eachdraidh | video; open to both courts

Entry tags:

video; open to both courts

[Alice is currently outside the stables once again, sprinting up to greet a small, white rabbit. The imp that's decided to become her company has made a point to turn on the locket, in the midst of a mild debate.]

Oh, not now, it can wait- Sophie!

[ It's no ordinary white rabbit, as it runs up to Alice when she greets her, Alice kneeling down beside a familiar grey mare.]

Sophie! I am so sorry, I didn't mean to leave you!

[ Alice picks her up and holds her up to look at her better. The imp is tugging on her hair gently and Alice is ignoring. ]

Miss, please-

No, it's alright, my friend, They need to eat first. Oh, surely you two like something other than hay?

[ Alice glances to the horse grazing behind her. Alice looks exhausted and even paler if it were possible. She feels more secure with the animals and the small imp that she talks a bit more freely than she would with others.]

Miss, I think you need to eat! They're already so well fed, don't you think?

No, it wouldn't feel right. They've both been so lonely, I think! I'll be fine, I-

[ Hold up, Alice pauses with the rabbit jumping out of her hands and grazing besides the horse. Alice shoots a look up to the imp above her head. Exasperation crosses over her face more than anger.]

For goodness sakes! I said I was fine!

If it makes you rest for yourself just once...!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Hilariously enough, while the mare stays, the rabbit follows Alice when it was often the other way around. Eventually, Alice has stopped to pick her up, carrying the rabbit in one hand. She's getting a bit bigger, but still small enough to where she can carry her.

She's tired and still stubborn to walk with her. ]

My name is Alice. Alice Liddell.

A pleasure, Alice.

[Celebrían waits while Alice picks up the rabbit, smiling a bit before continuing on. When they get to where they're headed, she lets Alice go in first before heading inside and unpacking everything. It all gets set up neatly and then she she ushers Alice to take a seat.]

[ She watches her every move like the overly cautious person she is. She really cannot recall the last time she had dinner with someone else that wasn't a child outside of Redgate. But unlike that time, Celebrian was one person, so it makes it slightly easier for Alice to take the seat. The rabbit isn't going anywhere, she's resting comfortably in Alice's lap. ]

[And she still doesn't mind it. It's strange, really, how much she can relate to this girl so she doesn't object to the caution. Not even to how the rabbit sits in her lap, though she would have objected to it when her children were still children.]

Is there anything you like best to drink with your meal?

I am fine with water, thank you.

[ She looks down at her plate, unsure if she can really take it yet. She had done the same in the welcoming hall, unsure of whether or not to take a dish. Food was so scarce, that it made her feel guilty to even eat it here. Surely there would be some sort of repercussion if she ate it. Alice doesn't lift her fork without any verbal go ahead, no matter how hungry she is. ]

If you are sure.

[She smiles a bit and gets her a glass of water, setting it down within Alice's reach before taking a seat nearby. It almost hurts to see Alice, or any child, like this. To see anyone hesitate at an offered meal when they clearly need it. And when they know that they need it.] No need to wait on my account.

[ Alice hesitates a bit longer before carefully taking up a loaf of bread before she feigns off any disbelief that food like this could be real. No, she's really never had anything outside of bread that she changes her mind and takes up a fork. The first few bites are completely awkward, slow and savoring. It's been a very long time and Alice eventually works up the confidence she's forgone table manners because she's that hungry and hasn't had a meal outside of soup and bread for years. ]

[Celebrían can almost feel her heart breaking at the sight. She's too young, she thinks, to look at food in such a way. To be so cautious and then so ravenous.

Watching her now, she almost wants to tell Alice to take it easy or she'll make herself sick but she doesn't have the heart to speak up. And she's a Healer, if she does get sick, she'll be able to help her in what ways she can.]

[ It doesn't quite alleviate the hunger pain as she hoped and Alice could have been worse about it. It's not until Alice realizes that it's gotten awfully quiet.

In the midst of taking up her fork again, she eventually stops herself. ]

Sorry.

[ She says it a little sheepishly, opting to be a bit more polite than to just scarf it down. Not only that, Alice is starting to go through the items before her that just may be non-perishable, something she can put aside for safe keeping, just in case. ]

[Gently:] You need not apologize. And you are welcome to come to me any time in the future, if you are hungry. I will not let a child end up starved.

[It's a promise. Not in words but she won't let anything happen to Alice if she can help it. There was enough happening between the courts that they didn't need to add this on top of it.]

[ She's almost tempted to quip that she is far from a child, but Alice is far too hungry to care at this rate. After a while, the pain is dulling and Alice is getting her nourishment.

The rabbit, at least, gets a leaf since Alice is very open about sharing her food with the animals around her. Even as Alice made a point to slow down her consumption, she's nearly done and feels incredibly guilty for eating so much. ]

It's fine. I mean- thank you.

[ She thinks, even as she tries her damndest to avoid the puzzled look on her face. ]

[Everyone is a child compared to her, Alice. And Celebrían herself could almost still be a child compared to her mother or Maglor.

She's glad she's getting a proper meal though. And she considers finding something for the rabbit too until Alice shares some of her meal. And she means what she says when she offers to make sure Alice is kept fed.]

You are welcome.

[ And Alice is finished and fallen silent again, because there really is nothing she can think of to thank her for the kind gesture. She feels guilty and if there was one thing she did as a child, it was clam up. The only thing that can be heard now is the rabbit munching on her own leaf. Even Sophie won't have a full stomach -- or at least she hopes. The rabbit is a nice distraction and support when Alice manages not to be awkward. ]

I guess rabbits really do like spinach.

[ She breaks the silence because she feels that it is an obligation not to be rude. ]

[It's true that it is an awkward silence. Celebrían hasn't been around children, human children, in some time. And never in a situation like the one they found themselves in.]

Rabbits are good animals. Does she like carrots? I can slice some up for her.

[ Eventually, from underneath the table and Alice's lap, comes two little white ears.

Of a very, very fluffy white rabbit. Sophie doesn't move or budge, she seems to know what the conversation entails, sniffing her nose and plopping back on Alice's lap now that she's not standing on her hind legs.

They have a good relationship, these two, Alice would like to carry her everywhere now that she's not at Redgate. ]

I don't think she would object from the looks of it.

[How cute! And she's glad that Alice has a companion, especially one so adorable. Maybe in the future, that will help her to make sure Alice eats. Or for Alice to keep herself fed so well as she will the rabbit.]

Diced carrots it is then.

[She smiles and gathers a few already cleaned carrots, quickly cutting them into neat pieces and setting them in a small dish.]

That should be enough to start.

[ Rabbits have an interesting way of eating. She doesn't really wait for Celebrian to say anything when she puts her on the table. Sophie isn't like any other rabbits, after all. She picks up on Alice's emotions and wishes, she keeps herself in one spot, at all times now that Alice seems to hover over her. Diced carrots are good and that much is clear the way the rabbit seems to woof them down like liquid. Alice is resting her head on her palm, as she sits there, right on the table.

The rabbit's chewing has become hypnotic and that is when Alice knows she's tired. She'll wait for the rabbit to finish and then Alice will just excuse herself. ]

I- I apologize, Miss Celebrian.

[ Alice starts to brace herself against the table as the rabbit has finished with her dish and in Alice's arms like an infant. ]

Thank you for the supper. I feel that I must retire for the evening.

[She watches quietly, recognizing the look of sleepiness in Alice's eyes (even if she might deny it when asked directly) and how she leans. Celebrían doesn't expect her to stay awake too much longer.]

You do not need to apologize. [Her voices stays soft, and understanding.]

Are you certain that you will make it back alright. You are welcome to take my bed if you wish.

Elves sleep rarely, I do not need it.

I'm fine.

[ Alice has already scooped up her rabbit, who peers over her shoulder as Alice mutters a 'thank you' to Celebrian. She won't make it that far and that's mostly because Alice's sleeping habits are bizarre, at best. When she was a child, she often sought refuge in imagining herself drinking the shrinking potion, and being small enough to where she won't be found.

The closest she could get to was burrowing underneath a mass of blankets, literally turning it into a cocoon and tightly curled up to where no one can jab at her. It's an old, engraved habit by Alice who learned to act this way from her childhood in Rutledge.

She opts to find a couch for this; thankfully, she's small enough that she doesn't spill over. Alice lets her rabbit do as she pleases and with a small huff, she gives in.

Of course her sleep will be anything but peaceful, but that is nothing new. ]

[And of course Celebrían keeps an eye on her, not wanting to simply let her go without being sure that she'd be alright. Once Alice is asleep, she lightly drapes a soft blanket over her. A pillow might rouse her if she were to try that so she sticks with just the blanket for now.

Maybe when she does wake up, and finds the blanket, she might be a bit more open to being cared for.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

video; open to both courts

action

action

Re: action

action

action

action

action

action

action

action

action

action

action

action

action

action

action

action

action

action