For the first time in ages, all of the children of Finarfin gathered together for a night of feasting and talking and merriment. The excitement of being together again kept them up all night and into the morning. It was only after Amarië had herded them into the kitchen for pancakes and eggs that they realized the time and made plans for another meeting as soon as possible.

They laughed and joked their way to the door, but upon opening it, became collectively deathly silent.

Angrod was the first to speak. “Obviously the Valar still hate us.”

“They never hated us,” disputed Aegnor. “They just... they have a very warped sense of humor.”

“Warped sense of humor? This is downright sadistic,” Orodreth decided.

Finrod simply stared out across the lawn. Galadriel, tall and yet not as tall as her brothers, gently touched Aegnor on the shoulder in order to get him to move aside. As the view became unobstructed, she cringed. “Oh, my,” she said to herself. She stepped back behind Finrod and asked, “Is there another way out?”

The quintet shuffled away from the door, closed it, and proceeded to the back of Finrod’s residence. He settled his hand on the knob, and after a moment, yanked it open in hopes of surprising whatever it was into not being there.

Instead, they found that this way was worse. Not only was the grass covered in a sheet of ice, but the back stoop was as well.

“I guess we should count ourselves lucky that there is earth beneath the ice and not water,” Orodreth finally remarked. “Surely, it will not move if we step on it.”

“Are you volunteering?” asked Angrod.

Orodreth stared out over the glassy surface. “Not really. I was terrible on ice. You, on the other hand, have an innate grace about you.”

“Normally idle flattery would be enough to stroke my ego, but in this case I am content to stay in the wake of you and Finrod.”

“How did I get elected?” questioned Finrod.

“You are the eldest,” Angrod reminded him.

“And the tallest,” Finrod argued. “For me, it is a longer, harder fall! Besides,” he added, as more a reminded to himself, “I live here! I have no reason to leave!”

Galadriel had maneuvered her way around her brothers again, and was testing the ice with one foot. “It does not seem too slipper---whoa!” Her foot hit a particularly smooth patch and would have caused her to slide off of the stoop had she not had four very concerned brothers grab her arms and steady her. She was immediately back inside of the house.

“We could get a couple of branches, sharpen the ends, and use them steady our way across,” suggested Aegnor.

“Or, we could just wait for spring,” Orodreth said.

“I vote for spring,” agreed Angrod quickly.

“Spring,” said Galadriel with a nod.

Aegnor looked slightly hurt that his idea was not chosen, but he turned to his eldest brother and asked, “What is Amarië making for lunch?” as Finrod shut the door.