Ghosts

[Pinkie]

((ooc: Eh Haldir is still with Boromir & Faramir so far as I know. Kind of hanging back a bit ;D ))

WEst said:

"I've had a sheltered upbringing, Maybe if we stay here a while you could teach us a thing or two..."

Elendur liked that he smiled. The other men did not smile. They did not find the situation amusing in the slightest - nor did the skinny woman behind them either. She was hardly fooled by the pretense but she was entertained by him. She liked that he noticed her and looked at her. She liked that he noticed her beauty. It was not because she was vain - it was simply because her beauty was the only thing she possessed.

Tilting her head to the side and pursing her lips, Elendur shook her head slowly beforeb reathing out an amused laugh, lowering her face and rubbing a knuckle against her forehead.

"Would such a daliance not distract you from your purpose for visiting Minis Tirith?" she asked, with a wry smile. Oh she did not try to run from what it was that he had suggested. A daliance indeed!
Elendur did not have 'daliances' but she was always willing to entertain the men who sought them with her. And with Joe's bright eyes, easy smile and his approach in her direction --- well, he certainly would be an easy man to 'dally' with.

Elendur smirked knowingly and gave another sweet laugh, batting her eyelashes in a falsity of sudden shyness. Sliding from the table, she took a step closer to Joe , looking up at him with big, grey-blue eyes that seemed warm, inviting - yet challenging.
"Would your friends not disapprove of it?" the blonde whispered, nodding her head towards his friends discreetly and waited for his reaction. She stood only a short distance from him now -

[Bogwoppit]

The lieutenant had kept quiet all this time, hanging back close to Eledhwen, feeling a bit protective towards her if the truth be known. She was hot, in a wild, untamed kind of way, and DJ thought he could be in with a chance, seeing as how she had spent most of the journey talking to him.

This world, this place was fascinating, with its strange sounding names and weird creatures that Eledhwen had told him about. He was itching to get his hands on whatever papers or books these people had on their history, and could only hope that the major wouldn't blow it with this ridiculous act of his.

He had always enjoyed going off-world with SG2, West was a good leader, and a fair man, but this flirting he insisted on doing with any half decent women they came across annoyed the hell out of DJ. He wasn't about to admit it was because he was jealous either. It wasn't because West had a way with words and with women that DJ could only ever dream of, or that females of any race, age or description seemed to melt at the other man's feet the moment he turned those big green eyes of his on them. Nope, it wasn't because of that at all that DJ rolled his eyes now. It was simply because this behaviour jeopardized the integrity of the mission... obviously.

So when their admittedly gorgeous escort walked towards West fluttering her eyelashes up at the man all DJ could do was tut to himself and assume that there was yet another one falling under the Joe West spell.

[Bogwoppit]

Boromir smirked at the blonde woman as she whirled away from the other man in the room, amused at her scowling demeanor even as he inspected her strange attire. Obviously he had been interrupting something from the look she gave to superior, presumably he was her superior anyway, she called him Sir after all. And the way they were dressed although alien to him had the uniform look of the military about it. But to have women in the military... even women as fierce looking as this one, that was strange indeed. He had known of Rohan women fighting alongside their men, shield maidens who were trained from an early age to wield a sword as well as any, but even so the concept was unsettling to Boromir. A woman's place was in the kitchen or in his bed, and judging by the expression on this woman's face she would be far better off in the latter.

He stepped forward and bowed low, recognizing the fact that these were no ignorant peasants caught poaching on Gondorian soil, nor were they servants of Sauron as far as he could tell, unless Sauron's taste in creatures of the night had vastly improved since the war.

"I don't suppose you guys smoke do you?"

He frowned at the woman, shaking his head slightly in incomprehension rather than in reply to her question. Women did not smoke, indeed, men of Gondor did not smoke very often. Hobbits smoked pipeweed, even Aragorn had smoked that as a ranger, but men of nobility did not smoke. Turning to the man, who lounged insolently against a table with his arms folded, giving the woman a narrow-eyed glare, Boromir rubbed a hand over his bearded chin.

"Who are you?" he asked. "What were you doing on our borders? My men say you were armed with weapons they had not seen before. Are you from Harad?"

[Bogwoppit]

"You're in charge, Sir. Why not try talk, threaten or treaty our way out of this one hmm? Or don't you have enough booze in your blood to be useful?"

Lake was surprisingly relaxed as he leaned back against one of the small ornate tables in the room, knowing that he had managed to get under Thrace's skin at last. He could tell he had got to her from the shocked look that had been in her eyes, despite her brave words now as the two weirdos entered the room. He had to admit, the dig about his drink problem got to him as it always did, but he hid it well, blue eyes expressionless as he slid his cool gaze over her body before turning to the dudes.

"Who are you? What were you doing on our borders? My men say you were armed with weapons they had not seen before. Are you from Harad?"

Where the fuck was Harad? And what the fuck were these guys wearing? Lake suppressed a contemptuous snigger as the older-looking one spoke.

"Who the fuck are you?" he counteracted, glancing at the other man over Boromir's shoulder, who didn't look as arrogant as the other one.

The first guy seemed to be looking Thrace over thoroughly, and Lake scowled, stepping away from the table closer to her. It didn't matter how much he hated the cold bitch, he wasn't going to stand by and let these fuckers take her off to join their harem or whatever the fuck they did on this hole of a planet. Only because West would never forgive him though, no other reason. If it was up him she could rot in Hell.

"Give us our radios back," he demanded, "and we'll tell you where we're from. We're not from Harad though, wherever that is."

[Bogwoppit]

"Would such a daliance not distract you from your purpose for visiting Minis Tirith? Would your friends not disapprove of it?"

West narrowed his eyes slightly as she approached, wondering if he had taken this a little too far. Maybe this girl wasn't as unworldly as he had first thought, maybe she had known exactly what he was doing when he flirted with her. He kept his lips turned upwards in a small half smile as she stood before him, meeting her gaze levelly with a raised chin, long dark lashes brushing high cheekbones, a question in the green depths of his eyes.

Tipping his head to one side slightly, he raised one hand to scratch his ear, broadening his smile as he flicked a sidelong glance at Kawalsky.

"Oh, my friends think what I order them to think," he hinted, banking on the fact that Kawalsky at least would know whatever he did was for the good of the mission, even if it wasn't any great hardship to flirt with this beauty. "They know better than to question what I do."

He cast his gaze briefly at DJ, who had such an expression of disgruntlement on his face that West almost laughed.

"So," he continued, grinning boyishly at Elendur. "Now that you've caught me out not knowing your name, are you going to tell me it? Then maybe you can show me around..."

As he spoke he took a small step closer to Elendur, close enough to kiss her full lips should he have a mind to, and allowed his gaze to drop to the graceful curve of her neck before perusing the fair locks of hair that had escaped their bonds to curl enticingly around her small ears. Yes, he certainly wouldn't mind going above and beyond the call of duty on this particular mission should the need arise.

[Pinkie]

Kawalsky watched the scene with growing impatience. Where DJ was obviously jealous that West was so easy with women no matter their homeland - Kawalsky was feeling skittish because he never, ever trusted aliens. He licked his lips tentatively and shifted from foot to foot. He cast a blue eyed glanced towards their companion, Eledhwen and sniffed slightly. He didn't trust her either. His rifle was still slung across the front of his chest and his fingers drummed on it lightly -- irritably. He frowned....

Leaning forward a little towards Eledhwen, he tensed his jaw before he was able to speak to her. He had not spoken to her of his own accord these past days that they had travelled together.

"Who is she?" he whispered by her ear, wondering if the girl knew what the blonde was not telling.

Faramir was patiently stood behind Boromir. He glanced around over his shoulder and gave Haldir a stiff nod. The Elf had just come up beside them and looked into the room where the man and woman were being held. The view when the door opened had been rather curious to say the least. Faramir raised his eyebrows and stepped in just a step behind Boromir, standin to the side so that he had an unobstructed view of the blonde woman and the shaven headed man.

He was silent - observing. He knew that Haldir was doing the same except there was a tension in the Elf... something ... he was like a bowstring, ready to shoot. The woman asked for smoke and Faramir gave an incredulous double take as he looked at her. He blinked confused and then shook his head. There was nothing gentle about this woman - nothing pure or alluring. Oh she was pretty no doubt but with her hair cropped so short and her surly manner it made her quite a novelty to the younger of Denethor's sons.

Boromir & Lake said:

"Who are you? What were you doing on our borders? My men say you were armed with weapons they had not seen before. Are you from Harad?"

"Who the fuck are you? Give us our radios back, and we'll tell you where we're from. We're not from Harad though, wherever that is."

Faramir could not see the looks that his brother was casting towards the blonde woman and so he did not understand the reason why the harshly spoken man moved to the front. He had a question directed at him and he stepped forward confidently, his shoulders pulled back and his head held high.

"I am Faramir, Captain of Gondor." he said precisely and half turned, gesturing to his brother, "This is Boromir, my brother. And this is Haldir of the Golden Wood." Faramir said and turned back to the brusque male, smiling though it was only a polite smile, hardly friendly.
"We will not be giving you back any of your possessions until you tell us why you have come to Gondor armed. Are you alone?" he asked with raised eyebrows.

Thrace knew an opportunity when she saw it.

The taller of the two men was eyeing her with interest. She was feeling quite disgruntled and tired. Her back ached and her cheek hurt where Lake had hit her. She was dying for a smoke and even more of a longing was the one to punch Nathan Fucking Lake again. She leaend back against a wall and pursed her lips defiantly, crossing her arms over her chest and lifted one boot up to press the sole flat against the wall.

When Lake spoke to Boromir, as his name turned out to be, Thrace gave a wry laugh.

"Way to go Sir.." she whispered as he came to stand in front of her. Was he protecting her or something silly like that? The blonde pushed off from teh wall and stood up straight behind Lake, looking over his shoulder at the younger fella as he stood forward and introduced them all.

Faramir said:

"I am Faramir, Captain of Gondor. This is Boromir, my brother. And this is Haldir of the Golden Wood. We will not be giving you back any of your possessions until you tell us why you have come to Gondor armed. Are you alone?"

Thrace sighed and narrowed her hazel eyes at the one named Haldir. Of the Golden Wood? What the fuck was that about?

"We're alone. We're just explorers. Right, Sir?" She said, stepping around Lake and glancing over her shoulder at him with a lopsided smile, there was a glint to her eyes, a challenge, and a sultry set to her lips. Turning to smile at Boromir, Thrace stepped up closer to him and tilted her head sweetly, her arms folded across her chest again, lips pursed.

"Listen - we're not from around here. We're just here to explore, to make friends... nothin' wrong with that is there? There's no need for all this security. We're harmless." she promised. Her tone was convincingly sweet though no doubt Lake thought that her being sweet would be the funniest thing in the world. She had only ever used that tone of voice on him in a condescending manner, knwoing he knew her well enough to know that she was anything but sweet.

[Bogwoppit]

What the fuck was that?

Lake stared openly and incredulously at the tall, ethereal creature who had just entered the room. His hair was the first thing Lake noticed, long, straight and pale, braided into some weird poofy hippy creation. His skin shone with a strange light, almost translucent, and his eyes were dark and unsettling as they ran languidly over him. He seemed to be looking straight into Lake's soul, and that was something Lake was not very happy about. He didn't like looking there himself, full of black secrets and guilt as it was, so he certainly didn't want anyone else looking there.

He narrowed his eyes at the tall stranger, and raised his chin slightly, despite the renewed throbbing in his temples which was making him dizzy. His gaze flicked over the guy's face, and came to rest on his ears. Pointed ears...

Lake stared disbelievingly for a second, his face a picture, before the voice of the younger guy pulled him back into himself.

"I am Faramir, Captain of Gondor. This is Boromir, my brother. And this is Haldir of the Golden Wood.
We will not be giving you back any of your possessions until you tell us why you have come to Gondor armed. Are you alone?"

He dragged his gaze away from Haldir and frowned at Faramir, opening his mouth to say something ~ probably something not very nice ~ to him, but Thrace beat him to it, and he turned to glare at her as she stepped around him.

"We're alone. We're just explorers. Right, Sir? Listen - we're not from around here. We're just here to explore, to make friends... nothin' wrong with that is there? There's no need for all this security. We're harmless."

Now that was funny. Harmless... right. Thrace was about the least harmless woman Lake had ever had the misfortune to meet. That little smirk she threw him as she walked towards the older guy, Boromir, was definitely a challenge, and it was all Lake could do not to grab her and wipe the smile off her face with a punishing kiss...

Kiss? Punch... he meant punch... yeah, he wanted to punch her, not kiss her...

He frowned and mentally shook his head as he realised she had just spoken to him. And what the fuck was that smarmy tone of voice she was using? Oh, yeah, right, he thought he recognised it ~ it was the same tone she used to chat up very gullible young airmen when she wanted to get them into the sack. He hadn't witnessed it often to be fair, but once heard never forgotten.

He rolled his eyes derisively and blew out an exasperated breath as he turned away towards the window. Talk about fucking obvious. No way would this Boromir fall for that.





Boromir wasn't stupid, he knew when he was being strung along. Unfortunately for him though this had never happened with a woman before, especially one so exotic and spirited as this one appeared to be. The women that the son of the steward tended to meet were all too happy to roll over at the flick of an eyebrow in their direction, and so he naturally assumed that this one was the same.

He smiled slowly at her as she stepped close to him, one corner of his lips turning up lazily, and narrowed his eyes.

"Oh there's nothing wrong in wanting to make friends," he replied, running his gaze slowly down over her strangely clad figure and back up to take in her innocent grin. "Nothing at all. I'm sure once we get to know each other we can become very good friends indeed."

He caught a movement out of the corner of his eye, and glanced up at the other man, the one she had called Sir, as he turned away. Boromir frowned and looked back down at the girl.

"You are dressed strangely," he mused, bringing one hand up to rub his bearded chin thoughtfully. "But I am right in thinking you are soldiers am I not? You had weapons, and he is your superior..."

He nodded his head towards Lake, having taken an instant dislike to the man. In his experience where a woman and man were thrown together thus there was only one outcome, and so he could only assume the same was the case with these two strangers. Whilst he realised that the women he bedded were rarely virgins, his pride did not like to think there was a man in the room who had had a woman he had not, or could not, and so he was determined to win this one over. He smiled again.

"Tell me your name," he begged, his voice low and intimate, blocking out everyone else in the room. "And then we can see about finding you something to eat. You must be hungry after your journey."

[Bogwoppit]

The young woman of Rohan had been watching the exchange in open-mouthed awe, bordering on anger. The woman, Elendur as Eledhwen had surmised within a few moments of meeting her, was behaving like a common whore, like the bitch of an Elf who had taken her father from her. Sidling up to West all sweetness and light, when really from what Eledhwen had heard she was a cold-hearted bitch.

Eomer had once had something of a crush on this daughter of the steward, Eomer who was Eledhwen's mentor and hero, who could do no wrong. Elendur by all accounts had cut him dead, had not even entertained the thought of being courted by a Rohirrim, thinking herself far above his station. At least, that was the gossip that had filtered back to the ears of a young girl who had just lost her father, and the bitterness Eledhwen had harboured then had grown. How dare this illegitimate daughter of a mere steward think herself above the nephew of a king? The heir to the throne of Rohan was a better man than any here, far too good for the likes of her. She reminded Eledhwen of an Elf with all her pale beauty and haughty manner, but she wasn't so haughty now was she? Practically simpering up at the handsome stranger before her.

Silently seething, Eledhwen sneered at the soppy expression on Elendur's face as she approached West, and jumped when she heard a voice by her ear.

"Who is she?"

She turned quickly to look into the dazzling blue eyes of the tall, thus far quiet Kawalsky. She didn't like him, at least, she didn't trust him. Several times she had caught him giving her strange looks, and she could almost see the distaste coming off his taught body in waves every time she came near him.

His question caught her off guard. Seeing the idiot West was making of himself had made her regret helping him out before, and she was determined to keep quiet about the identity of their captor. Let him sort out his own problems if he was the sort to fall for any pretty face that came his way. Just like her father... just like all men. But her surprise was so great that Kawalsky had spoken to her that she replied without thinking.

"Elendur, the steward's daughter," she whispered back, her derogatory sneer not hidden by the pitch of her voice. "Your leader would do well to be careful around her. She is not as sweet and innocent as she appears."

After initially wishing she had not spoken, she was then glad she had. So far these people from a strange far off land had treated her well, better than these supposed kinsmen of hers were treating her at the moment. She glanced at DJ, who was watching West with a strange expression on his face, half sulky, half in awe. Don't say he had fallen for the blonde wench's allure too. He seemed so clever, so sensible, but obviously he was just the same as all other men.

[Pinkie]

He was really rather adorable. She could entertain his attentions because he was handsome and had a delightful smile. Elendur liked to be the centre of attention. She liked to know that she was beautiful - especially if the person doing the telling was equal in handsomeness. Which, she had to admit, Joe certainly was. Her dark blue-gray eyes narrowed as he scratched behind his ear. It made him look quite endearing, almost dumb but beautiful.

West said:

"Oh, my friends think what I order them to think, So, Now that you've caught me out not knowing your name, are you going to tell me it? Then maybe you can show me around..."

Elendur considered it a moment, her lips pursed prettily. Her expression was mildly chilly - her chin set high, aloof, but her eyes were sparkling with playful forgiveness as Joe stepped in closer to her. She gave a wry chuckle and shook her head, rolling her eyes upwards at his audacity to be so forward in flirting with her. Did he not realise?

Her warm eyes flickered behind him to the tall dark haired, silent man who spoke with the Rohirrim woman. Elendur's expression darkened and the warmth slid from her eyes as she looked back at Joe blankly.

"My name, Joe, is Elendur. And you would do well to remember it and honour it. If I decide I do not like you -- or your friends -- " she said pointedly, cocking an eyebrow at Eledhwen, " -- It is perfectly within my sphere of influence to make this the worst thing you have ever ordered them to do." the blonde said quite precisely. She was looking at Eledhwen as she said it and when she looked back at Joe, she smiled at him, a bright smile, a knowing smile.

"As for showing you around -- do I look like a servant?" she said, turning from him and doing a little circle, keeping her eyes on him as she showed herself front adn back slowly. With an amused laugh, Elendur turned her back challengingly on Joe and walked to the table she had been sat on a moment ago - wondering, idly, where Eonan had got to looking for Boromir and Faramir.

"Tell me why you are here in Minis Tirith. If your intentions are honest and innocent then I will ensure that my brothers treat you with kindness. Do not lie to me, Joe." Elendur said, her dark eyes looking straight into his without shirking, without flirtation but with promise.

[Pinkie]

Haldir had little interest in the flirtations of Boromir and the blonde girl. He noted, without reaction, that the man watched him. He took note and stock of all that not human and Haldir stared into his soul. It was not magic that an Elf used to make humans feel that their souls had been read. Humans did not realise that they wore their hearts on their sleeves and to a person that lived for hundreds of years, who was at one with themselves, with their pasts and at peace with their futures.

Guilt was plainly written on the man's face. Darkness seeped from every pore and yet there was something else -- just a flicker of it as Boromir approached the blonde... or rather the other way around. Jealousy.

The Elf cocked his head to the side and stepped into the room, past Boromir, to stand next to FAramir. He remained silent, watching the man. He had a feeling that these people were just what he had been waiting for... and he waited. Fate was playing out before him.

Thrace would turn over when ordered - so long as she liked the guy issuing the order. And so long as he knew that she was not his. This guy was good looking - a bit stiff around the collar and his clothing was definitely out of the ordinary, but he was good looking. Strong looking. He had a certain light in his eyes that she enjoyed when he looked at her and she dropped her hazel gaze with mock demurity.

Boromir said:

"Oh there's nothing wrong in wanting to make friends, Nothing at all. I'm sure once we get to know each other we can become very good friends indeed You are dressed strangely, But I am right in thinking you are soldiers am I not? You had weapons, and he is your superior.. Tell me your name, And then we can see about finding you something to eat. You must be hungry after your journey."

The blonde felt good under his eyes. She felt like every woman wanted to feel - admired. Coveted. When Boromir looked over her shoulder at Lake, Thrace pursed her lips in mild displeasure and turned to give the Captain a dark, warning glower - but he had his back to them.
She sighed and looked back up at Boromir. His observations made her smirk and she chuckled quietly, looking off to the side at his assessment and cmoment about Lake being her superior.

"Superior in nothing but rank." she mused quietly, glancing up with mischief in her hazel eyes and then stepped back from him quite abruptly. She put a hand up to her forehead in a salute, puffing up her chest and clicked her heels together exageratedly.

"Second Lieutenant Katee Thrace." she said sharply and winked at Boromir, "At your service." she added, pushing her hand back through her short blonde hair, trailing around the back of her neck as she pressed her tongue against the back of her teeth.
"You can call me Katee. So.." the woman smiled, slinking up towards Boromir, standing to the side of him and looking up at his profile, her hand lifting to tilt the brooch on his tunic down towards her, looking at it as if she might understand the symbolism on it. "... any chance we might get our radios back? And something to eat? Or drink. I'm parched." she said quietly as she licked her bottom lip, looking up at Boromir and patting his brooch against his chest, letting her hand linger.

[Pinkie]

She worked better when she had orders. Except now those orders meant going to Boromir directly and speaking to him directly and telling him directly to go to Elendur.. directly. It made her stomach churn with uneasiness as she dashed through the halls of Minis Tirith. Her beautiful gown swished behind her in a flash of dark grey and her hands wrung the apron with the crest of the Steward's emblazoned on it.

She had asked another servant where Boromir had gone and followed the instructions with a growing sense of unease in the pit of her stomach. Taking a deep breath, Eonan raked a hand back over her hair, pushing the loose strands behind her ear and wiped a hand then across her grey eyes.

Eonan came to the room where she could hear the deep baritone of Boromir from outside. She stopped in the ante-room for a moment, composing herself. The elf, Haldir, stepped into the room and in that movement Eonan saw a blonde woman, with short hair, standing close to Boromir, her hand lifted to his chest.
An immediate sense of jealousy washed over her - outrage and hurt burning in the centre of her chest as she stepped forward instinctively before pausing. She had no right to walk in there demanding anything! She was a servant, a slave practically.

Shutting her eyes, Eonan stepped into the room and opened her eyes, looking straight at Boromir. Faramir was in the centre of the room near Haldir...

"Begging your pardon, Lordships -- Lady Elendur requests your presence in the West gallery. There are strangers.." she added, glancing at the blonde woman with a mute and unaffected gaze before looking up at Boromir meekly.

[Pinkie]

Eledhwen said:

"Elendur, the steward's daughter, Your leader would do well to be careful around her. She is not as sweet and innocent as she appears."

Kawalsky felt his skin tingle when the woman turned to look up at him. Her sharp features were so human - part of Kawalsky found it hard to see that she was an alien under the scrutiny of those too-big dark eyes. He swallowed hard and looked straight across at West who was still talking with the blonde woman.. Elendur as he now knew her name to be.

He took Eledhwen's opinion to heart and felt his top lip lift, his sharp incisors visible before he realised what he was doing. Sometimes it was hard to seperate the man from the animal -- Kawalsky lifted a hand and rubbed it down his nose and mouth, covering the snarl he had just been about to turn on Elendur. He glanced down with caution at the woman adn nodded his head sharply, giving her a grunt of recognition that she had answered his question. He felt strange having asked her the question - he felt at a weakness, somehow indebted.

Kawalsky frowned as the blonde spoke - he had missed what she had said before because he had been looking down at the back of Eledhwen's head curiously.
Tensing his jaw, he lifted hsi chin and focussed on them, scowling a little in distress at how things were turning out.

"So it seems." he muttered to Eledhwen.

[Bogwoppit]

"My name, Joe, is Elendur. And you would do well to remember it and honour it. If I decide I do not like you -- or your friends -- It is perfectly within my sphere of influence to make this the worst thing you have ever ordered them to do."

The small smile he still held faded slightly at her chilly tone, although he had to admit he admired her sense of duty, if that was what it was and not just pure arrogance on her part. Elendur... weird, but nice enough. And of course she liked him, he could tell from the flashing of those blue eyes as she smiled up at him once more. How could she not like him? He was charming, cute, good-looking... what wasn't to like?

"As for showing you around -- do I look like a servant?

He grinned again, and looked her up and down appraisingly as she turned slowly before him. Amused green eyes met her challenging gaze again and he shook his head slowly, running his tongue slowly over straight white teeth.

Tell me why you are here in Minis Tirith. If your intentions are honest and innocent then I will ensure that my brothers treat you with kindness. Do not lie to me, Joe."

Dark eyebrows raised, he gazed at her with an innocent expression of hurt pride.

"Why would I lie to you Elendur?" he questioned softly, cocking his head to one side as he blinked slowly. "We are here because our friend Eledhwen there told us that your... steward holds all the power around here, and as we really are just peaceful explorers, we always try to be polite and introduce ourselves to the leader of whatever p... place we visit. All we want to do is have a look around, learn something about your culture and history, if we can."

He flicked a quick glance at the Rohirrim girl as he spoke her name, but she looked blankly back at him so he turned his gaze back towards their host.

"Would that be okay? I know DJ is aching to get into your library and have a look at any books you might let him see. Personally, I would kill for a beer." He glanced at Kawalsky, a small frown flickering across his face as he saw the expression on the man's face. He had seen that look before, and knew it would be wise to talk him down before the situation got out of hand. "What about you John?"

West might be good at talking his way out of awkward confrontations, but that didn't mean everything else got pushed out of his head. He was worried about Lake and Thrace, but he knew they could take care of themselves, he was worried about having to make contact in... he glanced at his watch... a couple of hours, and not being close enough to the gate, and now he was worried about Kawalsky. Being on different planets tended to do strange things to his... condition. The scientists' best guess was that it all had to do with the different rotations of various moons, but that didn't help West much.

[Bogwoppit]

"Second Lieutenant Katee Thrace.... At your service. You can call me Katee. So..... any chance we might get our radios back? And something to eat? Or drink. I'm parched."

Boromir tried to hold back the satisfied smirk that threatened to appear, intrigued by her forward manner and confident attitude. Wherever this woman was from, he should very much like to go there one day if they were all of a similar disposition. He liked a woman with a bit of fire in her belly, he liked the thought of holding power over them, taming them, subjecting them to his indomitable will.

As Thrace... Katee... reached up to finger his Gondorian brooch he felt the first stirrings of desire in his groin, and frowned slightly, but did not step away.

"Of course... Katee," he replied, allowing the smirk to show through in his voice and on his lips even as he deliberately ignored the radio issue. "I will accompany you... and your... companion... to the dining hall."

He glanced at Lake, who was scowling ferociously at the back of Thrace's head, and it only made Boromir's smile widen. Good, the challenge of a fiery wench and a jealous lover... what more could he ask for? Perhaps these strangers would provide him with a little amusement, the distraction from his father's doom and gloom that he needed.

At that moment he heard footsteps approach, and turned quickly to see that servant friend of his sister's... what was her name? Whatever... she was still dressed in the same gown she had been wearing at the ball, though why on Middle Earth Boromir should notice that he didn't know, and he frowned impatiently at her as she dithered at the door.

"What is it?" he snapped, stepping away from Thrace and causing her hand to fall away from his chest, the feel of which he had been quite enjoying.

"Begging your pardon, Lordships -- Lady Elendur requests your presence in the West gallery. There are strangers.."

Boromir sighed, closing his eyes briefly, before the significance of what she said sank in.

"Strangers?" he repeated, tilting his head to glance narrow-eyed at Thrace before looking back at Eonan. "What sort of strangers?"

He tutted, raising his eyes to the ceiling at the thought of asking this useless article anything and expecting a worthwhile reply. Turning back to Thrace and Lake he raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Strangers..." he mused again, wondering whether it was worth asking these two about this new development.

No... they wouldn't admit to anything... not if they were any sort of soldiers worth their salt. In the same situation Boromir knew there was not one of his men who would not die rather than reveal anything of their purpose. He made a decision.

"Come with me," he snapped at Lake, nodding slightly more kindly at Thrace. "Faramir, Haldir."

Indicating for the Elf to lead the way, he held back to allow Thrace, Lake and his brother to leave the room before him, bringing up the rear. As he left he glanced at Eonan.

"Where are they?" he asked, exasperated at the thought of her hovering there rather than leading them to these new strangers.

[Pinkie]

Faramir was calmly observing all that went on. He remained quiet - ever willing to let his brother be the leader of the pack. His blue eyes flickered from the man to the woman with slight unease then when the woman approached Boromir. The younger brother looked away from the scene before him and tensed his jaw. It was not disapproval - not outright at least. He just did not feel comfortable with his brother taking an interest in this foreign woman - whoever, whatever she was. And he did not want to make an enemy of the strange man either. He seemed to be silently seething...

When Eonan came in, FAramir looked across at her with interest. Hearing her speak of strangers made him glower and he gave an accusing look to the blonde woman and then to the blue-eyed man. STrangers indeed! No doubt ehy were not alone as they had stated and that these 'strangers' were the rest of their number.

Only Haldir seemed unaffected by it all. He observed silently. His head never whipped around too quickly in observation nor did his eyes change color or intensity when something was said or done that he did not agree with. Eonan announced the strangers and Haldir nodded - as if he had expected it. He knew that there were more - with certainty he knew that - but he did not know how many.

When Boromir called for him and Faramir to lead the way out of the room, Haldir stepped forward, inclining his head, and led the way to the West Gallery. His footsteps were ilght - as if he were not walking at all - but floating above the ground. Fate carried him on Her wings.

Entering the West Gallery without knocking, Haldir saw Elendur sitting atop a table looking sweet and mischievious. Three men and a woman were there also. Haldir looked them all over quickly sensing something strange about the tall one with longer hair, a yellow tint to his eyes. There was something quite sinister about the way the woman looked at him but he promptly ignored her sharp looks and then approached the leader of the group. Haldir knew he was the leader becaue he held himself like a leader - he had the authority of a leader.

Shrewd eyes in a serene face looked down at West. Haldir's head was tilted backwards very slightly giving him an aloof look.
Elendur hopped down off the table and went to her brothers -- Haldir stared down at West.

"You came through the portal... from where?" he asked directly.

Faramir watched Haldir with fascination - he moved around to stand a little closer to hear precisely what was to be said. Elendur came over and squeezed his hand but tottered off to Boromir, giving Katee and the man a curious look. Her gaze remained fixed on the man a while and she narrowed her eyes at him before lifting her chin haughtily and looking back at Haldir. She gave West a smile - a confident smile that might be said to be smug but was just a woman knowing her position and comfortable in it.

Kawalsky frowned at West when he looked towards him. He gave him an anxious grimace and straightened his shoulders, looking at hte blonde woman defiantly. She did not seem to like that at all ---

"Yes, Sir." Kawalsky replied stiffly despite West's casual asking of whther he would like a beer. He was just not comfortable with the blonde woman - nor Eledhwen for that matter! And yet when the door opened and a strange looking blonde man entered, Kawalsky's hand twitched for the rifle he did not possess and he stepped out around Eledhwen protectively. Not blocking her but standing with one of his broad shoulders in front of her.

His blue eyes turned yellow around the pupil's, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up though not out of fear.. rather, protection. The wolf wound strong inside of him as he looked from their hostess, Elendur, to the blonde man who was now face to face with West. And then he saw there were more people at teh door. Two more men and Lake and Thrace.
A wash of relief flooded through Kawalsky and he lifted his head higher, nodding at Lake, giving Thrace a questionning look. She grinned at him and he felt himself relax -- a little... but he did not move from his position in front of Eledhwen.

Her heart sank with the first impatient retort from Boromir. She almost flinched - almost. she would have plenty of time later to regret her approach, to find faults in how she had gone about delivering the message - but right now she had to make sure he got to the West Gallery.

Boromir said:

"Strangers? What sort of strangers? Strangers... Come with me, Faramir, Haldir. Where are they?"

Eonan shifted over to the side of the door when the group began to leave. She kept her chin up, her pale eyes watching Boromir as he snapped at the man and nodded gently for the blonde woman. It stirred a fierce jealousy in Eonan - her heart sank when the blonde smirked up at Boromir as if she had known him all her life and then walked out just ahead of him. Boromir turned and Eonan's heart leapt - thinking he would tell her to go with them.

But instead - he snapped another irritated question at her.

"West.. West gallery, m'lord." she repeated quietly, dipping a curtsy to him. When she rose and looked ahead ofher to where he had been he had caught up with the others leaving her rather alone in the other holding room. Licking her lips, Eonan turned to look inside the room, eyes wide. She could never seem to please Boromir - no matter hw hard she tried.
Sighing, Eonan rubbed a hand down her face and headed in the direction of the West Gallery herself - wondering if Elendur would need her... wondering if she could somehow restore herself in the eyes of Boromir finally?