so u should talk a little bit about why moryo likes haleth so much B) —not deer
Wow, what a really weird and random anon; I have no idea who might send a thing like this! Certainly it could never be Deer, could it? No, of course not. What a totally silly thought!
But that said, it’s a fine topic of conversation, all the same, oh mysterious anonymous one, so I’d be happy to do so!
I’ve joked before about Moryo having a soft spot for tiny, terrifying women, but really, he respects strength and loyalty in all its forms, and gender is certainly no impediment to that.
(The Noldor have no particular bias when it comes to gender roles, and in the House of Finwë generally, the line of Fëanor specifically, there is certainly no dearth of extremely strong, resilient, interesting women of all types... for one thing, if you think Nerdanel didn’t have to be one hell of a woman to put up with Fëanor and those seven boys of hers, you’re very wrong....)
By the time Caranthir encounters Haleth, he’s really come into his own, in some ways. No longer just the fourth son of Fëanaro, he’s the ruler of Thargelion, protector of the entire eastern side of the Gap. His vital trade connections with the dwarves see the armies of the Noldor equipped and his own people provided with wealth and happiness. And he’s done it, for the most part, on his own. His other brothers are always paired; Caranthir, however, has done all of this without partnership. Certainly with some aid and support, but really, he has learned independence and responsibility, and it’s both grounded him and opened his mind a bit. He’s still a damned hothead, because of course he is, but he’s come to realize it matters less the circumstances of a person’s life than what they’ve done with it, what they’ve made of themselves. He’s older, wearier, hopefully wiser, but certainly stronger.
And then he meets Haleth. This tiny, strange little human who faced down the death of her father and her brother and kept fighting, who kept her entire people together long enough that he could get there with his own army and crush the last of the orcs. Who did not flinch from that responsibility but did what she had to do, because she was the only one who could do it. Who then stood up to him without a hint of fear or awe in her and demanded with her whole self that he respect who and what she was. And how could he not?
She is infuriating, she is vexatious, she is altogether too stubborn by half, and he looks at her and recognizes something in himself, recognizes the worth and valor of her race inherent in everything she does and says. She is a child of the sun, as he is a child of the Trees and the stars; she burns hot and fierce and bright, and if that means her fire is only consumed the more quickly, it doesn’t mean he’ll ever be able to forget the light she shed.
