Friends of Nimrodel: Tapestry of Dreams

[Imladris]

As Gwyllion seemed to think that throwing pebbles around Mellonin was not an amusing past time, Aeron stood up and saw that Ravion was staring at Mellonin with a look of confused bafflement on his face. Aeron sniggered.

Kicking at tufts of weeds, Aeron slouched towards Ravion and leaned against a nearby tree. "I hope that you're well pleased with yourself," he said cooly.

Ravion looked surprised. Good .

"So," said Aeron off handedly, "do all rangers steal?"

Ravion whirled around and glared at the boy. Aeron smirked and cocked a brow.

"I was just wondering," he added. "I've been told by many that all thieves are liars as well."

He looked significantly at the ranger. His impassive face did not betray whether or not Aeron's jibe had struck home or not.

"See, what I told Mellonin was true," he said softly. "There is no difference between you and I, besides the fact that you have the honourable name of ranger while I have the name of thief and liar and skulking boy."

[Orual]

There was a long moment of silence after Aeron had finished talking. Ravion stared evenly at the boy. Neither moved. Gwyllion turned to watch them, as their silence held more import than any words either of them could have said.

Suddenly Ravion grabbed Aeron by the collar. The Ranger was not much taller than the boy, but was still able to lift him off his feet. "You have pushed me beyond the limits of my patience," he growled. Out of his peripheral vision he saw Gwyllion fetch Mellonin. "I have kept myself from saying anything that I may regret. You may have forgotten, but you are here at my pleasure!"

"Ravion--" Mellonin called, but Ravion raised his free hand to silence her.

"You have pushed and pushed, and I do not know what you expect to receive from it, but I assure you that you do not want me to do what my emotions are telling me to." He threw Aeron, who stumbled but remained on his feet. "Your accusations are wearing thin. I have made my mistakes. I am sorry that you have made some of the same mistakes. Part of making mistakes is atoning, and the end of atoning is forgiveness. Perhaps you were a part of my atonement. I plan to end your role in my atonement."

"Ravion, what do you mean?" Mellonin asked.

Ravion did not answer. He grabbed his bag from off of Gond's saddle, then took the horse's lead and brought him to Mellonin. He took her hand, put the lead in it, and closed her hand around it. "Gond I give to you, in recompense for the help I cannot."

"Ravion, you are being--"

"Irresponsible? Absurd? Probably both." Ravion slung the bag over his shoulder. "And an irresponsible, absurd man should not lead the search for your brother. I leave this errant boy in your care. If he gives you too much worry, send Gond for me. Wherever I am, he will find me, and bring me back."

Ravion went to Raefindan. "Take care of them for me," he said quietly. "I know that you are capable, and that you can take charge in my absence."

He took a few steps away, then turned back. "Farewell. And Mellonin, I wish you the best in finding your brother."

With that, he left.

[Imladris]

Aeron's jaw dropped, and slowly it broadened into a grin. Could he believe his good luck? The ranger was actually leaving. Finally. The ranger that thought he was better than anybody else, purposely breaking the ties that bound them together. But if he thought that he was going to stay with this riffraff, then he was sorely mistaken.

"I think you're forgetting something, Ranger," drawled Aeron, smirking a little. "I vowed to be in your service. If you're releasing me from that vow, then I am not bound to stay with them. Unless," he added softly, "you are changing the terms of agreement?" He arched his brow. "That would, of course, make you a liar."

[littlemanpoet]

Ravion stopped and faced Aeron, his face impassive. "If you must take it so, so be it. Lying is not the worst offense of all my days. You are freed of the vow. Do what you will." He turned again and left them.

Aeron let out a whoop of glee. "Time to go, Gwyllion. Let us be gone from here! Back to Minas Tirith and good thieving!"

This was not good, thought Raefindan. Especially not in the darksome chill of the night. Ravion had made it quite clear why he was leaving, being somehow of the opinion that his leadership of the group was too flawed to continue further. It was absurd.

"I do not want to go," Gwyllion said in a forlorn voice. "I am too tired. I want to sleep."

"Fine, then sleep. We'll leave in the morning." Aeron sat down next to his sister and stared into the fire again.

From what Raefindan knew of other rangers - from what he had read? (he shook his head) - flawed leadership was no reason to quit. Quitting was a worse mistake than any made be persevering, short of betrayal or open murder. It revealed a worse flaw in character than admitting one's mistakes and making the best of bad situations. Quitting meant that Ravion did not really trust in the warp and weft of how the world worked, that a thing might be meant to happen.

And this, too, might be meant to happen, come full circle, for it made quite a few new things thinkable that had not been up until now. Among them were the departure of Aeron and Gwyllion. Another was that Mellonin and he would be free to move on, and perhaps at a quicker pace, unencumbered by the care of Aeron and Gwyllion. On the other hand, not having a Ranger to lead, meant that they were now at the mercy of the trail.

It also meant that Ravion might be free to search for Mellondu on his own, also free of the care of Aeron and Gwyllion, not to mention of Mellonin and himself! Ravion had been chiefly responsible for keeping him alive when he had had pneumonia.

"We shall simply have to not get sick, or lost, or injured, or overly hungry," he mumbled to himself.

"What, Raefindan?" Mellonin asked.

"We shall have to be very careful to stay healthy, and keep our wits about us, doubly hard with both you and I losing sleep from bad dreams." He stood suddenly. "I must catch him and convince him to come back to us. We need him too much." He strode past Mellonin.

"Raefindan, wait!" Mellonin blurted.

It was not in Raefindan to brush off anyone for any reason, no matter how urgent his purpose. His stride faltered and he faced her.

Having his attention, Mellonin's gaze faltered and she looked to the ground. "Let him go. Maybe it is better this way."

"You know it is not."

She threw up her hands and rubbed her forehead as if to massage some useful thought from an overtired mind. "Let him go anyway. Give him time."

Raefindan sighed. Very well then. He walked over to the fire and faced Aeron and Gwyllion. "You two are going back to Minas Tirith in the morning?"

"Maybe, maybe not," Aeron replied.

Raefindan walked back over to Mellonin. "I have no sleep left in me. I slept for a very short while and dreamed badly before Ravion left us. You have had no sleep, but I wager that sleep is not near you either."

"'Tis so," she nodded.

"Then let us leave." She nodded again. Raefindan turned to Aeron and Gwyllion. "Mellonin and I are leaving this place, for sleep is far from us. You must choose now if you will come with us, or stay here and sleep. Maybe you will catch up to us on the morrow, if that is your choice. So are you coming with, or staying here?"

[Imladris]

Gwyllion frowned and rubbed her eyes. This was becoming too confusing. Why was Ravion leaving? What was this about bad dreams?

Apparently they had to leave now -- well, Mellonin and Raefindan had to. Aeron frowned and said, "It's not safe for us to split up. Of course the Ranger," he gestured behind him with a small grin, "is brave and strong so he doesn't need to fear that. Gwyllion wants to sleep --" she shot a grateful smile at him -- "so, we will stay with you the night and go where you will but in the morning we leave straightway for Minas Tirith."

Gwyllion beamed at him. She was glad to go, in a way. All the travelling, all the squabbling was getting a trifle wearisome. Of course she would miss every one, but she could understand why Aeron had wanted to leave. She herself had thought it wrong that Ravion had taken Mellonin's side in the fist fight earlier in the day. And while Aeron did have a sharp tongue for truth, it was not good that Mellonin had attacked him because of it.

"Come along Gwyllion," said Aeron, stooping down.

She clambered onto his back, her legs swinging and murumured, "Thank you Aeron."

[mark12_30]

Well, this certainly solves a host of problems, mused Mellonin as they prepared to march northwest. Gond snorted at her as she tightened his girth, sniffed her as she held his lead, and looked over his shoulder to the southeast.

"We will return you to your master. Have no fear, " she said. She wondered as Gond's nostrils flared and flared, and his huge barrel swelled; then she winced as he let out a thunderous cry. It would have echoed anywhere else. In this desolate swamp the neigh seemed to fall flat. But there was no mistaking the heart behind it.

"Like you, I wish he had not gone, " she said, tugging at him as she turned to follow the others. Raefindan, Aeron, and Gwyllion were ready to go. "But for us, I think it is best that he has gone." Relief flooded her, for a moment, for a while. She need hide from the ranger no longer.

Raefindan knew, of course, but she trusted him like a brother.

Truly? she asked herself, and then gave a feirce nod. He will never replace my own brother. But it is as if I had two; an older, redhaired brother, and a younger dreamer. The thought pleased her, and she accepted it easily, even smiling a little. Raefindan, my adopted brother, and most loyal ally in my search for the younger blood brother. Raefindan will not leave me. It matters not if the others do.

She felt a twinge of guilt at that; little Gwyllion, who seemed so very present sometimes, and so lost at others; clever and simple, crafty and naive, foolish and wise. And she showed very good taste, being fond of Ravion.

It is best that he depart. It is best. We will find Mellondu, somehow, with fewer distractions. He has left us all his supplies; I wonder why he did not take some for himself; but we will find the way. We must. We will not grieve his departure.

I will not grieve his departure.

I will not.

[Orual]

Ravion did not stop or look back until a mile and a half or more was past him. If he did, he was not sure that he would not turn back.

When enough distance was between him and his companions--his former companions--that he felt safe, he sank to the ground and put his head in his hands. Sometimes he wondered if he had any more sense than Gwyllion, or Mellonin's moonstruck brother. He had acted in the heat of the moment, impetuously, without thinking it through. What would they do without him? He was their leader. Perhaps they deserved better than him, but they had no better than him. All they had was him. And he had abandoned them. What an irresponsible child he had been!

He opened his sack and brought out some bread. Unwrapping it, he stared at it. Suddenly there was no more hunger in him. Not for bread, at least. Perhaps for company.

Where was he to go now? He had no horse. He had nothing but the clothes on his back, some food, and a sword. He was alone.

But was he not always alone?

"Your brother?" Ravion asked quietly. Mellonin nodded, swallowing hard and composing herself. "We'll find him. I swear it to you."

He had sworn it.

And now he had left.

He shook his head vigorously. It was too late now. He would not crawl back with his tail between his legs. He could only imagine what Aeron would have to say about that. They would be fine without him, anyway. They would be fine.

Erundil

Erundil and his horse were both weary, but still they continued on. Ravion would be interested in the news he had.

Ravion was always such a strange one. When he was young, freshly accepted as a Ranger, he never had his mind on his training. He was a very capable young man, but it took a patient teacher to train the boy to focus. And sometimes, Erundil wondered if the way he had been forced to sit down and learn had not broken some of the sense of wonder in the boy. Although Erundil and Ravion had not seen each other in a long enough, he knew that the man the boy had grown to be was somber and lacking in much cheer: very different from the boy that Erundil had known.

As the night was coming on, he saw in the distance a small group of people walking slowly. One of them, a young woman, led a horse. Was that Gond? He looked more closely. It was Gond. But where was Ravion?

He approached them slowly from behind, then dismounted and cleared his throat loudly. All of the company turned, startled. "I see a horse without its rider," Erundil said quietly. "And its rider I know. I must ask, where is Ravion? Where is Gond's rider?"

[littlemanpoet]

"And I have wondered for days now how to tell you that I wished to go with you to your father to ask for your hand, and to win him over to returning to Edoras with us, so that he can live with us and thrive there. Do you think he might think well on it?"

Leafa did not answer at once. Ædegard looked into her eyes hopefully, and she did not look away but returned his gaze. At last she said, "I do not know. But it would give me joy to ride with you to my father and ask him."

"When this quest is over, we shall do that. Now we must not delay the others any longer." They kissed again, only quickly this time, and he walked Leafa to her horse and helped her up, then mounted his own again. The humans urged their horses to a gallop, and soon had caught up to the Elves and Amroth. Bella was irrepressible.

"Amroth! Amroth! Ædegard and Leafa are to be married!"

Amroth and the Elves turned in wonder. "What knews is this?" Amroth asked.

"It is true! Ædegard just sued for her hand in marriage, and she has given him her hand!"

Amroth looked at the two who had become betrothed with a faint smile on his face. They had ridden up behind Bella and were now holding hands across the space between their horses, beaming.

"I wish you good health and a long life together, Ædegard and Leafa."

"Thank you, Amroth," they said almost in unison

Nethador had been watching all that had taken place between the two betrothed, his eyes darting to Bella time and again. He rode up to Amroth and stared at him. Ædegard had seen him do this before, and it always seemed as if the boy came away from these stare downs calmed or quieted, while Amroth was afterward seen to smile, as though relieved from the hardship of his dreams. This time Amroth laughed.

"Yes, Nethador, it was sudden! Two days? Four? But they are both Rohirrim and their minds and bodies are much alike. You are not so lucky. Give it more time."

Nethador glanced at Bella and hung his head. Bella heard, and saw, and turned crimson. She quickly turned her horse away and stared off at the western horizon as if something there was of keen interest. Ædegard saw nothing and wondered what she saw.

Liornung laughed aloud and began singing one of his songs. Amroth urged the party to continue south. Between then and the sun's height, they covered much ground.