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Post by Rowenna on Jul 24, 2006 2:31:48 GMT -5
Lerris laughed slightly and shook his head getting his hair out of his eyes. His gaze swept around the vast majority of hills and realized they must of been nearing the Gap. Not that this was his first time here, Mirkwood was just north, home was north and he was heading east to Edoras to find the former apprentice. He sighed and smiled to himself, atleast the trip until they reach Edoras should be easy no more jumping over rivers, no more Grohn....Rowen.
"So.." The elf started, "What do you plan to do when we actually find Byron...." Lerris frowned, that might not of been the best of questions so he quickly added, "it's ok if you don't wanna tell me, or don't know....I wouldn't either."
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Post by Rowenna on Jul 25, 2006 14:03:00 GMT -5
“No, it’s all right,” Rowen assured him, smiling slightly as she went ahead, walking backwards. “I really don’t know. I figure I’ll work that out when I eventually find him.”
If I find him, she privately thought, but just as fast, she shook the thought away. He had to be at Edoras. Where else would he go? Where else was there to go? She forced down her logic, and pushed her mind to other things. What would she do once she found Byron? Really... though she didn’t say it, she wanted everything to be as it was. She as teacher, he as student. But she wanted things to be different, to. Thieving. Killing. She wanted that part of her life behind her, forever. Could it happen? Was it even possible? And Byron. Would he remained restrained as a student forever? That was likely why she spoke none of this to Lerris. Because, deep down, under layers of mingled hope and fear, she knew it was folly. She knew it, but she didn’t know it. The core would not share it’s truth with the rest of her.
“Well Lerris,” she grinned as she turned so that they were now facing the same way. “Here we are, walking side by side, and we’re not about to kill each other. So, talk to me. How old are you?”
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Post by Lerris on Aug 11, 2006 21:27:17 GMT -5
Lerris scratched his chin as the staff thudded on the ground next to him, how old was he? He wasn’t even sure if he knew the correct answer to such a question as that. He laughed slightly and tried his best to give his answer, “I am…..” He shrugged, “Older then you.” He shook his head at the horrid joke and tried to think of a better answer, “The exact number I cannot be exactly sure, I lost count several years ago and maybe it is for the better. But to tell the truth, why…I must be something over eighty by now.”
He shrugged, not knowing if Rowen would know that he was relatively young concerning his heritage. He didn’t want to ask the question back, so he simply smirked and shrugged his shoulders wondering if it was a satisfactory answer.
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Post by Rowenna on Aug 11, 2006 21:48:33 GMT -5
“Oh, going senile now, are we?” Rowen smiled fondly, looking up to him with silver eyes that were bright with a light of their own, unlike anything they had been before. Not in fire, not in a simple passionate gaze for the thrill of fighting. They almost shined like starlight. “I suppose age doesn’t matter as much for you people, not when you stop really growing older at what--thirty?”
She paused and continued on as though she had never abandoned her previous subject, like it was all the same thing in a continuous chain. She knew Lerris--knew him better than she probably ever really wanted to, but now she had become insatiable in the desire to just talk and to know more.
“Do you have any family, Lerris? Parents, brothers, sisters?”
Her smile as she spoke was genuine, and the morning sun warmed her back and crimson hair, a feeling she quite liked. Despite the fact that she literally lived outside, she never really saw sunlight; not as she lived in darkness, telling Byron never to take the open roads, lest he find himself at the end of an unwelcome blade. But there was no one, here. No one but she and Lerris.
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Post by Lerris on Aug 16, 2006 13:07:30 GMT -5
Lerris let out a deep sigh; he had not seen any part of his family in years. “No…” He mumbled shaking his head, “I have no brother, I have no sister.” He shrugged, not really wanting to be on the subject of family at all. “I suppose somewhere, my mother is still out there, I haven’t talked to her in years, probably not since my father was killed.”
The elf looked over at Rowen and took a deep breath, “During the war, my father was caught between a Orc and a woman he was trying to protect. The woman lived, he wasn’t so lucky, and I was still young then.” He laughed a little, “My mother has moved on since then, found another mate, never met the elf, don’t plan to. She had quite the temper, sometimes you remind me of her, probably would of gotten along great….on second thought, maybe not.”
He sighed, “That’s my family, I spent less time with them then I did with Abb…” He stopped short, saying that name brought a painful stab to his chest. Lerris’ mind faded towards his former master, and for a long time he stayed silent, almost forgetting about Rowen walking next to him.
When he finally snapped out of it he gave her an apologetic smile, but kept quite not wanting to test a lump in his throat.
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Post by Rowenna on Aug 16, 2006 19:13:37 GMT -5
“Don’t look like that,” Rowen smiled softly, not wanting, for the moment, to tread over darker memories. There was plenty of time for that, and she didn’t want this to be that instant. “My family’s gone, too. Both my parents, I never had any siblings. My teacher became my new family, and now he’s gone too; Byron’s all that’s left for me.”
She paused for a moment, walking by his side with a pensive air.
“But you still have a family,” she commented. “You should see her someday, before your past passes entirely from your memory. You have the option, while I have none.”
Rowen thought for a moment. She remembered the boat--she remembered what she had said. She remembered that d*mnable Grohn doing something stupid every time she thought she was doing something good. They had never finished their talk, before. About past. About present. She wondered if it was the right time to talk about it, but then again, that never stopped her before.
“Don’t dwell on the terrible things in life, it’s no use wasting your life on it. Like your master--like all of the things that happened in-between. Pay due respect where it belongs, fix what you can, and then wash it from your hands, and it’s not yours anymore. Leave it behind you--leave it in the ground--just not on your shoulders.”
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Post by Lerris on Sept 14, 2006 20:04:16 GMT -5
Lerris mumbled to himself, he didn’t want to meet his mother’s mate one bit. “Maybe some day, when I’m not fearing for my life anymore.” He chuckled slightly, but quickly shut himself up. He sighed, and tried not to sulk to much in front of Rowen. Which made him feel more then odd, because at one point in his life he probably would of not cared one bit what she thought.
But now, he cared about everything she thought about him. He wasn’t sure if he could stand to see her hurt anymore, maybe that was why he had chosen to help her find Byron in the first place. He put on a smile, and it wasn’t hard, he looked at Rowen in the morning sun. The morning sunlight shown brightly, making the red of her hair shine a even more beautiful crimson.
“I won’t let it rest on my shoulders anymore, not this time. Not Grohn, not Byron, not Abbot and not even Fain.” He sighed, “Well…” He sighed, “Fain will be hard to just shrug off.” He sighed then, and looked up to Rowen with an apologetic smile.
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Post by Rowenna on Sept 14, 2006 23:36:25 GMT -5
Rowen let her eyes fall to her feet, and then rise again to the smile on his face. She could not withhold her own grin, for she remembered things as they passed on that boat--a lot of yelling in each other’s faces until the other one yielded. She hadn’t expected to be heard, and at first, she didn’t know what to make of it. Things had changed so quickly--and yet, in a strange way, they didn’t change that much at all. She held his eyes for a moment with her grin, and playfully pushed against his face.
“Don’t look at me like that,” she laughed pleasantly, and seized him with an arm around his waist, walking closely and in sync with the elf. “You’re an odd elf, you know that? Strange, but I like you nonetheless.”
They walked a bit further, and she didn’t say anything, and it seemed she could not be content in the silence. She so wanted to fill it up, with banter, with talk, whispers, words.
The silence was sustained for a time. “Sing to me,” she finally said, and a smile drew over her face, one that could genuinely be described as happy, playful. The sun drew nearer to center sky, and a bird shot up from the yellow fields in birdcalls and wingbeats, and a blue heaven hung over the length of the world they were ready to tread.
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Post by Lerris on Sept 17, 2006 18:02:55 GMT -5
Lerris smiled and looked up into the clearing noon sky, he took a deep breath and slid an arm around Rowen as they continued to walk. He cleared his throat, and began to sing in a light voice, “A bereth thar ennui, aeair. Calad ammen I reniar, mi’aladhremmin ennorath. A Rowen Blackhawk, I chin a thûl lín míriel…”
He ended the song, as a jay cried out, as if echoing his song with it’s own. He smiled, and kissed Rowen on the top of her head. He wasn’t sure where this journey was going to end, but he knew the journey itself was not going to be a bad one, no matter where it ended.
Doubts still filled his head of course, if they didn’t find Byron what would happen? What if they did find him, could he even bring himself to let Rowen go? Back to a life of crime with her so called pupil? He sighed, and pushed the thoughts from his mind, he would know all in due time.
But now, now he could relax and simply keep walking. “I needed that…” He said quietly, almost to himself, he turned his gaze back on Rowen. “Thank you.”
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Post by Rowenna on Sept 17, 2006 18:53:14 GMT -5
“Thank you,” Rowen replied in jest, her smile never having faded from a face of pale moonlight. “I don’t think I’ve been complemented so much since Byron told me my strike to his left calf had him hobbling for days.”
For a moment, there was nothing. No thought behind the words, no consideration but for what she would have said anyway, in other places, other times, friend or foe, loved or despised. Then the mental pang--she chose to drive it away, that desperate longing for a boy that had become a part of her life. Her future--her work--her... well. Family. She crossed over the thought, and her smile did not go away, but her eyes seemed to change somehow. They were no less round, and no less silver, but carried with it a certain desire. Family. Hers--her...
She buried it. And she knew it wouldn’t go away, but she didn’t want to show it, and she didn’t want to feel it just then. Perhaps another time, when times were less kind, when the moments to cherish weren’t there anymore. Perhaps when there wasn’t someone there to see her feel things that made her weak.
“Flattery will get you everywhere,” she subtly changed the subject with an air of nonchalance and otherwise continuity. “That is, of course, unless I detect you are trying to take advantage of me. Then I would have to hurt you, but I trust an elf as honorable as you would never stoop to such low heights on pain of death, now would he?”
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Post by Lerris on Sept 18, 2006 0:34:51 GMT -5
Lerris let out a laugh and shook his head, “I swear on penalty of death that I shall not take advantage of you Rowen. But, will continue to flatter you as much as I can, no matter where it gets me.” He laughed a little harder, and once again kissed Rowen on the cheek.
It was a wonder of wonders, that two beings who once held so much hatred now held so much love. People who would see the two now, would of never guessed that this elf and this human had on more then one occasion tried to end each others life. Lerris knew this, and he wasn’t sure why, but he held to her as tightly as he could.
It was an odd feeling, but a good one. He let him and Rowen become his own world. She became his whole world. He let her warmth, her desire, her love wash over him, and he returned it back in kind. Words to him now felt like they would have been a waste of sensation
So he simply walked, and enjoyed the time where nothing was going wrong. Where no one was chasing him, where no one wanted him dead. High came and went, and Lerris produced what little food he had. He didn’t want to stop while it was still light, he figured it would be easiest to navigate before the darkness came. He offered some of the food to Rowen, but she refused with a shake of her head. She must have been too worried to eat, so Lerris ate as little as possible and tried to save some so he could give the rest to her when they finally stopped for the night.
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Post by Rowenna on Sept 18, 2006 1:27:42 GMT -5
She walked by his side, arm around his back, eyes to the ground with a pensive expression on her face. It was not the face of despair or despondency, but the expression of one so deep in thought that time had ceased to exist anymore. Time, space--figments, trivial details that amounted to nothing. What mattered was what was in her mind and filled her being as she rested her head against his shoulder in deep thought--appreciation--contemplation. There was a comfort, there. A safety. A warmth.
“Lerris...” she said softly, in an almost dreamlike state. It couldn’t have been terribly long since the last word--then again, she knew not time or distance, if they had spent their time walking for fifteen minutes and three quarters of a mile or a thousand years and all across the span of the universe. And for a time, it didn’t matter. She had spoken, and yet, she did not know what to say. She just wanted to fill the silence with something--something soft, kind, but nothing came to her mind. She smiled and looked to him. “... hello.”
Her silvery eyes when to the road ahead, a path untaken for the grass had not been beaten down by footsteps in this direction before--or often, at least.
“Say something,” she said plainly, but not unkindly. “What was it like back in Mirkwood? I’m afraid I never appreciated the place for what it was, given that I spent half my time hiding and the other time trying to kill you.”
She smiled at that--the memories were fond, despite all the hardship that came with it.
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Post by Lerris on Sept 18, 2006 22:07:07 GMT -5
Lerris was almost shocked by Rowen’s question, not by the question, but more of that she actually said something. He had been enjoying the quiet, it gave him time to think, think about what he was going to do when this journey ended.
Lerris let out a sigh, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to talk about home. “Mirkwood…” He started, rubbing his chin with his free hand. “I don’t remember a lot outside of where I used to live. My house wasn’t huge, but it was more then big enough for just myself to live in. I built it with Fain….”
He shook his head, “The thing must be quite horrific to look at now, probably a home to several of the things that live in Mirkwood.” He chuckled, “Or some fugitive on the run.” Lerris looked up into the sky, the sun was already on its way back down. He had lost track of time as he walked along with Rowen, they had probably covered more ground then he thought.
It wasn’t anywhere close to dark yet, but Lerris did start to think about where they could stop for the night. He didn’t want to sit out in the open anymore, he wanted a big bed where he and Rowen could sleep in. He almost blushed at his own thought, and turned it into a smile directed at Rowen.
“I’ll tell you what, if we ever find ourselves in Mirkwood again, I promise I will show you around in the daytime. But you have to promise me one thing, you must stay away from my shoulder. Unless you intend to lay your head upon it, then by all means..” It was a horrid joke, and he chuckled none the less.
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Post by Rowenna on Sept 18, 2006 23:35:48 GMT -5
“Are you sure your very tender shoulder wouldn’t be bothered by the extra weight?” she jested with a light smile. “I wouldn’t want to pain you unnecessarily; unless the occasion called for it, of course.”
She pursued the matter no further, sensing the hole in her logic, her own scar that could stand no undue weight, lest the pain return to her in full force. She remembered the day it happened--the burning anger and frustration set forth against him as neither one succeeded over the other. If she poked fun at his own frailties, what stopped him from turning around her logic against her? It’s what she would have done, were their positions reversed; so she changed the subject as fast as she could.
“No, Lerris, I think we’re quite over that now. I’d never--unless you somehow angered me... or made me mildly upset...”
They shared a laugh, and talked about everything there was to talk about--or at least, all they could think of, for the time. The sun moved as though it watched their footsteps, and repaid with speed in like. For a moment, the sky was a beautiful cerulean, and the grass tall with gold and scarce trees twisting under sunlight. Then, the sky was painted with hues of orange and blue and violet and red, and the grasses were lush of green, and the world was fogged with a royal purple. And then darkness stretched over everything in a veil of night, a dark blue over ebon earth, and shadows that lay still in earnest.
And when she found she had nothing left to say, Rowen, with her arm still around his back and her footsteps still moving just as his own, as it had been for the whole of the day like a painting covered with shade, she said in that warm dreamlike voice, “So, Sir Elf, what is your middle name?”
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Post by Lerris on Sept 18, 2006 23:51:03 GMT -5
The darkness was almost welcome, Lerris had enjoyed the walk throughout the day but there was no lie in saying his feet were rather tiered. “My middle name?” He let out a laugh as he scanned the fading light for a spot for them to set up camp for the night. “A strange question, for which I have no answer.”
Finding a suitable place to stay in the dark isn’t easy, Lerris wasn’t about to just sit down in the middle of the road and declare it a good spot. So he kept walking, his arm still around Rowen, his mind still half having a conversation with her. “I don’t even know if I was given one, maybe some day I will find out…blast it’s getting dark.”
The last part was meant for himself, but it just sort of came out anyway. Lerris spied something a bit larger then usual, and from the shape he judged it not to be any animal he knew. He directed their footsteps towards it, and found it to be a place where the grass grew a little higher then usual.
He slowed them down as they reached it, “We could stay here for the night. It’s no inn, but I have stayed in worse places. I’ve stayed in similar spots although, and the grass makes a decent place to rest.” He looked towards Rowen with a smile.
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