Athrana (Wandering Shadow)
Chapter 34- Temporary
TA3019, February
Erestor stood in the middle of his bedroom wondering where to start. He had asked Glorfindel to come round to pick up some of his things. Seeing him earlier had been more difficult than he expected and he didn't want to run into the warrior any more than he had to for a while. He had wanted to pack a few things up before he arrived but he was having trouble.
"Erestor?" He turned around to see Athriel hovering in the doorway. She quietly walked in to stand beside him. "You don't have to do this you know. You could just ask him to come home" He really wanted to do that. He wanted to give in and ask Glorfindel to come home. But he couldn't, not yet. He shook his head. They had had this conversation earlier, and he didn't want to have it again. He opened the wardrobe door and started to remove his mate's things.
This was the easiest place to start. There were so many things around him that they had bought together. Over the years these rooms had been filled with things that didn't belong to one or the other of them but to both. How do you even begin to divide up century's worth of memories together. Compared to that clothes were easy, at least they should be.
Athriel watched him stuff tunics into a large sack. It was all her fault and she didn't know how to fix it. She had tried to talk Erestor around but to no avail. She had explained that she had asked Glorfindel to keep her existence a secret, that he had only been trying to protect him. But her brother was stubborn, and when he was upset he was even more so. Well she couldn't stand here all night, she had plans and this was something Erestor would have to deal with on his own. That was the problem she supposed. Erestor had never really dealt with things on his own. Glorfindel had always been there for him. "I'm going now Erestor. If you need me I'll be with the twins."
Erestor stopped when he heard the door close behind her. Slowly he put some of Glorfindel's things back into the wardrobe. It looked so empty with just his things in there. This wasn't going to be a permanent thing anyway. It couldn't be, he didn't think he could live like this for more than a few days. But he needed some space. It needed to be just him and Athriel for a while. They had never really done that. Then once she was settled they could work things out.
A knock on the front door brought him out of his thoughts. Taking a deep breath Erestor moved to the door. Opening it slowly he stepped back to let Glorfindel in. "Evening Erestor" the warrior said as he moved into the room. "Glorfindel" They stood for a while looking at each other not sure what to say.
Finally Erestor looked over at the sack on the bed. "I... eh... I started to pack some things, but I wasn't sure what you needed." Glorfindel smiled slightly. He found hope in Erestor's words. There was no anger, just sadness and confusion. It was as if Erestor had been asked to pack Glorfindel's things so that he could go out on patrol. Not as if he was banishing him from his life forever. There was hope for them yet. "I'm sure we'll make short work of it."
It wasn't long before Glorfindel was standing in the door again, this time with a sack thrown over his shoulder. He had packed only the essentials, leaving behind everything else. "Erestor?" he asked as he reached for the doorknob. "Please Fin, not now. I just need some time. I..." The blonde nodded. "Alright... Just... I love you Erestor"
The advisor watched as he left wondering yet again whether he was doing the right thing when all he wanted to do was run after his mate and drag him back. Eventually he turned away from the door and wiped his eyes.