❅ Thirteen (Video)

[stonebird]

So a new land awaits us. (She is trying to take the next move in stride, but this one will be harder for her.) I didn't know I would love the sea as much as I do. I think I've walked the beaches every day - except when a storm was upon us. I've become quite good at swimming too.

What use will any of that be in a jungle or on ice?

(However this is Hadriel's nature and it might be worse than all the monsters and other random beasts.)

If I leave behind remembrances for those who have journeyed home, will they remain in our absence? Or will this land crumble to nothing in our wake?

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[so_dark_a_road]

[ Chuckle. ] Perhaps we were. [ She a siren and he a merman! They'll sit on the rocks with their sea-harps and sing to the birds, the dolphins. . . and the sailors. ]

[ It is going to require some energy to deal with either planet. ] I liked the desert planet, too. After we got the wells dug and the Orchard irrigated, it wasn't such a bad location. And it was beautiful. But I, too, worry about what sort of place the gods might bring us to. We have enough problems with the monsters that plague us from time to time, and with our own internal problems in the community. Not to mention the problems caused by the gods. We don't need more exotic monsters and other predators that might be a part of a new environment.

But Sansa, you are a warrior in heart and spirit, as you say. That counts for a great deal, even in an unequal battle. And you are not inept in the skills of a warrior -- I have seen you practice, remember? Still, we all fear what you fear -- that someday we might run out of luck. I will protect you so long as I am near, and so will Maglor and Fingon, and so will Jon and Daenerys. Margaery's turning out to be quite the swordswoman, and she might protect you or stand at your side equally with you. And you have other friends as well.

I suppose they must at least occasionally notice what we do. [ Can't keep the sarcasm out of his voice. ] I don't know that they would care, though. I've suspected for a while that the gods sometimes remove a member of a kinship group precisely to grieve us, so that they may feast off of our emotions. But as for the tokens, when would you like to go? I'm not busy at the moment. Or you could name the time, and I'll make sure I'm free.

[stonebird]

(As silly as the thought might be, she is fond of it - and not solely because it brings Westeros and Arda together.)

I might have believed you once. (But she can't now. Stories like that are comforting, but she knows they can't be real.)

I feel as if I am given love, support and friendship by so many and that I have no way to return it. I would run into battle for you, Lord Curufin, and even if I perished, my soul would have no regrets. Wherever we go - and as much as I worry - I know I will have family at my side. The monsters can't win if we stay together; it's when we let them pick us apart that we fail.

(Her expression hardens with resolve.) I don't care what the gods think or do. I want to leave reminders of those dear to us behind.

I am free now, too - only let me gather everything I want to bring into a basket. You are welcome to come over in the mean time.

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[so_dark_a_road]

[ It's a silly and wonderful thought, the two of them together in a mythical scenario that fuses their two worlds! Curufin is entertained by the idea and also, it makes him hopeful, somehow. ] It's a massive, mysterious old multiverse. Who knows what might turn out to be real? [ Smile. ]

Those who give you love, friendship, and support think you're worth it. We do it for that reason. But I know that you would do much for me, Sansa, and that you have already done a great deal. Give yourself credit; the love, friendship, and support flow two ways. You give at least as much as you receive. I hope that if we ever go into battle side by side, we will be victorious. But in the case that we die. . . perhaps it will not be the end. We might meet again. I would travel the darkness between the worlds to be with you again, my dear friend. And I agree, if family and friends do not let anyone pick us apart, then even if we do not win the battle, we have not failed.

[ He sees that resolve, and his face lightens. ] Let us go, then. I'll come to your house while you collect your tokens.

[ He tarries only to pick up a musical instrument and his weapons, and he runs outside and down the walkway to her front door. He knocks. ] Your merman friend is here! [ Grin. ]

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[stonebird]

(His words are the sort she has come to expect from the Fëanorians. They truly are wonderful Elves and she believes, for what it's worth, that they have learned from their mistakes. But it's easy for her to come to that conclusion when all she has seen are their positive traits and strong evidence of their deep regret. If she had been one of their victims, she might be struggling with her opinion of them.

Thankfully, she is not and so, when she answers his knock, she pulls him into an embrace and kisses his cheek.)

And a dashing merman he is! (Draped over her arm is a basket filled with various odds and ends. They are items that remind her strongly of Maedhros, Elrond and Celebrimbor.)

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[so_dark_a_road]

[ Curufin regards it as very fortunate that they are from different worlds and therefore Sansa has no direct experience of the Fëanorions' rampages across the land in pursuit of a Silmaril. They have a second chance, relating to strangers who become close friends and are even adopted as family. He hugs her in return, smiling down at her and placing a kiss on her forehead. ]

Oh, thank you, Sansa! We mermen do our best to be dashing. [ Grin. ] When we are not splashing.

[ He glances over her basket with curiosity. It touches his heart deeply that she cares so much for his departed kin. ] Shall we go? And by the way, where do you want to leave these tokens? Do you have ideas about that?

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[stonebird]

(She has wondered if she were born in the wrong world more than once. Arda seems much more suitable, yet her heart remains, in part, in Winterfell; with her kin. So, then, if she were born in the wrong world, then the Starks must have been born in the wrong world too.

She flushes at his warm strength, pulling back after a moment, her cheeks pink.)

You don't need to try; it comes naturally. (She laughs softly and closes the door, stepping down the pathway.) The first place... Where the young trees are growing. Lord Elrond would be very fond of them.

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[so_dark_a_road]

[ Curufin has thought at times that their worlds have more in common than any two worlds have a right to have! The people and the challenges are different. And yet, there is an eerie resonance between these two universes -- Curufin feels it whenever Sansa, Margaery, or Jon speaks of home. Curufin has sometimes thought that Sansa would have fit right into Arda, or that he himself would have fit right into Winterfell. Maglor has had an idea that if the Fëanorions cannot return to their own world, then they might go to Sansa's. Curufin has to admit that the idea intrigues him. ]

You flatter me, my friend. [ His shoulders shake with affectionate laughter. ]

All right, let's go to the Orchard or to the Park. New trees have been planted in both. I did not have a chance to get to know Elrond well. But from everything I remember of him from the time he spent here in Hadriel, and everything he said about himself in my hearing, I can imagine him loving to be in a growing forest.

[ OOC: Shall we say they take the boat to East Island where the Orchard is? And walk to where the young trees are growing, nurtured by the loving care of the planters and the magic-users who came to encourage their growth with their gentle spells. ]