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I am sharpening my sword, my lady. I would not wish for it to grow dull in case I might have need of it.

What would you need it for?

[She sees his sword, and knows she could kill him faster than he could stab her with it.

Still, she's irritable that he's around in her presence.]

Edited 2022-09-19 22:26 (UTC)

Orcs, dragons, balrogs or just somebody else with a sword that want's to kill me for one reason or another.

[The girl gives him some strange vibes, he can tell she is dangerous, but he is not one to go straight from suspicion to pulling a sword on someone.

He gives her a sideways look and raises his eyebrow.]

What else would I use it for?

[Lucy remains guarded and watchful, regardless. The elongated ears she notices--he doesn't look like most people she's seen her whole hellish life.]

I have no idea what you're talking about.

[She can't seem to make sense of whatever these dangers are that he's concerned about. Lucy's never seen, or encountered them...

However, she has a bit of hunch this strange man may know more about this area more than she ever would. And what she can't understand is how drastically the environment changed while traveling all on her own.]

Where are we?

[Lucy isn't in a city anymore. This is out in a forest, someplace. She has no idea what's going on, or where she is. It's so damn weird.]

Edited 2022-09-19 22:55 (UTC)

No... I can see that you don't. Suffice to say they are things you'd rather not run across alone.

[Pink hair, horns she doesn't look like anyone he's ever seen before.]

We are on the March of Maedhros, close to Himring... but I doubt that tells you much. You are not from around here are you.

[He gives her a shrewd look before he finishes with his sword and returns it to it's scabbard. She hasn't shown any outright hostility yet so he'll keep things civil as well.]

I am the lord of this land and if you are in need of aid I might be able to assist you, though I'd need your word that you will not bring any harm to my people first.

[He is more proficient with osanwé than most of his brothers and he'll be able to tell if she outright lies to him but not so skilled as to be able to see into her mind.]

Will you give me that assurance, my lady?

[The names of these locations he gives startle her a little. The March of what, close to where?

What the hell is going on? Is this just someplace else in Japan, or...?

Her red eyes narrow a bit at this long-eared man as he speaks. Did he cause everything to change like this?

No, that couldn't be possible... It's hard to make sense of all this in her head.]

I won't have reason to harm, as long as no one harms or deceives me.

[Lucy is being truthful about that. She wouldn't injure or kill someone unless she knows there's a reason to. Running into things I don't understand, in someplace I've never been... Part of her is confident in her powers to defend and attack with, but these threats might not be human at all. Do they actually exist?

Lucy hesitates. She could choose to leave on her own, or let him tell her more about where she is. A frown emerges as she's not at all sure if he's someone to actually trust. He says he's some kind of leader of his people.

His people wield weapons, but you're faster. Lucy lowers her head and grimaces to reject that whisper from her inner voice. Her bangs cover both of her eyes.]

[He watches impassively while a myriad of emotions flashes across the girls face. At a glance you would think him relaxed and unworried but anyone with a deeper understanding of fighting would know he's been ready to jump into action at a moments notice ever since she first spoke.]

Those seem like fair terms to me, I wouldn't fault you for defending yourself after all. My people won't harm you unless you give them reason to, though I can't promise they won't be suspicious. The orcs however... take care when you travel alone, even the deadliest fighter will eventualy be overwhelmed when they are fighting a horde that numbers in the thousands.

[No matter how he might feel about someone he won't let them travel the lands without a fair warning. No one deserved what would happen should they be captured by Morgoth's forces.]

[His words distract her from any further thoughts. The inner conflict on what to do from here still lingers, for it's quite a dilemma and predicament she's in.

Thousands of what? Truly that many? She'd be an absolute fool to think she could confidently take on that many attacking individuals all at once.]

They seem to be a real problem.

[This... Wherever this forest was, she wasn't sure if being alone at this time would work out.

Lucy watches the man. He'd know a lot more than her at this point. Reason indicates that she could ask for more information. Maybe, he could help her figure out how to return to Tokyo. I could try...

Trusting another person is difficult. He's not like other humans though, comes an idle reminder. She knows this to be true, in more than one way.]

I'll leave if your people... start to discriminate.

[It's out of reluctance upon telling him this. She could never forget her traumatic past, no matter how hard she'd try.

Lucy knows she's capable of self control to decide not to unleash her vectors around them. Yes, she could do that. She could hold back and ignore her DNA voice.]

They are, though they are far from the bigest problems we are facing. They'll likely not bother you when I am around unless they have a Balrog in their midst. They fear me, you see?

[Orcs are cowardly by nature, by themselves they will only attack if they think they have an advantage like higher numbers with a Balrog driving them however...

If she was skilled enough to kill a large amount of orcs at once, likely they would grow to fear her as well. But as she was unknown in these parts all they would see was a single girl all alone and helpless.]

I wouldn't say they are likely to discriminate, most of my people are wary of any outsider wether they be man, dwarf or elf matters little. The enemy have a tendency to try to send spies and thralls into my lands, mostly to trouble me I suppose, so they are naturaly cautious around anyone new.

[He gives her an appraising look.]

I'm not too worried about that. You don't have the feel of one of his minions about you, though I have no doubt you are dangerous in your own right.

[ . . . They fear him? Well then... Perhaps Lucy won't have to worry much about these orc things after all. But there's something she doesn't at all understand.]

What's a Balrog?

[Attentively, she listens to all he says. Dwarf? Elf? What if this is just some crazy person I'm talking to?

That remark about not being a minion to someone has her eyes lower.]

I'm no one's minion. I've been alone.

[He's of course correct about her. She knows she can be dangerous, whenever she'd choose to be.

If there are other people besides humans and me... I'll have to see for myself, to know if this is true or not.]

[Orcs tended to flee at the sight of him, unless they had something stronger and more terrifying than him barking orders at them.]

It is hard to describe to someone so obviously a stranger to these lands. They are a fallen and corrupted Maia, a being of fire and shadow.

[He gives her what he hopes is an encouraging smile but such things come more difficultly to him these days so it might come of more as a grimace than anything else.]

I know. I learned to recognize the enemy's pawns a long time ago, I think that's why he enjoys sending them to me...

I could guess that as well, I hope you won't take offence at me saying so, but you have the manners of someone that is unused to being among others. [He imagines he'd acted much the same after his return from Angband.] But that shouldn't be a problem, many people that come to Himring are of similar tempraments.

[Lucy blinks, and stares a minute as she mulls over what he just said in describing a Balrog's appearance. Again; it's hard on her to make sense of this right now.]

[Sounds like his enemy's a real annoying bastard...

Lucy just sighs, and doesn't take offense to what he says about her.]

I'm not that good at making, or keeping friends, so I live alone.

[A very faint sense of guilt surfaces, but she'd refuse to tell him about it. Kohta, as dear to her as he remains to be, is someone she regrets hurting. She couldn't stay with him, for multiple and sentimental reasons.]

So, shall we go?

[He gives her a sympathetic look. He wasn't very good at it himself anymore, it's part of the reason he decided to build his fortress in such a remote and hostile area.

The people who came here oftentimes felt much the same as he did. Many of them had, just like him, suffered under the enemy and it made it difficult for them to function in normal elven society again.]

You're not alone in that. It's... easier at times. Being alone, I mean. Less risk of being hurt or hurting someone else.

[Better to live in an inhospitable patch of land that was frozen over most of the year than inflict his problems on everyone around him.]

Very well. Do you know how to ride a horse? Mine is not so far from here and she is strong and big enough to carry two people on her back, but if you can't we are not so far from Himring that we can't make the treck on foot. It will just take a couple of hours to do so.

[She gives the other a wary glance. Silently, she agrees as she averts her gaze. Less risk of ruining the lives of those who don't deserve it...

She frowns when his question is asked.]

I've never ridden a horse, so I guess we'll walk.

[She's not sure about trying to ride a horse. Not that she'd have problems with any animals. It's just that she wouldn't be ready to try that yet.

Lucy would honestly like to take her time in getting to know a horse first, for she's never really met one before.]

Very well. She deserves a break anyhow, but if you have any belongings with you, you can put it on her back.

[He gives a sharp whistle and a great, big monster of a horse comes trotting out of the clearing at a leisurely pace. The horse gives Lucy a curious look before she makes her way to Maedhros to lip at him affectionately.]

This is Hróvië, she has been a dear friend to me for a long time. And she'll be a great help to us should there be any orcs willing to try their luck with me.

[There is genuine affection in his voice when he speaks of her. Not so surprising since he'd pretty much handraised her since she was a foal.]

I don't have anything but the clothes on my back.

[When Hróvië looks at her, she looks right back... It's when the horse is close by her companion in which she takes slow steps toward the animal. She looks so big and strong...]

My name is Lucy. [The diclionius of the trio feels a slightest bit awkward after her impromptu introduction.] Since I'm allowing you to help, I should know who you are.

[Hróvië watches the girl with clear interest before she moves close enough to start nudging her shoulder. She's a very affectionate horse outside of battle and is not above begging for head scratches or treats.]

She seems to have taken a liking to you.

[That does make him let some of the tension leave his body.]

Well met, Lucy. I'm Maedhros Fëanorion, lord of Himring. [He gives her a small, formal bow.] Forgive me for forgetting my manners and neglecting to introduce myself. I'm a bit out of habit when it comes to socializing myself.

[Lucy has always had more interest in animals more than most people. She smiles a little at the friendly horse who nudged. She lightly moves her fingers in a sliding motion, down Hróvië's long nose. Then, she looks to see Maedhros bowing.

Lucy doesn't appear to be offended at all upon his lack of manners.]

I suppose that makes two of us.

[Idly, she kept petting his wonderful animal. The smallest content smile could be seen as she does.]

[Well, that proves she can't be entirely bad. He waves the bow away with an apologetic smile, he doesn't tend to stand on ceremony unless his at his uncles court. Just as long as there is no outright disrespect he's not too concerned about such things.]

So it seems. We don't usualy get many visitors here, part of the charm of the place really.

[Hróvië is shamelessly enjoying the attention, leaning into the petting with a contented huff.]

[Lucy keeps petting the horse, almost as if the action is on autopilot as they all walk together.

. . .]

They don't like coming here?

[It's been a long while since she has been able to relax at all in the presence of someone else. There's nothing particularly threatening or even annoying she finds about Maedhros.]

It is not the most gentle part of Beleriand, the winters are harsh up here and the rest of the seasons usualy aren't much better... There is also the fact that I decided to set my fortress right on the frontlines of this war, so most people don't want to take the risk.

[It was mostly the ones that were most commited to the war that came here. The ones that hated Morgoth the most and those that had nothing left to lose.]

There's a war? Against your enemy?

Who is he, exactly?

[Lucy remains at undivided attention to try to understand while walking beside Maedhros and his horse.]

There has been for a very long time now. Not just mine, I doubt there is anyone not wholy corrupt and evil that would call him an ally. Not that such a thing would save them once he's dealt with the rest of us and has no one else to torment.

Morgoth, the fallen Vala that murdered my grandfather, destroyed the Two Trees and stole my fathers silmarils. Not to mention all the torture, destruction and murdering he's been keeping himself occupied with since then.

[There is some very personal anger mixed into his tone when speaking of Morgoth and there is some small sparks of white flame flickering in his eyes at the thought of Morgoth.]

[Doesn't sound like anything I know about. The anger Maedhros shows has Lucy thinking.]

What is a Vala capable of?

Where I come from, there are humans and my kind. Diclonius. I've never seen those others you mentioned.

[Not that she wants to be involved in anyone else's war, but if there comes a time in which she'll have to defend herself...]

A better question would be what isn't a Vala capable of? They sung the world into being after all.

And I've never heard of yours before. If you have questions I'm not averse to awnsering them, the worst I might do is tell you I cannot awnser a specific one.

[As long as she doesn't ask about state secrets and battle plans he doesn't mind.]

They seem to be much more powerful than humans.

[She sounds annoyed over them. There's no interest she has in fighting any of these Vala things. The only reason would be to fight any is out of defense...]

As for my kind, it's probably for the best that I not say too much.

[If she tells Maedhros anything about what she's been doing ever since she had escaped from that miserable hell of a laboratory months ago--then he might not want to be of any help to her anymore.

Lucy then becomes quiet, contemplating as she walks alongside him and Hróvië.]

They are, more powerful than us elves as well.

[He can sympathize with that. It is frustrating to fight something you don't really have any hope of defeating, but sometimes even futile tasks need doing.]

Then I shall not pry. It is your secrets to do as you wish with.

[He'd probably understand more than most people would. He knows what it's like to be a prisoner, he knows what that kind of captivity can do to a person and what lenghts someone would go to in order to keep from going back to it.]

[It's out of survival instinct and common sense to not ever mention about remaking her world and eliminating humans for her kind to thrive as the new dominant species. Lucy is certain he wouldn't want to be of further aid if he knew the entire truth about diclonii.

Ideally, she prefers for Maedhros to not know more than she'd want him to.]

Elves. So, that's what your kind are called... Do the others have ears as long as yours?

[This is asked out of mild curiosity. Overall, if any good was to come about being out here on his home turf, she might as well learn as much as she can about everyone and everything around her.]

[Maedhros would likely try to talk her over to a more diplomatic solution. As long as it wasn't Morgoth he was dealing with he liked to at least try for a peaceful solution before using brute force.

But as he said he won't pry into her secrets. At least not until she actualy gives him a reason to do so.]

Yes, we have other names as well but that is one of the ones that refers to us as a whole instead of a specific part of our people. We all have long and pointed ears, it is one of the more noticeable difference between us and humans.

[She'll remember this about his kind as they continue to walk together.]

What do the orcs look like?

[Lucy's taking advantage of the fact there seems to be no current danger around to get to know of these things.]

They are... they were elves once, long ago, taken by the darkness to be tortured and twisted into a new lifeform. And it shows, they are malformed, twisted things with greyish skin and sharp teeth.

[Unnatural, he'd call them. He'd seen how they were made when he was in Angband and nothing that is created in that way could ever truly be part of nature.]

[As she's listening to him describe these lands and creatures she has never heard of before, she starts to get a case of the nerves. She looks away, uneasy. This darkness Maedhros speaks of is so surreal and unlike the concepts of darkness she's been familiar with all her life.

Lucy struggles with her own inner darkness all the time, and wants nothing to do at all with that.]

Either this entire place has been so well hidden from the humans I know for all this time, or a different world.

[Why me? Why is this happening?]

Edited 2022-10-21 11:10 (UTC)

I wouldn't know much about that, I'm afraid. There are plenty of humans here however, not many at Himring though. The cold does not appeal to most of them.

[Different worlds should probably sound more ridiculous than it does to him. The theory does have merits to it, who can know what lies beyond the circles of Arda after all?]

If I had to guess I'd say the second option was more probable, no matter how unlikely it sounds.

[Maedhros had long since stopped trying to figure out why bad things happened, to him or anyone else. If there even was an awnser to those kind of questions he doubts they'd bring much satisfaction with them.]

Edited 2022-10-23 11:34 (UTC)

The cold doesn't appeal much to me either. [She sighs.]

However, I'll just stay close to you. For now, since I don't at all understand how I came to be here.

[Lucy also knows that there are probably more beings she doesn't know about, or what to do. She could probably survive on her own, but maybe not for long in these very foreign lands.]

I think most people feel the same. I don't truly feel the cold anymore, so the weather doesn't truly bother me. [The fire inside him kept him warm even during the coldest of nights.]

Then I will have rooms prepared for you when we arrive at Himring.

[It was probably for the best. Even if she could survive the creatures that roamed these lands there where other dangers when you lived so close to Angband. Morgoths evil had a tendency to poison the lands around him after all.]

Where could I get warmer clothes? [Lucy's shivering a bit. Her shirt is a short sleeve. She knows she'll need a coat.]

[She definitely won't want to get poisoned.]

I should have an extra cloak in my pack. [He rummages around in the saddle pack before he finds a thick, furlined cloak that he hands to the girl. It looks a little worn around the edges and it will be a bit to large for her but it's warm.]

Thank you. [Lucy accepts the cloak and quickly wraps it around herself. It doesn't matter if it's a bit too big of a fit. As long as she doesn't end up being sick.]

How much farther of a walk is this?