faemused | Open To Anyone For Anything RP Post

"So it is." Her look at him is fond, despite the slight warning of a moment ago. Faramir worries for all those he loves, but she well understands why. "As will the lined carry-sack your cousin Lothiriel sent. When I am allowed to ride once more, I hope to take him with me." She picks Elboron up, lifting him above her head, grateful for the renewed strength that lets her do so at last. "Do you think you will like that, my little one?"

"He will, for he is a Rider's son!" He smiles at them both.

"We should take him to the stables to meet the horses, I think. Do you think he is old enough yet?"

"Merely to meet horses? Certainly. They should get used to his smell as soon as may be, and he to theirs. I would have done it before now were I able." She grimaces a little, for it has taken much effort to convince the healers to loose the leash they have placed her in.

But she sighs a little and lets it go, turning a smile once more on the subject of this discussion. "But he is also a Ranger's son, and perhaps it will be that he prefers to move silently and stealthily through the forest like his father, rather than galloping wildly over the plains as his mother does." Her sideways smile at Faramir is affectionate.

"It is good that they get to meet each other and get used to each other early." He agrees.

"If he does, I will be very glad!" He laughs. "And will obviously teach him. But I suppose he is too young, yet, to know!"

"It might be wise to wait until he can walk," Eowyn agrees, her eyes twinkling with mirth.

"I think it would be very hard to sneak when one cannot even crawl!"

He agrees mock solemnly, and kisses the laugh in her smile.

"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."

((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.

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.

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."

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.

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!"

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."

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

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

She can, a distant roar that grows louder as they approach. Henneth Annun is known for the Window of the West, which is so miraculous at sunset, but its waterfall is beautiful by day as well, particularly surrounded by snowdrifts.

Still cold, however, and Eowyn is entirely willing to dismount and give over care of their horses when they arrive, in favor of a warm blanket and a hot drink as she tends to Elboron while Faramir catches up with some of his Rangers still stationed here. There is not the activity there once was, but Ithilien is still the barrier between the rest of Gondor and the East, and watchpoints such as this still much needed.

There's a nice great fire roaring, and once inside and out of the wind, the thick rock walls serve as something of insulation anyway.

"Come! I've asked them to set us a fire at the window, so we can enjoy the view."

"A view of endless water?" she says, smiling, though she follows at once. Elboron whimpers a little, disconcerted by the noise, and she cradles his head against her neck.

"And the sun through the ice!" He laughs, and reaches over to stroke his son's head.

"Ah now, my son, you will get used to the thunder. And we are not going too close today."

Eowyn's smile turns tender and affectionate at this gesture from Faramir towards their son, and she too strokes his head. "I think once he is fed, he will grow less fretful," she says. "And likely be lulled to sleep by the sound, as I have been in the past."

Eowyn has always had mixed feelings about staying in Henneth Annun--it is very beautiful, but she has never liked caves, and whenever they are here she counts on the sound of the waterfall for comfort to help her drift off to sleep. That, and her husband's arms around her, of course.

"He seems insatiable, at times!" Faramir grins wryly as Elboron, having wriggled a hand free, grabs for his father's fingers only to shove them in his mouth.

"Ai! I am not for eating, my son!"

She snorts a little, for they both know how insatiable he is. The healers insisted on Elboron sleeping in another room at night, that his parents might get the rest they needed to fulfill their duties, or else the past months would have been difficult indeed.

Gently she tugs Elboron's hand, encouraging him to grip her fingers instead. "No, but I am," she says, with more than a little irony. She smiles at Faramir. "So I should tend to that, while you tend to all else, yes?"

Elboron gums his father's fingers but allows himself to be distracted.

"Already he knows what he wants?" Faramir shrugs at her with a wry grin. "Aye - I will set up the meal, while you feed him. It should not take long!"

He has all the things already pre-prepared, and the fire is already lit, so all he has to do is make it cosy.

Eowyn grimaces, for she knows it is easily possible for Elboron to take an hour at his meal if she does not stop him. But she may eat one-handed if need be, or tolerate Faramir's assistance. Weeks of parenting has made her more willing to accept such aid than her pride permitted those first few difficult nights. Besides, she is as hungry as Elboron.

So she makes herself as comfortable as she may near the fire, resting back against a rock as she feeds their son, alternately watching Faramir at work, or Elboron with his small eyes squeezed shut in concentration. Happily, her prediction proves true; some feeding and the rush of the waterfall, combined with the warmth of fire, firs, and his mother nearby, means Elboron drifts off to sleep before so very long. Eowyn cradles him on her shoulder, humming a quiet lullaby as she stares at the falling water.

Faramir sets out the bread and wine and meats from the picnic basket, setting those things that need warming closer to the fire and setting up the meat to be roasted. By the time Elboron is drifting off to sleep, the smell is percolating through the larger cave where they are, set further back from the falls so as to avoid the dampness, and he pours her a glass of wine as he removes the skewers of meat from the fire.

"Is he still feeding or think you we can set him in a sling, perhaps?"

Eowyn's stomach growls at the smell of roasting meat. "I think he will stay asleep for a time," she says, her voice still low and soothing. "We may not even need the sling; a bed of furs might suffice." He cannot yet roll over, which means he stays where he is put, and he is well swaddled and warm in his bundle. And she would dearly love to have both arms free for a time.

The thought is parent to the deed; Elboron protests a little, but falls back into sleep, leaving his parents free to enjoy their meal unhindered.

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Mind largely gone blank. I can think of some thing Faramir might instigate but not Eowyn!

LOL he's not likely to initiate much until she's a bit better XD timeskip?

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

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

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