Gladhron referenced. Because the only woman they’d mentioned thus far, besides the forester’s unnamed wife, was the Blonde lieutenant. And honestly, falling asleep in company, was about the last thing that reminded the man of the officer he’d met. Even if he’d met her only a little. He had heard so much more of course.

“You’d be the better judge of that than me,” Narradir gave up in response to the redhead’s query about the bet. “I never even met her !” Spreading his hands wide in uninhibited expression, the larger man inadvertently revealed the back of his cards to the whole table and then, as though he’d revealed the front of them, he slapped them back against his chest and dropped two into his lap.


“You know if you are so tired, a bet might be just the thing to rouse you,” Dom was soon regaling his friend from the North. “Who knows quite what you might agree to attempt otherwise ?” If it was a warning, it was delivered with a grin which seemed unwisely encouraging.

“It’s not,” Narradir assured Gladhron meanwhile. And ignoring Dom who had started muttering ‘It’s snot ..’ in the sort of private amusement that befits a five year old, the forester explained himself. “Though I do miss the old Ranger days sometimes. Anything would seem tame in comparison.”


They each took a turn in laying down a card while Gladhron returned Kaylin’s earlier generosity with the whisky. “It is a wooden leg,” Dom explained in the only necessary sense to the woman who would not be familiar. “I know how it sounds but .. well it’s not like he doesn’t have a hundred others around that he could use to get around on. He makes them. Anyway, so clearly it wasn’t difficult to prove I did that ..”

“Heard the swearing from back down on the First ..” his cohort put in, albeit amused.

“Exactly !” the younger of the idiots declared. “So why would you believe that if I would do that, that I wouldn’t .. you know .. with you know who ?” he gave up his argument, quite pleased with the logic. Even as his friend proceeded to help himself to Dom’s whisky, without waiting for the man to become otherwise distracted. Pausing with the glass before his chin in one hand, the forester feigned innocence as he was caught in the act.


“I was only going to pour it over his head,” he pleaded, indicating the lovely hair of their Northern visitor, as though that was a better choice than what was at least equally likely.

“But … his loooovely hair ..” Dom protested in a tease, and took back his drink as the larger man snorted. “Which reminds me ..” the accented man turned sharply enough to try and startle Gladhron out of his looming stupor. “Who was it, Gladders, that kept you up past your bedtime last night ?” Brown eyes turned their entire focus upon the youngest man at the table. But it was not long afterwards, and barely enough time for the exhausted man to answer, before Narradir remembered that it was his turn. Slammed down a card in excitement as though he might miss out if he took too long, and then exclaimed “Liar !” with all the gusto of an old woman playing at bingo.


Dom’s mouth dropped a little before a laugh fell out, and the recently groomed head shook slowly in his own turn at utter disbelief. “Go on then,” he urged his friend. “Prove your card ..”

As though realising only now what he had just managed to do, Narradir hung his head and took a deep overly dramatic shuddering breath. He took his time inching the top card off the rest of the pack, and then eased it to face up, as tentative as if it might explode at the slightest of touch. It was difficult to know who was more surprised when the card turned out to be in fact a spade ! "I think I'm getting the hang of this .." the former Ranger grinned. "But wait .. do I have to pick up the lot now ?" he put the issue before the group; for he had both played and called out his own play. Was it possible to be both right and wrong ? At once ?

@Rillewen @Ercassie
She didn't clarify when Gladhron seemed to be a bit confused on her comment that he was acting like 'like her'. Kaylin just offered him a little shrug and a smile. Soon it was her turn, however, to be confused about which 'her' was being referenced. The irony. "Met who?" Kaylin asked, mouth open and getting increasingly curious the longer Narradir and Domanol were building this up. "And what supposedly happened with this person?" Was this what is was like, being on the other end of things?

Even as Kaylin was trying to figure out what part of it would be taking the upper hand; whether she liked the anticipation or disliked the frustration more; she did identify with Narradir's comment about 'the old Ranger days'. She felt the same way about her time with the army, sometimes. It had simply been more... well... it had been more. Now, half the rangers were much too private, or didn't seem to have much room for a big personality like hers in their lives. Soldiers had been more... accessible?

She nodded with a very Kaylin-esque grin, when Gladhron asked her if she wanted his drink. "I seem to enjoy it more than you do," she added, raising her eyebrows a little. After he slid his glass over to her, she thanked him with a friendly wink, before grinning triumphantly at Narradir. As if to say that, between the two of them, she'd found a much more cooperative target, and had now achieved success.

Gladhron's confusion about the leg pleased her at first, because it was giving her an opportunity to find out what that had all been about, without her having to ask for it herself - for she was already asking about a lot in this strange quartet they'd formed here - but soon enough it appeared Gladhron already had the missing piece of the puzzle, thus making it that she was the only one who was still at a loss. Dom took pity on her, it seemed, and his resulting explanation had her gaping at him, unafraid of showing the sentiment, when he shared that his brother had a wooden leg. Her initial surprise was soon replaced by some misplaced sort of amusement, the kind that a big bunch of people would not at all appreciate but which she found very hard to deny. By the time it was revealed it hadn't been hard to prove Dom had come through on that particular bet, Kaylin was grinning, and Narry's input about the swearing had her laughing out loud.

She slid forward in her seat a little when it seemed like the big unbelievable bet was about to be revealed... But was heavily disappointed when Dom and Narradir then immediately travelled down a different path. With some exasperation,Kaylin looked over at Gladhron, trying to see if he was as curious as she was, and hoping she wasn't the only one so eager to find out what this mysterious bet had been about, and who had been involved!

However, Kaylin was also rather interested in the northerner's reply to the question which Dom posed to him, and it served as a momentary distraction - in fact, the distraction was so good that she was about to go down that avenue as well, when Narradir called himself a liar. Kaylin's lips parted, and she blinked. Right as she was about to say that wasn't how the gameworked, Dom laughed and told Narradir to 'prove his card'. A chuckle escaped her then, before she took a mouthful of Gladhron's whiskey. Narradir's triumph, followed by confusion, made Kaylin laugh in turn. "The cards are all yours, sir," she laughed, her merriment not at all mocking, but rather very appreciative. "You called yourself a liar and you proved to be a truthsayer! Now you must claim all the cards for trying to stain your image unjustly!" She signalled Alf, and when he looked over at the table, she simply half-shouted across the room. "One coffee and one more whiskey!"

"So you can wake up," she informed Gladhron. "And tell us about who you stayed up so late for." She then grinned at Narradir. "And so you can stop stealing this one's drink," she added, tilting her head at Dom. "He needs to finish his, cause it seems like he needs a little more incentive to actually explain that bet about you know what with you know who..."

@Ercassie @Arnyn
Gladhron looked from one man to the other, even more confused. "What 'her'?" He wondered. Were they all talking about the same 'her'? He felt like he must be missing something, and wondered if it would have been obvious, if he'd been well-rested. Honestly, what had he been thinking, deciding to stay up all night? Then he remembered why, and remembered that it had been worth it to be the first of the group to arrive to meet Arnyn.

He couldn't help but laugh though at Narradir's antics with the cards, before Dom suggested a bet. With a little snort of amusement, he shook his head. "Something tells me that's probably a bad idea," He grinned. "Although maybe it would be fun." He added, thus proving that he wasn't entirely closed to the idea.

While Dom was explaining to Kaylin about his brother's leg, Gladhron turned to Narradir with some curiosity, upon hearing that he had apparently been a ranger. "Well, seems we're all rangers here then!" He declared. "Even if it was in the past." He added with a shrug, since the man had spoken in the past tense. "What is it you do, now?" He added, curious. "Aside from getting into trouble with this guy," He added with an amused nod toward Dom.

As he gave Kaylin permission to grab his half-empty glass of whiskey, Gladhron sat back and eyed them both suspiciously when they made jokes about pouring whiskey in his hair. Which was another excellent reason not to fall asleep around them, he decided. Shaking his head in amusement at the teasing going on, he was then a bit startled when Dom turned abruptly toward him and asked who had kept him up. He blinked as he tried to work out what exactly he was asking there. Thankfully, he had sense enough not to say that Brooke had been the one to actually keep him up, because he really didn't want anyone taking the wrong idea from that. And he figured she wouldn't like that, either.

"Did you just call me.. Gladders?" He asked in astonishment, for that was absolutely the first time he'd ever heard that one. He gave a little laugh as he shook his head. "Who says there was anyone in particular who kept me up?" He asked, trying to deflect the question. Gwestion-style, right? He shrugged. "You know my brother and I are sharing a room here, right? I mean, have you ever had to share a room with that neat-freak?" He joked, knowing that the answer would of course be no. Although, he had no idea that the guy had shared a room with his own brother, once upon a time.

About that time, he watched with a little grin while Narradir played his card and then promptly called himself a liar. Laughing, he watched as Dom then made him show whether it was in fact the right suit or not. He was rather enjoying this, and not least because it took the attention off of him for the moment.

That didn't last long, however. Soon, Kaylin was calling for a couple more drinks, and declared that the coffee was for him. But then she added the bit about telling who he had stayed up late for, and he rolled his eyes. Still, he smiled. "Thanks, coffee would be nice." He had wanted that to begin with, actually. "But there isn't really anything worth telling about, there." He added apologetically, and shrugged.

Her words about Dom finishing his drink brought a grin to his face though. "Yes, you keep dancing around that with hints and stuff. What was the bet?" He asked, extremely curious about that by this point. And also hoping to keep them focused on that, rather than the reason for him having stayed up all night. He had sort of implied that it was because of his brother, so maybe they'd leave it alone.

@Rillewen @Arnyn

Narradir had merely slow-shook his head at Kaylins’s success with Gladhron’s drink, with an expression somewhere between disbelief and respect. She did have something of an advantage of course, as her mark was practically half asleep. But asking outright and being thereby allowed to have the remaining brew rather took the fun out of earning it. He was personally doing his best to 'earn' his own (already emptied) drink.

“I’m a forester these days,” he therefore answered the Northerner’s query. “Prince Faramir and that Elf friend of the King, they threw the concept together after the war. The basic idea is that just because Ithilien doesn’t need protection from invading armies any more, it still needs attention and care just the same. Most of the locals who used to do that sort of thing of course moved out back when the forest became perilous. But now people are starting to return, it seems. And there’s several groups of us throughout the fief that do it now, some of them further in, based around Emyn Arnen. But we’re all over really, it’s a great lot of forest.

I was part of this group of guys assigned to help strengthen the Rammas, back when that last big trouble was heading our way. And everyone in our little company wanted to keep working together once that was .. all over. Add had recently started up his business, so he stood as my guarantor and the woodworking guild made me lead of our little troop. So now we manage coppicing and harvest timber for the woodworkers guild here in Minas Tirith. We get to roam about, just like the old days, keep an eye out that the natural habitat is going along as it likes without storm damage or disease or overzealous orc-minded folk. I’m almost sorry that there isn’t too much trouble to face. I rather miss that. It’s a good way to earn your bread though, keeps my family fed and allows me to pay back overkind women that just insist on buying me drinks.”

To that end, he dug two shiny coins out of his pocket, which thankfully held less ‘unusual’ contents than Domanol’s tended to. And placed them on the table before pushing them over towards Kaylin with a pair of fingers and a due nod.


Dom had glanced up when his friend explained that he'd been 'assigned' to work on the Rammas, but said nothing to rebuke the explanation that was given. Instead he waited until after Kaylin had just called out for another couple of drinks. “Bribery won’t get you out of trouble, Narry !” Dom laughed, and paused the passage of the coins before they quite got to the woman. “And yes, I called you Gladders,” he confirmed, whipping from one matter to the next with an remorseful grin. “You don’t have half enough names as a Ranger deserves yet. So you’re welcome. Moreover I happen to know from growing up sharing a room with my brother, that the neater, quieter, far more sensible siblings are exactly the type who are more intent on getting up early and going to bed early therefore the night before. So I reject your any claim that Gwest kept you up. And in fact I would go as far to ask how you didn’t keep HIM up, if you were not off someplace else with someone else ?” He wiggled one eyebrow without the other, even as he collected up the two coins that he had halted, in one hand.


“As for the bet ..” Narradir began, with a wink towards Gladhron as he delivered a hope of distraction, while collecting up all the cards he’d inadvertently claimed.

“As for the bet,” Dom echoed, and then trawled the forester’s own empty glass over towards him, and placed it pointedly in front of Kaylin. “I thought you were supposed to beat me at this cardgame of yours, in order to learn my truth ?" he eyed the Hyandaner, although to be fair she had not agreed to those terms. Narradir had simply proposed them. "But since you are so eager, and I am almost as generous ..”

Narradir snorted where he sat, which caused his friend to pause, but then a wave of the larger man’s free hand gave Dom leave to continue. The pause in his narrative had given him time to set each of the two small coins precariously opposite one another, both balanced now upon the rim of the empty glass.


“If you can pick up the glass off the table, without touching the glass yourself and without making the coins fall … then I shall tell you all about the bet,” he vowed. There was a very simple way to accomplish the dare, and any experienced pub drinking enthusiast, which he was convinced was the case here, ought to know exactly how. Maybe Kaylin could manage such a feat even if she were half asleep. But he asked her rather than the clearly sleepy Gladhron. Which proved that Dom wasn’t all that adverse to confessing, but he still wished to be entertained in his due turn.

“Right,” Narradir pronounced suddenly, ever so slightly louder than he needed to, but still with less volume than he had yelled himself out before. “Trees !” he declared proudly, placing down a club to start a new suit (and proving that at least one of them had previously snuck that in without getting caught out !)

“It’s not a tree,” Dom leaned back and laughed. “That’s a trefoil.”

“It’s so a tree,” he was contested. “Someone back me up here !”

“Foresters,” the younger man scoffed. “You have trees on the brain ! Come on Gladders, your turn.”

@Rillewen @Ercassie
At the end of Narradir's reply to Gladhron's question, Kaylin lifted Gladhron's glass a little in acknowledgement of his words, before drinking from it. She was about to decline the man's coin, when Domanol intercepted them. Curious as to what the colourful duo would be pulling off next, Kaylin leaned back in her seat. She once again had a drink. They were playing a card game. They were laughing. This was a good time. Kaylin was in her element.

To improve on matters further, in fact, she wasn't even the one who had to press the matter of Gladhron's waking night! Dom was doing that for her, all by himself, and unprompted. That hardly ever happened, and it made Kaylin grin giddily. She did very much want to know what had caused Gladhron to stay up all night, especially since she'd gotten the solid impression, before today, that he had a thing for this Celume - who had turned out to be Arnyn, of course. Imagine if she learned those two spent the night together! Not that she'd go broadcasting it, or anything. It'd just... be entertaining to know. And to tease Gladhron with. Mercilessly.

Narradir seemed to take mercy on the Northerner, though, by drawing attention back to the bet. An equally interesting topic. Perhaps even more so, in fact!
She raised her eyebrows when Domanol placed Narradir's empty glass in front of her. The very same eyes narrowed when he claimed she was supposed to beat him at cards, first, before he would tell, but they widened again alongside a growing grin on her face, as he continued. The grin changed into a suspecting smile as he balanced two coins on opposite points of the glass' edge. She listened to his challenge - his promise - with barely held back glee.

For not only did she know this particular trick - she had bought herself quite a few drinks with it, back when she'd still been in the army and hanging out with soldiers in pubs all over the first circle. She waited a while as Narradir started a new play. "I've heard this called clovers," she put in as her contribution to that discussion, and she already picked out the card she would play, once Gladhron had played his. Then she put her whole hand face down on the table, as she waited for her turn, and slanted her head at the glass and coins, before glancing around the table.

Kaylin pulled her fiery hair back first, before showcasing her right thumb and index finger to the table. "You know," she said, her tone betraying her focus as she deftly touched the coins in such a way they slipped offthe rim in a controlled fashion, one of them ending up between the tip of her thumb and the glass, the other between the tip of her index finger and the glass, "I usually do this with a glass that isn't empty," she continued, in a half brag, though all truth, as she carefully positioned the coins right and then used the right amount of pressure to lift the glass as such. She grinned at Domanol before carefully lowering the glass again, and then moving her fingers back up and using her other index finger to first help remove one coin, then the other, away from the glass - still without touching it.

"Did I pass, mister Raxelilta?" she asked sweetly. "Will you now tell us all about the bet?"