23

[wolfuncaged]

[Well, Fenris has been avoiding people and their offspring all week, and now the blighted things are gone, people are moping. And it's annoying. So, standing in his usual spot n the lobby, he begins to talk into the journal]

I understand that there were doors, leading to a children's bedroom in which you were expected to deliver your offspring this year. But did none of you attempt to keep them? Everyone speaks of how sad it is that they are gone for another year, and how they hope the children are happy and safe, but have any of you done anything to assure this?

Could you not have stayed within the room? Taken the children to the Dead Zone where magic is not an issue? What is the point of mourning if you are not at least willing to try. If it were my own child, I would stop at nothing to keep them safe and away from the games this world enjoys to play.

Comments

[shipper_on_deck]

Or you know, toss them in, barricade the door, and make damn sure they don't come back out.

[inafadingcrown]

[Ouch, Fenris, ouch. There's a long pause before she answers and when she does her voice is quiet, almost small.]

It is not so simple.

[foolreversed]

...Shut the hell up.

[huntersdaughter]

I've had the same child for three years now and the first year I actually watched her just vanish from in front of me. If they have lives out there worth living, why would I want to keep her trapped here with me?

It's dangerous here.

[wolfuncaged]

[He's just going to assume she's agreeing with him]

Exactly. There has to be some ways to beat this world at its own game.

[wolfuncaged]

[Oh...Galadriel sounds sad. He has a moment of almost regretting his words]

...How is that so?

[wolfuncaged]

If you prefer to not listen to me, you can close the journal.

[wolfuncaged]

What if it is dangerous where the children are, also?

[huntersdaughter]

From what I saw, I don't think it's really our choice to make for them. They have parents on that side, too. We have them for one week out of a year. As cynical as it makes me sound... we borrow them, it's not the other way around.

[inafadingcrown]

What manner of life is it for a child here? They will not grow, will be exposed to all the dangers we ourselves face.

And what of what we found in those rooms? If we are to take things as they seem, the children are cared for by parents of their own. Am I to take a child from his true mother and father for my own satisfaction?

This is the second year I have seen Finrod. He was returned to me happy and healthy. I cannot guarantee that for him here.

[wolfuncaged]

The world in which they are sent could be just as dangerous. And if they recognise you are their parent, how can anyone be sure the ones beyond the door are their true parents?

[wolfuncaged]

Did anyone see these other parents?

[huntersdaughter]

[Her mouth forms a tight line as she takes in a breath. She's been through this three times now and this was the easiest it's ever been for her, but she doesn't like the direction this is going.]

I didn't, no.

[inafadingcrown]

We cannot, I suppose, though it is the logical inference.

It seemed to me that he stood a greater chance for a life elsewhere. I wish more for him than I can give him here. [Oh. Saying it like that is bring back all her feelings about Celebrían.]

You do not have children of your own, so you may not yet understand: a great deal of being a parent is making choices as best you can with less knowledge than you would wish.

You may doubt my judgement, but do not doubt my love for my children.

[whatialways_do]

[Max debates responding to this for a ... good long time, but eventually she just spits it out.]

All worlds are dangerous. All worlds have some kind of problem.

But she belonged there. I didn't.

[wolfuncaged]

[Oh damn, he really has upset her. And unlike...the majority of people he sees in his day to day existence, Galadriel is someone he actually cares about. So his reply is a little sheepish now]

I apologise. I did not mean to cause you grief. No, I do not know what it is like to have a child, or to even be one. I simply do not trust this world, and the things it offers us.

[wolfuncaged]

Then how are we to know if they even exist?

[shipper_on_deck]

I never knew you were this impassioned about children, Fenris.

[wolfuncaged]

People seem to blindly believe the children belonged to that place. But there were no living parents within that room. The children could have been left to anything.

[whatialways_do]

They were there. And maybe we did.

[she doesn't really want to explain how she knows because it isn't really much more than instinct, an enhanced sense of smell and intuition, all of which can be fooled by magic, but she had to trust something.]

I've been here almost three years, she's come back to me three times. Every time she's been happy, healthy -- she's been a kid.

[she's not sure if that will make sense to him, but she doesn't really know how to put it into words otherwise]

At some point, even with this place's crazy reputation, you have to trust something.

[inafadingcrown]

I know. [She takes a moment to gather herself.] And I trust it little more than you, generally. I may only say that I sensed nothing amiss and I am not easily fooled.

[And then a little bit later.] Forgive me. The events of this week have not improved my nerves, nor my temperament.

[foolreversed]

Oh boy, the prime douchebag defense! Nice. [he knows it because he's used it plenty]

Yes, that's a very good response when you're intentionally saying something that'll piss people off. Hey you know what else is funny? If you don't like the way people are acting you could've just done this magical thing called "keeping your mouth shut!"

Yeah, I could close the journal. But you could also not be an asshole in the first place!

[wolfuncaged]

Just because I have none of my own does not mean I do not care. They were used just as much as adults in Tevinter.

[wolfuncaged]

I truly hope you were right about that.

No. You have a right to be upset. The castle took away a child you have bonded with. It is not fair.

[wolfuncaged]

I was merely voicing my opinion on a matter. It is a freedom I have not always been given, and I will not temper it for anyone, especially someone I do not know.