faemused | Open To Anyone For Anything RP Post 2

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From:

takesnoshit

Haleth frowns, her stance adjusting as she lowers the axe, fixing the girl with a considering stare. Whoever this person is, they do not feel like a threat. Dangerous, yes, clearly dangerous, but not a present threat.

The features are familiar, though she cannot say how--the slope of the jaw and color of hair are like those of her people. At the same time they are unfamiliar, too smooth and too lovely. A halfborn, she realizes with some amazement, part Man and part Eldar. She has heard of such, but mostly only in tales, and those largely invention.

Haleth knows such affairs between men and elves are possible. But as she also knows too well, they are most uncommon and tend to end poorly for all parties, and that is why her voice is a little harsh when she next speaks. "Who are you, and what brings you here?"

From:

canien

...Her mother...does not know her. Canien swiftly shoves the realization to the back of her mind, along with the flare of pain. Being honest with herself, she isn't entirely surprised.

She holds herself back, stance that of any hunter. Ready, but not immediately a threat. The harsh tone registers and she lets her chin tip up a touch, proud. She's not ashamed of her heritage.

"I am Canien. I go where the wind takes me, why it brought me here, I do not yet know."

From:

takesnoshit

Haleth tilts her head. "That does not sound like mere poetry." From others she would dismiss it as airy nonsense; from this girl it sounds like truth rather than metaphor.

She stands in silence for a moment, weighing things, then appears to make up her mind. Her axe she drives into a chunk of wood, safely bestowing it, and stands tall and proud. "I am Haleth, Chieftain of the Haladin. If the wind as brought you, we will offer you hospitality if you wish it, until the wind deigns to explain why it has driven you hither. Provided that you offer no harm to I and mine."

Haleth is a quick judge of character, and whoever this is, it is no servant of the Enemy. That much is clear.

From:

canien

From others, Haleth would be right. But Canien's been taught and reared by Caranthir as well as Haleth herself. Airy nonsense is not her style!

She waits patiently for Haleth to decide what to do with her, then allows the slightest of smiles to form at the welcome and inclines her head a little.

"In return, you may have the use of my skills. I may not be a healer, but I can hunt and weave, if you have need of it. And while I am here, my blade and bow and arrow are yours."

From:

takesnoshit

Haleth nods, liking this answer, which is much in the style of her people. Once again she picks up the axe, though this time only to affix it to a small hoop at her belt, and picks up a few of the cords of wood she has just finished splitting. "I was about to make the noonday meal. You are welcome to join me, if in exchange you will share any news you have. It is some time since I traveled from this camp."

Two years, to be precise, since events that she chooses not to dwell on. Though she cannot but help be reminded of them given the girl's face. She has placed why it looks familiar.

From:

canien

She moves to walk with her mother, though a brow raises as she reaches for a few more cords of wood to help. "That may be a bit of a challenge," she remarks, somewhat hesitant. "I have no news that I know will to be of use to you."

It only makes sense for Haleth to recognize it. Canien's smiles and smirks, rare as they are, are practically a mirror of Caranthir's own.

"I have been brought here from...quite a distance."

From:

takesnoshit

Haleth silently nods her thanks as Canien joins her in carrying wood, her opinion going up a notch. That is good manners for a guest, to help with the work. She remains a little wary, but that is for personal reasons, not as a Chieftain. That smile, small as it was, was...unexpected.

"If you have travelled far, then it would seem that you would only have more new, albeit from far-off places." Haleth shoots her a considering glance. "You are from Thargelion, I think?"

There are a few clues to indicate such. Some of the cut of her clothing, a style familiar to Haleth. Her smile.

From:

canien

Canien has never done well with idle hands, outside of when she was on a hunt or scouting. It's one reason she'd taken up weaving- the other being because it was something she could do with her father. And she's good at it. Helping with the chores of any camp she's joined up with is just par-for-course with her.

"The truth of me would sound unlikely, if not impossible," she eventually answers instead. "It involves the Higher Powers." That much has to be true, be it the Valar, or Eru himself.

"How much of it I may tell, I do not yet know."

From:

takesnoshit

Haleth would, of course, have expected any Haladin to help with the upkeep of the village, and that would go double for any child of her own. She does not shirk from any task, however distasteful, and does not tolerate any shirking in her people--still less in her kin. She is less hard on guests, but even so to her it is natural and right that Canien would assist.

The long silence before Canien's answer says as much as her words eventually do, and Haleth frowns. "That is ominous," she says finally. "For I have never personally known any intervention of the Higher Powers that did not turn to ill." In her case that is certainly true, for part of why she parted with Caranthir was a refusal to be his Doom. Doomed he might be, but she would not be the instrument of his destruction, nor could she risk such doom falling upon her people. That last, at least, he had seen the wisdom of.

The first part...less so. And Haleth has wondered over the past two years if she was wrong. Not often, for she is not prone to second-guess her decisions. But sometimes. Yet the Haladin have moved on to the West, and Caranthir's lands and their lord are behind her now. And all her duty and honor are here, and she contents herself with them.

"What can you tell me of yourself, then, that might not offend those who watch?" Haleth side-eyes the girl, wondering if her offer of hospitality was given too quickly. But she is bound to it now.

From:

canien

Her smirk is sharp, not reaching her eyes. "It could be a good thing, or it could not."

The smirk vanishes the next breath and Canien stares steadily at Haleth. "You have probably guessed part of my parentage. And part of why I am cautious. I have no desire to lay doom upon any but the Enemy or his minions."

...But there's a gentle breeze that brushes over her and a touch to her mind that has her pause. Then snorts softly and shakes her head, stepping swiftly to fall back in line with Haleth.

"...It feels like I may speak plainly. When I say I have been brought here from afar, I should say I have been brought backwards in the natural flow of time. And I should add that I get the sense that what I know to have happened in my past, have not happened here."

And now to wait and see if her mother believes her. Or not.

From:

takesnoshit

Haleth's mouth thins a little. "You are daughter to Caranthir, then." It is not a question. Canien's mannerisms are identical, despite the difference in her face, the mixed lineage and female features. The smile is the same, the eyes. The resemblance is unmistakable, too much so for her to be anything but closest kin.

Well. It was part of Haleth's wish that Caranthir not be bound to her beyond her death, which would be mortal and long before his own; it is why she never lay with him. It is not that he did eventually find another love that rankles. It is that he loved another human.

Mixed feelings and confusion, all the things she dislikes, and Haleth remembers vividly that this is part of why she and Caranthir parted ways to begin with, as much as the Doom that plagues his life, and a host of other reasons. She lifts her head, gathering pride around her. Even if Canien is the elf lord's daughter, she is not at fault for events of the past.

And the rest of her words are an astonishing puzzle indeed, enough to distract even from this unforseen hurt, and Haleth considers them deeply. "Backwards in time," she repeats, then shakes her head. "I have never heard or even thought of such a thing, and it would seem impossible, except that if you are truly the lord Caranthir's daughter I have reason to believe you." Given Canien's apparent age she cannot have been born before Haleth met Caranthir, or else Haleth is no judge of Men or Elves.

From:

canien

"Thankfully it is only obvious to those who know him well. I can pass as Avari more often than not."

But she can tell Haleth is upset over something, likely revolving around her. Which means... She lowers her voice, tone thoughtful but earnest. "My father has only loved one person, outside family by blood.

"I have not heard of another travelling through time either, and yet I am here." Whether it's for her own sake, or someone else's, she doesn't know.

...But it's a relief that Haleth does seem to believe her, despite how strange her story is.

From:

takesnoshit

Haleth stops dead in her tracks, and turns to state at Canien even more closely, for several minutes.

"You are dancing around the subject," she says finally. "Speak more directly."

From:

canien

Canien stops as well, meeting Haleth's stare with all the composure she has ever had.

This demand also doesn't surprise her, only, perhaps, how long it took.

"You are my mother." Direct enough?

From:

takesnoshit

Direct enough. Haleth's gaze neither falters nor wavers. Yes, that slope of the jaw is the same, the color of her hair--darker than that of most of the Haladin, brown rather than blonde, and not the black midnight of Caranthir's. Caranthir's dark eyes, however, and his quirks of eyebrow and lip. The ears in a gentler point.

The tilt of the head, the unthinking pride and stubbornness in her stance--that is all a match for Haleth's own, she knows.

"So," she says finally, looking away back towards the wood she carries and the faintly beaten path they walk back towards the Haladin's village. "Abide. I must think on this."

She says no more on the walk back to the village, her brows deeply furrowed, her steps a little slower than they were. When Haleth says I must think on this, which she often does, the subject is closed until she chooses to reopen it.

From:

canien

She simply stands patiently still, letting Haleth look as long as she needs. And when her mother announces she needs to think, she merely inclines her head in acceptance and falls back instep with her to the village.

"If you wish, I can set up camp at the outskirts instead of imposing upon someone."

She won't bring it up until Haleth decides what to do next.

From:

takesnoshit

"That is unnecessary."

Brusque, but Haleth is like that when she is thinking. She walks directly to her own house, set a little ways back from the Hall--she could have had her quarters installed there, and some would prefer it so, but the Hall is yet unfinished and Haleth has found she prefers her smaller, private space. It is unlikely she will move, unless need demands it, and that is unlikely. In the Hall and the village as a whole she is Chief. In her own house she is Haleth, and whatever mystery this girl has brought with her seems to involve Haleth at least as much as the Chieftain, if not more. If not wholly.

Haleth deposits her wood in a neat stack next to the front door and gestures that Cainen should enter with her own armful and place it on the fire. The house is more one large room than a house, with a second smaller room for supplies. It does not seem befitting of a Chieftain, but they have not lived here long, and Haleth does not care much for luxury.

There are a few signs of luxury all the same, particularly in any fabric on display. That is all beautifully made, with intricate stitching and rich colors, in a style that will be entirely familiar to Canien. There are numerous furs. There is a table and chairs, which Haleth nods towards. "Sit. I will make our meal, and you will tell me your history. I would hear all of it that you will tell."

She takes a seat herself and begins chopping vegetables and herbs with a small, sharp knife, all her motions practiced and precise, but her attention is clearly on Canien as much as her own activity.

From:

canien

It was an out that she hadn't expected to be taken. That's never been their way.

Canien doesn't hesitate in following, her confidence giving further proof that she knows this village and where at least Haleth lives within the borders. What does surprise her a little is how new everything is.

The fabric on display has her feel a bit more at ease, even if it has her miss her father all over again. The order has her obey, after setting her stack of wood down on the fire and building it up, and her pack down beside the table. She pulls out a well-used tool (among others) that Haleth might recognize as having belonged to Caranthir, and what will be a new bow-string once it's done, and sets to work.

"I was born here, Father would spend the winters with us when his people didn't need his constant presence." That much she feels she can tell. Then she verbally sketches out how she'd learned to work with her hands. How to run, the races Caranthir would challenge her to, and hunt. How to cook and keep a household.

How he called her his jewel, with a soft smile of memory on her lips.

She talks about how she eventually went and fought beside her father, leaving off the fact it was after her mother's death (but implying it), until they both knew she had to leave. How he'd given her suggestions of where to go. How she'd not claimed any parent once she'd left the Haladin and people believed her Avari and left it at that.

She speaks very briefly over learning various useful skills from elf lords like Cirdan, how she had eventually kept herself apart but would step in to kill orcs or other foul creatures. Then the faint smile is back as she mentions meeting other half-elves.

"I promised Father to take care of myself and to live well. I hadn't expected to be reminded just how to do so by someone so different as Elladan and Elrohir."

From:

takesnoshit

Haleth listens as she works. Her hands are kept busy, and she rarely looks up from what she does, but that is entirely usual for her; there is no question that Canien has her attention. The truth of the story she hears is evidenced in a myriad of small details: Canien's familiarity with the village, with Haleth's own possessions, with personal details no one else could know about Haleth herself. Haleth hears how Canien was taught, how she grew, her independence, her skills.

How she was loved. By both her parents.

If it is difficult to hear, if Haleth is conflicted, there are only small indicators to suggest it: a certain tension in the back of her neck, fickers of her eyelids in reaction to certain small things, particularly wherever Caranthir is mentioned. But the questions she asks are, for now, questions of Canien herself, and not about either of her parents or their history.

By the time other half-elves have been brought into the story, Haleth is seated by the fire, stirring a hearty stew. The smell of it fills the room. "Had you been failing in your promise until that point, then?" She pulls out a ladelful, blows on it, tastes it, considers, and reaches for a small jar of herbs nearby, adding a few careful pinches. "How did they remind you? And what is the history of these other half-elves?"

From:

canien

She's missed the smells of her mother's cooking. She knows the stew will be delicious.

She sees those tells, but doesn't hold back in what details she gives. That too isn't their way, and Haleth wouldn't thank her for it.

Canien tilts her head slightly, considering the question as she makes one last practiced motion along the bow string before coiling it up and putting it away. "No. I was in no danger of Fading, then or now. I was welcomed at the hearth of many, and made myself useful in the battle against the Enemy.

"But there was less joy in the doing until I met those two. They are full of life and laughter, teasing every inch of both from all they do. And they are capable warriors, though their hunting skills left some to desire." There's a slight smirk at the last though.

"They are descended from Luthien, and Galadriel."

From:

takesnoshit

Haleth has never been wished to be spared pain, nor uncomfortable knowledge. How can she make good choices unless she knows all, both good and ill? How can she lead her people well if she shies from what might be upsetting? It would be foolishness, and she is never foolish.

Still, it is a relief when talk moves from less immediately personal matters. "I have heard of both," she says. "Luthien is said to be the most beautiful maid ever to walk on Arda. But I had not heard she was wed. Much less to a mortal man." Food for thought, clearly. She gives Canien another long, thoughtful stare. "That must be a story in its own right. But speak more of these twins you have befriended."

From:

canien

Not easily, though Canien knows Haleth would try anyway.

"It is probable that she is yet to marry. I speak something of her future." And she has to trust her mother will say nothing of it, even should she come across someone who might think to change it.

"I taught them of woodcraft just as I learned, and they taught me to laugh and play again." And...here she almost turns shy. Almost. She meets Haleth's stare as she reaches to her neck, pulling out the thong that she'd put her wedding ring on when she'd first arrived in this time.

"One of them is more than just a friend. Elladan is my husband."

From:

takesnoshit

Haleth considers herself entirely unlikely to meet with the lady Luthien, but even if she does, she would say nothing of this. What could be said? Things that are yet to be are yet to be, and Canien herself has said that things happened differently in her own world.

Evidently so, as here Haleth has no daughter. Yet here Canien is, and Haleth believes this impossible tale. If she did not, she would have ceased to listen long before.

There is another flicker in her expression as Canien mentions re-learning laughter and playfulness, and Haleth's eyes widen as the wedding ring is revealed. Her brows narrow, and she looks up at Canien's face, then back down to the ring. Is my husband, Canien said, not was. Presumably still alive, and back in the world left behind, the world where things happened differently. Haleth frowns. "And now you are separated from him. Does this concern you? Or do you believe the wind will return you, in its time?"

The wind, or whatever else brought Canien here, for this impossible meeting.

From:

canien

It is early yet. Canien can't say how long it took before her parents finally wed and had her. But she knows it's out of her hands, really. Forcing any such thing is a fool's errand, and she is no fool.

Nor does she claim that the years of hiding herself hadn't taken a toll on her. Only that Elladan and his brother helped lift her loneliness to the point of joy. Either way, she holds her husband still in her heart, as the gentle touch to the ring indicates, even as she tucks it safely back away.

"I believe I will see him again in time. Whether it be through walking these paths again until he is born anew, or if I am returned to when I was taken.

"That is one gift that comes with being what I am. The lifespan of the Eldar, just as Elladan has chosen."

From:

takesnoshit

"So." Haleth looks back at the stew, contemplating this. She is silent for several minutes.

But in the end, she cannot help asking. "Tell me more of your father," she says, her voice unusually quiet. "Does he yet live, in your world? Or has his Doom finally overtaken him?"

She does not doubt Canien knows of the Oath, and the Doom foretold. If nothing else, Haleth herself would have made certain that knowledge was not kept a secret from one so likely to be directly affected by it. And neither was Caranthir himself ever inclined to keep it secret. They were both of them straightforward to the point of bluntness, she and Caranthir. One reason they dealt so well together, when others found them difficult. A trait they passed on to their daughter.

Their daughter. Haleth's heart aches. "I have no need to know grim details," she adds, a little hastily, her attention still on the stew. "Only his fate, if you know it."