How to keep calm
Caranthir had shown from a early age that among the seven Nos Feanor brothers, he was the one to be quickest to anger. It was nothing uncommon with that he often ended up in a argument or even a fist-fight with Curufin, only one year younger, since the fifth brother had a bad habit of often pushing the middle one to the limits of his patience.
"Curvo, stop teasing Moryo! Do not come with that old "he gets angry for nothing"-excuse again! You are only doing it because you are bored and not in the center of attention as you want!" Nerdanel snapped at her fifth son, dragging him away by the ear when he once again had started annoying Caranthir in the middle of him playing a tv game with Maedhros.
"He only chooses me because you others are too smart for him."
Somehow, Maedhros managed to pet Caranthir on the head before quickly returning to his turn of the game.
"You are still the best of us on skiis and when it comes to anything that has to do with finances or money. You even have helped mom and dad get better prices for the items they sell."
Caranthir responded by what was the closest thing to a smile, for being him, and actually grinned when he managed to beat his oldest brother in the game.
~X~X~X~X~X~X
Being able to ski was important here in Formenos, especially during winter time, and not only as a hobby. Once upon a time, it had been a way to deliver mail when it had been too much snow that made it difficult to walk unless you pushed up a road in the snow with a shovel.
"Uncle, wait!"
Celebrimbor was old enough to manage sledding on his own, but attempting it in the longer ski slope proved to be rather scary when he saw how far up they were. It did not help when his nephew tried his best to avoid driving straight into those who was skiing.
"Oi, oi, watch out for that snow pile!"
Too late, Celebrimbor more or less crashed flat on his face into the huge pile of snow which was everywhere on the sides of the skii slope to prevent that people crashed into a tree or something else that could cause injuries. However, his nephew turned around laughing.
"Soft landing, uncle!"
Caranthir smiled a wry smile as Celebrimbor climbed out of the snow pile to return up in the slope with his sledge. At least the boy was not a fearless fool, that would have alarmed him far more than the other way. No, a healthy dose of fear had never hurt anyone.
~X~X~X~X~X~X
Despite his skill on skis, Caranthir was pleased with that he had not chosen a career as a skier. Sue, it had been fun winning first place in the Youth Olympics back when he was a teenager, but he hated the attention from all the media and he also did not want his family to be bothered by unwelcome people or becoming the reason to why tourists overwhelmed Formenos.
"Personally, I think you are a better business dealer than a sportsman. You help Formenos sell goods to far off places, and we get a good deal in return."
This was one of the reasons Caranthir liked Haleth as his girlfriend. Her habit of being blunt and not being scared of his temper when he had a bad day. Sure, their relationship was not perfect since many were baffled by how he had hooked up with one of the local high school PE teachers since Caranthir only exercised through daily walks or on his bicycle, and he tended to look rather thin beside the muscular Celegorm and Curufin, but Haleth shared his sense of dark humour and dislike of people they both found arrogant. Even if they were dead set on not marrying or even start living together under the same roof, things were reasonable well according to their own standards. Both had a need of independence and very little social life which could be hard to explain to others outside their families, but they managed rather well in their relationship if they tried hard enough.
"You know, I think it is always funny to see people try and scare us locals by some horror movie, and how it ends up in failure every time."
Taking a slip of his coffee again before it got cold, Caranthir responded:
"We are aware of the overnatural side of life thanks to the native shamans living here in the north of Valinor, and knows better than doing something that will only result with us getting a curse for all the trouble. Besides, wild animals might look cute as babies but it is not funny being injured by them as adults."
Haleth nodded in agreement, she was not born in Formenos but she were still a local in the north. Everyone living here in northern Valinor knew better than dismissing the dangers of wildlife and the wildness, unless you had a death wish. Pouring up some more coffee in her own cup, she then offered him some more biscuits she had shaped into the form of wild animals by cake molds. Caranthir laughed softly at the idea she had used, but it was alright. A quiet evening like this, with peace and quiet in pleasant company with the cell phones on quiet and placed in a different room while they watched some documentary about something in the other end of the world on the tv, was indeed the best way to keep calm if anyone bothered to ask him.