IC Inbox [Eachdraidh]

[bythewaves]

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[bird_brain]

And I have interrupted what little you get. [He's grousing, huffy, but it's all annoyance at himself.] I am truly sorry.

[bythewaves]

No, no! I was awake anyway. [ Maglor assures ] My dream was only a few minutes earlier than yours.

[bird_brain]

[He nods, somewhat mollified.] Still. It's odd. A trick of the Drabworld, perhaps.

[bythewaves]

Mm, I think so. I was never the one with foresight. [ Just a strangely prescient appreciation of the direction of the Song ] That gift went to my cousins, instead. Will you be well?

[bird_brain]

[Aubri huffs a quiet chuckle.] And so we are alike again. The gifts of the mind went to other gryphons. I will be fine. The dream was disconcerting but it is just that: a dream.

[bythewaves]

We always seem to find more similarities, eh? I wish I had know you in your world, Master Aubri, and not in this farce of a place.

[bird_brain]

You would have loved my city, I think.

[bythewaves]

I think I would have too. It sounds a lovely place, Master Aubri.

[bird_brain]

Lovely doesn't do it justice.

[bythewaves]

Tell me of her, again? Let us chase away the night's shadows with light.

[bird_brain]

[Aubri closes his eyes, bringing to mind the clearest picture of White Gryphon that he can. Then, he sets to describing her.]

She overlooks the sea and I'll never tire of seeing the sun dance on the waves. The cliffs are white and our homes are built into them. It was the humans who decided that the walkways should take the shape of a gryphon rising into flight, but the gryphons certainly did not argue it.

[bythewaves]

[ Maglor closes his eyes to listen and hums appreciatively ]

Do they fly together, your people? In freedom, in joy?

[bird_brain]

We rarely fly alone. We dance in the sky, Maglor, and one should not dance alone.

[bythewaves]

[ A soft wistful sigh ]

I would love to watch, one day Master Aubri. Perhaps I will see you and the Lady Zhaneel dance so one day.

[bird_brain]

[Aubri blinks.

Blinks again.

Chokes on the air he's trying to breathe.

Somehow, after a moment, he manages to speak.]

Perhaps you will.

[Maglor certainly didn't mean it that way.

Right?

Of course not. Right. Skan would kill him. Then bring him back and kill him again.]

[bythewaves]

Did I say something wrong? [ He blinks in confusion ] Forgive me, I did not mean to cause offence, if I did.

[bird_brain]

[Aubri shakes his head quickly.] No offence. My apologies. It was the way it was phrased.

[bythewaves]

Ahhh, forgive me. [ Maglor ducks his head apologetically ] I am sorry. I will try to remember not to use that phrasing!

{Action}

[rangerandking]

She is gone. {Ranging has its uses and Ehtyarion is kind enough to bear him. Clearly the bond he is forging with Maglor is growing if Aragorn can find him in his time of need.

He is cloaked in green, easily mistaken for a shadow in the forest, and his expression is hidden.} Arwen Undómiel returns to lands that are destined to be renewed. There she will experience pain and joy...

Lord Elrond will dry her tears and show her a brighter future.

{Action}

[bythewaves]

.............Oh Aragorn.

[ Another tie snapped, another loss, but Aragorn means more than his own pain, and Maglor lifts his head from where he rests and takes the steps needed to pull the Ranger into his arms ]

I am sorry.

{Action}

[rangerandking]

{He shakes beyond his control, ice filling his veins where once their had been warmth and security. The pendant she had given him is a weight on his chest - a reminder that his love is in another world.

But that's okay. That's better.

Then why does his heart scream?}

May I stay?

{Action}

[bythewaves]

Hush hush. Yes, of course you can.

[ He tugs him down to sit, carding a hand through his hair and crooning comfort instinctively ]

{Action}

[rangerandking]

{He doesn't sit so much as collapse in on himself. There are no tears - he is too numb, too shocked for them to fall. But he doesn't push Maglor away. He sought him out for a reason - he knows her disappearance will hurt him too and that's...

Something they share.}

Once I heal... I will make myself stronger. The Monarchy will know where I stand.

{Action}

[bythewaves]

[ Maglor will keep it up, until Aragorn tells him to stop or pushes him away ]

Have a care if you do. [ he murmurs softly ] He may well have started from the same sort of ground as you, but his search for power drove Reynard mad, in the end. I do not wish that fate for you. I would rather you sought a way to return... although without your shard...

[ Gently ] She left hers behind, did she not?

{Action}

[rangerandking]

{Slowly, he sits up and stretches out his legs. Digging into a pocket, he pulls out the Shard. Her Shard. He hasn't given a thought about what to do with it.}

I cannot return before I give them an answer for the pain they have caused.

{And not just his pain, either.}