“You son of a-“
“M’lord?” Orophin ran to the doorway, having been in another room when he heard the cry of surprise from his brother and the angry words of his commanding officer. In the doorway, Glorfindel had a hold of Haldir by the front of his shirt, and had elevated him off the ground. “General Glorfindel, please do not harm my brother,” begged the soldier, trying to come between the two.
With an angry snort, Glorfindel set Haldir back on his feet, shaken but unharmed. “Where are they?” he sneered. “What did you do with them?”
“What? What are you talking about?” Haldir took a few steps back before speaking. “I do not know what it is you are referring to.”
“You know damned well what it is that I am referring to. Erestor’s cats. Where are they, and what did you do to them?”
“Erestor’s cats? You think I would have something to do with his cats?”
“You’ve been nothing but trouble here, Haldir. Who else am I to suspect?” accused Glorfindel.
Looking completely unamused now, Haldir plopped down in an old chair that had rips and tears on the arms and back. “I had no idea he had any cats, and even if I had, I would have no reason to harm them. Maybe they just ran away because they were tired of being stepped on by a blind old elf.”
Glorfindel stayed himself from lunging at the throat of the ellon who sat smugly across the room. “Mark my words, Haldir. If I find out it was you...” His fist was raised and clenched tightly, but then Glorfindel waved his hand at the elf. “Pah, you’re not worth my time. You had just better be telling the truth.”
“You can go now,” said Haldir, and he made a dismissive gesture. Glorfindel clenched his fists at his sides and turned, leaving the quarters with angry steps. Orophin followed him out, shutting the door.
“Lord Glorfindel, my apologies for my brother,” he said, and Glorfindel shook his head. “Please, hear me out. He has been having a tough time of things.” Glancing to the door, he motioned for Glorfindel to follow him some ways from it. “M’lord, he has been harboring a secret, and I must ask you keep it as such.”
“Go on, Orophin. I will not betray your trust,” Glorfindel assured him.
“Near a year ago, when we were on a patrol, he was badly injured. Took a nasty blow to the head.”
“I recall that,” said Glorfindel.
“Well, he has been having problems since then. His hearing on the right side goes in and out, and he loses his balance from time to time. Lord Elrond keeps telling him that it is a matter of time, he needs to allow himself to heal. He suggested strongly for him to take a leave, but my brother is stubborn.” Orophin sighed. “He looks at Erestor, and he thinks, that could be him. He fears he may go deaf or something, and he says he does not know what he would do if he could not be a soldier. ‘Tis all he knows how to do. These last few weeks have been exceptionally bad- the morning of the incident outside, he came home to find his own pet cat mewling in pain. When Lord Elrond came to see her, he said there was nothing he could do. She had stopped taking food and water- Haldir was trying everything to save her. Rumil finally convinced him to ease her suffering, and after she died in Haldir’s arms he buried her. He was just a wreck, and he was so angry. He saw you and Erestor, who had been the reason he had been on the borders again and away from Scribbles- ahm, that was the cat’s name- for so long, he was blaming his not being there for the reason she died, the two of you look so happy together- Haldir just... I think this time off, this leave and his time away from his duties, I think this is a good thing for him.”
Cursing himself mentally for not seeing a problem sooner, for not forcing Haldir to take leave at an earlier time and perhaps avoid what had happened, Glorfindel nodded in the direction of Haldir’s quarters. “You should probably go back. I apologize for interrupting.”
Orophin nodded. “I know Haldir did nothing to Erestor’s cats and I do hope you find them. I do not think he ever meant to do anything to Erestor, either. Sometimes... you just take your anger out on the nearest elf. Sometimes, you say things you really do not mean to say, speaking before you think. That is what happened with Haldir.”
Thinking back to a very recent incident where he had done something similar, putting his foot in his mouth the day he had met Erestor, Glorfindel nodded in agreement. “I wish things could have been different.”
“So do I. Good night, General. And congratulations on your promotion.”
“Thank you, but please, you’ve transferred now- ‘tis just Glorfindel now. Good evening, Orophin.” He began to walk away, but then turned and said, “And Orophin- please give my regards to your wife.”
“Ah, Lineth mentioned something about dinner- are you and Erestor free tomorrow evening? If you, I wish to extend you an invitation to supper,” added Orophin.
“I believe that we are,” Glorfindel said. “And thank you, on behalf of Erestor and myself, we accept. And now, if you will excuse me, I need to find a pair of wayward cats.”
- - -
“I thought I told you to stay in your room.”
“I would have, except that I was called upon to find another wandering pair.” Erestor was sitting in the kitchen with Elrohir on his lap. In Elrohir’s lap was a small, butterscotch colored kitten. “By the way, the cats have been found.”
“Isn’t that a little small to be Charisma?” asked Glorfindel, pointing to the puffball of fur, its eyes closed and ears folded back against its head.
“Too small, and wrong gender,” Celebrian announced. She was on the floor, with Elladan in her lap, another ball of fluff resting in his cupped hands. Nearby, Elrond smiled, hunched over something that was hidden in the corner, beside one of the large baking ovens. “Congratulations, Glorfindel, I do believe you’re a grandparent.”
Charisma stalked out from around Elrond, marched himself up to Glorfindel, and preened. “Rascal, and here you had me all worried.” Glorfindel bent down and scratched the proud little papa behind his ears.
“Six kittens total,” said Elrond, and he had one himself in his hand, petting its tiny head as it dozed off. “Three orange, two calico, and one... that’s just something else entirely.” Holding out his hand, it looked to Glorfindel as if Eru had spilled his paint box over this kitten. White fur had splotches of color here and again, some orange and some multicolored, and one foot was all black.
“He has finesse,” joked Glorfindel, carefully taking the kitten from Elrond.
“Yes. She does,” agreed Elrond.
“Oh, my apologies, my lady,” replied Glorfindel, but the kitten remained fast asleep, snuggling against the warmth of his hand. Legolas stood in the kitchen as well, but far from the kittens. “Care to hold her for a moment?” Glorfindel asked.
Legolas shook his head with a smile. “Oh, no. I get far too attached to them. All I would need do is pick one up, and I would end up bringing it home with me.”
“Can we bring one home, Ada?” asked Elladan. Elrohir, who had been nuzzling his kitten to his nose, stopped to listen to their father’s answer.
“That is going to be Erestor’s decision, ion.” Elrond took the kitten back from Glorfindel and placed her back with her mother. “For now, it is bedtime- and my children, you must not wander off as you did! How were we to know where you had gone to? You might have been hurt, and we would not have known.” Elrond moved the kittens his sons had been holding back to the hidden nest and then as Celebrian picked up Elrohir, he lifted Elladan up into his arms. “Say good night, boys.”
After the twins had been taken to their rooms, Glorfindel and Erestor, along with Legolas, remained in the kitchen. The pair sat on the floor by the oven trying to decide whether to move the mother and her newborns back to Erestor’s rooms or not while Legolas peered at the kittens from a safe distance.
“Legolas, come sit with us,” said Glorfindel after he and Erestor had decided to spend the night in the kitchen.
Charisma was happily rubbing against anyone who would allow it, or anything for that matter as well. He was winding his way around the prince’s legs as Legolas asked, “Are you going to keep them all?”
“Much as I would like to,” replied Erestor, “this is not the first litter these two have had, and it will not likely be the last. I only wish they had gone into my closet as they have before,” he said, playfully scolding his pets. “I think we should keep one.” He nudged Glorfindel. “You should have a cat.”
“Oh, I should, should I?” Glorfindel’s eyes fell immediately upon the mismatched kitten that was snuggled under her mother’s chin. “I want the odd duck, then. I think, unless Elrond or Celebrian object, we should offer each of the twins one of them.”
“How is that, Legolas? We have half of them adopted already,” Erestor said.
“Still not enough,” laughed Legolas. “Tell me when you find homes for the other three. I must take my leave now and I bid you a good night.”
Leaving only Glorfindel and Erestor in the kitchen, the two of them curled up together, with Erestor sitting between Glorfindel’s legs and leaning back against his chest, and Glorfindel keeping his arms wrapped around his lover’s waist. In the early hours they managed short bits of reverie now and again until the sunlight glazed the kitchen and kept them from drifting off. Nuzzling Erestor’s neck, Glorfindel looked up and caught a glimpse of the new day, the rising sun peering over the mountains of the valley. “The sunrise is glorious this morning.” His comment was one made unconsciously, and he let his head fall back against the wall with a groan as he realized what he had said.
But Erestor did not seem sad or angry. Instead, he snuggled closer and said, “Tell me about it. I’ve seen sunrises before; describe this one to me.”
Glorfindel raised his head and looked out the window. “Anor is rising up over the mountains, casting a fiery glow upon them. Her rays are reaching across the sky, hitting the lingering evening clouds and giving them a touch of red. There is a haze of orange over the mountains, outlining them, and the last of the flocks of geese are flying southward past the sun.”
“I can see it,” said Erestor, a smile on his face. “I think it to be the most beautiful sunrise ever I have seen. Thank you, my love.”
Glorfindel had no words, and he simply held Erestor close as they both, in their own way, watched the sun rise.
