#canafinwe

Something you were more than ready to do in your apartment, some place you had lived since just after you came of age. Your parents having departed for Lindon to live there, and giving you the option to stay in Rivendell or go with them. Master Elrond had been more than welcoming of you staying in Rivendell, and provided the space for you. Happy to have you as an addition to his home. 

Every year did you partake in the human traditions you had picked up when you had left Rivendell to explore further with the twins. You had always been fascinated by their pumpkins with expressive faces, candles lit inside making them glow in the dark. The decorations they hung from trees outside or on their houses, with wreaths, costumes and other traditions you had never taken part in until then. 

Now it was a month before October came, with cooler days and changing leaves in the Valley and you were more than ready to prepare for the occasion. Something you’d have done a couple of weeks sooner, but your newly budding courtship with Maglor had kept you occupied as of late. This was something you had hoped to include him in now that you two were together, wanting to share in something you found fun. 

Quietly you opened the door to your home, entering the living space to find your partner staring pensively at what you knew were your pumpkins on the table. He seemed to jolt some at the sound of the door closing before turning to face you, his navy blue eyes finding yours before landing on the box in your hands. 

There was only one thing, you hadn’t exactly explained what it was you were doing nor why you were doing it. So Maglor was perplexed at the sudden need for four pumpkins and a box filled with black, orange and from what he could tell purple looking trinkets all inside what you were holding. The confusion was clear on his face, 

“Y/N what is all this?” He said in his gentle yet musical voice, sounding like a far cry from what he sounded like a year ago or so when he had been brought home from wandering the beaches. Healed and still healing. You kept your smile, setting the box on the table watching as your partner peered over to look inside the box, unable to contain his curiosity or patience. 

“Decorations! For Hallow’s Eve.” You said simply, leaving it open for him to ask questions as his navy blue eyes watched the way you began to pull things out of the box. Little black cats, strange little white blobs with eyes… Not to mention the clear cut outs of bats, and even more pumpkins but these had faces on the vellum that you had clearly painted to be orange. 

“What is… Hallow’s Eve?” Maglor asked, reaching in for what he saw was a cut out of spiderwebs, frowning as to why you would want fake spiderwebs… Considering you were afraid of spiders… 

“It is a celebration of sorts, to keep the spirits at bay as well as to celebrate them!” You answered him honestly, as you pulled out a box of tacks. Maglor’s clear look of confusion still hadn’t left his face, 

“But Y/N… All spirits go to Mandos.” Maglor argued weakly, pulling out another trinket, a little sculpture of a pumpkin with a menacing sharp toothy grin. You shrugged at his words, knowing it was mostly true, but you had heard the other accounts of humans and elves encountering spirits that hadn’t. But it had been a long time since Maglor was around to hear or recall such stories having been told to him. 

“Perhaps, but the humans seem to think otherwise.” You answered simply, deciding not to press the subject and cause unnecessary distress between the two of you over differing beliefs. Maglor then reached for the white blobs with big black beady eyes… Or at least that is what he figured they were. 

“What are these?” He asked that curiosity finding his voice, and you handed a small box of tacks, 

“That is a ghost.” You answered, and before he could ask you continued, “What the humans say spirits look like.” Yet it didn’t help as Maglor only continued to frown even deeper, his brows furrowing harshly as he looked back at it. Maglor couldn’t even begin to fathom how humans could decide that this was what “ghosts” looked like. 

“What do I do with these?” Maglor said trying to relax and flow with the fact that was what you did to celebrate the autumnal celebration and season. He liked that it seemed to make you so happy and excited, and that was enough to attempt to make sense of the well… nonsensical human festival. He was sure you’d explain more of it as you went along.

“Well I figured we’d pin some of these to the wall! And then set up the trinkets on the shelves and then carve pumpkins for the front door.” You smiled to him, bringing to him to smile softly at the plan you seemed to have in mind. Picking up a big bundle of paper cut outs, Maglor followed you, deciding to watch you enact your creative vision.

“The humans do this too?” Maglor pressed, watching as you opened the little box full of tacks before you pulled a few bats from the stack. You shrugged some at his words,

“Not all of them make as many cut outs as I have.” You said growing sheepish realizing how overboard you went for the festivities. But you loved it! Maglor smiled at your words,

“But yes there are humans who pin things to their walls too.” You answered him honestly, watching as he moved to set the pile down on a table in front of you. Reaching for one of the many bats and a pin before he looked up at the wall.

“Is there a specific way you are doing this?” He asked, and for a moment you paused in your pinning to look at the bats you already had on the wall. Looking it over in thought for a moment, before you began to shake your head, 

“No I don’t think so, why do you have an idea?” You asked him thoughtfully, looking over to him as you grabbed another vellum bat. Maglor seemed to be lost in his thoughts for a moment, staring at your little cluster of bats before looking at the one in his hand. He hesitated to say what was on his mind, used to keeping his ideas to himself for so long. Something that he was working through with the Healers here in Rivendell. 

“Yes.” He breathed out, looking to you almost sheepishly as he spoke before you could see him trying to muster up some more courage to speak what was on his mind. 

“What if you put the bats like this?” He said motioning in a swooping manner before his hands climbed up in the air pointing to higher on the wall. You thought for a moment, 

“Like… They’re flying up from the ground?” You asked him, and he nodded.

“Or we could have them flying down from the ceiling to the ground.” Maglor suggested, wondering if that made more sense to you. He watched you mull it over, looking over your bats on the wall and the rather large pile you had on the table in front of the wall. Before you nodded with a smile, and the tenseness Maglor felt waiting for you to answer left him. Relief taking it’s place especially as he watched a warm smile that found your lips. 

“That is a wonderful idea, I say we have them look like they’re flying up from the floor and to the ceiling. Makes it look like they are trying to escape.” You said flashing him that smile that made his heart stutter in his chest, Maglor felt a warmth tinge his face. Grateful you couldn’t see the blush on his face, Maglor adored to see you so happy. 

And in no time did you two begin in the endeavor of pinning tens of little cut out bats to the wall, with you starting from the floor and Maglor pinning them more towards the ceiling and at the higher points on the wall. Before finally you both came to meet in the middle, spreading them out and wide, making it looked as if there was a flurry of bats trying to find their way out. Maglor peeked over at you to see how giddy you were as you stood back, 

“It looks wonderful!” You breathed out happily, clasping your hands together as you looked over your handiwork. If Maglor were being honest, between your happiness and seeing the fruits of the shared labor this was kind of fun… Even if it was something others might consider to be a chore. As he came to stand next to you, he felt you lean up and press your lips to his cheek. 

“Thank you for your wonderful idea, meleth.” You said to him in a gentle voice, making Maglor blush again, growing a little bashful. 

“It was of no issue, meldanya…” He breathed out softly, before turning to see you move to the next pile of cut outs and trinkets. 

“Do you want to help hang up the rest? And then when we are done we can carve pumpkins!” You said to him, the first part certainly made sense, but carving pumpkins? A slew of questions met his mind, but this time he opted for it to be a surprise, wondering just how you’d explain it to him. 

“Of course. I could find no better way to spend time with you.” Maglor answered, and you grinned bringing him a few more cut outs, Maglor certainly could get used to this celebration. Seeing how happy it made you, it was certainly growing on him. He couldn’t wait to see what else this celebration had in store for you two. 

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