New Friends
Gilriant dashed past Namo with a friendly wave as he made his way deeper into the halls. This was one of his visits with his feanorian relatives trips and they tended to be deeper in. So he tended to take things at a run so as to not waste time. Only, this time as he started in he got a faint sense that one of his uncles was much closer than typical. Odd, this was new. Curious he tracked the sense of his kin, identifying the uncle in question was Maedhros. He was getting pretty good at navigating the Halls, so it didn’t take long to find the correct spot.
He burst into the room with a happy greeting. “Hello Uncle! What are you doing up . . . oh.” Wide eyed he realized exactly what was going on when Maedhros turned towards him. Behind him stood the very embodied form of an elf. Who was looking in his direction with a surprised expression.
Now being this was an embodied elf, while he probably could see something of him, it wouldn’t be very clear. He wasn’t physically present, he was dream-walking. Now most of that time that didn’t matter as the residents here were either unhoused fea, or ainur. Both of which could perceive and interact with him just fine due to a quirk of the halls. The same quirk that was letting this very awake elf know he was here. Gilriant sighed and looked at his uncle. He remembered getting the permission so this was probably, “Fingon?”
Maedhros gave him an amused look. “Yes, what would you like me to tell him?” The dark-haired elf gave his uncle a confused look. “Maitimo, what is that?” Weighing his different options Gilriant thought about the best course of action. There were some long-term ideas of his that required an outside ally. But, his presence was not supposed to be revealed to the greater part of Valinor. “He has to promise not to tell anyone about me.”
Dipping his head in acknowledgement Maedhros turned back towards his visitor. “Well, it can be fixed so you can see for yourself, however you have to make a promise not to tell anyone.” At Fingon’s sharp look, he just smiled. “It's nothing bad, I rather think you will like it. Trust me?” The tension left the other elf and he smiled. “Of course I trust you. Alright I promise, I will not tell anyone about it.”
Looking back at his nephew. “Is that sufficient for you hina?” Gilriant couldn’t help but to laugh at Fingon’s blink of surprise. “Yes, that will do. Going to try something, if that doesn’t work he’ll have to go into the waking dreams.” Giving a nod of understanding, Maedhros watched as the elfling stepped closer to the other elf. The former High King clearly saw something as he followed the movement. The young one reached out and grabbed him by the wrist and yanked.
Stumbling forward a few steps Fingon’s eyes widened as he took in the sight in front of him. A dark-haired elfling with an intricate circlet and vibrant green eyes. “What?” With a laugh, the young one replied. “Hello cousin. I’m afraid it's a bit of a long story.” Meadhros scooped up Gilriant with a snort. “You have a gift for understatement nephew.”
“Nephew?!” Fingon looked back and forth between the two, concern written on his face. “What?! But how?” Correctly interpreting part of the look Gilriant offered a smile. “I’m Malgor’s son, but don’t worry I didn’t die. I call it dream-walking. Irmo helps me visit others in my sleep.” The ellon just blinked in confusion, Maedhros smiled. “I think you broke him.” At the sputtering the elfling laughed. “He did not break me! I just. . . this is. . . what?”
“Does it help if I tell you I’m part maia?” Fingon stared at the elfling. “Not really and yes at the same time.” They ended up giving him an abbreviated explanation. Enough so that the dark haired elf at least had a basic grasp on the situation. With the understanding they would answer more questions in the future. Which would likely be Maedhros as Gilriant’s time was more limited.
“So, you are the one that convinced Lord Mandos to let me visit?” Before he could even try to obfuscate, Maedhros gave a proud smile, hugging his nephew close. “He is. Gilriant has helped my brothers, convinced them we would be better off being able to see each other. More than just us as I understand it.” The elfing ducked his head. “I just did what anyone would do. Namo and the other ainur are not elves, so they don’t always understand what is needed.”
Fingon reached for the elfling and Maedhros handed him over with a small smile. Gilriant could feel the restrained strength in his older cousin’s arms when he was engulfed in the hug and held close. “You did far more than anyone else. I have been trying to get in to see Russo for a long time. Thank you.” Hugging him back, the elfling muttered in a soft voice “You’re welcome.”
Maedhros suppressed a sigh. His nephew still had issues with being given thanks it seemed. Well there was still plenty of time to work on it. At Fingon’s look he simply mouthed later to the elf. When he loosened the hug, Gilriant leaned back. “I just want to help, family is important.” His cousin instantly responded. “You are very right, and if there is anything I can do to assist, you need only ask.”
Amused, Maedhros commented, “You may want to be careful promising that. From the stories this little one causes a great deal of chaos.” Unrepentant, Gilriant responded. “Not my fault. Okay mostly not my fault. Except for the stuff I do on purpose, that is totally my fault.” Fingon laughed. “Well you fit very well into the rest of the family. When they can finally meet you they are going to love you.”
“It's probably going to be a very long time until I can. If ever.” Gilriant replied softly. “Can you still keep my secrets? Protect me and our family?” Fingon gave him a solemn look in return. “Of course.” Then he smiled. “If it is not too much trouble for you to visit me on your own, when you have the spare time, I would appreciate the chance to get to know you.”
“I’ll try. For now I should go tell Namo he’ll just find out if I don’t. I’ll see if he’ll take me down to see grandfather, or finally let me do it on my own.” Gilriant looked a bit put out. “Grandfather is not going to hurt me, hasn’t made any move too and is slowly getting better.” That made the two adult elves quiet. Fingon finally spoke. “If you can, give Uncle my love. Tell him, tell him my father misses him.” The elfling gave him another hug. “I will try.” Maedhros reached for Gilriant to give him a hug as well. “Yes, tell Atar I love him please. And don’t forget you are loved nephew, we want you to stay safe. Don’t put yourself at risk for us.”
***
Confident of his welcome, after a brief knock Gilriant opened up the door making a beeline for his brother. “Elrond! I got away from their evading game again, can I stay in your office until they think to look for me here?” His brother immediately reached down to scoop him up in a hug. “Of course, in fact there are some people I want to introduce you to.” The elfling looked over to see two humans sitting there. One an adult male and the other looked like a male in their very early teens at best. Much to his surprise they greeted him in Sindarin.
“Hello there little one, I am Aragost and this is my son Aarvorn.” The adult seemed more than a little taken off guard about his presence there. Though he remained polite and welcoming. It was more the type of wonder than distressed. Which, if he knew the elves, he knew how rare an elfling was. Still, Harry leaned into brother and managed a quip back. “Hi, I’m Gilriant. Sorry for interrupting your meeting tall one.” That earned him a smile in return. “No need to apologize, I am sure Lord Elrond is always happy to see you.”
“Quite,” Elrond smiled. “Gilriant arrived shortly after your visit last year so you just missed that. He is my little brother.” Aragost’s expression brightened at the information. “You found Maglor?” The Lord of Imladris looked at his brother with pride. “Actually this one found all of us. We are all very grateful to him for it.” Harry ducked his head and cast about to refocus the topic. “Anyone tell my guards about our visitors so they do not become alarmed when they can’t find me?”
Elrond tipped his head to the side with a slight smile but went ahead and moved towards the hall, carrying the elfling. “We can make sure, certainly preventing a misunderstanding is important.” He swiftly caught someone’s attention to make sure the message was passed on before returning to his seat. “I do think after this your guards only option is to take you outside the city to see if you can still outmaneuver them. Though I hold little hope for them.” Harry gave him a smug grin.
“Oh? Perhaps you can teach some of your tricks to my son.” Elrond looked over at Aragost’s comment and then back to Gilriant. “The heirs of the Dunedain come here for fostering. Would you be willing to help Aravorn?” The elfling’s face lit up, someone closer to his physical age, at least for a little while. That could be fun. He also noticed that the younger male hadn’t spoken much and had an intense look of concentration on his face as he followed the conversation. So he switched languages and responded in Westron.
”Yes! Happy help. Maybe you help me speak like this? Still learning.” First looking surprised, Aravorn’s expression shifted to pleased. “I would be happy to help you practice, if you don’t mind helping me. I’m still learning your language.” Smoothly Elrond followed along with the language shift. “I am sure we can have days only in one language or the other. Erestor is good at enforcing that type of thing. ”
GIlriant nodded, his face scrunching slightly as he concentrated on remembering the right words. “Teacher is good. Help you learn what you want learn. Many things to . . . choose?” He looked at Elrond and at the nod continued. “You like climb tree? Play game?” Subtle signs of tension started to fade away from Aravorn. The young man did well to hide most of his apprehension, it just became more obvious as his body language loosened up. “Thank you, that sounds good. Yes, I do like to climb trees and play games. I’d be happy to do both with you.”
They shared ideas back and forth for a few more minutes until there was a soft knock and an elven guard leaning in. Seeing Gilriant in the room giving him a wave and a big grin Gonben just shook his head with a wry smile. “I told them we would find you just relaxing somewhere. Are you ever going to tell us your tricks?” The elfing just laughed and shook his head no. “Well then we will have to come up with a different way to challenge you.” At the burst of giggles he turned and left, calling out for the rest of the guards.
When Gilriant started to shift, Elrond got the message and set him down. The elfling ran over to Aravorn and offered his hand. “Come, I show you around, yes?” Looking to his father, and then getting a nod of permission the pre-teen let the elfling grab his hand and pull him out the door. The young one happily chattering away in westiron at him.
“I am glad the young one is here, this will make things easier on Aravorn. Your children are always welcoming and helpful, but having someone that appears younger will help him feel less self-conscious.” Aragost commented quietly. “I had not heard of an elfling being born?” Elrond gave a slight smile, and then gave the heir to the Dunedain a brief summary of everything that had gone on. He held no qualms about sharing such information, not with his foster son. The pair sat in silence after Elrond finished, letting Aragost absorb and contemplate it.
“I will share this with my father when I go back. For now I would like to spend a few weeks making sure Aravorn is settled in here. I know he was both looking forward to this, and had some apprehension.” Elrond inclined his head. “Of course. You and your men are always welcome here. We will do our best to help make your son comfortable. I think having him here will also be good for my brother.”
***
Used to the phoenixes suddenly appearing around him with a letter, Cirdan didn’t immediately react to Hedwig’s entrance. That is until a small giggle made his head snap in the direction of the sound. “So, did I mention they can bring people as well as letters?” A laugh escaped him as he moved to scoop up the elfling in a hug. “No, you did not.” The glint of mischief in Gilriant’s eyes had him asking. “Did you tell anyone else that you were coming to visit?”
“No, because they would try to insist I needed to bring others with me.” Amused, Cirdan shook his head. “You do realize they are going to be upset. They are going to realize you are gone fairly quickly.” Gilriant tilted his head to the side. “Probably not, I’m pretty good at hiding when I want to.” The shipwright gave him a wry look. “You have a very strong presence, little one. They are going to pick up that it is gone if you stay too long.” After a beat he continued. “So let us make the most of this time that we can.” He promptly carried his great-grandson off to show him around his workshop.
***
It had taken a year of begging, plenty of promises to behave on the trip, as well as accepting that he would be riding with Maglor or Haldir the entire time. Finally he got them to agree to take him to visit the Hobbits. Hallows was sulking because they wanted to limit the amount of attention drawn to the group so Haldir would have to ride a horse, rather than a horse sized wolf. They were able to at least compromise and bring Tindel as long as the fawn stayed in the wagon coming along for the trading trip.
While Imladris often was a center of trade, they did at times reach out to other communities. The Shire was well known for its produce, and some variety in their foodstuffs was an enjoyable thing. So it was not too unusual for a group to go out and trade. While the large group of guards may raise some eyebrows, no one was inclined to leave them behind with an elfling on the trip. Besides Gilriant’s six personal guards, there were four extra ones from Imladris. Glorfindel also decided to tag along, leaving the twins in charge of the guard back home.
Gilriant thought they were being a bit over cautious but he wasn’t going to argue after he finally got them to agree. He was going to be able to experience all kinds of things on the trip. Like the elven version of camping. Being late spring they didn’t have to be concerned too much about mud. They did fuss about him not taking a chill when the temperatures dropped so he had to put up with that. He just kept in mind that he was finally being allowed to go meet the hobbits. Even being stuck inside the wagon when they got close to Bree was worth it.
The air of intense alertness relaxed some once they got past Buckland and into the borders of The Shire itself. The Rangers were known to patrol the borders and few threats typically made it inside. There were a few notable exceptions so they didn’t completely relax. As they were going to trade for spring crops, their planned destination was Hobbiton. There was an area the traders had camped before, and they were given permission to do so again.
The presence of the elves did draw attention even from the Hobbits. The gentlefolk for the most part were respectful and were not too invasive of the group. So it gave them the luxury of being able to keep the elfling’s presence hidden until they were ready. By the time everything had been arranged, Gilriant was practically vibrating with excitement. He could feel the flow of the energies around him. It just increased his desire to go out and explore.
When they finally allowed him to take a look around the very first thing he did was sit down and pull off his shoes and socks. They had made it a condition of travel, but none of the Hobbits were wearing shoes, he wasn’t going to put up with them any longer. Chucking them back in the direction of the camp, uncaring if they get lost or not. Back on his feet he dashes off with Haldir and two of his guards following. Hallows in one of her smaller sizes and Tindil raced off behind him. Glorfindel chuckled at the reaction and remarked to Maglor. “Good luck on getting those shoes back on him.” One of the hobbits who had been observing gave them an odd look. “He’s the only sensible one among you. Why would anyone want to wear those horrible things?” As Gilriant wasn’t quite out of earshot yet his voice drifted back. “That’s what I said!”
A fond sigh escaped Maglor as he turned towards the hobbit. “Most elves do need to wear shoes, our feet are not as tough as yours. Gilriant has a strong tie to the land, which is why he dislikes wearing them.” Considering it she nodded. “Well I suppose not everyone can be so blessed as we hobbits.” The elves exchanged an amused look. “We each have our own blessings.” Glorfindel diplomatically replied.
“Ah, where are my manners? I’m Bella Boffin, pleased to meet you.” She gave a short bow and the elves inclined their heads. “I’m Glorfindel, this is Maglor. Gilriant is his son. Who, once he runs off that energy is likely to introduce himself to every hobbit he sees. He’s been very interested in visiting the Shire.”
That seemed to please the hobbitess, and she smiled at them. “Well you should bring him to a proper hobbit meal then. It would please me if you joined my family for supper. I insist on it.” The two elves exchanged a look, with Maglor replying. “I know Gilriant would love that, though we would not wish to strain your hospitality with our entire group. Would three adults and the youngling be too many? Though I should mention there are guards that will likely stay outside nearby. Children are a rarity among us.”
Bella pursed her lips in thought. “I did wonder about all the guards you had with your group. Many more than I’ve seen with any of your trading groups.” Giving a decisive nod she continued. “We can easily handle that many for supper and while it is not normally done I have no issues with extra guards outside. I can agree that children need to be protected.”
Across the field Gilriant came to a stop. He inhaled the air, a large smile on his face. Yes he wanted to meet the hobbits but right now he needed to adjust to the feel of the land. The flow of energy was actually very calm and gentle. Very much a give and take between the land and those that resided here. He could feel it through the soles of his feet. When he focused on reading it, it actually calmed him.
To be truthful, most of the pent up energy came not from the Shire, but from staying safely hidden or held back by the other elves. A part of him felt bad about their obvious concern about traveling with him. Gilriant really did not want to make anyone’s life more difficult. Despite knowing he had time to grow up, the urge to go out there and learn and experience never completely went away. Call it a remnant from his prior life and the more limited life span. Or rather the way he wasn’t sure he’d actually live to adulthood. Either way he hadn’t completely adjusted to the idea he had all of time spooling out in front of him. Or was it something different? Some inner knowledge that the skills he had would be needed sooner, not later.
Between Haldir and Elrond they had given him skills to help deal with that. Deep breath in, let it slowly out. Let the calm come in, and the anxious energy expand and smooth out. Flowing away from him until he felt more even again. The land itself helped him reach a balanced point. He could feel Haldir coming up beside him and sitting down. Knowing his teacher, friend and anchor was right there settled him further.
“It really is free flowing between the Hobbits and the land isn’t it.” Gilriant didn’t expect an answer, he was more stating what was obvious, and something Haldir already told him. He still got one. “Most of them don’t even know they are doing it. A few will from time to time make a concentrated effort. Just as in anything, there are varying degrees of ability and strength.” The elfling nodded in acknowledgement. “They are balanced with the land, it's beautiful.”
***
The Boffin family had ended up being very good friends. Being just outgoing enough to welcome their elven friends and be willing enough to help Gilriant with his understanding. They even took to the phoenixes well enough to help them cover for the shortcut in travel. It had made everyone more comfortable with Harry’s desire to travel to the Shire. He wanted to give back to them somehow. Oh he knew his hobbit friends said his friendship was enough but still.
He explained his idea to Haldir and his teacher agreed he could try it. Of course Gilriant tried it first closer to home. Those that cared for the gardens that were more cosmetic were slightly less thrilled with the results and redirected him to the crop type gardens. Those were much more appreciative, perhaps especially when he put a tad too much energy into it. Now he was ready to help his friends.
Pacing lightly into the garden, his footsteps barely disturbed any of the freshly planted dirt. It was time for the spring crops to begin. The ones hardy enough to not mind the cold and would help the dwindling food stores the hobbits had. Important to them, something to be protected so he needed to get started before someone tried to shoo him away. Haldir was close by to help steady him if need be, but his teacher didn’t think it would be necessary.
Calmly Gilriant set the violin under his chin and the bow to the strings. Closing his eyes to better focus he started to play. The song unfurled, music notes vibrating in the air and resonating with the land. Ever so gently he started to feed his power into the music and the resonance thickened. The nearby hobbits stilled as the play of notes flowed through the Shire.
Gilriant reached to touch the seeds planted in the ground. Careful to focus on those purposely placed and not just any seeds. Gently, ever so carefully he teased the power of the song into them. It was important that he focused on not just the plants but the soil, for pulling too much from the ground would just make the plants struggle later on. There were whispers of sound around him, but since no one came close he ignored them in favor of focusing on his task.
Around his feet and spread across the gardens, shoots of green started emerging. The seedlings reached and stretched, spreading from their first leaves and sending out the secondary. Growing, bigger and stronger and flourishing. Now comes the tricky part. Give them enough but not too much. Some would need thinning, some would need support. Carefully, delicately, he withdrew a touch from those that felt crowded, or overstretched. Spring greens, those he left strength in longer. On the last notes he gently released the power, letting the plants settle back into their normal growth pattern.
Opening his eyes, he smiled at the sight of the plants growing in front of him. Across the field where once was bare dirt, was the beginnings of a thriving garden. Oh it wasn’t all perfect growth. That would be too much to expect right away. It would take much more practice to get that. There were a few weeds that accidentally got included in the growth boost and would need to be dealt with. The garden certainly would need some tending now, hopefully the Boffins wouldn’t mind too much.
Turning around, he opened his eyes wide to see all the hobbits that had gathered around him. His friends of course but many more had apparently been attracted by his playing. There were wide eyes looking between the growing garden and him. Harry couldn’t help but to feel a fissure of anxiety flicker through him. Not everyone always responded well to unexpected gifts like this. While Haldir, Atar and his guards were right there and would keep him safe, the bit of fear still existed. Would his new friends be afraid? Would they reject him? Would they -
His train of thoughts were interrupted by cheering and cheerful chatter and thanks. While this may have been something strange and new to them, it was a very helpful strange and new thing. Perhaps the connection that Gilriant had to the land and the care he took could be felt on some level by them. Or they were just excited by the prospect of fresh crops far earlier than they thought. Regardless of the reason he was surrounded by smiling thankful hobbits, and it filled his heart with joy.