Open To Anyone For Anything RP Post

[questionablewit]

Want to tag someone? Tag someone. Put the character you want in the subject line.
Leave a starter, or leave a prompt and I'll start.
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.

Comments

for rohirrims

[whattheydefend]

Faramir is a patient man, and two more days is not a long time to wait. But it is two days after a year of waiting, and his patience is begining to stretch, not least because he has seen so little of his betrothed for the past few days. It was not something he could complain of in Gondor, not while knowing his king and queen had waited for each other for more years than Faramir himself had lived; but he could complain of impatience a little--only a little!--here.

With the result that several of his own company have joined forces with members of Éomer-king's court to try and get him thoroughly drunk. He is too canny to let them succeed--he hopes--but it is at least a pleasant distraction.

For the most part. It would be more pleasant if the man currently singing a ribald song at the groom-to-be's expense were not so off-key. Faramir hides his smile in his mug.

[rohirrims]

The sounds of singing and laughter in his halls are not so uncommon as of late, but it contrasts the time when there was an absence of it all. Those dark days as the king's health failed; as more poison was whispered into his ear. All of Edoras suffered and the days were bleak. Even after Theoden regained control of himself, the looming shadow from the East made everything silent and grim.

But now these are blessed days, and Éomer walks around the perimeter of his hall, smiling at the revelry going on around him. At the center of it is the man who is soon to be his brother, and he could not ask for one better, but he also wishes to keep an eye on him tonight. Without knowing Faramir's ability to hold his drink, he doesn't want to see the man with a terrible hangover come morning.

Chuckling at their current entertainment, he turns to walk in between the tables set up to Faramir's side, where he claps him on the shoulder.

"I should not wish to see the Steward of Gondor struck deaf before the wedding," he says in good humor, which elicits a hearty laugh from all around. "Allow me to steal him away for awhile. You will have him back soon enough." The crowd makes various sounds and cheers, but there is an undercurrent of amusement above all else. Now is probably the time when their king will give the outsider a "talk" about what will happen if he ever hurts their White Lady.

"On to the porch, if you will?" Éomer says, though he's still smiling. If he is about to do the concerned older brother speech, he does not look prepared for it.

[whattheydefend]

At the amused cheers interspersed somewhat with sniggers and "Oh, now he's for it...!" and the like, Beregond gives his lord an eloquent look, a silent do you need rescuing? Faramir laughs and shakes his head, recognizing the question as the jest it is. Whatever it is his lawbrother-to-be wishes, Faramir is more than willing to hear him out.

"Gladly, if it rescues me from this singing." The singer makes a yelp of protest and moves as if to throw his tankard, but is held back by his fellows. Faramir laughs again, enjoying the air of camaraderie, and bows his head to them all before following Éomer.

[rohirrims]

The cool and refreshing night air is a perfect contrast to the warmth of the hall, and Éomer takes a moment to breathe it in. The Mark has always been -- and forever will be -- his home, but it will no longer be so for his sister. Though Éowyn is the happiest he has ever seen her, Éomer wonders what she will make of her new home, and if it will ever compare to the wild, open fields of the Riddermark.

"We Rohirrim are well-versed in the singing of songs concerning grand deeds. Unfortunately, that does not mean we sing them well." He offers Faramir a slight smile, unable to resist mocking the man inside who could possibly make ears bleed.

"But despite that, how are you enjoying your stay?"

[whattheydefend]

Faramir chuckles his agreement with this assessment. "He meant well. Or at least he meant no harm, for all that our ears may not agree. And I am enjoying my stay a great deal, for all that the days do not pass as quickly as I might wish."

He looks out at the night sky, broad and clear, stretched over the seemingly endless plains of Rohan, and he smiles. "Yours is a beautiful land, Eomer-king, in all its untamed wildness."

[rohirrims]

He knows he is the brother of the bride, but doubts that Faramir is being dishonest in admitting to his impatience. The men of the Mark are not easily deceived. But such a statement shows once again that his sister has made a wise choice in her husband.

"I thank you." He stares out across the expanse, pride shining in his eyes that have seen much already in his life. He has seen the gates of Minas Tirith assaulted by the enemy and death across the Fields of Pelennor. He has seen the Black Gate of Mordor itself and all the foul creatures that poured from it. He can say without hesitation that the vista before him is his favorite sight in all of Middle-earth.

"I wonder," he begins, gathering his thoughts, "What my sister will make of her new home. It is my wish that she find it as welcoming as the land of our birth." Not that it has always been so, but the Rohirrim have always found much to celebrate in their land even as the shadow from the east stretched across.

[whattheydefend]

Faramir offers up a somewhat rueful smile. "I fear she will not--but that is because the place where we will make our home has few people left in it to offer welcome. Over the past years all fled the growing threat from the East. There is much to reclaim and rebuild. That said..."

His gaze softens, and now he is looking past the plains of the Mark, to somewhere more distant. His voice is low and quiet, the words heartfelt. "That said, it is a land of great beauty, for all its neglected state. Lush forests and green fields, where the long grass blows in the wind...and many waters, from gentle streams to wild rapids, and waterfalls thunderous enough to be heard from leagues off, whose spray sparkles like jewels in the sunset..."

He realizes he is going on at too much length, and looks back at Eomer, his smile a silent apology. "Forgive my woolgathering; I have spent near on twenty years wandering the length of Ithilien, and love it as no other place. I can only hope your sister will come to care for it as I do."

[rohirrims]

The Rohirrim have never shied away from hard work, Éowyn included, and so the fact that much needs to be rebuilt doesn't worry Éomer overmuch. "She will take the rebuilding efforts as a challenge, I am sure." One that will be conquered easily enough. Too long his sister searched for her purpose, and thought it was in finding a glorious death in battle that would be sung of through the ages. But now, she has told him, her purpose lies in creating things with her hands; not destroying.

He chuckles quietly at Faramir's praise of Ithilien. Is Éomer not the same with the Mark, though perhaps he possesses fewer poetic words for it?

"I will forgive you this once, as you are far from home and it is only natural for you to look on it with happiness and excitement for future possibilities." It strikes him that though they have lived very different lives and have different personalities, Faramir and he share some traits. Love of their lands is one of them.

[whattheydefend]

"I am certain she will." Faramir smiles fondly, thinking of his betrothed. "I suspect if I had offered her a completed place, perfect and in need of no amendment, she would have not accepted my suit! But while the task before us is very great, it is one to which we are both well-suited to undertake, or so I believe."

He sits on the great steps that lead up to the Golden Hall, folding his arms over his legs and looking up at the night sky. "Although...I am sorry to take her from the lands of her birth. It is a hard thing to leave one's home, even for the purpose of building another." Even if one has not been entirely happy there, he does not add. Éomer will know more of his sister's mixed feelings towards Edoras than Faramir himself does, he suspects. And she is Rohirrim to the core, and will remain so wherever she goes. Nor would he change that about her, for he loves her as she is.

[rohirrims]

That does sound like his sister. No matter what her heart might have felt, had there been no work for her to do, she probably would not have wished to be Faramir's wife.

He stands a moment more, but only to allow Faramir to settle as he will before Éomer follows and sits near enough to him, allowing room for his long legs to stretch out and space to settle his large frame back on his elbows.

"Yes. Part of me is loathe to watch her go, even though I know she is going onward towards a place that will keep her busy." And a life that is happy, he adds to himself. It's hard to come to terms with the fact that she wasn't happy in Edoras, and that he was so absent for her unhappiness. Duty kept him away, and kept him in the dark for much of Éowyn's troubles. It's only now, in retrospect, that he's fully aware of these things, and the year they've had together in Edoras hardly seems enough to make up for that lost time.

So he has to do his best now to ensure that his sister will have the very best in life. Faramir is not a man that makes Éomer's hair stand on edge; a signal towards something hidden beneath the surface that his sister should not endure. Faramir is as he shows others, and the King of Rohan is glad for it. He's already blessed this union, but he'll continue blessing it even after the ceremony.

"She will probably want to test her poultices and ointments on you," he says as a word of warning. "As a child, she always wanted to spar with me, but now that her interests lie elsewhere, you will be her new subject for testing."

[whattheydefend]

Faramir raises his eyebrow a little at this warning, but smiles. "She is welcome to do so, if it will aid her in their development. Though I hope I will not be required to suffer wounds first, for the sake of accurate testing! What was she like as a child?"

[rohirrims]

"She is certainly not going to be the one inflicting them anymore, so I believe you are safe." He chuckles lightly and moves to sit up, crossing his arms over his knees.

"Very energetic. Very aggressive in her play as well. In those early days, we had little care for the world around us. Outside of Aldburg, we knew nothing of the dangers of the world." Of course that all changed soon enough, but Éomer doesn't wish to dampen spirits -- his own included -- by bringing that up.

"My sister has always been impatient, and one to let you know it. I am sure you witnessed that yourself, trying to keep her recovering within the Houses of Healing."

[whattheydefend]

Faramir smiles fondly, imagining his betrothed as a young filly of a girl, wild and careless and fierce, running through the fields or picking up her first sword. He wishes he could have seen her then. There is in his heart a small, as yet unspoken hope: that if they are lucky enough to have children, in time, he'll see an echo of that girl in them.

"Not impatience so much as restlessness, I think. Or so it seemed to me at the time." He rests an arm on one knee, stretching his other leg out in front of them. He gives Eomer a quick sideways glance, wondering if the other man is leading up to something. "Though she certainly shows no hesitation once she is fixed on a goal."

[rohirrims]

There's a soft smile at Faramir's answer. Of course her betrothed would look at her with eyes that soften things. Not impatient, but restless. He'll have to remember the merit of using better phrasing around ladies.

"Very true. Which is why you will have her at your elbow whenever there is discussion on rebuilding the land." It, of course, means an absence of his sister here doing the same thing. He hasn't wanted to consider how he'll do without her. All the advisors in the world can't make up for Éowyn, and it's only been in this last year that he's truly appreciated her efforts. "You gain much, Faramir. I take it you will not forget it."

[whattheydefend]

"How could I, when I expect I will be much dependent upon her expertise and wisdom?" Faramir's expression turns a little rueful. "I have commanded for years as a soldier, but to rule in peacetime is a different skill, requiring knowledge I have never had opportunity to gain. I know the forests and streams and valleys of Ithilien, but to learn how to make the land fruitful once more, the numbers and care and tending of all the livestock we will require, how to organize a large house and the village that both supports and depends upon it..."

He lets out a long breath and shakes his head. "I can barely think how to begin, whereas she already overflows with ideas, most born of experience. In truth I am almost as grateful to her for accepting me on Ithilien's behalf as I am on my own, for she will be invaluable, not least as she is so tireless and determined in whatever she sets out to achieve." He glances sideways at Éomer. "Even if my affections were not hers, I would recognize her worth. You can trust that I will not take it--or her--for granted."

[rohirrims]

Nothing Faramir says rings false in Éomer's ears. He can see beyond doubt that his sister will be valued and loved in her new home; one that she is eager to see for herself. And he can also recognize how this gives him a pang in his heart, knowing she shall leave this land forever, even if she will be happy and fulfilled elsewhere. There shall be occasions in the future, he is sure, where she will return for a visit, or he will go to her, but no longer will she be Éowyn of Rohan, Shieldmaiden and White Lady.

"I am glad to hear it," he says quietly, staring off down the stairs of Meduseld. "Her happiness is the most important thing to me." And though he and all of Rohan will be losing her soon, he tries to think of it in a different way to ease the sting. It can return later, but for now, he cannot let it damper his spirit or the festivities.

"I will not be losing a sister so much as gaining a brother." For Éomer, it is a new experience, but he realizes it might feel differently for the man who had a brother until the War of the Ring. He has no wish to cause Faramir pain, and hopes his words are not taken as if he is setting himself up as a replacement.

[whattheydefend]

Faramir's eyes are understanding. "It will be both," he says quietly. "And I know it will not be easy for either of you to be parted, for ever you have been each other's truest and most trusted companion. Much do you mean to Éowyn!"

He has heard of how Éomer went berserk with despair after finding his sister's apparent corpse on the battlefield. And he knows from Éowyn much of how they depended on each other after their parents' death, and more during the dark years of Théoden's decline.

Faramir knows also, from his own experience, how tight a bond may be formed between siblings. Not a day passes where he does not miss Boromir, even in his own present happiness. How his brother would have enjoyed this celebration...! His throat tightens a little at the thought.

No, Éomer will be no substitute for Boromir, but neither of them expects him to be. There will be a bond nonetheless--there already is--born of the fact that they both love Éowyn deeply. In different ways, of course, but they have the same wish: to see her happy, fulfilled, joyous.

Faramir is more than content to spend the rest of his life in achieving that goal, and counts himself lucky that Éomer entrusts him with so important a task. His smile is quiet, but no less earnest for that. "I will be glad to call you my lawbrother, Éomer of Rohan. No man could be more honored."

[rohirrims]

It occurs to Éomer that he and his sister often refrain from speaking their hearts to each other, especially concerning what they feel for the other. To hear Faramir say he knows what Éomer means to her must mean she has confided such to him, and that gladdens his heart.

"You flatter me, and yet I know you also speak truth and not honeyed words. I thank you for them. Tomorrow everything will change, but my sorrow in losing my sister will be alleviated knowing all that she will gain."

would you like a conversation between Eomer and Eowyn, either in the same vein or set earlier?

[whattheydefend]

"We of Gondor are truth-speakers, even as are the men of the Riddermark," Faramir says, smiling. "I would not flatter you, nor is there a need. And this I do vow: with all my heart do I love Éowyn, and mostly gladly will I strive for all our days for her happiness. For as with you, there is nothing in all the world more dear to me."

absolutely!

[rohirrims]

Éomer smiles, knowing his sister's life will be one of happiness and light, instead of the sorrow and darkness that clung to her for years. That she is leaving this land and her people will never not cause a pang, but he knows this is what she wants.

"It means much that you would say such to me before you speak it to all present tomorrow. Come; I have kept you from the party long enough." He claps Faramir on the back before moving to rise from the steps.

[whattheydefend]

[ooc: Right yes hello! This thread seemed to hit a good stopping point there. What shall we do with Eomer and Eowyn? Is there a scene you'd particularly like to do?]

[rohirrims]

[ So sorry for the long delay! I've been thinking it over, and maybe we should do a scene that takes place in the future? Maybe Eomer visiting her in Ithilien and she shows him around and he gets a sense of how happy she is now? ]

[whattheydefend]

[Error: Irreparable invalid markup ('<small[ooc:>') in entry. Owner must fix manually. Raw contents below.]

<small[ooc: Delays and slowtags are always okay by me, god knwos I do enough of them. ;) And sure! Would you like to start or shall I? It'll take me a day or two if the latter.]</small>

[rohirrims]

[ If you could, that'd be great! I joined another game recently and I'm regretting my life choices because my inbox is always full! ]