Elendor
Checking In
Thari drops in on Ranol not long after Frarin and they end up in a serious conversation.
Sort Date: no date set
Location: Erebor
Description:
Down the hall comes Balur's daughter, Frarin's wife, well-dressed but with her hair tied back in a sensible fashion. Thari is carrying a large basket over one arm, the contents of which are covered by a cloth. She stops at Ranol's door and knocks.
Ranol has been doing a great deal of thinking since Frarin left earlier, the huskarl sitting in front of the hearth with a distance expression on his face for quite some time. When there's another knock at his door he stands and moves to answer it, a worrisome expression on his face. Far from the excitement he held earlier after meeting with the king.
"Oh.. Thari! Frarin was here not too long ago. Are you looking for him?"
Thari starts to smile when Ranol opens the door. This smile widens when he speaks. "He was? No, I didn't know. He's a good lad, isn't he? Dear Frarin." She shakes her head. "No, I've come to bring you some food and see that you're eating properly for a day or two anyway."
Ranol lifts his brows and then chuckles. "You are worried that I do not eat properly?" The huskarl asks, stepping back so that his cousin can enter the dwelling. It's rather dark, only a few lanterns lit since Ranol is the only one that's usually home.
Thari trundles in through the opening. "Not terribly," she says in a frank tone, looking about for a table. "Mainly it's just an excuse to come in and look you over to make sure you're doing well. Discreetly." She gives a wry little half-smile.
The huskarl pushes the door closed behind Thari and follows her inside. "Discreetly? Why is there need for discretion to come see me?" Ranol asks, reaching to try and take the basket from her. "Not that I don't appreciate a visit." He adds.
"Oh, there isn't, really." Thari gives the basket over to Ranol. "I trying for the humorous effect, one might say." She laughs a little. "Anyway, I do feel you ought to be looked after a little bit, and I know Panor does, so I thought I'd help." She turns away and is giving his house the once-over.
A little bit of dust, things out of place, but all around the home isn't in a complete state of disarray. Of course, if his sister wasn't helping it would be far worse. Ranol moves to set the basket on a carved wooden coffee table in the living room. "You don't need to look after me, you know..?" He says with a faint smile. "I do well enough on my own."
"Of course you don't," Thari agrees easily enough, straightening out an object on a table. "I just don't like you living alone. Nothing but working, eating supper alone..." her voice trails off and she heaves a sigh.
"I'm barely ever home.. I have dinner with the clan-karls a lot of the time, or with Hildis." Ranol counters, watching her straighten with lips pressed.
"Oh, really? How is Hildis?"
Thari straightens up and turns toward the coffee table. Ranol catches her eye and she stops, hands on hips. "Now don't give me that look," she scolds in a mild tone. "There's nothing wrong with family having a look in on family. Shows care, it does."
"Okay.. okay. I don't mind. Really, I don't.. But, you don't have to clean, alright?" Ranol holds his hands up and tries to speak in a placating fashion. "I already get hassled by my sister enough because the place isn't kept to her standards. I just don't have the time for it."
"Well, that's why you have a sister," Thari answers. She smiles again. "What did you and Frarin talk about?" she asks next, picking up the basket again.
"Oh.. ah.. things. You know.." Ranol is horrible at lying and deferring from the truth isn't much better. He runs his hand through his hair, turning away to fuss with the tools by the hearth.
"Hm." Thari moves out of the room toward the kitchen with the basket. She shouts back at him. "What about Hildis, then? You didn't answer me earlier."
"What about her? It's fine.." Ranol calls back, pressing his hand against the mantle for a long moment before he turns and moves to follow after her. "What about you and Frarin? How is married life?"
"She's fine?" Thari repeats as he comes into the kitchen. She has the basket on his table and is heading toward some cupboards. "I don't talk to her very much anymore. She's doing well then?"
She flaps a hand vaguely toward Ranol. "Oh of course married life is wonderful. We hardly ever argue anymore. There's no need to even talk abou tit. Go on about Hildis."
Ranol moves to lean against the counter, not moving to interfere with a woman and a kitchen, even if it is Thari. "She's well.. yes." He gives the rather short answer and says nothing further, a troubled expression taking over his face.
Thari opens the cupboard and looks in, then goes back to the table. "Go on," she encourages. "Add some more words to that." She takes the cloth out of the basket and steam comes out along with the smell of baked bread.
"Thari, this is little more I wish to say on the subject." Ranol answers softly. "I'm.. trying to make some decisions on things and I need time to sort them out." He rubs the back of his neck, hoping that response will satisfy the dwarf.
"Oh," says Thari. She stops, looking down. There's a bit of a sigh, and then she pulls a round and crusty loaf of bread out of the basket to lay on the cloth.
Ranol feels a pang of guilt as he watches Thari. "I think I might break up with her. I'm not sure.. but, that is what I am trying to decide." He caves in after the silence settles in the kitchen.
"Well you don't need to talk about anything you don't want to," Thari almost interrupts him in her rush to speak, flapping a hand at him again. "I'll pretend I didn't hear a thing. Are you hungry? There's some roast wrapped up in here, and some cold potatoes. And what is this?" she asks herself, lifting up a sack. "Ah! Bottles of jam."
"You didn't have to get all of this." Ranol says, moving forward now to offer a hand. "Frarin said that Hildis is going to him to talk about things.. Things that I thought her and I had worked out. I work too much. I don't think it's fair to her." He explains, daring to confide in his cousin though he may regret it.
"Sensible of Frarin to go to you, then," Thari says, moving away from him to place two paper-wrapped bundles into his cupboard. "I always just tell her that she ought to talk to you if she has worries and then I leave well enough alone. Frarin's a better friend to you, though, so I'm glad he came to you."
"He's angry with me, I think." Ranol says, reaching for the jam and putting it away. "You're not telling me what you think I should do. Do you think I am neglectful because I work so much?" He pauses to watch his cousin, a pleading expression on his face for an answer to his dilemma.
"Well, Frarin is rather fond of being cross," Thari says in her frank tone. She stands before the cupboard and fusses with the contents in a distracted way. "Ranol, what on earth do you want my opinion now for? Just a moment ago you said you didn't want to talk to me. I'm certain that whatever advice Frarin gave you was good enough. Listen."
She closes the cupboard door in a decisive way. "You said you wanted to be left alone and I'm horribly embarrassed for having intruded on you, so why don't I go off and let you be alone as you wish?" She doesn't look at him as she turns toward the hallway.
Ranol follows after her. "Thari.. wait. Why do you feel embarrassed? I said I didn't mind that you visit. I appreciate it. Thank you for the food. I mean it." He sounds sincere and reaches for her shoulder to try and stop her. "I don't know what to do. I'm out of sorts, that's all.. I wasn't trying to offend you."
Thari stops and turns about, looking up at her cousin's face briefly with a sort of guarded expression. "My own opinion is that you certainly shouldn't have less than what Frarin and I have. Certainly our businesses are very important to us, but we would both let them go hang to stay by the other's side. And yet, neither of us would like such a thing to happen to the other. I respect Frarin's work and he respects mine. We love our work yet." She hesitates. "we love each other more than that." She nods once, then turns away again and walks toward the entrance.
"How do I do that with my job? How can I possibly be fair to both my work and to her if I could be killed at any time? Hildis.. she was upset with me when I told her she shouldn't go on the trip to Mirkwood, but that is my work. I thought she understood when we talked about it, but then she spoke with Frarin, and pretended today that everything was fine." The huskarl runs a hand through his hair, obviously unsure of himself. "You and Frarin are so happy together. How did you know it would be that way?!"
"Oh, Ranol," Thari sighs. She walks to a chair and seats herself, leaning forward and rubbing her brow. "I don't know. Let me think."
She continues rubbing her brow a moment more, her hair becoming a little lose. "It's because we are so mad for each other. It's like..." She drops her hand in her lap. "Imagine being locked away somewhere and starving. You start thinking of food, can't think of anything but how marvellous it would be to have a loaf of bread. And then imagine being let out and being prepared a feast by the best cooks. You eat, you get your bread and you get mutton and beer and something sweet besides, and you are filled."
Thari gestures with her hands. "We needed each other desperately and after hardship we got each other. So of course we are happy. How else could we be?"
Ranol trails after her, sitting down as well. He listens quietly, his brows furrowed by her rather vivid analogy of the love that her and her husband share. "And it was like that from the beginning?" He asks, still sounding uncertain. It's amazing this dwarf is responsible for the safety of a thane, considering how inexperienced he seems in other things.
Thari takes in a breath and leans back to look thoughtfully up at the ceiling. "Yes, I think so," she answers at last. "I didn't want to be married and I didn't want a lad and I wanted to keep on as I ever had been, yet I needed him like that despite myself. It was utterly vexing at first to not want a thing to do with love and yet want him so very much. It was like a compulsion. I couldn't help it at all." She's starting to flush a bit. She stands abruptly.
Ranol looks down, breathing slowly. "I do not know what to do. Frarin is angry that I work so much, I think. I don't know if I am so deeply in love with Hildis as that. It is all new to me.. I would prefer to wait and see but people do not like that. I feel like I need to make a decision or I am being dishonest with her." He looks up and sees her standing. "Are you in a hurry? I'm sorry.. "
"Well," Thari says in her practical tone, "sometimes Frarin has good reasons to be cross and sometimes he doesn't. I don't know what to say." She paces across the room. "You know, sometimes before I met him I imagined I was perhaps in love with some dwarf or another, but I clearly wasn't. I see that now that I've known Frarin. That's something to think about, I suppose."
"Frarin was.. well, I should not say what he said." Ranol sighs, dragging his fingers through his beard. "Maybe I will see what Hildis thinks. Is it fair to ask her? I do not want her to feel as if she must decide everything.. But, my job has to come first, especially when we are traveling. I gave my word to Braldor."
"What will you ask her?" Thari asks from the other end of the room.
"What she thinks of all of this.. If we should continue seeing each other. Is that a bad idea?" Now that Thari is listening it seems that Ranol is going to follow her advice or at least hear it all out.
"I don't know." Thari lifts a shoulder. The expert tailoring of her green dress follows the motion easily. "If she says you ought to stay, she'll be left wondering if you stayed because she wanted it instead of what you wanted. If she says you ought to go, then your decision will have been made for you whether or not you want it to be."
"If Braldor tells me we go, then I will go. I cannot .. I won't abandon my resposibilities. Not after all that he has done." Ranol sinks back into the chair. "How would you feel if Frarin wanted to put his job before his care of you? That is not right.. It seems wrong to me."
Thari turns back and looks at him with a bit of a rueful smile. "It does seem wrong, doesn't it? I don't think anything's wrong with you, Ranol. I just don't think Hildis is to you what I am to Frarin, if that makes any sense."
"I care about her." Ranol says in a softer voice, his words a whispered rumble. "But love.. it is a committment I would want to be sure of before I made it. I enjoy the time we spend together and there is none other I would prefer to be with, but I dread the thought of choosing between her or my duty on a battlefield. If she was not so keen on traveling I would not be concerned, but I wouldn't ask her to give up what she enjoys either."
"Ranol." Thari pauses and then just bows before him. "I can't advise you. You are not of the same temperment as Frarin or me. You will know best what to do."
"I don't ask you to make the decision for me.. I only seek your opinion. I have never been in a relationship before. You've had some experience and I appreciate what you have to say. Who else am I to talk with? My parents are in the Iron Hills." Ranol stands. "I ... I will try and figure it out for myself. I am acting like a beardling I suppose." He gives her a wry grin.
Thari lifts a shoulder. "You could talk to Frarin, I suppose. I know he is a great friend of yours and I often encourage him to speak with him." She frowns a bit.
"I talked to Frarin earlier, remember?" Ranol asks, smirking. "I do not think he will talk to me right now.. he was angry when he left.. I am fairly sure. Thank you for listening. It helps. I am sorry I was short with you earlier. It has been a long day."
Thari walks to the door then and puts her hand on the nob. She looks behind her. "He was angry with you for working so much?" she asks in a curious fashion.
"I think.. he was disappointed that I work more than I put time into my relationship. That is why I have been thinking about all of this."
Thari gives a half-smile back to him. "You ought to ask Frarin about the relationships he had when he was your age."
Ranol chuckles. "Maybe I will if he is willing to speak with me. Thank you for checking in on me, and for the food. I suppose some home-cooked meals wouldn't kill me."
"You're welcome. Good night." Thari nods and goes through the door, closing it behind her.
Down the hall comes Balur's daughter, Frarin's wife, well-dressed but with her hair tied back in a sensible fashion. Thari is carrying a large basket over one arm, the contents of which are covered by a cloth. She stops at Ranol's door and knocks.
Ranol has been doing a great deal of thinking since Frarin left earlier, the huskarl sitting in front of the hearth with a distance expression on his face for quite some time. When there's another knock at his door he stands and moves to answer it, a worrisome expression on his face. Far from the excitement he held earlier after meeting with the king.
"Oh.. Thari! Frarin was here not too long ago. Are you looking for him?"
Thari starts to smile when Ranol opens the door. This smile widens when he speaks. "He was? No, I didn't know. He's a good lad, isn't he? Dear Frarin." She shakes her head. "No, I've come to bring you some food and see that you're eating properly for a day or two anyway."
Ranol lifts his brows and then chuckles. "You are worried that I do not eat properly?" The huskarl asks, stepping back so that his cousin can enter the dwelling. It's rather dark, only a few lanterns lit since Ranol is the only one that's usually home.
Thari trundles in through the opening. "Not terribly," she says in a frank tone, looking about for a table. "Mainly it's just an excuse to come in and look you over to make sure you're doing well. Discreetly." She gives a wry little half-smile.
The huskarl pushes the door closed behind Thari and follows her inside. "Discreetly? Why is there need for discretion to come see me?" Ranol asks, reaching to try and take the basket from her. "Not that I don't appreciate a visit." He adds.
"Oh, there isn't, really." Thari gives the basket over to Ranol. "I trying for the humorous effect, one might say." She laughs a little. "Anyway, I do feel you ought to be looked after a little bit, and I know Panor does, so I thought I'd help." She turns away and is giving his house the once-over.
A little bit of dust, things out of place, but all around the home isn't in a complete state of disarray. Of course, if his sister wasn't helping it would be far worse. Ranol moves to set the basket on a carved wooden coffee table in the living room. "You don't need to look after me, you know..?" He says with a faint smile. "I do well enough on my own."
"Of course you don't," Thari agrees easily enough, straightening out an object on a table. "I just don't like you living alone. Nothing but working, eating supper alone..." her voice trails off and she heaves a sigh.
"I'm barely ever home.. I have dinner with the clan-karls a lot of the time, or with Hildis." Ranol counters, watching her straighten with lips pressed.
"Oh, really? How is Hildis?"
Thari straightens up and turns toward the coffee table. Ranol catches her eye and she stops, hands on hips. "Now don't give me that look," she scolds in a mild tone. "There's nothing wrong with family having a look in on family. Shows care, it does."
"Okay.. okay. I don't mind. Really, I don't.. But, you don't have to clean, alright?" Ranol holds his hands up and tries to speak in a placating fashion. "I already get hassled by my sister enough because the place isn't kept to her standards. I just don't have the time for it."
"Well, that's why you have a sister," Thari answers. She smiles again. "What did you and Frarin talk about?" she asks next, picking up the basket again.
"Oh.. ah.. things. You know.." Ranol is horrible at lying and deferring from the truth isn't much better. He runs his hand through his hair, turning away to fuss with the tools by the hearth.
"Hm." Thari moves out of the room toward the kitchen with the basket. She shouts back at him. "What about Hildis, then? You didn't answer me earlier."
"What about her? It's fine.." Ranol calls back, pressing his hand against the mantle for a long moment before he turns and moves to follow after her. "What about you and Frarin? How is married life?"
"She's fine?" Thari repeats as he comes into the kitchen. She has the basket on his table and is heading toward some cupboards. "I don't talk to her very much anymore. She's doing well then?"
She flaps a hand vaguely toward Ranol. "Oh of course married life is wonderful. We hardly ever argue anymore. There's no need to even talk abou tit. Go on about Hildis."
Ranol moves to lean against the counter, not moving to interfere with a woman and a kitchen, even if it is Thari. "She's well.. yes." He gives the rather short answer and says nothing further, a troubled expression taking over his face.
Thari opens the cupboard and looks in, then goes back to the table. "Go on," she encourages. "Add some more words to that." She takes the cloth out of the basket and steam comes out along with the smell of baked bread.
"Thari, this is little more I wish to say on the subject." Ranol answers softly. "I'm.. trying to make some decisions on things and I need time to sort them out." He rubs the back of his neck, hoping that response will satisfy the dwarf.
"Oh," says Thari. She stops, looking down. There's a bit of a sigh, and then she pulls a round and crusty loaf of bread out of the basket to lay on the cloth.
Ranol feels a pang of guilt as he watches Thari. "I think I might break up with her. I'm not sure.. but, that is what I am trying to decide." He caves in after the silence settles in the kitchen.
"Well you don't need to talk about anything you don't want to," Thari almost interrupts him in her rush to speak, flapping a hand at him again. "I'll pretend I didn't hear a thing. Are you hungry? There's some roast wrapped up in here, and some cold potatoes. And what is this?" she asks herself, lifting up a sack. "Ah! Bottles of jam."
"You didn't have to get all of this." Ranol says, moving forward now to offer a hand. "Frarin said that Hildis is going to him to talk about things.. Things that I thought her and I had worked out. I work too much. I don't think it's fair to her." He explains, daring to confide in his cousin though he may regret it.
"Sensible of Frarin to go to you, then," Thari says, moving away from him to place two paper-wrapped bundles into his cupboard. "I always just tell her that she ought to talk to you if she has worries and then I leave well enough alone. Frarin's a better friend to you, though, so I'm glad he came to you."
"He's angry with me, I think." Ranol says, reaching for the jam and putting it away. "You're not telling me what you think I should do. Do you think I am neglectful because I work so much?" He pauses to watch his cousin, a pleading expression on his face for an answer to his dilemma.
"Well, Frarin is rather fond of being cross," Thari says in her frank tone. She stands before the cupboard and fusses with the contents in a distracted way. "Ranol, what on earth do you want my opinion now for? Just a moment ago you said you didn't want to talk to me. I'm certain that whatever advice Frarin gave you was good enough. Listen."
She closes the cupboard door in a decisive way. "You said you wanted to be left alone and I'm horribly embarrassed for having intruded on you, so why don't I go off and let you be alone as you wish?" She doesn't look at him as she turns toward the hallway.
Ranol follows after her. "Thari.. wait. Why do you feel embarrassed? I said I didn't mind that you visit. I appreciate it. Thank you for the food. I mean it." He sounds sincere and reaches for her shoulder to try and stop her. "I don't know what to do. I'm out of sorts, that's all.. I wasn't trying to offend you."
Thari stops and turns about, looking up at her cousin's face briefly with a sort of guarded expression. "My own opinion is that you certainly shouldn't have less than what Frarin and I have. Certainly our businesses are very important to us, but we would both let them go hang to stay by the other's side. And yet, neither of us would like such a thing to happen to the other. I respect Frarin's work and he respects mine. We love our work yet." She hesitates. "we love each other more than that." She nods once, then turns away again and walks toward the entrance.
"How do I do that with my job? How can I possibly be fair to both my work and to her if I could be killed at any time? Hildis.. she was upset with me when I told her she shouldn't go on the trip to Mirkwood, but that is my work. I thought she understood when we talked about it, but then she spoke with Frarin, and pretended today that everything was fine." The huskarl runs a hand through his hair, obviously unsure of himself. "You and Frarin are so happy together. How did you know it would be that way?!"
"Oh, Ranol," Thari sighs. She walks to a chair and seats herself, leaning forward and rubbing her brow. "I don't know. Let me think."
She continues rubbing her brow a moment more, her hair becoming a little lose. "It's because we are so mad for each other. It's like..." She drops her hand in her lap. "Imagine being locked away somewhere and starving. You start thinking of food, can't think of anything but how marvellous it would be to have a loaf of bread. And then imagine being let out and being prepared a feast by the best cooks. You eat, you get your bread and you get mutton and beer and something sweet besides, and you are filled."
Thari gestures with her hands. "We needed each other desperately and after hardship we got each other. So of course we are happy. How else could we be?"
Ranol trails after her, sitting down as well. He listens quietly, his brows furrowed by her rather vivid analogy of the love that her and her husband share. "And it was like that from the beginning?" He asks, still sounding uncertain. It's amazing this dwarf is responsible for the safety of a thane, considering how inexperienced he seems in other things.
Thari takes in a breath and leans back to look thoughtfully up at the ceiling. "Yes, I think so," she answers at last. "I didn't want to be married and I didn't want a lad and I wanted to keep on as I ever had been, yet I needed him like that despite myself. It was utterly vexing at first to not want a thing to do with love and yet want him so very much. It was like a compulsion. I couldn't help it at all." She's starting to flush a bit. She stands abruptly.
Ranol looks down, breathing slowly. "I do not know what to do. Frarin is angry that I work so much, I think. I don't know if I am so deeply in love with Hildis as that. It is all new to me.. I would prefer to wait and see but people do not like that. I feel like I need to make a decision or I am being dishonest with her." He looks up and sees her standing. "Are you in a hurry? I'm sorry.. "
"Well," Thari says in her practical tone, "sometimes Frarin has good reasons to be cross and sometimes he doesn't. I don't know what to say." She paces across the room. "You know, sometimes before I met him I imagined I was perhaps in love with some dwarf or another, but I clearly wasn't. I see that now that I've known Frarin. That's something to think about, I suppose."
"Frarin was.. well, I should not say what he said." Ranol sighs, dragging his fingers through his beard. "Maybe I will see what Hildis thinks. Is it fair to ask her? I do not want her to feel as if she must decide everything.. But, my job has to come first, especially when we are traveling. I gave my word to Braldor."
"What will you ask her?" Thari asks from the other end of the room.
"What she thinks of all of this.. If we should continue seeing each other. Is that a bad idea?" Now that Thari is listening it seems that Ranol is going to follow her advice or at least hear it all out.
"I don't know." Thari lifts a shoulder. The expert tailoring of her green dress follows the motion easily. "If she says you ought to stay, she'll be left wondering if you stayed because she wanted it instead of what you wanted. If she says you ought to go, then your decision will have been made for you whether or not you want it to be."
"If Braldor tells me we go, then I will go. I cannot .. I won't abandon my resposibilities. Not after all that he has done." Ranol sinks back into the chair. "How would you feel if Frarin wanted to put his job before his care of you? That is not right.. It seems wrong to me."
Thari turns back and looks at him with a bit of a rueful smile. "It does seem wrong, doesn't it? I don't think anything's wrong with you, Ranol. I just don't think Hildis is to you what I am to Frarin, if that makes any sense."
"I care about her." Ranol says in a softer voice, his words a whispered rumble. "But love.. it is a committment I would want to be sure of before I made it. I enjoy the time we spend together and there is none other I would prefer to be with, but I dread the thought of choosing between her or my duty on a battlefield. If she was not so keen on traveling I would not be concerned, but I wouldn't ask her to give up what she enjoys either."
"Ranol." Thari pauses and then just bows before him. "I can't advise you. You are not of the same temperment as Frarin or me. You will know best what to do."
"I don't ask you to make the decision for me.. I only seek your opinion. I have never been in a relationship before. You've had some experience and I appreciate what you have to say. Who else am I to talk with? My parents are in the Iron Hills." Ranol stands. "I ... I will try and figure it out for myself. I am acting like a beardling I suppose." He gives her a wry grin.
Thari lifts a shoulder. "You could talk to Frarin, I suppose. I know he is a great friend of yours and I often encourage him to speak with him." She frowns a bit.
"I talked to Frarin earlier, remember?" Ranol asks, smirking. "I do not think he will talk to me right now.. he was angry when he left.. I am fairly sure. Thank you for listening. It helps. I am sorry I was short with you earlier. It has been a long day."
Thari walks to the door then and puts her hand on the nob. She looks behind her. "He was angry with you for working so much?" she asks in a curious fashion.
"I think.. he was disappointed that I work more than I put time into my relationship. That is why I have been thinking about all of this."
Thari gives a half-smile back to him. "You ought to ask Frarin about the relationships he had when he was your age."
Ranol chuckles. "Maybe I will if he is willing to speak with me. Thank you for checking in on me, and for the food. I suppose some home-cooked meals wouldn't kill me."
"You're welcome. Good night." Thari nods and goes through the door, closing it behind her.
Players: Ranol, Thari
Located in: Erebor
