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[gondolin_noble]

The air is sweet in the clearing Glorfindel had been using as a campsite, and the birds are singing a bright morning chorus. Asfaloth, grazing peaceably nearby, nickers a greeting as Glorfindel leads Sunshine through the treebranch doorway he'd found by accident.

There is no sign of habitation, human or otherwise - Glorfindel could have dropped them on an empty planet.

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[sunbaked_baker]

Sunshine holds on, listening as they ride. It would feel almost like a fairytale, indeed, with the talk of kings and succession woes. Except... in this place and from this storyteller, it sounds more like a history lesson.

[gondolin_noble]

By the time he reaches the tragic end of the kingdom of Arthedain, and of the revenge enacted by the navies of Gondor, the sun is setting on the western horizon and the air has cooled significantly. Glorfindel shows no sign of halting for the night, however.

[sunbaked_baker]

She rarely interrupts, and then only with the occasional question. Most of the afternoon and into the early evening, Rae is quiet.

Sunshine can only imagine the events Glorfindel describes as happening in this very countryside. It's unsettling to her, though she couldn't say why. It shouldn't be any different than knowing there were local battles during the Voodoo Wars that affected New Arcadia and the surrounding towns. Chesterfield is still Whiteout. No Town is still... well, No Town. Perhaps it's how few people are living in the countryside they're passing through, how few signs that people ever did.

For whatever reason, she isn't surprised that they continue on even as the sun is setting. It's that sort of trip. Her rear went numb long ago, however smoothly Asfaloth runs, but Rae had resolved even before they left the bar that she wouldn't complain. There's no way she's going to break down on the very first day.

However, there's little she can do to help her stomach growling.

[gondolin_noble]

Elves do not giggle, so Rae will simply have to find some other descriptor for what Glorfindel does in response. He does, however, also nudge Asfaloth off the road, beneath the cover of the overarching trees. The horse delicately picks his way between tree roots and upthrust stones, until they reach a clearing partially encircled by a low tumbling stone wall.

"We shall stay here, for the night - and if you wait, I can find what tonight's dinner may be."

[sunbaked_baker]

It certainly sounded a bit giggle-ish. It's possible he was chuckling. Chortling, however, would be far too undignified.

Rae looks around at the clearing and its ruined wall, the lone survivor of whatever building once stood there.

"Guess I'll wait, then." She doesn't say Where else would I go?

[gondolin_noble]

He's used to taking young elflings on training missions when he is going this slow - they, for sure, would be prone to wandering off. Asfaloth kneels, patiently waiting for Sunshine to get off as his master disappears into the trees.

[sunbaked_baker]

Sunshine dismounts, if it can even be called that when the horse is kneeling for her, a little stiffly. She winces - her back feels like she's been using only the bottom oven for a whole day's baking - but smiles ruefully at Asfaloth. For all she knows, her riding was no more enjoyable for him than it was for her. "Thanks for putting up with me."

It's reaching that point where the half-light of dusk gives way to true night, when her Dark Sight stops making her depth perception wonky and actually works right. It still sits ill with her that she now sees better in darkness than she can in daylight, but there's nothing to do about it. The moon isn't up yet, but the stars are already out, casting soft, glimmering shadows from the leaves of the trees.

[gondolin_noble]

He returns shortly, his cloak bundled to carry what he has scavenged to supplement the meal. Usually he would also be hunting, but for now he is respecting her wishes. The glow that usually only she can see is obvious on a dark night such as tonight, a faint gleam as if the starlight was focused over him.

"If you would care to collect deadfall?" Hobbits aren't the only ones who enjoy a well-cooked mushroom, but unlike hobbits, he's not tempted by raw specimens.

[sunbaked_baker]

"No problem," Sunshine nods, moving to begin collecting dry wood for a fire.

She's grateful for the consideration in regards to the food. Rae already knows this trip is going to be full of new experiences. Camping outdoors is already going to be one of them - she doesn't want to add 'ducking behind some bushes to keep from being sick' due to sudden dead animals.

Though part of her knows it's likely that there won't always be edible wild mushrooms; the land doesn't always come with a vegetarian option. That this trip might necessitate a... change in diet is a real possibility, but she'll cross that bridge when she comes to it. For now, she collects firewood.

[gondolin_noble]

Glorfindel smiles, and after a few minutes of rummaging he turns and disappears into the woods again, two heavy leather satchels slung over his shoulder.

Before too long he has returned, the satchels full of cold river-water. After setting them down within the rim of the rock wall, he goes to free Asfaloth from his tack.

[sunbaked_baker]

Sunshine knows enough to know that different sizes of wood pieces are needed for a fire. Smaller ones for when the fire is being built, and larger ones for when it's established. She also knows that dry but not rotten nor green wood is what to go for, though just how you tell if a wood is still green, she has no idea.

She also realizes after a while that she doesn't know how much wood is needed. How long does it take for a good chunk of tree to burn, anyway? Does it depend on the kind of wood? At a loss, Rae stacks the wood she finds near the crumbling wall, in what she feels is a neat pile.

[gondolin_noble]

There's another faint laugh (definitely not a giggle) as he sends Asfaloth to wander as he will. However, he manages to refrain from teasing as he grabs the needed wood to build a small campfire.

[sunbaked_baker]

Sunshine has her arms full when she spots something in a little underbrush-strewn clearing a little ways from the tumble-down wall, so she brings back the wood she's carrying to add it to the pile before going back to get a closer look.

The stack of wood is beginning to look like another low wall, jutting out at an angle from the stone.

"Uh... so, how much wood do we need?"

[gondolin_noble]

"The Rangers who regularly use this site will have cause to thank you - there is no need to gather for months." Glorfindel replies cheerfully as he guards a tiny flickering flame from stray breezes with his hands.

[sunbaked_baker]

Sunshine laughs, adding the last armful to the stack. "Well, that's good to know."

Aside from liking to be useful, the mental image of rangers unknowingly using wood stacked - only slightly haphazardly - by someone from another world amuses her. Just a bit.

"How're we going to cook those?" she asks, nodding towards the gathered mushrooms.

[gondolin_noble]

"In a manner that would cause camp cooks that I know to cry." He refrains from mentioning what the hobbits would do, but he had no desire to haul pots and pans around with him for this last stretch of the journey - his more complete pack is in Imladris. "Fetch some of the smaller, flat rocks from the wall?" He adds, as he encourages the fire to continue burning.

[sunbaked_baker]

"What they don't know hopefully won't hurt them," Rae grins, moving back towards the wall to search for some likely-looking stones.

"I don't know about fixing mushrooms that grow in this world," she offers, wryly, "but I found some wild garlic while I was fetching entirely too much wood, if it might be useful."

It's not like she packed seasonings or anything - though that's not to say she wasn't tempted.

[gondolin_noble]

He promptly stacks the stones near the fire, then encourages the fire over it to warm them.

"If you wish, though you will be tasting it for some time."

[sunbaked_baker]

Sunshine chuckles, coming to settle by the fire. "Eek, and I left my toothbrush in my room at the bar. Maybe it's better to do without the garlic."

Though she does love that recipe for sauteed mushrooms with garlic, one should probably try to avoid garlic-breath on long trips.

[gondolin_noble]

Glorfindel snorts, both because her realization is funny, and because he'll believe humans using more advanced grooming skills when he sees it.

He's been through Rohan and Bree a few too many times, recently.

But soon he has the mushrooms and what root vegetables he could find sizzling away on the hot stones, and while they are a bit plain, at least they're fresh?

[sunbaked_baker]

Part of Sunshine's mind is imagining the next few weeks without a toothbrush. A hairbrush... well, she's gone without before. She'll keep her hair braided - it'll hopefully stay out of her way well enough. But no toothbrush? Toothpaste? Floss? No soap?





No hot water?

Oh gods.

"Those smell good," she remarks casually, seeking to distract herself from visions of unholy grime.

[gondolin_noble]

"The hobbits would say I am underseasoning them, but I only brought the bare essentials on this leg of the journey, being so close to Imladris." Glorfindel shrugs, sprinkling some salt on the vegetables in a sort of hopeful benediction that at least they won't be gruesome.

...

Roast rabbit would be better, but perhaps not the first night.

[sunbaked_baker]

"While I'll have to wait until I taste these to say whether or not I agree," Rae replies. "I've met all of one hobbit, but he did seem to be quite knowledgeable about food."

A hobbit after her own heart, clearly.

[gondolin_noble]

"As far as I can tell, it is a trait of their kind." He shrugs - all five hobbits of his acquaintance had Definite Ideas About Food, and none of them seemed to find that fact abnormal.

...

He may or may not have encouraged all of them to share these Ideas with the cooks of Imladris.

"There, that ought to be... edible." He shrugs, too used to worse camp rations to get too worked up about it. The campfire is casting a warm glow on their little camp, but he stands and steps out of the lit ring, to better check on the stars.

[sunbaked_baker]

"Thank you," she says, accepting the food. Not just for what the food is, but for what it's not.

Rae is very grateful it's not roast rabbit. The mushrooms and vegetables aren't that bad, actually. Just a touch of the garlic wouldn't have hurt, but that's her personal tastes.

The flickering of the firelight messes with her Dark Sight, but she has managed with worse. She can still see the stars beyond the glimmering tree-shadows.

"The stars here really are different from those back home," Rae murmurs, failing to find constellations she can recognize.