Day 21 - The Gang's (Not Quite) All Here
Aug. 21st, 2023 09:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
grundyscribblingTitle: The Gang's (Not Quite) All Here
Author: Grundy
Rating: FR13
Crossover: LotR/Silmarillion
Disclaimer: All belongs to Whedon & Tolkien. No money is being made here, it's all in good fun.
Summary: Another family dinner - second verse, same as the first...
Word Count: 1310
Note: There was a seating chart. Which I had to go over three times before I was sure I'd gotten everyone in and in a sensible order.
Anariel grinned as she entered the dining room.
There were way more settings today than there had been the first time she’d eaten in here. And it looked like there were name cards on the tables – no picking your own spot this time around.
“Are you kidding?” Elrohir muttered. “Just imagine all the jockeying for position. It would probably lead to another kinslaying.”
She was surprised to see Anairon dressed as a prince, no cook’s apron in sight.
“You trusted someone else with this one?” she asked in surprise.
“Atto suggested I relax and let the cooks make themselves useful this time,” he replied, sounding slightly glum about it. “You’re sitting near me.”
“We’re Nolofinwions tonight?” Elladan asked. “Excellent, that means we’ll have a good view of anything Aunt Trouble does.”
Anariel whirled at the pounding footsteps behind her.
“You’re here!”
“Finally!”
She laughed as she caught Tas and swung her around, the girl giggling the whole time. Cali settled for hugging her. The two of them weren’t so little anymore, and Anariel suppressed a pang of grief that Will and Tara weren’t here to see them.
“Look at you, all grown up. Are either of you engaged yet?” Elladan asked, hugging his nieces.
“Not yet, and not so grown up we didn’t get in trouble,” Tas sighed.
“What did you do?” Anariel asked curiously.
“You know how you used to talk about shutting people up together so they’d admit their feelings?” Cali asked.
Anariel nodded cautiously.
“We tried that with Atto and Ecthelion on the way here, on the theory that maybe they’d get with it and this could be a double engagement celebration,” Tas said grumpily.
“It failed,” Cali added mournfully.
“How could you lock them up?” Elrohir asked curiously.
“We ‘accidentally’ broke the fasteners on their tent last night after they turned in,” Cali said.
“By ‘we’, she means ‘me’, because she tried to talk me out of it,” Tas said blithely. “But we both got in trouble for it, so she might as well say ‘we’ since she got the scolding too.”
“Speaking of trouble,” a new voice said. “Let’s have a look at you.”
Elladan laughed as all three girls turned with different expressions – Cali looking insulted, Anariel curious, and Tas rather proud of herself.
“This is Anariel, Gran!” Tas said brightly.
“Yes, I’d guessed that,” the dark-haired nis said drily. “The resemblance to Eärendil and the air of suppressed mischief gave her away.”
Anariel vaguely recognized her – she’d seen her a few times in previous dreams. But she wasn’t sure what to call Glorfindel’s mother.
“Your father knew me as Aunt Lal, so that’s what Tinwë went with as well.”
“Nice to meet you, Aunt Lal,” Anariel replied politely.
“And this is my husband, Lauro.”
Anariel could see now where Glorfindel got his hair from – and probably his sunny nature as well. She could already tell Aunt Lal was punchier.
“Uncle Lauro,” Elrohir greeted him. “Were you also beset by tent difficulties on the road, or was that reserved for Glorfindel?”
The man gave his granddaughters a slightly reproving look.
“We travelled well, thank you, nephew. Certainly not as eventful as I understand your journey was.”
“We had no trouble getting to Tirion,” Anariel said, drawing a snort from Aunt Lal.
“I hear the part before that was rather dramatic.”
The rest of the family was filtering in now, so Anariel thought it might be politic to find their seats.
What was the saying of the monty python? Run away? Elladan snickered.
The tables had been set up in a rectangle, with the head table and the one opposite single rows facing in, and the two sides double rows.
Anariel wasn’t sure who had made up the seating chart, but she couldn’t help thinking it was bold to put Grandmother and Aunt Irissë opposite each other, even if it did work out nicely as far as putting both Tinu and Maeglin near their parents. (It also gave Grandfather and Uncle Eöl sensible conversation – though she supposed they also were also granted the privilege of being seated close to the happy couple given Finduilas’ mother was their cousin.)
Finduilas and Gwindor, of course, sat at the head table with Grandpa Ara and Gramma Eärwen. On the other side of the High King and Queen, were Orodreth and Merilin (familial titles in constant flux).
The table on the opposite side from Anariel’s family was Gil-galad and Uncle Aegnor, then Uncle Ango and Aunt Lótë. Beyond that was Uncle Ingo and his family – which meant Arador was nearly as far from Anariel as they could get given the current table configuration. (At least they could see each other. It could have been worse, they could have been facing in opposite directions.) Beyond him and his brothers were Aunt Silmë, Gran Lindë, Uncle Moryo, Miryo, Gramma Nerdanel, Aunt Findis, Aunt Mírë and then the Gondolin contigent.
Anariel was feeling slightly hard done by, given that Tinu got her husband on one side and bestie on the other, with Uncle Aryo beyond his little brother. She didn’t see why she couldn’t have had Arador next to her.
She was surprised to discover she didn’t have to sit next to her father as she’d halfway expected – her brothers got that privilege. She supposed it wasn’t all bad, she did have Gramps Finno on the side not occupied by Elrohir. (Technically the cards said Elrohir was next to Ada and Elladan was next to Anariel, but the twins had sat down in the order they happened to be in when they found their section of the table and were unlikely to switch seats. They might not even bother switching cards.) She also had Gramma Anairë directly across from her, which she suspected was a clue who’d laid out the seating.
Beyond Gramps were Uncle Lauro, with Aunt Lal opposite and Grandpa Nolo to her right. There were a couple blondes beyond them she didn’t recognize, but must be cousins of some sort.
Mírimë, Tas, Cali, Grandmother Indis, Grandmother Míriel, Glorfindel, and Ecthelion had the table opposite the head table. She suppressed a snicker at that stroke of genius – if the idea was to hurry things along there, she could think of no one better than the two matriarchs. Between them and Idril and Elenwë, who were on the end of the side table, someone would get one of them to pop the question, no damage to tents required.
She sat down, and under cover of arranging her skirt, checked that Huan had found the right spot.
“Do you think they play musical chairs often?” she asked her brother in an undertone.
Not now, came the answer from multiple directions and multiple grandmothers, including the one directly opposite her. Uncle Aryo was biting his lip, and Grandpa Nolo visibly suppressing the urge to laugh.
She subtly kicked Elrohir under the table for his snicker.
You realize this isn’t even all of them?
It turned out they could get away with that as long as they were quiet.
Thinking on it, Anariel realized they were indeed the best part of a dozen short. Fëanor and six of his sons weren’t there. Or Celebrimbor. Or a certain grandfather she was in no hurry to see.
It’s going to get tricky keeping straight who’s who, Anariel sighed. Kinda tempting to see if Miryo will switch. I bet Ada wouldn’t mind having reinforcements.
You might get away with it, Elladan said, keeping a straight face, although I doubt it. Aunt Trouble’s mother is right in front of you, I’m sure that’s not an accident. And I think everyone else would notice your furry friend trying to change places.
Judging by Gramma Anairë’s face, Huan had just been discovered.
Anariel pasted her best smile of absolute innocence on her face.
“So, when do we get this shindig started?”
Author: Grundy
Rating: FR13
Crossover: LotR/Silmarillion
Disclaimer: All belongs to Whedon & Tolkien. No money is being made here, it's all in good fun.
Summary: Another family dinner - second verse, same as the first...
Word Count: 1310
Note: There was a seating chart. Which I had to go over three times before I was sure I'd gotten everyone in and in a sensible order.
Anariel grinned as she entered the dining room.
There were way more settings today than there had been the first time she’d eaten in here. And it looked like there were name cards on the tables – no picking your own spot this time around.
“Are you kidding?” Elrohir muttered. “Just imagine all the jockeying for position. It would probably lead to another kinslaying.”
She was surprised to see Anairon dressed as a prince, no cook’s apron in sight.
“You trusted someone else with this one?” she asked in surprise.
“Atto suggested I relax and let the cooks make themselves useful this time,” he replied, sounding slightly glum about it. “You’re sitting near me.”
“We’re Nolofinwions tonight?” Elladan asked. “Excellent, that means we’ll have a good view of anything Aunt Trouble does.”
Anariel whirled at the pounding footsteps behind her.
“You’re here!”
“Finally!”
She laughed as she caught Tas and swung her around, the girl giggling the whole time. Cali settled for hugging her. The two of them weren’t so little anymore, and Anariel suppressed a pang of grief that Will and Tara weren’t here to see them.
“Look at you, all grown up. Are either of you engaged yet?” Elladan asked, hugging his nieces.
“Not yet, and not so grown up we didn’t get in trouble,” Tas sighed.
“What did you do?” Anariel asked curiously.
“You know how you used to talk about shutting people up together so they’d admit their feelings?” Cali asked.
Anariel nodded cautiously.
“We tried that with Atto and Ecthelion on the way here, on the theory that maybe they’d get with it and this could be a double engagement celebration,” Tas said grumpily.
“It failed,” Cali added mournfully.
“How could you lock them up?” Elrohir asked curiously.
“We ‘accidentally’ broke the fasteners on their tent last night after they turned in,” Cali said.
“By ‘we’, she means ‘me’, because she tried to talk me out of it,” Tas said blithely. “But we both got in trouble for it, so she might as well say ‘we’ since she got the scolding too.”
“Speaking of trouble,” a new voice said. “Let’s have a look at you.”
Elladan laughed as all three girls turned with different expressions – Cali looking insulted, Anariel curious, and Tas rather proud of herself.
“This is Anariel, Gran!” Tas said brightly.
“Yes, I’d guessed that,” the dark-haired nis said drily. “The resemblance to Eärendil and the air of suppressed mischief gave her away.”
Anariel vaguely recognized her – she’d seen her a few times in previous dreams. But she wasn’t sure what to call Glorfindel’s mother.
“Your father knew me as Aunt Lal, so that’s what Tinwë went with as well.”
“Nice to meet you, Aunt Lal,” Anariel replied politely.
“And this is my husband, Lauro.”
Anariel could see now where Glorfindel got his hair from – and probably his sunny nature as well. She could already tell Aunt Lal was punchier.
“Uncle Lauro,” Elrohir greeted him. “Were you also beset by tent difficulties on the road, or was that reserved for Glorfindel?”
The man gave his granddaughters a slightly reproving look.
“We travelled well, thank you, nephew. Certainly not as eventful as I understand your journey was.”
“We had no trouble getting to Tirion,” Anariel said, drawing a snort from Aunt Lal.
“I hear the part before that was rather dramatic.”
The rest of the family was filtering in now, so Anariel thought it might be politic to find their seats.
What was the saying of the monty python? Run away? Elladan snickered.
The tables had been set up in a rectangle, with the head table and the one opposite single rows facing in, and the two sides double rows.
Anariel wasn’t sure who had made up the seating chart, but she couldn’t help thinking it was bold to put Grandmother and Aunt Irissë opposite each other, even if it did work out nicely as far as putting both Tinu and Maeglin near their parents. (It also gave Grandfather and Uncle Eöl sensible conversation – though she supposed they also were also granted the privilege of being seated close to the happy couple given Finduilas’ mother was their cousin.)
Finduilas and Gwindor, of course, sat at the head table with Grandpa Ara and Gramma Eärwen. On the other side of the High King and Queen, were Orodreth and Merilin (familial titles in constant flux).
The table on the opposite side from Anariel’s family was Gil-galad and Uncle Aegnor, then Uncle Ango and Aunt Lótë. Beyond that was Uncle Ingo and his family – which meant Arador was nearly as far from Anariel as they could get given the current table configuration. (At least they could see each other. It could have been worse, they could have been facing in opposite directions.) Beyond him and his brothers were Aunt Silmë, Gran Lindë, Uncle Moryo, Miryo, Gramma Nerdanel, Aunt Findis, Aunt Mírë and then the Gondolin contigent.
Anariel was feeling slightly hard done by, given that Tinu got her husband on one side and bestie on the other, with Uncle Aryo beyond his little brother. She didn’t see why she couldn’t have had Arador next to her.
She was surprised to discover she didn’t have to sit next to her father as she’d halfway expected – her brothers got that privilege. She supposed it wasn’t all bad, she did have Gramps Finno on the side not occupied by Elrohir. (Technically the cards said Elrohir was next to Ada and Elladan was next to Anariel, but the twins had sat down in the order they happened to be in when they found their section of the table and were unlikely to switch seats. They might not even bother switching cards.) She also had Gramma Anairë directly across from her, which she suspected was a clue who’d laid out the seating.
Beyond Gramps were Uncle Lauro, with Aunt Lal opposite and Grandpa Nolo to her right. There were a couple blondes beyond them she didn’t recognize, but must be cousins of some sort.
Mírimë, Tas, Cali, Grandmother Indis, Grandmother Míriel, Glorfindel, and Ecthelion had the table opposite the head table. She suppressed a snicker at that stroke of genius – if the idea was to hurry things along there, she could think of no one better than the two matriarchs. Between them and Idril and Elenwë, who were on the end of the side table, someone would get one of them to pop the question, no damage to tents required.
She sat down, and under cover of arranging her skirt, checked that Huan had found the right spot.
“Do you think they play musical chairs often?” she asked her brother in an undertone.
Not now, came the answer from multiple directions and multiple grandmothers, including the one directly opposite her. Uncle Aryo was biting his lip, and Grandpa Nolo visibly suppressing the urge to laugh.
She subtly kicked Elrohir under the table for his snicker.
You realize this isn’t even all of them?
It turned out they could get away with that as long as they were quiet.
Thinking on it, Anariel realized they were indeed the best part of a dozen short. Fëanor and six of his sons weren’t there. Or Celebrimbor. Or a certain grandfather she was in no hurry to see.
It’s going to get tricky keeping straight who’s who, Anariel sighed. Kinda tempting to see if Miryo will switch. I bet Ada wouldn’t mind having reinforcements.
You might get away with it, Elladan said, keeping a straight face, although I doubt it. Aunt Trouble’s mother is right in front of you, I’m sure that’s not an accident. And I think everyone else would notice your furry friend trying to change places.
Judging by Gramma Anairë’s face, Huan had just been discovered.
Anariel pasted her best smile of absolute innocence on her face.
“So, when do we get this shindig started?”
