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Who are you waiting for, if I may ask?

[ Curufin comes clattering in, swinging open the big front doors open and dropping his gear in the foyer. He has crossed the Great Divide again, though this time, he had to take a different route than he did the last time. This time, he's coming from an embodied life, and so he had to come along the Path of Dreams. ]

Ammë, I'm back!

My sons. They have been lost to me for a very long time.

[She knew even before he called to her that it could only be one of her boys. Who else could make such a racket?]

Curufin?

[Instantly, she recognized that voice. It had been a long time, but she could still tell them all apart quite easily. It was a mother's talent. She dropped her chisel and abandoned the project she was working on and rushed into the foyer to see that it was indeed him. In the flesh. Making a mess, of course, but never mind that! She looked at him for a moment, astonished, before she rushed to embrace her son.]

I can hardly believe you are here!

I am very sorry to hear that, madame.

[Combeferre tried to remember when the last time he written his own mother had been.]

[ He grins at her and runs to hug her. He picks her up off her feet and swings her around, and then sets her down again. ]

I can hardly believe it, either! But, once again! [ He laughs and embraces her yet another time. ]

I have news. Some of which, you doubtless can guess. Tauriel and I returned to Rivendell, where we were married. [ He lifts the holly crown off his head and sets it on hers, and kisses her cheek. ]

[She laughed merrily, remembering the redheaded Wood-elf who had been at her son's side the last time the spoke.]

So I have a new daughter then? That is good. You need someone to keep you out of trouble. I hope your Tauriel is up to the challenge!

[Her eyes sparkled as she teased her son. Planting a kiss on his cheek, she took his arm, guiding him towards the kitchen.]

Come, I am eager to hear all your news, and you look as though you could use a good meal.

[When her boys were growing up, someone was always hungry! She had gotten in the habit of keeping something on hand at all times, and that had never changed.]

I would hardly dare to get into trouble without her permission! [ He grins. ] She herself is a fearsome force of nature, and well suited to the challenge of the House of Fëanor.

[ And he lets himself be guided to the kitchen. She is right; he is hungry. And she has always kept a well-stocked pantry and set a lovely table. But being a thoughtful son, he helps her put the meal together. While they work, he talks. ]

I thought of asking her, right after we saw you in the Mirror of Galadriel. But I'm afraid I delayed until later to pop the question. I was quite terrified that she would say NO. [ He laughs. This is not quite true, but it is almost true. He had had a moment of awful doubt as to whether Tauriel was really crazy enough to marry him. ] But we ended up where we needed to be, standing in a lovely grove in the woods, dressed to the nines! She gave me her hand before the requisite witnesses.

I felt, somehow, that you were there in spirit. And I know that her parents were.

Edited 2017-01-03 08:50 (UTC)

I am always with you, my dear son, but I am glad you thought so. I would very much have loved to be there to welcome your Tauriel to the family.

[Nerdanel smiled fondly at him then handed him the dishes to set the table. She then turned to finish putting together a tray of food, looking thoughtful for a moment.]

There was something about her that gave me a strong desire to take her in and be a mother to her myself. I take it her parents no longer walk those shores?

[ Curufin sets the table efficiently and then pulls out his mother's chair for her, for when she's ready to sit down. ]

Her parents have been dead for some time. Since she was a little Elfling. She managed somehow to survive in the Greenwood by herself, until Thranduil's people found her and brought her to their halls. She has always carried the grief of her parting with her beloved father and mother.

But something amazing happened. We fell asleep one night and dreamed a dream together. We went to the forest where her people lived, and we were welcomed by Tauriel's parents! It was not just a dream, it was a vision. They had come to see if I could be trusted to take good care of their daughter, and in the end, they gave me their blessing. I was very pleased!

And I am sure she would love it if you would be a bit of a mother to her, as well as a mother-in-law!

"The poor dear." Nerdanel always had a soft spot for children, which made sense considering her had seven of her own! But she had always been fond of all her nieces and nephews and always had a natural way of comforting any distressed little one she came across. She imagined that poor little Elfling, alone in a forest, parents gone forever, and her heart went out to the orphan, even though she was no longer a little girl.

"I am glad you found one another." She told Curufin, sitting in the chair he pulled out for her. "And of course her departed parents granted their blessing. You are quite charming, my dear son!"

Curufin laughed. "Oh, yes, the charming Fëanorion! I was so sure her father was going to tell me to get off his property or he'd cut me down like scrub brush trying to grow up in his barley field. But he didn't; instead, he asked questions and listened. I don't know that he was charmed, but he seemed satisfied, at least. And likewise, his lady, Tauriel's mother. I feared her judgement even more than his, but she seemed pleased! Amazing!"

And he went to his own seat, and then steepled his hands on the table in front of him, and smiled at Nerdanel again. The expression on her face was the one he was so familiar with, the one of which he had been the grateful recipient so often when he was a child. He had seen it often when she was tending other children, too.

"Perhaps you will have a chance to welcome her, another time. There is no telling what might happen, really. I would never have thought I'd have a chance to speak with you again, and yet, see how it has turned out?"

"I would like to think you got at least some of that charm from me as well!" She chuckled, giving her son an affectionate look. "Your father cannot get all the credit."

Yes, her fifth son was very much like his father, but deep down she saw something of herself in him as well.

"And I am quite certain I shall meet your bride someday as well. You have a talent for turning up unexpectantly. Why should she not accompany you one day?"

He laughed, too. "Father had charisma, but I don't think he really had charm! And thus, if I have any, I must have gotten it all from you!"

And he thought with delight of the idea of bringing Tauriel here, to this gracious house, the home of his childhood and early manhood. "I would like to bring her, if I can find a way to do that. Or. . . there is another option. We can find a way to bring you to Middle-earth for a visit, perhaps?"

"Oh, he could be quite charming when he wanted to be." She smiled at the memory of the one who had won her heart so long ago. "Why do you think I agreed to marry him in the first place? And then agreed to seven children?"

When he brought up her making the journey to Middle-earth she paused for a moment, considering that proposal. Before, she had refused to follow her husband and sons on their journey, but that had been different. There was no oath now, no revolt. This was her son inviting her to come and see the life he had built with the woman he loved. Besides, it was a rather lonely life here, without her family. Perhaps it was time to join one of them, even if it were only for a visit.

"I would be happy to visit, if such a journey is possible." She smiled at him. "I admit, I have often wondered what it is (about that place you find so alluring, and it has been far too quiet in these halls."

((OOC: Awwww Nerdanel should totally come when they're expecting to be there for when the grandkids come... because Grandma Nerdanel would be adorable!))

Curufin laughed softly. His own experience was that Fëanor was stern and demanding, but sometimes very kind and even tender. And thus he could at least imagine his father as charming; surely, he would have been so during his own courtship and the early years of his marriage.

"I would love to bring you to Middle-earth. It is true that I have loved those lands, that they are forever a part of my heart. It would be my pleasure to share those experiences and memories with you."

He was already beginning to scheme, thinking up ideas for how to accomplish this. He was sure it could be done.

"It might be peaceful in Middle-earth with Tauriel and I, but it certainly won't be quiet," he said with a grin. "You might find yourself missing the silence."

{{ OOC: She totally should! Let's plan on it! XD }}

"Oh I doubt that." Nerdanel laughed lightly, remembering all the noise that had once echoed through the halls of this house. There had been times she admitted she longed for silence, but so much of that noise had been joyful. She missed it dearly.

"I would welcome the noise, especially if some of that noise is from grandchildren, should you two decide to have children, of course."

Her tone was light, but she dearly hoped they would! She had missed having the opportunity to know her grandson before, she would not let such a blessing pass her by again.

"She and I have spoken of that possibility already. We have decided to delay becoming parents. We have a war to fight, I am afraid -- not yet, but soon. However, when that is done, we will be free to start a family."

And he smiled at her from across the table, and poured them both some wine. He handed her a glass and lifted his own in a toast. "I'm sure our children will be as boisterous as your children were!"

He, too, was thinking of how Nerdanel had missed her chance to know Celebrimbor. He couldn't do anything about that, now. But he could make sure she got the chance to know Tauriel's children.

"I hope so! A parent's great joy is knowing their children have their own children who are just as rambunctious and adventurous as they once were!" Her eyes sparkled at the thought. Of course, by the time Curufin had come around, she had been an old pro at motherhood! She had learned to distinguish between the minor crashes and accidents and the major ones long before he had been born.

"And I do not like the sound of that war, my dear son, but I think you are wise to wait. A happy and peaceful childhood is a gift."

He nodded and laughed in agreement with her parental philosophy.

But as for the war. . .

"I don't like the sound of it, either. I wish Sauron had been tossed into the Void along with his master, at the end of the War of Wrath. He just keeps coming back. And Elves and mortals just have to keep fighting him. One of these times, we'll defeat him and it'll stick."

His voice was full of irony, but also, humor. He had spent enough of his existence being dead serious. He wasn't going to miss out on all the good moments of life by adhering to that old habit. Besides, he didn't want Nerdanel to worry any more than she had to, and she would, if he seemed subdued by the idea of yet another war.

"I agree with you. A child should have a childhood unfettered by the fear that goes along with war, with seeing one's parents go out to risk their lives and having no say in it."

And he lifted his glass and toasted that idea as well, with a smile into her loving eyes.

"I do not think it is ever easy to see those you love leaving for a risky and uncertain future."

Nerdanel gave her son a rather knowing look, remembering how devastating the blow had been, the first time she walked through those doors into an empty hall, knowing she might never hear the voices of her children again.

"No matter how old you are, I am afraid I shall always wish to see you safe from harm." She smiled a little. "You will always be that little boy who used to chase after his big brothers shouting in that insistent voice that he should be included, no matter how inappropriate those games were for someone so small!"

"No, it is not," he agreed.

And he met his mother's knowing eyes with his dark, affectionate glance. He, too, was thinking of how lonely it must have been for her when they had all gone away, leaving her an empty house full of memories.

"I know," he replied. "We parents always do see our children as children still, no matter than they have grown up, and their charming childhood foibles occupy our memory forever, as though time somehow stands still in our hearts."

And he suddenly hugged her again. "I am still that child. I admit it."

Smiling fondly, she hugged him back, remembering that little boy who usually demanded to be independent like his brothers, but would cling to her skirts when he was upset, and then later, would throw his arms around her waist in an unexpected hug as he got a little taller. Now, he was taller than she was, but those hugs were just as warm and welcoming.

"Perhaps," She said, reaching up and patting his cheek. "But you are not so little now!" She laughed and kissed his cheek, affectionately. "Though I daresay that you are the most adventurous and daring of the lot."

She suspected that was in part because he was determined to be included at a young age, so he had to prove that he was just as tough and brave as the rest of them. He was not her youngest, but the twins always seemed to rely more on one another, and never seemed to overly concerned to join the older boys.

"Speaking of those brothers of yours, do you have news of any of them?"

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Aw, Nerdanel with an infant in her arms! <3

I feel like she's be the best grandma ever :-)

Absolutely the best!

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