Sing for a Songbird
Agamaran | "Follow me," he said at a barely audible whisper to her.
Cyndyn exited the Pony now in tears, she sniffled, rubbing at her nose as she followed along in Agamaran's wake.
Cyndyn fell silent, sniffling as she walked along beside the ranger. She hung her head, her brows pinched as she cast side long glances up at the man repeatedly. "Where's Vini? How did you find him?" She asked softly, pleadingly.
Agamaran shook his head as they continued on. "Soon," was all he said back to her.
Cyndyn 's hands shook as she dragged her fingers through her hair. She fell silent, her eyes angling down onto cobbles as they walked.
Agamaran he stopped at the Yellow Tree and turned around to her. He looked up to it then, and then down to her. "That was a dangerous thing you did," he began, his voice carrying in a normal tone.
Cyndyn 's brows pinched, her head tilting to the side as she rubbed at her nose. "W-what? But they are! Orronn is a friend of mine! He and Vini were both hunting those brigands! They were in the middle of Bree! Where else is safer to point out criminals? Are there not watchers in the town?"
Agamaran shook his head slowly. "There are brigands about everywhere in Bree, Cyndyn. You don't go about acusing them and expect to be safe about it, even in the presence of friends. Those two with the dark features, the Dunlendings?" He motioned to the back of his head, as if mimicking their long, unkempt hair. "They would've murdered you simply for interrupting their /story/."
Cyndyn 's brows pinched, drawing back from him as she swallowed hard. "Where is Vini?" She asked softly, her voice brittle and small as she watched him from under a tangle of golden hair.
Agamaran shook his head again. "You're walking a dangerous path, Cyndyn, and you do not see it. Vinicio does not keep you safe--rather, he invites danger to you. It is far safer to stay with Haneth instead, to learn from her." He crossed his arms then, staring at her. "Deep down, you know this."
Cyndyn 's brows pinched as her head tilted upwards to stare back at him. Her blue eyes, so bright and clear as a mark of her heritage burned and her lips thinned to a purse. "Where is my husband? Tell me where he is."
Agamaran sighed slightly. "I do not know. Haneth asked me to stop pursuing him for the moment and he did. And, in that moment, he seems to have vanished." Noting the alarming tone in her voice, he added, "I am sure he is fine, where ever he is...and will return to you soon."
Cyndyn 's eyes widened and she backed away from the ranger. Hurt flashed over her features, her eyes stinging with tears as she glared at him. "You lied, you lied to me to get me to leave. Y-you.." Her voice shook as she pointed at him, her hand trembling. "You.. you all are lying to me. No one is helping me find him.. you all want him to be dead." She whispered, her brows pinched in accusation.
Agamaran shook his head. "I lied to save your life, yes," he began, "But understand this--I do not want to kill Vinicio. I only want him to leave. And it would truly be for the best if he did, especially for you." He took a step forward as his voice softened. "You are still young, Cyndyn, so the mistakes you have made can always be forgiven. But you do not want to be too entrenched into this thing before apologies cannot save you from what ever cruel fate that man may steer you toward."
Cyndyn shook her head slowly, her lips twisting as hurt burrowed deep into her breast. "You all believe Arra, don't you? You all do. You're all /LYING/ to me. You and Haneth and Thorvall." She spat, "You all lied to me about my father, and now about my /husband/!" She hissed, her eyes blurred with tears as she continued to stumble back, her hand rising and falling as she pointed at ranger with every raised inflection.
Agamaran raised his chin. "I may have lied about his whereabouts, but not of the quality of the man. Haneth truly cares for you, Cyndyn, which is more than I can say for anyone else in these lands. You may be the daughter of a horrible man, but it does not make you one as well by default." He took another step forward then, and boldly challenged her tone with his own. "You have a choice to make--I hope it is simply the correct one."
Cyndyn swallowed hard, shaking her head as she backed away from him. She stumbled back, her feet tripping over the other and sending her fumbling backward onto the ground. She pressed her hands against her features, curling up as she cried softly. "Vini is the... the on-only one th-that cares a-about me! H-he's a good man. S-stop it."
Agamaran took a few steps near her and knelt before her. "Haneth cares about you. She cares about you a great deal. I can tell you now that you are on her mind. She worries for you, and wants the best for you. She will feed you and clothe you and keep a dry roof over your head and never ask anything of you, nor would she invite danger upon you." He looked at her with pity then. "Can you truly say the same for Vinicio?"
Cyndyn sobbed softly, gasping for air and watching the man between her fingers. Her hands moved to cover her ears though at his words. She hunched forward, shaking as she shook her head. "Vini has always protected me. He always puts me first. He loves me. He needs me. Haneth doesn't need me. S-she has others to worry about. To care about. Vini only has me. I l-love him."
Agamaran sighed slightly as he shook his head. "Cyndyn," he began, and there was sincerity on his face, "Haneth needs all the strength she can get. And you can be that pillar of strength for her. She will never think of you as a burden, nor treat you as one." He looked down at her dirty boots then. "I know you believe you know this Vinicio, but you do not. Not truly. The man uses you and abuses you--I know it, you know it, as revealed to the both of the last time we were under this tree. He sees you as his thing he owns, not as the person you are. He can cast you away at any moment, like a hairbrush, and not give it a second thought." He shook his head again. "There are far better men in these lands than that, Cyndyn."
Cyndyn 's eyes narrowed at the ranger's words and she scooted back from him. Her features twisted into a torrent of tears and a flash of hurt. "Stop it, just s-stop it! Vini.. I have lived with him for two years. I /know/ him. I know him. He loves me. Vini loves me. No one else does. No one ever can. You're wrong." She choked out, trembling. Her eyes red rimmed and glossy as she stared hard at him. "Vini has never abused me! Stop lying, stop it. Just stop it." Her voiced into hysterical territory. "He won't leave me.. he won't.. he protects me. He'll never leave me." She dropped her gaze, a sob catching in the back of her throat as her shoulders flung forward and she clutched her knees close. "No one will ever love me like Vini. No one wants me around. He protects me and loves me." She whispered.
Agamaran sighed heavily. "How can you say these things, knowing of the things Haneth has done for you? Or would do for you? And will do for you?" He rose to his feet then. "If I cannot convince you of Vinicio's intentions, then at least we can visit Haneth's. Come," he said in a soft tone, offering her a hand, "Let us go see Haneth. Maybe she knows where Vinicio is."
Cyndyn shook her head, her shoulders rising as she stared hard at the cobbled ground. She gritted her teeth together, tearfully grasping and twisting the fabric of her sleeves in a clenched fist. She shook her head again, unmoving. "You're a liar. She won't. No one will." She whispered softly, "Haneth believes Arra over me. She replaced me. She doesn't want me around. No one does. No one but Vini."
Agamaran | His hand remained out-stretched. "Then come. Let's find the truth to it. Haneth would not lie to you, and I know her whereabouts. If this thing is as you say, then I shall leave you alone." The words sounded sincere enough and there was still pity in his face as he still offered her his hand.
Cyndyn backed away from the offered hand, shaking her head as she scooted back on the fallen leaves and dirt. "No. No. You lie. You're a liar." She whispered, her features twisting as more tears slipped down her cheeks. She pushed herself up, nearly falling back in her scramble to stand. Her boots skidding and sliding in her panicked motion. She managed to climb to her feet, unable to meet his gaze as she inhaled shallow breaths, near to hyperventilating.
Agamaran dropped the hand down to his side as he observed her behavior. He shook his head and bit his lip, but he did not seem angry with Cyndyn, but rather with something else. "What are you afraid of, Cyndyn? I've never threatened you, nor do I intend to. And neither has Haneth. What is the harm in going to see her? You know her halls are a safe place."
Cyndyn shook her head, unable to meet his eyes. She watched his body though, caught the lowering of his hand and she skidded away. Further and further as she rubbed at her tear stained face. Her gloves leaving dirty smears of grime against her skin. She didn't answer, didn't speak, simply sniffled, shaking her head as she trembled and continued to back away from the ranger.
Agamaran | He observed her with pity, realizing that enough damage had been done already. Instead of taking any further steps forward, he removed the waterskin looped around his belt and held it in his hand. He then brought down his hood to look at her plainly, and simply offered her the waterskin in kind, saying nothing.
Cyndyn flinched as he drew out the waterskin, she stood there watching him though. She didn't back away, hesitating as she stared at the waterskin in confusion. She sniffled weakly, pathetically rubbing her runny nose against her sleeve. She blinked back tears, even as a fresh torrent threatened her and built up at the back of her throat. "I w-want Vini. Th-that's all. I want m-my h-h ..." She coughed and gagged on her own tears, bending double as she inhaled in short, gasping breaths.
Agamaran continued to offer her the waterskin. "The water will help you calm down, Cyndyn," he said quietly. "The water is fresh." He set the waterskin down on the ground and then slowly backed away from it.
Cyndyn struggled for air, having worked herself up into a panic. She stared at the waterskin as the ranger set it down and stepped back. She collapsed to her knees and crawled for it, pulling it open with fumbling fingers and sucking down its contents desperately. She coughed, choked and gagged on the water in her rush. She clutched the waterskin close, shaking where she sat tearfully.
Agamaran knelt before her, keeping a hard face to an otherwise unbearable scene he was witnessing. "Slowly," he said to her quietly. "Try to calm yourself down. Try to find your breath, and relax it. Find it, and relax." As he said the words, he seemed to breathe in tandem to the meaning of them, slowly inhaling and exhaling as he did.
Cyndyn coughed, her face a dark red under the grime, bruises and scars. She sucked in air between coughs, heaved and leaned over to empty her stomach of all the water she had just chugged down. She remained hunched over, the arms that held her up quaking terribly. Her eyes squeezed shut as she remained frozen, unable to move for fear of collapsing in the leaves and watery mess on the ground. In a shaky, faulty start she caught the starting of Agamaran's breath; her own ending in brittle shudders.
Agamaran continued to keep a straight face, even as she retched over. It took a great deal of patience from him, but he remained calm and cool, and tried to keep his eyes locked on Cyndyn. "Just follow my breathing, Cyndyn," he said to her quietly, and continued to heave in and out slow breaths. "Gently," he said, and he seemed to inch closer to her, although it did not seem noticable.
Cyndyn shrank in on herself, scrabbling away from the mess she left behind on the leaves. She curled up on her side, away from him as she wrapped her arms around her twisting stomach. Her eyes kept tightly shut as she struggled to follow along with his calming instructions. It was difficult, and more often than not she would draw in a breath that would suck in too much air or too , unable to control her burning lungs.
Agamaran | As she lay on her side facing away from him, Agamaran crept quietly toward her with all the stealth afforded to him by his training. He stopped at an arm's length from her, kneeling in front of the contents she had reguritated. He made to stretch out a hand to her, to sit on her shoulder, but he retracted it back. Instead, he closed his eyes and began to sing in Sindarin. It sounded like a sad song, but the effects of it seems to put him in a calming trance. A songbird that was flying by suddenly swooped around and landed in front of Cyndyn, looking at her quixotically. Instead, it seemed to be captivated by Agamaran's singing. It too seemed to be calmed by his singing.
Cyndyn 's frame shivered as she lay curled up on the ground. Her arms wrapped around her middle as if she was freezing. At the song though her muscles began to loosen, her eyes cracking open to catch sight of the tiny bird in front of her. Slowly, painfully slow, her breathing began to calm as she listened to the foreign sounding melody. She had never heard Sindarin before. She had no knowledge of the songs, the tales, nor anything that the ranger kept near and dear. Her muscles relaxed, the tense shivering leaving her as the song continued and she remained staring in silence at the bird.
Agamaran | Eventually, the song came to a slow and quiet close. He remained still where he was, but eventually he opened his eyes. The songbird came to life, singing and chirping happily to Cyndyn before it hopped away and then took flight suddenly, darting off above the trees. And yet still, Agamaran remained quiet and unmoving. Instead, he waited.
Cyndyn lay there on her side in silence, watching the bird chirp and fly off in confusion. Her brows pinched, and she blinked slowly. Her head hurt, a throbbing ache from her crying and panicked breathing. Still she dared not move, nor speak. Instead she simply closed her eyes, releasing a heavy sigh as she remained still. Her breathing had evened out, her frame had relaxed but she had little motivation to pick herself up off the ground.
Agamaran | "Cyndyn," he began slowly, "Let us go to Haneth's. There's fresh water, clean clothes. She will take care of you until..." He paused for a beat, "He comes back. You'll feel better at Haneth's, I promise." He spoke the words softly and carefully, and he continued ot remain as still as possible.
Cyndyn rubbed at her nose, her eyes downcast as she listened to the ranger's offer in a deadened silence. Her features slackened and dull as a depressive, defeated manner pooled inside her. She dragged herself up without a word, thoughts spinning in her mind of 'what if's, what if he never returned, what if he was dead, what if he didn't want her anymore.. What if no one did? She sat up slowly, swaying as she focused hard on trying to stay up right with her spinning head. She sniffled, coughing softly as she pushed herself up to her knees on shaky hands. Finally, she croaked a soft, raw sounding 'fine'. Her gaze averted as she struggled to stand up under her own power.
Agamaran stood up and picked up the waterskin, looping it back on his belt. He watched her quietly, making no attempt to help her up, yet he seemed infinitely patient with her. He only offered her a soft nod--a simple gesture, but kindness was not something he had ever displayed save to a select few.
Cyndyn stumbled forward, averting her gaze and keeping it low. She shuffled forward, nearly pitching forward several times as she stumbled along under his gaze. She didn't speak, didn't look at him once as she moved.
Agamaran walked in front of her and made no attempt to help her along, but he did seem to walk to her pace, and made sure he was not but an arm's length from her. At any moment he could help her along, or catch her if she fainted, but he did not do this. Instead, he kept his distance and walked along, wearing the face he had often worn when he knew something had to be done that he was not keen on doing. But he knew it must.