Late morning - Stables

[thinkbetterofme.livejournal.com]

The weather did not suit to spend the entire morning outside, so Faramir had settled himself on a stack of fresh hay in Baru's box. The horse did not seem to mind the company, and Faramir enjoy the quiet in the stables. It led to lesser distractions as he read through one of the books his brother had sent him. This one told the history of the Kin-strife and while Faramir already knew much of it, there were things in the book that he had not heard of before.

And yet, while the book was fascinating (at least to him), Faramir found himself humming to a tune he did not know. Neither were the words that came to him. "Did I disappoint you? Or leave a bad taste in your mouth? You act like you never had love. And you want me to go without. Well it's too late, tonight. To drag the past out into the light. We're one, but we're not the same. We get to. Carry each other. Carry each other."

It was rather depressing.

[Open as stables are. He really does not mind distractions, honestly.]

Comments

[swordsandsoccer.livejournal.com]

To say that Dolf hadn't expected to wake up singing something straight out of Acda & de Munnik's back catalogue would be a slight understatement.

Once he realised that it wasn't going to stop, he'd decided that it would probably be a good idea to be somewhere where people weren't, right now, and for some reason the stables had seemed like a good idea.

So, to recap: Dolf, stable doors, right now, staring.

[thinkbetterofme.livejournal.com]

And Faramir had not been expecting the company so he was still singing.

"Did I ask too much
More than a lot
You gave me nothing
Now it's all I got
We're-"

That would be when he noticed someone was staring at him and Faramir quickly shut up. "Dolf."

[swordsandsoccer.livejournal.com]

"Faramir," Dolf said, holding up one hand for-- well, it wasn't a wave, more a sort of quick ripple-wave his fingers made as he awkwardly said hello. "I didn't know you'd be here."

[thinkbetterofme.livejournal.com]

It was only polite to return the greeting with a held up hand.

They could pretend he was not singing a moment ago, yes? Not that he thought there was much wrong with songs, but he usually preferred to stick to the Elvish songs.

"Baru likes the company," he explained. "How have you been?"

[swordsandsoccer.livejournal.com]

Dolf was more than happy to pretend! But now he was also worried he'd burst into song himself instead, and whether it'd be songs from his homeland or songs from the international top 40, it'd all be fairly embarrassing.

"Okay," he said, slipping into the stables because he couldn't exactly turn and leave now. "I thought things were going pretty normal." Then singing happened. "You?"

[thinkbetterofme.livejournal.com]

Perhaps, but Faramir could not tell the difference between either songs.

"I am well," he said, closing the book in his lap. "A little worried to see what the weekend might bring. I spent the whole night chasing the soldiers in town last time. I would rather just get a good night's rest."

[swordsandsoccer.livejournal.com]

"...You were chasing soldiers in town?"

Dolf, who had been trying to edge towards a corner of the stables that was, at least, a respectable distance away from Faramir, came to a sudden stop. "...What?"

[thinkbetterofme.livejournal.com]

Faramir chuckled at his expression. "You must have seen them already, the soldiers in white armour? For some reason I had decided that something was wrong about their weapons and the person I was at the time found it his duty to keep watch."

He shook his head. "I was not the only one affected. Maladicta said she was a prince named Dastan that night."

[swordsandsoccer.livejournal.com]

And poor Dolf hadn't had a single clue as to what happened that night, because he didn't listen to radio regularily. He hadn't gone out for Halloween because the whole thing had made him feel lightly ridiculous, he had absolutely no idea what he was actually expected to do, and. Well.

So this was him trying to parse Faramir's story while trying to swallow back the urge to open his mouth and sing... something. "I've seen the soldiers," he said. "I didn't know people were thinking they were other people, though!"

[thinkbetterofme.livejournal.com]

"You are lucky then," Faramir decided. "It is strange knowing that for even a night I forgot who I am. I almost prefer looking different to it. At least I knew who I was when I was a girl."

[swordsandsoccer.livejournal.com]

Dolf shivered involuntarily. "It sounds worrying," he agreed. "What if you had gotten hurt, or hurt someone else?"

[thinkbetterofme.livejournal.com]

Maladicta had ridden a dragon, so the concern was not unfounded.

"I do not know, I would hope that the person I was would have had a present enough mind to take the necessary actions," he said. "It is hard to control when you have no way to intervene."

[swordsandsoccer.livejournal.com]

Yes, and that was the scary part.

"I don't feel like I used to feel," Dolf replied; it took him until halfway into the line to realise his voice had taken on a lyrical quality again. Considering the nature of what they were talking about, that was more than a little scary, itself. "I force myself to see, that sometimes it's better to let it be-- To let these days go by."

[thinkbetterofme.livejournal.com]

Faramir did not think there was much wrong with singing, it was simply that it was Dolf singing. So far, Faramir had not been under the impression that people shared many songs here and so it was his turn to stare.

Neither did he know if he should comment or let Dolf finish his song. He would not wish to interrupt after all if Dolf really wished to sing. He could not help looking somewhat worried, however.

[swordsandsoccer.livejournal.com]

"Hide myself from sorrow, tryin' to see it all-- Things that really matter slide right through me here. Tryin' my best to see it, tryin' the best--"

Dolf clamped both of his hands over his mouth and looked incredibly embarrassed.

[thinkbetterofme.livejournal.com]

That was a sure enough sign that the singing had not been voluntarily, at least.

"Perhaps we needn't wait for the weekend after all," he remarked, even if he did not understand how this worked.

[swordsandsoccer.livejournal.com]

Dolf, with his hands still clamped over his mouth, shook his head. Was the island really trying to make him feel horrible?

[thinkbetterofme.livejournal.com]

"There's a bag of apples in the corner," Faramir motioned towards it. "They are for Baru, but they are good enough to eat. Perhaps if you..."

He did not know. The desire to sing seemed to have passed with him, but perhaps he should grab an apple as well, keep his mouth busy with something else.

[swordsandsoccer.livejournal.com]

Whatever it was, Dolf was intensely grateful. He dashed for the apples and snagged one, shoving it in his mouth. (Now I look a little like a roast pig, he thought, in a strange moment of reflection.)

His head bobbed up and down in a nod, and he tried to project gratefulness.

[thinkbetterofme.livejournal.com]

Faramir looked amused for a moment, but he leaned back, considering his options.

"If we must sing, then perhaps a song of our own choosing would be better," he decided. He was either wishing to avoid picking up the song he had been singing earlier or wishing to relief some of Dolf's embarrassment as he picked up a drinking song.

"Ho! Ho! Ho! to the bottle I go
To heal my heart and drown my woe.
Rain may fall and wind may blow,
And many miles be still to go,
But under a tall tree I will lie,
And let the clouds go sailing by."

[swordsandsoccer.livejournal.com]

Dolf took a big bite of his apple and swallowed it. With embarrassment ebbing away, though, curiosity took hold. "What is that?" he asked. Honestly, Faramir had a good point, though Dolf couldn't spend the whole day singing. The song sounded pretty, though, and he realised he wouldn't mind hearing more.

[thinkbetterofme.livejournal.com]

"A simple drinking song," Faramir said easily, starting to smile. "You learn a quite few when you go drinking with my brother or the rangers of Ithilien."

[swordsandsoccer.livejournal.com]

"Teach me one?" he requested. "I don't want to be ambushed by another song today!"

[thinkbetterofme.livejournal.com]

Faramir chuckled and nodded in agreement. "I can do that, they tend to make more sense when you do have some drink in you but it should work. How about the one I just sang?"

[swordsandsoccer.livejournal.com]

"That one sounds good," Dolf said, nodding maybe a little too eagerly. "How did you start? 'Ho ho ho'?"