faemused | Open To Anyone For Anything RP Post

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From:

takesnoshit

Haleth shakes her head. "You know I prefer forward speaking. It saves time." The gesture and the sentence are both automatic. He has heard her say much the same thing several times in their brief acquaintance.

Even so, she is nearly as red as he is now, still wide-eyed and astonished. She opens her mouth to ask if this is but courtesy among elves, or commonplace--then shuts it, for obviously it is not, or else he would not have apologized for being forward. He would not look as he does now, awkward as a boy and avoiding her gaze.

"I..." She stops, swallows. Her face is burning. What does she do in this circumstance? Thank him? Tell him he is mistaken? Why would an elf, grace and beauty made manifest, consider a human, much less her, to be pretty? She is not. She is strong, practical, she has many virtues, but she is not pretty. Yet Caranthir is blushing so fiercely, and she knows him to be truthful.

Haleth swallows again. "I...will think on this." The same words she has used at the end of nearly every discussion they have had, every time he has given answers to her questions, but this time they feel...very different, and when she turns to leave the tent it is even more brisk than usual, almost to the point of a run.

From:

grumpycatanthir

"Of course." He manages to her back as she (doesn't run, Haleth would never) exits in a hurry, and then drops his head to the table and curses.

STUPID he hisses at himself. Is he a boy, to stammer out compliments? He should know better. The Oath has him by the throat anyway, he should not be dallying.

(It isn't a dalliance, won't ever be, he already knows that)

And she's leaving, anyway. She has her people to think about.

STUPID.

From:

takesnoshit

For once, Haleth is mistaken: she is too struck dumb to think on it. She tries, but all her pragmatism abandons her so that she's left with nothing but confusion and a racing heartbeat and ears that burn.

It does not make sense. She cannot make it make sense.

Fortunately Caranthir's outriders arrive the next morning, and the entire camp--Eldar ihuman leaders definitely included-- are too busy to attend to anything else. There are supplies to distribute, plans to make, wagons to load with the wounded, an endless list of tasks. Haleth welcomes it all with relief, shoving other concerns into the back of her mind and handling things with her usual methodical precision.

They all break camp on the second morning. The humans move at a slow, steady pace, sitting in the wagons or walking alongside them. Haleth moves from wagon to wagon, keeping an eye on all, not least her scamp of a nephew.

She stays very busy. This is deliberate as much as necessary.

They stop for the night early, for some of the wounded are not handling the journey as well as hoped. From a distance Haleth watches Linneth and Caranthir tending them, her face blank. The elf lord's long fall of hair glistens in the light of the sunset, the black tinged red.

She turns and walks away, thoughtful.

An hour later finds her kneeling by one of the many campfires, crushing herbs into a stew and stirring it, smelling the results. She looks more relaxed as she performs this task, and a faint hint of a smile plays on her face.

From:

grumpycatanthir

Caranthir both curses and blesses the arrival of his outriders - the bustle of moving and distributing keeps them both busy, although he cannot help sneaking glances at her in the work.

(It also brings a proper healer along, much to his relief - he does his best, but this is not what he was trained to do, and to have another here to go over his work and take the hard cases off his hands, to properly teach Linneth, is a great weight off his shoulders)

He comes to find her when the work is done, only to pause and stare, looking at the smile as she works for her people.

His heart aches. This is where she belongs, where she is happy. How can he think to taint that?

His eyes are a dark glitter from where he stands and he cannot quite bring himself to turn away, nor to approach closer.

From:

takesnoshit

She feels his eyes on her now and then all through the day, though she ignores it and does not look back. They have brief speech when needed, but no opportunity for further talk.

She takes a turn at cooking to clear her mind, and it helps. The familiar rituals of cutting vegetables, balancing meat and liquid, seasoning...Haleth's people long ago learned that the best time to approach her is after cooking. Not during, but after.

Her stew is nearly finished now, and she looks directly up at where Caranthir waits (having given no sign previously that she knew he was there). "Come and taste this."

From:

grumpycatanthir

It's soothing and painful both at once to watch her work, and he starts visibly when she turns to address him, hesitating before coming over.

"I apologise for making you uncomfortable."

He says gruffly.

From:

takesnoshit

She considers him for a moment, and finally answers, "You need not," before turning her attention back to the stew. She pours a ladleful into a bowl and offers it to him. "But I have questions."

That, at least, is hardly new. She always has questions.

From:

grumpycatanthir

"Even so." He says gruffly, and Eru DAMN his bloody tendency to flush at the drop of a hat.

"Ask, and I will do my best to answer."

From:

takesnoshit

She shrugs and lets it be. If he wishes to feel embarrassed there is little she can do to stop him.

Haleth serves herself a bowl of the stew and sits back, blowing on it before she takes a sip, which also gives him time to begin eating his if he wishes. It's turned out well, she notes with some pride, despite the limited ingredients and tools to hand. Nothing is over or undercooked and it all balances.

She takes a few more thoughtful bites. "Tell me more of your people. Particularly as regards interactions between men and women."

From:

grumpycatanthir

He'd been about to swallow, but the question makes him freeze.

"Uh..."

He stammers before gathering himself.

"What... were you curious about?"

From:

takesnoshit

"Mating," she says, as though discussing nothing more awkward than the weather. She does not seem to notice the stammering, or how red he is. "Courtship, marriage, dalliance, all those things. I do not know what your customs are."

From:

grumpycatanthir

He sputters, the blush deepening even further.

"Aaahhh..."

Dear Eru why.

"Well... we... we marry for love, and... but the once, unless you are my grandfather, and ... that did not end well." Not that he minds his half cousins, but if grandfather had been content with one kid things might have not been quite this bad a disaster.

"We... we have but the one spouse, for we are bound in fea. We do not... lie with another outside of those bounds."

From:

takesnoshit

She wears the same sort of expression she wears when learning anything new, an intense, focused attention. "That is interesting. So there are no more casual relations among you? How do you know that you have been thus bound, that there is no mistake of judgement? Your stew is getting cold," she adds, because that would be a pity.

From:

grumpycatanthir

He, on the other hand, is discovering new shades of red.

"No. The... the act of... relations is the act of matrimony itself. And ... we can tell. It is in the eyes, you see. You can tell that someone isn't alone any longer."

He looks down at his stew - he had completely forgotten.

"Ah..." he mumbles and obediently goes to take some.

From:

takesnoshit

"I see." But she frowns, as though this only raises more questions. Caranthir is free to eat a few bites in silence as she thinks.

"But do you then know beforehand?" she asks finally, still frowning. "It is obvious when a couple has thus been bound, you say, but is that only after the...the physical act of binding...has taken place? It would seem a hard thing to me to make such a choice only to have it last for centuries, when you may be mistaken, and then not free to bind yourself to any other. And yet to know beforehand seems to be having the choice taken from you, and that idea I little like either. It all sounds cumbersome."

Someone clearly does not have much experience of being in love, by any standards.

From:

grumpycatanthir

"No." He says slowly, taking the chance given to eat - the soup really is very good.

"But that is why we are encouraged to be careful about our choices. Yet the heart will do as the heart will do. My family is known for being... percipitous, in our choices. And stubborn."

From:

takesnoshit

She raises an eyebrow at him. "That does not sound like you. With my people and me you have been both sensible and patient, as well as considerate. Though I may grant you the stubborn description." High compliments, from Haleth, despite the disclaimer. "Perhaps you are the exception in your family?"

She has heard a little of his brothers, a basic overview of their temperaments, during their sessions as she learned the area and something of the politics of dealing with the Firstborn. She has not formed very high opinions of them so far, in truth. At least, not in comparison to her opinion of Caranthir.

From:

grumpycatanthir

He snorts softly.

"You are one of the few who would say that. I'm largely considered to have the worst temper of the family."

But the curl of his smile is pleased that she thinks so.

From:

takesnoshit

Her eyebrow rises further, and her own mouth curls in half a smile. "Perhaps I am merely fortunate in that I have not seen you lose your temper, then. Though it cannot be so bad as that for you to have tolerated all my endless questions so easily. Most do not."

She hesitates a little, looking back down at her bowl. "I am...not considered easy company, you know. I am respected, yes, and I think my people are fond of me, for they trust me to care for them to the best of my ability."

As she manifestly does. If there is ever a choice between the Haladin and anything else, there is no question what Haleth will choose. This, of course, is part of the problem. "But there are few who seek my presence for their own enjoyment. My brother was one, and his son." Her smile turns a bit softer at this mention of her nephew. If Haleth takes comfort in anything, truly loves anyone, it is Haldan. "Few others, and not for long. Always I am either too sharp or too blunt. Or too unwilling to waste time."

From:

grumpycatanthir

"You ask relevant questions." He shrugs. "I only get annoyed with those who ask foolish questions, and yours are not."

He looks up at her, eyes tracing the form of her in the firelight.

"You are who your people need." He says quietly. "And what I have seen I respect, and like. There is no time to waste, in this world."

From:

takesnoshit

"That much certainly is true," she says softly, staring into the fire for a long moment. When she does look back at him her gaze is quiet and measuring. "You said you found me pretty," she says finally. "I would know what you meant by it, if anything. If it was naught but an errant comment, I would know that also."

From:

grumpycatanthir

Aaaaaaand of course she goes back to that.

He clears his throat awkwardly.

"I... meant exactly that. You... I find you fair." He says. "Strong of spirit and will and... er. It... it was a compliment."

From:

takesnoshit

Of course she does. Did he think all these questions were idle, to no purpose? Haleth does nothing without purpose. Nothing.

She looks at him with consideration. "I...also find you fair," she says after a few long moments, blushing faintly as she says it. "And have great respect for your knowledge and ability. You lead your people well, and have dealt most generously with me and mine, beyond anything I could have hoped for."

Haleth was very impressed by the fact that he personally tended her injured when there was no one else to do it. That was something she would never have anticipated. In truth the seed of her attraction was planted there, and took root quickly, little though she acknowledged it.

She blushes more deeply at that thought, and turns back to the meal. "And yet it does not sound as though following this path further would be wise. Particularly not for you, and I am reluctant to cause you harm or distress. That would be a poor repayment indeed for all you have done for my people." She hesitates, and more quietly adds, "Or all you have done for me."

Evening after evening spent tutoring her, building her shaky skill at the language, advising her who among his kin to trust and how to approach them...knowledge beyond price, to Haleth.

Edited Date: 2019-01-15 02:22 pm (UTC)

From:

grumpycatanthir

Well no. But he was hoping for more time...

He blushes again at the compliment.

"Thank you. I confess that you have been by far the most agreeable of all the people I have had to work with, which went a long way into allowing me to be generous. And yes, I include my family in that."

HE LOVES HIS BROTHERS BUT THEY ARE DICKS.

He winces, looking away.

"I... would not disagree with your assessment." He says halting. "Little though I like it. It is true that we have been foretold Doom and I would... not entangle you with us for that reason alone. But there is no distress that you could bring me that... would not be worth the joy you would bring in turn."

From:

takesnoshit

But time is short, as he pointed out himself, and sorter still for her. Even with this extended journey they will part company soon, and Haleth dislikes unresolved things. Her mouth quirks up a little in amusement. "I do not think any have ever before called me agreeable. Not even those who loved me best."

She leans back against a rock, eyeing him with that measuring look, one she wears when gathering information before judging her course. She wears it often, but it has not until now been so pointedly direct at him rather than information he has imarpted to her. "Yet you are immortal, and I am not. Any joy we might have would still be fleeting, by your standards. That would not trouble me, but if it would then bind you permanently from other future possibilities, that would be unjust of me." She frowns a little. "And I do not know this Doom of which you speak. What is it?"