(Video)

[castintoflames]

(He awakens from his meditation with a sharp gasp. There is darkness around him - no oddity in an unlit library aisle - but he sees something sinister; something beyond the tomes surrounding him.)

Since when have those lands been recorded? Do not write of them! Do not let them gain a foothold!

(Books are knocked askew as he rises in a flurry to his feet.)

I cannot hear you. I cannot. I will not! (Is that the sound of a chain dragging along the floor? Or is that his imagination?) You will not hold me fast!

Comments

[castintoflames]

(His ears twitch at the sound of impact.) Where is your Light? My Kano is unmistakable.

(He gropes for a shelf and touches the books with trembling fingers.)

...the beasts of Morgoth have no need for books. You speak the truth.

[seawanderer]

[Oddly enough, Maglor has no trouble seeing and avoiding things. He's not even thought to try and make himself glow a little.] You were dreaming, brother, and your sight has yet to clear.

Why would I lie to you?

[castintoflames]

(With each word, the books, the shelves, the aisle come into better focus. His other senses are telling him that this is no trick for he can smell the pages and the leather of aged tomes. Shakily, he turns from the shelf and focuses on Maglor; the sight of his brother looking so strained and so pale sends his heart plummeting.)

It felt so real... I thought you meant to bind me.

[seawanderer]

[He pulls his cloak a little tighter around him, staring up at Maedhros miserably.]

...You promised you'd never leave me again. That is the only binding I would place on you.

[castintoflames]

(Maedhros grits his teeth and grabs the front of Maglor's robes. He drags the smaller Elf into a tight embrace.)

That is no binding; that is a gift freely given. I am sorry for mistaking you for the Enemy.

[seawanderer]

[He flinches, but doesn't struggle, only hesitantly leaning into the embrace.]

...Maybe I am the Enemy and you don't realize it.

[castintoflames]

(The gentle scent - mixed with a hint of the sea - does not lie. He smiles without humor.)

You would smell of fire...of ashes...

Not the sea.

[seawanderer]

[But also of the forest. There's a scent of something wild that Maedhros might also catch.]

Then another. [Stubborn.]

[castintoflames]

(He turns his face to inhale the scents deeper, analyzing them. What clings to his brother; what marks his travels on his skin and his clothes and his hair?)

No other. I remember... We are the shepherds of books.

[seawanderer]

[Maglor shudders and finally wraps his arms around his brother, holding on tight as he burrows against him.]

That's right. Hold onto those memories- hold onto me!

[castintoflames]

(He sags into the hold, his racing heart calming to a gentler pace. Cold sweat has broken out on his skin and his hand shakes as he holds onto Maglor.)

Where have you been, brother? Where did you travel without me?

[seawanderer]

[How to answer, when he's barely holding it together himself? So many dark memories...but is the question for the present, not the past?]

I went to check a book that felt...off...

[castintoflames]

(His brow furrows and he pulls back, gazing questioningly into Maglor's eyes.)

Off...?

What of before?