(no subject)

[castintoflames]

Who: Maedhros & YOU
Broadcast: Fleet-Wide.
Action: Open to HS Marsiva.
When: Morning.

(Marsiva's hospitality cannot erase what Maedhros has endured. He is dressed cleanly and his hair is braided neatly and away from his face. Even his burns have been healed with minimal scarring. But there is something untamed in his eyes.

Something that burns like a hungry, desperate fire.)

...why? (His low voice resonates clearly, cutting through the air with ease. He needn't ever shout.) Surely these quarters are not located within the Halls of Mandos?

(He feels life flowing within him and it is wrong. Lifting his only fist, he hits the nearest wall, clenching his teeth.)

Do not trap my fëa. Arda is safer with me dead.

Comments

[video]

[sonofgold]

Hey- can you hear me? You're obviously not at home any more.

[video]

[castintoflames]

...Yes? I am aware. I was not "at home" to begin with.

[child_of_bhaal]

[Oh, she recognizes that world name.

Hello new comer, the young woman who greets him is also of the red hair persuasion, hers being akin to that of freshly spilt blood, long, and wildly curly.]

You're quite far from Arda, I'm afraid, sir.

[castintoflames]

(His hair is more like copper, though there are darker tones - as well as hints of gold - in it. He tucks some loose strands behind a scarred ear, frowning faintly.)

How do you know of Arda?

[child_of_bhaal]

Two of my very good friends are from there. Perhaps you know them: Finrod and Maglor?

video

[faithfulwisdom]

[This is... alarming. Maglor arrived worn and weary- as if beaten and battered by time itself. Maedhros has a look about him that harkens back to Fëanor at the end- as if his eyes might ignite the rest of him and he, too, might burn until naught but ashes remain.

He leans forward, speaking calmly and quietly into the comm.]

Here, cousin, the dead do not seem to remain dead.

video

[castintoflames]

(Finrod has made a keen observation. Maedhros has burned - not from within like his father - but perhaps that was only a matter of time. Perhaps he felt those flames licking at him and he decided to find a quicker end. He cannot, even now, say for sure.

The flinch Finrod's voice causes cannot be hidden. His emotions are too raw.)

How cruel. There are those who, when they die, are not missed.

[castintoflames]

Finrod is my cousin and Maglor is my brother. Are they...well? (He cares for both, yet his worry lies more with Maglor.)

[child_of_bhaal]

Quite well! Maglor even more so with one of his brothers here. Are you the elder, or one of the younger?

[She's doing this on purpose; flooding him with good will and positivity. Because he's wearing unhappiness like a shirt. A wet shirt, that clings to him, weighs him down.]

video

[bythewaves]

Maglor's been busy soundproofing his room, so he doesn't notice when he bumps his communicator. But he knows the voice that he hears, and the tune he was humming modulates, down into a low lament to the ghosts he thinks he hears.

"O brother, my brother, where have you gone?/Your flame burnt out to ashes/So bright you were, so warm/We pressed close and warmed ourselves in your fire/But when turn you are all gone/The fire is ashes and the world cold/But I still hear your voice in the embers"

video

[castintoflames]

Kano? (He almost doesn't believe his eyes and ears. Yet that voice is unmistakable. It resonates in his heart and his soul. The brother I left behind.) Kano, look at me. I am whole. Tell me you are too.

[castintoflames]

Do not speak prematurely. (Maglor may not be so glad to see him - and Maedhros cannot blame him.) I am the eldest.

video

[bythewaves]

"No." He says sadly, hands falling still. "You are always gone when I look. Can I not pretend you are here a little while longer?"

video

[castintoflames]

I have fallen into the flames and I have burned. I have left my brother behind. I cannot for a moment say I deserve your notice, but give it to me nonetheless.

[child_of_bhaal]

Ah that makes you... wait, I remember it. I always remember stories, even if I was drinking when I heard it.

[Just give her a moment. She'll remember.]

Maitimo. That's it! He spoke with great affection about you. He called you bold, with a leader's quality. And said also you are his rock, and that when he was little you would sing him lullabies.

[castintoflames]

(His frowns, face scarred and pale. His wariness comes from a very dark place and he finds it difficult to believe that Maglor speaks of him at all - much less that he speaks well of him.)

He must not know. Perhaps that is best - kindest. (But how will he hide his guilt?) We hail from a big family. He and I are all that is left.

[child_of_bhaal]

I don't wish to distress you, but I'm certain he knows.

[He spoke of being left dead, so it is not hard to guess at what he meant.]

I simple must say so, because he has indeed spoken highly of you, and has clearly missed you.

[She chuckles softly.]

Even if you hadn't told me, I think I might have guessed at a relation between you two. You both highly underestimate your worth.

[castintoflames]

(Then she knows too. Maedhros feels ashamed. Dirty and cursed. He should be accustomed to such by now, but he's not. He never will be.)

Then he is kinder than he need ever be. (His nose wrinkles and he looks at her, confused.) My worth is nonexistent, lady. I am a murderer and a coward. What could be worse?

[child_of_bhaal]

[She actually knows less than you think, Mae. She only knows you died and are loved.

Oh and all of it is really your father's fault. :c

And really, that is all she needs to know. He is loved by Maglor, and so he must be Good.]

You judge yourself too harshly, sir. You both do.

[castintoflames]

(It's still a stain on his reputation - and on Maglor. The latter matters far more to him.)

He deserves a second chance. I will see he has it even if I must do so from the shadows.

[child_of_bhaal]

Everyone deserves second chances. So you may as well stay out in the light, with everyone else, and have yours too.

[Whether you want to or not. As if she wouldn't out him to Maglor in an instant. Foolishness and pride, that's ask this is.]

[castintoflames]

Most do, yes. Not all. (He is stubbornly immobile on that point.) I know you mean well and I thank you for befriending my brother, but our past is not for your ears.

[child_of_bhaal]

There's plenty of friendship to go around.

[Yeah, she's not going anywhere.]

My name is Syeira.

Re: video

[bythewaves]

He flinches with a low cry at the force of a command he cannot (will not) refuse, obeying instantly with knowing heartbreak in his eyes when he does not immediately see Maedhros there with him.

"And now you are not here, you see? Every tim..."

He pauses, and blinks at the communicator. His next words ripple with painful hope.

"Nelyo...?"

video

[castintoflames]

(He hates - to his very core - to see Maglor looking so lost; so confused. His nails dig into his palm as he waits for his brother to look in the proper place.)

Kano, I'm not in your head. I'm alive and I want to see you if you will allow it - ?

(It is a selfish request and Maedhros knows it might awaken demons better left slumbering. But he will brace himself for Maglor's pain and anger. He has earned all of it.)