Open To Anyone For Anything RP Post

[questionablewit]

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[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.

[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.

[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."

[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.

[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.

[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."

[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."

[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."

[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."

[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.

[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."

His brothers are dicks and she'd probably just tell them so. Except Mags. She'd like Mags.

[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?"

Mags is flattered!

[grumpycatanthir]

"They did not understand the value of brevity." He retorts, lips quirking up in a small smile, which drops as she speaks.

"I know. But because a thing is fleeting is it any less precious?"

He sighs. "It was prophesied over us in warning, when we left Aman - that to evil ends would all things turn that began well, that we would be betrayed and disposssed, that we would lose all that we fought for and know no reprieve, and that our very prayers would go unanswered."

He is a master craftsman. She respects that.

[takesnoshit]

She chuckles, bowing her head in acknowledgement and agreement at this sally with a smile on her face.

The smile fades as she considers the question of fleeting things, and vanishes as he pronounces his Doom. She sits upright, frowning. "That is no small curse. Can there be no escape from it, no reparations made?"

Curufin just said OI plz to not give me a Curufin muse

[grumpycatanthir]

"If they will not even hear our prayers, what reparation can be made?" He points out.

"We will fight it until the end, but the end is already foretold. It might be in five years, or ten, or a hundred, but there is no way this war will end well. In truth, there was no way it could."

They are after all, fighting a Vala.

Bwahahahaha. But yes she'd respect him too.

[takesnoshit]

"I see." She considers all this, looking out into the dark. "I will think on it," she says finally. "How is your stew?"

lolololol

[grumpycatanthir]

He blinks at her, nonplussed, and then looks down.

"It is fine." He says and automatically takes another mouthful.

Sorry, Caranthir. Feel free to not end the conversation.

[takesnoshit]

"Good." She takes another few bites of her own, looking idly up at the night sky. That is apparently all the questions she had for now.

lol XD

[grumpycatanthir]

He stares at her, and then at his stew, and goes back to eating it (it is, after all, good stew, and it would be a sad thing to waste).

"Is... that all you wanted to know?" He says hesitantly, after a while.

[takesnoshit]

Haleth considers this--does appear to actually be considering it. "It is all I would know for now, I think," she says after a moment. "No doubt I will have more questions later, but you have given me much to consider." Her glance at him is sudden and direct. "Was there anything you would know of me, then?"

Honestly she'd been assuming that if there was anything he was wondering, he would simply ask, as she does. But he seems disconcerted.

[grumpycatanthir]

He pauses, considering.

(This is a crossroads, he knows. He could say no, and nothing will happen, and Haleth will be safe. But. He is a son of Feanor. Recklessness is in the blood)

"I would know only one thing." He says slowly. "If there was no Doom between us... no duty. What ... would your answer be, should I bring suit."

[takesnoshit]

It is a moot question, for the situation he describes is not as things are, and shall not be. She should refuse to answer it on those grounds. Such hypothetical musings are pointless.

But she thinks on it, taking stock of her own inclinations for several minutes, staring into the fire. That alone, if he but knew it, is evidence of her heart.

"Had we only ourselves to consider," she says finally, "I would be...strongly inclined towards it, except in that I am still mortal and you are not. I cannot believe that liaisons between two such as we would be wise. And I very much dislike the idea of you spending Ages alone and grieving after my inevitable death, whenever that might come, without even the freedom to seek for a new partner."

She grimaces a little, her glance flitting to him and then back. "It is an irony. If a more temporary partnership were possible, I would have fewer qualms, even if such a liaison were less than I wanted. But I do not hunt for sport, and I would not leave a creature bound in a cage with no prospect of freedom. I have no wish to ensnare you."

[grumpycatanthir]

"I honestly do not care that you are mortal." Caranthir says bluntly.

"But for duty and doom, I would court you formally, and even now, if you wished it. Besides. I doubt I will live that long, anyway."

He shrugs. "We are fighting a Vala, Haleth. We are going to lose, eventually."

[takesnoshit]

Haleth raises an eyebrow. "You are already so certain? After a few mere weeks?"

[grumpycatanthir]

He meets her eyes and nods.

"I am." He says quietly, and waits.