#ofmarchwardcns

Despite what many––perhaps even Haldir––might guess, those words mean a great deal to him. The reassurance that his Captain has faith in him. That at least one of his sons trusts him.

“Never to my knowledge, and yet…”

And yet sometimes his burdens are heavy and his doubts are not few. 

He shoulders the responsibility of an entire kingdom, of countless lives, and not for the first time does he wonder… but there is no use speculating over some hypothetical ‘other king’ who might have ruled in his stead for no such a one exists. 

With this, he seems to shake himself from his dark thoughts, looking up to give the other a wan smile.

“My apologies… My thoughts seem to have run away with me. It will not happen again.”

Almost immediately, she leans into the touch, closing her tear-filled eyes, trying to ignore when a few of those tears continue to escape their bounds.

“And so I keep tellin’ m’self an’ yet…” she takes in a shaky and an almost hiccuping breath of air, watery blue eyes opening once more. 

“There is something…  w r o n g . I don’t know what only that… that I have hardly slept in– in weeks, even with you here… An’ when I have, it has been with such– awful nightmares––like the one tonight––as I’ve not had in so many years… An’ even with this, I know that ye’ll leave later this same day t’go about yer patrols an’ I will not sway you, but…”

“Haldir… I am… I am  a f r a i d , an’ surely y’must know me well enough t’know that––fer so long as ye’ve known me or even before, as m’da would witness––never’ve I been one t’fear fer no reason, often not even fer perfectly good reasons that’d leave most quaking. An' not once before’ve I fretted o’er yer duties. An’ yet now do I fear. There is a dread that has wrapped itself ‘round my heart, and it will not let go. And I fear that––…”

Yet she cannot quite give utterance to her fear, only that she reaches out to him, first mirroring his touch before trembling fingers trace down to where her cold hand flattens against the solid muscle of his chest, right over the beat of his heart. 

This is the one his friend favors, that much he knows. He recognizes him from some of the times he had watched over his friend, over Meara.

And so, Ralach creeps closer to the strange being with the ears that are like those of his Meara-friend, gaze speculative and scrutinizing.

≥ HooOOOooo! ≤ 

"Lindir!" A perhaps familiar cry from the front of Rivendell's gates, as Haldir beckoned to him. "Please can you help me? Someone has put sticky sap on our saddles, and, well--" Thoroughly put out, Haldir was stuck to the saddle of his horse, no matter how much he tried to wriggle free. "If this was Elladan and Elrohir..."

        Lindir is not dressed for guests; he wears only a loose fitting tunic and breeches, and his unbraided hair flits in the gentle summer breeze. A pile of paperwork for which he is responsible sits beneath a paperweight beside the tree that he has been working under. On a day like this, it would be a terrible shame not to enjoy the weather, even if he does have duties to complete. 

        Ears perking at the sound of his own name, he rises quickly, putting the lid on his inkpot so that it is not spilled. His bare feet are silent against the stone floor as he makes the short distance between where he had been sitting and the gates - it is talking distance for an Elf (though perhaps not for polite conversation), but mortal ears would not have heard Haldir’s words from such a length. “I think that quite impossible, mellon,” he says, coming up to stand in front of Haldir’s mount and offering his hand for the horse to sniff. “They left for another of their hunting trips three days ago. I do not think their magic is that strong, do you?”

        Cause of it aside, Lindir does not know quite what to do in such a situation, but the ridiculousness of such a predicament is too much for him to panic in any sort of serious way. A light chuckle rises from the back of his throat, and he smiles serenely, tilting his head up towards his old friend. “Come, to the saddles, perhaps we will find a solution for you there.”

Send one of the following touches for my muse’s reaction. Bonus points for a description/context of some kind to make it easier for your partner to respond!☕ Gripping shoulder