Sparring and Running
The light flashed off Gilriant’s weapons as he moved through a practice form. Fluid movement that spoke of long practice with the atypical pairing of a blade and staff. It would resemble dancing if not for the chosen accessories. Finishing the first set, he brought the two pieces together in one smooth movement and twisted. They locked into place as one solid weapon and he started the second series of forms. It was an excellent warm up, and a good routine to have. Solidifying the base moves and reinforcing the muscle memory of them. When he finished, he held the weapon with the point resting against the ground.
“That is a very interesting weapon.” Turning towards the voice, Gilriant saw a tall dark-haired elf dressed in practice armor. He had the air about him that was associated with one of the longer-lived elves. “May I see it?” With a nod the young elf moved to the side of the salle and offered it over. “Of course. My Atar made this for me.” The other elf hefted it in his hands, giving it an experimental swing. “Unusual metal.” A proud smile flashed on Harry’s face. “You won’t find its like anywhere outside my family’s hands. Only Atar knows how to create and make weapons from it here in Middle Earth.”
“So I’ve heard, and I saw that this one is actually two pieces?” The elf ran a hand up and down the shaft, not finding any seams. “Yes, though I’m the only one that can take it apart when they are joined.” He reached and the elf handed the weapon back, watching intently as Gilriant gripped a section and twisted. The glaive easily separated into the two pieces. He offered them back to the older elf. Taking them, he gave them another experimental swing. “So I see. I understand you and your partner are looking for people to spar against?”
“Yes, Haldir and I only spar against each other at this point for stamina training. We know each other’s moves too well.” The older elf inclined his head offering the weapons back to Gilriant. “That can happen with tightly bonded pairs. It’s impossible for them not to anticipate the other’s moves.” Haldir had drifted towards them as soon as the older elf addressed Harry, “Which is why we need other sparring partners. Though if you are going to evaluate how we fight as a pair, you are going to need more elves. It's good to see you, Dimethor.”
“And you Haldir, how many exactly am I going to need for that?” The marchwarden’s gaze flicks to the side where others were sparring and back. “Depends if Legolas decided to jump in or not. As a pair we can easily take on a large group. Add in the prince, and there usually isn’t enough room.” The dark-haired elf’s eyebrows went up. “Interesting, well we will stick with the two of you as a pair at some point. Individually, well I can put you both through your paces and bring in others as needed.” Gilriant nodded before looking over at Haldir and raising an eyebrow. After a moment the older elf nodded back.
“There is something you should be aware of, I do have battle reflexes.” At the admission Dimethor sucked in a breath. “How? You are so young!” Gilriant replied dryly, “I’ve had them for a very long time. It's a long story. My brother has helped me, and it is unlikely for the most part that they will be set off. There are a few precautions we take regardless.” Looking pensive, the older elf inclined his head for the young elf to continue. “I either use practice blades or guards on my blades when sparring. Additionally if we are fighting together, it's not wise to get between Haldir and myself. I don’t react well to being separated from him.” He paused for a moment, considering.
“I don’t know what kind of training you do here, but no brightly colored lights, or brightly colored small objects thrown at or near me while fighting.” Anything that simulated spellfire coming at him would not go over well. “I know that may sound odd.” Dimethor shook his head, “No need to explain. There are a number of things that may seem odd that can set off someone with battle reflexes. Thank you for telling me, I will respect that.”
*
Tree running was the absolute best thing ever. Gilriant always felt home in the trees. So much so that some found it odd that he didn’t have any Silvan in his ancestry that they knew of. Not that it overly matted. All elves had some connection to nature, trees included. Whatever the combination was, the young elf was as much home in the trees as he was on the ground.
When the scouting group started out, they took it slow to make sure the young one could keep up. They needn’t have bothered. It took less than a minute for Gilriant to adjust, and soon he was setting the speed with a happy laugh. “Should we really be letting him go so fast? Isn’t this the first time he’s tried it?” At the scout’s question Legolas just laughed. “He’s always been at home in trees, this doesn’t surprise me. “Our trees are much taller than the ones they have in Imladris,”pointed out another.
Suddenly Gilriant reached out to use a tree truck to help him change direction, shooting off on a new heading. The group scrambled to follow after him. “I repeat my first question.” Haldir commented thoughtfully, “I’m sure he has a reason.” After a beat he added, “Other than the fact he heard you and wants to mess with you.” That got a laugh out of Legolas while another scout commented, “Well, at least we have anything we need for first aid.
Much to their surprise the young elf suddenly started to drop down. Gilriant expedited this by simply leaping off a branch, aiming for the next. Never trying to stop, just simply use each stop to keep from falling too far all at once. Until he was close enough to the ground to simply drop down. At least close enough by his standards. When they caught up to him seated cross legged on the ground, he glanced over with a slight smile. “I’m fine, stop fussing.”
Haldir moved to his side and kneeled down as the scouts fanned out around them. “What did you find?” Gilriant motioned to the plant at his feet. “Here, do you see it?” Legolas joined them looking perplexed, “I believe our gardeners dig that up when it's in the fields to get rid of it.” The younger elf huffed, “Apparently I need to check my books and possibly get some from home. This is a healing herb, but there is something else here.”
Looking at the older elf looking intently at the herb, Gilriant reached through his bond towards Haldir. Giving him, if he wanted it, access to the younger elf’s gifts to see the world around them. The marchwarden reached out to touch the plant, then inhaled. “It’s infused with energy.” Harry nodded, “Yes, we called this variation Dittany, specifically this is the magical one. Which changes some of the properties, can enhance the healing aspect.” He smiled brightly. “It also means, it's working.”
Legolas crouched down to look at the plant, then back to Gilriant, “The wards?” Tilting his head the younger elf gave a slight nod. “Yes that too, but also my using the wolves to cleanse the lands and put energy back into it. That is, in part, what my gifts are for. To rebalance the lands, to make it safer for elves and others to live. This is a sign that I am accomplishing that.” Considering he added, “I should check Imladris as well at some point. There may be plants there too, I just wasn’t openly looking before.”
“Are there other signs that you are looking for?” The Greenwood’s prince asked. “Yes,” Started Gilriant slowly. “But there are things I would rather not speculate out loud about.” Legolas looked over his shoulder at the scouts. They took the hint and immediately started spreading out further. Still close enough if needed, but not within earshot of conversational speech. Once they had done so the woodland prince looked back at his friend. Harry shot a look at Haldir, who lifted an eyebrow. Tilting his head, the young elf reached to put his hands on the ground around the plant.
“For one you will see in general stronger and more magical plants. Another possibility is that my wolves will become more than constructs. Which we will know if they have pups. The last one, well.” Gilriant paused, focusing on the ground and gently working his fingers in it to carefully coax the plant out. “So part of my role is to keep balance, so I understand a bit more about how all of Ea works as far as balance goes. There are potentially three influences as to why no elves have been born in Middle Earth in a long time.” Legolas’s eyebrows rose in surprise at the change in topic, watching the younger elf intently.
“First is that all living things must be in balance with each other and the land. The land can only support so much life. Elves naturally live in harmony, so there will not be more elves born than the land can support. Combine that with elves having immortal souls . . “ He trailed off and Legolas’ eyes widened in understanding. “There is a limit to how many elves can ever be born.” Gilriant nodded. “Yes, that is why the birth of elves slowed down.”
“Slowed, but not why they stopped?” All of this Gilriant had speculated privately with Haldir before. Some of it may be harder for people to accept than others. Which is why he wanted to keep his theories quiet. “Yes, the second and third reasons are tied together. The marring of the lands and the corruption of the elves. In a twisted way orcs are connected, so their numbers and existence could be impacting it. The last is that for new life, the land needs to support it. So being drained and corrupted, the energy to support new life just isn’t there. The feeling of safety and life isn't there.”
As he spoke, Gilriant continued to gently coax the plant out of the ground. Using his gifts to make sure the roots were undamaged. Once he had the dittany safely up, the young elf reached to pluck a falling leaf that drifted near him to wrap around the roots and dirt. Then nabbed a second one to finish it off. He gave the ground a soft pat of thanks when he was done. Haldir reached to take it from him and tuck it safely away for carrying back with them.
Legolas quietly absorbed the information watching Gilriant finish up before speaking quietly. “Is that one of your goals?” Harry looked at him, eyebrows furrowed. “More like a potential benefit. My responsibility is greater than just to elves, it's to balance as a whole for all Ea.” His lips quirked upwards as his gaze slid to Haldir. “Though being mostly elf, having an elven family and an elf partner, I do have a vested interest in the well being of the firstborn.” With a soft laugh the marchwarden stood and offered a hand up to the younger elf.
“I’m not going to ask you to keep my theory from your father. I am going to ask that it does not go further than him. This is just speculation at the moment.” Accepting the proffered hand, Gilriant rose gracefully to his feet before looking back to Legolas. Greenwood’s prince nodded. “That I can understand. Thank you for sharing it with me.” Haldir’s voice was amused. “You are just hoping that another elf is born so you aren’t the youngest anymore.” Harry laughed, “I really really am. It would make everyone fuss slightly less. I know they still will fuss, just hoping to get it turned down a notch or two.”
“I scarcely think it will cause less of a fuss, if it ever gets out something you did helped someone have a child.” Legolas pointed out in an amused tone. “Let me dream, please.” Gilriant complained looking up at the tree, and then around the ground. “Hmm, I want to keep tree running, but I may need to stop from time to time.”
“That can be done, let me call in the rest of the scouts.” With a laugh, Harry just started to climb the tree. “Nope, not waiting. One of my favorite games. See if they can keep up.” Amused, Haldir added as he started to climb as well. “Yes, that's a game you have been playing for a long time.” He looked down at the blonde prince. “Go ahead and call them, and then see if they can keep up. They are lucky he is sticking to just running.”
They managed to find several spots that had thriving magical plants. A few Gilriant collected to bring back with them. Many he left to grow in peace. While they could be cultivated and useful for medicines, they also helped him monitor the state of the forest. If the patches grew or shrank, that would tell him how the land was doing. When they returned to Thranduil’s Halls, Legolas helped him find a space to replant his finds and speak to the gardeners about them. While some seemed resistant to growing what they viewed as weeds, they were at least willing to let the young prince try his experiment.
Back in their rooms, Gilriant pulled out a familiar looking trunk. Legolas peered at it with interest. “The magic one, yes?” With a smile the younger elf nodded, pulling up a bookcase. “Since Atar doesn’t plan on traveling, and what he needed was all unpacked in Imladris, he insisted I use our magically expanded gear. Which is a good thing.” Selecting two books, one he handed over to Haldir. “Check this one for me would you?” He glanced over at the Greenwood’s prince. “I’d let you help, but you can’t read these.” He left the bookcase up for the moment and moved to a nearby chair.
“These are in the language from the world of your birth, could I learn it?” Legolas continued to look over the books with open curiosity. Gilriant looked over at him in surprise, an open book in his hands. “You would want to? It’s not like it's going to be of much use.” Haldir was looking through the book in his hands, glancing in their direction on occasion. “It would be useful right now. Your family knows it, Haldir does, it could come in handy for things in the future I’m sure.” The older prince pointed out. “It may not at all. Though if you really want to try, I can see about getting one of the copies of books my family learned out of for you.” The marchwarden commented, “Part of the deal may be copying them so you have your own personal set and return the originals in pristine condition. Erestor is very particular about books.” Harry laughed, “Very true, and it's a rather backwards and self contradicting language, I warn you now.”
“But I would also understand the songs from your world. I enjoy listening to you sing.” Gilriant chuckled, looking down so he could check through the book in his hands. “For that you are also going to need some cultural understanding. Otherwise you are just going to be scandalized by at least half of them.” Haldir chimed in, “More like three quarters of them.” Legolas looked over at them, “I do know some about the edain.” Harry shook his head as he continued his search. “Not the same thing at all. That won’t help you.”
“You don’t actually need to know the words to understand the songs. Gilriant’s musical skills have progressed to the point you get the emotions behind them easily.” Showing his progress, Harry huffed, but didn’t overly protest Haldir’s statement. “Still, I would like to learn. I’m not afraid to put the work in.” Legolas quietly insisted. “As you wish,” the younger elf smiled slightly. “I’m going to need to go to Imladris when I have enough of the plant grown to work with. I can get what will help you then. My brother is going to want to know about this, and he’ll need some of the information in this book.” Haldir chimed in, “This one looks useful too.”
“While I do not want to offend your healers here, I trust my brother the most to test this. Elves are slightly different, likely more sensitive to some things and less to others. He’s got the best experience to be able to work it out.” Legolas inclined his head, “He is a renown healer, as well as your brother. I doubt they will be offended by this.” After a beat he also asked, “You have so many books here, what are they about?”
“A variety of subjects, it's difficult to tell what might be useful. Ancient runes, arithmancy, books on healing, on different branches of magic, on plants and potions, some history books as well.” Haldir added, “And of course some that are on music.” “I definitely want to learn the language.” Legolas immediately responded.
“I’m glad you enjoy the music.” There was a faint frown on Gilriant’s face as he studied Legolas. He rose to move to the bookcase to look through the books and pulled another one off the shelf. “Are you feeling okay? I ask because you seem rather insistent.” He started to look through it as he kept checking on the older prince. “Fine. I just think it would be useful to know these things. And you are my friend. Your music matters to you, so I would like to understand it better.”
Haldir gave a thoughtful hum and set his book to the side. “Well, as far as the plants go, most of this is going to have to wait until we have enough to safely harvest and bring to your brother. Though I did find a few more that I recognize. So we can check for them on our patrols.”
Later on after Legolas had left, Gilriant turned to Haldir. “You don’t think I did anything to Legolas with my music do you? I know he was exposed when I was working on the wards and playing in general but I wasn’t trying to influence him. I don’t want to hurt anyone with it.” A soft laugh escaped the marchwarden. “I think he does in fact like your music, which is very different from elven music. He’s likely just adjusting to everything, it's nothing you need to worry about.”
*
Somehow, Gilriant had acquired a small group of fans. He supposed that happened even to elven musicians, but it was rather odd. Every time he performed they just showed up. Though he was also running into a few of them randomly throughout the day. Meals, sparring practice, coming back from patrols. For the most part it was a bit flattering and harmless. Especially once Hedwig took to staying with him, perched on his shoulder whenever that didn’t interfere. If one of them got too close, she was rather good at letting her displeasure show. Getting snow dumped on you even when it was warm wasn’t very pleasant.
“Prince Gilriant, the Noldor like to wear hairclasps with their braids right? I’ve seen you wear them.” He turned to face the elleth that addressed him. One of the more persistent ones that tried to get his attention. Of course this was one of the moments Hedwig was off delivering mail. “That is correct.” Harry gave her a polite smile, not quite recalling her name. She beamed a smile, showing him a piece of jewelry. “I got this, I thought maybe you would like it?” He made no move to take it, just kept a polite smile on his face. “Apologies, but I cannot accept that. We also have very strict rules about who can give presents like that and under what circumstances.”
“Oh, it's just a little gift, harmless I’m sure.” She continued to hold it out. “Harmless to you perhaps. Unfortunately not so much for the culture I was raised in. So I do need to decline.” Gilriant was firm in his tone and expression. The elleth looked like she was pouting but finally pulled her hand back. “Well, could you show me different braids so I could use it?”
“As we are neither kin nor elflings that would also be highly inappropriate. I am sure you can find some books on braiding styles and Noldor culture in the library. It has a wide selection of books, you could find it very informative.” Now she was definitely pouting. “I don’t see why it would be such a big deal, it’s just a little hair braiding.” Thankfully he felt Haldir coming closer. “Then you definitely need to read those books.”
“Unless you are deliberately trying to insult our guest.” Legolas’ voice was like ice. The elleth started, looking over with wide eyes. “No my prince, of course not.” Gilriant turned around and walked towards Haldir with a smile. “How was archery practice? Were the two of you trying to outshoot each other again? Which I may have to go watch next time. I’ve never seen either of you miss a shot.”
Both archer’s gazes were firmly on the elleth behind Harry, and neither looked particularly happy. “Oh I always hit what I intend to. Even if people don’t realize it at the time.” Haldir’s gaze finally shifted over and up to his face. “I can’t leave you alone for a moment can I?” Legolas was still watching the elleth behind them. “Well?” He arched an eyebrow, looking a bit like his father in that moment. “I do believe Prince Gilriant suggested the correct course of action for you if you truly desire that information. I believe you also owe him an apology as your behavior was very inappropriate.”
“I am sorry Prince Gilriant.” He turned back around to see her now pale face. “It won’t happen again. If you would please excuse me.” The elleth’s gaze moved back over to Legolas’. “Go.” At the command she scurred off. “Well, hopefully that was the end of that. Now if you could get the one ellon to back off that would be great.” The woodland prince scowled. “Someone else is bothering you?” Harry nodded absently, “Yes, there are a few that have been trying to give me gifts, which is odd. Most of them are respectful. Or at least Hedwig intimidates them. She’s delivering some letters today.”
When Legolas looked about ready to storm off and find the offenders Gilriant reached out to touch his arm. “Hey, most of them are harmless. If any of them got to a dangerous level I would know how to recognize it and deal with it. Though I do appreciate you coming to my rescue.” He could feel the woodland’s prince start to relax, his expression beginning to smooth out again. “They shouldn’t be bothering you.” Harry shrugged. “I’m used to getting some attention. Though for some reason some people disappear whenever Haldir is around.” There was a spike of smug satisfaction coming from the marchwarden at that statement. “Especially when he’s working on weapons or arrows.”
“I have no idea what you are talking about,” Haldir replied in a smooth tone. Which might work for someone that didn’t have the inner track on his emotional state. “I’m sure.” Gilriant’s voice was dry in response.
Legolas started to tense up again. “This is a regular occurrence?” GIlriant attempted to sooth his friend by rubbing his hand up and down his upper arm. “Relax, it's fine. I’m sure you have had your fair share of people paying attention to you over time and dealt with it.” The archer twitched and then exhaled, apparently letting go of his anger. “I suppose, but she was quite rude.” Harry shrugged, “Likely didn’t know exactly how rude she was being. From her attitude it was just harmless.”
“Depends on how much Noldor culture she does know. She might have meant it.” Haldir less than helpfully contributed. Gilirant gave him a look, and just got a grin back in return. “See this is why I can’t really take any of it seriously. Cultural differences have caused so many misunderstandings and problems I’m just going to have to assume it's innocent.” Despite his attempts to sooth Legolas, it didn’t seem to be completely successful. “Exactly how long has this been going on?”
“People paying attention to me? All my life. Possibly trying to flirt with me, that’s more recent.” Gilriant shifted to look at Legolas again, and just gave up on trying to calm him down. “Hey it's okay, nothing to get upset over. If someone gets inappropriate I do know how to handle it. If you hadn’t come along I would have been firm and left.” When the older prince just stared at him, he sighed and shifted his hand down to grab the archer’s hand instead.
“Come on, let's go spar or something like that. If you are really feeling frustrated you can take it out on a practice dummy and feel better.” Tugging on Legolas’s hand he moved forward, the archer quietly following. “You coming?” Gilriant looked over at Haldir. Who for some reason, looked highly entertained at the moment. “Of course. You always seem to find trouble when I leave you alone for too long.”
“Not my fault!”