Lord of the Rings Fanatics Plaza

@Rillewen
He wasn't going to pretend that he didn't like it that Ava chose to keep dancing like this. Because, man, did he like it. He loved being alone with Ava, but he also loved taking her out, and one of the many reasons was definitely that his ego revelled in the looks they got.

"To be clear," he murmured after a while, as he looked into her eyes, "as long as anyone dancing with you behaves, I won't be upset if you do dance with others. I came here to dance with you and with Arnyn, so I'm not going to ask anyone else. But when I am dancing with Arnyn, I don't expect you to sit cloistered at the table or anything." Tercen angled his head down, brushing his lips past her cheek. "I promise to manage any jealousy that might emerge." Meanwhile, he quite obviously declared to the rest of the room that Ava and he were an item by lowering his head and kissing her neck, not caring in the least that anyone might be watching. It might limit the offers Ava might be getting, of course...

---

@Rillewen
She gave him a curious smile when he admitted having had help from some friends. "You are really into learning how to dance, aren't you?" It seemed to be some kind of hobby he had discovered here, and liked a lot. She could understand that Gladhron wanted to learn as much as he could while he was here, because once he and Gwestion would take back to the roads and the wilds, there would not be many opportunities left for that. "You should ask Tercen to teach you some more, then, while he is still here. He'll be going back to Ithilien in just a few days," she added, to clarify why it would be important for him to learn from her brother sooner rather than later.

Which made her curious about something else. "Did Tercen say you should visit him in Ithilien sometime, while you're here?" she asked, wondering if her brother would have suggested that, after he had already invited Ava to join him at his cabin for however long she wanted to.

Which, in turn, also reminded her that if she wanted to arrange a meeting between Ava and Pele, it would have to be very soon. Which, in turn, made her question whether word would have already reached Pele about her requesting belladonna from the Houses of Healing stores. Which, in turn, worried her about her shift at headquarters, tomorrow. Would she be able to arrange it once more so that Pele and she wouldn't cross paths? And would it be wise not to take a dose this evening, after getting home, so that if she couldn't avoid seeing Pele tomorrow morning, at least her friend would not notice anything was amiss? Arnyn had no idea how Pele would react to her little 'project'. She could see it going multiple ways, but suspected that her friend and Captain would not like the risk and would ask her, perhaps even tell her, to halt her efforts. But if Arnyn gave up now, then she had suffered needlessly so far. Wouldn't it be worth it to stay the course at least for another week, to see if things started improving? To see if it actually worked?? To see... whether it would be able to make a difference?

Her gaze had wandered once her mind had started to, but a slight shift of her hand in Gladhron's made her look back at him, but her thoughts kept jumping from here to there: Would it be weird if she were to teach him to dance? Did she even have the time? Maybe she should make some,once the worst effects of the poison would have worn off? The brothers wouldn't be around forever, after all. And this trip might even be the only trip she might ever know them to make, to Gondor. For who was to say whether she would even return from the Umbar mission? Arnyn knew herself quite well. If putting herself in danger would save one of the others, she knew she'd do it. That definitely didn't improve her own chances.

"At least you seem to have found others besides my brother who could teach you some more moves," she picked up that thread of conversation again. "You could also ask me," she suggested, "though I cannot promise how much time I would have. And dancing in the office at headquarters doesn't seem like the best idea," she added with a laugh. "If anyone were to walk in on that, they would definitely assume a few things." Arnyn grinned at Gladhron.

@Arnyn
Ava smiled a little teasingly. "Oh, jealousy." She grinned. "Should I be flattered, then?" She tilted her head, smiling softly. "I don't know if I would dance with anyone else. Perhaps your friend, if he asks. He seems a bit too caught up with your sister to even think of asking anyone else to dance, though." She commented, with a little nod toward where the two of them were dancing slowly together, apparently gazing into each other's eyes, and talking quietly. While they weren't dancing as intimately together as she and Tercen, they weren't doing any of the fancy moves now, either.

"But if I do feel like it, it is nice to know you wouldn't be too bothered." She added, dropping the teasing. Still, she had danced with a few fellows at the masquerade, and had found each time that she preferred Tercen. Even when that one fellow in the lion mask had been a good dancer, she hadn't really felt that comfortable with him. She brushed her lips close to his jaw as she added, "I'm also glad to hear you wouldn't ask any other ladies," She grinned slightly, not minding how close together they were dancing. Let the other ladies look on in jealousy, but she wanted to make sure they knew that they were together.

---

Gladhron shrugged slightly. "It's nice, and it's also a new thing." He answered. He wasn't sure it was quite accurate to say he was 'really into learning', but he was hoping to impress her, and help her have a good time, and something that they could do together that might help to inspire romantic feelings. So, what better than dancing?

"Perhaps I will," He added, in regard to asking Tercen to teach him more. He nodded slightly at the information that Tercen would be leaving in a few days, noting that he would have to make sure to spend whatever time with his new friend that he could, while he was here. "Oh, he mentioned that we ought to come see Ithilien sometime," He answered. "If we had the chance. I don't know if or when we would, though, but it does sound nice, especially if there's a friend to visit. But that's about all that was said."

They danced quietly for a moment, Gladhron feeling quite content to remain here like this for a while longer. It reminded him of the masquerade, near the end, before she left. He was quite enjoying this, and figured he'd be fine remaining like this for... well, at least as long as it took for their food to arrive. Her comment made him smile slightly. "Yes, you did mention asking you to teach me some more about it." He agreed. "But, no, I wouldn't want to bother you at work," He laughed softly. "I mean, distracting you is one thing, but stirring up wild rumors and gossip... well, that might not be too favorable for you." He paused briefly before adding quietly, "You might not want anyone thinking you were interested in someone like me, after all."

@Rillewen
"Depends," Tercen answered her question. "Would my jealousy flatter you?" he asked with a little smirk. He followed her gaze over to Gladhron and Arnyn when Ava referred to them, and chuckled quietly. "If he's being smart, he will be trying to get her to think," he mumbled, before speaking a bit more clearly. "Well, he cannot dance with Arnyn when I am dancing with her," he pointed out. "That might suddenly broaden his scope." Or he might just ask to be polite- that was another possibility.

'Not too bothered' was an apt description, and it made Tercen grin despite himself. At her comment about asking any other ladies, he shrugged. "As it is, I will be dancing with the two loveliest and most interesting ladies present. Why would I want to dance with anyone else?"

"So," he said after a pause, "want to tell me how awkward or how easy things are between you and Arnyn? Just so I know whether I should avoid leaving the two of you alone together, if it can be helped?" he asked, tilting his head, his tone slightly teasing. "What was the temperature like, when Gladhron and I were fetching drinks?"

---

@Rillewen
Arnyn smiled when Gladhron laughed and spoke about stirring up rumors and gossip. She was just about to say something when he added something that sounded very disparaging about himself. She frowned a little even as she shook her head slowly. "The problem would lie in the activity," she told him, losing her frown and raising an eyebrow instead. "Not in the person with whom I'd be dancing. Besides..." She slanted her head, looking at Gladhron thoughtfully. "Why would you say that? Do you think I believe something is wrong with you? You were there when we spoke at headquarters, right?" she checked, trying to see what he might be thinking as she looked at him. He should really know better than to think she'd be embarrassed about being associated with him. "If I'd be embarrassed to be seen dancing with you - then what are we doing here?" she asked him pointedly. If that were the case, she'd have never suggested he came along to this whole thing.

Then she rolled her eyes. "It is true that there are those who would immediately jump to a certain conclusion if they saw us dancing at headquarters", she added, and she laughed briefly. "It would make for a very unexpected sight, wouldn't it? One of the officers dancing with someone in the command office? Such a serious place of business! Anyway - I was going to say that those same people would also likely draw that conclusion if they saw us here this evening." Arnyn glanced at Tercen and Ava, then looked back at Gladhron with an apologetic smile. "All this sort of looks like a double date to the outside world, you know," she told him, as if it were news and he wouldn't have put that together yet. "Even if it isn't, that is what it looks like. So clearly it wouldn't bother me if anyone would think that. Why would it? You're--" Suddenly, her eyes narrowed a little. "Wait. Are you fishing for compliments?"

@Arnyn
His question amused her slightly, and she grinned and tilted her head, considering it. Trying to picture him, jealous. It didn't quite seem... fitting, for him. Not the sort of jealousy she had seen in other men, back home. She drew back just enough to look at his eyes, smiling faintly. "I don't know. What does your jealousy involve?" She asked curiously. Surely, not having a rival killed, to win her favor. Besides, he ought to know that such a thing was unnecessary. She couldn't see him doing that, anyway. "I'm teasing anyway," She added more seriously, smiling when he mentioned that he would be dancing with the two loveliest, and most interesting, ladies in the place.

As for the 'temperature' at the table, she gave a soft laugh. "Well, it seemed alright," She answered, thoughtful. "As far as I can tell, things are fine between us. We mutually agreed to keep... certain topics from coming up." She shrugged one shoulder. "I'd say the temperature was fine. Certainly not chilly," She grinned slightly, amused, since must know by now how she disliked cooler temperatures.

---

The way she frowned made him wonder if she disapproved of his comment, but thankfully she assured him that it was the activity, not the person. So, she wouldn't mind it if others saw them dancing together? Just... not at her place of work. He filed that thought away for later.

Then she asked him why he would say it, and he smiled when she reminded him of the things she'd said to him at the headquarters when they talked. He smiled a little apologetically, trying to think how to salvage that comment. Especially when she narrowed her eyes and asked if he was fishing for a compliment. That was not at all what he'd been trying to fish for, but he just brushed the whole topic off with a little laugh. "You know I'm always teasing, Celume." He grinned at her, shaking his head a bit.

Then he glanced around as she pointed out that if she were embarrassed to be seen with him, that they would not be here together. And that made him smile slightly, just before she commented on how 'this' could look, to others. "Huh... that's true. I suppose it could look like a double date," He acknowledged, as if it had only just occurred to him, then he grinned at her, again reverting to the teasing tone, "Should I have brought you flowers? Have I completely failed the part of a gentleman?"

@Rillewen
What did his jealousy involve? Tercen gave Ava an amused look. "I am, honestly, not entirely sure. I haven't been much of a jealous man, in the past." He'd also never been this... interested... in anyone, of course. But he had had a taste of it at the masquerade, when he had seen her dancing with the Lion. He chuckled. "You can tease, Temptress. I like it when you tease," he told her.

Hearing it hadn't been 'chilly' between her and Arnyn, he smiled. That was a relief. He remembered they had parted on good terms the last time they spoke, at least according to Ava, so he hadn't expected anything too icy. But with Arnyn, sometimes these things were difficult to predict. Especially this time, since he was mixing the personal with the professional - and, he had come to realize, he was mixing relationships with security. It had not exactly been a gift for Arnyn...
"Good," he said, casting a glance at their table, still empty, and at the bar. He was expecting their food to arrive soon, and did not want it to get cold at their table before they realized it was there. "Want to go back to the table after this song?" he suggested, looking back at Ava's gorgeous eyes. "It's not that I want to stop dancing," he confided, "but I wouldn't want our food to get cold, in case it arrives soon."

---

@Rillewen
His question made her laugh. "Flowers?" she repeated, making a face. "No, no," she said, shaking her head. "I don't like getting flowers. They should stay where they are - in the earth. So they can grow," she explained with a little smile, before it grew back into a grin. "Come to think of it, you've been quite the gentleman so far, haven't you?" she teased back. "Coming to pick me up at my house," she continued, amused at that because he hadn't had any other choice, given how he hadn't known which tavern to go to, "holding the door for me..." She slanted her head. "Twice." After a brief pause, she raised her eyebrows. "Complimenting me on how I look." She shook her head again, more slowly this time. As if she was thinking something over, but trying to hide it. "Asking me to dance right away, after Tercen asked Ava. If you end up walking me home..." She didn't finish the sentence, and her expression made it quite clear she was teasing, since he had already explained he was staying at the Fifth now, so he would basically be passing by her house anyway.

@Arnyn
Ava grinned slightly when he said he liked it when she teased. He didn't even know how he would act, when jealous? She found that interesting, and smiled as she ran her fingers through the portion of his hair that was near her hands, clasped loosely at the back of his neck.

When he suggested going back to the table, she considered, while he assured her that it was not because he wanted to stop dancing, but rather because he expected their food to arrive soon, Ava nodded. "Yes, that sounds like a good idea." She agreed. She was quite hungry and hoped the food would be arriving soon. "This is very nice," She commented, content to remain dancing close to him until the song would end.

---

Her reaction about the flowers made him smile, and he made sure to file that information away for later. "You know, that's a good point." He nodded thoughtfully. As she went on to speak about him being 'quite the gentleman' this evening, he smiled. That had been his intent, after all, so he was glad she had noticed. He wasn't sure what the look was about, when she appeared to be considering something, and he hoped that maybe she was considering the possibility he was trying to hint at, without speaking plainly.

He grinned slightly as she joked about 'if he walked her home', which of course he would be doing. "What? If I end up walking you home, you'll what?" He asked, as if it was some sort of threat she hadn't finished making, but his tone was joking. After a pause, he gave a small smile. "I really did mean the compliment, by the way." He added more quietly, with no jest in his tone that time.

@Rillewen
"You are right. This is very nice," Tercen agreed quietly. The atmosphere was making him want to say more, even though the evening had just started and there were likely to be more moments like this. Not just today, but in the days to come - and not necessarily just in Minas Tirith, but in Ithilien, as well. If she still intended to join him by then. Not wanting to say the wrong thing, not wanting to have anything perceived as pressure - not when they still had the possibility of spending more time like this, in blissful denial of the point where Ava would inevitably have to leave - Tercen said nothing.

When the tune ended, he gently took one of her arms to lower them and take her hand, to slowly twirl her around one last time and then start guiding her back to the table. As they approached, a server was brining over their food - three plates and a basket of bread, with somehow all of it balancing on two hands and one forearm. "Thanks," Tercen grinned at the server, right after he had deposited everything onto the table. The man nodded with a quick smile, before heading back. The tavern was busy, and the server had no time for additional niceties.

Once he'd helped Ava into her seatand had let go of her hand, Tercen glanced over to find Gladhron and Arnyn. He might need to draw their attention.

---

@Rillewen
If I end up walking you home, you'll what?

Arnyn blinked, not having expected him to actually follow up on that. She'd expected him to have a laugh, and say something like 'if friends can't do things like that anymore, chivalry is truly dead' or some similar kind of joking comment. She'd expected him to say something that would make light of the whole thing, and would make clear it was all just meant in good fun. But Gladhron was doing no such thing. To the contrary, he was challenging her to finish her own comment.

But why would he want her to put into words the surely wrong conclusion? Would it be wise for her to tell Gladhron about how, when she was a young girl, her father had taught her that boys - and later, men - were likely to do such things for her, if they were more than platonically interested in her company? Would that make Gladhron laugh at her (and her father's teachings), if she did? He'd probably feel quite uncomfortable with the idea, since they were friends. In fact, broaching it might just make him think up a reason to excuse himself altogether. Which would leave her as the very awkward third wheel to Tercen and Ava.

Nevertheless, she had to say something. Arnyn opened her mouth and drew in a breath, about to reply when Gladhron added he really had meant the compliment. That caused her to pause, to close her mouth again and breathe out through her nose. That hadn't sounded like a joke at all, and thus did not invite her to joke back, though that would have been her go-to response. Bereft of that, part of her just wanted to say 'thanks'. Another part didn't know what to say. Her eyes searched Gladhron's briefly before her attention was drawn by Tercen waving an arm at her.

When her eyes focused on her brother, she could see him waving her over.

"The... food has arrived," she sought to inform Gladhron, before taking a step back, intending for his hands to fall away from her so they could return to the table, and everyone could eat. Or at least so everyone other than herself could eat.

@Arnyn
She smiled softly as he twirled her once more, and then followed him back to their table. As it happened, their food was arriving just as they did. "Excellent timing!" Ava said happily. She smiled as Tercen held her chair out for her, and she slid into the seat smoothly, glancing to see where the others of their party were. Good, they were already making their way toward them.

---

At the slightly awkward pause that followed his comment, Gladhron felt a little worried that he'd made things weird. He was going to say that he'd only been making a joke, but then he wasn't quite sure how to do that without making it even more weird, especially after he'd just said that he had truly meant the compliment. And then she mentioned that the food had arrived, and he gave a little nod. The song had just ended, anyway.

"Right, we'd better get back to the table then." He agreed, still debating whether he should've said that or not. When they arrived back at the table, he held the chair for Arnyn and smiled at her, waiting until she was seated before he took his own. "Oh, this looked really good!" He commented, upon seeing his plate of cheese-stuffed pasta in sauce. "Are you sure you don't want anything more than bread?" He asked Arnyn, concerned that she may be regretting not ordering more.


"Mmm, it not only looks good, but it smells wonderful, as well." Ava declared, smiling as the rest of the group joined them at the table, as she picked up her silverware. She was feeling quite happy to be here tonight, and she looked forward to trying the food. Especially since she had become rather hungry during the day.

Gladhron glanced briefly at her, curious at the presence of an accent that had not been there before. But he said nothing, and smiled. "Agreed. I don't think I've ever had a dish like this. I'll have to tell my brother about it, so maybe he can make a dish like it." He commented, curious how difficult it would be to make.

"Your brother cooks?" Ava asked curiously.

"Oh yes, he does almost all of the cooking for the two of us," Gladhron answered, nodding. "Which is for the best, since I'm really not that great at it," He grinned. "I wouldn't recommend trying my cooking, but Gwestion.. he's really good."

Ava smiled slightly. "I'll keep that in mind. I am the same way," She admitted. "I don't know the first thing about cooking." She glanced at Tercen with a little smile. "Are you also friends with his brother? It sounds like you two might share some similarities, as well." She mentioned. "Tercen is an excellent cook, also." She added, explaining her comment to Gladhron.

@Rillewen
She nodded at his reply and preceeded Gladhron to the table. Arnyn felt a bit wary now, when he held her chair for her. Even if she didn't consciously believe that anything was going on there, his earlier comments had her thinking about what her father had once taught her, and how no one - ever - had done as many of those 'gallant' things for her over the span of a whole month as Gladhron already had done in one evening. Which was nowhere near over. She tried to remember what he had been like in the north, but then there the circumstances had been so different. The situation there hadn't exactly been comparable.

"Thanks," she did say, this time, and she shook her head with a faint smile when Gladhron checked whether she really didn't want more than just bread. "I'm sure. Thank you," she said, sounding quite convinced.

Tercen gave her another strange look at that, but shrugged a shoulder soon thereafter, as if to say: 'then there is nothing to be done about it, I guess'. He grinned when Ava said it looked and smelled wonderful. "It isn't that difficult," Tercen put in, when Gladhron spoke about his brother maybe being able to recreate it. "Then again, for people who can already do something well, it usually isn't that hard anymore," he considered out loud.

Arnyn smirked at that. "True." She picked a slice of bread from the basket and took the tiniest nibble off it, while listening to Ava and Gladhron chat. Meanwhile, she tried to make it look like she was eating of the bread more than she really was. Her head was already protesting at the smell of the other three's food. For it was almost making her stomach flip over - or at least that is what it felt like. She retreated a little into herself, thinking about several things at once, keeping just one ear on the conversation.

"Not friends, no," Tercen said slowly, glancing at Gladhron as he answered Ava's question about Gwestion. "Not that I wouldn't want to be. We played darts, that one time. But your brother," he said, looking at Gladhron, "is much more reserved. So I don't think that meeting has made us friends." Tercen smiled at Ava. "If I understand correctly, I cook in a kitchen. Gladhron's brother cooks on a campfire. Different worlds," he shrugged. "Well, enjoy!" he bid the others, right before digging into his plate.
"Oh, it tastes as well as it smells," he decided after two bites. "At least, in my opinion." He cast his gaze around the tavern, noting that it had gotten busier already as opposed to when they'd first come in. "Looks like this is going to be a good night for this place." Tercen grinned at Arnyn. "After dinner, it's you and me out there, sis."

Arnyn had been slowly turning her glass with her fingers, and only glanced up at Tercen after a moment, as if the words had needed a moment to trickle down into her mind. "Alright," she agreed with a faint smile, still holding her first slice of bread, which still looked basically intact if anyone were to look. "Looking forward to it." It wasn't so much of a lie as it was an omission. She was definitely looking forward to it being over. Naturally, she was concerned. Tercen knew her skill and usual way of dancing. What was more worrisome - she also knew his. He liked to turn and twirl his partners. He would likely quickly notice her dancing was off. Arnyn was already fretting about how she might fake her way through a dance with her brother. She could only hope the song at the time would be a very slow one.

Tercen made quick work of the first half of his plate, before leaning back a little and reducing his tempo. He noticed that Arnyn had hardly touched the bread she was holding. So she really hadn't exaggerated. She wasn't hungry at all. It still seemed bizarre, but who was he to question whether she was full or not? He couldn't see any reason for her to lie about it.
"So, Gladh. How have you and your brother been filling up your days, lately? Have you been up to anything exciting while in Minas Tirith? Or just coasting along? I've been meaning to drop by and see you again, but um... I've been a little... distracted," he grinned, inclining his head a little in Ava's direction.

@Arnyn
"If you know how to make something like this, maybe you and Gwestion could have a chat about cooking." Gladhron suggested, nodding in agreement when Tercen mentioned that his brother was 'reserved'. "Yeah, sorry, but he is very slow to call someone 'friend', but it isn't impossible." He grinned slightly. "As your sister can confirm." He smiled toward Arnyn, remembering how slowly they had been to become friends, compared to himself and her.

Listening to them talk as she started on her food, Ava glanced a bit curiously at the two guys, upon the mention of one cooking in a kitchen, versus the other on a campfire. "That sounds like it would be much more difficult," She mentioned, uncertain. "Not that I know much about it, but.. is it?"

Gladhron paused, taking a moment to finish the bite of food in his mouth before he answered. "I think it is? I wouldn't really know, personally, but we don't often have access to a kitchen, as we travel a great deal." He explained.

Ava smiled slightly at his mention of being distracted, but she had a mouthful of food, and didn't say anything.

At Tercen's comment, Gladhron smiled in amusement, nodding in understanding. "Well, if you do take a notion to stop by, I should let you know that we're no longer at the Wayfarer." He informed him. "This very morning, we moved in to stay with a lady who is a relative of a friend." Then he recalled, "Oh, but I already told you that, didn't I?" He remembered Tercen mentioning that Ava also had servants, when he mentioned something about that. "To be honest, I'm not really sure how I'm supposed to act toward the servants," He admitted. "My brother offered to help the cook, with all the cooking for the duration of our stay," he added with a little laugh.

Ava laughed lightly after taking a sip of drink. "As a guest, I would think your host would not expect you to be joining the staff in their work," She mentioned, thoughtful. "At least, I would not expect any guests staying in my home, to share the work of the servants." She shrugged. "They are paid for the work they do." She paused, considering. "Of course, if a guest wanted to help with cooking or something, then I would not prohibit them." She gave a little glance toward Tercen, remembering the other day when he had cooked for her. She turned back to Gladhron. "I would suggest you try not to feel obligated to help the servants. Just treat them with consideration, and remember they are not your servants, but are employed by your host." She mentioned. "Think of how you might feel if someone came along trying to do your job for you, or offering to help, as if you were not doing it well enough, or they thought they could do it better." She paused, considering. "I suppose, it could make a difference how the offer is made. Perhaps, help may be welcome if it is offered in a right manner. If not, it may seem offensive." She paused. "And I do not know what your job is, either." She added with a small shrug.

Gladhron listened while he was eating. He was listening not just to her words, but to the accent she was using. He nodded slowly, waiting for a pause that coincided with when he had no food in his mouth. "Thank you, that does help." He told her. "So far, the lady's servants, and our group, seem to get along well enough." He smiled. "In fact, I was telling C-Arnyn, about how my brother and Gil were getting along. Gil is a gentleman's valet," he remembered to clarify. "He offered me some advice on how to dress for this evening," He explained.

"And your brother doesn't usually get along with people?" Ava asked, recalling he'd said something about his brother being slow to trust. "And he is getting along well with the valet?"

"Well," Gladhron paused, considering how to tell this. "It's probably funnier if you knew my brother, but he... well, he's quiet. And like Tercen said, reserved. He's got his own way of teasing, if that makes sense. He doesn't do it often, and usually only with people like me, or those he feels comfortable with." He explained. "So, anyway, this afternoon Gil was telling me all this stuff, making suggestions, all this. And the whole time I'm getting ready, Gwestion kept making these teasing comments, to make fun of me a bit, you know," he rolled his eyes. "Anyway, I didn't mind it and just rolled my eyes and ignored him, and Gil didn't really comment on any of the things he said either, but once I was all dressed and ready, Gil turned to Gwestion and just looked at him all critically, and goes 'Now... where to even begin with you?'" He grinned in amusement. "And Gwestion just looked back at him all calmly, raised an eyebrow sort of challengingly, and with a completely straight face, goes, 'the last guy who suggested I change my appearance ended up with a face-full of mud. And he didn't even get that much warning.'" Gladhron repeated, amused at his brother's comment.

"Mud?" Ava asked amazement, then tilted her head with a little suspicious smile. "Let me guess, that someone was you?"

"Nope!" Gladhron shook his head, grinning. "Actually," he glanced toward Arnyn with a slight smirk. "It was Gwandhyra." He informed her with amusement, then looked back at the other two across from him and explained, "That's the friend who asked his relative to let us stay with her."

"That sounds like an interesting story." Ava commented. "So, did the valet get mud in the face?" She wondered, curious about this now.

Gladhron laughed. "No. His answer was funny, though. In the same calm, reserved sort of way, without missing a beat, he goes, 'I wouldn't dream of trying to alter your appearance without your permission, sir. Your brother is aiming to adapt to society, but no one can accuse you of such an ambition. It would be a waste of both our time.' And then Gwestion just as calmly agreed that it would indeed be a waste of time, and said he would be going to the training grounds, not dance floors." Gladhron rolled his eyes but grinned in amusement at remembering the conversation. "If you don't know him very well, it would be kind of hard to tell that Gwestion was being a little joking, but I think Gil could tell. So that made me like him all the more." He declared with a smile. "I think we're all going to get along pretty well."

Ava laughed lightly at this, trying to imagine the other guy, but it was a little difficult without knowing the brother in question. Still, she could see the humor in the exchange between them. The group were talking while they ate, and before long, the dishes were empty and the three who had eaten, were now satisfied and sipping their drinks. "That was delicious," Ava declared, quite happy with the dish she had chosen, and smiled at Tercen. "Have I told you you have excellent taste, Sunshine?" She asked him in a softer tone, with a little smile.

@Rillewen
Arnyn smiled back when Gladhron spoke about her and Gwestion becoming friends. "It took a while, yes," she agreed. On the other hand, she had also gotten the impression that once Gwestion considered you to be his friend, that really meant something to him. Yet she did not comment, not wanting to give the impression to either Tercen or Gladhron that their easy way of making friends was somehow worth less. That was not quite what she meant. There were levels of friendship for most people, after all. And surely, the same could be said for Gwestion. Arnyn just got the impression that Gwestion had far fewer 'levels' than most, which also meant that once you actually made it to 'friend status'... well... Her smile grew a little while the others went on about cooking on a campfire.

"It is more difficult," she put in. "Fewer things to work with. You need to be more resourceful. Gwestion is very good, at that."

"Yes, you mentioned it," Tercen agreed, but he left the talk of servants up to the other two, who actually had some input on the matter, whereas he himself had none. Meanwhile, he shot Arnyn a questioning look, nodding over at the bread basket. Arnyn shrugged slightly and shook her head, and Tercen slanted his head. She nodded toward the dance floor, conveying he could ask later, and she would answer later.

Both siblings smirked at Gladhron's rendition of the interactions between Gwestion and this 'Gil'. Arnyn seemed quite amused, while Tercen leaned back in his chair, once again draping his arm over the top of Ava's chair. His hand thus ended up in the perfect position to idly stroke Ava's bare upper arm.

When it was mentioned that somehow Gwandhyra had ended up with a muddy face after making a certain suggestion to Gwestion, Arnyn looked curious, but she did not pry. She laughed quietly at Gil's comment toward Gwestion, finding that bit particularly entertaining. "I'm glad you are getting along," she put in. "It will make your stay there all the more pleasant."

When they all finished their dinner, and Ava complimented Tercen on his taste, he grinned at her. "Once or twice, I believe," he replied, unabashed, before leaning in to give Ava a quick but gentle kiss on the cheek. Then he turned to Arnyn. "How about that dance, sister?" he asked her, giving her a genuine smile. When Arnyn smiled back with a little nod, Tercen rose from his seat and approached her chair, holding out his hand for her. Arnyn's smile grew and she took his hand and rose from her seat as well. They moved off to the dance floor the way they had done countless times before, stepping in sync until they turned toward each other effortlessly.

The song wasn't very slow, but it wasn't exactly fast either. Tercen swept Arnyn along smoothly, turning the two of them round and round the dancefloor. It wasn't too bad, at first, Arnyn found - Tercen knew what he was doing and the joint turns made for a broader circle rather than tight single twirls, but after a while she did notice her head and stomach were starting to have trouble in keeping up.

"Are you feeling unwell?" Tercen asked her, figuring that must be the reason why she was not eating, and why her expression was more focused than happy at the moment.

"Sorry," she said apologetically, offering a small smile.

"That's alright," he told her a bit more quietly. "We could have done this some other night, too, you know."

Arnyn squeezed his shoulder. "But you are returning to your woods, soon. I didn't want to risk breaking our little tradition, in case we didn't manage another evening."

Tercen smiled at her. "Love you too, sis."

@Arnyn
Ava grinned back at Tercen, a little amused at his comment. The little kiss on her cheek was sweet, and left her with a little smile as he set off with his sister toward the dance floor, wondering how she had managed to get so lucky as to find him.

As Tercen invited Arnyn to dance, Gladhron smiled slightly as he watched them set off toward the floor, then turned to the lady left at the table. He took a sip of his drink before speaking. "Pardon my curiosity," he spoke quietly as he tilted his head, looking curiously at Ava. "I couldn't help but notice your accent." He mentioned, raising an eyebrow slightly.

Ava blinked, drawing her gaze away from Tercen and Arnyn. She gazed at him, outwardly calm, but inwardly, she felt a surge of alarm. She couldn't believe she'd forgotten to go back to hiding her accent once she and Tercen returned to the table. She thought swiftly as she took a small sip of her drink, and offered a little smile once she had swallowed. "You have a rather curious accent, yourself." She pointed out evasively, trying to distract him.

Gladhron smiled slightly. "True. But mine does not come and go. I did not notice you having an accent until after we all returned from dancing." He also pointed out, hesitating briefly before continuing, "In fact, ever since then, I've been trying to make sense of why something about your accent sounds... familiar." He folded his arms on the table, making it clear he had no intention of giving up on this topic soon.

Ava raised her chin slightly and drew in a slow breath, unsure what to say to that. "Have you?" She said, mostly rhetorically, trying not to sound as tense as she was starting to feel, wondering what point he wanted to make.

"Yes.." Gladhron answered slowly. "And then... I realized why. I've heard a similar accent before. Twice before, in fact." He frowned. "In fact, that brief tale about the mud in the face reminded me of the first time I heard such an accent." He looked at the lady. "It took me a moment, because the accent belonged to two men who only spoke a brief few words as they attacked me, and it was many years ago. But then I remembered, not that long ago, my brother describing the accent from that cry same occasion, and how he mimicked it." He stated, watching the lady sitting diagonally from him. "Then, the second time I heard an accent like that, I was suffering from a bad head wound, and I can barely recall the details of the incident, but that accent.. I remember that clearly enough, for I had trouble understanding everything that woman said, for her accent was much thicker than yours, but I'm sure it's the same type of accent. In fact... each time I've heard that accent, the persons speaking it were trying to kill me..."

Ava reverted back to the Gondorian accent, even if it was belated. At least it would keep anyone else around from noticing it. "But why would anyone seek to kill you? You seem like a likeable fellow." She mentioned, frowning.

Gladhron returned a little smile at the compliment. "Well, thank you for that." He paused. "In answer to what you mentioned before, about my job? As it happens, I am a ranger. And that is why these people tried to kill me. In each case, I encountered these people in the line of duty. In the Northern lands." He explained, watching her closely. "On that first occasion, they men I fought were corsairs.. of Umbar. Your countrymen, I suppose? I'm right, aren't I?" He asked, before going on to point out a few "clues" he'd noticed to help him arrive at this conclusion. "You come from a place where the common idea of 'entertainment' is vastly different from theatrical plays and such... Which doesn't mean much alone, but put together with your accent, and your appearance, and a couple other things I've noticed..." He paused. "I don't know very much about Umbar, but it all seems to fit perfectly, from what I do know of it."

Ava let out a slow breath, folding her arms, also. "And if I am?" She answered with a little frown. "What of it?"

"Does.. Tercen know?" Gladhron asked tentatively. He had chosen to wait until they both left the table before questioning her about this, because he did not know if they knew.

Ava's frown deepened slightly, realizing he was no longer asking if it was true, and therefore she did not try to deny it. She looked down at the table, drew a slow breath, then gave a faint smile as she looked up again. "Yes. As does Arnyn. In fact, we had quite a lengthy chat about it. More than one, in fact." She glanced around, then leaned a little closer. "I assure you, I have no intention of killing anyone, least of all a friend of Tercen's. In fact, that is the opposite of my desires. I wish to put a stop to all the needless killing that goes on in my homeland." She spoke softly, trying to make sure that no one at nearby tables would overhear the conversation. "I am not a corsair, nor an enemy to you or anyone here. In fact, I have hopes of bringing about a change, for the better, for my countrymen. To stop the killing and slavery and cruelty..." She paused. "Please," She glanced around, then looked at him imploringly. "Do not speak so loudly. I do not want the entire tavern to hear, for some may not be so.. accepting, as they are," She nodded to indicate Tercen and Arnyn. "And what about you? Are you 'accepting' of the fact I am not an enemy?"

Gladhron considered this for a moment. "Well, you've given me no reason to suspect you are an enemy," He answered slowly, thoughtful. "Although, neither did that other woman.." He mumbled under his breath, then shook his head. "Still, if Arnyn has no problem with you, then why should I? I will not judge you based on your countrymen, although I hope you'll pardon my intrigue, for I have never heard of anyone from your realm who is not making an enemy of us."

Ava smiled faintly in relief at his words. "I do not mind your curiosity or intrigue, but I would prefer if you not speak too loudly of the matter, for I do not wish to draw undue attention to the fact that I'm from.. there."

@Rillewen
Tercen had slowed down a little, because he was taking into account Arnyn wasn't feeling like her usual self. Most importantly of all, he had only twirled her twice - and not in a row, and she loved him dearly for that. He'd noticed the way she staggered a little the second time, and had refrained from a third.

"Just how bad are you feeling?" he asked her, a little concerned.

"Not bad enough for you to worry," she said, actually meaning the words since she was feeling much better now than she had been during the night and earlier in the day. "But my stomach is upset, so I haven't been eating much. The lack of energy seems to be messing with my balance," she added with a mumble.

"Ahh..." Tercen smiled sympathetically. "And here you are, to dance not only with your brother, but with our mutual friend as well..."

She gave him a thoughtful look. "You know this is not a double date, right?"

Tercen grinned. "Oh, of course, sweet sister. I would not dream of it. I can hardly imagine you on a date. Let alone a double one." He had to laugh at her narrowed eyes. "What? Agreement will not do as an answer?"

"No, no," she allowed. "Agreement is fine." She could have done without the little jab, though.

Tercen glanced at Gladhron, debating with himself. Finally, he decided to just... give a tiiiiiny push. "Does he know this isn't a double date?"

That made Arnyn frown. "Of course he knows," she said, sounding defensive. "When it came up just earlier, it only seemed to dawn on him even then that this might look like one. So clearly he didn't think of it that way."

Her brother shrugged. "Alright, then. Just making sure neither of you is disappointed when the night is over," he said, his tone light.

Arnyn smirked. "I bet you won't be disappointed, will you?"

He grinned broadly at that. "Unless Ava asks me not to go home with her. If that happens, I will be very disappointed."

When the song ended, Tercen and Arnyn made their way back to the table. Tercen was pleased with the dance, as well as with how Arnyn had still come out tonight despite not feeling her best. It was one of those things she did, sometimes, that really showed she loved him. He was also feeling rather good about himself because he thought he might have planted another little seed in his sister's mind, that might get her thinking a bit differently about their mutual friend.
As for Arnyn, she was also pleased with the dance. Even though she felt physically worse now than before the dance, she had still enjoyed dancing with her brother, and talking with him in their usual relaxed manner. She appreciated him adjusting his dancing to accommodate that she wasn't feeling well, and she was also relieved he had so easily accepted her lack of grace and balance - without trying to figure out why she was not feeling all that well. Moreover, she was also appreciative that he wasn't trying to get her home as fast as he could. She didn't care much for being overprotected, nor did she want to feel like he was getting rid of her so he could spend more time with Ava. Tercen not displaying any signs of either, felt like he was both trusting her own judgment and appreciating her presence. In turn, that felt nice.

They approached the table arm in arm, and they could hear Gladhron as he said: 'Why should I? I will not judge you based on your countrymen, although I hope you'll pardon my intrigue, for I have never heard of anyone from your realm who is not making an enemy of us.'

Tercen shot Arnyn a look, with raised eyebrows. Arnyn returned it quickly, in a way that conveyed she understood her brother's concern. Ava was just asking Gladhron to lower his voice when the two siblings broke apart to each reclaim their own chair.

"So would I," Tercen said smoothly, once he was sitting back down. "I don't mind fighting off a few idiots, but it would probably ruin the evening one way or the other," he explained, casually picking up his drink to take another sip.

Arnyn was interested to hear Gladhron was not immediately judging Ava based on where she came from, while clearly he was at least curious and bold enough to ask Ava about it directly. She'd always known Gladhron to be more on the trusting side, of course - but there had been that one time, when he'd been loathe to trust Brooke because of her relation to Amber. Did this mean he did not want to make a similar 'mistake' twice? Then again, he had also often been too trusting of complete strangers, if she were to believe the stories. "No problem, then?" she checked, just to make sure. "We're all good here?"

@Rillewen

As Renia caught up with her, Airelen stopped short where she was stood, and glanced up at the older girl. “Are you a princess ?” she wondered aloud, even as the thought struck her. “You have princess hair. Did you know ?” she let her new friend know, with a wink. That she did not exactly pull off well but had been practicing or attempting ever since she had seen others do it. Mostly she screwed up one side of her face and then smiled, proudly.

While Trevadir slowly caught them up, the little girl pulled away suddenly from her companion, like a butterfly attracted to too many flowers at once. Considering the see-saw first, she tilted her head, almost to the point of bending over sideways and then planted small white teeth in her lower lip, determinedly. One small foot followed the other, as Airelen walked her way fearlessly up the lowered end of the see saw. Her steps were easily balanced on the wider bridge, though gravity beckoned with the challenge as she reached the centre, and the playground apparatus tipped beneath her meagre weight.


Teetering for just a moment as the see-saw up ended it’s opposite end, she laughed when running down the swiftly lowered end. Never once falling. Never even contemplating that she might have come to any harm. As she turned back to her audience, she curtsied until her skirt met the dirt on the ground. And then returned to her small height, all smiles.

“You may show me the spin, Sir Hero,” she ducked her head minutely toward Trevadir and his offer to assist their play. With both hands she beckoned for Renia to come see as well.

---

The lady held her gaze upon the path, less so for fear of slipping again on the ice, and more so that she was deep in thought. “You have not shared yet how the lady herself reacted, in witnessing this unfortunate altercation,” Gael observed after a time. “Her friend rose up hostile against you, but was this action called for by Iole herself ? Did she seem grateful for the intervention ?”

A tide of troubled contemplation crested across Gildolen’s high brow. How had Iole reacted ? He found that he could not recall, in fact. But then he had at the time just had his vision compromised by a blow. “I could not say,” he admitted. “For I left ..”

“Then what degree of association have you engaged in, thus far, with the lady herself ?” his veiled friend mused aloud. “Does she behave differently around you when she is alone, to when she is with others ?”

“I would never assume to,” the young man panicked, visibly, at the mere insinuation that he had been for any single moment .. alone with the object of his desire. “That is. I mean, we have not even been formally introduced,” he confessed. “I know she works for Lady Ilisys, at the shop though. I have made deliveries. At times. She always looks to be .. busy.” he sighed. Busy .. in a shop which lured in so few customers ? She must be pretending, she must just be avoiding .. him. “I find that for the most part I can only admire her from a suitable distance. I was in the works of considering what I should say if ever chance would allow that I did break words with her.” He had been building up the courage, honestly. But there was no way he was about to explain that to a lady. “And then her friend leapt out and made clear I ought to leave well alone.”


Their path had brought them to a small pond, which was iced over though perilously translucent, as though it were a massive looking glass upon the ground. Gael dared one daintily shoed foot upon it’s allure, and tapped the surface warily, without resting any of her weight properly upon it. Thankfully. For the ice shattered like glass indeed at the soft contact. And the splintered segments bobbed in the water beneath. The lady frowned.

“It is one thing to refrain from defending one’s self, particularly if doing so might require a gentleman to commit physical conflict against a young woman. It is another thing entirely to retire from all hope of your happiness here, because of a single altercation,” she concluded eventually. “Particularly one as sounds to me as a misunderstanding.”

“I would understand what you suspect by this misunderstanding.” the young man spoke from an honest yearning, caught up in their having such a conversation at all. Rather than recall that the noblewoman had never even met either of the two young women he’d encountered.


“I can only think it is some misunderstanding,” Gael repeated, more slowly now, as she strove to find some answer she might offer, to help him. “You did naught wrong, you did not overstep,” she assumed, without ever observing how ardently the valet’s had shook in agreement. “But if the two of you have never brokered words even, how shall she rightly know what to make of you at all ?”

The young man could not hazard a guess, nor dread to imagine what Iole must think of him already. Maybe he should just ask the Lady Gaelanna if he could come back and serve her. It must be safe enough now. The fiend was locked up, so it was said, after all. Any chance of getting at him now were harder to envisage.


“There is only one way to see a stranger appear less .. strange,” the veiled lady dropped a hand toward her shoe, testing it for damp at the near miss with the pond. And was relieved. No damage done. “We must see the pair of you receive an introduction. Properly,” she decided. And wondered how that might be achieved. In this city. Where things were done so differently. The only recent social occasion hereabouts had been a masquerade, where the entire motive had been to not have others know quite who you are. So how did they manage such things here ? “We shall have Isys meet the two of you to one another,” she realised, bringing both hands together gently with delight.

Gil glanced up at the obvious solution, and reunited with the reason he had not come to such a simple resolution before now. “I would have to tell her .. about ..” he realised, and swallowed.


“Consider it as practice,” he was bid. Though somehow as they each considered the scenario, it’s appeal waivered somewhat. Though the young Lady Azrubel was of course a woman, same as Iole, there were some reams of ignorance, even from Gaelanna, over quite how the Ehtyar might react to any situation. Much less one of a romantic nature. On the other hand, if it would aide in keeping the young valet .. here, safe … “Do not imagine she has not already observed the state of your eye,” Gael did her very best to deliver the honest truth with as little terror as it might invoke to any cloistered-hearted servant. “She was the one who encouraged me to see that you were … well ..” the confession was loosed, and a moment passed as Gildolen considered how he felt about that.

“I should at the very least like the chance to explain, or apologise .. to Miss Iole,” he accepted, though the notion of it was amassed with dread. He was a young man who did not shy away from what he ought not.

Satisfied, Gael offered up her closest arm, so that the young man might gain some even meagre experience of proximity to the opposite sex. Besides finding their fists in his face. They could only improve really, since that low was where they were starting from.

@Ercassie
Renia grinned when Airelen asked if she as a princess, and declared that she had 'princess hair'. Whatever that meant. She leaned closer as if sharing a secret. "Actually, I am a princess, but shhhh. It's a secret." She told her. "I'm a mermaid princess, in fact." She winked back at her and put a finger to her lips to seal this information as 'their secret'.

Trev smiled in amusement, for he couldn't help but overhear the 'secret' since they weren't really speaking all that hushed. He watched the girl run off toward the see saw, amused as he recalled he and his friends doing much the same sort of things, years ago. They used to do plenty of daring things. Leaping out of swings at their full height, trying to see who could jump higher, and riding down the tallest slides while standing up...

For Trev, running up one side of the see saw and down the other seemed like nothing, and so he felt no concern for the little lady as he watched her do that. But then, he was also not her parent, with constant fear for her safety. It looked like normal childhood play, to him, so he had no protest.

Renia grinned as she caught hold of Airelen's hands and joined her at the spinner. "Ohh, sir hero?" She asked, glancing at Trev questioningly.

Trev shook his head slightly in amusement as he went over to join the ladies. "I'm not a knight, my lady." He reminded Airelen with a friendly smile. "You can just call me Trev." He motioned to the spinner and addressed them both, "Right, so make sure you get a good, tight hold," He told them, making sure they both did so. "Good! Now, let me know if you want me to slow down or anything." He grabbed hold on one of the railings and got it started moving. At first, he walked briskly, gradually increasing his pace to make it spinner faster, until he was running around and around, keeping a constant eye on the girls to make sure they were holding on tight. Also, listening in case Airelen asked him to stop, but mostly he heard her asking him to go faster.

Once he got tired of running around, Trev hopped onto the platform and hung on as well, riding it around with them. He grinned, recalling how much fun this used to be when he was a kid. It was also nice to see the little girl, as well as Renia. "What do you think, Lady Airelen?" He asked with a grin. "Having fun yet?"

---

@Arnyn
"I wasn't speaking all that loudly," Gladhron mentioned a little defensively, with a little glance around to check that no one had been looking nosy, but then he shrugged. He was known to speak a bit too loudly at times, so maybe he had been without realizing it. When Arnyn asked if there was no problem, he shook his head. "No, no problem." He assured them. "I was only surprised and curious, when I recognized that accent..." He explained, shrugging.

Ava watched him for a moment, relaxing slightly when Gladhron said there was no problem. Good. She gave a tiny nod of approval, sitting back with a faint smile. She also gave a little smile of amusement toward Tercen at his words about 'fighting off a few idiots'. While it would probably be unnecessary, she appreciated that he would be willing to fight for her defense, and she quietly reached up to the hand that he had draped over her chair, giving it a little squeeze.

"But, I am also curious," Gladhron went on. "What brings you here, lady Ava?" He asked, curious and puzzled, before he realized what the answer must be. "Oh.. wait," He glanced at Arnyn, then Ava, and back to Arnyn. "She's helping you with.. that Umbar thing you were working on, isn't she?" He asked in a carefully lowered voice, as that seemed the most likely explanation, then glanced back at Ava, feeling he must have guessed correctly.

Ava looked at him in silence for a few seconds, curious. Thing? What thing? Her gaze shifted to Arnyn, still not responding, but gave her a questioning look. What was all this about? She tilted her head slightly so that she could observe Tercen in her peripheral vision, curious whether anyone was going to reveal this secret to her.

@Rillewen
When Gladhron mentioned the accent, Arnyn's eyebrows raised a little in surprise. She hadn't noticed that Ava had reverted back to her own accent, earlier. Damn. She definitely was not at her best. Obviously, her mind whispered at her. But even though it wasn't exactly news, she still didn't like being confronted by it.

Tercen just gave Ava a lopsided smile, thinking to himself he found it rather attractive when Ava was using her actual accent. He had the savvy not to make the comment out loud, though. He rubbed his thumb over her hand as she reached out. Gladhron's question about what had brought Ava to Minas Tirith, though, made him look away from the exotic beauty sitting next to him, glancing toward Gladhron - and then toward Arnyn, as Gladhron asked Arnyn about 'that Umbar thing she was working on'. Tercen frowned a little in confusion.

For a heartbeat or two, Arnyn stared at Gladhron. What did he know about that? There was no way he could know about that, was there? Recovering quickly, she lifted one shoulder and raised her glass off the table, trying to hide her surprise by taking a sip whilst buying a few seconds of time to figure out how to reply to that without giving anything away she shouldn't. She only realized the glass was empty when it reached her lips.

Tercen's eyes widened, and he removed his arm from Ava's chair to lean forward on the table. His voice was low but his tone was urgent. "You're working on an Umbar thing?!" he half asked Arnyn and half demanded from her. Inwardly, he was swearing. While he didn't want Ava to have to live in such a terrible place, and he wanted things to improve for her and other Umbarians, he also didn't want his sister involving herself in such a dangerous situation. She was much too likely to make crazy plans - in the sense that she'd have the least possible regard for her own life amidst everything else, and...

Arnyn met her brother's gaze with an outward calm she was not feeling in the slightest. She put the empty glass back down on the table as if she'd been asked about the weather, although her pulse started racing and she was desperately trying to figure out a way to put Tercen at ease, broach a new topic without it looking like she had intentionally moved away from the current one, without lying outright and also without giving anything away she was not supposed to.

She came up with nothing, of course. Gladhron's question had hit her entirely unexpectedly. Everyone around the table was way too interested in her reply, everyone for different reasons. And she was all too aware that she wasn't exactly operating at full capacity. Arnyn wasn't even sure she could have weasled her way out of this one if she hadn't been poisoning herself for the past few nights.

Instead, she reached out for Gladhron's hand, firmly taking it in hers before she stood and even already took a step or two away from the table, pulling Gladhron along with her. "Dance," she said, hoping her need for escape from the conversation (which was glaringly obvious to everyone around the table) was at least not transferring into her tone of voice.

@Arnyn
The reactions of brother and sister made Gladhron freeze. Earlier, he had taken one of those pieces of bread from the basket... since Arnyn was still nibbling on her first piece, there were plenty for the rest of them to eat. He had taken a bite of bread when a tense silence fell in response to his comment. He looked around, noticing the expressions of each present, and felt like he must have said something he was really not supposed to say.

Arnyn was staring at him, then tried to act like nothing happened. Tercen had sat up and pulled his arm from around Ava, eyes widened. Ava was simply staring at him and Arnyn with a seemingly calm expression, but clearly interested. And she didn't look as if she knew anything about the 'Umbar thing'. Gladhron chewed slowly while Tercen spoke, asking his sister about that. He sounded.. upset. Gladhron swallowed and tried to think how to recover from this, realizing he'd definitely messed up.

Ava watched Arnyn, still a little amazed. Tercen's reaction told her that he, at least, did not know about it. That was some relief, anyway, because she didn't know how she would have felt about it if Tercen had been aware of it. But this was... very unexpected! Her lips parted as she realized... "So that's why you asked me why I had come here now.." She murmured, only audible enough for those at the table to hear, while looking intently at Arnyn.

The silence was awkward and tense, and Gladhron fought the urge to squirm uncomfortably. What should he say? Or, should he just stop talking altogether? Then, unexpectedly, Arnyn grabbed his hand and pulled him out of his seat. She wanted to dance? He blinked and looked at her with confusion as she practically dragged him up. "Huh?" He resisted briefly, but she was quite determined. Gladhron glanced back at the table, offering an apologetic look back toward Tercen, before going along with Arnyn. He was still a bit confused. And, it was only after they were already on the dance floor that he realized he still had more than half a slice of bread in his hand. He looked at it, then tucked it into his vest so that it was out of sight, and out of his hand. He looked apologetically at her as he placed that hand at her back.

"So... uh.. sorry about that," He mumbled, awkward. "I get the feeling I wasn't supposed to bring that up... I'm really sorry. I just.. I thought she was.. you know.. working with you on that." He told her, feeling quite guilty about his mistake, and worried that she was going to be very upset at him now.

As she watched them leave the table, Ava's gaze remained on Arnyn, then she sat back in her chair, feeling a little stunned. She let her gaze drift down to rest on something on the table which she didn't even see, thinking hard about this little bit of news. Then, after a moment, she turned slowly to Tercen, not quite sure what to say, nor if he would have anything to say.

@Rillewen
Tercen had caught Ava's quiet comment, and part of his mind puzzled together everything even as his emotions were still calling the shots. His lips parted in almost offended disbelief, when Arnyn - instead of answering him - stood and dragged Gladhron off. For 'a dance'.

For an escape, more like.

Seriously, that woman! His lips parted and he leaned back in his seat, shocked that Arnyn would not only plan what already sounded like a suicide mission without him having to know anything else about it, but that she would then proceed to basically run away when he would confront her about it. His eyes followed Arnyn during her escape, resting on his sister for a while before he became aware that Ava was looking at him. He closed his mouth, cleared his throat and slowly moved his head to look at her. "Clearly - I had no idea," he said. Because he was not sure what else to say.

---

@Rillewen
On their way to the dance floor, Arnyn was walking in front of Gladhron, wearing a thoughtful little frown on her face. She still had that frown when she turned toward him, not looking at him as she started them off. Her mind had gone into business mode, making her subconsciously take the lead as they started dancing - made easier by the fact Gladhron was rather distracted.

While Gladhron apologized, Arnyn was trying to think it all through. Tercen and Ava had known nothing, she was sure of that. All they had now, even, were assumptions, fears and hopes - based on what Gladhron had just said. "What exactly do you think you know?" she asked him after a long moment, finally making eye contact, but not intending to accidentally confirm or reveal anything he wasn't already aware of.

@Arnyn
She gave a slow little nod, then reached out and rested a hand on his arm. "Yes, I know. Nor did I," She would have him know, in case there was any doubt. Because apparently, Arnyn had considered that possibility.

"This is... I don't even know what to think," She admitted, breathing out a slow breath. She turned more fully toward him, and lightly squeezed his arm. "I never imagined she might already be planning something.. or that she might begin to plan something, because of anything I may have said.." She frowned, wondering what exactly she did have planned, and whether it had been a result of Ava's arrival, or if this had already been in motion. Her first thought had been the former, but now she had many thoughts swirling around in her mind. What sort of help could she offer, for instance? Would she trust Ava at all, if she made any such offers?

---

The way she was frowning made him feel that she must be very displeased with him. Gladhron felt bad, wishing he had kept his mouth shut. He was always saying the wrong thing, wasn't he? Gwestion said, often, that he talked too much. Maybe his brother was a little bit right in that.

When she made eye contact with him, he hesitated at the question she'd asked. "Well," he cleared his throat. "I.. well, I know you were planning a mission," He muttered, making sure his voice was low enough not to go beyond their little bubble of conversation. "A big one, and you're worried about your people not making it back," He recalled her saying something to that effect. "And.. I saw a map of Umbar on your desk, where you'd been doing that planning." he admitted. "Then... Gwestion mentioned you were about to be doing some special training thing, which seemed to be some sort of secret, and we figure it has to do with the mission you were planning." He drew a breath, hardly even noticing that she had taken the lead in dancing.

"So, then there's this lady from that very place, who says she plans to put an end to all the bad stuff there, so I just assumed..." He heaved a little sigh. "Which I shouldn't do, I guess. But it seemed like the most logical explanation, you know? And.. I know I tend to talk too much... which I'm doing now, aren't I?" He hesitated. "I'm sorry, Celume." He said quietly, but sincerely.

@Rillewen
He frowned when Ava presented the possibility that Arnyn might have started planning something because of everything Ava had said. He didn't like that idea. He didn't like that Ava might have set something so dangerous in motion for his sister. But, knowing Arnyn... "She was probably planning it already," he said, a little darkly, leaning back into his chair again with a kind of resigned disgruntlement. His gaze returned to his sister. "She already seemed pretty well informed that evening we came to dinner. And Arnyn would never plan something like that without good information." At least he could count on that much.

He sighed. "I know this probably sounds like good news to you. But I'd rather keep her as far away from all that as I can. She is too reckless with her own life when it comes to protecting others." He shrugged. "At least, in my opinion. She's also not the kind of officer that likes to give orders from a place of safety, away from the front line, or whatever," he added in more of a mumble.

His fingers drummed on the table. "I know that I have no say," he added. "Doesn't mean I have to like it, though. She is all the family I have left. I've been hoping for a few years now that she'd feel like she could resign now the War has been won. So she could go and do something boring and safe. Like I do." His fingers maintained an irregular drum. "But nooooo. Even when Gondor is basically a safe zone - she goes and looks for the danger, apparently."

"Maybe... maybe if Gladhron can get her to think about things... she'd resign to go travel the wilds with him and his brother, or something. Far from ideal, I'll admit, but then at least she wouldn't be going to a place that would want to enslave her 'at best', and torture her to death at worst," he muttered, not even believing that possibility for as long as it took him to speak it out loud. Tercen let out a deep breath and finished his drink.

He looked back at Ava, looking a little forlorn. "You are already going back there. To that... incredibly dangerous place. And now Arnyn is going, too?"

---

@Rillewen
Arnyn could hardly believe what she was hearing. She took a deep breath, looking past Gladhron, her quick pulse dictating a faster step and sharper turns. After a while, she spoke. Quietly. She was still not looking at him, however.

"I am not saying that your assumptions are correct," she began. "But suppose that they were, you are telling me that you'd apparently be smart enough to put together that I'm planning a mission to Umbar - of all places - and to link a supposedly secret training exercise to it... But that you'd apparently not be smart enough to realize that if such a mission were indeed in the works, it would be a very dangerous one, and that even a moderate form of success would be highly dependent on it remaining a secret from those we would be operating against, and thus logically that the mission should be kept as secret if not even more so than the training preceeding it?"

"And that it should not be referred to in front of civilians," she continued, "let alone a civilian who will be returning to the very place where the mission would be taking place? And again, I am not saying that it is," she added stubbornly, still frowning as she finally looked him in the eyes again, "- but IF it WERE... you wouldn't think to at least first check with me whether or not it would be safe to mention anything about it to our present company? Do I trust that Ava has no ill intentions towards my brother or me, or to Gondor, while she is here? I think I do, yes. But would I risk the lives of everyone who would be going on such a mission on my trust? And then I wouldn't even be considering the aftermath - the possible backlash that would come Gondor's way. Would I be willing to take such a huge risk after knowing the woman for all of a few days? It wouldn't even have to depend on her intentions alone. What if the wrong people in Umbar found out that she was here? What if they found out she'd been talking to me? What if they questioned her, when she returned home? What if they tortured her? What if they threatened dozens of people whom she is trying to protect?" It was a wonder really, that she was still keeping her voice down. "Would it be so normal to assume she would not break, not even when everyone she is looking after over there were to be subjected, one by one, to a fate worse than death? Would such an assumption be responsible of me? Would it responsible you? Would it even be human of us...?"

Arnyn shook her head, glancing away. "I don't want to be such an ass, talking to you like this," she added. She returned her eyes to his. She looked and sounded a whole lot less frustrated, all of a sudden, as if all her left over energy had gone into her little monologue. Instead, she looked and sounded... well, at a loss, really. To make matters worse, her head was spinning from the way she'd been determinedly taking the lead without actually paying attention to her own need for something slow that did not involve the usual amount of turns. She slowed them down, now, but she felt unsteady, and staggered a little as she tried to find a slower pace. "But by the Valar, Gladhron... I'm... too tired." Her voice was so quiet he would have to focus to hear her. "I can't focus," she admitted. "What am I supposed to do with this, now?"

@Rillewen



If such a thing were possible, Airelen seemed even more delighted than she had been, to learn that her new friend was a ‘mermaid princess’. Though she could see well enough that the blonde lady had legs where a tail would be, the small girl was a native to coastlands, where tales of merfolk and selkies were commonplace. So she understood without question that Renia would have legs when she was on land … And she winked as well ! Airelen grinned widely and ‘winked’ back, or gave it another of her very best efforts to do so anyway.

“I am not a lady Trev” she retorted back immediately though to the hero’s modest admission. And stuck her little tongue out just a moment long enough to prove it ! “Trev, Trev, Trev, Trev .. ” she then sang, dropping her head gladly from one shoulder to the other in due turn. Then, as they were bidden instructions, Airelen looked to copy Renia and squeezed her little fingers around the cold bar tightly. Bending her knees as though she was making ready to leap off into flight from the playground attraction.


As the ‘spinner’ gained speed, the little girl’s brown eyes grew wide as the world merged into an increasing blur. “Faster ! Faster !” she did cry out indeed, and laughed. “The trees are dancing ! Wheeeeeeee !” Throwing up her arms in the throes of exhilaration, Airelen did not realise until she had done so, that letting go of the rail was not the best idea. Losing her balance, she fell .. however backwards, landing on the seat of her dress. And there lay down amongst the railings, on the revolving roundabout, both eyes skyward, one hand reaching up as though she could touch the pale sun that hung aloft. Giggles erupted from her throat at quite regular intervals.

---

The shrill cries had summoned the child’s seekers, though the giggling had slowed their urgency a little. Still the child’s father was eager to locate where she had gone now. So, drawn by the sound, the park broke clear of his way into the playground. And there Anardil’s stride faltered. His heart began to slow, allowing for the bruised chest it had beat against to know a welcome reprieve.

She was safe, she was in sight, she was .. going to be the very death of him ! The squire took a deep breath and then approached the lively and largely oblivious chorus that was risen from the roundabout. In the same moment, Claery came upon the same scene but from the very opposite direction, and she elected to calmly sat upon one of the swings, and smile. They’d found her.

The momentum of the ‘spinner’ kept the man from rushing to immediately reclaim his laughing child, though he stood undeniably now at hand, arms crossed before him as he refrained somehow from bending over to his feet in both annoyance and relief all at the same time.

“She’s over there,” the maid pointed out, helpfully, and the parent nodded without turning. Unsure what to say, as he recognised of course the younger man who stood at hand. And it seemed that Airelen was not the only friend that Trevadir had found today.

@Arnyn
It was a tricky matter, and Ava was well aware of that. For he was right; the fact that Arnyn planned to go to Umbar, and, as she would assume, try to do the very thing Ava had been hoping to achieve. That was good news for her. But, at the same time, she realized that it was very much the opposite for her brother.

Ava gave a little nod and a slightly sympathetic smile. "Yes, I understand," She murmured, listening to him speak about how she was the only family he had left. She certainly did. She had none, and she could imagine how she would feel if she were in his place.

She glanced toward the two on the dance floor, thinking as Tercen spoke about how he hoped his friend would get her to go traveling in the north or something. "But would there not be dangers and perils there, too?" She asked with a little frown, unsure how that would be much better.

His comment about how Ava would be going back there, and that now his sister was going, too, Ava grew thoughtful and considered that. She had a few thoughts, but she did not venture to speak any of her ideas aloud. After watching his hand, fingers drumming on the table, for a moment, Ava reached out and gently laid her hand on his. "If I can help her in any way, I will." She assured him. "Though, I don't know if she would take my help, I will at least offer it." She gave a little sigh. "I know I asked for help, but.. I meant.. from a distance, mostly." She wanted to make sure he knew that. "I didn't intend for her to actually plan on coming and..." She paused, not even quite knowing what she planned to do.

And maybe she was getting ahead of herself. Maybe they were jumping to conclusions prematurely, and there was no actual plan for this. But Tercen seemed fairly convinced of it, anyway. She gave a little shrug and then picked up her glass, thoughtfully taking a sip.

---

Gladhron cringed slightly at her words. "I'm sorry," he muttered sincerely, unsure how else to respond. "I'm an idiot, I know... I wasn't thinking, I'm really sorry." He felt terrible about it. Gwestion was always grumbling at him for this very thing. Usually, he rolled his eyes and told him to stop being so paranoid. Now, hearing Celume's words, he was realizing that he should be more careful of what he said, and that Gwestion probably was right about keeping quiet a bit more often, at least in some things.

When she finally looked at him, Gladhron could see how unhappy she was with him. That was the very opposite of what he'd meant to achieve this evening. He kept quiet while she continued, and he hoped she could see in his face that he was really, truly sorry for his blunder. He frowned slightly at the possibilities that she listed. "I didn't know that she would be returning there," He mumbled, in his very slight defense. But he knew that wasn't really a proper excuse. Nor did he know that she'd only known Ava for a few days. Nor had he given any thought to the possibility of her being tortured, and that made him frown more deeply. He didn't really understand all about what she said about Ava, and 'the people she protects' but he could guess that there was more to this than he knew about.

To his surprise, she suddenly didn't sound as annoyed at him, and he was a little confused. Her admission that she was 'too tierd' and 'can't focus' left him even more surprised, and a bit concerned. Where did that come from? When she staggered, he tried to steady her as best as he could, holding her with one hand at her back, the other holding hers. He frowned, thinking about her question. Most answers he considered, he suspected would probably not go over very well. After a moment's pause, he ventured, "I could say I was mistaken, and had jumped to wrong conclusions." He suggested tentatively. "I mean, I only made a guess." He felt like he should try and fix this somehow, and it was the only way he could think of to do it.

@Ercassie
Renia grinned as Airelen attempted another wink back at her, and also the fact that she didn't even question her claim. She was amused, then, listening to the little girl argue that she is not a lady.

Trev smiled at the girl's cute, childlike behavior, sticking out her tongue. "Alright, I get your point." He laughed. "Though I daresay your parents would wish for you to behave like one." He had never really spent much time around kids, and had never really had any interest in having his brother tag along at his heels. But that was when he was much younger, himself.

"You can be a lady without acting all prim and proper," Renia told her with a grin. "Like the elf lady who raised me for a while." She had to grin at the very thought of Fuin acting anything like the stuffy nobility folk of Dol Amroth.

He grinned as he ran around, getting plenty of momentum going, as Airelen called out 'faster, faster!'. When he finally hopped onto the platform, he was grinning and enjoying the laughter and enjoyment of the two girls. Renia seemed to be enjoying it almost as much as Airelen. But when the younger of the two girls suddenly let go of the bars, Trev's heart leapt in alarm, thinking she was about to go flying off of the whole device and get hurt, but to his great relief, she only fell back onto the platform with giggles.

Trev breathed out a little sigh of relief, for he wouldn't know what to do if the young girl had become injured while under his care. But thankfully, she was fine, and in fact, seemed quite happy. At that moment, Trev's gaze glimpsed a tall man standing off to one side, arms folded. Trev could only see him in quick snatches, as the roundabout went around and around, but after at least the third pass around, he was sure of who it was who stood there. Nardy.. the girl's father. Trev hoped he wasn't upset, and somehow got the impression he was not pleased by how he found his daughter.

Holding onto the rail of the roundabout, Trev waited for the right timing, until it was just beginning to slow a little bit, then he hopped off and resumed running around for a couple more laps, pushing it to go faster, once more. Then, he let go of the playground equipment with a little final push to keep it going that much longer before staggering dizzily a couple of steps away, carried on his course from his own momentum. "Whoa.." He held out his hands to steady himself as he stopped, then recovered his balance and turned to close the distance between himself and Nardy. "Don't worry, she's fine." He assured him, a little anxious to make sure he didn't think they'd let the girl get hurt.

@Rillewen
"Yes, there would," Tercen agreed. "But at least she wouldn't find herself in a city that downright killed the king's ambassadors. At least... I don’t know. It would just be less bad. And she has done that before, in more dangerous times, and came back alive."

When Ava covered his hand with hers and spoke of only hoping for help from a distance, Tercen thought about that. "Maybe.. maybe that is all she is planning," he said, realizing no one had said anything about physically going to Umbar. "Maybe I am drawing the wrong conclusions. All Gladhron said was Arnyn was working on an Umbar thing." The longer he thought about it, the more hopeful he became. What she was working on, might not be all that dangerous as her walking into madmen's open claws.

But, if she were... "How do you think you might help her?" He asked Ava quietly.

---

@Rillewen
How could she even carry out the rest of her private conversation with Gladhron without violating orders? If she asked whether he really intended to lie, if she told him she did not want him to lie on her behalf - all of that would confirm that there was an "umbar thing" in the works. Which would have her violate her orders. But if Gladhron did not lie.. then they would all assume - correctly - what was being planned. More or less. Which would also violate her orders. Times three, instead of times one.

And if she agreed to Gladhron's offer to lie to her brother and to Ava, what would that say about her ideals? Then again, were the lives of the rangers on the mission not worth violating her ideals for?

Then again... if Gladhron lied. Would Tercen and Ava even believe it? If someone did put the screws to Ava, would she not at least mention it as a possibility? That would still mean Umbar would prepare. Wouldn't it? Didn't that also mean that the proverbial ship on all this, had sailed?

"You are not an idiot," she told him begrudgingly. "You were just.. acting like one for a moment. There is a difference." Arnyn sighed. "I suppose it is more difficult to keep your mouth shut when no one has explicitly requested it, and when you don't have all the information." A pause. It was too late, anyway. She might as well take the chance, and trust him. "Even if you claimed to be mistaken, Tercen would not believe you. He knows me too well. He saw my reaction. And the truth. As for Ava... If someone did put the screws to her, she would already at least know that some sort of mission there might be carried out. Even the mere possibility of it would warn them. Allow them to prepare. And take away our much needed element of surprise." She felt hot. Too hot. And her throat was too dry. "I need water," she mumbled, before turning away and pulling him along with her for a few steps. She let go then, finding it too hard to keep from bumping into anyone while also tugging him along, but she hoped he would follow. And not return to the table.

When someone did bump into her, it made her bump into someone else. "Ho - my lady!" the man exclaimed, because it had obviously been an accident. "Careful, there!" He helped steady her a little before turning back to his own company of friends. Thankfully the bar was close. Arnyn put her hand atop it, and signaled the barkeep.

@Arnyn
Ava gave a little nod when Tercen suggested the possibility that his sister might only be planning to 'help from afar'. She made no comment, however. She was thinking, trying to figure out how to even respond to any of this. She wondered how Gladhron would even know about it, if it was such a secret. In fact, she'd like to ask him more about that, but perhaps that was why Arnyn had dragged him off... to prevent anyone from asking any more questions.

When he asked about how she thought she could help his sister, Ava looked at him again, pausing. "Well.. that depends on what she intends to do," She answered thoughtfully, frowning a little. "There are many ideas going through my mind, but without knowing..." She sighed softly. "But I doubt she'll tell me any of her plans. And I don't blame her, of course, but..." She sighed. "It makes things difficult, doesn't it?"

She turned to him, thoughtful. "But she and I agreed already that we would not discuss any of this, tonight." She told him. "I didn't expect your friend to bring it up..." She frowned slightly.

---

Gladhron kept quiet while Arnyn seemed to be thinking. When she spoke again, he was surprised that it was to tell him that he was not an idiot. He blinked, and gave a little smile. Yes, he had acted like one. He did that often, he knew, but it was nice to hear that she did not think him an idiot. A relief, really. He was also a little relieved that she seemed to realize that it was hard to know not to talk about something without having all the information, and without being asked not to talk about it.

"Right." He muttered, when she pointed out that Tercen wouldn't believe it if he did retract his words, as he knew Arnyn too well to believe it. He frowned at the thought of someone being tortured for information, and wondered why she would be. But, again, he didn't know all of the information.

Suddenly Arnyn began pulling him toward the bar, stating that she needed water. Somewhat puzzled, he hurried along with her, trying to be careful not to bump into anyone. Gladhron came up beside her at the bar. "I could have gotten the water for you," He mentioned quietly, frowning slightly. "Are you alright?" He asked, leaning in a little closer. There was definitely something off about her, he thought. She wasn't quite acting... herself. As if she was maybe not feeling well, but he wasn't sure.

@Rillewen
"I don't think anyone expected for him to bring this up," Tercen said with a little frown, still watching his sister and Gladhron, who had now both moved to the bar. His frown deepened, and then faded again before he looked at Ava. "You saw Arnyn did not eat. She told me, when she and I were dancing, that she is not feeling well. But she did not want to cancel, in case it would prove impossible to reschedule. And given her reaction when she came to dinner at your place, when the subject came up... well. Given all of that - I do not think she will be inclined to change her mind about discussing it any further tonight." He searched Ava's eyes.

"It's hard for me not to ask her more about this, because... I am..." he paused to swallow, unsure what Ava would think of him if he were to continue being so open with her. "Afraid," he finally supplied, choosing honesty. "I"m afraid to hear she is planning something," he continued more quietly. "But.. it would be kinder of me not to insist on bothering her with this tonight. I can do that, I think," he decided, speaking the words slowly. "So... in case you were thinking otherwise - and I don't mean to say that you are... I would also ask you to revisit the topic another day. Not now. Can you do that, Ava?" He asked her, his eyes alert.

---

@Rillewen
She let out a huff when he said he could have gotten her the water. "Yes. But that would have left me either standing there alone, or having to return to the table. And I needed to think. I still need to think." However difficult that was proving.

At his question, her eyes found his. Slightly narrowed. "No. You just revealed to a citizen of Umbar that Gondor is planning something concerning their corner of the world. And it's probably my fault that you did." She put her elbows atop the bar, to rest her head in her hands. "So no. I am not alright."

"Water," she requested when the barkeep came over, not bothering to ask anything for Gladhron. He could do that, himself. Apparently, he could do plenty by himself.

She fell silent until the water arrived, which did not take long. She moved her elbows off the bar and downed the whole glass and immediately asked for another. Then she turned back to Gladhron,
her eyes wide now, dilated pupils and all, as she was thinking it through further and further.
"This is not the place or time to discuss any of this," she told him earnestly. She seemed to consider something, however, before speaking again. "Gwes?" She asked him, figuring he would be able to put together what she was asking, since he had apparently put something together that was meant to be far more difficult to unravel.

@Rillewen

He had been walking past the ‘Tower Roots’ tavern when a call from within had greeted the latest arrival. It was the name that was heralded so gladly, that made Pharak turn, in time to see the back of the man now stood at the opened door.

“Raxëlilta !” the publican called out merrily. And the Umbarian turned slowly on the street, observing the man who hobbled into the drinking hole, leaning heavily upon a crutch. Before the door had closed between them, the Burned man calmly followed his new lead.


He wasn’t the only one who had eyes for the clearly frequent customer, and as that quarry settled into conversation with the bar tender, he was welcomed by several others at tables nearby. One of these even pulled out a chair, unbidden. Pharak found his own way into the dim lit room, ensuring to stay as far as he might in the shadows. Sidling then past a busy table, he jostled it unintentionally and earned a hiss and a ‘hey’ from one of the two cardplayers who sat there. But the other soon called back the attention of his companion to their game, with little mind for anything beyond it. And so the stranger made it as far as the bar.

It would appear to anyone who did take care to note him, that he was just waiting for his turn to be served. And as folk carried this Raxëlilta’s drink for him to the table, the others gathered around to include him in their talk. Ordering the same drink he had just heard a patron request, Pharak made sure to tap on the scarred wooden counter with his coin and then glance aside, back toward the table, until his order was served. Sliding the payment then over the wood, he turned his back to the publican, and spied out a small table close by to the door. Surely it was little desired because of the draught that constantly assaulted him, since the moment he sat there. But as far as the Umbarian was concerned, there was no better alert to every time a new arrival entered the establishment. He was near the exit, he had thus far committed no crime here, save to appear rather memorable. And as a few of the pub’s inhabitants began to notice him, Pharak raised up his glass in one hand. Most returned the gesture.


Besides the man whom he had followed in here, the Umbarian could not help note that another customer was missing an eye, a second with an arm gone just above the wrist .. there were none as like to take exception to his being here it seemed. And recognising what was likely the work of his countrymen or at least their Mordorian allies .. the Umbarian settled into his seat without concern. This was clearly the haunt of Gondorian military that the proud parades and banners did not show. The injured and affected, the aftermath as it were. There were names carved all around the wall with tender messages of memory allotted to them. Not to mention candles … everywhere. He calmly strangled the flame upon his own table between two already ruined fingers. Then he leaned back, and watched, and listened.

The tales of adventures and of heroes melded at some point into the same much repeated account of many, all so similar. Names were toasted, heads were shaken, many many countless ales were brought to naught in no time at all. And all the time that the ridiculously patriotic words washed over him, Pharak considered what he’d found.

Not the man he had come here in search of. Though the name … and his attention was rewarded with a further clue. Addhor. Maybe a relative. Must be a relative .. There was something of a similarity about this to the other. The eyes in particular. A peculiar shade of brown. He’d seen it at least once before. The longer he kept watch the more convinced he was. But was he simply fooling himself ? There had been no toast raised to Domanol. There was no sign of that rogue’s name etched into the walls. Was his enemy then yet of this world ? Were they hiding him ? Had they heard from him ? If the family were in touch at the very least, they could pass on what he'd done here. Once he figured out exactly what would be best to do here ...


And then the object of his attention stood up, and crossed the inn, so that the Umbarian noted for the first time. This man was not merely lame or hobbling. He was missing the lower half of his right leg entirely. A frown crossed Pharak’s face. And he watched the shadow of the man across the floor, until it indicated he had gone … into the wash room.

Downing the dregs of his drink, the Burned man rose up from his seat and shadowed his target across the inn. He might else watch all the night and learn no more assurance. But this might be a chance to encounter the one-legged man alone. And who cares who might see, to recall after. If he was concerned about being remembered, then he would not have come here himself. The whole point was to have witnesses after the fact recall his distinctive face. What was the point of making a point, if nobody knew what you had done ? So long as you had time to do it, before they could stop you. They would remember always after. Long after he was beyond their reach to do aught then but curse his name.

---

The wash room was not overly large, which was an aide when the drink and balance conspired to see a man rather haphazard on his way around. Addhor lifted the ceramic jug in one hand and poured water into the free standing basin, then glanced up. Catching his reflection in the mirror before him, the veteran Ranger startled, and almost stepped back on instinct until a better grasp at the table caught him from a fall. Peering with more scrutiny into the mirror, bleary vision blinked a few times, to make sense of the second reflection of himself behind him. Lowering the jug, which he had spilled some, the Drunken Gondorian narrowed his eyes and then turned around, swiftly, as though to confront this confounding vision. The dirty window offered only a different reflection back at him, and the man laughed briefly. Shook his head as he washed his hands and then regretted the unexpected dizziness as he turned to find where he had left his crutch. He could not have gotten in here without it, for he despised the weight of the wooden limb replacement and could balance better than he could drag the extra weight that caught at every cranny and corner. He had left that at home, in favour of the lighter, swifter means of manouvring about. But where was .. ?

Turning a little too swiftly, he found the floor before any hope of discovering his walking aid. And the crack of the cold tiles against his knee blew out a dulled explosion of pain, even as the cold against his face granted some cooling comfort.


Pharak entered the small room with time enough to see the end of the descent. Edging around the now prone form of the man on the floor, he closed the door quietly behind him, and kicked softly at the now oblivious Gondorian with one foot. Was this his .. lucky day ? Maybe not. Squatting at the knees, the Umbarian considered what his god had just gifted him. And realised that he could neither learn a single thing more than he had thus far, which was nothing much of use. Nor could he carry the fool back to Harlond with him. An exploratory finger poked the unconscious man’s eyelid up, and met no resistance. A sigh then he released, and shifted the rest of him only enough to pick up the abandoned wooden crutch with an inquisitive hope. No address sculpted into the tool, to help a stranger know where was his home.

In weary frustration, Pharak raised the stick and brought it down to within an inch of the Gondorian’s head, just missing contact. Leaning back against the wall then, frustrated at his violent impotence, the Burned Man let the cold floor serve him for a seat, whilst throwing back his head and closing his eyes too. Lips raised muttered pleas for hope from an idol whose power didn’t tend to reach this far from home. And then, as though expecting to receive some answer, the Umbarian struggled his way back upright, still with the crutch in his hand.


From his stance he toyed with placing the end of the cane against the fallen man’s nose. Could he break it, and wake him with the pain ? Would such a man be able to be any use at all, in this condition ? Couldn’t offer him up as tribute, even if they were back home. Not whole .. But all the signs had led him here. There had to be a reason ? His dreams were never wrong. They often needed time of course to interpret but still …

“You have no idea how much I’d like to crush your head in, here and now … ” he lamented. In the second before he glanced up and realised that a third individual was stood there. He had not even heard the door open or close behind this new arrival. As the silence between them was punctured by Pharak’s racing heart beat, as he swept through possible explanations he might give for what this man might have overheard … he stopped, catching the look in the newcomer’s expression. For it was … unexpected. To say the very least.

@Ercassie
He had eased the door open as quietly as he could, slipping through with a hammering heart as he contemplated how he was going to go about this. He was startled, then, to see that the man was not, in fact, alone. Mar blinked as he observed a very interesting scene play out before him. A rather scarred-up man looked like he was barely restraining from whacking the cripple with his own crutch. Again, perhaps? Could it be that he had knocked the guy out? Had Mar missed seeing the cripple get beat up with his own crutch? Mar was intrigued.

“You have no idea how much I’d like to crush your head in, here and now … ”

It suddenly became even more intriguing. When he noticed the man had caught sight of him, and was staring at him, Mar briefly checked that the door was closed, and that it opened inward, before turning back to the scarred stranger. "Well.. what's stopping you?" He asked. "Not me, I hope?" He raised his eyebrows. "Cause believe me, I won't." He assured the stranger as he folded his arms and leaned against the door to make sure it would stay closed. "I'll make sure no one comes in." He smiled with strange delight at how well this had worked out for him.

@Arnyn
Ava frowned slightly as Tercen told her that Arnyn was not feeling well. And that she had not wanted to cancel, in case they couldn't make it work out for another day. That made her wonder if maybe, even in a subconscious way, if Arnyn thought this could be the last chance she'd get to be with her brother. Ava nodded when he said he didn't think she would be changing her mind about not discussing it.

Tercen's confession, that he was afraid, left her thoughtful. Not afraid in the traditional sense, of course, but she understood. She gave a light squeeze on his hand, which she still held. "That's why I told you that we had agreed," She let him know, with a soft smile. "Don't worry." She drew in a slow breath. "As much as I would also like to ask more about it, I know this is not the best place," She cast a brief glance around, to indicate the other people in the tavern, then turned back to him. "Tonight, let us focus on the reason we are here?" She suggested, trying to push all of the swirling thoughts away into the back of her mind, for later.

---

Looking down at the bar, he cringed slightly again as she replied that she was not alright, and that it was his fault. She was not going to let him live this down, he could already tell. And he was feeling pretty miserable about it, too. So much for having a very nice evening.

After the bartender had brought her some water, Gladhron asked for a glass of his own. "It's not your fault," He told her quietly, shaking his head. "I should have thought before speaking. I'm... really bad about that. I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry." He stared down at the glass, wondering if there was any chance that she might ever forgive him for that. He didn't really know what else to say, and, considering the fact that him speaking had landed them in this problem, he thought it might be best if he didn't say anything for a bit.

He nodded in agreement when she said that it was not the time or place for talking about it. Aha, so he had been right when he decided to keep quiet. At least he'd chosen well, for once. When she asked about Gwestion, he blinked and looked at her for a second. "He.. was the one who actually put it all together," he admitted, guessing that she was asking if Gwestion knew, too. "After we had a chance to talk and compare what we'd each figured out." He added, suddenly feeling uneasy with the idea that Gwestion might be upset with him now, too. And while he was used to his brother being annoyed at him, he was not enthused with the thought of both Gwestion and Celume being upset at him. Was there any way to make this whole thing better?

@Rillewen
Her agreement proved an enormous relief. Tercen slowly let out a breath, and smiled faintly. "Thank you, Temptress." Her words about focusing on why they were here, made him nod thoughtfully. Since Arnyn probably would not want to talk about this tonight... He had little reason to believe she would want to come back to the table and sit down with them.

"Would you like another drink then, my lady?" Tercen asked Ava, his thoughtful expression making way for a half smile. "Or would you prefer another dance, first? I am quite willing to accommodate both."

---

@Rillewen
When her second glass of water arrived, she pulled the small purse from the hidden pocket of her dress and paid for the drinks, looking away only long enough to get the right coins out and drop the purse back into her pocket. While it was nice of Gladhron to feel bad and keep apologizing for what had happened, she didn't exactly have a need for him to keep saying he was sorry over and over. In fact, she was getting the urge to shake him and tell him to stop it. What good would it even do, now? The words were nice and all. But they didn't change the mess that had been created.

But - at least he really looked sorry. Arnyn didn't fail to notice the way his posture and body language had changed. At least he wasn't brushing it off, or coming up with excuses, or trying to make light of it. She wondered whether there was something he could even do now, that would clean that mess up. Probably not.

His answer that Gwestion also knew, wasn't exactly comforting. But it had been expected, so it didn't throw her. She watched Gladhron's sorry expression for a moment before turning her attention to the bartender.
"Can I get a piece of paper and something to write, please?" she asked the man, who gave her a surprised look at the unusual request. "It won't take long," she promised him.
The bartender went to the back, and soon returned with a piece of paper, a quill and an inkpot. "Don't knock it over," he mumbled as he placed it all in front of her.
"I won't," she promised. With a little nod, the barkeep moved toward other patrons calling for his attention.

Arnyn took a deep breath as she stared at the blank piece of paper. She glanced up at Gladhron while she picked up the quill. "Anyone else?" she asked him, her tone a little sharp on the last word. When he shook his head, she searched his eyes for a moment. When her attention shifted to the piece of paper, the quill's tip hovered above the inkpot for a moment before dipping into it. Soon, the slender and elegant lines of her handwriting started to appear at the top half of the paper. After not writing that much at all, she signed it with her military rank and name. Then she wrote something very similar a ways beneath it, also signing it. Afterward, she signalled the barkeep that she was done with the writing utensils. "Thank you," she told him when he came back to retrieve them. "Do I owe you anything for this?" He shook his head, kind of amused. "No, m'lady."

She nodded. While waiting for the ink to dry, she took in Gladhron's dejected demeanor. Part of her felt bad for him. Because of course she knew he hadn't meant to make things difficult. But there would be consequences for this slip-up. For her. For Ava. For others, too, perhaps - that was difficult to foresee at the moment. Her right hand was still on the bar, right next to the slip of paper. But her left hand came up, and she used two fingers to lift his chin. So he would look at her. "I heard you," she said quietly. "You're sorry." A brief pause. "This is why I enjoyed being Celume," she said a bit sadly, looking into his eyes with a faint smile on her lips. "And why not being high up in the command chain is... less of a bother." She removed her fingers, though she did not look away from him. "Words are one thing. Actions are another... But we cannot simply make this go away. We cannot simply fix this. We can only deal with the consequences." She nodded toward the paper on the bar. "You could... help me deal with those consequences. If you want."

@Arnyn
Quietly, Gladhron waited and watched while Arnyn asked for some writing stuff. He wasn't sure what she was going to do, nor what she might be going to write, but he felt a little sense of dread about what she was going to do. When asked if there was anyone else, Gladhron shook his head. If it were not such a serious situation, he might have made some joke, but he figured that this was no time for joking, and she did not seem in any mood to appreciate humor at the moment. So, he kept quiet.

While she was writing, he was tempted to glance at the paper and see what she was writing, but then he decided that sort of thing was what had gotten him into this trouble. He focused his gaze on the countertop, folding his hands around the glass he had asked for.

When her hand came to his chin and lifted it to look at her, he was glad to hear her say that she had heard, and understood that he was sorry. He remained looking at her as she spoke about how she had enjoyed being Celume, and he remembered some of what Tercen had said, about how much different Arnyn had been before she'd been in the command, and how 'Celume' sounded like the way his sister had been before then. "Of course I'm willing to help," He assured her, taking a little glance toward the paper when she had indicated it. A summons to the headquarters office? "Just tell me what I can do." He told her sincerely.

About that moment, he became aware of Tercen and Ava approaching, and his gaze switched to them, giving a tiny nod to direct Arnyn's attention, too.

---

Ava considered his question for a moment, then smiled. "How about we go to the bar?" She suggested, standing slowly with a little smile. Still holding his hand, she tugged lightly to encourage him to come along, as if she needed to give him any, and then set off toward the bar.

She was not actually that interested in getting a drink at this moment, but she saw that Arnyn was there at the bar, and she had decided to offer some, small reassurance to the other woman that she planned to honor their agreement. So, it was toward Arnyn and Gladhron that she turned her steps, and came up behind, and also beside Arnyn.

She drew up beside Arnyn and spoke softly. "I wanted to let you know that I intend to keep to our agreement, for this is no place to discuss any such things." She murmured, so that only Arnyn should hear her. "However, I would like to talk about this, another day. I have many thoughts and ideas that you may find useful..." She looked at Arnyn then, with a serious expression. "Would it be alright to meet with you, tomorrow perhaps, or the next day... whenever is convenient for you?" She asked, still quietly, recalling how busy the lieutenant was.

@Rillewen
Tercen was quietly admiring Ava as she rose, nodding to her suggestion. He prompty rose at her little tug. "The bar it is," he agreed verbally, not that he needed to add anything.

Gladhron's agreement to help proved he was willing to make it up to her - because he was agreeing before he even knew what his help would entail. This isn't the first time he is volunteering for whatever he can do to help you, her mind whispered. Arnyn noticed his small nod to something behind her, and she glanced over her shoulder to see Ava and Tercen's approach.

Arnyn turned her attention back to the paper. The ink should be dry by now. She folded it precisely in half, and ran the fold tightly between the nails of her thumb and index finger before folding it the other way on the same crease and repeating the process. This allowed her to easily tear the paper in half, before folding each of the now two papers just once. By that time, Ava had stepped up next to her. Arnyn turned toward her slightly to listen to her words. What Ava had to say brought the faint smile back to Arnyn's face. Funny. If the circumstances had been better, Arnyn really did think Ava and she would have hit it off right away.

Arnyn held up one of the folded pieces of paper between her index and middle finger, offering it to Ava. "It seems we were thinking alike."

Standing on Ava's other side, Tercen drew the attention of the bartender, thinking Ava might also like another drink. Belatedly, he realized he had no idea what she'd like. He asked for a light ale for himself, and 'something light and refreshing for the lady'. If she didn't want it, he supposed he could finish it off himself or something. When Arnyn offered Ava a folded piece of paper, he turned toward them curiously, fully intending to peer over Ava's shoulder in case she were to open and read it.

@Arnyn
Intrigued when Arnyn handed her a paper, Ava was even more intrigued by the words that she said. Taking it, her eyes flicked to Arnyn, then down at the paper, and back up again. Then she opened it up and read the instructions briefly before giving a little nod to assure her that she understood. "It seems so." She agreed. Turning then to Tercen, she offered the paper to him with a tiny smile. "I have no pockets," She explained softly, indicating her wish that he would keep it for her until she had returned to her house.

Gladhron, having glanced at the papers when Arnyn drew his attention to them, observed while Arnyn gave one of them to Ava. So, she would be summoned to the ranger headquarters. He guessed that the other paper was for him, and he couldn't help wondering what these 'consequences' would be.

@Rillewen
Tercen unapologetically read the note over Ava's shoulder after she opened it. His expression was doubtful when she turned to him. Slowly, he reached for the piece of paper. "That address is the headquarters address," he said slowly, remembering Ava had not been keen on going there, when they'd last spoken of that. Of course, that had been before she had met Arnyn... and before she had known that there was some kind of plan in the works... but still. Tercen figured that it might not be all that obvious to Ava that Arnyn was asking her to go there, specifically.

From behind Ava, Arnyn nodded. "So it is. I am assuming that will not be a problem?"

Tercen tucked the paper away, knowing Ava would need to take it with her the next day, in case anyone were to question her presence in the ranger commons.

"To be clear," Arnyn continued, "It is a request for the both of you," she added, looking at Tercen as well. He had also heard about the plans, after all, and he would only be up in arms if he didn't like any of the decisions that would have to be made at headquarters. It would be best to get everyone together at the same time, to avoid going back and forth, and so that everyone knew the reasoning that had gone into the decision-making process.

Tercen gave his sister a thoughtful look. "I'll go," he told her, before his eyes returned to Ava. Questioningly.

@Arnyn
Ava considered this news. The ranger headquarters. She turned to Arnyn, thoughtful. "Should it be a problem?" She asked, feeling just a bit wary. Was it some trick? Was it a way to get her locked away so she could not pose any problem for this mission thing? Drawing a slow breath, she clasped her hands in front of her, now that her hands were free, and listened as Arnyn spoke to Tercen as well. It was a relief to hear that he was also summoned, and that made her feel a bit more comfortable about coming. "I will come," She answered, after he had spoken.

Gladhron cleared his throat softly. "I assume the other paper is for me.. and Gwestion?" He guessed, and went on once she had confirmed this. "I don't think he will give any protest." He felt pretty confident in speaking for his brother, since they had, in fact, already planned on coming to talk to Arnyn as soon as they'd learned more, anyway. He looked at the paper once she had handed it to him, and nodded slowly before tucking it into his vest pocket.

@Rillewen
"It shouldn't," Arnyn told Ava, although Arnyn already knew Ava wouldn't like at least one part of tomorrow's conversation. Or so she imagined.
Ava agreed to come, though, and that is what mattered.

When Gladhron cleared his throat, Arnyn turned to him. She nodded at his guess and offered him the other piece of paper. "If he does protest, you would be helping by convinving him to come anyway," she told him quietly. She had no intention of having more of less the same conversation about this, twice.

After taking a deep breath, Arnyn let the air back out in a sigh. "Alright then. So that settles that. For now." She finished the rest of her drink, and turned her back to the bar, looking out at the tavern, and the people dancing. "Now I'll either be needing a stiff drink or for someone to distract me well enough on the dance floor." She glanced sideways at Gladhron, raising an eyebrow. "Didn't you say something about offering distractions?"

@Arnyn
Gladhron very much doubted that he'd have any trouble convincing Gwestion, and so he merely nodded in reply to her. He wasn't entirely sure why Tercen had seemed so concerned for Ava to go to the headquarters, but he didn't ask. It was probably none of his business, and he figured maybe they might not thank him to get nosy or inquisitive. He'd already done enough.

Arnyn's comment about needing either a drink or a distraction made him smile faintly. She was joking about the drink, right? He figured she must be, but even if she wasn't, he would much rather dance with her than get her a drink. Especially knowing she was opposed to 'stiff drinks'. So he smiled and offered his arm as he stood. "My lady, would you care to dance?" He asked, although it was mostly rhetorical, since she had all but asked him to ask her to dance.

She was curious when the little metal flag that was pointing upward meant there actually proved to be something in the mailbox. Kaylin had offered to go check it, this time - expecting maybe be a letter from her parents in Linhir. It was usually empty, except for their occasional correspondence. But this time - ohhh, this time - their little mailbox was practically full! It held a host of papers, all bound together with a string wrapped securely around it. And atop it, two sealed envelopes.

Kaylin was so curious, she was a little excited when she entered the house again and almost hopped to the kitchen table. "Thûlliiiiiiiiir!" her voice rang out merrily, her tone coloured by her grin. "We got a buttload of maaaaaaail!" she half-sang, dropping herself eagerly into a chair and first looking at the envelopes. Both were addressed to her! Kaylin's grin grew. She turned the first one over, noting her parents' names at the back, which softened the smile on her face. She opened it immediately, her blue-grey eyes speeding across her mother's neat handwriting. They were doing well, and considering a visit to Minas Tirith in late spring or summer. Kaylin's grin returned. She'd have to make sure it wouldn't collide with the whole pirate and Umbar mission, but surely she'd be able to make that happen. It would actually be really great to have her mother here for a week or two... regardless of whether certain plans had worked out by then, or not. And gallavanting around the city with her father was usually great fun, too. She would have to talk to Thullir about letting her parents stay with them for at least a few days, maybe a week - so they wouldn't have to be at an inn for their entire stay... But, that too, was something she was sure to manage. She had several ways to convince her ranger, after all.

Putting her parents' letter side, she moved on to the second envelope. Kaylin's eyes narrowed slightly as she saw the seal on the back. That looked like... Ranger business? But if this came from the command... why would they have needed to drop a letter in her mailbox? She'd just spent weeks on the road with both Pele and Arnyn! Rolling her eyes, she set the envelope side for a minute. Let's see what that huge buncle of papers was about, first. That was what she was most eager to find out about, anyway. 'Work' could wait a minute or two. First, the mystery bundle!

Her fingers mumbled with the string a moment too long where her patience was concerned, and she clicked her tongue before pulling a knife from her sleeve and simply cutting through it rather than to keep working at the knot. Kaylin tossed the empty cover paper on top aside. It almost drifted off the table, but she didn't care if it might. As she took in the contents of the first paper with any letters on it, a little frown settled on her brow, and the redhead blinked.

"Please be thorough," she mumbled, reading out loud. "Any illegible handwriting throughout will require a new form to be filled out from start to finish..." Her eyebrows lifted. "No doodles are to be included, regardless of how relevant you feel them to be?" Her tone was getting increasingly incredulous. "This is not an art class? What the...?" Kaylin moved that paper aside as well, not even bothering to read the other eleven bullet points which were left. She glanced at the next paper. And the next one. And the next one. Kaylin's lips parted in disbelief as her hands moved more quickly, turning page after page... after page. "They can't be serious," she complained, more loudly, jer jaw now proverbially dropping onto the table. "And the Guard calls this a 'form'?! More like a dissertation!" She grabbed what was left of the stabk of papers and flipped through the pages like it was a book. "This thing..!" She half-dropped, half-threw it back down on the table, her face now mastered by a rather impressive-looking scowl.

Kaylin sighed, and glanced warily at the unopened envelope. Her movements now were languid, bereft of her earlier enthusiasm. After reluctantly unfolding the paper within, she read the message. Slowly. She took a deep breath at the succinct lines in Arnyn's handwriting, and then let out a little gasp at the mention of having two days to fill out the monstrosity that was now lying on their kitchen table. Mildly appeased by reading that Arnyn had filled out a similar tome, and that she'd at least be able to vent about her pain to someone who knew what it was like, Kaylin managed not to crumple up Arnyn's letter, instead putting it aside as she had done with the one from her parents.

She eyed the 'form' like it was a bug. A hairy bug. Which was the size of her face. And one that could bite. "That thing could suck the light out of a Silmaril," she muttered unhappily.

Maybe a snack, first.

---

@Rillewen
Even though she had basically pushed him into asking her, Arnyn took a moment to look at Gladhron, as if debating, before she accepted his arm. "Yes, I would." She let him lead her to the dance floor, and as they faced each other her gaze was difficult to decode. "I... don't want to spend any more time this evening thinking about how to handle it. And I don't want you to spend any more time this evening feeling bad about it, either. So..." Arnyn shrugged lightly. "Let's forget about it until tomorrow?" she suggested, before offering Gladhron a questioning smile. "Did you ever manage to get into the training grounds a second time?" she asked with a sudden gleam in her eyes, effectively steering conversation toward a different topic.

By the bar, Tercen was frowning a little as he looked after Arnyn and Gladhron, but he was pulled from his thoughts by the barkeep presenting their drinks. "Sir?" he called for Tercen's attention, who immediately turned. "Oh, yes..." He fished up the right amount of coin and slid it over, picking up the glass filled with the nondescript order he'd given for Ava. "I ordered you something," he told her apologetically as he offered it up to her scrutiny. "Though I should say - I have no idea what it is. I asked for something refreshing... Want to give it a try?" Focusing on Ava once more, something inside of Tercen settled. Things would be alright. "And when we're done with the drinks... I'd really love to dance with you again, Temptress. If it pleases you."

@Rillewen

For the span of one short moment, Pharak assumed that the young man was about to turn and leave the wash room. Perhaps because the young Gondorian hadn’t suspected quite how many people might be already at ‘business’ in the small space. Or maybe he meant to go fetch help, for the man on the floor ? Dropping his now impaired line of sight from the same man on the floor back to the walking aid he held in both his hands .. there was no denying. It would not take much at all for the youth to suspect something untoward had already happened here. Even if he had not heard … and there was no way he had not heard ..

But what the Umbarian then heard, in return, stopped all lines of usual consideration. The newcomer .. wouldn’t stop him ? He was all but encouraging the criminal intent, in fact ?! If it were a bluff, it was a most intriguing approach. And the Burned Man took the time to gauge a better study of this unlooked for intrusion. Because for one .. he didn’t have much of a choice. The Gondorian, whoever he was, was blocking the only exit quite effectively. There was after all no easy way for any of them to ‘escape’ out through the window. Not if the native man wished to keep him here.

But that of course was the question. What did this man want ?


“You are not the cause .. ” Pharak toyed with the blunt weapon in his grasp but made no move to employ it, against either of the two men within reach. Was this stranger in fact the exact cause he had come here ? The answer to his prayer for guidance ? Nay, but he was yet a pup. It could not be …. Still. What he had said .. His timing ...

And in that doubt, he paused. For he had adopted a Gondorian accent ever since arriving in Dol Amroth, but it had developed more of a Belfalasian twang to it, through greater practice in that locale, rather than intention. Still he had no fear of being recognised for what he truly was. And even if this upstart had heard of the Burned Man, the Blood Priest, as they so named him back home; who would ever believe that such an individual would come here, in person ? The man he had once been, before, would have. Of course. But he had not been that man for a good many years now. He barely recalled the before. Without recalling why .. how .. it had all changed. It took a lot of effort not to wield the tool in his hands, as the man he once had been would still be able to.


“Though you might wish to stand an audience,” Pharak observed. At the very least, this youth was obstructing any other witness from chancing upon the scene. “There is little reward to be had by me, in dispatching with a soul who is already rendered past the point of suffering at the blow struck.” The Burned Man raised his chin, clearly unshamed by his ravaged visage, nor his confession. He had been caught, he would not beg. It might even seem that there was no need .. for one thing. Well it would not be the first time that fate had turned things around quite unexpectedly. “My apparent scorn then, of our 'friend' here, must concede that his death serve message to those whom it would more capably injure, in his stead. At the very least. You do not strike me as such a one.”

A one, instead, who might enjoy to see such violence visited upon one of his countrymen .. ? Apparently. The Umbarian's conclusion was his widest estimation, given what he could not possibly know of the man before him. But the pointed reminder, that they each seemed no friend to the man laid out at their mercy, was as far as he could dare in guessing the youth’s motives. This one though was younger, healthier, and far more self-assured to fit with the crowd they had left in the drinking fold beyond the door. He had not joined the dishevelled veterans telling their war stories, or been a part of the heartfelt memorials. Yet Pharak had not noted this youth enter the inn at all, which meant he had been present in the tavern this eve, for even longer than himself. For the same cause ? Nay. Not likely the same target. Because the Drunk had entered only just before Pharak. Then again, 'Addhor' did seem something of a regular. And his attendance here could thus be almost guaranteed to occur at some point of an evening ... For all the time that the younger Gondorian before him had been hereabouts, he did not seem the worse for wear from alcohol either. It was interesting. To say the very least. And spoke more to his mind of home, more than he had felt since leaving that city. He had not looked to find such .. here.

@Rillewen

“But of course she is,” the squire observed, glancing pointedly over the head and shoulder of Trevadir before focusing wholly on the musician. “For you are here.” His tone did not betray whether he was cross or jesting, though his face had rested some of it’s former alarm. For the girl certainly was .. laughing ..

Some part of the man wished to convey to the younger man what it might feel like to have a younger relative be from their sight, and find them .. in the company of .. But after all that had happened at Lond Col, there was no notion he was less willing to express aloud. Instead the Belfalasian slowly uncrossed his arms.

“At this rate I am going to have to rely on you, rather than her current caretaker ..” He sighed, as the young housemaid leapt down lightly off her swing and came over to join them.

“I’m Claery” she explained, her unchecked demeanour if not her accent betraying that she was a native of the White City, rather than the coast.


“Papa ! Papa !” Airelen made a run toward the small gathering, and fed a hand into one of each of those men she adored. “The spinner stopped,” she pouted. “But I met a mermaid, raised by Elfs !” As quickly as her father could roll his eyes at what nonsense she had clearly been led to believe true, Claery picked the child up and span her high above her head.

“A mermaid ! Here ?” the servant marvelled, equally as excited, it seemed.

“Raised up by the elfs,” she was reliably informed, and the small girl turned where she was held, to find sight of Renia. She pointed then.

“Don’t point,” her father immediately put in as instruction.

“She doesn’t mind,” Airelen wriggled from her knees and tapped down on Claery’s shoulder. “Mama !”



And before her father could make clear that neither Renia or Claery were the child’s mother, Anardil noted his wife, come around the corner, with Gildolen. Her arm rested upon the extended limb of the valet, as though it were a bird sat on it’s branch. Grey eyes closed and opened in a quiet envy he could do naught but subdue.

“What is all this now ?” Gaelanna wondered, as she broke away to stand beside her husband, knowingly. “Your doing, I am sure,” she suspected of Trevadir, but she was smiling. Gildolen, by contrast had stalled short of stepping up to join the evolving throng. He glanced with purpose off to one side, so that his dark hair might have some hope of falling anywhere close to conceal his bruised face. In front of company. Airelen though was unused to being ignored, by anyone.

“Gil ! Gil !” she called out in a new stream of delight, and waved merrily.

@Arnyn
For a moment, Gladhron wondered if he had misinterpreted what she'd meant, and that maybe she hadn't intended on him asking to dance. But then, she accepted his invitation, and he smiled faintly. Her words, as they reached the dance floor, were a relief to hear. He nodded. "Until tomorrow." He agreed, giving a little smile as he tried to put the whole matter out of his mind, for now at least.

He was a little surprised by her following question, and let out a little laugh. "I didn't try," he admitted. "Things have been slightly busy since then, so I haven't really thought about going back out there." He shrugged slightly as he guided her into a slower style of dancing, matching with the current song that was being played. Then, he tilted his head. "Wait." He frowned, trying to remember if he'd said anything to her about that. "Did Gwestion tell you about that?" He guessed.

---

Ava had been a little preoccupied before when Tercen had ordered their drinks, and therefore she was a little surprised when he told her he'd asked for her something. A little smile pulled the corners of her lips upward. "Oh?" She asked, curiously accepting the glass. What could this be, she wondered? Since not even Tercen knew, she was curious what the bartender may have come up with for her. She raised the glass up to take a little sip, exploring whether the drink would indeed be 'refreshing'.

"Mm, it is good." She declared, before offering the glass to let Tercen try a sip, with a slightly playful smile on her lips. She wondered if he would object to taking a drink after her, or if he would be unbothered by such a thing. At his words, her smile settled into a pleased one. "It would certainly please me to dance with you, Sunshine." She assured him, then grinned slightly. "That is why we came here tonight, I believe." She added, somewhat amused. She was quite eager to not think about the possible problems that may lay ahead of them tomorrow, and focus on enjoying this evening as much as possible.

@Ercassie
"Though you might wish to stand an audience, there is little reward to be had by me, in dispatching with a soul who is already rendered past the point of suffering at the blow struck."

These words brought a small frown to Mar's face, and his heart sank a little in disappointment, as his shoulders slumped slightly. He had hoped, upon hearing the man's words, that he would find his task done for him. Now, it sounded as if this disfigured stranger had no intention of actually following up on his words, and Mar would have to handle the job, after all. Not that he was reluctant to take a life, but as yet, he had only slain animals, and never a person before. And while he wasn't bothered at the thought of doing so, he couldn't help being just a bit nervous about trying to do so here, since he was in the middle of town, in a busy tavern, and he did not want any attention drawn to himself. He had hoped that this stranger would manage the job, and then Mar would not have to risk any association to the invalid's death coming to himself.

But the scarred man's next words raised a glimmer of hope back up in the young, ex-guardsman. "Message?" He repeated thoughtfully, frowning. "But it is a message that I came here to avoid being told," He frowned, his sea-green gaze flicking to the unconscious man on the floor. The young man absently fingered the handle of a steak knife that he had tucked into his belt, just before coming into the washroom, but he abandoned the thought of using it on the cripple, now that he was here. It would be far better to slam the guy's head against the edge of the counter or something. Make it look like the idiot had slipped and fallen on his own, and therefore done himself in. So that no one would think 'murder', but rather 'accident'. Right?

Mar returned his gaze to the stranger though, as the rest of his words sank in. "No, I would not grieve the cripple's death," Mar answered with an almost amused scoff. "In fact I.." he stopped, hesitating as he eyed the man. But Mar had already made it fairly clear that he was not interested in preserving this man's life, so why not tell his intent? The other man did not shy from admitting his own intentions, it seemed. Mar drew a breath and straightened his shoulders slightly, motioning to the prone figure on the floor. "He... saw something, a little while ago, which he shouldn't have." He explained a bit uneasily. "And if he should speak of what he saw to anyone, especially to his family, it would certainly prove quite... problematic, to say the least. For me, that is." He cleared his throat, reluctant to go any further into it than that. "That is why I came in here, just now. To make sure he doesn't.. tell. Anyone. Ever."

He paused, then tilted his head in curiosity. "But what did you mean, about using his death to serve as a message for those to whom it would injure?" He asked, eyes gleaming at that idea. "For that also would give me great satisfaction." With a little nod toward the cripple, Mar added in explanation, "The cripple there is the father of one of my greatest enemies. If there is any harm or grief that I can send his way, I would gladly do so." He raised his own chin slightly, defying the very notion of feeling any shame over this admission. Or perhaps, even proud to be able to admit how he truly felt about it all. For he could never speak so freely around his brother, nor his parents, or anyone else. Would this guy prove to be different than all others? His words so far had made him seem more alike to Mar than he had ever known anyone else to be...

@Rillewen
When she offered him the glass, he lightly put his hand over hers to tip the glass up and try it for himself. "Mhm," he rumbled. "Not bad, no." He slowly let go of her hand and picked up his own drink. "Let's survey the crowd a little, while we finish our refreshments," he suggested in a low voice, moving himself between her and the bar and slipping his free arm around her waist. She could turn to face the dance floor and lean against him, as he leaned against the bar. With one arm around Ava and holding his ale in the other hand, Tercen was more than content. He wouldn't mind spending many an evening like this, he knew. But he also knew that would likely not be in the cards.

Again, worries for another day.

"What do you think about the music?" He asked, his lips close to her hair.

---

@Rillewen
"Busy?" she asked. "Aren't you on vacation?" she teased. After Gladhron asked if Gwestion had told her about him having trouble to get into the training grounds, Arnyn looked over-the-top-thoughtful. "Did he? Would he have had time for that, if you've been so busy?"

She let him think about that for a moment, but the twinkle in her eyes betrayed her amusement, and soon she couldn't keep a smile from her face. "I'm the second in command, Gladhron," she reminded him. "And I have a bit of a reputation for finding out just about everything." Her smile grew teasing. "Just in case you were thinking about hiding things from me. I've given you fair warning."

@Ercassie
Trev glanced at Nardy, somewhat surprised by his answer, but relieved that he didn't seem to be upset at him. Nodding, Trev relaxed slightly. "She came running up to us, and said she was hiding or something." He explained. "I figured she'd enjoy the playground, so.. we came here."

Trev was not very familiar with small children, nor protective parents of said small children. And, while he could hear Renia and Airelen laughing and enjoying the roundabout, he had worried that Nardy would be concerned about the dangers of such a playground activity. He blinked at the suggestion Nardy made about relying on him to care for the girl. Was he actually joking? Did Nardy even know how to joke? He wasn't sure if he'd ever heard the man make any sort of joke, ever. But then, he had only known him for a time while he lived with Nal, and then he'd only seen him a few times, since.

When the young lady came over, Trev smiled politely and nodded in greeting. "Pleased to meet you, Claery," He answered. "I'm Trevadir," He might have said more, but the girl came running over all excitedly, just then. He was surprised when she put one of her hands into his, and yet he smiled slightly. The girl was absolutely adorable, and such a ball of energy.

Renia wasn't far behind, shrugging. She would have started the spinner going again if she'd been given half a chance, but the girl had taken off running toward her father and Trev, the moment it had slowed enough for her to get off it. She grinned with a faint blush when Airelen declared to the other two adults that she had met a mermaid. "Uh, hi." She grinned a little sheepishly as she stepped up to Trev's side. "I'm the mermaid." She admitted with amusement, then put out a hand for a handshake and a beaming smile, first to the young woman, who was nearest to where Renia stood, and then to the man.

"Also known as Renia," Trev supplied with a little grin, his happiness and admiration for her clear in his eyes as he looked at the blue-eyed blonde beside him, just before their attention was drawn toward another approaching pair. He turned and offered another polite smile to the veiled lady, but wondered at the young man at her side, and found his gaze studying him curiously, for a moment at least, before he dipped his head in greeting to Lady Gaelanna. "My doing, ma'am?" He asked, unsure exactly what he was being accused of, although it didn't seem that she was upset at him for anything. Briefly, he wondered whether he ought to conduct introductions, but he was not really entirely sure how to go about it, and knowing how much of a stickler Nardy was for such things, he decided to leave it to the squire, who would surely manage it more 'properly' than Trev could ever hope to.

"Just a little game," Renia assured the lady in the veil, with a little smile. "Are you all going to join us on the spinner next? Orrrr maybe the swings?" She asked, her blue eyes lit with a mix between teasing and sincere eagerness, as she glanced around at the gathering crowd, wondering how many of these other adults would be willing to just have fun and play, carefree as a kid. Surely, Airelen would enjoy it if they did, right?

---

@Arnyn
Gladhron laughed slightly. "Well, today was all spent in getting moved in and then figuring out what to wear, and so on." He shrugged. He didn't feel like getting into all of what he had done on the 27th and 28th. The first half of the 27th had been spent sleeping, mostly, for one. And he didn't really want to divulge to her how hard he had crashed once his head finally hit the pillow, after all that. And the 28th... well, he and Tercen had spent some time together that day, and he had no intention of telling Arnyn about that.

When she responded to his question about Gwestion, he was glad to see the twinkle of amusement in her eyes, and gave a little laugh when she pointed out the obvious. "Right..." He cleared his throat, a bit awkward as he wondered just what sort of report had reached her. And, suddenly, he wondered whether she knew of Tercen's involvement, too. "Thanks for the warning." He grinned at her, then gave her a slow twirl. "You know I'm not good at hiding things, though." He added with a little laugh. "Not from friends, anyway."

---

She grinned slightly as he, rather than taking the glass from her, put his hand over hers and sipped from it while they both held it. "Alright." She agreed to his suggestion, leaning comfortably against him while standing together, watching the crowd. She slowly sipped her drink and gave a happy, contented sigh. Her gaze swept around, noticing that some of those other ladies, who had previously been looking toward Tercen as if hoping he might come speak to them, had apparently given up on that idea by now. Still, she didn't let her gaze linger on anyone overlong.

"Mm, the music is nice." She murmured back in answer to his question. "So is this," She turned her head slightly and smiled at him softly, meaning the way they were standing, how comfortable it felt and all. Plus, she couldn't help feeling slightly smug inside, at the thought that if any of those other ladies still harbored hopes that Tercen might come ask them to dance, then this ought to make it clear that their hopes were in vain. Not to mention any men who may have had ideas about asking Ava for a dance.

@Rillewen
Tercen smiled back warmly when Ava angled her head to look at him. "Yes," he said quietly. "It really is." His arm tightened momentarily around her, for he was unsure how else he could show the feelings coursing through him. Without making one half of the tavern insanely jealous and the other half thinking they were being wildly inappropriate, that is. Because, as he had told Ava before, he wasn't exactly good at holding back when he kissed someone. He had managed once, though, when he'd taken her out that first time after the masquerade. So maybe he could manage again? Not now, though. If he kissed her now... No. Definitely not now.

It was wiser to stay as they were. As it turned out, he did not mind one bit. It wasn't just nice. It felt comfortable. It felt right. He looked at what he could see of her face as she looked out at the dancefloor, and took in a deep breath - slow, so she wouldn't notice. He was getting into deep and uncharted waters, here. In more ways than one. It wasn't the first time he was reminded of what he had told Gladhron: that it was a dangerous game to play, having feelings for a woman whose life was elsewhere from yours.

Tercen drank deeply from his ale. No matter how many times he reminded himself from focusing on the moment, he couldn't help his mind returning to the point where she would have to leave. Time and time again, his treacherous thoughts kept circling back to that same place. Just finish your drink, man. And then swoop her off her feet on the dance floor. While you still can.

---

@Rillewen
She could imagine the moving taking some time, even though it wasn't like they'd moved house. They were already travelling. She also reminded herself that the brothers were always travelling... But Seri, Brooke and Aislin were with them, as well - and they had brought a wagon. So that would have taken up time, for sure.

"Figuring out what to wear," she repeated, with an amused little grin. "How long did that take you, then? Don't tell me you were that concerned over it?" She glanced down at his attire again and slanted her head thoughtfully. "I should say, this Gil was on to something." Arnyn returned her gaze to his eyes. "You look good. The vest brings out the blue in your eyes." She didn't think they had ever looked quite this blue to her.

When he claimed not to be very good at hiding things, she rolled her eyes. "Well, I couldn't be sure by this point. I didn't think you were that good at observing details as you apparently definitely are." He had proven as much at the masquerade, and they had discussed it at headquarters, and once again he had puzzled something out - albeit with Gwestion's help - that hadn't been supposed to be easy to figure out in the first place. "Who knows what else is underneath the surface? You might be very good at hiding certain things, if you care enough to pay attention."

@Arnyn
Gladhron grinned in amusement. "Longer than you'd expect, actually." He admitted. "There were.. um, some arguments, and some fussing, and so on and so forth, not to mention having to fight off an overeager valet who wanted to give me a shave and haircut and all sorts of other things," He joked, then shrugged. "Mostly I was a little unsure how dressy I needed to be, as I didn't really know the place we'd be going to." He explained. "But really, I was just glad I was able to find something that worked for this evening, that I could just borrow, instead of having to buy something new." He smiled slightly.

Then his smile increased a bit more when she commented that he looked good, and that the blue 'brought out his eyes'. "Does it?" he asked, a little surprised to hear that, but pleased, nonetheless. Mostly, that she had noticed! "Thank you." He added, quite happy to hear her compliment.

He shrugged again when she mentioned that he could be very good at hiding certain things. "Perhaps." If he could keep his mouth shut, then yeah, sure. "But, I usually have no need to hide things from friends." He added, thoughtful. "Although, I probably wouldn't have shared anything about my observation skills if you hadn't practically made me reveal them," He admitted. "That's.. something I don't really like to make too widely known." They'd been over that matter before, as well as his reasons why.

@Rillewen

He had not long begun to consider .. perhaps this young man had not been lain in wait within the tavern since before Pharak had come himself. Might be the Gondorian had entered only in the minutes since the Umbarian followed the drunk into the wash room. But then, to rally with such haste toward that room himself, to not stall even for a drink .. and to not baulk in horror or rise up aghast at what he found there .. no. The Burned Man watched for the youth’s reaction to all that was apparent. To all he had alluded to .. And though a frown was the primary response, the truth of what inspired that frown made the stranger smile.

It was not a handsome smile. It was the cold and eerie expression of an ancient oil painting, who seemed to be amused at the expense of all others in the world. He noted the knife, small, mundane, .. convenient .. This was some spontaneous decision it seemed, from the young one. The scoff was no act. He could tell. And as for the “In fact, I ..”


Pharak rolled his scabrous head upon his neck, as though he unwound further inhibitions. As each word that his unlooked for accomplice spoke, .. was another coal to stoke the fire .. of some possibility. The Umbarian glanced from the diverting speaker, back to the mess on the floor; slowly departing from the suspicion that this new contender was a rival hunter, come to try and rob him of his prey. It was perhaps something else entirely. The elder turned the offered motive over in the secret solace of his canny mind. Family .. the Gondorian said. There was indeed then … more .. And perhaps there was a far more easy pool of information that might be resourced, than the one laid out unconscious, after all.

“He looks not in a haste to share what you say he has seen,” the Burned Man decided. And as a point of just then realising, he leaned down and checked for a sign that the alcoholic still possessed a pulse. Although it turned out that he did, it did not look at all like Addhor was in any haste to do anything, save from waste his life away .. to maybe naught. “And I have ventured some considerable way .. to see that his entire family forget all else but that which I intend .. So.”


The young man’s ‘confession’ was as far from seeking sympathy or penance as any ‘scoffing’ admission might be. Oh, Pharak liked that. He liked that a good deal, in fact. He liked it well enough to restrain his own surprise and amusement when the Gondorian ‘boy’ spoke of ‘one of his greatest enemies’. At such a tender age ? What could such a one as this possibly know of enemies ? What ill might justify such grandiose terms for another, and as merely one amongst a greater count of foes ? The Umbarian could not help his smile, any more than most people could stand to look upon it any more for any vast length of time.

“It is not he but his family as inspired my own interest,” the Burned Man narrowed his good eye, and cocked his head in a disarming manner, for the new informant. Perhaps suggesting why he was so hesitant to kill the only means at his disposal, without all due thought put into how to make the most out of it. “How about you tell me what I want to know, and I in return assure that this,” he took the time to spit on the fallen man at his feet, “shall come to be so wracked by what I have set in my mind, that he will take his own life, and spare both of us the trouble ?”

@Ercassie
Mar watched the man for a long moment, in silence, as the other seemed to be thinking. The young man was waiting, mostly, to see what he was going to do with the admission that Mar had just dropped. Would he have to prevent this guy from calling the guards? But there, Mar was at an advantage. For, if necessary, he could claim to have caught this guy in the act of something, and.. well, he did happen to have the face of a guard. Still. That would be... well, not ideal, since it might call more attention to himself and Ric than he'd like.

And besides, the words Mar had overheard upon entering the washroom did not leave the impression of a man who would call the guards on another who had similar intent. Still, as the scarred man mentioned that the cripple didn't seem to be in a hurry to share anything, Mar watched, a bit doubtfully, as the stranger crouched down to check whether he was even alive anymore. He hoped that he was not, but by the man's reaction, he concluded that was not the case. Alas.

Mar's concerns were laid to rest a moment later when the stranger declared that he had 'come a considerable way', to do something to the family of the drunk on the floor. This piqued Mar's curiosity further, and he tilted his head questioningly. Now that was interesting. As he looked at the man, he was oddly fascinated by the scars covering a part of his face. Unbothered by the man's strange smile, nor by witnessing him spit on the unconscious man, Mar casually tucked his thumbs into his trouser pockets, still leaning against the door. He was growing increasingly more aware of how long they had been here, and worried that some other may try to enter, before long.

An eyebrow arched interestedly at the proposal that followed. Tell him what he wanted to know? That was easy enough. Ensure that the invalid was so wracked by something that he would take his own life? Now that would be.. something. One corner of Mar's lips curled upward slowly at the thought of how such a thing would affect his foe. Not to mention the fact that yes, it would definitely solve his problems if the drunk died. He liked that idea. Very much.

"How can I help?" He asked, by way of answering that proposal. "Whatever this plan of yours is, I'm definitely on board. Anything to destroy that nuisance." He smirked, briefly. "Though," he hesitated and glanced over his shoulder at the door. "I would suggest that any lengthier discussion ought to take place elsewhere, for anyone may wish to come in here at any moment," He warned. They were in a very public place, after all. He gave a nod toward the invalid. "And what about him, in the meanwhile?" He asked, assuming that if they went someplace more private to talk, that they would not bring him along. Yet, he wanted to leave him alive for now, so that he would do their job for them.

@Rillewen
As she tried to imagine Gladhron fighting off a valet who wanted to make him 'presentable to society', she couldn't help but grin. "I would have loved to see that," she admitted. "I bet it was a good show." Upon his surprised question about her comment about the blue, Arnyn nodded - amused. "It does. And I'm sure, because at the masquerade I noticed how similar your eye color is to that of my trainee's - and this evening yours look bluer for some reason. I've heard how clothing colors can sort of influence all that. Here I have my proof, I suppose," she explained.

"Yes.You prefer to underestimated rather than people to have certain... expectations," she said more quietly, looking away from him as those words left her mouth. It was perhaps a bit confrontational to put it that way, but while she had agreed to put the 'blabbing' aside for the evening, she could not quite forget it completely. "My point is," she continued, "if you want to, you can hide things just fine. But you're on my home turf now. I have more resources than my own skills at observation, this time." Only then did she look back at him. One half ofher mouth curled up slightly. "But if you do not have anything else to hide, I suppose there is nothing for you to worry about in that respect."

@Arnyn
"We could try to reenact it later, but it would probably lose some of the humor in the process," He informed her, amused. "Alas. It seems you will have to settle for hearing tales, alone." He grinned back. "Then there was Gwestion, making fun of me the whole time," He rolled his eyes, but was smiling. He started to comment that he hoped the show tomorrow would be more entertaining to watch, but at the moment, he thought it might be best not to comment about the play, for she may decide she'd rather not attend, after his mess-up tonight. Maybe, give her a little time to think and settle, first.

He smiled as she spoke about his eyes being bluer. "Ah, your trainee. I've met him," he mentioned with a little smile. "He seems like a nice guy." He held off from mentioning anything further about that, as she was saying how he was on her home turf, and that she had ways of finding things out. If she didn't already know about Trastion's part in the training ground thing, he did not want to risk her finding out through him, and getting Trastion in trouble. So, he said nothing, and merely nodded with a faint smile in reply to her comments about him having nothing to worry about, if he had nothing to hide.

They continued to dance slowly together throughout that song, and into the next, which was also fairly slow. He occasionally added in a basic twirl, but not very many as he was content to just hold her in his arms. Then, as yet another song began that was a bit less slow, he decided it was probably time to try and impress her again, so he implemented a few more twirls before trying out one of the other fancy moves that Tercen had taught him.

---

She was content to rest against him while sipping her drink, but eventually, the glass was empty. Setting the glass down, Ava glanced to see if Tercen's glass still had anything in it. Seeing that they were both done with their drinks now, she smiled. "I think it's time to show the room how well we dance together, Sunshine." She teased, grinning as she recalled how nice it had been to dance with him at the masquerade.

Since they'd only had one dance so far, she was quite eager to spend more time on the dance floor with him, and try to forget the less pleasant parts of the evening. Although, she was making sure not to lapse back into her usual accent, again. Not while they were still out. She had made that mistake before, having lowered her guard while dancing with Tercen, and it had brought a rather unintended result. She was a little annoyed at herself for getting careless, yet again, while she still did not know for sure whether there were any of Pharak's spies lurking around this city. While she did want to enjoy herself this evening, she also didn't intend to make that mistake again, despite how easy it was to relax in Tercen's presence.