TippyTop of the Tree
This is the very top of the guest talan. It is open aired to the wind and sky so the friends of the Wood can rest in peace without a covering above them. It is roped off on the sides so no one will fall off, and is held together with quite sturdy wooden beams. The whole forest is laid out in front of you here, and up the hill a ways to the North is the Grand Mallorn where Lady Galadriel and Celeborn live.
Contents:
Kestrae
Glendor
Kestrae is sitting off to one side, small legs dangling over the edge. By her side is a pile of acorns, that she just might be dropping on any passing beneath.
Glendor climbs up the ladder, to the upper deck of the talan. As soon as his head raises above the deck, he cautiosly looks around. He immediately notices Kestrae, "Kestrae, wouldn't you know..." His eyes stop on the pile of acorns, and he grins slightly, "I guess you would!"
Kestrae turns at the voice, her small face reddening as she sees you. She shifts to the right, casually knocking the rest of the acorns off the platform as she smile sweetly. "Aye? What is it I should know?" she asks as she stands to face you.
Glendor jumps up, onto the deck, "I was going up the stair, and then suddenly something hit me on hte head, and the next moment I saw this acorn on the ground, next to me. I was wondering where it came from." He pauses for a moment, listening to the curses and voices of surprise down on the stair, "Now I know"
Kestrae turns away, her expression hidden as she leans to watch the commotion below. With a giggle she turns back, a wide grin on her face. "It's funny to watch the look on their faces," she explains, seeming quite proud.
Glendor stands tall, and slowly advances, scowling at you menacingly, "Perhaps, I should send you down, to explain them what happened." He stands in such a way as to block completely the path to the ladder, the only "normal" way down, and studies your reaction.
Kestrae blinks, her face paling and her tiny body trembling a bit. Looning past you to the ladder, she frowns, then turns stlightly to look at the surrounding branches. "I didn't hurt anyone," she says, as she backs toward the large brange behind her.
Glendor continues to advance, then sets his staff firmy on the deck and leans on it. He eyes you darkly for a litle while. His eyes light with a pale frosty light, and a shadow deepens about him. Then his lips slowly curve up, the smile grows wider, and then he laughs, "Neither did I! But I got back at you for knocking my head with one of those acorns"
Kestrae blinks once more, her emerald eyes narrowing as you begin to laugh. After a moment she stamps one foot. "THat was mean and cruel!!!" she shouts, advancing on you now.
Glendor grins at you, "More cruel that peppering innocent passers-by with hard acorns, dropped from high tree?"
Kestrae scowls again, then nods, continuing to advance, her dainty fingers wiggling in a tickling motion. "I'm gonna get you!" she cries as she leaps forward at you/
Glendor deftly steps aside, and extends his right hand to catch you. He grabs you by the elbow, then suddenly drops his staff on the deck and catches your other elbow. He lifts you off the deck easily, "Tickle me now, and I'll laugh, and I'll release you, and you will fall!"
Kestrae wriggles, trapped in your grasp, her composure finally breaking causing her to giggle. "Hey! This isn't fair! You're bigger!" she moves her hadns, trying to get at your sides.
Glendor makes wide eyes, and glares at you, "Yes, I am! And you dropped acorns on a bigger Elf?" He holds you up and away from himself, far enough so you cannot reach him.
Kestrae wriggles and squiggles, trying to get away. "Yes! You were down there, and I was up here, and there was no problem!" she says, as if this makes perfect sense.
Glendor is still holding you in the air, showing no signs that he might be tired, "Then, what do you complain about now? You are still above!"
Kestrae giggles, her legs and body moving as she tries to wriggle away. "Aye, but you're holding me! You weren't holding me before!"
Glendor looks at you for a moment, as if considering your words, and what might be done about them. He suddenly grins at you, and throws you up in the air, "I'm not holding you now!" He raises his hands to catch you
Kestrae squeels, her face suddenly paling with fright! "Oh, nononononono!" she cries as she flies up into the air.
Glendor catches you as you land, and gently lowers you onto the deck
Kestrae laughs delightedly, steping forward to give you a friendly hug before remembering she was supposed to be mad. Forcing her face into a scowl, she reaches out to tickle you again.
Glendor steps on the end of his staff, and catches it with his left hand. His right hand is trying to catch your tickling fingers.
Kestrae giggles, dancing around you with her fingers wriggling at you. "I am going to get you!" she cries, her expression one of sheer delight.
Glendor carefully walks to the edge of the talen, and glances down, "I hope Bregedhel was not passing under this tree a moment ago. Your voice rings quite clearly in the air, and I do not relish a prospective of facing an Imladhrim Elf-lord in his wrath"
Kestrae snickers, dancing around the talon crying, "Bregedhel!! Bregedhel!! Help me!!!"
The sun sinks in the sky and falls below the horizon. Nighttime takes over.
Glendor turns around and laughs at you, "Nay, he must be too busy guarding his chipmunks and other small forest animals from the feline claws. He cannot hear you!" In a sudden lightning-fast move, he crosses the deck and again stands between you and the ladder.
Kestrae laughs, pausing her dance to watch you. She grins impishly as she tries to dash past you to the ladder.
Glendor takes a quick step to block your way, and holds his hands wide, barring your path to the ladder.
Kestrae bouces back, watching you. "You keep me her... may I ask why??" Turning away she says quietly, "You must have a reason..."
Glendor smiles at you, "Must I? Then I will have to think of one..." He stares at the deck for a moment, "How about this one? I have not yet decided on your punishment for tossing acorns at all hte serious Elves down there?"
Kestrae frowns, again trying to get by you as you speak.
Glendor again block your way, "You don't like this reason? Well, then, I will try a better one - I want to know where you got acorns at this time of the year." He ads, after a pause, "For medicinal purposes, of course"
Kestrae grins brightly, motioning out at the forest. "I foraged for them with the squirrels!" she says, her manner amused. "They know where the best places are."
Glendor arches his brow, "So, you stole them from the squirrels? What will they eat now?" He suddenly laughs, "Ah, I will let Bregedhel worry about it. I am sure he will not let them starve, and will think of something."
Kestrae laughs, hopping around in an effort to distract you. "Oh, they can come get them back... You're gonna tell Bregedhel??" sahsays, concern on her face.
Glendor bites his lip, trying to hold back a smile, "Tell him what?"
Kestrae giggles, nodding as she watches you. "Right! Nothing happened." she says, quite pleased.
Glendor tilts his head, "On the other hand, perhaps I should warn him that the reserves of acorns in the wood had been depleted, and squirrels and chipmunks will have to go on a diet, which will make them bolder in their search for food. Then they will easier fall prey to the hunting felines. So, he should know that he should spend more time guarding them, and singing them songs.
Kestrae pales, trying to get around you again, her small feet padding quickly across the floor as she tries to flee crying, "NononO! That's mean!"
Glendor catches you by the shoulder, and turns around, making you face him, "You don't want him to know that you were causing mischief again, do you?"
Kestrae looks down, her small face blank as she shakes her head. "No, I don't. I don't think he'd like it at all.. but it's fun!"
Glendor walks across the deck, and leans agains the bark of the tree, "There is no reason why he should know, is there?" He examines your reaction closely
Kestrae shakes herhead quickly, a small smile on her face. "No, he is just.. he gets annoyed that I do so much stuff," she sats, her feet shuffling as she looks away.
Bregedhel has arrived.
Glendor smiles, and shifts his glance away from Kestrae. He looks over the dark woods."Well, then..."
Bregedhel clambers up the branches of the tree, disdaining the ladders as usual in favour of hand- and foot-holds. Pulling himself into the flet, he smiles in pleasant surprise to find Kestrae is already there; he rolls his eyes a bit on seeing the dour Historian.
Kestrae smiles to Glendor, then notices Bregedhel. "Mae govannen, mellon!"
Glendor pauses, hearing someone scrambling up the tree, then arches his brow slightly, "Ah, Bregedhel. Mae govannen. We were talking about you... in a way"
Bregedhel smiles, balancing himself against the railing as he pulls himself up to a precarious perch. Eyeing Glendor and looking to Kestrae after, he chuckles, "Oh, really? I can only imagine," he says in a droll tone, "..what _you_ would have to say, laughless one."
Bregedhel adds, with a glittering smile to Kestrae, "And mae govannen, mellon." He giggles.
Kestrae watches the two with a strange grin, seeming to enjoy their banter.
Glendor is standing in the middle of the deck, leaning agains the bark of the tree. He winks to Kestrae, then grins at Bregedhel, "I doubt you can. Unless you be able to see my thoughts." He frowns slightly, "To which I might be able to resist"
Bregedhel rolls his eyes, and sniffs haughtily in mock disdain. "I shouldn't _want_ to see your thoughts," he quips airily. Smiling innocently as a child, he adds, "I really do like to avoid boredom whenever possible."
Kestrae giggles, sitting back down on the floor, leaning back to watch the two.
Glendor shrugs, and replies with a mischievous grin, "Perhaps, it is to the best. Serious thoughs put to sleep the minds not used to such. But then, there is only one drawback." He pauses, and looks at Bregedhel, sparks of laughter dancing in his eyes, "You will -never- know what Kestrae and I were talking about you!" He repeats the word in husk deep voice, "Never!"
Kestrae blinks, her eyebrows darting up in concern. As her skin takes on a rosy glow, she turnsto Breg, trying to laugh lightheartedly with only moderate success. "Do not listen to him... he is teasing you..."
Bregedhel absently watches the stars while Glendor speaks, and yawns in a show of boredom. "It really doesn't worry me," he sighs with a weary-eyed look, smiling nicely. "We less-than-serious types tend away from insecurity, though I'm told one finds a good deal of the latter in libraries." Giggling, he hopes up to a precarious perch on the railing.
Kestrae giggles as she waytches, seeming to relax as Bregedhel doesn't take Glendor's bait.
Glendor nods, enthusiastically, and takes a step or two forward, from the tree, "So, you are not going to visit the library again, to avoid being exposed to the insecurity?" He rolls up his eyes, and breathes a sigh of relief, "Now my scrolls can be safe!" He turns to Kestrae, and, seeing her becoming at ease, grins again, and looks again atBregedhel, "But tell me now... Did you climb up here from the stairs, or hoped along the branches from some other tree?"
Kestrae turns to watch Glendor, her eyes narrowing into a scowl, though her face is hidden from Bregedhel.
Glendor glances over his shoulder at Kestrae from time to time, a satisfied grin on his face.
Bregedhel pulls his left foot up, balancing nonchalantly on his right along the thin railing. Hands behind his head in a pose of relaxation, he chuckles, amused. Flashing Kestrae a dashing grin, he looks back to Glendor, eyes glittering with triumphant mischief. "I'll be back to the library, though it's got nothing on Imladris'," he says with a smile. Then, he adds, "And stairs are for the faint of heart, aren't they Kestrae?" He winks, his jovial mood never failing.
Kestrae blushes as Bregedhel forges in to embarrass her. "Well... stairs can be good," she mumbles, shifting into a new position so she caqn watch then both.
Bregedhel raises an eyebrow, tilting his head in a manner not unlike a bird's to peer at the elfmaid. "Is something amiss, dearest?"
Kestrae shakes her head, frowning as she watches Bregedhel. "No, nothing," she says, her tone quiet.
Glendor walks closer to the edge, and points down with his staff, "Then, may be, by chance, you have seen down there, near the tree..." He pauses, and looks over his shoulder at Kestrae, with a grin, "... a small ribbon which I believe I have dropped while climbing up the tree?" As he waves his staff, looking over his shoulder at Kestrae, he accidentally hits the rope which makes the railing.
Kestrae glares at Glendor as well, her expression showing that she thinks the pair are enjoying this just a bit too much.
Bregedhel chuckles, switching his feet and managing to give Glendor a nice, firm kick in the ribs as he does so. Smiling blissfully, as if he doesn't even notice, he maintains his balance with the effortless grace of a trained acrobat. Ignoring the other elf, he maintains his gaze on the maiden. "I think not, Kestrae. What bothers you?" He frowns.
Kestrae shekes her head with a sigh. "Nothing... " she pauses before adding... "I just think you two are teasing me!" With that she gets up and moves to sit against the tree trunk.
Bregedhel frowns, and hops down from the rope to walk swiftly over to Kestrae in a few quick paces. Crouching down, he lays a hand on her shoulder and whispers, "How am I teasing you? I am only having sport of this silly old stiff..."
Kestrae hmphs, crossing her arms before her as she watches Bregedhel. "You were poking fun with your library reference."
Bregedhel's eyes look confused, then as a sudden thought jolts him he remembers! "Oh, no, no," he says in an urgent tone. "Not at all! You know as well as I that we _both_ spent much time in the library, back home." He sighs, kneeling down across from her feet, and putting his hands on her knees. "Kestrae, I would not wish to make you upset. Believe me."
Kestrae smiles, giggling as if having sucessfully pulled off her own joke. "Ha! I made you apologize!"
Glendor stomps his staff on the deck, with a loud knock, and whirls about on his heels, facing Bregedhel. He straightens up, and directs his unblinking stare at Bregedhel. His gray eyes slowly light from inside, a pale gleam of hidden menace. Shadows seem to darken about him, and his voice comes from inside as a stiffled growl, "I warn you, Bregedhel, never to hit me again"
Bregedhel blinks, face blank for a long moment; finally, he blushes and spins on his right to a position alongside her.. where he tickles her for a brief and mercilessly silly moment before stopping and grinning. "You do love to fool me," he quips lightly, ignoring Glendor entirely.
Kestrae giggls, wriggling a bit as she looks toward Glendor, both eyebrows disappearing into her hair. "What's wrong with you, Glendor??:
Bregedhel glances over his shoulder at where Glendor brews up a storm behind them, and giggles, highly amused. "What will you do.. toss a book at me?"
Kestrae frowns, eyes widening as she watches Glendor/
Kestrae says, "Do I need to call the guards?!?"
Bregedhel doesn't flinch, still smiling with that annoying childlike innocence, watching as if the unfolding scene is completely removed from him. "Oh, don't worry Kestrae," he whispers, detached.
Kestrae looks to Breg with wonder, then to Glendor. "Perhaps you two need to talk alone for a bit," she says standing.
Bregedhel shakes his head, grabbing a light hold of her sleeve. "No, stay mellon," he says, smiling. "If this violent librarian wishes to speak with me, I can listen to it well enough with company around.. it might get boring, otherwise."
Kestrae shakes her head, looking from one to the otehr. "Nay, I have stayed away from my duties already." She leans down to kiss bregedhel's forehead, then nods to Glendor. "Mae govannen."
Glendor takes a slow step forward, his fingers whiten from the tight grip on the staff.
Bregedhel smiles as she disappears down the ladder, and you can note that his crouch is particularly relaxed, his supple muscles loose and well-balanced; he is no stranger to this situation. Smiling, he drops the flippant tone and says sternly, "Now, put that away, Historian. Don't do something you will regret."
Glendor glares at you with his frosty gleaming eyes, his hands gripping the staff so tightly that you can hear the wood cracking. He is still, may be for a moment, but the stillness is intense, as if a lightning is about to hit. He suddenly throws his staff on the deck, with the strength which sends wooden chips flying from the floor, and turns away. His dash across the deck is so swift that his figure seems blurred as if he is in all places at once. Then, he is standing at the edge, leaning on the railing, and breathing heavily.
Bregedhel still crouches there relaxed, knees bent, and rests his arms on his thighs. Folding his hands together, he watches you with a curious expression on his face, saying nothing.
Bregedhel continues his idle watching, never stirring from his bent-knees position. He is still as a statue, a detached and silent observer. After a long while, Glendor turns around, and looks at you, his eyes normal now, may be a little darker than usual. He drops quietly, "I never came this close to harming another Elf." He swallows, "Never. And I wielded better weapons before..." He pauses again, "I thought I left my fiersness in those days, or it was taken away from me"
Bregedhel goes on, not moving or speaking, until he smiles abruptly. "We all make mistakes," he says easily, but his face darkens. "You should not have jarred my rope. Were I less skilled in the arts of the acrobat, I could have fallen to my doom." His eyes narrow, cool but not angry. "That kick had its purpose, though you make the mistake of assuming that because I laugh often, I am a fool. I have my reasons."
<OOC> Glendor says, "OOCly I did it on purpose, ICly - not :)"
<OOC> Bregedhel says, "ohs! "Breg thinks you meant to do it." ;)"
Glendor sighs, and nods, "I was too ... preoccupied watching Kestrae. She seemed so concerned about our banter, I enjoyed teasing her, and was not looking."
Glendor looks away, and shudders slightly, "Were I still wielding my sword... I could have killed you!"
Bregedhel nods slowly, seeming to accept this explanation in hand. "You could have," he says with a shrug, "But I know a few things about swords myself. Don't waste your thoughts on tragedies that never happened," he adds with the faint trace of a smile.
Glendor still seems shaken, and looks down, "You may know, yes. But what you see here now resembles little that what I was back then." He laughs bitterly, "How the Enemy would rejoice seeing us proving our skills in wielding weapons to each other!"
Bregedhel nods slowly again, taking it all in turn with a detached look on his face. "So he would. To our great delight, however, he can neither see us, nor do we do such deeds. I am not interested," he says bluntly, "..in comparing old war stories of the fall of Arnor. I would prefer to see you seek out a Healer, if you need it, for you are shaken badly, I deem."
Glendor shakes his head, "I should be able to do it myself, although one who heal others is not always able to mend his own problems." He shakes his head, "I never knew you were in Arnor"
Bregedhel shrugs his shoulders easily, replying with a faint smile again. "My cousin Elendril more than I; I would sometimes accompany him. He spent many years living near Nenuial, hard by their city of Annuminas." Sighing, he explains, "In years after, we spent much time training the ragged Men who carry on that noble legacy."
Glendor nods, and his face remains dark, "Aye, they do. Where did you live when not training Arnoreans? In Imladris all the time?"
Bregedhel smiles absently, recalling older times now long gone as he stands and stretches, talking easily of his past. "Imladris is my home, yes, but I travelled a good deal. I long served as High Speaker and personal bodyguard to the daughter of Maglor Feanorion--" Then he smiles wistfully. "But always I returned to Imladris with her, until Love led me away."
Glendor nods again, and lets out a loud breath, "I envy you..."
Bregedhel raises a dark, delicate eyebrow curiously. "Oh?"
Glendor sudduenly looks up at you, turning his head, "Would you follow your love /anywhere/? Any place at all?"
Bregedhel nods slowly, a bit surprised--one might glean from the curious twinkle in his eyes--by this line of questioning, but taking it in stride. "I would. Anywhere," he says, swearing the last word fervently as an oath.
Glendor looks down again, "I didn't"
Bregedhel frowns, beginning to understand. "I am sorry," is all he can say.
Glendor is silent for a long time, then looks up again, "You remember how we first met? There was an Elf-maid there, in our reconing almost a child. She went with us because the search party had to leave in haste, and no other guard could be found." He pauses, then looks at his hands. "She was wounded... I would not let her die. But I could not restore her to life too." He looks to the West, "She must be over the seas by now, already. She decided to leave, so in the other Lorien she will be free from her pain. But I, I could not severe my bonds with this land"
Bregedhel's lips draw tight, and he walks over to you, laying a sympathetic hand on your shoulder. "I am .." He sighs, and says, "She must have been much like Kestrae." He chokes. "I am sorry, painfully so."
Glendor cover your hand with his palm, "In her own way, she was." He smiles suddenly at teh memory, "She loved to tickle!"
Bregedhel smiles slightly at that, and nods.
<<<=== At that point both players were drawn into RL and seconds later my connection died, so it ends here. ===>>>