Minas Tirith Streets and Levels (Free RP)

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Ava
Fifth Circle, Minas Tirith, Gondor
December 23rd, midday

Unaware of the thoughts going through his mind, Ava hoped that what she was telling him would not turn him away from continuing to enjoy her company. And, to be quite honest, she was relieved he did not ask for more details concerning.. that. Instead, he turned to a question about her cat, which made her smile in amusement. "Ah.. quite large, actually." She answered. "At the masquerade, I deliberately refrained from speaking too freely about him.. as he is rather.. distinguishable." She explained. "He has been with me for over seven years now, going on eight. So, I thought it best to be cautious, in case of.. well.. the very concern I spoke of, with that one man at the dance." She shrugged, and then smiled as she confirmed, "He is most definitely not a typical housecat, no. He is not at all a common pet to have, but I love him very much."

She glanced at Tercen and held a hand down to just above her hip level. "He stands about to here, and his name is Izrazor. It means 'Beloved Fire' or 'Fiery Sweetheart', although I call him Izrê, for short.. that means Sweetheart," She added, smiling as she spoke of him. "And he really is just a big sweetheart.. he's quite gentle and docile."

Her smile faded a little when he asked more about the Ivory tower. Not the nicest subject to tackle, but she understood his concern. And the sound of concern in his voice was.. nice to hear, in a way. That he cared. Not something she was entirely used to hearing, however. "Occasionally, concerning business." She answered, as nonchalantly as she could. "Some merchant wanting to negotiate a contract with me, for instance. Things of that sort may also occur there."

As for his muttered question, Ava glanced at him and wondered whether he had meant to ask that aloud. "That is.. a bit harder to explain, to someone unfamiliar with the ways there." And really, she didn't want to spoil this lovely day by talking so much about those dark and depressing matters. If he pressed it, she supposed she might try to answer some of it, but would he even want to hear about those things? She'd rather just enjoy the time with him, right now. They must be close to the restaurant, too, right?

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Tercen
Fifth Circle, Minas Tirith, Gondor
December 23rd, midday

A quite large and distinguishable cat. Not at all a common pet to have. He raised an eyebrow when she indicated how big the cat was. "What kind of cat are we talking about here, Ava?" he asked directly this time, giving her a crooked smile. "What exotic feline have you adopted?"

When Ava said her presence was required at this tower, on occasion, Tercen drew in a slow, thoughtful breath. Merchant business. He gave her a sidelong glance. Something to ask more about, later. But perhaps they'd had enough of serious talk, just for the moment.

As they came up to the place he had in mind for lunch, he halted and turned toward her, staying close to her. He adjusted the scarf around her neck with languid movements as he held her eyes with his. And turned to a less weighty subject as a finger stroked the only bit of her neck that was not covered. "You seem to like everything that brings you warmth," he said quietly, with a half grin, before going on to explain where his comment came from. "You prefer warm temperatures. You encountered a sweet and gentle kitten and named it 'Fiery Sweetheart', intending to save and nurture him." He leaned in a little, until their faces were just inches apart. "And now you've encountered a charming Gondorian and named him Sunshine. Does that mean you intend to keep me, too?"

Before she had the chance to offer any kind of reply, however, he turned toward the door and opened it for her. "My lady," he invited her with a half bow, waiting until she would enter before he followed.

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Ava
A restaurant in the Third Circle
December 23rd, midday

As he asked straight out what sort of cat she was speaking of, Ava smiled and took a casual glance around as she walked. No one was too close by, so she did not mind answering his question as he went on to inquire what sort of 'exotic' feline she had adopted. "A tiger," She answered casually, smiling as she pictured her 'sweetheart'. "He has the most beautiful, flame-colored fur and a white belly, and streaks of black throughout... and gorgeous golden eyes." She smiled, then paused and added, "And before you ask," She glanced up at Tercen, "he is quite gentle and affectionate. He doesn't even hunt.. not even hares or birds that venture within his reach." Shrugging slightly, she mentally attributed this to the fact that he had not had his natural, tigress mother to show him how to hunt. "I believe that he thinks I am his mother, as I have cared for him since before his eyes were opened." She added with a little shrug.

When Tercen stopped and adjusted her scarf, Ava looked at him with a lingering smile, curious about what he was thinking, and what he would think of the fact that she had a pet tiger. Though they were close enough to a restaurant that she assumed it to be where they were heading, she was content to remain here for the moment, while he let his finger trail along part of her neck, leaning in as if he might kiss her.

As he mentioned his observations about her preferring anything that brought her warmth, Ava's smile grew slightly, enjoying the fact that he had realized something like that about her. In fact, she had never quite put it together like that, but now that he mentioned it, she realized there was a bit of a theme there. She found it a bit amusing that he had connected all of that so soon after meeting her, while she herself had never fully noticed it until now. His question at the end surprised her slightly, but he moved to open the door before she had time to offer a response. Which gave her a moment or two to consider how to answer. She wanted to be mindful of her wording, being well aware that, worded incorrectly, a reply to that could be taken quite differently than she intended.

Pausing as he held the door for her and offered a little bow, Ava smiled at his slightly over-the-top politeness, and decided to wait until they were inside before giving her reply. "Thank you, Sunshine." She spoke softly as she passed him, with a light touch of appreciation on his arm. After stepping inside, her dark eyes scanned the room in curiosity, taking in the details of the place while she absently removed the scarf from around her neck, then tucked it into her coat pocket to join the glove that was in there.

Turning back to face him once he had come inside and let the door close behind them, she rested her hands on his shoulders lightly, smiling softly as she leaned a little closer. "For as long as you want me to keep you, yes, Sunshine." She murmured softly into his ear. If she could have purred like a cat, she would have done so, but alas, that was not a skill she possessed. Easing back from him to look into his eyes, she spoke again, still quietly. "However, I would not 'keep you' against your will, if that is what you are asking..." She confessed, while her hands absently moved to the clasp of his cloak, helping him to be rid of his outer garmet now that they were indoors.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Tercen
Fifth Circle, Minas Tirith, Gondor
December 23rd, midday

A tiger. She owned a tiger. As a pet. Mentally, he shook his head in disbelief. Outwardly, he raised an eyebrow and gave a slow nod. "Of course you have a tiger," he mumbled, honestly kind of amused. He had thought earlier she seemed like a fiction, hadn't he? That wasn't changing with the more she told him. Which was strange, amusing and intriguing at the same time. Usually people became more real and tangible the more you learned about them. But everything about Ava was so unusual to him, so far removed from the world as Tercen knew it, it sounded more like a fictional story than the reality she had lived in all her life.

He followed her inside and was just about to move his hands up unfasten his cloak, when Ava turned to him and softly put her hands on his shoulders. Smiling back at her as she did this and then leaned in a little herself, he made himself stay still. Her reply, whispered into his ear, had a little smirk forming on his face, which was still there when she straightened again to look at him. Meeting her eyes easily, Tercen let her help him with the clasp of his cloak. When she'd loosened it, he removed his cloak from his shoulders and circled around her to take off her long coat. "You think you could?" he asked her quietly. "Keep me against my will?" He hung up the coat and cloak, making sure her scarf was still safety tucked into the coat'spocket and tucking the end still trailing out into her sleeve to make sure it wouldn't easily fall.

Coming up beside Ava, he lightly put his hand on her lower back to guide her to one of the empty tables that one of the servers spontaneously indicated where available. "As things stand, I most definitely want you to keep me," he told her, a little smirk re-appearing. He pulled out her chair, waited for her to sit and then claimed his own seat, signalling the waiter over. "What would you like to drink?" Tercen asked Ava, so he might order for both of them unless she would beat him to it. "I think I'll just start with some water." The lady was heady enough, for now.

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Ava
A restaurant in the Third Circle
December 23rd, midday

When he asked if she thought she could, Ava tilted her head thoughtfully as she looked at him, considering her reply. Of course, she was well aware that many of his countrymen had been held against their wills, by her countrymen. There were certainly ways to keep a person someplace, regardless of their wishes. But she was not the sort to do that to anyone, much less to him. So, while she technically probably could do it, she didn't think it would go over too well with him if she were to say so.

As she was pondering on what to say in answer to him, his hand on her back guided her to a chair. She smiled to hear his words; that he wanted her to keep him. She paused as he pulled out her chair, one hand lightly caressing his jaw. "That is.. not something I would attempt... therefore, we will never find out." She assured him with a little shrug, in reply to the 'against his will' part. "But I am glad you want me to keep you." She added more softly, her smile returning. "Because I do want to keep you."

Sliding into the seat with smooth and graceful movements, she was glad that this dress did not have the same amount of fabric to keep track of as the dress she'd worn during the masquerade. As the question turned to what she would like to drink, Ava had to pause again to wonder what the options even were. She assumed that this place on the third circle would likely not have the same sort of options as the fancier tavern on the fifth circle, where the masquerade had been held.

After a couple of seconds, she let her folded arms rest on the edge of the table as she leaned forward slightly, smiling at Tercen with a tiny hint of mischievousness glinting in her eyes. "You choose for me." She issued a playful challenge, grinning. He had done well with this before, at the masquerade, so why not? "Only, not water. I can get water anywhere." She clarified, since he had mentioned having water for himself.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Tercen
Fifth Circle, Minas Tirith, Gondor
December 23rd, midday

Pleased at her statement that she wanted to 'keep' him, Tercen also recognized how careful she was being when it came to his question. Even if it had been posed in jest. She was most definitely a clever lady. Not taking the risk that she may be misunderstood. It also meant she was still at least somewhat on guard around him. Which proved she was assuredly the most clever one between the two of them.

She wanted him to choose for her. While she leaned forward, he leaned back, one arm casually hooked around the corner of the chair's back. He considered the request. She liked to be surprised. She also liked to test him. And she had shown an interest in trying things she could not as easily get her hands on back home. Then again, he had to wonder what she couldn't get her hands on. With such wealth at her disposal? He had no idea of what was and was not common in Umbar. At any rate, there was not much time to think, because the waiter had nearly reached their table.

He greeted the fellow and ordered water for him and tea for Ava. It might warm her up after walking down two circles in a cold she was unused to, and he'd asked for a blend from local plants and flowers which might not be available further south. At the very least - not the fresh blend. When he told the water they'd order food upon his return with the drinks, the man nodded politely and retreated to see to their - and possibly other people's- order.

"I have no idea whether you even drink or like tea," Tercen told Ava, now leaning one arm on the table. "But I thought you might be cold. And I assume chocolate and coffee are readily available back home for you. Whereas the tea I asked for now will be local - and fresh." He shrugged. "You can always ask for something else if you don't like it."

"As for the food," he said, putting his other hand on the table as well, "stews are very common here in winter. Meat pies, also. But I might recommend the veal shank here. They are slowly braised and you might say they're caramelized in a sauce made from broth, herbs, white wine and tomatoes. The reason I like to order it here - and nowhere else - is because I know they only uses calves that died of natural causes. Not prematurely slaughtered baby cows," he said. "It might not sound very luxurious, but I promise that it is."

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Ava
A restaurant in the Third Circle
December 23rd, midday

Listening as Tercen gave the waiter their order, Ava was intrigued to hear the choice he made for her. A tea, but not one she was familiar with. After the waiter had gone away, she smiled at Tercen. "I do like tea, and you're right, a warm drink would be very nice." She agreed, pleased with how thoughtful he was toward her. "I have never tried that blend, however." Personally, she had not even thought of ordering tea, but she was not opposed to it. Also, she was curious what this kind would taste like. Would it be fruity? Flowery? Herby? She guessed not spicy like most of the blends she was more accustomed to, but she didn't mind that. Trying unfamiliar foods was what made this whole outing feel more like an adventure! Although, she had been considering whether Tercen might be interested in trying some dishes more common in her home region. Perhaps the one she had mentioned at the masquerade, as he had expressed interest in it.

"And yes, while I do enjoy both coffee and chocolate, they are both easy enough to obtain, back home," She added with a little smile. "In fact, if anyone 'back home' happens to inquire about where I have gone, they will be told that I have journeyed south, with plans to purchase a coffee plantation.. although that is as 'detailed' as the information will be." She mentioned in reply to the other thing he had said, leaning back slightly so that she rested her hands in her lap. "I already own a cocoa plantation in the far south, so why not buy a coffee one, too?" She shrugged. "Obtaining another source of income. No one would be very surprised, nor find it odd."

Turning to the topic of what they would eat, she listened curiously as he spoke about the dish he recommended. It did sound tasty, but the part that she appreciated most was the addition he added about why he chose to get the dish here, and nowhere else. With a little smile as he promised that it was luxurious, Ava nodded. "Alright, then I shall take your recommendation, Sunshine." She smiled a little wider. "I don't believe I have ever tried a dish like that." She paused as she thought of something. "Do.. calves die very often, though? Or is it more.. hit and miss about whether the dish is available on any certain day?" She wondered, since raising cattle was not something she had any knowledge about. "Should we pick another meal as a backup option, in case the veal isn't available today?"

[Lantaelen]

@Arnyn

Lord Abrazimir Dimaethor
Fourth Level, Minas Tirith, Gondor
The Day After Midwinter Masquerade

There was a strange energy in the air, or perhaps only perceived so by the effect happening upon his mind and body, being in the presence of this woman. Who was she and from where did she come from? The riddles were myriad and vast and it only invoked in Abrazimir a desire to unravel it all. He was a man who lusted after knowledge at times, having seen the power and sway it could have, over people, over battles, over minds and hearts. And right now, she held all the answers. And therefore, it seemed to him, also held all the power.

He had never been in a situation like this. It…enthused him. He was excited to see what happened to him, or with him, next.

His heart was beating like it was on the eve of going into battle against great wickedness and evil. But this nervous anticipation was for something else. Finally, she spoke, after what seemed like an age of eye gazing and silence. That same wisdom he understood about knowledge she voiced so aptly. She knew her power. And she was wielding it on him. She did indeed confirm her dreams, but that only invoked a greater sense of wonder and curiosity. Fingers reached out caress his jaw and he quaked in anticipation, but she drew them aside at the last moment. Oh, she knew her power very well.

And admit it, the mystery right now, was a sensation like nothing he faced before. Swords, ships, jousts, he knew all that. This, he knew nothing. A completely different life. A whole other perspective. Did he wish to abandon it, no. He couldn’t help but grin broadly, foolishly almost, as she laid it out so intricately for him. She knew him. Marked him as the man he thought himself to be. Humility seemed forgotten, because what was that when compared to the attentions of a fair lady? She was laying it on thick and it did not raise any alarm bells in his mind. He should have known better. But he had just admitted as well…he knew nothing. Let the current of this river carry you to wherever it might lead. Just let it…

He tilted his head in slight confusion when she mentioned introductions with the girls he was chaperoning. Yeah, it might not make sense to them. They were girls. He was a man and here before him was a woman. It was beyond them, for a few years still. And I must say, I would much rather not share our acquaintance with the public eye.

”Embarrassed of me, are you?” Abrazimir joked, with an open smile, white teeth flashing, but he let the stranger continued her words, especially as she reached up to brush at his cloak, saying it was not because of his worth, but in fact…was it not more enticing, more intriguing, to be free of societal expectations and rigid etiquette? To just be a man and a woman? He assumed her to be nobility too, between being at the masquerade and then here, dressed so finely. He could not deny that the notion excited him immensely. Whatever it took, to keep her grinning and her answer to remain just that. I would.

”I would still wish to know your name, my Lady. But alright then, Torniel. Keep your secrets.” He said, dubbing her as the Hidden One in the elven tongue. Until she gave him something else that will continue to be his alias for her. She called him Dauntless, he called her Torniel. Then he dared…to lift up his hand and reach for her face, to dare to stroke her cheek, if she might let him. Somehow, she gave off the energy of a feline, ready to scratch and cut faster than lightning from a cloudless sky.

”So then, what am I going to do with you?” Abrazimir asked, returning his hand to fold his arms over his broad chest and lean against the wall. He vaguely remembered having to get back to the girls but…its only been a few minutes, right? With how his heart was beating, it felt like an hour. ”How are we going to do this? Leave messages in a hidden alleyway about a predetermined place to meet?” He inquired in a light sarcastic tone of her, perhaps expressing a bit of his innocence in such matters, but showing a great zeal and enthusiasm to figure out the details. He would learn all of her soon enough.

---

@Rillewen

Lady Azraindil Dimaethor
Fourth Level, Minas Tirith, Gondor
The Day After Midwinter Masquerade

A ballerina! Like Linny, Gaer had never seen a ballet performance or that sort of dance ever. But it seemed like something she ought to see in life. And perhaps try it herself. Everything about it seemed magical and graceful. But it was soon revealed that Wisti was no professional or even officially taught. Like her origin, it was more sorrowful. She was in fact a cleaner at the theatre or whatever building the ballet practicing took place and just memorized the practices. That really impressed Gaer. To memorize and recall each and every step was remarkable. Wisti must be immensely intelligent. Shame she never got a chance to really shine through with her skills.

Gaer nodded along aptly to Wisti’s explanations and even more vigorously as Linny asked follow-up questions, the same inquisitive curiosities on her mind the same as her friend. ”We should come and see next summer!” Gaer wholeheartedly agreed, though she said should and not would because frankly…neither she nor Linny had much control over their own movements. They were subject to their parent’s authority. Her brother got to come last summer for the Midsummer festivities. Why couldn’t she and Linny tag along? She would have to come up with another scheme, something traditional or educational to cover, but with a real purpose of seeing Wisti and her amazing performance.

She noticed Wisti fiddling with her hands awkwardly as she spoke. They must be cold. She didn’t have gloves like her and Linny. But…the soup kettle was nearby and still very warm. Gaer made a showing of pressing it towards Wisti a little, as if to clear room for other dishes and plates for wherever her brother returned from. How long did it take to get a replacement item? He wasn’t in there eating it all, was he? She was curious what could be forgotten. Dessert. It was probably dessert. But who wanted cold cakes and pastries in this weather anyways? He could have it all…

Gaer frowned when Wisti mentioned her lessons costing more than her pay as a cleaner. Money was a hard problem to overcome. But it wasn’t for Gaer and Linny. Maybe they could pool some coin together and help their friend out. Not just with the lessons either. It was the least they could do. Wisti was so passionate about the dancing and she was living the sort of pursuits that Gaer could only dream of. She would now hope to live it vicariously through Wisti if possible. Her new friend deserved it. She was a ray of sunshine even in this abysmal winter.

”I’ll come up with a plan.” Gaer assured Linny when she mused about talking to their families about coming next summer. Gaer was already ahead of Linny. It did not bother her at all to take the initiative. She was the older, let her be the rod that attracts the lightning, if it should ever fall. All for a good cause!

”I will write you down our addresses, later on.” Gaer told Wisti, about where she should send and post the letters. ”And you can tell us yours. Or better yet, show us? I’d love to see the stage where you’ll be starting what is no doubt going to be an amazing career!” She said hopefully, supping on her stew and feeling so at peace with her friends.

”So what would this upcoming performance be about? What is the name and does it have a story to it or just dancing? Is it like a play? But told through dancing and not singing or recital?” Gaer inquired, wondering if it was something original dreamt up by the director or some reenactment of something out of Gondor history or myth. The elvish myths too would be a delight. ”Do you have a favourite performance or show you’d like to be in some day? I never knew the City had such a scene of the performative arts! Learning something new every moment, right?” She said with a playful nudge towards Linny. All the fun they had when they were able to be free of societal constraints and expectations. The places they see and the people they meet. So what if there had been a few mishaps and danger in life? It made times like this have all the more zest to it.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Tercen
Fifth Circle, Minas Tirith, Gondor
December 23rd, midday

She liked tea. Thank Yavanna, because that had been a gamble. Pleased in turn with how that gamble had turned out, he listened to her while his gaze swept through the place, to check the other patrons. He wondered whether there might be anyone here who might tell on Ava, back in Umbar.

"This place has an agreement with several cattle owners from the Pelennor. In summer, they most definitely do not have it available every day. I have yet to be disappointed in the winter," he informed her with a little smile, appreciating how she was thinking that through. "On the off chance they do not have it, I think I'll just ask the server to choose for me and surprise me." He shrugged. "It's a good way to try new things, sometimes."

Focusing back on her, he responded curiously. "You own a cocoa plantation?" he asked quietly. "And it wouldn't surprise anyone you would be interested in a coffee plantation. Your home is apparently pretty lavish," he recounted, still speaking quietly so no one else would be able to make out the words even if they were trying to, as he listed some things he had filed away in his mind, "You bought a whole mansion on the Fifth Circle, no less, just to avoid an inn for the brief time you were staying here. You bought a baby tiger by simply doubling someone's else's undoubtedly already sizable offer."

"Just how wealthy are you, my lady?" he asked her point blank, lifting one eyebrow. "And how concerned should I be that you may go running the moment you lay eyes on my humble cabin in the woods?"

---

@Lantaelen

Fourth Circle, Minas Tirith, Gondor
The Day After the Midwinter Masquerade

"Torniel," she repeated quietly, as if deliberating his choice while she lowered her eyes to her fingers, which continued to lightly brush up and down his cloak at the height of his chest. Nodding once, she looked back up to his eyes. "You can keep that name for me," she supplied him with her approval, before he lifted his hand. She did not flinch or move back, nor did she particularly encourage him. She simply waited, to let him touch her if he would. He carressed her cheek, briefly. She smiled, not breaking eye contact with him.

As he crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, she bit her bottom lip with private amusement as he asked 'what he was going to do with her'. She considered his question, not having expected to simply run into him again. She had not figured this option would even present itself. However, now it had.
Meeting in the city could be dangerous. If the wrong people saw them and word reached the wrong people... That would be a shame. Then the game would end so soon. And he had not given anyone reason to want him dead, as far as she knew. As long as the Hand did not have a contract on him, there was no reason for him to die. Surely, she was not planning on giving the Hand a reason?

"How long are you staying in Minas Tirith?" she asked him quietly, now closing those last few inches between them by the smallest of steps, so she felt his crossed arms against her. "For you do not sound local, Belfalasian. I will be away on business shortly." She whispered a location at him. "They have an inn there, called Catch My Draft. The rooms are just a bit too smal to be geared toward our noble friends, but the place is lovely and the food is excellent. We would not need to worry about being seen there. It is where I will be staying. If you wish to meet..." Her gaze dropped from his eyes to his lips again, to remain there. My, his guard is so low. I could just knife him where he stands. "We could."

[Rillewen]

@Lantaelen

|
Dulinneth and Wisteria
Fourth Level, sitting at a table outside a cafe
The Morning After Midwinter Masquerade (Dec 22)

"Yes! Perhaps I can convince my parents to come and see it." Linn mentioned, eager at the thought of coming to see a ballet performance. "I didn't think I'd be able to convince them to let me go to the masquerade, but they did. So, who knows!?" She grinned. In fact, it had seemed like a miracle for her, since she usually got told she was too young to attend things of the sort. But maybe that was finally changing. She was nearly thirteen, after all.. or would be in the spring. So, by the time of this performance, she would be. At Gaer's assurance that she would come up with a plan, Linn smiled happily. They were good at that sort of thing, especially when they worked together. But that was months away, so they had plenty of time to plan.

With a smile to the other two, Wist rested her hands on the table near the soup kettle, after seeing Gaer push it toward her. She offered a little smile of thanks, but didn't say anything about it out loud. "That'd be nice. I only hope I get a part in it," She laughed a little nervously. "I've been training really hard to get good at all the things the other girls do in class. There'll be some professionals taking the main parts, I'm sure, but Ms. Nîneth, that's the ballet teacher for the advanced classes, she said there would be some parts available for some of those who were aspiring to become professionals." She was really, really hopeful about it.

She was drawn out of her hopeful thoughts when Gaer asked about her address. What could she tell her, exactly? She hesitated, unsure how to go about that. Was there anywhere she could have a letter sent, that wouldn't alert people in charge to the fact she was living in the attic, unauthorized? Thankfully, she was able to put those thoughts aside for the moment as the next question went in a different direction. "Oh, yes, I think I could." She answered, thoughtfully. "Usually, at this time of day, the Hall of Song is mostly abandoned. Especially this week. With the midwinter festivities, all the classes are taking a break for a week or two, although there will be dancers there later to train and rehearse and such.. and then I'll be cleaning up after they're gone. But, yes, I could show you around..." She paused, glancing toward where the older girl's brother had gone. "but, I guess we need to wait for your brother, don't we?" She asked, figuring it would not go well if he returned and found the three of them gone.

As for the questions about the performance, Wist paused. "I.. don't know if it's got a name yet. And I haven't heard much about the storyline for it, except that I think it's going to be a story from history, and maybe there'll be elves involved! I mean, for the play. Not real ones." She grinned. "I can't help wondering if they might be going to tell the story of Luthien and Beren, but I haven't heard it confirmed yet."

Listening with intrigue, Linn absently sipped her juice and let Gaer ask the questions for now, since she had asked many of the same ones Linn had wanted to ask. "Ohh, that would be so neat! I wonder if they need to ask the queen about it, though?" She wondered, recalling having heard something about the queen being a descendant of Luthien.

Wist sat back with a quiet little sigh as Gaer asked her about her favorite performances. "They haven't done very many, what with the war going on and everything, but now that it's over.. there's all these plans to do plenty. And I want to be in all of them!" She declared, making it clear how high her aspirations were. "The Hall of Song has plans to put on a lot more things like that, now that everything's alright and such. There's actually one that'll be starting next week. They've been training for it for months now, and it's going to be really good.. I've seen them practicing." She grinned. "Maybe you should see about attending that one? I mean.. I'm not in it," She added regretfully, "but you could still enjoy watching it." She smiled. "I'll probably be watching from backstage, if no one notices me and tells me to beat it." She giggled.

"Oh! That sounds lovely!" Linn exclaimed eagerly. "Gaer, maybe we should see about going to that? We could all go. Do you have to get tickets?" When Wist nodded, she went on, "Maybe we could get one for you, too?" Linn thought that seemed like a great idea, so that way the other girl wouldn't have to worry about getting sent off and not getting to watch. She glanced at Gaer to back her up on that.

---

@Arnyn

Ava
Fifth Circle, Minas Tirith, Gondor
December 23rd, midday

She nodded to hear that the chances of getting this dish at this time of year were likely high. While that was a sad thing for the calves, it was nice for them. She smiled slightly and nodded as he mentioned his backup plan. "Sounds like a good plan." She grinned with a little nod, agreeing that it was a good way to try new things. It certainly was, and the waiter was likely to have a good idea what sort of dishes would be best appreciated, she figured.

She watched as his gaze strayed around the interior of the place, wondering what was going through his head at the moment. When he returned to her, she was inwardly a bit amused by his reaction to the cocoa plantation. She nodded slightly to confirm that, then again to the other comments he made. As he seemed to be working up to something, she didn't interject anything, but let him speak. As he mentioned the baby tiger, she gave a slight grin as she gave another nod, confirming that yes, it was a sizeable offer.

As he reached his actual question, she was a little surprised. Mostly by the second part of it, however. After a brief moment of surprise at that question, she smiled faintly with a hint of puzzlement in the smile as she leaned forward. Reaching across the table so that her hands met with his, she shook her head slightly. Instead of answering the question exactly, she instead addressed the concern behind the question. "I bought a house to avoid staying at an inn, because I do not trust inns." She began. "If you knew the reputation of the inns in Umbar, you would not need to ask why." She added with a little shrug, then looked down at their hands as she paused to let him process that.

Raising her gaze back to his eyes, she went on. "I have a large house here because I can. Because that is what Edwyrd selected on my behalf. I initially intended that it would be temporary, that I would sell it after I returned home. But now.. maybe I will keep it, and come back to stay now and then." She smiled slightly at the idea of that. "Still.. I have not become involved with you because of your house, Sunshine.. and where you live doesn't change who you are and how much I enjoy your company.. does it?" She raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Just as.. I would hope my home would not give you cause to lose interest in me." She added quietly, with a hint of hesitation seeping into her tone.

Returning to the topic of his home, she continued, "Actually, I am quite looking forward to seeing your cabin. After what you have told me, I am quite intrigued to see it, and the forest where you live. I want to see the furniture that you make, and all else that you build." She smiled softly. "Did you make the furniture in your cabin?" She assumed he probably had, but wanted to check. A teasing grin came onto her face then. "Or are you trying to say that you don't really want me to come and visit you at your home?"

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Tercen
Fifth Circle, Minas Tirith, Gondor
December 23rd, midday

Going off the look on her face, Ava clearly hadn't expected one - or both - of his questions. When she reached out for his hands with hers, he responded by lightly taking her hands in his. He had no idea what reputation inns had in Umbar, but now he couldn't help but wonder. "What is their reputation?" he asked her. "Are they not clean?" His eyes widened a little. "Or not safe?" For a lady? A chill crept down his back. Just how much worse was Umbar than he had realized?

His thoughts fell silent when she looked at him and spoke of the house she had bought here. Well, yes, obviously she could. That she might no longer be selling it off again after leaving, brought a little smirk to his face. His doing? He liked to think it was. But just how dangerous would it be for her to travel here from time to time? Every time she left Umbar to come here, was she not risking exposure? His pleased (and slightly cocky) expression sobered at that thought.

He shook his head at her question. "No, where I live doesn't change any of that." He had to laugh at her next statement, though. "You should be more concerned about men liking you for your money rather than disliking you for it, Temptress," he told her genuinely. "Plenty of guys out there who would love a big house and servants, never having to work again a day in their lives." He leaned toward her. "You do know that, right? That you should be careful about how quickly you reveal your wealth? So you are certain someone likes you for your wit and your boundless charm," he said, his lips slowly curving into a grin again, "and not for your money."

He gave her a thoughtful look when she claimed she was looking forward to seeing his cabin. "I did build the furniture," he confirmed. He laughed again, briefly. "Most of the cabin, too. Took me years, and some help from others, but..." He shrugged, as if it were a detail of lesser importance. "The work is never really done. I like making little improvements, here and there." He narrowed his eyes at her teasing. "I just figure it will not be... what you are accustomed to. Perhaps below... your standards. I don't know whether that would impact the way you see me. So... you could say that while I do want you to see and visit my home, there is some concern that it could lead to... you turning away from me." They did not know each other that well yet, after all. Especially not when it came down to practicalities like that. "It is small, it is functional - cosy, in my opinion. But perhaps completely insufficient for a lady like yourself."

Mercifully, the server brought over their drinks. Tercen gave him the food order, and the server nodded with a smile. "Certainly, sir." After a lingering look at Ava, the man turned away to go about his business. Tercen chuckled.

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Ava
Fifth Circle, Minas Tirith, Gondor
December 23rd, midday

His questions about the inns made her hesitate slightly. "That, and other reasons." She responded, trying to remain vague about that. That the most prominent inn was owned and run by a guild of assassins was not the most pleasant topic to bring up, for instance, and then there was the matter of the even shadier inns, where guests could potentially vanish, only to later end up sold to one of the slavers or worse. Not something she wanted to have an in-depth conversation about, while sitting in this nice restaurant in Minas Tirith, with Tercen.

As she spoke of maybe keeping the house, perhaps as a vacation home, Ava noted the little smirk that crossed his face, and the way he looked pleased. It didn't last long, but she gave a tiny smile in return, for a brief moment, before his smirk had vanished in favor of a more serious expression. She knew, of course, that he did not live in Minas Tirith, and that meant she wouldn't want to plan a trip to come stay here unless she knew he was going to be here, also. But it was nice to have the option, anyway. And maybe she could find a use for it during the rest of the time, too.

When he expressed amused concern about guys liking her for her money only, Ava tilted her head slightly as he spoke, slowly smiling back at him as he grinned. She took a little glance around, to ensure they were far enough from other people not to be overheard, then turned back to him. "So.. are you after my money, Sunshine?" She asked softly, teasing, for she was quite sure he was not, and that he was too honest a fellow for that sort of thing. If he did turn out to be one of those people, then she would be quite shocked. "Actually," She mentioned, "ever since I was released from a very undesirable betrothal, I've turned away all suitors who have come expressing interest in me." She shrugged slightly. "I am quite aware that there are many who only want my inheritance, and what sort of men they are. And I have no interest in their sort." She explained.

For the moment, she let that alone, and instead listened as he spoke about his cabin. Her teasing smile shifted to a rather interested look as he informed her that not only had he made the furniture, but most of the cabin itself! "Really?" She asked, sincerely impressed by that. That it was 'never really done' was not a new concept, since there were often times when she wanted to add this or that feature to a room, or remodel that room, or some such thing. Tercen's concerns made sense, and she nodded slowly as he explained what it was he was concerned about.

Before she could decide how to respond, the waiter had returned. She smiled with a soft 'thank you', suppressing her accent for those two words, as she accepted the cup of tea that had been brought for her. Paying no attention to the lingering look the man gave her, Ava took a moment to breathe in the aroma of the tea, trying to get a sense of what flavor to expect, while also taking the moment to decide how much she wanted to say in reply to what Tercen had said. After a moment, deciding the tea was still too hot to sip, she set the cup down and focused on adding a little honey, then stirring.

Finally, figuring she ought to say something, rather than let the silence continue, Ava looked up and took another glance around, checking once again about the proximity of other patrons of the restaurant. Bringing her focus back to Tercen, mentally she reminded herself of how he had responded to her secret, the night of the masquerade. He had reacted completely differently from what she had feared. Taking a slow breath in, she smiled faintly at him. "You built your home with your own hands... and I find that very impressive." She gave a faint laugh, "I would not even know where to begin to attempt such a task."

Her amusement faded though before she continued. Sitting back slightly, she toyed with the spoon resting in her cup, which she had used to stir the honey in. "I.. I would not lie," She gave a tiny shrug. "My estate.. it is very large. But it was built by the hands of slaves, many generations before I was born." She told him softly. "I am used to certain things, yes. But that doesn't mean I would not like something that is different than I am used to." She smiled at him. "You are quite different from all the other men I'm accustomed to. And that is a large part of what I like about you." She reminded him with a little grin. "I'm sure your cabin is just as charming and pleasant as you are. Do people not tend to reflect a bit of themselves in their home?"

[Ercassie]

@Lantaelen

Behind Closed Doors – Part 6



Lady Ilisys Azrubêl, at her Minas Tirith residence, Fifth Circle.
Receiving a visit from Lord Abrazimir Dimaethor
approximately a week after Erulaitalë.

Their exchange had been made of oaths, apiece. And of course both of the noblefolk would concede to the other one’s suggestion, for they were both of a like mind in this, regardless if somewhat different ambitions had led them each there. “In due turn then, I appreciate your discretion, which does not take from your honour,” she allowed, reassuring him, before rather relaxing in descent back down unto the seat beside. For a while she enjoyed the comfort of both the rest and also the recognition. That they could rely on one another in this fashion.

“We are in agreement, yes,” she colluded eventually, quietly. After all, there were no more notable persons now remaining in Belfalas that the Umbarian had not already secreted to the ships of his smuggler associates. To ensure that those did not share with society what business in fact they had truly shared with him. Their fortunes, for the most part he was keen to stand as the sole beneficiary. He was most effective in disposing of evidence, after the fact. So that there was noone there who he might make a use of .. except for they two themselves. But they were wiser now than they had been before. She had been forced to go to great lengths after all, to tidy a few loose ends up herself. For instance, to convince Gildolen, as a rare witness, to abandon the coast which had raised him, much less all thoughts of more immediate satisfaction. For revenge.


“Perhaps the City Guardship of Minas Tirith, which has demonstrated such trouble in holding onto it’s prisoners, will understand concerns over their retaining custody of such important items of evidence,” the Lady mused rather consciously, though raising her hand and noting with some disappointment rather than surprise, to find no glass of sparkling elixir in her grasp. Now where had she laid down her drink ?

“If they do not trust me, they must trust at least that the victims’ family will have no cause to ‘lose’ such coveted tokens, any more than they might misplace their ambition to see justice served,” she tried out a potential line of argument, for any sign of vulnerability. “In the meantime, Captain Alarion and Lieutenant Dealedwen are both aware of our .. unspoken suspicions .. regarding the Guard Androillius,” she assured Abrazimir quite who else had been entrusted with the same secrets as he had. “I have faith in their capacity to treat the situation, with the Captain of the Guard, .. and with all of the delicacy it requires,” she conceded. Of course, as the Masterhealer, Pele would easily be informed about the discharge and planned transport of her incarcerated patient. As soon as it could be arranged, and he was fit enough to travel. As for Arnyn …well, the Second-in-Command seemed to somehow have a knack for finding things out of her own accord.


“The fewer ears that hear, the fewer lips can speak,” Isys shared the Knight’s understanding for keeping their plan to the smallest number to be involved and also effective. “You know,” a pensive expression conquered the woman’s porcelain features as she turned to rest her cloudy grey gaze on Abrazimir, without diversion. Well .. “Lotte makes a fine egg salad,” the hostess recalled, perhaps randomly. “Eggs make cakes as well ..” she explored the subject as though there was a point to it. Or perhaps some very enigmatic code by which they were speaking of something else than dairy .. “A friend taught me that, here ..” it was important to include the ‘here’, for the likelihood of a noble lady learning to bake in her own kitchen was entirely a foreign notion back home … “so that I could bake a cake for Lotte’s birthday. She was suitably surprised.”

A testament perhaps to how tired she was, or perhaps how pleased that they had managed to concoct a plan and find themselves on the same page .. the lady smiled, seemingly at what some - if they knew her not - might call a meagre achievement.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Tercen
Fifth Circle, Minas Tirith, Gondor
December 23rd, midday

Other reasons? He might have looked a bit stunned as those very words from Ava confirmed he really had no idea what inns in Umbar were like. Tercen was confused, but perhaps there was little point in trying to figure it out. When would he ever find himself in an Umbarian inn, after all? Probably never.

When she asked him if he was after her money, he met her question with a half-grin and a little chuckle. "Oh yes," he told her. "I plan to steal your fortune from beneath your feet and coax your tiger into purring 'daddy' at me. Then I'll build a mansion in Ithilien and your pet can stay with me there." He rubbed his thumbs over her hands. "No, Ava," he told her, his tone serious despite his shrug. He leaned forward a little, his eyes suggestive as he looked at her. "I might be after a few other things..." he said rogueishly. "Which you have not been withholding." He tried not to lose his humor when she spoke of her 'undesirable betrothal' and of other 'suitors'. "I am glad you are careful," he said quietly. "You should know you should also always feel free to call me out on my... well, whatever I might end up doing that you feel isn't quite right." It was only a matter of time, right? Before he said or did something she would not appreciate? That was why some of his other flings had never progressed into something more... durable.

The impact of him building his own cabin was, apparently, substantial. "Yes, really," he confirmed. "Well, sometimes I had been working on something for days. Only to realize after about a week that I was doing it all wrong and that I would have to tear it all down again in order to build it up again, but the right way. It definitely required a lot of calm, and patience," he smiled lightly. When she took her hands away to play with the spoon in her cup, Tercen's hands felt emptier than he wanted them to, and he immediately clasped them together on the table infront of him.

Her estate... had been built by slaves? Before she was born. He watched her attentively as she continued speaking, and smiled at him - picture perfect. "What are you used to?" he asked, keeping his voice low. "I assume it is not a small cabin where the kitchen, dining area AND living room area, are all combined,with a washroom extension. And then the second floor, with nothing but my bedroom. Which would be big, if it weren't for the slanted cealings. I don't know if you would like it very much. But I adapt to circumstance," he claimed casually.

Tercen considered his next words. "You like that I am honest? That I do not seek to hide things from you?"

"Come and visit me, then. In Ithilien. When I return there, come with me. If only for a little while." The only question was, what she would do with her servants? "Not that.. I could harbor your house staff... There is a small inn in the settlement. They might stay there." Perhaps it would only be Edwyrd, coming with her?

He smirked again. "As charming and pleasant as I am?" he repeated, teasingly. "Oh, Ava..." He shook his head. "Yes, I would agree. People do tend to have their home reflecting them a little, or vice versa. And while my cabin is very functional and cosy, some would call me sloppy, others might call it messy. I think I own four plates, Ava. Four. I have never gotten more than three visitors at once, so it has not been a problem. I can afford plenty more plates. But I consciously chose to only acquire four. What I do not have, I can't leave in the wrong place," he grinned.

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Ava
Fifth Circle, Minas Tirith, Gondor
December 23rd, midday

Ava watched him thoughtfully as he appeared a bit stunned by her words concerning the inns. She wasn't really sure whether she ought to offer a further explanation or not... but eventually she decided against it, preferring to let that topic drop. Instead, she smiled in amusement at his response to her asking if he was after her money. That he actually claimed to be plotting to take not only her fortune, but her tiger as well, was almost laughable. As if a tiger would even be welcome in his forest.. surely, his neighbors would not be pleased to have him around, and that was a large reason why she had left Izrazor at home. However, it was obvious he was joking, so she had no need to raise an eyebrow at his words.

Shaking her head slightly in amusement, she leaned a little closer with a faint smirk playing about her lips, and a glint in her eyes. "Well, as ambitious as all that sounds, I'm afraid your devious plot will never succeed." She informed him, pausing before revealing the major flaw in it; "Sadly, tigers are incapable of purring." She revealed as if sharing a confidential secret. "I was a bit disappointed by that, actually." With a tiny shrug, she sat back, smiling. "Besides, your neighbors may not enjoy having a tiger roaming around so near to their homes." She pointed out a far more logical reason not to bring her kitty to Ithilien. As he went on with a more serious reply to the question, she nodded slightly. Not that she had any doubts, for he had not given any indication he had any designs of the sort. She held back a little grin as he admitted to being after other things.

With a little smile, she picked up her tea and blew slowly over the top of it while thinking back to the comment he had made before, about how many guys would enjoy not having to work again and so forth. "I imagine a man like yourself would quickly grow bored without a job to keep him busy," She mentioned thoughtfully, glancing over her cup at him. "And all those nice muscles would fade away.. that would be such a shame." She smiled and sipped her tea before setting the cup down as he spoke to let her know that she could feel free to 'call him out'. Tilting her head slightly, Ava wondered what he thought he might have done or said that she might not like. Instead of asking, she gave a little smile. "Don't worry, if you did something I did not like, you would be the first to know it." She assured him, half-amused, and half-curious.

Hearing him speak about his work, and how he sometimes realized he was doing something wrong, she nodded slightly with understanding, as well as being sympathetic to how frustrating that must be. She was not a builder, and had never learned any craft, besides a bit of absent hobby attempts over the years, but she understood the concept of that.. trying to accomplish a goal and working so hard at it, only to have to start all over and try a different approach.

The question about what she was used to, she left alone for now. Listening as he described his home, she tried yet again to picture it. "No, that is not what I'm used to," She answered with a small shake of her head. She folded her hands on the table, copying the way he had his, for now. "I am used to a large estate, comprised of many large, empty rooms. There are servants aplenty.. yet.. it is quite lonely." She dropped her gaze down to her cup as she spoke softly with this last bit. His invitation to join him in Ithilien, even for a little while, made her smile. A swell of happiness rose up within her as she nodded slightly. "I would enjoy that very much, Sunshine." She told him sincerely, although with a bit of amusement entering her expression as he warned her that he was 'sloppy' or possibly 'messy'. She gave a soft laugh, reaching across to rest her hands over his once again. "If I did not have servants to keep my home clean and tidy, I have no idea what condition it might be in." She admitted with a little shrug. She'd never really given any thought to that sort of thing, really. That was what she paid other people to do, after all.

"As for my house staff," She smiled softly and shook her head to dispel any concerns on that matter. "Muriel and the others are temporary, hired only for the duration of my stay in Minas Tirith. Their homes are there, and they will not be going with me when I return." She let him know. "Although.." She took a moment to consider a new line of thought. "If I am going to keep the house, I suppose I ought to hire someone to maintain it in my absence..." She realized, and made a mental note to ask Edwyrd to find someone to handle that job. "Anyway.." She returned to the original matter. "Edwyrd is going to be remaining to handle another job for me." She mentioned, hesitating for a second before she went on. "Actually, right now, he is off in the harbor town nearby, seeking a house for me to fulfil another purpose." That was why he had not been there to answer the door and other things, earlier. "It has to do with.. the things I mentioned the other night, when we stepped out of the ballroom and nearly froze to death." She added, slightly amused as she joked about their almost freezing.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Tercen
Fifth Circle, Minas Tirith, Gondor
December 23rd, midday

"Incapable of purring!" he exclaimed before lowering his voice again. "What a shame. What does he do, then, when he's sitting with you, all happy and content?" He shrugged when she mentioned neighbours. "I guess the people living closest to me might not be too excited, he agreed. But it's not like I have neighbours within viewing distance. There are a lot of trees, and the closest residence is about a quarter mile away from my place. I live on the outskirts of the settlement."

He grinned when she claimed he'd likely grow bored without a job. "Depends on what other activities I could do to fill my days," he said, but his grin broadened at her next comment. "Oh, right. We wouldn't want that, I imagine. Consider it noted, Temptress."

The way she described the loneliness of her large estate, had his grin fading and had him wanting to reach out to her. Yet he held back, for now. He let her speak and simply listened to what she had to say. A smile returned, though, when she agreed to visit. "You might hate it," he laughed quietly. "But who knows, you might also love it! It is nice and warm, even in winter. That's the thing about small spaces. They are easy to heat up." When she reached for his hands, he turned them over, palms up, so her hands would rest in his rather than simply on top of them. Apparently, she would be going alone, then. Tercen couldn't help but smile at that. Because that meant she trusted him enough to travel with him alone. Honestly, he felt rather satisfied with that notion. "It is too bad it is not spring or summer. That is when I think our woods are at their very best. It would have made for a better first impression. But this way, when you do return in any other season, it will only seem all the more beautiful," he said confidently. "And there are less bugs around, now," he added with an amused glint in his eyes.

"The harbor town?" he repeated. "Harlond?" He did wonder what kind of things she was wanting to set up, and tried to push down his worries for her own safety. "I suppose that isn't the best subject to delve into when we're out and about," he said quietly, distractedly rubbing his thumbs over her hands. "But I am curious as to what plans you have exactly, in that regard," he admitted quietly. "And to be honest... so would my sister. If she had any idea." He made sure to add the last part, so Ava would realize he had told Arnyn nothing. "She's..." He leaned forward a little. "She's the second in command of the King's rangers, here," he explained why she might be interested. "And I know for a fact how much the uh... slavery situation...well, for lack of a better word, how it bothers her." Curious as to how Ava would respond to that, he watched her expression.

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Ava
Fifth Circle, Minas Tirith, Gondor
December 23rd, midday

Tilting her head thoughtfully, Ava considered how best to describe the 'happy noise' that a tiger makes. "He does a sort of.. hm, well it is called a 'chuff'," She answered, hesitating slightly as she tried to decide whether to try and mimic the sound as well as she could, or to try and describe it. "It sounds sort of like, well.. almost like a horse nickering, I suppose," She laughed. "Or at least, I heard a horse do something similar, during my journey here, and the driver said it was called 'nickering'."

She grinned back at him in amusement at his comment that his state of boredom would depend on what other activities could fill his days instead of a job. "I couldn't imagine what other activities you might be thinking of, Sunshine." She replied, amused. She remained grinning as he acknowledged her own comment about his muscles.

As he took her hands in his, her grin softened to a smile as she listened to him speak about his home again, and that she might hate it.. or love it. "Well, we will find out, won't we?" She answered, smiling a little. It seemed that he was rather anxious for her to like his forest, and that made her all the more eager to see it. "If this weather keeps up," She mentioned, referring to the cold, "then, perhaps I will have a chance to see a snow-clad forest? Do you get that much snow, in South Ithilien? I have always thought it sounded like a beautiful sight.. despite the cold, whenever I heard tales of such scenes." She mentioned with a little shrug. "Regardless.. having fewer bugs to deal with is always a benefit," She added with a little grin.

When he asked if she meant Harlond, she nodded. "Yes, that was the name of it," She answered. She paused as he mentioned it not being the best subject to get into, and glanced around. They were still far enough from anyone else in the place, to not worry about being overheard. Looking back toward Tercen when he mentioned being curious, she smiled and started to reply, but she paused when he added that his sister would also be interested. His sister? She listened curiously as he went on, explaining why she would be interested in this. To learn that his sister was so high up in the command chain of the King's Rangers was.. quite a surprise. That the slavery situation bothered her was not such a surprise.. after all, what Gondorian wouldn't be bothered? Still... this conversation had just taken a rather interesting turn.

She blinked, and her lips parted slightly in surprise. Staring at Tercen in silence for a few seconds as she processed that, Ava sat back slightly, letting out a soft breath of a laugh, finding it almost unbelievable, the odds of.. any of this. The words of the other gentleman flitted through her mind briefly. Divine fate? She had disregarded such words as nonsense before, yet now she couldn't help wondering if such a thing could be possible after all. She took another moment to think, biting her lower lip lightly on one side as she glanced off to one side. It was a little easier to think straight while not looking into his eyes, she found. Many questions rose to mind at this news. Would his sister be more skeptical toward her than he was? Would she believe anything Ava said? Would she, as a ranger, feel it her duty to lock up the Umbarian as a spy, and keep her for questioning or something? Ava fought down a surge of anxious butterflies trying to crowd her stomach at the possibilities this news presented, and instead tried to focus on the hope that it offered.

"The other night, at the masquerade," She began softly, bringing her gaze back to Tercen as she leaned in toward him again. "You asked me whether I was the sort who found it difficult to ask for help." She reminded him, speaking low enough that it would be difficult for anyone, such as a waiter, to hear her words even if they walked up to the table. She lightly squeezed his hands with hers as she drew a breath. "Honestly.. yes, I find it very difficult.. I cannot ask for help from anyone, back home. Because there is no one there that I could trust. Even with something minor, like.. tying my shoe, or asking advice." She frowned slightly. "The strong do not ask for help,, and the weak.. whose who need help from others.. do not survive. That is.. a mindset that is strongly encouraged, primarily by.. my enemy that I spoke of, before." Shrugging, she tried to make him understand the concept without having to go into more detail.

"In spite of that.." She moved on to her point, "One of the reasons I came to Gondor.. aside from wanting to attend a masquerade.. and aside from using it as an opportunity to bring some of your people home.. was, well.. in the hope that I might be able to find someone who could help me with my.. project." She explained quietly, offering a small smile to him. "You see.. I have plans and ideas that I want to make happen, but.. I don't quite know how to make them happen. In fact," She hesitated. "I had some hope that you might be willing to assist me to some small degree, although I haven't been sure how to ask you." She paused, unsure what he might think of that. "And now you tell me that your sister is second in command of the rangers." She muttered, shaking her head slightly, still a little amazed by that. If she understood him right about his sister being 'bothered' by the slave matter, then it was possible that they could help each other very much, but only if some trust could be established. "Is she.." Ava paused, unsure for a moment how to phrase this question. "Do you think she would be willing to take a chance, and.. trust me, as you have?" She asked tentatively. "If so.. then I would very much like to meet her."

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Tercen
Fifth Circle, Minas Tirith, Gondor
December 23rd, midday

"A day is much more easily filled when you take care of everything that needs doing yourself," he said good-naturedly. "Acquiring food, cooking food, cleaning up afterward, gathering firewood, hauling larger chunks of wood and chopping it, washing clothes, sewing tearsinyour clothes, cleaning..." Even the way he did his cleaning, it still took time. "If all of that falls away, though... how do you fill your days, Temptress? Playing with Izre, swimming, doing your exercises in that cloth contraption, running all of your business ventures?" he listed what he had found out so far. "I wonder what all that is like." He had no idea, really. He could even hardly imagine it.

"I hate to disappoint, but we do not get snow often," he told her. "Once, maybe twice a year? You would have to be very lucky to catch a snowfall that sticks, so to speak. However, in case it does... you are right that it is very beautiful."

It seemed that him revealing what Arnyn did for a living, surprised Ava very much. But then she... laughed? She laughed? Now it was Tercen's turn to be surprised, though her laugh was short and quiet, and she was looking away now, clearly contemplating something. When she returned her gaze to him and leaned forward, he mimicked the movement. He frowned when she explained further what things were like in Umbar. The more he heard, the more he disliked her living there. Based on what he had seen of her... she did not fit into such a place.

She only proved that further by saying she - contrary to Umbarian habit, apparently - was looking for help with the endeavours she had in mind - which were also very... unaligned... with Umbarian preferences - and had shared with him during their brief walk the night of the masquerade. When she admitted she'd been planning on asking him for help, he blinked. "What were you thinking I could do to help?" he wondered. "I have no position, nor extensive wealth. No extensive network to help you... I'm no one, really."
He gave her a faint half-smile when she spoke about his sister's position. "Well, I do have her in my small network, yes. And if anything, I've told her she is too trusting," he said, unable to keep from rolling his eyes at that. "Though admittedly, she is more careful when it comes to certain people," he added thoughtfully. "I think there is a chance she would trust you. Though I cannot be absolutely certain. I don't really know how she makes her professional decisions in that regard, you know?"

They were interrupted, then, by the arrival of their food. And the current subject had completely distracted him from it. Tercen had no idea if Arnyn would be swayed by his trust in Ava. Or by what else she might be swayed. He was sure of one thing, however. "What I do know, is that she would have... many questions for you."

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Tercen
The Fourth Circle Park, Minas Tirith
December 24th, afternoon

He'd worn the only winter coat he had - and which he had luckily brought with him to the city. It would allow for better maneuverability while still protecting him from the cold. You couldn't show anyone any proper dance moves from underneath a cloak, after all.

Tercen gave Gladhron a slightly disappointed look upon his arrival. "Couldn't convince Brooke or the other young lady to come with you?" he asked. That might complicate things. "Well. We'll make do," Tercen immediately followed up on his own question, without waiting for the answer. Since Gladhron had arrived alone, the answer was rather obvious. And he did not really want to discourage the guy any more than he probably already had, the previous morning. "How was the dinner yesterday?" he asked, knowing where his sister had been the previous evening. "Did she tell you? Or did some situation force her hand?" He was curious about that.

Meanwhile, Tercen led Gladhron through the park, not wanting to waste much time in the cold, guiding him to a spot he thought would be sheltered enough from passersby while still providing ample space. "Behold," Tercen laughed as he spread his arms and made a full turn, indicating the spot. "Your instruction space."

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Ava
Fifth Circle, Minas Tirith, Gondor
December 23rd, midday

As he described the work that tended to fill his days.. chopping wood and so forth, Ava thought it all sounded very tiring. She debated how much she should tell him about her daily routine, and she smiled as he made a guess. "Something like that," She agreed while still remaining a bit vague. "I do spend a lot of time training, which makes the relaxing all the more enjoyable." She added. "I do other exercise than the silk 'contraption'," She let him know. "You may have noticed other equipment in my exercise room. Parallel bars, for instance, and balance beams.." She didn't bother going on with the list, but there had been plenty of other things. "But then," She smiled in amusement, "perhaps your focus was elsewhere."

Hearing that the snow was a rarity, and that it was not likely she would see a snow-covered forest, Ava gave a little shrug in acceptance of this fact. "Well, I'm sure it will still be lovely. I have only seen a large number of trees together as an orchard.. but that sounds nothing like what you have described." She smiled as she recalled the description he had given during their first dance. "That is why I asked you so much about it, when we first spoke." She admitted, then reconsidered what he'd said about how she'd have to be very lucky to catch a snowfall that sticks. "It seems I have been very lucky of late, so.. who knows. Maybe my luck will hold." She couldn't help smiling in hope at the thought of actually being lucky enough to see snow in the forest. "It was very pretty, despite the cold, the night of the masquerade."

She smiled as he declared he was 'no one', and seemed to think he had nothing useful to offer. "I disagree, Sunshine." Shaking her head a little, she took a moment as she tried to think how to explain. First though, she listened to his reply about his sister. Too trusting, but more careful with some. She nodded as he mentioned not knowing how she made decisions professionally. And that she would have a lot of questions. She considered that with a little nod, but refrained from speaking just yet as she observed the waiter approaching, in her peripheral vision. Glancing up, she smiled softly to thank the waiter, and waited for him to leave before she spoke in answer to Tercen. "This looks really good." She commented, taking a look at her plate. She drew a breath, inhaling the scent of the food.

"Perhaps I should begin by explaining my plan.." She began to address his inquiry about how he could be of help. "I believe I mentioned the other night that I have helped several of your people to get away from those keeping them as slaves," She mentioned softly. "but the problem is, just getting away from their master is the first step." She shrugged slightly. "They must have some way to avoid detection while they are being hunted. Depending on who they've escaped from.. the search could go on for weeks or more. Some have dogs or worse to help hunt down these escapees. I can help them avoid discovery, and I can hide them until the search has been given up. But getting them back home.. that is where things become difficult. Some of these people have been hiding for a very long time. Some have joined my staff.. others just want to go home. Some have tried to set off on their own, unwilling to wait for me to find a chance to get them here. I don't know whether they made it or not." She explained with a slight frown, not wanting to get into any of the even less pleasant facts. "Those who choose to remain in hiding.. well, I can't keep them hidden forever, and there is only so much space to keep them hidden."

"This trip," She sighed as she took her silverware in hand to prepare a bite of food. "This is the first chance I've had to smuggle anyone back across the border. I could only bring so many.. but there are more still who are still waiting for their chance." She took a bite of food, taking the time it took her to chew and swallow, to think how to continue. In a low tone which would not be easily overheard, she went on. "What I want to do is purchase several houses.. under false names, obviously.. going from Umbar, all the way through to Gondor. Strategically placed.. I intend to have staff posted in these houses... Safe houses, I suppose you could call them. For escaping people to stop and rest before making the next step.. does that make sense? The staff will be there to help them along their journey. You know.. take them in, give them food and supplies, a safe place to sleep, let them stay as long as they need, then direct and help them make it to the next one.."

"I don't know the best place to buy such a house, here in Gondor. I have considered a few locations.. Harlond, Pelargir.. South Ithilien." Shrugging, she paused to take another bite to let that sink in, while her eyes remained on Tercen, watching his reaction. After swallowing, she went on, "I had hoped to attend the masquerade and enjoy that evening.. then, after the masquerade, I meant to try and find someone who could advise me concerning the location for this house. I imagine it would be sort of.. the last stop in their journey, so it would be rather important. It should be in such a location that the staff can assist them in getting from there, back to whatever town or area they need to go to.. if that makes sense." She frowned. "I just.. don't know Gondor, so I don't know where the best place for that would be. I hoped.. maybe you could help with that, at the very least.." She hesitated, then smiled faintly. "After figuring out where to buy such a house.. my plan was to find and hire a carpenter skilled in building houses.. and furniture.. to make a few adjustments to these houses.. to create hiding places in case a search party were to show up."

Ava watched him, slightly anxious inside though she kept up a calm outward appearance. "I have hesitated to ask you anything about this so far, because I did not want you to get the idea that was the only reason I was interested in you.. which could not be farther from the truth." She drew in a breath, then smiled faintly. "It's funny, you know... one of the men I danced with the other night said something that, at the time, I just laughed off.. he was trying to flirt, I think, but he said that he thought Divine Fate had caused my path to cross his so that he could dance with me," Rolling her eyes slightly, she went on, "I have never believed in such things. Divine fate.. hardly. I approached him because I was curious and wanted to ask him something." She shrugged. "The only.. 'divine being' that I know much about is.. hardly benevolent, and I know little of the others." She paused. "And yet, the more I get to know you," She gave a tiny laugh. "I don't know. I can't help but note that you were the first man to ask me to dance that night.. and I liked you very much from the start. And then, you tell me you are a carpenter, and that you live in South Ithilien, and you built your own house... and now you tell me that your sister is in a position to potentially assist me in my endeavor, in fact, perhaps far more assistance than I had hoped to ask for. It all almost seems too good to believe..."

[Lantaelen]

@Rillewen

Lady Azraindil Dimaethor
Fourth Level, Minas Tirith, Gondor
The Day After Midwinter Masquerade

With the devotion and enthusiasm Wisti displayed when talking about her ballet and the upcoming show, Gaer just couldn’t help but believe that Wisti would get the part. Any teacher or instructor should be marveled by such a display of dedication! But what did Gaer really know? Her view of the world was still very naïve and limited. In fact, she had never really talked to anyone outside her usual circle, picked from the ranks of the nobility. Wisti was a commoner and her life experience was so vastly different from Gaer’s own. Somehow, she felt so…out of touch, with what girls her age ought to be doing, without the façade and pomp of riches.

She perked up when Wisti agreed to show them the Hall of Songs, but then remembered that the whole reason they could be out and about at all was because of the chaperone. Her brother. Where was he? His soup was getting cold. ”He should be only a few minutes…” Gaer hoped but she had no real evidence to back that assumption up. Only hope. It was rather chilly and being on the move helped keep them warm.

But regardless, back to the ballet! A story from history sounded interested! And fake elves, even in a performance, was still very astonishing. ”Oh, I love that tale. My favourite after the Lay of Nimrodel.” Gaer said, before nodding very excitedly when Linny brought up that the Queen might have something to say about a possible Beren and Luthien play! There were rumours she was indeed of that bloodline, which was astonishing, as to the Gondorians of the present day, the tale of Beren and Luthien of the First Age, six thousand years prior, seemed but a myth and a story passed down. And now there was living proof of it all. It was just…so much.

”You might be dancing for the Queen soon, then.” Gaer then winked mischievously at Wisti. Now that was some scary pressure to think about! But the honour and privilege would be immense.

”I hope you get in as many as you can. There’ll be others.” She prayed for Wisti, and agreed with Linny that they ought to come see one. Or all of them. ”We’ll figure it out when it’s time to see you in action. And we’ll be there. I promise that.” Gaer said, perhaps recklessly, as how could she know? But somehow, she and Linny would find a way to see their friend dance and soar and make the crowd gush and applause. ”I am sure we can look into tickets! If you aren’t on the stage, we should all go together and watch one. You can point out all the technicalities and secret skills. I’d love to learn about that.” Gaer nodded, already deciding she would buy the three of them the tickets, even if it was costly to her meagre purse. That way, by buying for everyone, Linny included, maybe Wisti wouldn’t feel such a pressure to pay her back or try to cover her own fare. She seemed to have enough going on already.

”So this upcoming performance, it’s the one you’re hoping Ms. Nîneth will give you a role in?” Gaer said, pouring herself some more of the fruit drink and offering refills to the other girls. Abrazimir sure was taking a while to get whatever was forgotten. Did they have to remake it all fresh or something?

---

@Arnyn

Lord Abrazimir Dimaethor
Fourth Level, Minas Tirith, Gondor
The Day After Midwinter Masquerade

Torniel seemed to accept her moniker without complaint. He hoped that she might, some ploy to make her stammer out her actual name but she was too cool headed to fall for that. She did let Abrazimir caress her cheek though, his palm warm against the cool air, and against her cold skin, though it felt unblemished and perfect. He couldn’t help but grin though, watching her as she watched him, some strange electricity seeming to dance between their eyes. What was she thinking? He had never met a woman with such enigmatic eyes before. He wondered who she really was, where she was from, why she was so…secretive. Surely a beautiful woman like her came from very good and reputable stock. Just look at her clothes! And skin and hair like hers demanded some sort of special care, usually only possible by children of nobility and the upper commons.

He felt strangely exposed, knowing so little, compared to her who seemed to know much and more about him. No, he was just misinterpreting the alarm bells of his mind, of what he should be really wary of… But Abrazimir had known war and violence for so long, a part of him just craved something more intimate.

How long are you staying in Minas Tirith? ”A few days.” He answered casually, though he did not bring up the other tasks he had yet to do. He quirked an eyebrow when she called him Belfalasian but it wasn’t like he had been trying to hide that, today or last night. ”Catch My Draft. Humorous name. Reminds me of helping a lady I met last night catch her draft, of air, if you catch my meaning. But I know of it, actually. Never been.” Abrazimir nodded to her suggestion, already loving where this was going. A rendezvous? Just like in the tales of romanticism. He saw where her eyes went, dropping a degree below his own gaze, and he knew what he was looking at. He just happened to feel the need to run his tongue along his lower lip, as if in thought about her offer.

If you wish to meet…we could. ”We will.” He declared openly. ”How does…two days time work for you, Torniel?” He proposed, unshifting from his lean against the wall, arms still crossed. He did not suspect anything at all. He could make the ride, meet her at the inn, spend an evening, a night perhaps, and return back to the City. His family would be here for some days yet. They would not question his movements. ”I suppose you will find me upon arrival, before I even see you. A most pleasant trick. Reminds me of Rangers.” He jested, though it was another attempt to discern her identity. Only Rangers could move barely unseen or unheard as she had, getting that note on him. Did daughters of the rich and noble often engage in such stealth? He had few examples to go on.

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Gladhron
The Fourth Circle Park, Minas Tirith
December 24th, afternoon

He'd had to get out of the room sort of early, because Gwestion was pestering him about why the guards at the training grounds wouldn't let him in. Since he'd been too early to meet with Tercen, Gladhron had wandered around the city for a little bit before he went to the park. So, he was already there by the time Tercen showed up.

"Hello!" He greeted him with a wave when he saw him approaching. At the other guy's question, Gladhron let out a disappointed sigh. "No, well.. I ended up not asking. They already had plans to explore the city together today, and I know Brooke would never agree to this.. Aislin, maybe, but that would've interfered with their "sister time", or whatever." He shrugged. "But yes, we'll make do." He agreed with a grin, glad that Tercen had the same attitude about it.

"Oh, dinner was great!" He answered, then nodded. "Yes, she actually told us before I had a chance to tell Gwestion," He laughed lightly as he followed Tercen. "He surprised me though. He'd already guessed that Celume wasn't her real name. Never said anything about that to me, though." He muttered in mild complaint. As they walked, he told him a little about some of the highlights from the dinner, ending right about the time they arrived at the open spot.

He looked around, smiling to see that the place was quiet and unoccupied by anyone else. There were only a few other people in the park, but they were on the other side. "Nice dance floor," He declared with amusement. "So.. how do we do this?" He wondered, curious what sort of plan Tercen had for this activity. He was a little distracted by the sound of approaching voices, however, and glanced at Tercen before turning to see who might be heading in this direction.. maybe they wouldn't have the place all to themselves, after all.

---

Eryn & Wist

“I can’t believe I’m already done for the whole day, and it’s still light out!” Wist declared joyfully, twirling in place with her arms thrown out to either side of her, enjoying the fresh air of the park. So, what if it was chilly? She never got done this early, and it was a beautiful day despite the cold. “Thanks so much, Eryn!” She added, turning to grin at her while walking backwards, then she hopped up onto a low wall and walked along the top of it, balancing with apparent ease as she stepped, pointing her toes with each step.

Eryn laughed, watching her and slightly marveling that she didn’t trip or fall over or anything. “It’s no problem, really. I mean, what are friends for if not to help each other at times?” She smiled, pleased that her willingness to put in a little work and effort had brought her friend so much joy.

Wist paused as the wall came to an end, then she leaped down and came to walk alongside Eryn, a little skip in her step. “And to spend time with and do fun things together!” She added cheerily. “I’ve not been to this park in ages! They’ve made some changes to it, haven’t they?” She asked, looking around with her green eyes wide in amazement.

“They did!” Eryn confirmed, smiling as she pointed out various changes that had been made since the king’s return. “There’s so many more parks now than there used to be, too. You should try to get out more, Wist.” She laughed softly.

“I know,” Wist sighed. “Some days it takes me so long to finish my work, I don’t even really have time to practice my dancing.. I mean, I still do, for a few minutes anyway.. and just be a bit short on sleep.." She shrugged. "But, maybe things are turning around.” She smiled, thinking of the fun day she’d had with the other two girls, her new friends. “And then the audition is in a couple of weeks, so I’m trying to work really hard to train and practice at my dance skills, so I can be impressive enough to actually have a chance at getting chosen for a part. And that takes up all my spare time.” She clasped her hands behind her back, stretching her arms backward slightly as she tilted her head up to the sky, breathing in the crisp winter air.

“That makes sense,” Eryn nodded in understanding, thinking for a moment as she walked along. “But you also should take a break now and then, so you can refresh your mind and rest up from all the work. And anyway, why can’t you spend a little time outside in a park? While you’re practicing?” She suggested. “I mean.. it’s not like you have to stay in there to practice these things, right?”

Wisteria paused and blinked at her, then slowly smiled. “Eryn, you’re a genius! I could do that!” She realized, wondering why that had not occurred to her before. And, with it being currently winter, the outside air would surely help her to keep a little cooler while she was practicing. Perfect!

“I know I am,” Eryn grinned teasingly. "How about you work on some stuff now?" She suggested, then pointed out a nice, wide-open grassy spot which was out of the way. “Over there might work, right?” The grass wasn’t green like it would be in summer, but it ought to be a softer place to fall than the wooden stage, she figured.

“Oh yes! That’s such a perfect spot!” Wist declared, happily looking around. There was more room there to dance than on the stage! She linked arms with her friend and they set off toward the indicated spot.

“Right?” Eryn grinned happily, glad to have been helpful. “So! What was that piro-thingy you were trying to do?” She asked as they walked.

“Pirouette,” Wisteria laughed.

“Right, whatever.. so what’s the problem you’re having with it, exactly?” Eryn asked with a little grin, wondering if perhaps a set of eyes could be of any help here.

“I’m not really sure,” Wist frowned thoughtfully. “I mean, I can do a single twirl well enough, but when I try to make it a double.. I have enough momentum to do it, I think, but I just keep falling over before I can make it all the way around. I’m not sure what’s going on.” She sighed in frustration.

“Hmm… so, maybe let me see? I don’t know what exactly to look for, but maybe I can see something going on that you can’t?” Eryn suggested, then stopped upon nearing the open spot, as she looked away from Wist and saw two men already there. "Oh.. hello. Are you guys using this area?" Maybe they'd have to find another place for Wist to practice her dance stuff.

[Lantaelen]

@ercassie

Lord Abrazimir of House Dimaethor
Visiting the home of Isys, Fifth Level, Minas Tirith, Gondor
Shortly after Midsummer, Fourth Age

Abrazimir perked up with a wider smile when Isys assured him his discretion didn’t take from his honour. Oh, how nice of you to say so! It was hard to keep one’s honour when dealing with a kind who had none. They could fight and wage war by whole different ruleset, that is, having none at all. It was so tempting at times to fight back in a similar manner, without restraint or ethics. One had to keep level headed about such things.

Isys returned to her seat beside him, more guarded perhaps to exchange a few more details about this investigation they were both now partaking in. She shared her own musings on the possible motives and line of thinking the City Guard might take to such a request. They were clearly overburdened and had suffered failures before. Moreover, she gave Abrazimir a great spark of hope in being able to retrieve the heirloom in question. Naturally, the family for whom it was so dear to would scarcely want to lose the item again. They made excellent stewards of this piece of evidence.

And then she took that spark and made it into quite the conflagration in his heart, when she mentioned both Captain Alarion and Lieutenant Dealedwen as sharers of this belief in Androillius’ treachery. Such formidable names to add to the list of allies they might have in this affair! Abrazimir’s eyes were wide with astonishment and hope as Isys revealed it to him. The other Swan-Knight certainly had a way with influence and networking. One of the many reasons why he gravitated towards Isys and trusted her so much, often so spontaneous too. She just seemed to know what she was doing, at least in his perception of her. The confidence was contagious.

”I am glad to hear of their cooperation and discretion.” He noted to her, and thought that was the end of it, as there was nothing left to do but put their respective plans in action. Isys would deal with the local authorities in Minas Tirith, to agree to the prisoner transfer. Abrazimir would broach the authorities back home, to Prince Imrahil of Dol Amroth, to accept the transfer. What could possibly go wrong, between these two powerful fiefdoms and forces? Every avenue should be covered. He thought he was about to hear more contingencies or back up plans that Isys might have. Instead she…

…spoke of eggs.

And salads. And cake! She even made one. Abrazimir’s expression changed right before her gaze, eyebrows and brow once furrowed in deep concentration, now lifting and loosening with great surprise. His jaw and mouth went ajar, for a moment truly speechless at this revelation. ”You.” He said, pointing at Isys with an armoured finger, falling back into the common tongue. ”Baked a cake. Here.” He said, also noting the importance of the location. Back home…a noblewoman like Isys, caught baking in the kitchens of House Azrubêl would have…well, they’d never hear the end of it.

Abrazimir looked around, as if he thought the walls and very skies might roll back and reveal this a dream, that he hadn’t even gotten out of the Houses of Healing or something. But it was all real. As was she. ”You baked a cake.” He had to repeat. That she, the least traditionally feminine noblewoman that he knew of, fighting in tournaments and waging private wars in Umbar and commanding influence from Dol Amroth to Minas Tirith…had baked a cake. That was…damn impressive.

Eyebrows piqued, Abrazimir began to nod in appreciation and respect for her accomplishment. ”You moved to this city and you have already become so…what’s the word…metropolitan.” He dared to tease her. ”I don’t suppose…there is any left?” He then asked, before switching to the sindarin tongue again. ”You know I cannot believe it until I have seen it.” Abrazimir said with a playful smile. He would be honoured to have gotten to try that but he would understand if there was none left. Lotte’s birthday must have been a while back.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Tercen
Minas Tirith, Gondor
December 23rd, midday

"There was other equipment in there?" he asked her, sounding absent-minded as a little smirk played on his lips. "Must have been distracted." He did vaguely remember the balance beam. Didn't she lean against that at some point? Mentally chuckling at himself, Tercen's smirk grew into a grin. "You'll have to show me again, sometime. Maybe while you're wearing something other than those skin-tight black clothes from before? I think that would be helpful."

He was really starting to like the way she called him Sunshine, and it had him looking at his food with a content smile, especially when Ava said it looked very good. "And it tastes very good as well," he insisted. "Best not forget to eat while you explain your plan," he suggested. He knew how planners could get so caught up in such things, they'd forget about what was in front of them - whether it was a meal or a drink. While Ava delved into some more exposition to then start sharing her ideas, Tercen started eating himself. He was supposed to listen for now, anyway. And he wasn't about to let an excellent meal get cold. The more she told him, the more he grew concerned that her situation in Umbar was... much too dangerous. Moreover, even if she had her staff helping, even if she was helping people who were probably very grateful to her... she was, in a way, still doing it alone. She had no family or friends to help her. She had employees. It wasn't exactly the same, was it? With the few references she had made, here and there, about the big house being lonely for example... Mentally, Tercen shook his head. Ava was a grown woman. She knew what she could handle.

Her idea about safe houses from Umbar to Gondor... It made him lower his hands, holding his utensils, back onto the table. He couldn't believe his ears. She wanted to create some secret passageway for escaped slaves? He thought it was absolutely brilliant, even if it was risky. But people were already risking it. All she would be doing is giving them much better odds. He let Ava get through all she wanted to say as he leaned against the back rest of his chair, actually having forgotten about his food for a bit.

After a long pause, which he used to process everything she'd told him and his thoughts and feelings on it all, he gave her a dubious look. "I don't know if I am the best person to help you decide where to purchase such a safehouse..." Honestly, that sounded more like an Arnyn kind of thing. She'd have a quick pro and con list in her head, he was sure. With a sheepish smile, he shrugged one shoulder. "Furniture and hiding places, however, that, I could do."

After casually cutting another piece off his meat, he looked up at her. "So you... have been hesitant to ask me for help, because you were concerned I would get the idea that was the only reason you were interested," he repeated, in obvious disbelief. "While I was - worried you'd get the idea that the only reason I was interested was because you allowed me to spend the last few nights with you." He slanted his head with a faint smirk. "While I very much like the idea of sounding too good to be true - I can assure you I am no such thing," he laughed. "Though I cannot deny it seems like a crazy amount of luck that you ran into me," he grinned, before putting the bite in his mouth and watching her as he chewed. Once he'd swallowed, he raised an eyebrow. "Does that mean you want to meet my sister, Temptress? The indomitable Lieutenant?" He had to chuckle, though after seeing her sparring match, he felt kind of justified in using such a word. "Her schedule is pretty packed. Best try and fit it in sooner rather than later, or you might have to leave before you two have enough time to hash it all out."

[Rillewen]

@Lantaelen

|
Dulinneth and Wisteria
Fourth Level, sitting at a table outside a cafe
The Morning After Midwinter Masquerade (Dec 22)

The thought that she could be dancing for the queen was a slightly startling one. Wist blinked as she considered that possibility, and nodded slowly. "Yes, perhaps so," She agreed, wondering if that sort of pressure would give her stage fright. Probably not? She smiled. "I never danced where anyone could see me, before." She admitted with a little laugh. "Except, a few times my boss would walk in while I was dancing with a broom or something," She giggled.

Linn laughed lightly at that, then nodded emphatically to agree with Gaer when she declared that they would be there, when Wist got her chance to dance. "Absolutely! Even if I have to sneak off and ride all the way here by myself," She insisted, though she rather doubted that she'd get away with such a thing. Probably.

Wist was a little stunned when the other girls suggested the idea of not only getting tickets for themselves to go see the performance, but one for her too!? She looked from one to the other as they both seemed in agreement about it. "W-would you? I mean.. really?" She asked, a little speechless.

"Of course!" Linn nodded, quite serious about the idea. "Unless you'd rather watch from backstage? Is it better?"

"No, not really.. I mean, there's a high chance that I'd be noticed and told to leave," Wist admitted, shrugging slightly. "But if I was in the audience... oh I'd love to tell you all the things about it! if you really want to hear." She grinned, although trying not to get too excited about the prospect of getting to watch the performance from the audience for once. Something could still go wrong with this plan.

Turning to Gaer again, Wist hesitated. "The one that's happening in a few days? No.. they've been practicing for that for months. They already have all their roles filled, and there's people to fill in for the main dancers, in case something happens.. so, I wouldn't expect to have any chance getting into that one. But the one I'm hoping to get into.. that'll be like in the summer, I think. Or maybe more like late spring. There'll be auditions held for the next one, a few days after the final performance of this one." She explained. "But Ms Nîneth will only be one of the people making the selection. She's the dance teacher at the Hall of Song."

"So, how do we go about getting tickets?" Linn wondered, hoping to get those as soon as possible, before they were sold out.

"We can get them at the Hall of Song, when we go there." Wist smiled. "There's usually someone at the front desk by now, so they can help you with that." If they ever got done here, that is. She wondered whether Gaer's brother had gotten lost or something. She glanced around but saw no trace of him.

---

@Arnyn

Ava
Fifth Circle, Minas Tirith, Gondor
December 23rd, midday

Ava held back a smirk of her own. "I can't imagine what might have distracted you." She replied, grinning in amusement as he suggested she wear something different the next time. "Perhaps that would be best." She agreed, a tiny smirk playing at the corner of her mouth. She decided to offer him a tour of the house the next time he came over, since she had neglected to do so before.

It seemed they both took a little while to return to their food, while she was talking, and he was listening. But once she had finished with her explanation, and he seemed to be processing what she had told him, Ava split her attention between watching him and cutting off a bite of meat. It was quite delicious, just as he had promised. She took her time in eating, so as to enjoy it better.

As he responded to what she had said, Ava was.. mildly disappointed to hear that he did not think himself the best one to ask about the locations. But she smiled happily to hear that he could manage the hiding places and such. "Good, I would much prefer to hire you for this job than anyone else." She admitted, smiling at him. If he had been unwilling, or had said it was beyond his capabilities to create some sort of hiding place, she would have had to ask for some recommendations for another carpenter who could do it. Which would not only involve having to entrust someone else with her plan, but also, whoever she hired for it would get paid very well, and she'd much rather it was Tercen.

As he spoke of what he had been worried about, Ava was slightly surprised to hear it. "I didn't think that, although it is good to know that you were not." She grinned both at that, and at his comment assuring her he was not 'too good to be true' despite however much he liked the sound of that. "Perhaps that is a good thing," She answered softly. "For I have heard it said that if something seems too good to be true, it probably is." She smiled, then prepared another bite of food. "This is delicious, by the way." She added, agreeing with his earlier comment. She was chewing when he asked her whether she wanted to meet his sister, the indomitable Lieutenant.

The name made her smile in amusement, wondering what his sister might think if she heard him call her that. Since she did not yet know the other woman, she could make no guesses about it. She took the time she was chewing to think about this. A second in command of the rangers.. that could be dangerous for her, but it could also be very helpful to her. She decided that she would not want to meet her at, say, the ranger headquarters, but rather someplace more relaxed.

After swallowing what was in her mouth, Ava nodded with a bit more seriousness. "Yes, I think perhaps it would be a good idea." She decided, despite feeling a bit nervous about it. She considered what he said about the schedule. "Perhaps you might ask her whether she will accept an invitation to my house, either for dinner, or lunch, or tea, or anything that suits her, really. I'm sure my schedule is far more flexible than hers," She shrugged slightly. "So, whatever works for her.. I will likely be away in Harlond most of tomorrow, but I should be back by the next day. And after that.. I have very few plans to work around, so.. like I said. Very flexible." That ought to give him time to talk to his sister and find out the best time for her, and so forth. "If you come by while I am gone, you can leave a message with any of the staff." She would make sure that they all knew to write down any messages and where to put them and so forth.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Tercen
The Fourth Circle Park, Minas Tirith
December 24th, afternoon

"Riiiight," he drawled. "Sister time." Whatever that was. He gave Gladhron a curious glance when the latter said dinner had been great. Gladhron soon explained that Arnyn had apparently told him and his brother about her real name and what she did here in Minas Tirith before Gladhron had even had a chance to talk to his brother about it. Tercen assumed she must have told them rather at the beginning of the get-together, then. That was good, he supposed. He raised an eyebrow when Gladhron said his brother had apparently already suspected that Celumë hadn't been her real name. He wondered why that was... Then again, what did it matter why Gladhron's brother had thought as much? Tercen listened to what Gladhron was willing to share about dinner, but he didn't ask any follow-up questions. "I'm glad it went well," he said genuinely. And that was that.

"It'll serve," he said in reply to the comment about it being a nice dance floor, unsure of whether or not Gladhron was mocking him or not. "Unless you want to call it off?' Tercen teased with a half grin, pretty sure that would generate some protest from the northern ranger. Actually not sure how they were going to go about this without someone from the fairer sex to help out, Tercen gave it a moment's thought. He was just about to reply when approaching voices distracted Gladhron and also drew Tercen's attention. He caught part of the two girls' conversation, and couldn't help but wonder... Maybe they could turn this into a win-win situation?

"Hello," he returned one of the girls' greeting with a relaxed smile. "We were going to," he said thoughtfully. "What was that bit I heard about some trouble with a double twirl? You young ladies wouldn't happen to be talking about dancing, right?" He gave a nod in Gladhron's direction and shot his friend a look at the same time. "Because, as it happens... I was going to show him some moves - but for couple's dancing. Would you girls be willing to help us out a little with that, if I can help you out?" he wondered, unembarrassed to ask. The worst that could happen was for them to just say no, right? "I'm a bit of an expert on twirls, you might say," he said with an easy laugh. "And, as you can see, we're a bit short on the other half of the actual couples," he explained with a grin.

---

@Lantaelen

Fourth Circle, Minas Tirith, Gondor
The Day After the Midwinter Masquerade

Her eyes narrowed minutely when he referenced a lady he had met the night before, and how he had helped her catch some air. Her lips curved in amusement as she watched him wetting his lips. "Yes, I catch your meaning, Dauntless." Oh, he knew of the inn, even if he had never been. That was most excellent news, for surely that would facilitate things, even if only a little. No need for him to ask or wander around.

We will. Her smile grew. "Two days," she mused quietly, looking back up at his eyes. He was being so... aloof. Was he working hard at that? Or did it come naturally to him? Both might be true. Whichever was the case, the poor man had no idea of who she was... or what she did. "I might be convinced to wait for your company that long. If you make it worth my while, in the end."

Her smile faded as her expression grew more obscure. "Rangers?" she repeated, half-questioning, half'amused. "You sure think highly of my skill." She slanted her head and lifted her hand to cup his jaw. "I will make sure that you will spot me first, this time." Another slow smile. She leaned in, as if she might kiss him. "Evening, before dinner. Two days hence," was all she murmured, however, before pulling back and removing her hand from his face. Her body turned away from him first, her face last, and she headed back into the inn, through the back door. Without stopping to look back at him.

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

| |
Gladhron, Eryn & Wist
The Fourth Circle Park, Minas Tirith
December 24th, afternoon

"No way," Gladhron assured Tercen when he asked whether he wanted to just call it off. But before they could devise some sort of plan of their own to make this dancing thing work... things seemed to just fall into place for them. Maybe? He looked on, wearing a friendly smile as the two young ladies appeared, trying not to grin too much when Tercen immediately seized the opportunity and asked them to help out. "I'm hoping to surprise a particular lady, by learning to dance better," He offered an explanation as to why this was happening at all.

Wist smiled a little shyly, realizing the strangers had overheard their talk, but as it turned out, it may actually be to their advantage. "Yes, we are.." She answered hesitantly when he asked if they were talking about dancing. She was surprised by the proposition of helping the strangers, in return for them helping the girls.. but before she had a chance to give any answer, Eryn spoke up.

Eryn had blinked when the fellow with the blond hair spoke. She'd heard that voice before. Then, as she realized where, she grinned. "Wait... I know who you are!" She declared excitedly. "Or.. well, sort of. You're sir Sunbeam, right? From the masquerade?" She couldn't have said what his real name might be, but that was sure to be the guy who had been so nice to ask her to dance and cheered her up when she was feeling gloomy. She realized, of course, he wouldn't likely recognize her in return, since she had been so heavily disguised. "You danced with me, although you may not recognize me." She told him with a little smile. "You uh, named me 'Miss Wildflower'." She explained with a little smile. She had seen him dance with a few ladies, so figured she'd help him out with realizing who she was. Turning to Wisteria, she grinned. "He is very good at dancing, and twirling.. and all that! I bet if anyone can help you, he can." She told her, smiling.

"Oh, that sounds like fun!" Wist said with a little laugh. "I mean, I had a few dances at the masquerade, but I don't really know that sort of dancing all that well," She admitted, a little shy to say so. "I'd like to learn some more of that, though. I love dancing!"

"My friend here is going to be a professional dancer, like.. on stage, performing and stuff." Eryn explained with a smile. "She's really good at it, too."

"A ballerina," Wist clarified, not wanting them to get any wrong ideas. "And only if I can be impressive enough in the audition," She muttered, but smiled slightly at the hope of that actually happening. "If I can get this pirouette figured out.. maybe I will."

"You will, I'm sure of it." Eryn grinned, then turned to the guys again. "I'd be happy to help out, too." She added cheerfully. "

"Perfect!" Gladhron declared, pleased at how this had worked out so well. "I'm Gladhron, by the way." He added with a smile to the girls. They seemed just a bit younger than Brooke and Aislin, but they reminded him a little of those two, at least in how they talked so easily with each other, although the topic of their conversation was much different than the other girl's would be.

"Nice to meet you." Eryn smiled at him. "I'm actually not really named Wildflower, believe it or not," She grinned. "My name is Eryn, and this is my friend, Wisteria."

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Tercen
Minas Tirith, Gondor
December 23rd, midday

He had to laugh a little when she said she would rather hire him than anyone else. "Now, now, Lady Ava... You have not even seen a single piece of my work. Yet. You should see how good or bad I am before making such claims," he berated her with a big smile. He was also glad to hear she thought the food, which he had recommended, was delicious.

As Ava said she thought meeting Arnyn was a good idea, Tercen wasn't so convinced. Sure, if they found a way to work together, it could be great. It could be just what was needed. Or... everything could fall apart. What if Arnyn didn't trust Ava? What if his sister did not want to meet with anyone from Umbar? Or - what if she did? What would that tell him? He was honest enough to admit that he would berate her, or might even get mad at her, if she were to agree to meet some random Umbarian someone else claimed had good intentions.

All this thinking was giving him a mild headache.

"Right," he mumbled pensively, "your house. Or maybe... her house." It wouldn't matter to Ava, right? After listening to the other things she had to say, Tercen nodded. "I'll see what I can do. But I would rather tell you in person, over leaving a message with your staff." He leaned forward a little, smirking. "I'm not sure if any of them like me very much. A shameless stranger, demanding such attention from their lady."

---

@Rillewen

Tercen
The Fourth Circle Park, Minas Tirith
December 24th, afternoon

He was surprised when the red-haired girl claimed she knew who he was. How on earth would she know him? He did not know her! When she called him Sir Sunbeam, he couldn't remember dancing with anyone with her hair colour at the masquerade, either. Wildflower. Wildflower! Tercen's lips parted in surprise. "Miss Wildflower!" he stated, taken aback by the unexpected coincidence as well as how different she looked without her disguise. Slowly, a grin spread over his face, which grew even further when she told her friend he was very good at dancing.

It seemed like both of the girls wanted to help them out, and they weren't even that apprehensive or awkward about it either. Could this have turned out any better?

His eyes widened a little when the other girl said she wanted to be a ballerina, but since Gladhron then introduced himself, he held back his initial response. "Hello, Eryn," he instead grinned at the one he'd formerly only known as Wildflower. "And Wisteria," he smiled at the ballerina-to-be. "I'm Tercen. Unfortunately, I am no ballerina," he added with a laugh. "But I've seen ladies practicing their pirouettes." It seemed unnecessary to mention he'd had a bit of a fling with a professional ballet dancer, a few years back. "If I'm not mistaken, it's not just about the posture and the legs and arms - but a lot depends on how you use your shoulders and your 'spot'. Are you doing all of that?" he asked Wisteria curiously.

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Ava
Fifth Circle, Minas Tirith, Gondor
December 23rd, midday

Pausing from her food to take a sip of tea, Ava looked at him over the rim of the cup with a little smile before setting it back down, after getting a sip. "You mean to tell me you've lied or exaggerated about your abilities?" She asked in feigned surprise, figuring he would protest. "If you can't do it, I can always find someone who can," She added with a little shrug. "But.. that would involve having to find someone, and then.. having to explain all of this plan over again.. and then that many more people would know about the plan.. which means more risk of it getting back to those who I don't want to know about my involvement..." She took another small bite as she let him consider those complications.

As he replied about her meeting his sister, Ava thought he sounded a bit doubtful, or something. She considered the mention of maybe meeting at Arnyn's house. "If she prefers," She agreed quietly, although she had thought it would be nice to offer a meal and practice being a host. In case she ever had other visitors. Besides, would that not involve more work for his sister, if she were to be the one hosting this.. whatever it would be? Ava mentally shrugged as she focused on what Tercen said about preferring to leave the message with her personally. She smiled. "That's certainly preferable to me, too." She added, then laughed as he spoke of what her staff must think of him. "Does it really matter?" She asked, amused. "So long as they treat you politely, they can think whatever they like."

---

@Arnyn

| |
Gladhron, Eryn & Wist
The Fourth Circle Park, Minas Tirith
December 24th, afternoon

Eryn grinned when he exclaimed 'miss Wildflower', slightly amused to see the surprised look of recognition on the guy's face. "I was trying not to let anyone who knew me realize who I was." She explained. "Except for the ladies who helped me with my disguise, anyway." She smiled. Apparently, it had been quite successful, but she wasn't sure how much of that was actually a good thing. "Pleased to meet you officially, Tercen." She added with a smile, using his actual name now that she knew it. "And you, Gladhron." She added, not to forget the other guy.

"It's nice to meet you both." Wist smiled, then looked a bit surprised to hear that he had actually seen ballerina ladies practicing pirouettes. "Really?" Listening seriously as he asked her about her shoulders and spot, she hesitated. "Well, I think I am doing it all correctly. But it's hard to see yourself when you're doing it, you know?" She shrugged slightly, a little self-conscious to admit that she had no real teacher in this.

Gladhron glanced from Tercen to the girl named Wisteria, wondering what a ballerina might be, as that was not something he had ever learned much about while rangering in the woods around Bree and such. Perhaps some sort of city thing, he guessed, but didn't want to sound like an idiot, so he kept quiet and just observed for now, while maintaining a friendly smile.

"Hey, Wist, why don't you try doing your double piro-whatever thing so Tercen can see, maybe he can figure out what's stopping you from the double?" Eryn suggested, sort of relieved to have found someone more knowledgeable than herself to help Wist.. after all, the only experience she had with twirling was when dancing with someone like him who did all the leading.

Rolling her eyes in amusement at Eryn’s terminology for it, Wist looked at Tercen. "Would you mind?" She asked him. Once he had replied in the affirmative, she smiled gladly, then moved a few steps away from Eryn and two men before taking her position. She took a breath in preparation as she found a spot to focus on, then pushed her foot off from the ground, spinning through one.. and a half twirls before having to swiftly put her foot down again and wobbled a little as she tried to recover from nearly falling. She sighed in frustration. “See?" Wist sighed, shaking her head at her failure. “What am I doing wrong?” She asked, trying not to feel too discouraged, looking hopefully at the guy. Would he be able to help her?

[Lantaelen]

@Arnyn

Lord Abrazimir Dimaethor
Fourth Level, Minas Tirith, Gondor
The Day After Midwinter Masquerade

For a moment she had him on the edge, the entire moment in balance. Two days? Was that…too long for her? Would her interest fade? Abrazimir wished it could have been sooner. It could be now they could be courting. But he had duties and responsibilities to attend to first. And above all else, he was still a man. A man put his priorities in their proper places first and foremost. But in the end, her suspenseful pause over with, she toyed with the idea of waiting. If he made it worthwhile for her.

”You know it will be.” He grinned haughtily. Their dancing had been very exquisite. What else could be so between them? He quirked his eyebrows when she amusingly flaunted his perception of her. Was it so wrong of him to think highly of her? But he didn’t get to say his usual retort, her hand drifting to caress his strong jaw, leaving him and his tongue momentarily paralyzed by the action. It felt so…intimate. And sweet. A sensation he had not known much in his life.

And then…was she going to kiss him? But alas, at the last second, she pulled away, that tease, and concluded the remark with a set time for their rendezvous. And that…was it. With a slow, deliberate turn, emphasizing her form, she turned and strode away from him. And Abrazimir was trapped watching her, admiring her form and posture and everything, as she walked away. ”You can count on me.” He just called out, a few seconds late, but better late than never.

Now he was alone. In the alleyway. The whole world seemed to rush back in around him, a plethora of sights and sounds and smells and memories. Like a spell had been lifted. A very good spell. With a fixated smirk, he made his way back to the others. What an interesting encounter. It would be his little secret.

---

@Rillewen

Lady Azraindil Dimaethor
Fourth Level, Minas Tirith, Gondor
The Day After Midwinter Masquerade

”You know, I’ve been there too!” Azraindil laughed and giggled with Wisti and Linny, finding the whole dancing alone with a broom or some other prop to be relatable. The masquerade had been her first real foray into the art. Sure, she danced as a young girl at such functions back in Dol Amroth but that was so rigid and controlled. To be free, to pick one’s own partners, that was so new and exciting to her. Not lifeless objects. People! With thoughts and minds and hearts and curiosities. Wisti would be living such a marvel all her life it seemed.

Wisti seemed puzzled by the offer to come watch her, or watch a show together, the three of them. ”Most definitely, we will. And Linny, you know better…ride south to me first, we’ll come by boat.” She winked mischievously. Even though her estate might be closer by land, Azraindil’s home presented a safer and more secure journey by sea. Well, mostly. No path was ever truly safe. ”Well, you got to let us watch the show first! Then, we’ll pick your brain with all the questions.” Azraindil assured Wisti. They would pull this off. They had to now. It might as well be a sworn oath they were making for Wisti.

Would hers and Linny’s parents disapprove? Ballet and stage performing, that was the arts, right? A good preoccupation or hobby, for girls of their status to enjoy.

The forthcoming performance unfortunately wouldn’t have Wisti showcasing her skills in it. It was coming up very soon though and Azraindil looked at Wisti thoughtfully. Maybe they could make that one, with Wisti along with them, as audience members. Linny inquired about dance tickets and they could be acquired at the Hall of Songs. ”Good. We’ll make some inquiries there about tickets. If this show is in a few days, we might still be in the City to see it.” She indicated her and Linny. ”We can all go to it together!” She said and already made up her mind to buy the tickets for all three of them, out of her own purse. She was the eldest and had the most resources to spend. She could do that.

”And we can certainly come again next summer. I so wanted to be here last summer for the Erulaitalë event but I wasn’t allowed to come.” She started to explain, just as Abrazimir reappeared at the front of the restaurant and made his way back over. About time. She turned to regard her brother curiously.

”How are we doing, ladies?” Abrazimir asked them casually.

”You were gone a while.” Azraindil asked him. ”I thought you said they forgot something. Where is it?”

”I ran into an old friend.” Abrazimir admitted. ”Oh, I…ate it, inside.” He confessed, an innocent lie, though at the same time he plucked up a breadroll off Azraindil’s plate, dipped it into her finished soup bowl for cold broth, and ate it. Just sibling things. Azraindil just eyed him pointedly for a good moment.

Abrazimir ignored her though, looking between Linny and Wisti. ”How was the food? Are we ready to continue? Did you work on your itineraries?” He asked with a little chuckle, standing by the side of the table. He kept glancing back to the front of the restaurant, as if expecting to see someone emerge from there.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Tercen
Minas Tirith, Gondor
December 23rd, midday

"Exaggerate?" he asked, feigning offense. "Not at all. I definitely build furniture, and the people where I live are happy with my work. Yet that does not mean my work would also live up to your standards, does it?" he asked,still smirking. "You can assess my skills when you visit my place in Ithilien," he suggested more quietly, still leaning forward. He had to keep his mind off the things they could do there, though. Unbothered by any servants milling about the place. Drag your mind out of the gutter, man. Tercen cleared his throat and sat up straight again. "I hope you find my carpentry sufficient," he told Ava honestly. The less people that knew about her plans, the safer it would be for her. That was rather important.

He grinned when she agreed she'd also prefer him to deliver the message to her in person. "Oh no," he agreed emphatically in turn, that it did not matter what her servants thought of him. "It's what you think that matters, Temptress." As far as he'd been able to tell, there was no one in her life who was close enough to her whose opinion about him would matter. The other way around, though... Arnyn's opinion of Ava mattered. Maybe he should not inform his sister just yet about where Ava was from. Maybe all he needed to do was focus on the plans she had. Or lift a tiny bit of that veil. So his sister's first image of Ava would be positive. Wasn't there something about first impressions? Even impressions through hear-say? Sipping his water, he decided that might actually be the best way to go. Smiling now that he'd made up his mind about that much, he put the glass down and looked more like his cheerful self again. "Well, I'll tell Arnyn you invited her to your house. I'll let you know what she said once you are back from Harlond."

He dug into his plate with some more conviction, figuring that they'd spoken enough of the weighty matters for the moment, and they should finish the food before it cooled too much.

---

@Rillewen

Tercen
The Fourth Circle Park, Minas Tirith
December 24th, afternoon

"Consider your disguise most successful!" Tercen exclaimed, still kind of stunned at the Wildflower's transformation. He nodded encouragingly when Eryn suggested Wisteria show him how she'd been trying the double pirouette. "Sure, maybe I can help," he shrugged. When she gave it a try, Tercen frowned slightly. "Can you do it again?" he asked, coming closer.

When she had tried again, he hummed thoughtfully. "I'm not completely sure, but... you might be pushing off too hard with your back foot," he suggested slowly. "It seems to be ever so slightly upsetting your balance, so you lose it before you can complete the two turns. Try pushing off less 'hard' with your back foot, and focus on your center foot and your shoulders to actually perform the twirling movement. The foot you move back doesn't actually need to do all that much."

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Ava
Fifth Circle, Minas Tirith, Gondor
December 23rd, midday

As he assured her that he had not exaggerated, Ava smiled slightly, pleased to have been right in guessing that he would deny having done so. Her smile softened a bit as he suggested that she could assess his skills when she came to visit him in Ithilien. "I am looking forward to that," She assured him, rather intrigued to see this place he had spoken so much about, although she was admittedly more interested in visiting with the occupant of his home than seeing the home itself. Regardless, she thought maybe she ought to clarify a bit about the carpentry work she was hoping for.

"At the moment, I don't even know exactly what I will be needing, from a carpenter," She admitted, thoughtful as she considered that. "First, the house that will be used for this purpose will have to be found and purchased, and only then will we know where a hiding place can be.. installed. And how. The reason I mentioned furniture is that, I am not sure whether there will be a need to involve any furniture in creating a sort of mechanism that will access such a hiding spot." She explained, keeping her tone low. "I don't know about such things, myself. I wouldn't know how to begin trying to build something," She admitted with a little shrug. She could do plenty of things, but there were plenty of other things that were beyond her knowledge to accomplish.

She couldn't help a little grin when he called her Temptress, after saying that it was her opinion that mattered. But he seemed to be pondering about something, probably the matter of the invitation, so she let him think about that in his own time. Meanwhile, she took another sip of tea, which finished the cup. Setting the empty cup down, she was pleased to hear that he would tell his sister that Ava had invited her to her house. "Good. I look forward to hearing her response." She answered, already wondering whether it would be a dinner, lunch, or other sort of get-together with the other woman, since she was leaving that detail up to the one who had the busiest schedule.

With that decided, she smiled before focusing more on her plate of food. It was quite delicious, and she was really glad that he had suggested it. Soon, they would be venturing out into the cold to resume the tour of the city, so she wanted to enjoy the meal while it was still at least warm.

---

@Arnyn

| |
Gladhron, Eryn & Wist
The Fourth Circle Park, Minas Tirith
December 24th, afternoon

"Thanks." Eryn smiled. "But I can't take all the credit. I had a bit of help from a couple of ranger friends," She admitted. "One of whom happens to be quite good at disguises, so.." She shrugged slightly, figuring that statement should be enough to explain how she'd managed her disguise so well.

While Wist was attempting her twirl, Gladhron glanced in mild surprise at the red-haired girl, and looked a little thoughtful. "Really?" He asked with curiosity. "You wouldn't happen to be any relation to a red-haired lady ranger.. would you?" He wondered.

"No..." Eryn tilted her head thoughtfully, then smiled faintly. "But she is a friend of mine, if you're thinking of who I think you're thinking of." She grinned a little.

"Kaylin? I met her at the dance, and we later met her in the Wayfarer's common room." He explained. "I thought you might be related, since.." He motioned vaguely toward her hair.

Eryn grinned, shaking her head. "She might find it amusing that you thought that, but no."


Focusing on the advice from Tercen, and tuning out the conversation in the background, Wisteria attempted the twirl once more when he requested that she try. She achieved the same result, however, and was trying her best not to get too frustrated. As he offered some advice, she was a little surprised. She glanced at her back foot, thinking about that, and mentally going over what she was doing. "Oh.." She widened her eyes as she realized that did feel like what was happening. "But.." Frowning slightly in confusion, she tilted her head. "How else can I get around enough times?"

After trying it without 'pushing off' with her foot, she was only able to get about a half turn before losing her spinning momentum. "What do you mean, focus on my shoulders?" She tried to think if she had been letting them rise up toward her ears, but she was sure that she was keeping them down, as she ought to. "I can manage one turn.." She added, demonstrating that she could indeed manage a single turn, although she did rely on her foot pushing her through the twirl, a bit more than she should. "But the second is a lot harder than I thought it'd be."

[Rillewen]

@Lantaelen

|
Dulinneth and Wisteria
Fourth Level, sitting at a table outside a cafe
The Morning After Midwinter Masquerade (Dec 22)

Wisteria was pleasantly surprised to hear that Gaer had also danced with a broom or something. She laughed, although she wasn't quite sure that the other girl meant it in the same way. "It may look a bit silly, but it makes the work go a lot faster," She grinned. "My boss doesn't like it when I do that, but what he doesn't know doesn't hurt anything."

Linn glanced curiously at her as she mentioned about doing that while working, but wasn't sure whether she ought to ask more about it. Instead, she laughed when Gaer mentioned riding to her first. "Oh, yes, of course." She grinned. "I'll have to remember to do that, if it comes to it."

Wist nodded with a smile when the older girl mentioned watching the show first. "Right, I'll try not to comment too much during," She said with a little blush, hoping she would be able to control herself on that. It seemed too good to be true, to think that they might actually let her come and watch it with them, instead of her having to sneak off to the side of the stage in hopes of catching glimpses of the dancers. But Gaer and Linn both sounded totally serious, and they seemed too nice to be pulling a trick on her.

"Maybe if you get to come next year, I could get to.." Linn started saying, in reply to Gaer's words about the Erulaitalë, but before she could say much else, Abrazimir finally returned. Linn smiled brightly at him, glad he had returned so they could move on to other things! Although she tilted her head curiously when he said that he had run into an old friend. And that he had eaten whatever it was that he'd gone back to get. Now she was curious what it had been. Except, that also sounded a lot like when Togg would make excuses about where he'd been, when mother questioned him. She couldn't think of why Abrazimir would want to make something up though, so she mentally shrugged and glanced at Wist with a little eyeroll, and whispered 'brothers'.

With a small smile in reply to the younger girl's comment, Wist couldn't really offer much in comparison since she'd never had any brothers or sisters, unless she counted her fellow orphans, but she had no idea where any of them were anymore, and it wasn't like they'd ever been all that close to one another. "The food was excellent, thank you." Wist answered, quite sincere as she looked at him, meaning the 'thank you' more in the way of 'thank you for letting me have some' rather than 'thank you for asking'. "What's an itemerry?" She wondered, frowning slightly in confusion at the unfamiliar word.

"It means, what we're going to do for the day." Linn answered, pleased to know the answer to that. "We're going to go to the Hall of Song next!" She told Abrazimir excitedly. "Wist is going to show us around, and we're going to get tickets for the ballet, so we can all go watch it together." She grinned, eager to see what a ballet was and why Wist loved it so much.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Tercen
Minas Tirith, Gondor
December 23rd, midday

"Well, I've only built a small... hidden place, I suppose," he said slowly, thinking about his limited experience with such things. "In my own cabin." It's where he kept his savings, and a few items he didn't want to risk a burglar lifting from his place, if it were targeted. "But that's nothing like what you would need. It might be a case of trial and error, the first few times," he admitted freely, with a little shrug. "But I'm sure I could figure it out."

When he'd finished with the meal, he drank the rest of his water while watching the exotically beautiful woman sitting at the table with him. How he had quite ended up here, with someone like her, was anyone's guess. "So," he drawled, slowly turning his empty glass around on the table as he watched her with a quiet smile of enjoyment. "Not that I am trying to rush you," he began, since she was still finishing up herself. "I'm only curious. Would you like something for dessert? Or another hot drink before we go?" Her choice in that would dictate whether or not he'd order himself another drink.

---

@Rillewen

Tercen
The Fourth Circle Park, Minas Tirith
December 24th, afternoon

Tercen was only half listening to Eryn and Gladhron, focusing more on Wisteria's issue with her double pirouette, but he'd caught the words. How else could she get around enough times? "Well, the woman I knew - she told me it wasmore about turning with your shoulders and your head and your arm, than it was about pushing off with your foot. Your foot cannot make you turn. Your shoulders and head can. And the added movement of your arm, a little - but mostly the shoulders and head, is what she told me." He grinned sheepishly. "I'm sorry to say I never bothered to learn myself. I'm no ballet dancer. But I can imagine. Your foot or leg isn't doing anything circular after all. Your head and shoulders, however, they are." He shrugged. "I can only tell you what Anirándess told me. It might take you a while to get it right, though. She always said there was 'a reason not all dancers perform ballet'," he said with a smile, remembering the way she used to smirk at him when she said that. "Besides," Tercen pointed out, "a park and the shoes you are wearing... hardly the right circumstances to do multiple pirouettes, I'm afraid."

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Ava
Fifth Circle, Minas Tirith, Gondor
December 23rd, midday

As she worked on eating her plate of food, Ava nodded, listening to Tercen explain he had only done a small hiding place in his own cabin. Drawing her own conclusions about that, she assumed that maybe he had a hidden place for important things. Unless he had built a small room only big enough for one person, to hide in case of an orc raid or something, but somehow she didn't get the impression that was what he meant. And, since she also had a hidden place for her own treasures, she found it far more likely that it was that.

"Most things in life involve trial and error, don't they?" She asked with a little smile. "But if you feel sure that you can do it, then consider yourself hired for the job." She grinned at him, quite glad for how that had worked out, and that he seemed confident he could manage it. "In the meanwhile, I would rather put business matters aside and enjoy the day with you."

Finishing her meal, she slid her empty plate to one side and smiled at him as she considered the dessert question. Deciding that she still had enough room for something sweet, she asked him, "Do you have any particular recommendations for dessert? I wouldn't want to miss out on the whole 'Minas Tirith' experience, after all." She smiled a little bigger. His suggestion of the main course had been excellent, so she had no reservations about trusting to whatever he might suggest for a dessert, too. Besides, it might give her a better idea of what sort of things to offer when she hosted a dinner or other meal, another day. That was something she was already starting to feel a little nervous about, but she tried not to think about it too much just yet.

---

@Arnyn

| |
Gladhron, Eryn & Wist
The Fourth Circle Park, Minas Tirith
December 24th, afternoon

Listening to his explanation, Wist nodded slowly, thoughtful. What he said did make sense, now that she thought of it that way. She figured that bit of information must be something she'd missed while having to go about her job, or perhaps it was when she had been summoned to clean up a mess and had missed spying on a portion of the class. That would easily explain how she'd missed this rather critical part of the twirling process!

Without using her foot to propel her around, with one only slightly lifted off the ground, Wisteria slowly tested the theory of moving her shoulders and arm around, and was surprised at how much even a half-hearted attempt brought her around. "Ohh, yes.. I see." She began to smile a bit as it finally seemed like she had the missing piece to the puzzle. Just as she was about to try doing a pirouette properly, the name that Tercen mentioned caught her attention.

She looked at him with surprise. "Anirándess..? You don't mean.. THE Anirándess... who's starring in the Ballet production that's happening in a couple of days?" She asked, green eyes wide in amazement. "You know her?" She practically gasped the words. "Wow! She's amazing.. such a great dancer! I've only ever seen her from the sidelines.. I've never gotten to meet her.. but I want to be just as good as she is, someday." To think that this guy actually knew her, she couldn't help being impressed and rather amazed.

She shook her head slightly when he mentioned that the place and her shoes would probably keep her from being able to manage the twirl. "It isn't that hard to twirl in these shoes. They're not that.. tread-y." She shrugged with a little smile and a glance down at her shoes, which were worn down rather smoothly on the undersides. Thankfully, they didn't have any holes in the soles, yet. "Easier than trying it barefoot on a wooden floor, right?" She grinned, took a step back to make sure she had enough room, and prepped for the twirl. If the advice had come from Anirándess, the best dancer known to the White city at this time, then it must be excellent advice, and therefore, would help her achieve this goal.

First though, she wanted to familiarize herself with how it felt using the different method for turning, so she tried a single pirouette, which she could do well enough already. It came off looking much nicer than before, and she found that it was easier to pull off, too. "That does feel much better!" She smiled happily.

"Think you can do the double one then?" Eryn asked, curious if she could manage it, and hoping for some success for her friend.

Wist grinned at her. "I'll try it..." She took a deep breath and then let it out, trying to get rid of any nervousness before she attempted the double.. and came much closer to succeeding. Though she didn't quite make it all the way around the second time, she just knew that she was almost there! She just needed to get used to the way it felt, and remember not to use her foot to achieve the twirling motion. She tried it a second time and felt like she got too much of the spinning motion, and swiftly came down to stop herself from falling.

"I'd be way too dizzy by this point if I tried that," Gladhron muttered with a little amusement, watching the girl attempt it yet again.

"Right?" Eryn kept her voice quiet so not to disturb Wist, but she couldn't help agreeing with the guy. It was a bit different, dancing with a partner who guided you through the twirls, but just watching Wist was making Eryn wonder how she didn't get dizzy.

"There's a trick to prevent that," Wist replied to them, absently. Reminding herself to spot and maintain a precise posture throughout the twirl, Wist fixed her gaze on a tree not too far away. Third time is the charm, they say, right? She tried to block out the distractions of the others who were there, and went around once.. then again.. and returned to the ground in ballet fourth position, slightly wobbly, but successfully, without falling out of the twirl. And she was facing the same place she had started from.

Watching, Eryn was delighted to watch her make it through the double twirl with apparent control, enough to stop herself at the end and come back to her starting position. "She did it!" She grinned, pleased for her friend. She didn't know much about ballet, but she could see that Wist had twirled around twice, and had came back to her starting position. That looked like success to her!

"AH! I did it! I actually did it!" Wist exclaimed joyfully about the same time, grabbing Eryn for a brief hug while hopping up and down excitedly, while Eryn laughed and returned the hug, excited for her friend's success. Pulling away from Eryn after a moment, Wist then turned back to Tercen with a big grin. Since she didn't really know the guy, she wasn't sure a hug would be appropriate, but she couldn't suppress her huge smile of gratitude. "Thank you so much! I.. I don't even know how to properly thank you, sir, but.. thank you!" She would practice it much more, of course, until she could pull it off smoothly without any wobbling. But for now.. she hadn't forgotten that the men had something they'd asked for help with. She would get back to this later. "So! How can we help you?" She asked cheerfully, her grin lingering. "You said something about needing someone to help with couple dancing, right?"

[Lantaelen]

@Rillewen

Lord Abrazimir Dimaethor & Lady Gaerlothriel Dimaethor
Fourth Level, Minas Tirith, Gondor
The Day After Midwinter Masquerade

She had never felt such a determination before, as Gaerlothriel felt now, desiring to be here as much as she could. For her new friend, for the sights, and scenes, and everything the City had to offer. Minas Tirith really did feel like the center of the world to her. How is it that she missed so much? With her friends, they could see everything. Be apart of history. Be apart of art, even if it was just lived vicariously through Wisti’s experiences. As much as she wanted to assure the other woman that Gaer and Linny would be there for her performances, she knew it would be premature. She needed something more solid and real to stand her guarantees on.

Gaerlothriel did share Dulinneth’s smile and eyeroll, when brothers were mentioned. They were strange and eccentric, best not to think too deeply. By his own admission, Abrazimir often claimed his slip ups and occasional clumsiness was from being hit on the head too many times. Perfect excuse for a knight, no one was going to question it, save perhaps other warriors. Of which there were none at the table besides himself. For now.

Abrazimir though seemed to be seeing Wisti for the first time, when she stumbled over the word. Was she not a highborn girl like Gaer and Linny? He knew and felt it shouldn’t matter, but their parents might feel otherwise and it was his responsibility to honour their wishes, no? No matter, it was harmless in the end, and seemed to be very good fun and a change of tempo for his sister and her friend. The world was much bigger than their estates.

”The Hall of Songs!” Abrazimir repeated with some astonishment and confusion. Ballet? Really, that was what they wanted to go see? He would have thought…galleries and fountains and statues. And they wanted tickets to a show. ”I…see. I have never been, personally.” He just shrugged his assent, grabbing up one of the bread rolls still lift and nibbling on it as he walked over to the terrace, looking out while the Gaer packed up their completed lunch and dishes, to be returned.

”It should only be a level or two up, right? Time for some more climbing.” Gaer said, stacking everything neatly. Being the elder of the trio, she didn’t mind. Abrazimir took it from her after that and back to the restaurant, thanking them for the meal. His ‘friend’ was not there. He returned and joined the others and they could continue their trek upwards. Gaer walked with Wisti and Abrazimir found himself walking with Linny.

Gaer wrapped her arm around Wisti’s elbow in a sisterly, comradery sort of way, walking close. ”I hope our presence won’t embarrass or make things difficult for you there.” She said softly to Wisti, not wanting her to feel pressured in her work environment with three strangers possibly affecting her standing or her word. ”You just give me the signal and we’ll keep us hands to ourselves and my mouths shut.” Gaer snickered a little, hoping Wisti wouldn’t feel overwhelmed showing them about.

Behind, Abrazimir walked with Linny, his sister’s best friend, and akin to basically another sister to him, given how much he was told over the years to keep an eye on the inseparable girls. ”How are you, little lady?” He asked her cheerily. ”I’m going to have to unfortunately ask you to break a rule…and tell me what your brother was wearing last night because I did not see him. At all. I’d hope to speak to him.” He said lightly and jokingly. Abrazimir was in the dark about Togg and who he really was. To him, his future brother-in-law was just a naïve young man, entering the wide world. Abrazimir felt, in his own naivety about Linny’s brother, that he might help in reaching out and forming a bond with the man destined to marry his sister. And having some civilizing effect on him. In this though, Linny knew more than the Swan-Knight ever could.

[Rillewen]

@Lantaelen

|
Dulinneth and Wisteria
Fourth Level, at a table outside a cafe
Moving to the Fifth level
The Morning After Midwinter Masquerade (Dec 22)

Abrazimir seemed surprised and puzzled to hear that the girls wanted to go to the Hall of Song. That he had never been there was a bit of a surprise to Linn. To hear him talk, he'd been everywhere, all around the city! And now they had decided to investigate the one place he had apparently never been.

"It's on the fifth level," Wist offered, as she moved to help with packing up the remnants of the meal. But it seemed that Gaer had it all taken care of for the most part. She smiled at the comment about climbing. "It's only a little ways down the street from where the masquerade was." Despite that, she had been running late to the masquerade because it had taken her forever to finish cleaning the place up for the day, after so many dancers and musicians had been there practicing their performance for the upcoming show. And she'd had to wait until they left before she could start, so that meant she'd been unable to get ready for the masquerade, herself, until it was already well underway. But she'd made it in the end, and didn't regret it at all. Especially as it meant she'd made these two wonderful friends!

Wist found herself leading the way, as it turned out, and she smiled at Gaer when the older girl linked arms with her. Gaer would probably notice, then, that Wist's jacket was actually rather thin for the amount of cold they were dealing with, and that it was a bit snug on her arms, being a size or two too small. Gaer's comment, however, surprised her. Embarrass her? Make things difficult for her? "No, I don't think it would." She assured her, curious why she would think so. In fact, if anything, Wist thought that being in their company was more likely to impress the people who normally paid no attention to Wisteria. Her, a nobody who swept the floors and dusted cobwebs, walking in with a group of nobles? She wondered what her boss would think of that, and if it might make him be a little less strict on her. Except he probably wouldn't be there, so it didn't really matter.

Linn was used to roaming around in the woods and riding horses and such, but walking up these sloped streets was a whole different matter! It was tiring, and she ended up lagging a bit behind the other two, being the youngest of the group. But Abrazimir stuck close to her, so she wasn't the last of the group, alone. She smiled at him as he asked how she is, although she was a bit out of breath. "I'm fine.. but it's so steep. And it's colder, I think, than it was at the cafe." The air seemed thinner, and it seemed colder the higher they went. Thankfully, she had her nice, warm cloak, but she was amazed at how much harder it was to walk than to ride in a carriage, as she and her parents and brother had done when they came to find an inn to stay in. She knew there was no way her mother would have been able to walk all this way, with her health as it was.

When the knight asked Linn to break a rule, she blinked in surprise at him, momentarily stunned that he would ask her to break any sort of rule.. before he explained what he meant. Then she had to remind herself which brother he must be referring to.. because, of course, he didn't know that her other, preferred brother was somewhere in this city, last she'd heard. She laughed lightly and shook her head regretfully. "Sorry, but he didn't even let our parents know what he was going to be wearing, let alone me." She shrugged slightly. "All I know is that he wanted to keep his disguise secret from all of us. I didn't see him there either, but I know he was planning to be there, and he was being really secretive about his mask and everything. I'd tell you if I knew, but I have no idea."

As the group ascended to the next level, the temperature dropped while the air thinned. A hundred feet between one level and the next could provide drastic differences between each level, but Wist was used to that. She had lived on the fifth for a couple of years now, and had grown accustomed to it. Her new friends, however, were not. As she felt the shivers trying to come over her, she glanced toward Gaer, wondering if her friend felt the cold as sharply as Wist did. While the uphill walk seemed to be challenging for them, who were not used to it, Wist hardly even noticed the incline, having lived in this city her whole life. She certainly didn't grow short of breath, like Linn was. Therefore, it wasn't enough exercise to keep her warm. "You know what I usually do, to keep warm?" She asked with a smile to the other girls despite a little hint of a shiver in her voice.

Unlinking from Gaer's arm, she set off from one cobblestone to the other in a graceful manner; gliding, twirling, and swaying merrily as she danced across the cobblestones, instead of merely walking. While the steps looked easy enough, it was a noticeably more exerting for her than just walking. After a few meters of this, she brought both feet together and twirled around in a soutenu turn, facing them with a little smile as she waited for them to catch up to her. "We're not far now." She pointed to the tall, grand-looking white building just down the block, with many arched windows, columns, and sculptures adorning its facade.


(for reference, for anyone who's interested, this video explains what a soutenu turn looks like, and the 15 second opening sequence is basically what I imagine her doing, ending with the soutenu)

[Lantaelen]

@Rillewen

Lord Abrazimir Dimaethor & Lady Gaerlothriel Dimaethor
Fourth Level -> Hall of Songs, Minas Tirith, Gondor
The Day After Midwinter Masquerade

What a strange family. Abrazimir couldn’t imagine going or doing anything without one or all of his family knowing. Maybe that was a side effect from his service in the War. Last thing he wanted was his parents not knowing what might have happened to him, or where. Even for something as simple and innocent as a masquerade, Toggornir not sharing what he was disguised as seemed so strange to him. He hoped it was all for the fun of the game and event. And the man should have made an attempt to dance and honour his sister. So, where had he been?

Toggornir was now the man destined to be arranged and betrothed to his sister. Abrazimir felt he ought to get to know him better. He never had a brother before. He was curious and intrigued about the man who might one day be his brother-in-law. Was it wrong to want the best out of a man who would be bonded to his little sister?

Linny didn’t have much of an answer. The young girl was cold and lagging behind, but Abrazimir was the rear of their little group so he matched his pace to hers, not letting her feel abandoned as the other two girls walked more zealously ahead. ”It was an interesting event, to say the least.” He replied after a moment. ”He must have been caught up in the moment. I know a few people were.” He said, giving Linny a little nudge and making a teasing glance towards Gaerlothriel ahead. Remember her and Fox boy? Cute, but destined to only be temporary, he assumed. He didn’t want to bother Linny with the other thoughts. It might be beyond her reckoning. Two, now three, men of her family had some sort of arrangement with Gaerlothriel and yet seemed to be unable to follow through with the promises. He just didn’t want to see Gaerlothriel dishonoured or hurt in any way.

Gaer and Wisti were ahead. Wisti assuring her that it would be no drawback at all on her to have her new friends come see the Hall of Songs with her. The last thing she wanted to do was impose, or worse, get someone else in trouble for sating her curiosity. Back home, servants and visitors sometimes got a rebuke from her father if it was heard them answering some of Gaer’s queries about things a woman of her status shouldn’t know or ask about. It was so stuffy sometimes. Here in the City, knowledge and experience seemed boundless and unbound to her. But previous experiences reminded her…she needed to be grounded and leveled with exploring that. And not at the expense of other people.

But you know how to keep warm? Wisti pulled ahead and performed this…graceful and agile dance routine, twirling and spinning so elegantly on the snow covered roads. Gaer’s jaw dropped in utter amazement, before she rippled with giggles and clapped her hands together. ”Encore, encore!” She laughed and shouted. ”That was so beautiful.” She had to compliment in sindarin, even if Wisti didn’t know the words, the equally beautiful elven tongue would have no problem conveying the meaning. Praise.

”Let me try…” Gaer then said seriously, remembering what Wisti had done and performed, the mimicking it somewhat. Gliding, twirling, swaying, but the special walk proved more arduous than she could manage and she stumbled halfway, though she laughed it off and came back beside Wisti. That was very difficult stuff! Gaer knew how to dance but not this type of dance. And her father would be mortified if he learned his daughter was dancing crudely on the streets of the White City! ”Linny, you try it now.” She said back to Linny as her and Gaer’s brother brought up the rear. Linny could try if she wanted to.

Then she turned to her brother. ”Okay, you now.” She joked at her brother. Abrazimir just looked aghast at the suggestion and didn’t bother to reply, which made Gaer giggle even more.

”Look, we’re here.” Abrazimir said instead, gesturing to the building, trying to refocus the silly girls back on their objective.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Tercen
Minas Tirith, Gondor
December 23rd, midday

"Done," he agreed with an easy smile when she suggested to put 'business' aside. She would rather enjoy the day with him, she said - Tercen definitely liked the sound of that.

"Leuthanin*," he suggested, not even having to think about it when Ava asked if he had any ideas about dessert. "It's hard to explain what it is," he said before she could ask. His smile was partly amused and partly challenging her. "I can tell you what is in it, but the separate ingredients don't translate into the end result well enough, in my opinion. So... if you're feeling adventurous enough, you'll just have to risk it." Not that it was any kind of risk, really - not compared to what she had already done by bringing Gondorians back here from Umbar... not to mention, compared to what she was planning.

He was already raising his hand to get the server's attention, while he watched Ava to see if she would agree. He wasn't expecting a refusal, but he still wanted to make sure. If she had no objections, though, he'd order the dessert for both of them.

Sliding his other hand toward her and holding it open, inviting her to put her hand in his, Tercen looked into those deep, brown eyes she had. "After this, I want to show you the Marketplace. Full of life and color, even if it is called the White City, and even if it is winter. And no disruptive element - at least not of the sort that you are used to back home. I cannot promise a lack of mischiefmakers," he said with a soft smile.

(*Think tiramisu)

---

@Rillewen

Tercen
The Fourth Circle Park, Minas Tirith
December 24th, afternoon

When Wisteria seemed to understand what he was getting at, Tercen's smile grew. He nodded, trying to encourage her. When she stared at him, though, with that evident surprise and admiration, he couldn't help but grin and chuckle a little. He reached up with one hand, scratching the back of his neck while he looked away from the girl. "Ummmmm, yeah... Yeah. We hung out for a while." After shooting Gladhron a telling look, he returned his attention to Wisteria and lightly folded his arms, still grinning. "Well, I don't know about what she is starring in nowadays, but I agree that she is a most excellent dancer," he nodded.

When Wisteria claimed her new approach felt better, and Eryn stepped forward asking if she thought she could do the double pirouette now, Tercen took a step back. He had little more added value to offer now - he had given what advice he could. The rest was up to the young lady, really... Tercen grinned at Gladhron's comment about getting dizzy, but he kept his gaze on Wisteria to see if she would so quickly manage to pick it up with what little he had tol her, as she seemed to be intent on mastering it immediately.

When she did manage, he was a little surprised. Tercen blinked at her for a moment, as she was jumping around and hugging Eryn. He was grinning broadly, though, by the time Wisteria turned to him and thanked him. "That's okay," he laughed. "I just gave you some advice, is all. It would have been mean not to, since I had it, right? But you're welcome!" The girl then brought up helping them, and Tercen uncrossed his arms to clap them together excitedly. Just once. "Right! Yes!"

"I was going to teach my man Gladhron over here how to dazzle his crush," he teased, grinning at his friend, not thinking much of whether or not that would embarrass him. Probably not, right? "He asked," he clarified, looking at the girls. "But I'd be very happy if I didn't have to impersonate a lady, and Gladhron would be very happy not to have to try and pretend like I actually am one," Tercen grinned. "So if you two would not mind, I could show Gladhron a few things, dancing with one of you... and he could try to learn how to do it, dancing with the other? What do you think?" Tercen gallantly held out his hand in Eryn's direction, wearing a brilliant smile. "What do you think, Ms Wildflower? Care for another spin?"

[Rillewen]

@Lantaelen

|
Dulinneth and Wisteria
Fifth level; approaching the Hall of Song
The Morning After Midwinter Masquerade (Dec 22)

Dulinneth couldn't offer any more information about her brother, and she really wasn't all that interested in that topic, anyway. He'd come home at some point, and he'd probably have some sort of excuse about where he had been and why he hadn't made any appearance at the dance. Linn doubted she'd ever get the true answer, personally, but she was far more interested in another mystery, of which he seemed to be the heart of. She couldn't talk about it to Abrazimir, however. It was her secret.. and now, ever since the joust, her and Gaer's secret, sort of.

"It was very different!" Linn agreed with his words about it being an 'interesting event'. "I guess he was all caught up with wanting to be unrecognized." She shrugged. "Maybe he wanted to know if he could disguise himself well enough that none of his family could tell who he was. I don't know." She glanced ahead toward Gaer when he nudged and indicated her. If she hadn't known better, she might have even suggested that Sir Fox was her brother, but she knew that he had been way too nice and friendly to be him. Plus, he'd had the wrong sort of accent. So that settled that for her. She became distracted from that conversation, however, as she watched in some awe as Wist suddenly launch into a lovely, spontaneous dance across the street.

Wist laughed when Gaer called for an encore, but then tilted her head in some puzzlement at the unfamiliar words that followed. She looked at her new friend with slight uncertainty. The lack of education offered by the orphanage was felt all the more keenly in that moment, and she felt a little glad that any hint of blushing could be easily attributed to the cold air nipping at her face. Her ears and nose already felt like they might be reddened from the cold.

However, her slight feeling of awkwardness swiftly melted away when Gaer decided to try it. Smiling, Wist watched her attempt to move through the same dance steps, although it was clear to her that the other girl did not know how to perform ballet, she managed to mimic the steps somewhat. "Good try!" She told Gaer encouragingly, despite her stumbling through halfway.

"Alright!" Linn laughed as Gaer suggested she try next. She really did not know how Wist managed to go through it so beautifully and gracefully. Leaping and twirling, she tried to copy what the other two had done, but she was nowhere near as graceful about it as Wist had been. She joined the other two, giggling at how ridiculous she had probably looked, but also not caring all that much. Turning to look at Abrazimir expectantly, she was mildly disappointed, yet not terribly surprised, when he turned down the suggestion of him trying it. Giggling, she turned to the two older girls. "Alright, Wist! Show us around!" She said excitedly. If it was this beautiful on the outside, she was curious what it would look like inside!


(continued here)

---

@Arnyn

Ava
Fifth Circle, Minas Tirith, Gondor
December 23rd, midday

"Leuthanin..." She repeated slowly, as if testing out how the word sounded, then tilted her head curiously when he went on to explain that it was difficult to explain what it is. She practically mirrored his smile when he said that she would have to risk it, if she was feeling adventurous. "Well, you have not led me wrong so far, Sunshine." She declared with a half smirk. "The veal was certainly worthwhile... so I will trust you again."

Placing her hand into his, her smirk softened to a smile as she looked back at him. The marketplace? She reminded herself that it was not like the one back home, even as he made mention of the fact that it did not have that one unpleasant element she had mentioned before. Nodding slightly, she gave a little squeeze to his hand. "I cannot wait to see it." She declared, having seen very little of this city so far, although she had glimpsed some of their market while passing through, on her way up to the fifth to locate the house that her butler had selected for her. In fact, since arriving in the fifth, this was the first time she had ventured down from that level of the city.

---

@Arnyn

| |
Gladhron, Eryn & Wist
The Fourth Circle Park, Minas Tirith
December 24th, afternoon

The look that Tercen had given him told Gladhron that it was probably best not to delve into that subject any further.. not with these young ladies around, anyway. He hid a grin, and glanced toward the redhaired girl nearby. He had no idea whether she had caught that glance or the meaning behind it, but if she did, she didn't give any indication of it, as she was busy watching her friend. Good.

While Eryn was not usually the type of girl to squeal and hop around in excitement, Wisteria's joy was a bit contagious, and she was laughing as she found herself caught up in a hug with the other girl, and almost had to jump up and down along with her since Wist was doing so. But, she didn't mind too much, as the other girl clearly wanted someone to share in her delight at having accomplished the difficult thing that she had struggled with for who knows how long. Eryn was grinning as she stepped back from her friend, and then turned with a smile toward the guys when Wist asked how they could help.

Gladhron couldn't help smiling too, watching the two excited girls. He didn't really know why it was such a big deal for the one girl to achieve that twirling thing, but it clearly made her very happy to have done it, so he was glad that Tercen could help her. But suddenly the topic switched back to him, and while he wasn't sure that he would have worded it the way Tercen did, he grinned in amusement as Tercen mentioned him not wanting to have to pretend that he's a lady. "Yeah... that would be.. quite a challenge to my imagination, I'm afraid." He said with a teasing smirk toward Tercen. "No offense, but I doubt you could pull it off, unless your acting skills are way better than I think they are." He joked.

Both girls giggled at this, exchanging a quick glance of amusement between them. Eryn grinned as Tercen offered a hand and asked if she'd like another spin. "That sounds fun!" She answered, smiling. "Although, I do have plans to meet someone later." She warned, so he would know that she couldn't stay for a very long time. "But until that time comes.. I would be happy to help!" She declared, grinning as she accepted the offered hand. She certainly remembered how much fun it had been to dance with him, so she had every reason to believe that she'd enjoy this as well.

"Well, I have the rest of the evening available, so I can stick around and help as long as you like." Wisteria offered, smiling, but hesitated slightly. "But I haven't got much experience with.. well, couple type of dancing.."

"That's perfect!" Gladhron grinned, offering his hand out to her. "Neither do I. So, we can both learn at the same time."

"Alright! That is perfect," Wist grinned as she took the offered hand. "So.. what do we do?" She glanced from Gladhron to Tercen and back. "I only had a few dances the other night, and only one of the fellas seemed to actually know how to dance." She said with a little shrug as she referred to Sir Fox, but didn't mention him by 'name'.

"Well.. I know the basics," He answered, with a side glance toward Tercen as he assumed the standard dancing position, as Celume had adjusted him into. "I know the basic, beginner steps... and how to twirl the lady. I also learned how to do a double twirl," He added with a pleased smile, figuring Wist might like that. "We will have to just.. pretend there's music, I guess, unless one of you happens to be a musician?" He suggested, half-joking, but also curious if one of the girls might actually turn out to know how to provide some music.

Both shook their heads with a little laugh. "I don't mind pretending," Wist mentioned, smiling. "I'm always pretending there's music to dance to, so it isn't that hard for me."

"Alright, we'll pretend." Gladhron smiled, then glanced at Tercen. "So, what now?" He asked, awaiting their first instructions with curiosity.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Tercen
Minas Tirith, Gondor
December 23rd, midday

He ended up ordering the dessert for both of them. In the meantime, Tercen told Ava a bit more about the marketplace. "There are shops, obviously - and some of them set up small stalls in front of the shops as well. Fewer in winter than when temperatures are more pleasant," he added with a regretful smile. "You really should visit in spring or summer, too," he mentioned, not literally adding that he would like her away from the dangers of Umbar as frequently as possible. "Do you need more warm clothes?" he suddenly wondered, speaking the thought out loud. "If it's always so warm back home?" Did she even have enough things? Perhaps that depended on how long she was staying. He let go of her hand to lean out of his chair and pull hers close, making sure to pull it carefully and evenly across the floor so she would not topple over. Until her chair found itself... right next to his. "Do you need good boots," he asked quietly, putting his arm around her now he could easily do so, not caring about anyone who might be looking their way, as he continued to quietly speak into her ear: "for when you join me in the woods?"

Dessert arrived, and the server didn't so much as blink at their new set-up, instead simply placing the desserts in front of them. "Enjoy!" he bid them.
"Already am," Tercen replied, still looking at Ava.
The server didn't quite hide his smile before stepping away again.

Tercen picked up Ava's spoon, a smirk on his lips before and after he placed a slow kiss on hers, and wordlessly offered her the spoon.

---

@Rillewen

Tercen
The Fourth Circle Park, Minas Tirith
December 24th, afternoon

"Not a problem at all," he reassured Eryn when she said she was meeting someone later and couldn't stay very long. "I'm not the biggest fan of being out in this cold for too long, anyway. Not even when dancing. But... we'll see how far we get before I start freezing over," he grinned. With muted surprise, he looked at the ballerina. "You would be willing to stay even with Eryn having left?" Even if they intended no harm, obviously, part of him felt like a young woman, a girl still really, like Wisteria might be a little more careful than just agreeing to hang out all alone with two grown men whom she barely knew. Though, on the other hand, they were in a public place.

Tercen looked thoughtful as he tried to think of what he might teach the others. "You learned to do a double twirl?" he asked Gladhron. "You mean this one?" Looking at Eryn with a smile, he raised his eyebrows slightly. "You ready?" he asked her. "Just continue to turn at the same speed after your first twirl," he advised her as he started them off into the steps they had also done at the masquerade. Soon, he twirled her once, as she had gotten used to at the dance, and then guided her through the second twirl with her hand behind her back before catching her into the previous dancing position when she came around the second time. He winked at her. "Not bad, miss Wildflower..." She'd been a bit insecure, of course, but that was to be expected. Tercen halted their dance and looked at Gladhron and Wisteria. "Show me," he told them, basically asking them to do the same.

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Ava
Fifth Circle, Minas Tirith, Gondor
December 23rd, midday

As he spoke more about the market, Ava was able to summon up a mental image based on his descriptions, as well as the glimpses she had gotten from when she passed through, before. She nodded slightly, fully understanding why they wouldn't have as many open stalls out in the cold of winter, but she could also picture the way they probably looked in the warmer months. "There are shops like that back home, also." She told him softly. "The market has many open stalls of that sort." The suggestion that she ought to visit in spring or summer brought a bigger smile to her face. "Perhaps, I will." She answered, which was why she had been thinking of keeping the house, rather than selling it after she left here. This way, she could come back and visit more.

When he asked about warm clothes, she tilted her head thoughtfully. She had coats, as he had seen.. he'd helped her pick between a couple. And she had a few options of cloaks, also. But she figured he meant other types of clothes. "I had not thought much about those things," She admitted, realizing perhaps she was not properly prepared for the weather here. "Although, I have not seen everything that is in my closet." She shrugged, unsure what all things her servants had put in there for her to choose from. Some of her wardrobe had been brought from home, but other things had been purchased for her, here, by Edwyrd, who knew her likes and dislikes well enough to oversee things of that sort.

As she was considering that, Ava looked at Tercen when he unexpectedly pulled her chair over to be next to his. A slow grin spread as he did so, and as he put his arm around her shoulders, she smiled and leaned against him as well as the chairs allowed them to do. "Hm, boots?" She had not given any thought about boots. "I don't believe I have any," She admitted. At least, if there were any of those in her closet, she had not seen them. Not that she'd been looking for boots. Perhaps she ought to do a bit of shopping while they were in the market, after all. "Perhaps you can advise me?" Smiling as she tilted her head upward to look at Tercen, she decided she liked sitting next to him better than sitting across from him.

As the server arrived with their dessert, she continued looking at Tercen, a little smile of amusement slipping onto her face at his reply to the man. As the waiter walked away, Ava looked down at the dessert to see what it was that Tercen had ordered for them. About that time, he grabbed her spoon before she could reach for it. Curious what he was up to, she raised an eyebrow slightly as she turned her head to look at him again. As he kissed her, Ava smiled softly as her hand that was nearest to him slid lightly up his back to his shoulder. She was almost regretful when he pulled away and offered her spoon, and smirked softly back at him as she took it, leaning closer to his ear. "I thought you said you weren't good with restrained kisses?" She asked in a teasing whisper, then leaned back with a little grin. "Probably for the best, however.. since we are in a public place." She decided with a little shrug of one shoulder, as with the meaning of 'too bad'.

Turning to face the table again, with a lingering little smile on her lips, Ava focused her attention to the Leuthanin before her. "This looks delicious." Placing the first bite into her mouth, she was not entirely sure what to expect, taking a moment to distinguish the texture and flavors, nodding slowly as she decided that it was definitely delicious. As she went for a second bite, she hummed softly and let her eyes close in enjoyment of the yummy treat.

---

@Arnyn

| |
Gladhron, Eryn & Wist
The Fourth Circle Park, Minas Tirith
December 24th, afternoon

As Tercen expressed surprise at Wisteria mentioning she could stay after Eryn had left, she hesitated and glanced at him and Eryn questioningly. Why was that so strange? She didn't have anywhere else to be, so why not?

"Um, yeah.. I mean, not that I think they have any sort of bad intentions," Eryn spoke up, "but that probably isn't the best idea, Wist." She shrugged. "No offense to you guys, of course," She added to Tercen, then back to Wist, "It's just.. not the smartest idea, you know? I wouldn't feel very easy about leaving you alone with a couple of strangers.. however nice they are. You never know, is all." She shrugged. She knew a bit better than most, having had an incident only a few months ago which even she could not handle, with her knowing how to fight. As far as she knew, Wist didn't even have the first inkling about how to fight.

"Now you sound like my brother, Tercen." Gladhron couldn't help remarking with a little laugh, shaking his head slightly. In fact, Gwestion would probably be advising the two girls to not hang out with them even with the two of them being together. And yet.. he could understand why the other girl wouldn't feel easy about leaving her. "Your friend does have a good point, though." He shrugged as he turned back to Wisteria, thinking of how he'd feel if it were Aislin who was considering staying alone with two strangers like that. He knew Brooke would never consider it, but the other girl? She was a lot more outgoing, friendly and daring, and he didn't think he liked the thought of her being in a situation like this without anyone else around. This spot was fairly secluded, he noticed, despite being in a public area. "That being said.." He continued, in hopes of not scaring the girls away completely, "I promise I'm only interested in learning some dance moves."

Wist nodded as she listened to both Eryn and Gladhron, thinking a bit about things she hadn't previously considered. "Yes, you're probably right." She agreed with Eryn, a little embarrassed that she had not considered her own safety as a factor, but smiled a bit when Gladhron made his promise. She brightened a little more once the topic returned to learning to dance, and put that thought into the back of her mind to simmer there. "Right. Dancing," She smiled. "Let's do that, then!"

Feeling slightly relieved that Wist seemed to reconsider the thought of sticking around, Eryn turned back to face Tercen as he asked her to help demonstrate a twirl thing. Nodding slightly as he explained what she should do, she then nodded again when he asked if she was ready. She was smiling as she let him guide her through a twirl, continuing to turn until she had gone through the second one. Her smile grew to a grin as he told her it was 'not bad' and again called her Wildflower. "Thank you!" She replied, glad she had managed to do it well enough for his demonstration.

"Yes! That's the one." Gladhron nodded, recognizing the move that Arnyn had taught him. "Your sister taught me how to do it.. at the masquerade." He explained, then turned to Wisteria when Tercen asked him to show him. "You saw how to do it?" he checked with her. When she nodded, having been watching what Eryn did, Gladhron went through the motions just as Arnyn had taught him. It had been a couple of days now, but he still remembered how, though it was nowhere near as smooth as Tercen had made it look with Eryn.

"Oooh, that's fun!" Wist declared once the move had been completed. "Did we do it right?" She glanced from Gladhron to Tercen, hoping that she'd done her part of it correctly.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Tercen
Minas Tirith, Gondor
December 23rd, midday

He chuckled when she said she hadn't seen everything in her closet. Such an alien concept to him, that was. The bigger the closet, the more things tended to get lost, though, he imagined. With his minimalist wardrobe... Well he could hardly place himself in her shoes.
"My advice is that you will need boots," he said quietly. "I can take you to a few places to find a pair that will be practical and hopefully visually to your liking, Lady Ava." He smiled, amused. For all her money and her position at her home, he still found her wonderfully down to earth in so many ways. The contrast proved amusing from time to time.

Her teasing comment made him want to grin. "I'm not," he confirmed. "Just happened to manage, somehow, this one time," he said, his voice low and quiet as he watched her assessing the dessert. Picking up his own spoon, Tercen slowly removed his arm from around Ava, to give her enough space to eat and appreciate the dessert without his 'interference'. As for him, it didn't take long before he finished his own serving. He wondered if she'd like to drink something else before they left, or if he could pay already... but he reminded himself they were not in a rush. Not at all. With a content smile, he pushed away his now empty plate, and watched Ava finish hers, thinking about how bizarre it was that a woman like that had ended up here, with him. He knew he had best enjoy it while it lasted. Charm or not, there was just no way she'd maintain her interest in some Gondorian carpenter who lived in a cabin in the woods. Perhaps he would be wise not to let himself get too invested, for that exact reason. If he could manage that, somehow, too.

---

@Rillewen

Tercen
The Fourth Circle Park, Minas Tirith
December 24th, afternoon

Tercen shrugged when Gladhron said he sounded like his brother. "It's what it is," he replied, and he almost laughed when Gladhron went on to basically agree that Eryn had a point, therefore casting himself right into the pool of people who thought Wisteria could stand to be more careful.

Once Gladhron and Wisteria had copied the double twirl, Tercen nodded with a smile. "You did do it right," he allowed. "But you could stand to have some more finesse," he told Gladhron with an amused expression. "Most notably, smoother transitions. Stop focusing on it so much. The movement doesn't need to be perfect. But the flow should be smooth. And most of that flow is up to the guy," he grinned. "Let's go again," he told Eryn. "I want to prove a point."
This time, when he twirled her the second time, Tercen didn't exactly guide Eryn along the second twirl in the exact way he was supposed to, but it still looked intentional and he was still very much in the lead. He caught her in his arms again. "There. Did you feel like anything I did was wrong?" he asked Eryn. When she replied in the negative, he gave Gladhron a look. "See? You're not aiming for perfect technique - like a ballerina always is," he told his friend, though he aimed a smile at Wisteria as he mentioned ballerinas. He looked back to Gladhron. "You're aiming to show the lady a good time, and have a good time yourself."

"That being said..." he added, copying Gladhron's earlier sentence with a brief, low laugh, he looked back to Eryn. "Let's see how much you can do this under my guidance without you actually knowing the moves," he prepared her, before starting them off into a dance. After a few rounds of the typical steps, he spun her out and stepped behind her when she had her back toward him, ending up just next to her, their front both turned to Gladhron and Wisteria, Eryn's shoulder in front of his. "Hands up to your shoulders." He took her hands in his and turned the two of them around together as he stayed next to her. Then he brought his right arm, which was linked to her right arm, over Eryn's head, making her step out and turn back to face him rather than the others. Tercen lifted both of his hands, and Eryn's, and made a full turn all by himself. He had to bend over a little, given Eryn was shorter than he was, but he made it. And as he came out of his turn he held their left hands high and told her: "Now you turn." He stopped her when she had her back to him and stepped in so they were shoulder to shoulder again. "Okay," he said, stopping them. It had been a little choppy, but that was normal, with Eryn never having done anything like this before. Really, it hadn't looked all that bad, considering. "Let's show them that again," Tercen suggested, laughing a little as he looked at Gladhron and saw his expression.

He led Eryn through the moves again, a second time and a third time, too. "Great!" he grinned after the third time. He let go of Eryn for the moment and turned to the other two. "Now you two give it a go. Eryn - why don't you help your friend where she needs it? If she needs it," he added with a little wink. She was a dancer, after all, even if not in this particular style. "I'll help mine." Tercen got ready to verbally instruct Gladhron as he gave it a go.

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Ava
Fifth Circle, Minas Tirith, Gondor
December 23rd, midday

So, she would need boots. Ava wondered why that was, as she had never actually been in a forest, and had only sort of seen glimpses from afar as she passed by, on the road, during the trip here. What would it be like, she wondered? She was rather curious already, from all the lovely description he had given her during their first dance, and other mentions of it, since. He had mentioned he was not expecting there to be snow, so that ruled out that as a reason. But she decided not to ask, and merely nodded slowly when he told her that she would need them. It was a relief though, that he would be around to help her select some, because otherwise, she would not know what to look for in such footwear.

She grinned in amusement when he said he'd somehow managed, this one time. "I'm glad." She mentioned casually, in response, with a little smirk as she then focused on her dessert. It was quite delicious, and she didn't even mind too much that she'd forgotten to ask for a refill on her tea. It didn't take long before the dessert was gone, and she sighed happily as she slid the dish away, just as he had done. For the moment, she smiled as she rested against his side, as she had been before the dessert came. If he chose to put his arm around her again, she would not mind in the slightest.

"You have excellent taste, Sunshine." She told him softly, smiling as she glanced up at him again. "Both the main dish and the dessert were wonderful. The company.. better still." She added with a little grin, pleased to have been able to enjoy this meal with him, rather than alone. That had certainly made the meal twice as enjoyable.

---

@Arnyn

| |
Gladhron, Eryn & Wist
The Fourth Circle Park, Minas Tirith
December 24th, afternoon

Hearing that he could have done the move better, Gladhron felt slightly disappointed, but didn't let it show on his face. He nodded slightly as he listened to what Tercen had to say about how he could use more finesse, and that he should use smoother transitions. He couldn't help a little snicker as that struck him a bit funny. "You sound like your sister now." He let him know, lightly teasing as he recalled how she had said something almost just like that to him in the North, at least once when he was sparring with her.. although that had been when he was learning a move he was less familiar with.

Eryn listened curiously, wondering a bit about the guy's sister. But since she didn't expect it to be anyone she knew, she didn't bother asking. Instead, she smiled and nodded when Tercen suggested trying it again to prove his point. He hadn't said anything to her about needing to do her part better, so she figured she'd done it well enough. As he led her through the twirl, and then as she continued into the second one, she knew what to expect, and so kept turning. After having completed it, she shook her head when Tercen asked if she'd noticed him doing anything wrong. "Did I do my part right?" She checked.

Watching intently while Tercen led Eryn through the dance move, Gladhron nodded thoughtfully once Tercen looked back over at him. "Right. Doesn't have to be perfect," He repeated, to show he'd got the general message that Tercen was trying to convey, smiling. He'd have to work on that, but he figured it shouldn't be too difficult to smooth it out, with a bit of practice.

Tercen soon decided to demonstrate a much more complicated-looking move. Eryn had little idea of what to expect with this one, so she had to just follow along with his guidance and verbal instructions. She was grinning by the end of it, as it seemed like a very interesting dance move. "That's fun." She declared, although she knew she hadn't done her part all that smoothly, it was understandable since she'd never done it before.

Gladhron and Wist watched while the other pair went through the moves, Gladhron trying to keep up with all of what Tercen did so he could copy it, while Wisteria was watching Eryn a bit more intently, eager for her turn to try that out. It looked simple enough, at least. But then, so did pirouettes, she reminded herself. Still, that didn't require as much precision, balance, and practice.

"You make that look so easy." Gladhron mentioned, shaking his head slightly in amazement, rather impressed by Tercen's ability.

"A good dancer is supposed to make it look easy." Wist mentioned, with a little grin. By the time the other two had gone through it the third time, she was fairly sure she had figured out exactly what she would need to do. She had gone over it a couple of times mentally, just like she so often did when watching the ballet classes and making mental notes on things to practice later. Only this time, she actually got to practice it right now! She smiled happily when Tercen that they give it a try now. She grinned at Eryn when he suggested she help her, but she really didn't think she'd need the help. "Ready, sir!" She informed Gladhron.

"You look way more confident about this than I feel," He laughed slightly nervously, but grinned as he tried to make it seem like he was only joking. He started with the basic dance steps, trying to think how to do the arm switching thing.

"It doesn't look all that complicated. I'm sure you'll do fine." She said with an encouraging smile.

"Easy for you to say," he laughed, his tone light and semi-joking. "You only have a small bit to remember to do, and the rest you're just following my lead." He pointed out, to which Wist shrugged slightly. Once they had gone through a couple of rotations of regular dancing, he started them into this new thing, taking the steps slowly and trying not to stumble through it awkwardly. He had to rely on a good bit of verbal guiding from Tercen as he went through it, but he made it through it without messing it up. He also had the issue of having to duck down a little because he was taller than Wisteria, but it wasn't too difficult.

Wist grinned as they concluded it. Unlike Gladhron, she hadn't needed any help from Eryn, and had gone through it far more gracefully than her dance partner had, although she had been a bit limited by the fact that he was far less graceful about it than she was. She'd even had to stop herself a couple of times from moving onto the thing that she knew came next, while he was trying to remember what came next.. so not to throw off their timing. She pretended that he had not seemed at all uncertain of himself, however. "See! It wasn't so hard!" She declared, and grinned at Eryn. "And you're right! It is fun!"

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Tercen
Minas Tirith, Gondor
December 23rd, midday

As she leaned her side against his, Tercen put his arm back around her, not even questioning the move. He grinned at her compliment. "It's the guy's job to flatter the lady, sweetness," he replied. "Not that I mind." And that comment was true for both meanings that could be taken from it. He enjoyed paying her compliments. And he enjoyed receiving them, too. "Would you like anything else? Drinks? Compliments? Or are you just about ready to continue our little exploration?" he asked her, an amused glint in his brown eyes.

---

@Rillewen

Tercen
The Fourth Circle Park, Minas Tirith
December 24th, afternoon

Tercen had frowned a little when Gladhron had said he'd sounded a little like his sister. Did he? For some reason, that was difficult to imagine. But he didn't pursue that particular line of conversation, figuring it would not at all be interesting to the young ladies, anyway.

Gladhron's amazement at his dancing was definitely an ego-booster, but Tercen merely grinned at it, as Wisteria took care of replying for him. She was right, of course - anyone who was good at anything could make it look deceptively easy. And the more you did something, the easier it did tend to become.
As he talked Gladhron through it, Tercen both noticed that Wisteria didn't need any sort of help, as well as how Gladhron was trying to keep things light as he tried his best. Tercen thought his new friend looked a little nervous - or perhaps a little self-conscious, but he was coping pretty well if that was indeed the case. Tercen couldn't deny to himself that, since he'd decided to help Gladhron out a bit, he was paying some more attention to what the guy was like and how he handled certain situations. If he saw multiple things he didn't particularly like, his willingness to help the ranger from the north would most definitely plummet.

"Alright!" Tercen nodded, crossing his arms. "Try it a few more times." As Gladhron and Wisteria went through the motions again, Tercen talked Gladhron through it all again. The third time, he suggested Eryn take Wisteria's place. "Eryn, why don't you give it a try with Gladhron this time?" Tercen smiled at Wisteria. "M'lady ballerina? How about you and I give it a go, while those two try the sequence by themselves a few times?" There was no reason for him not to have a little more fun himself, after all. And the little dancer was taking to it quite well!

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Ava
Fifth Circle, Minas Tirith, Gondor
December 23rd, midday

Ava laughed softly at his words. "Perhaps so," She agreed with a half smile, responding to the part about it being the guy's job to pay her compliments, "But the lady can return the favor if she sees fit, can't she?" If there was some sort of 'social rules' in this land against it, then she would be ignoring those.. she hardly cared about such things anyway, and she was known even in her own homeland for being somewhat deviant from the normal way of things. Rebellious, even. Eccentric, certainly. She was, in most cases, not the sort of person to let herself be told what she could or couldn't do, but rather did whatever she wanted, because she could.

When he asked her if she would like anything else, she was amused as he threw 'compliments' in as an option, and let out another soft laugh. "Always, those." She grinned, but shook her head. "Food- and drink-wise, I think I am fine. The tea was quite good, but it was enough." She had enjoyed the meal, and now she was ready to move on to exploring the city. And somewhat intrigued about the boot thing, curious what sort of boots he thought she would need, and why. It was not really something she was very familiar with, but she was interested to learn more. "Shall we move onward with our tour, then?" She asked, although she didn't yet make any move to bring an end to the comfortable position she had settled into, against his side.

---

@Arnyn

| |
Gladhron, Eryn & Wist
The Fourth Circle Park, Minas Tirith
December 24th, afternoon

Noticing the frown, Gladhron hoped that he hadn't offended Tercen with his comment. "I was only teasing," He assured him, before explaining a bit, "Although, Cel.. I mean, Arnyn.. did say something almost just like that to me, once. Only.. about sword-fighting," He added with a little grin.

As Gladhron and Wisteria started through the sequence again, Eryn looked a bit more attentively at Tercen, after catching Gladhron's words. Arnyn? Now that he said it, she realized there was quite a resemblance between them, but.. she hadn't known the woman had a brother. Not that that was much of a surprise, since she realized she didn't know very much about her personal life, but it still surprised her a little. Especially the way Tercen was so.. easygoing and all, while Arnyn seemed more closed into herself, or something.

"Arnyn is your sister?" She asked him with a little smile, while the other two were starting through the sequence the second time. Gladhron seemed to need a bit less help by now, which meant Tercen could focus a little more on other things. "My father's a ranger," She added, to offer some explanation to him. "Although," She grinned. "She's also one of the ladies who helped me with my outfit the other night. And she arranged for me and one of the guys under her command to practice dancing, so we'd both be able to manage it well enough for the masquerade." She added with a little laugh, recalling how she had practiced dancing with Trastion for about a week leading up to the masquerade. "He didn't know any of this fancy stuff, though."

Gladhron was starting to feel a bit surer of himself by the time he and Wisteria had gone through the sequence a couple of times. However, he was hoping that it was from his own ability to remember, rather than Wist offering subtle hints.. a light tug on the hand he was supposed to switch over, a nudge when he was supposed to do this or that, and her starting to step to one side when he was supposed to guide her to that side, and so forth. Then, Tercen suggested switching dance partners. He took a deep breath, hoping that he'd remember what to do, since he doubted Eryn would be quite so helpful. But he didn't need to rely on the girl to help him remember how to do it, he told himself. Not if he hoped to impress Celume, if he ever got a chance to dance with her again.

"Don't worry," Wist smiled as offered a graceful, ballet-style curtsy as she prepared to go to Tercen. "Just think of it like.. well, like the sword fighting thing." She tried to help.

"What?" He asked with a little laugh, curious where she was going with that.

"You know," She shrugged. "If that's what you're familiar with, try to find similar comparisons to help you remember." She smiled. "Like that part where you raise your arm up? Think of it like you're going to do this thing," She mimicked swinging a sword, although she really didn't know much about that. "And then you're blocking so you have to do the twirl to get out of it, right?"

Gladhron grinned, trying hard not to laugh, but since Eryn started laughing, he gave in to a little laughter. "Right." He nodded, amused, but struggling to suppress some of the laughter. "I can see your point, but.. I'm not planning to fight my dance partner!"

"Oh, Wist," Eryn couldn't help laughing, as she moved over to join her and Gladhron. "Sorry, but.. that is funny." She grinned, trying to control some lingering giggles. "How much do you actually know about sword fighting, anyway?" She asked her friend with a grin.

"I.. I've seen some of the choreographed fighting scenes being practiced.. I know it involves footwork and stuff. And sometimes they even theatrically refer to fighting as 'dancing'." Wist grinned, not minding their amusement. "But really.. if using that would help you remember things, why not?" She shrugged, then went over to join Tercen, smiling. "Sir," She curtsied to him, being sort of silly, as she acted as if they were at a fancy event, and not at the park. "I would be delighted!" She added with a beaming smile.

Turning to Gladhron, Eryn grinned. "Alright. So, remember how to start?" She asked, determining inwardly that she would only offer him any help if he absolutely needed it. Make him remember on his own, instead of relying on her to act as a crutch to help him through it. That would help him learn, right?

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Tercen
Minas Tirith, Gondor
December 23rd, midday

"She can," he agreed, not about to fight her on that. It seemed like they were of a like mind in that, since she told him she was always open to compliments. That made him grin at her. Since she claimed to be well satisfied with the tea and the food, he nodded at her question. "We shall!" he declared,somewhat humorously. He brushed a finger against her chin and leaned his head closer to hers. "Just a moment." Slowly he moved from his position, giving her time to readjust before he stood.

Then Tercen made his way to the bar to settle the matter of payment. After a quick chat with the person behind the bar, and a short laugh, he moved to the clothing hangers. Once he'd retrieved her winter coat and his cloak, he returned to the table. To Ava.

He dumped his own cloak over one of the chairs and gave her a slight bow, holding out one hand for her, so she could take it to rise from her seat. "Your coat, Temptress?" he offered, grinning a little as he looked at her expectantly.

---

@Rillewen

Tercen
The Fourth Circle Park, Minas Tirith
December 24th, afternoon

He nodded at Eryn. "Yeah. My baby sister," he clarified, with a wide grin, knowing she'd hate him saying that to someone she knew. "She helped you with your outfit?" he repeated, a bit incredulous, as Eryn told him that. "Like... with your clothes?" Completely bizarre. "Weren't you wearing pink?" That made it even weirder. Arnyn was not a fan of pink.

Only he was met with an even bigger surprise when Eryn claimed Arnyn had arranged for one of the guys under her command to practice dancing with her, prior to the dance. "She what?" he asked her, blinking. He could hardly imagine her bringing a ranger under her command and a young woman together to practice some dance moves. In his eyes, Arnyn was all - or mostly - business. Especially to the people she had under her command. "Which ranger?" he couldn't help but ask, stunned.

Tercen raised an eyebrow when Wisteria compared dancing to swordfighting. The other two were clearly amused, and Tercen grinned. "I can see why you wouldn't want to fight my sister," he grinned broadly at Gladhron. "At least, not for real," he teased. And then he just couldn't resist. "You might consider some hand-to-hand, I guess..." Smothering a laugh, failing and then just giving up on keeping it in, Tercen laughed.

He was still chuckling when Wisteria curtsied and agreed to dance with him. He held out his hand to the girl, and immediately stepped in to spin her around two times before catching her in his arms and starting them off without any hesitation or interruption. "Let's show those two how it's done," he told her quietly, before guiding her through the moves. When they'd completed the sequence, he added the double twirl, and spun her out and back in again along one of his arms. Tercen smiled. "More than a ballerina, miss Wisteria! Very smooth!" he complimented her, before glancing over his shoulder to see how the other two were faring.

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Ava
Fifth Circle, Minas Tirith, Gondor
December 23rd, midday

Ava smiled after him as she watched him go off to take care of the bill. Glancing around the restaurant briefly with a little smile, she took the moment to enjoy the setting and atmosphere of the place, before her gaze returned to Tercen, as he was concluding his business with the person behind the desk. Her smile grew as he was returning toward her, carrying their outerwear.

Taking his offered hand, she flashed a smile at him as she rose from her seat. While she didn't need his aid to stand up, she was happy to take his offered hand, letting hers rest in his. She could feel the callouses from his work, but she really didn't mind how rough his hands might feel. For a moment, she considered stretching up to kiss him, but she decided to wait. At least until they were out of the restaurant.

Turning slowly so she could slide her arms into the sleeves of her coat as he held it for her, she smiled over her shoulder at him. "Thank you, Sunshine." She turned back to face him once she had her arms in the sleeves, taking up his cloak from the chair before he could grab it, and grinned at him. Holding his cloak with each side of the collar in a hand, she reached up to loop her arms around his shoulders, thereby causing the cloak to end up around him, and let her hands slide over his shoulders, apparently smoothing the cloak, and ending up resting lightly on his chest, near where the cloak would fasten. She gazed into his eyes with a soft, half-smirk, half-smile while her fingers operated the clasp to secure it for him. "How's that?" She asked softly, feeling pretty confident that she'd managed to do the clasp just right.

---

@Arnyn

| |
Gladhron, Eryn & Wist
The Fourth Circle Park, Minas Tirith
December 24th, afternoon

Eryn glanced back over toward Tercen as he asked her about how Arnyn had helped with her outfit. While his guesses were not accurate.. since it was Kaylin who'd helped with the outfit itself.. she did not want to break a certain promise she had made to the lieutenant. And anything further she said about how Arnyn had helped her, might lead to that. "I was wearing pink." She agreed. "I did mention that I'd had help from some friends," She shrugged. "One was Kaylin, the other was Arnyn. They each helped in their own ways." She explained with a little smile, feeling fairly good about her reply. That surely wouldn't lead to any possibility of her breaking her promise.. right? She hadn't said anything about what Arnyn actually did to assist her.

As she and Gladhron were going through the sequence, Eryn wasn't offering any sort of nudges or help to aid him in what came next. He did well enough, though the most complicated part, the part that called for him having to turn under their raised arms, still made him have to pause and think how to go about it. It was during that pause when Tercen expressed surprise about Arnyn having helped her with the dance practice, and then asked which ranger. Eryn laughed, a little amused at how shocked he sounded. "His name's Trastion." She answered, grinning slightly in amusement. Eryn waited a moment longer before deciding to offer one, softly spoken hint to Gladhron, too low for the other two to hear, but it brought a little smile of amusement from him, and he nodded and then was able to move on with a bit more ease after that.

"He apparently didn't know how to dance," Eryn went on, "and I guess he was wanting to try and learn at least a little a bit, so he'd know what to do at the masquerade. And I didn't know much about dancing, either." She explained. "So, Arnyn suggested we could practice together, and she helped us learn some of the steps.. sorta like how you're doing for him, almost." She said with a little nod to indicate Gladhron.

Gladhron paused at that, then glanced at Tercen, then Eryn. "Trastion, huh? We've met him." He mentioned, but before he had decided whether to say anything else about that, Tercen's comment about Arnyn, and fighting, made him focus on that. Hand to hand? Did he mean holding hands? He let out a little laugh as he shook his head in mild amusement, mentally acknowledging the fact that he had done a bit of teasing to Tercen, so he might as well expect a bit of teasing in return.

While Gladhron and Eryn were going through the dance steps more slowly, Wisteria grinned at how they were all laughing a bit about one thing or another, although she didn't quite get the joke that seemed to be between the two guys. When Tercen suggested 'showing them how it's done', she grinned and nodded, happily moving through the sequence with him. It was easier, and more fun, with someone who knew how to do it, and although she was not expecting the extra spins at the end, Tercen led her through it so smoothly she had no difficulty with following along, and while she wasn't sure whether this style of dancing needed 'spotting', it came naturally to her by this point, so she did so and laughed as she stepped back after it was clear they had ended.

"That was fun! But, what do you mean, 'more than a ballerina'?" She asked curiously, with a smile left over from the fun of that latest dance sequence. While she waited to hear what he meant by that, she also looked to see how the other pair were doing.

Gladhron finished the dance sequence just about then, and he glanced at Eryn, then Tercen. Was that it? Did he get through it all? Had he actually done it all correctly?

Eryn, however, was focused on something else entirely, now. "Wait.." She looked from Gladhron to Tercen, then back to Gladhron, with a slow smile starting to grow as she connected the bits of information. "You want to dazzle your crush by learning to dance.. and you don't want to fight his sister because you'd rather dance with her... and his sister is.." Her eyes grew round. There was no other way to interpret those facts, right? It could only mean... "ARNYN is your crush?" She asked, somewhat amazed by this unexpected bit of news. Eryn didn't know much about Arnyn's personal life, so she had no idea whether it was common or not, but he seemed like a nice guy, so that had to be a good thing for Arnyn, right?

Gladhron coughed a little awkwardly as he felt his face get a bit warmer. "Umm, well.. yes." He cleared his throat, wondering if the girls were about to start giggling and making fun of him or something. And then, thinking of the fact that Eryn apparently knew Arnyn well enough that the latter was helping her with her dress and dancing.. it was very likely she could end up saying something about this to her. "But I would really appreciate if you didn't.. you know, mention anything to her about that.. I mean, she doesn't know, and.."

Eryn grinned, nodding slightly. "Sure, I get it." She looked at Tercen, then back at Gladhron. "I know how it is. Really." She assured him, nodding again more seriously, although she was still smiling. "I can keep secrets. I won't say a word about this, I promise. Your secret is safe with me."

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Tercen
Minas Tirith, Gondor
December 23rd, midday

She took his cloak before he could, and he was reminded of the similar approach she'd taken at the masquerade. Tercen watched her eyes with a soft smile as she put his cloak on him. "Perfection," he replied quietly without thinking, still looking into her eyes. He knew all too well what she was doing, and with a smirk that mirrored hers, he started fastening her coat for her, slowly working his way up before looping the scarf around her neck. He flashed her a grin before guiding her to the door and opening it for her.

Once he'd followed her outside, he offered her his arm and they walked down to the second circle. Tercen showed Ava the Minas Tirith marketplace - visiting a few shops to find just the right boots for her and not settling for the first option that came their way. He insisted they had to fit just right, be warm enough for winter (fur-lined), suitable for traipsing through the mud, while still looking becoming enough to fit with the breathtaking woman who would be wearing them.
He also showed her some food stores, his favourite book store, and a store with pet supplies - teasing her about maybe taking back a souvenir for her freaking pet tiger. Despite the moderate teasing, he took his role as city guide seriously, and made sure Ava enjoyed herself. There would be no more talk of serious matters if he had anything to say about it. He just wanted to enjoy the rest of the day with her, for their time together would be finite, and he wanted as many fond memories of this as he could.

---

@Rillewen

Tercen
The Fourth Circle Park, Minas Tirith
December 24th, afternoon

As Eryn explained both Kaylin and Arnyn had helped in their own ways, Tercen started to wonder whether he was underestiming his sister's social activities. As far as he'dbeen able to tell, Arnyn was far too much work and no play. Or hardly any of the latter, anyway. But maybe he was wrong? If she was helping a girl like Eryn with preparing for the masquerade? Both with her outfit and then apparently with dance prep?

The name Trastion made Tercen laugh, even as Gladhron said he'd met Trastion. "Ooooof course," he mumbled, amused. It was starting to make a bit more sense to him now. He already knew that Arnyn had taken a special interest in the young man's development - for some reason he couldn't quite pinpoint. Sure, Trastion was a nice and fun enough guy, but Tercen still couldn't tell what it was that had his sister wanting to guide him the way she was doing. But yeah. Once Arnyn decided she was doing something - she committed. So that she'd want to make sure he knew how not to make a fool of himself at the dance... that made perfect sense to him. She'd probably figured she'd hit two birds with one stone by having Trastion and Eryn practicing together.

At Wisteria's question, Tercen shrugged. "A ballerina knows what she is supposed to do and executes it to perfection," he said. "A ballerina is not necessarily capable of surrendering a lead quite like couples dancing like this requires," he tried to explain his comment. "Nor is she necessarily able to let go of that control a little. But you don't seem to have that problem." To prove his point, he pulled her into another dancing sequence, grinning as he did so and as he led her through a combination of moves that was similar yet different to what they had just done. "See? You're a natural!"

He was about to reply to Gladhron's question, when Eryn suddenly called for a moment and put two and two together. Tercen snickered. Eryn clearly found that very unexpected. "That's about how unexpected it will be for my sister, too," he added, looking at Gladhron with a huge grin, amused at the blush sweeping over his friend's face. He sobered a little when Gladhron asked Eryn not to say anything to Arnyn. Tercen thought Eryn seemed sincere as she promised not to say anything. "I believe you," he nodded thoughtfully. He was thinking about the young man Eryn had told him she'd wanted to notice her and dance with her. When she said she knew how it was... well. Seemed like she might be familiar with the concept.

"Why don't you two go through the moves again?" he asked Gladhron and Eryn. As Gladhron and Eryn tried again, Tercen looked on and afterward offered a few notes as he had them going through the sequence again in slow motion. "Now Gladhron can try them again with you, Wisteria?" Tercen looked at the girl. "But no helping him." He just wanted to see how Gladhron would handle himself now, after trying a few times, with a partner who was a practiced dancer.

[Ercassie]

@Lantaelen

Behind Closed Doors – Part 7



Lady Ilisys Azrubêl, at her Minas Tirith residence, Fifth Circle.
Receiving a visit from Lord Abrazimir Dimaethor
approximately a week after Erulaitalë.

Of all the content of their conversation, it was the news of her recent exploits in the kitchen which seemed to most shock the Swan Knight. Slate grey eyes roamed from his pointed finger back to the man’s opened mouth and waited for him to take chance to recover himself. Her own index finger rose before closed lips, just a little too late to stall the unspoken ‘Shhh’ which they silently shaped. “It was made up of cake making things, and appeared quite cake shaped,” she assured Abrazimir. “Nobody who tried it has succumbed yet to a most horrible death ..” This last was perhaps the most surprising of all parts of the story. “I shall have to venture another attempt at the endeavour ..” she supposed, without remarking on whether she meant baking a cake, or causing for anyone who ate her cake to perish horribly. “Just for you ..” she teetered on the hint of a tease back at her old friend, in turn.

“I suspect though that you might well stand alone in saying so.” Isys slowly rose from her seat as she considered the term ‘metropolitan’. “Though I am very glad that even so dire a duty caused you to come pay a call. And now you will know where to send word, if need be. As we proceed in our scheme.” The lady smiled.