Open To Anyone For Anything RP Post

[questionablewit]

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Brilliant ideas and clueless flailing all welcome.
AUs and cross-canon, drama and comedy and shipping.
Just throw stuff at me. It's all good.

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[grumpycatanthir]

Caranthir is waiting for her by the fire, and only the way his hands twist and pull at his sleeves betrays his nervousness and impatience.

He looks up and bows to her.

"Lady Haleth." He murmurs, and the light in his eyes is very bright and clear.

[takesnoshit]

She nods her head towards her tent. "Come, follow me."

That is all she says before turning to walk with him to her tent. She does not intend to hide her choices, but neither is she at all inclined to display them for all to see. She has, she hopes, made it clear that this is an alliance between herself and Caranthir, not between the Haladin and the Firstborn, and if only for that reason it would be unfit to do otherwise.

And besides...Caranthir, she thinks, would not thank her for making his inevitable blushes public.

She stops at the entrance to her tent, gesturing for him to enter. So far this is nothing they have not done many times, for her tent is larger than most and contains a table and a few chairs, and has been used for their meetings before now, that first night when he arrived included. From this alone there will not be much for the Haladin to suspect.

Not until he remains all the night, as she hopes he will. So she is smiling when she follows behind him, turns and ties the entrance shut at multiple points. "I have given order that we are not to be interrupted, not unless there is very great need," she says without preamble, turning and smiling at him, her eyebrow raised. There is a lit lantern on the table, and its light, the warm color of the dress he made her, the metallic threads, tease bright highlights from her brown hair.

'Hiding'. Uh huh. ;) And WELP here's an idea.

[withoutswords]

"No doubt," she agrees, laughing.

At his offer she turns her head and smiles. "Not now, I think, for I will be able to manage it quickly enough, and I think we would find ourselves distracted once more. But later..." Her smile turns faintly suggestive, for she well knows how he loves her hair. "Later, I hope you will."

Yeah, timeskip. Can you do this one? I have brain blank.

[withoutswords]

"Ah, but perhaps he is ambitious!" She kisses him back sweetly, glad of the attention. They share a bed once more, and there are embraces and kisses--but not so many as before, for they are both busier, distracted by their new son and the reordering of their lives around him. So far it is all too much of a whirl for Eowyn to miss other attentions (and as she has been sternly reminded more than once, she is still healing)...and yet, it has been a long time, and she cannot but be a little wistful.

But before she can identify these feelings clearly, there is a sharp tug, and she breaks off the kiss with a gasp; Elboron has managed a lucky grab at her hair, and is now waving it back and forth after having given a sharp pull. Eowyn winces. "Definitely ambitious."

Re: 'Hiding'. Uh huh. ;) And WELP here's an idea.

[theywhowait]

His eyebrow goes up at the suggestion in her smile, and he answers it with his own.

"Well! then I will most definitely do so. I will have to pack the good hairbrush." he teases.

Re: Yeah, timeskip. Can you do this one? I have brain blank.

[theywhowait]

((ooc: sure! Let's see... how about... ))

"Oh dear!" Faramir laughs and reaches over to help untangle her. "I see he shares my fascination already!"

Thus do the days go by - in the early stages, things are much the same, changes happening so slowly as to only be noticed on looking back. Day by day, Elboron grows more alert, and Eowyn grows stronger. They take him to the stables, where the horses snuffle at him curiously and one of the stable cats promptly adopts him, thereafter found occasionally curled up in his cot, somehow managing to enter through all the locked doors unseen.

Soon enough, he's big enough to go on further excursions, and now at last Faramir and Eowyn find the chance to get out of doors. The air, by this point, is definitely chilly, and there's snow on the ground as often as not - but they are both dressed warmly and Elboron is bundled up enough that he begins to look somewhat indignant at his sudden inability to move. They've gone as far as Henneth Annun. The waterfall does not freeze, being far too powerful for that, but the river above and the pond below does, a little, creating magical landscapes of strange crystalline shapes. It's too cold for a true picnic, but not for a brisk ride and a warm drink.

[withoutswords]

Eowyn has been finding motherhood more difficult than she expected, hard as she tries. She loves their son, but she is tired, unnerved by the changes in her body that have not gone away since giving birth, and often short-tempered even by her own standards. Knowing that it all is typical of a new mother makes it no less irritating, and knowing she is being irrational makes it no easier to refrain.

But at last she has the healer's blessing once more to ride, at least for short distances. This is a longer ride than they have yet attempted, and she is determined to enjoy all of it, despite the necessity of going at a slower pace than she would wish.

And it is a beautiful ride. Winter in the forests of Ithilien is altogether different from winter in the Mark, where the winds blow sharp. Here things are softer, and the snow decorates the trees, create strange sculptures that sparkle in today's sunlight.

Faramir has a long hair kink and no one will ever convince me otherwise.

[withoutswords]

She laughs, rapidly brushing out the tangles in her hair and twisting it into a crown on her head, something that will look more formal than it is once it is pinned properly. Yesterday was for pagentry; today she dresses to show she means business.

It does not take long, though Faramir still finishes first. "Shall we face them?" she says, smiling and offering her arm to him to take.

[grumpycatanthir]

He nods, following her in, and when she turns, has clearly been admiring the sight she makes, glittering in the firelight.

"That is well." He says gravely, but the shy fidgeting of his hands continues.

"I... brought you something." He adds awkwardly, dipping into a pocket. "Since we're going to be making this official, by my standards, that is."

do you see me denying this XD

[theywhowait]

He twinkles back at her and accepts her arm with solemn grace.

"Indeed! Before they get impatient and break down the door!"

[theywhowait]

Winter in Ithilien is certainly less cold!

Faramir watches her enjoy the new world around them fondly.

"Tis good to get out, again." He sighs happily. "Although this winter is a harsh one, we are, at least, in a good place to ride it out."

[takesnoshit]

Haleth looks a little surprised. "You are well prepared," she comments. "What is it, and what is its significance?"

[grumpycatanthir]

"Only in hope. It's... well."

He tips out two gold rings onto her hand.

"They're ... nothing fancy. And I obviously had to make a guess at your ring size. I'm not the craftsman my brother is."

[takesnoshit]

Her eyes widen as two small, cold bands of gold drop into her palm. "You never stop surprising me," she murmurs, looking at them. They are unadorned, but still beautiful, and they glimmer in the low, flickering light.

She looks at them for a moment, then up at his face. "Are there words we should say?" She could and would use the words of the Haladin joining ceremonies, for all that this is not one. But to her mind all words are but a path to the goal, and it matter little which they use so long as they are in agreement.

[withoutswords]

She gives him a faintly ironic look, for he has ridden out ere now, to visit sections of their lands needing attention. (he has not yet been summoned to Minas Tirith once more, but she suspects that is Aragorn's kindness rather than because there has been no need)

But it is the first time they have ridden out together for a while, and she lets it pass, and instead teases him a little. "You think this cold? Another year I will bring you to celebrate Yule in my country. When you feel the winds blow like howling wolves across the plains, I think you will adjust your opinion."

Elboron, wrapped snug and strapped to his father's chest, lets out an audible gurgle, as though in agreement.

Of course not. It would be futile. ;)

[withoutswords]

She laughs ruefully, leaning up to kiss him one last time, briefly, before they leave.

Breakfast is much as Eowyn expects it. The Great Hall has been mostly cleared of over-boisterous feasters who fell asleep on their benches next to half-empty or overturned tankards, and the cleaners have definitely been at work, which pleases her to see. From her own personal purse she had arranged gifts for all the servants, every last one, in thanks for their tremendous extra efforts towards the day; it seems her generosity is rewarded.

There is the inevitable teasing, of course, from the Riders who know her well, and certainly from their wives, and the same for Faramir from his own Rangers. Rude comments (though not too explicit) abound. Her brother attempts to silence these (more out of his own mortification than his sister's, for Eowyn gives as good as she gets, no matter who speaks), but to no avail.

After breakfast Eomer steals her away for some talk, and she tells him of her plans, and they talk of present and future for a while. At the end he kisses her on the forehead, his expression a trifle wistful at all the signs of the distance that must grow between them, and for a moment she too is a little wistful.

But not for long, for it is only a few hours later, just after the noontide meal, when she and Faramir are loading up their horses and a few packhorses with supplies, and she is radiant once more, impatient to set out. "We go to Thengel's hunting lodge," she informs her husband, as she checks Windfola's saddle. "It is a few hours' ride, but borders a forest and a small lake, so there will be game aplenty. Or fishing, if you are minded to try it."

It is arranged that their guards will follow them at a distance and keep a scouting perimeter, so that the honeymooners will be able to keep their privacy.

[grumpycatanthir]

They're very simple - basic gold bands. But he made them in hope and love.

"My folk take our vows in the name of Eru, and in the eyes of Manwe and Varda." He shrugs. "There is no true set formulate, as such. You?"

[theywhowait]

He mock shivers at her.

"You are making it terribly unnattractive!"

He laments with a laugh and tuts at Elboron. "And already taking your mother's side!"

XD

[theywhowait]

Faramir, meanwhile, goes to Aragorn, who laughs at his steward but doesn't need much to agree to let them go for a while. Being married himself probably helps.

"I don't think you took me there last time." He smiles at her. "Although normally I don't mind fishing, I am thinking we might not have time for such leisurely endeavours!"

[takesnoshit]

Haleth knows--and that is why she will value them.

She shrugs. "There is a lot of pagentry and poetry, but it matters little to me. This is enough." She looks at the two rings in her hand, then hands the smaller one to him, that he may place it on her finger. Her smile is small, but happy. "This is all I need."

[withoutswords]

She glances over at him, one brow raised over eyes filled with mirth. "You think we will be too busy for such pursuits? Whatever could occupy us so thoroughly?"

[withoutswords]

She relents, smiling. "It would not be so dire as all that. And there would be many fires, and thick walls to keep out the winds. And that mulled mead that you have developed such fondness for!"

She shivers too, and not in teasing. "But it is true this is cold, and I would be glad of reaching our destination soon."

[grumpycatanthir]

He smiles shyly at her and accepts it, reaching to slide it onto her finger.

"Then in Eru's name, I give myself to thee as husband, until time itself should part us."

[theywhowait]

"Well, we might be hunting..." he muses with a grin.

[theywhowait]

"The mead is certainly a large encouragement!" he laughs and smiles.

"We are almost there." He promises. "Listen! you can hear the falls!"