Day 6 - Know When To Hold 'Em
Aug. 6th, 2023 10:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
grundyscribblingTitle: Know When To Hold 'Em
Author: Grundy
Rating: FR13
Crossover: LotR/Silmarillion
Summary: It's been fun, but Buffy's not looking to stick around until things go south...
Word Count: 1630
Anariel was having a great time. Her first experience of an Amanyar festival was seriously fun. It would have been more fun had she not known perfectly well she’d pay for it later.
She probably would have headed back inside by now were it not for Finduilas. She wasn’t here yet, but Anariel was confident she would be soon. She’d ‘looked’ for her after Gwindor had joined the party, and found her not very far away at all. Had she known more about Tirion and its environs, she might have known exactly where, but as it was, all she could tell was ‘close and coming this way’.
She’d already neatly gotten Findë through the first of her biggest worries, returning from Mandos. With a little luck, she could manage the second today, the first meeting with Gwindor. She was pretty confident that too was going to go far better than Finduilas expected. Gwindor would hardly have come looking if he didn’t want to see her.
Besides which, her brothers have both privately remarked that she’s clearly not the person Gwindor was really hoping to see. Arador has also wondered what his deal is. (It hadn’t taken long to figure out that Gwindor didn’t hear osanwë nearly as well as they did.) So it’s not just her being matchmaker-y.
All the same, she was getting impatient for Finduilas to hurry up and get here.
Too much longer, and the Noldor would start realizing she and her brothers were out here. They’ve kept mostly to Sindarin-occupied areas so far, on the theory that all the history they’ve learned made it sound like the Noldor never developed the skill of keeping one’s chill. (Also on the suspicion that the Noldor are far more likely to let someone who would care know they’re out without official approval, and she’s pretty sure Grandma Anairë was not going to be a fan of the California adage ‘it’s better to beg forgiveness than ask permission’.)
So it came as a relief when she realized Finduilas much have reached the square – she could think of nothing else that would occasion such a flash of panic, considering Uncle Angrod should be with her.
“Be right back!” she called over her shoulder as she slipped through the crowd, following her sense of where her cousin was.
After a few minutes, she decided that eyes on couldn’t hurt. Of course, with every elf in the world taller than her, that required some creativity. Fortunately for her, it was one of the more energetic dances, so her jumping high enough to peek over shoulders looked less odd than it would have otherwise. (She made sure to time the jumps with the music.)
That got her a few smiles, but also seemed to be catching the attention of a few Noldor. She did her best to move quickly, especially once she spotted Finduilas.
The group with her cousin was larger than she had bargained for, but it wasn’t as though she could do much about it. At least she knew who they all were. (Even if that meant knowing she could look forward to a couple of doozies tonight.)
She came to a halt in front of them.
“Hello, you,” she said. “Come on, we’ve been waiting for you!”
Took you long enough!
Finduilas giggled, but Anariel could tell as she pulled her along that it was half to cover nervousness.
Who’s we? Finduilas asked urgently.
“You’ll see,” Anariel replied. “Don’t worry, everyone’s friendly. My brothers and Elaráto would probably trounce anyone who wasn’t.”
As if you wouldn’t beat them to it!
“Yeah, but I’m incognito.”
“What’s incognito?” Finduilas wanted to know. “Is this another California thing?”
“Yep,” Anariel replied. They should be almost there… yes, there was Arador. “Here we are!”
She’d been prepared to do introductions, but once Finduilas and Gwindor caught sight of each other, she realized that would be useless. Neither of them would notice anything short of Morgoth deciding to crash the party with a legion of dragons – and even that might be doubtful.
“That’s Finduilas?” Arador asked her in an undertone.
“I take it we’re all making sure they’re not disturbed?” Elrohir asked wryly.
She nodded in answer to both.
“Does this also mean we’re going in soon?” Elaráto wanted to know. “You’re really pushing it if you don’t want to be noticed…”
“Everyone’s a critic,” Anariel sighed. “Just give it a few minutes for the rest of them to catch up.”
“The rest of who?” Elladan demanded.
Artë? You haven’t by any chance mislaid a grandchild or three?
All three children of Elrond plus Inglorions glared in the general direction of Uncle Angrod.
And I thought Grandmother was the tattletale! Anariel exclaimed indignantly.
“Sounds more like an even split,” Elrohir snorted. “Though to be fair, if that’s Uncle Aegnor, we can’t really tell if he tattles or not.”
“He’s not,” Arador assured them. “Your sister brought him back at the same time as Uncle Moryo. He’s great. But Uncle Ango is new…”
Anariel would have marched, but that would have probably drawn the attention of half the square, so she had to settle for dancing her way to the newly arrived relatives.
“Hello, Uncle Tattle,” she said sweetly.
Uncle Aegnor’s wholly unsubtle laughter was a good confirmation of Arador’s assessment of him.
“You didn’t have to tell on us, we meant to go in soon anyway. We were just waiting for Findë.”
“Did you have something to do with that?” Uncle Angrod asked, waving toward Finduilas and Gwindor.
She tried not to smirk. He was trying for stern, but she suspected the ‘child size’ thing was working in her favor – he couldn’t quite pull it off.
“Me?” she replied, doing her best innocent look. “Not really.”
Míriel raised a magnificently skeptical eyebrow. If she’d been around to keep him in line, Grandfather Butthead would never have had the chance to go so off the rails.
“I did make sure Gwindor stuck around until Findë got here, but that was all, really. He found us, I didn’t go looking for him.”
She almost jumped when she heard Indis’ Only because you didn’t know he was here to look for, because she belatedly recognized this particular grandmother’s touch.
Yes, I think we’re due a chat on the proper treatment of wounds, little one.
“I look forward to hearing all about that,” Elrohir said.
Anariel experienced a moment of total confusion before she realized her brother was responding to someone else and hadn’t actually heard Indis.
Uncle Aegnor was looking expectantly at her… oh, right, he didn’t know which twin was which yet.
“Elrohir,” she supplied.
There was some verbal protest about her not doing introductions properly, but she was having trouble keeping up because she was clarifying for her brothers who everyone was.
She tuned back in to find Aunt Eldalótë suggesting they all go inside.
“Sure,” she agreed, trying not to be too obviously relieved about it.
She was pretty sure such a critical mass of Noldorin royalty wasn’t escaping anyone’s notice.
Yes, I give it about five minutes before the Square goes nuts, Arador said warningly.
Great, because I’m pretty sure we only need three to get to the door, she replied.
We’re going in now! she announced to everyone – and hoped Finduilas and Gwindor actually heard.
Happily for her peace of mind, her brothers flanked the pair and made sure they ambled along, even if they were still almost completely absorbed in each other.
Arador snagged Uncle Aegnor to walk with them, which suited her since as far as she could tell, he was the elder in this group least likely to try scolding her or giving her some form of talking-to. Most of what she could hear from him was amused curiosity.
She hoped it wasn’t too obvious that she was trying to hurry them along. She could hear more and more people around them taking notice, and hiding her hair wasn’t going to help with so many obvious Arafinwions surrounding her…
A snicker from behind her suggested the third El knew perfectly well she didn’t want to deal with the crowd.
It was your idea, he pointed out quietly.
Yes, but things snowballed a bit!
She could hear people saying ‘Eluchil’ now. She and Grandpa Thingol were going to have a conversation about that. It was more than just not sensible, it was proving to be a pain in the rear! (And not just because it was definitely the opening salvo in what promised to be a particularly ridiculous round of Noldor vs. Sindar sniping. She was getting sudden urge to find out if Olwë was more sensible than his older brother – she felt like odds were he couldn’t be worse.)
She heaved a sigh of deep relief when Arador mentally informed her they were in the clear as they finally reached the steps.
No one will follow us up here, not matter how badly they want to see the littlest princess, he informed her with a snicker.
She couldn’t very well elbow him with Uncle Aegnor between them, and a quiet laugh from said uncle suggested he knew perfectly well he was base.
You could take pity on them and wave, Arador suggested.
I don’t think – was as far as Uncle Aegnor got.
She pulled off the sash that had been serving as head wrap and ‘fool them just long enough’ secret identity protector, and turned around just long enough to do as Arador suggested.
Then she scooted through the doors as quickly as she could without it being called running away.
Why are you worried? Arador snickered. Aren’t you the one who said ‘she who fights and runs away lives to slay another day?’
“Yes, but that was about slaying, not partying!”
Author: Grundy
Rating: FR13
Crossover: LotR/Silmarillion
Summary: It's been fun, but Buffy's not looking to stick around until things go south...
Word Count: 1630
Anariel was having a great time. Her first experience of an Amanyar festival was seriously fun. It would have been more fun had she not known perfectly well she’d pay for it later.
She probably would have headed back inside by now were it not for Finduilas. She wasn’t here yet, but Anariel was confident she would be soon. She’d ‘looked’ for her after Gwindor had joined the party, and found her not very far away at all. Had she known more about Tirion and its environs, she might have known exactly where, but as it was, all she could tell was ‘close and coming this way’.
She’d already neatly gotten Findë through the first of her biggest worries, returning from Mandos. With a little luck, she could manage the second today, the first meeting with Gwindor. She was pretty confident that too was going to go far better than Finduilas expected. Gwindor would hardly have come looking if he didn’t want to see her.
Besides which, her brothers have both privately remarked that she’s clearly not the person Gwindor was really hoping to see. Arador has also wondered what his deal is. (It hadn’t taken long to figure out that Gwindor didn’t hear osanwë nearly as well as they did.) So it’s not just her being matchmaker-y.
All the same, she was getting impatient for Finduilas to hurry up and get here.
Too much longer, and the Noldor would start realizing she and her brothers were out here. They’ve kept mostly to Sindarin-occupied areas so far, on the theory that all the history they’ve learned made it sound like the Noldor never developed the skill of keeping one’s chill. (Also on the suspicion that the Noldor are far more likely to let someone who would care know they’re out without official approval, and she’s pretty sure Grandma Anairë was not going to be a fan of the California adage ‘it’s better to beg forgiveness than ask permission’.)
So it came as a relief when she realized Finduilas much have reached the square – she could think of nothing else that would occasion such a flash of panic, considering Uncle Angrod should be with her.
“Be right back!” she called over her shoulder as she slipped through the crowd, following her sense of where her cousin was.
After a few minutes, she decided that eyes on couldn’t hurt. Of course, with every elf in the world taller than her, that required some creativity. Fortunately for her, it was one of the more energetic dances, so her jumping high enough to peek over shoulders looked less odd than it would have otherwise. (She made sure to time the jumps with the music.)
That got her a few smiles, but also seemed to be catching the attention of a few Noldor. She did her best to move quickly, especially once she spotted Finduilas.
The group with her cousin was larger than she had bargained for, but it wasn’t as though she could do much about it. At least she knew who they all were. (Even if that meant knowing she could look forward to a couple of doozies tonight.)
She came to a halt in front of them.
“Hello, you,” she said. “Come on, we’ve been waiting for you!”
Took you long enough!
Finduilas giggled, but Anariel could tell as she pulled her along that it was half to cover nervousness.
Who’s we? Finduilas asked urgently.
“You’ll see,” Anariel replied. “Don’t worry, everyone’s friendly. My brothers and Elaráto would probably trounce anyone who wasn’t.”
As if you wouldn’t beat them to it!
“Yeah, but I’m incognito.”
“What’s incognito?” Finduilas wanted to know. “Is this another California thing?”
“Yep,” Anariel replied. They should be almost there… yes, there was Arador. “Here we are!”
She’d been prepared to do introductions, but once Finduilas and Gwindor caught sight of each other, she realized that would be useless. Neither of them would notice anything short of Morgoth deciding to crash the party with a legion of dragons – and even that might be doubtful.
“That’s Finduilas?” Arador asked her in an undertone.
“I take it we’re all making sure they’re not disturbed?” Elrohir asked wryly.
She nodded in answer to both.
“Does this also mean we’re going in soon?” Elaráto wanted to know. “You’re really pushing it if you don’t want to be noticed…”
“Everyone’s a critic,” Anariel sighed. “Just give it a few minutes for the rest of them to catch up.”
“The rest of who?” Elladan demanded.
Artë? You haven’t by any chance mislaid a grandchild or three?
All three children of Elrond plus Inglorions glared in the general direction of Uncle Angrod.
And I thought Grandmother was the tattletale! Anariel exclaimed indignantly.
“Sounds more like an even split,” Elrohir snorted. “Though to be fair, if that’s Uncle Aegnor, we can’t really tell if he tattles or not.”
“He’s not,” Arador assured them. “Your sister brought him back at the same time as Uncle Moryo. He’s great. But Uncle Ango is new…”
Anariel would have marched, but that would have probably drawn the attention of half the square, so she had to settle for dancing her way to the newly arrived relatives.
“Hello, Uncle Tattle,” she said sweetly.
Uncle Aegnor’s wholly unsubtle laughter was a good confirmation of Arador’s assessment of him.
“You didn’t have to tell on us, we meant to go in soon anyway. We were just waiting for Findë.”
“Did you have something to do with that?” Uncle Angrod asked, waving toward Finduilas and Gwindor.
She tried not to smirk. He was trying for stern, but she suspected the ‘child size’ thing was working in her favor – he couldn’t quite pull it off.
“Me?” she replied, doing her best innocent look. “Not really.”
Míriel raised a magnificently skeptical eyebrow. If she’d been around to keep him in line, Grandfather Butthead would never have had the chance to go so off the rails.
“I did make sure Gwindor stuck around until Findë got here, but that was all, really. He found us, I didn’t go looking for him.”
She almost jumped when she heard Indis’ Only because you didn’t know he was here to look for, because she belatedly recognized this particular grandmother’s touch.
Yes, I think we’re due a chat on the proper treatment of wounds, little one.
“I look forward to hearing all about that,” Elrohir said.
Anariel experienced a moment of total confusion before she realized her brother was responding to someone else and hadn’t actually heard Indis.
Uncle Aegnor was looking expectantly at her… oh, right, he didn’t know which twin was which yet.
“Elrohir,” she supplied.
There was some verbal protest about her not doing introductions properly, but she was having trouble keeping up because she was clarifying for her brothers who everyone was.
She tuned back in to find Aunt Eldalótë suggesting they all go inside.
“Sure,” she agreed, trying not to be too obviously relieved about it.
She was pretty sure such a critical mass of Noldorin royalty wasn’t escaping anyone’s notice.
Yes, I give it about five minutes before the Square goes nuts, Arador said warningly.
Great, because I’m pretty sure we only need three to get to the door, she replied.
We’re going in now! she announced to everyone – and hoped Finduilas and Gwindor actually heard.
Happily for her peace of mind, her brothers flanked the pair and made sure they ambled along, even if they were still almost completely absorbed in each other.
Arador snagged Uncle Aegnor to walk with them, which suited her since as far as she could tell, he was the elder in this group least likely to try scolding her or giving her some form of talking-to. Most of what she could hear from him was amused curiosity.
She hoped it wasn’t too obvious that she was trying to hurry them along. She could hear more and more people around them taking notice, and hiding her hair wasn’t going to help with so many obvious Arafinwions surrounding her…
A snicker from behind her suggested the third El knew perfectly well she didn’t want to deal with the crowd.
It was your idea, he pointed out quietly.
Yes, but things snowballed a bit!
She could hear people saying ‘Eluchil’ now. She and Grandpa Thingol were going to have a conversation about that. It was more than just not sensible, it was proving to be a pain in the rear! (And not just because it was definitely the opening salvo in what promised to be a particularly ridiculous round of Noldor vs. Sindar sniping. She was getting sudden urge to find out if Olwë was more sensible than his older brother – she felt like odds were he couldn’t be worse.)
She heaved a sigh of deep relief when Arador mentally informed her they were in the clear as they finally reached the steps.
No one will follow us up here, not matter how badly they want to see the littlest princess, he informed her with a snicker.
She couldn’t very well elbow him with Uncle Aegnor between them, and a quiet laugh from said uncle suggested he knew perfectly well he was base.
You could take pity on them and wave, Arador suggested.
I don’t think – was as far as Uncle Aegnor got.
She pulled off the sash that had been serving as head wrap and ‘fool them just long enough’ secret identity protector, and turned around just long enough to do as Arador suggested.
Then she scooted through the doors as quickly as she could without it being called running away.
Why are you worried? Arador snickered. Aren’t you the one who said ‘she who fights and runs away lives to slay another day?’
“Yes, but that was about slaying, not partying!”
