Tarcil and the men were enjoying themselves immensely. It made the old man happy to see the prince joyful especially.
Gimlân found the elf-realm to be a fair place. It did not fall short of the descriptions, and most of those descriptions were not enough to describe it. It also helped about the fact that he had been here a number of times before this, in service to his king. Mostly it was on for true business, instead of this.
Of course, that had been the king's command too.
"Take the next few weeks off, my friend." The Arnorian king had said with a grin. "You have earned it."
And that was what he was doing.
Tathardes had come back from her searching. He got that much, so his small circle of familiar elves was complete once more. Some last minute business they had to see to, and preparing for the festival perhaps, and then…
Gimlân frowned and raised a brow as he saw something black and brown out of the corner of his eyes. He turned and saw nothing. He shook his head and went back to observing the field where the celebrations were to take place.
"Good day, Gimlân."
The old man jumped and looked around again. He saw Glorfindel standing there with a smile on his face.
"Oh my lord…" The advisor exhaled a breath. "I can handle surprises more than some men do at my age, but still, I rather not age myself quicker with unnecessary startle."
"I would not know that feeling, so I cannot comfort you."
"If what they say is true about you dying and being returned to life…"
Glorfindel smirked. "Would you doubt my word on anything, or Erestor's?"
"I think it is his word that makes me believe it, my lord. I mean no disrespect in that."
The Vanya sighed. "Blunt Erestor, but that may be why he has made it up to this point."
"Come to see to preparations, Glorfindel?"
The elf frowned. "…Not really. I actually have no reason to be here at the moment."
Gimlân smiled. "Well, I would appreciate your company for a time, if you can spare it."
"A little time will not ruin anything."
It did not help that they said nothing to each other for a few minutes.
"Have you found anything concerning the twins?" Gimlân asked, genuinely concerned.
Glorfindel looked disturbed and that only made the man feel more worried.
"They are back." The elf finally said.
Gimlân's brows rose. "That is good to hear, and unharmed?"
"Physically, yes."
The advisor frowned. "You are being cryptic."
Glorfindel closed his eyes. "For their sake I will stay silent. If fate has it you can…see them."
Gimlân knew he should not intrude on private matters, but he was…intrigued, by the whole drama. He secretly liked drama, "Well, it is good to hear that they are well. I do hope they will grace us with their presence at some point."
'That is what I am afraid of.' Glorfindel mused.
Elladan was upset.
No, he was livid.
As everyone knew, Elladan was the more tempered of the twins. He did not bother to conceal his anger if he became riled up. He could not express his rage easily anymore in his current circumstance, so that only turned his anger into a risk of heart failure, and his heart was smaller presently.
Elrohir did not help…could not help, unless they were audibly speaking, which Elladan would have been shrieking and drawn attention if he spoke, so they did not do that.
If his parents ever found out what he did to unleash that anger, they would have stuck him in a box and kept him there until he destroyed said box or calmed down. He scratched the living daylights out of the wood of the floor, destroyed a couple of pillows that he was sure no one would miss, snuck into the kitchen and stole a cookie, and then went outside and dug a hole.
Now he was laying on a low branch in a tree, ignoring that he could be seen by all who walked by, thanks to the black pelt he was forced to wear and the stark collar around his neck.
No one could get the joke. It was all a joke! They were all so tightly wound that they cannot take humor from harmless pranks. Alright, yes, again the honey issue was a shame, but everything else…
They even cleaned the coop, for stars' sake! That has to count for something!
Elladan heard feet walking. Human feet. Oh blast it, he had to get away…
"Abrazân, do you see that?"
"See what?"
"To the trees! I think-"
Elladan disappeared into the shrubs. How dare they gawk at him like he was some…some…
Like some rare creature of nature. Well, he would show them, when he comes up with something appropriate…
He heard the sound: a mix between a cat's meow and a dog's whine. Foxes were strange creatures with their vocals…but this meant his brother had found him. Elladan did not want to see him.
Elrohir pushed his way through the bush, the branches and sharp ends digging into his body. It was not that bothersome, the branches. But away from a convenient way to get to unreachable places…
'Brother, do not try to talk unless you will not explode in the process.' Elrohir tried.
Elladan growled, but beyond that, stayed quiet.
Elrohir paused before continuing, hoping desperately no one will catch his sounds, 'Have you given any thought to this, that we may actually be at fault?' Elladan growled again and Elrohir gave something that could be counted as a sigh, 'This is the final straw to our mischief. We listened not to requests to stop; we turn the deaf ear to father and mother…and for what: petty amusement? We really need to leave our childhood in the past instead of stretching it into eternity. Adar is right about this: we do not give ourselves a good reputation, and it will not help us in the future.'
'We are not old enough to be required to leave it behind.' Elladan had reigned it in enough to not be shrieking. He managed to make his growling quiet enough. 'We should try and make the best of this while it lasts, before we are exposed to darkness.'
Elrohir gave a sound very similar to a laugh. 'We are innocent of nothing, brother. We have been accused of many things, and none to flattering. We were called rysc, for stars' sake!' It was the younger twin's turn to growl, and he waved a paw to make his point, 'Should that not wake you up? Look at yourself!'
Elladan found no words to deny it and he lowered himself to the ground, ears flat. 'What do we do?'
'You heard the voice…Maia, Valië, whoever it was, we have crystals to find.'
'Where do we start?'
Elrohir paused. 'This will be no instant fix, Elladan…We have things to learn before we can find it.'
Elladan let out a huff.
'I suggest you be the one to show our teachers where this happened, to humor them, since I have doubts about them being able to help us in something meant exclusively for us.'
Elladan growled again. 'And what will you be doing?'
Elrohir tilted his head. 'I will be looking for a crystal that might be here…in the ground.'
'Endurance and searching?'
Elrohir nodded.
Elladan puffed some air out his nose. 'Of course…' He looked to the wide open beyond the bush, '…I want to pay the prince a visit, it may make my mood lighter.'
'You will not do anything, will you?'
Elladan stood up again, swishing his tail in response.
Elrohir would have frowned if he could. He followed behind his brother, just to make sure he would not do anything stupid.
Tarcil sunk into Númenorean history on the porch, finally given time for him to be and read. He knew much already about Númenor in its prime, but it still fascinated him, especially from the elves' point of view. Even the matters concerning his people in the First Age, it was worth keeping note of.
The prince blinked and his brows furrowed when he heard scratching and some amount of yipping. He looked up and searched for the source, and found nothing. Of course, when he looked back to his book he saw two foxes sitting at his feet, staring at him intently.
Tarcil blinked his wide eyes. First, this was not natural behavior, and second, their pelts were unique. He did see the collars, so that must mean they were special.
"…Greetings, little masters." The prince said awkwardly.
The black fox tilted its head as a response.
Intelligent animals they must be. "I do not have anything for you, if that is what you are seeking."
They stayed.
Tarcil frowned slightly. After a moment of hesitation he pushed them away with his hand. "I am sure your masters are missing you. Go on."
The prince leaned back. He blinked when he saw the cinnamon fox sitting next to him on the couch.
Tarcil continued frowning. "Hello."
Secretly, the two elves that were the foxes were silently entertained.
