#as far as i can tell haldir is the only name tolkien used 3 times

[lendmyboyfriendahand]

Tehhumi’s W.N.I.P.s: Amras/Haldir

I am posting some things over the next little bit that I have stalled out on or not touched in months as Works Not In Progress. (I got the idea from copperbadge’s annual “works no longer in progress”.) These are things that are not quite complete or do not have good formatting, and I may end up coming back to polish someday, but for now they just are as they are. I like the ideas though, s I’m sharing what I’ve got.

This one is Amras/Haldir, from a prompt that was never actually called in Back to Middle Earth Month back in March.

i.

Amras walked in from a visit to Hithlum. “I’m not going back there, send someone else next time.”

Maedhros: ‘Who did you annoy so badly?”

Amras: “Actually, it’s your fault.”

Maedhros: “How is it my fault?”

Amras: “You and Fingon are providing a bad example for the next generation.”

Celegorm had been in the next room. “Oh this, I have to hear. What’s the trend in court? Tormented duets? Tying yourself to buildings? Knifeplay?”

Maedhros: “Must you?”

Celegorm: “You won’t let me go to Hithlum, I have to get all my news second hand. And you can’t help with that,” he nodded to Maedhros’s prosthetic, “So I have to ask Amras.”

Amras: “It’s not a trend, so much as an ideal romantic partner.”

Celegorm: “And no one would give you a second glance if you didn’t tie golden ribbons in your hair. Do you suppose I could pull off the reverse? I think black streaks would look very fetching on me.”

Amras was not going to let Celegorm’s ridiculous comments get in the way of a good complaining session. “The new fascination is redheads who’ve been through a terrible personal tragedy, and only your love can help them recover. Especially if the redhead is a relative who your father disapproves of.”

Maedhros was unable to comment for a minute. “That seems oddly specific.”

Amras: “Maybe people settle for two out of three when I’m not there. As it was, I had to fend off potential suitors every time I wanted a drink.”

Celegorm winked. “That doesn't sound so bad.”

Amras: “Most of them had enough tact not to bring up Amrod in the first sentence, but only most.”

Celegorm: “Sorry.”

Amras: “By the end of the first week I stayed in the palace as much as possible, but unless I wanted to drink in my rooms I still had to deal with them.”

Maedhros: “You could’ve asked for a dinner with just family.” 

Amras: “I did, but I couldn’t get narrower than ‘house of Finwe’.”

Maedhros: “And?”

Amras: “Orodreth was visiting from Tol Sirion, and his son idolizes Fingon more than anyone else.”

Celegorm: “What’s his name again - Halon, Halmir, Halfin? Is he even old enough to court?”

Amras: “Haldir is fifty-five, and certain that since Arafinwe married at fifty, he’s old enough to do whatever he likes. He sat next to me at every meal, and kept saying he would be there if I ever need someone to listen.”

Maedhros: “It might help you to talk about it.”

Amras: “Not to a child who never met Father, never saw the Trees, never met Amrod, and is spending the whole time thinking about kissing me!”

Maedhros: “Of course not, but with someone. I find helping other Angband escapees get settled helped me a lot.”

Amras: “Tell you what, I’ll talk with Turgon next time I see him. We can discuss Feanor burning the boats and killing the most important person in our lives, and how we feel guilty because it was our decision to leave Aman in the first place.”

Celegorm: “If you put it like that he’ll punch you.”

Amras: “No he won’t. He was acting the responsible leader of his people last time anyone saw him, that doesn’t allow punching annoying cousins.”

Maedhros: “Last time anyone saw him was forty years ago.”

Amras: “Then I suppose I’ll have to wait a while on the soul-baring emotional discussions. I’m serious about not going to Hithlum though.”

Maedhros: “Alright, I’ll do the visits for the next decade or two.”

Ii. (Haldir so of Halmir) 

Amras attended a lot of meetings leading up to the battle Maedhros and Fingon were planning. After all, Amon Ereb is where the best horses were bred, and rebuilding the Noldorin cavalry after the fires of Lothlann was vital. But Maglor was the one who commanded the cavalry, so generally Amras would only be need for an hour or so at a time.

He had been told in very clear terms to leave intra-Noldor diplomacy to Maedhros, he went instead to the area of the city where the Men dwelt. Elves were not a rare sight in Hithlum. After a few days, he found the pub where many of the sons of chieftains, lords of a few dozen soldiers, and other such people spent time. They either had important specialist knowledge, or were there to show their people’s seriousness, but like him were not needed for most of the tactical planning. 

Amras sat down next to a dark haired man who, while nowhere near old age, was no longer a youth. “Does this place have good ale, or should I ask for wine first to dull the taste?” Amras asked in Taliska, aware of his accent but figuring it was worth the effort to try and be friendly.

“I find the ale thoroughly satisfactory, but my taste may be less refined than yours.” The man’s speech was, surprisingly, accented as well.

Amras shrugged. “If you say it’s good, I guarantee I’ve had worse. It’s mostly when people spend hours extolling an ale’s praise that I start to worry.” He flagged down the bartender for a pint.

“Literal hours?”

“My brother writes songs, and a friend of his decided to start brewing ale. He wasn’t very good at it, but there were a dozen distinct flavors in every swallow, and my brother sang a dozen verses for each of them. It was mostly to get out of a bet I think, neither admitting the drink tasted like horse piss.”

iii. 

Haldir of Lothlorien arrives in Valinor. There’s a party. he meets cute guy. They flirt for a bit, are somewhere semi-private like gardens when they meet. Amras says ‘so hot stuff, what do they call you?’

Haldir: “My name’s Haldir, of Lothlorien.”

Amras: “Seriously?”

Haldir, confused: “yes?”

Amras: “Artanis put you up to this, didn’t she?”

Haldir: “What?”

Amras: “Lady Galadriel of the golden wood or whatever she’s calling herself these days, did she put you up to it? You’d think she’d have better things to do than make fun of me for gossip that’s nearly fifty yeni old.”

Haldir: “First off, Lady Galadriel didn’t put me up to anything. Secondly, I thought you said you were around 2000?”

Amras, awkward: “Ah, sorry. I was counting years-lived rather than years-since-born.”

Haldir: “You spent four thousand years dead? How many times did you get killed that it took so long?”

Amras, defensive: “More like five thousand, but I just died the once. Lord Namo took a while to release me.”

Haldir: What the fuck did you do to get stuck there so long? “Glorfindel says even the traitor of Gondolin was alive before he returned to Middle Earth.”

Amras: “Well, Maeglin was tortured into it after all, and only doomed by descent. I was Doomed in person and specifically, and probably as many dead are on my name as his.”

Haldir: WTF?!

Amras: calm down

Haldir: “So, why did they let you out?”

Amras: “Something about Sauron’s theft of the last corrupted work of my family - I think it was a dwarven ring. The evil end foretold for our good beginnings was now complete, and the Doom fulfilled.”

Haldir: “So now all of you are just free to wander around Valinor?”

Amras shrugs: “More or less. My father’s still not out, and most of the Sindar kings have banned us from their cities. But there’s a lot of Valinor that’s wild, and no one’s stopping us Feanorians there.”