Beleriand time is: Daytime (About 5PM) on Monday of Autumn - October 4, 463

Below the Dimrost
Here the sparkling, cool waters of the Celebros cascade among silvery birches and down the natural stone terraces to find respite in a large pool. Ferns, ivy, mosses, and other richly-verdant, water-loving flora such as meadowsweet, mint and sweet violet thrive here in the shaded glen, though soft sunlight filters though. The deep, natural rock basin creates a mirror-like, dark sapphire pool while the current swirls deep below the calm surface and feeds to a southward stream where the Celebros continues, swift in its musical murmurings, among the loamy birch and fern-lined banks.

Misty sprays of swirling air rise up from the base of the stone terraces, where the water cascades in a soothing musical sound lent with the threadings of birdsong of this autumn morning. The sun's rays are distinct shafts of gold, alighting upon leaf and silvery bark--in harmony with autumn's red and orange mantle, which has been adopted by every leaf in some measure or another. In the coolness of the glade, the scent of mint and flower is subtle, yet distinct--the speared leaves sparkled with dew and mist.

Picking a careful trail amongst the birches and bracken, Aldawin hefts a pack--and not her usual satchel--as she nears the deep and inviting pool. The mist is refreshing upon her face, and for a moment the healer slows in her steps and comes to a stop, drawing in a deep, invigorating breath. "Is this not a beautiful spot?" she says, turning with a grin to the Beorian messenger which travels with her. "I was told of this place by one of the villagers when my mother and I were selling candles at Brethil Hall the other morn." She laughs with a conspiratorial grin. "My parents thought I was foolish to rise so early for the trek, but now that we are here, I've no regrets at all." Shrugging the pack higher upon her shoulder, she continues in cautious steps to the edge of the deep, sapphire pool.

The slight crunching of booted feet and the whisper of worn leather against stone ground and needles lain underfoot, tells of the other making her way behind the healer. Coppery highlights gleams brightly in the sun's rays , for the messenger's hair flows behind her, rippling gently in the slight wind as she moves. "It is breath taking!" the lass exclaims, pausing a moment , amidst the birches her eyes hungrily devouring the scene unfolded before her. "Like, something my mother would tell me of...when I was a child..perhaps." Wide is the smiling spreading on her lips as her fingers pulls hastily at the strings of her cloak and a deep sigh floats up from her throat as she casts the heavy garment off her shoulders. "Can you swim Aldawin?" The question is called out to the other, above the water's song and even then it is laced with jest, the eyes of the messenger twinkling delightedly."It is perfect, for a swim don't you think?" She hastens her strides towards the healer, following in her trail , her hands swinging freely at her sides.

Glancing back at Sionell to better hear her, Aldawin laughs quietly as she is asked if she can swim. The expression that follows is a mixture of consideration, mirth and memory as the healer sets the pack down upon the ground and draws her hair in a quick sweep of her hand behind her shoulders. "I'm not certain if it counts as swimming, but I can stay afloat," she answers at last. "My brothers made certain of that. There was a pool, not as deep as this, nor as sheltered with flowers and ferns...some ways from the field. Remember it?" she asks, and even in the speaking begins to slip off her boots from her feet, glancing up the stone steps whereupon the crystalline waters cascade downwards.

Grunting slightly as she shifts her own pack between her shoulders, Sionell smiles. "I remember it well. Diorin taught me how to swim there when I was a youngling." she quips, inching her way gradualling along the rocky edge , her feet stepping gingerly. "Though I was no match for the rushing water of the Teiglin.."she murmers, smiling now at the memory, though the odreal certainly was not one that she would have shrugged off lightly at the time. "Shall we swim? I'd like to...it's been so hot recently."

A sigh drops from her lips as she seats herself upon a flat bed of rock, the pale eyes staring intently at the glossy surface of the pool, shining so invitingly under the shifting ray's of sunlight. "I haven't washed my hair in days..Geleviel would be so shocked!" the lass pipes up, grinning suddenly. "She's always going on about soaps and washing hair..."

Grinning at the messenger, Aldawin gives Sionell a wink. "My mother makes soaps and candles, the former when she has the time for it. I have not gone for long without washing my hands or face, at least, but I rinse my hair once a week with nettle-water," she explains, unbuckling the thick braided leather belt from her waist. Glancing at the short sword attached to the band, the healer finds a place that is half-hidden in which to set it, and then sits upon a shelf of rock and begins to unfasten her leather tunic. "A swim will be marvelous," she says with a wriggling of her toes, but the continuance of her thoughts leads her to look upward at the Beorian messenger in question, even as she slips out of the sueded tunic and tugs at the sleeves of her woven shirt. "Diorin? one of your brothers?" she questions, and stands to her feet once again.

A heavy sigh marks the messengers reponse, the puff of hair giving flight to the long wisps of coppery hair farming her face. "Diorin, he was an old friend.."she murmers, turning silent suddenly and yet looking somewhat contrite at the recollection. "We were such good friends, whilst growing up....he was the guard that escorted me to Hadorsford."she explains, flicking hastily at an insect buzzing nearby. "A childhood friend." She states, simply, her voice expressionless though slight guilt marks her features. Drawing herself to her knees, she lifts one fottslightly half tugging one boot off, her fingers flying to undo the lacings. "He stayed behind with the people of Hadorsford, said he would live their from now on..."She shrugs, struggling with the boot, yanking at it irritably before it loosens suddenly in her grasp , throwing her backwards with the effort. "Oh dear.."

A gasp ensues from her open mouth as she lies back on the flat on the rocky bed, her eyes squinting in the harsh light , half staring at the boot held in her hand, with eyes wondering.

Listening to the messenger, Aldawin's expression grows solemn, though a smile still lifts the corners of her mouth slightly as fond recollections--perhaps of her own brothers and friends from Dorthonion--share in the recounting. "Why did he stay in Hadorsford?" she wonders, though stifles a laugh as Sionell goes tumbling backwards with the difficult removal of her boot. "Are you alright?" she wonders, grinning as she turns away from the pool and approaches the messenger.

"I am just fine!" is the messenger's sheepish response, her cheeks reddened slightly as she draws herself up on her elbows looking to the other and grinning. "Not, the most graceful I am...though. " She clicks her tongue, almost as if chiding herself before a flicker of recollection brings a quiet laugh from her lips. The boot is waved cermoniously in the air, giving expression to her words, which rush from her lips in a torrent. "Though, the scouts that escorted me back kept referring to me as "Lady " all the time. It was quite amusing really, they were never far from me always a step before or behind." A light chuckle greets the healer as she approaches Sionell, as the lass employs herself with the task of wresting the other boot from her right foot. "I never did tell you that tale did I?" She smirks, with quiet satisfaction, her eyes turning towards the healer, twinkling. "Oh Diorin said he could not stand my presence..he would sooner live amongst the folk of Dor-Lomin than return to Brethil with me for a travelling companion.."she adds, in dry response to the healer's earlier question.

Grinning as Sionell says she is alright, Aldawin's expression soon turns to mild amusement and curiosity as the messenger continues her story. "Aye, those of Hadorsford have the habit of addressing us so. Or at least I have noticed from the few times that I have encountered them. Very pleasant.." she muses. "Polite...but it is rather odd." She laughs again with another thought. "Falsten the carpenter calls me 'Honored Healer, ma'am.' I am still getting used to that," she adds, watching as Sionell tackles the other boot. "But what happened with Diorin? Why did he respond with such indifference, do you think?" Aldawin wonders next, and a breath of autumn breezes sift through the cool glade, sending a gentle waft of mist against the healers face and ruffling the light fabric of her shirt.

"Well, I was rude and uncivil to Diorin in the days in which we were lost....in getting to Hadorsford, I was irritated that we took a wrong turn and perhaps he might have taken offense." she remarks, slowly though the lsight lowering of her eyes suggest that there is unresolved guilt in the matter. "Yet I cannot believe, that he would forsake his people entirely due to my own cause...he must have met a lovely girl there ..and didn't wish to tell me." She winks, rising to her feet in one fluid motion, stretching her arms before her and wiggling her toes much in the same fashion that the healer had done earlier. "The scouts are very polite and civil...and they were kind to me." She adds, quietly, her face turning solemn . "I would count them as brothers again if I saw them...though they kept strange company. One of them owned a weasel called Isil." She chuckles, tugging at the cord skirting her waist, the cotton shirt beneath flapping lazily in the wind.

"Aye, there would nothing turn the head of a young man faster than the sight of a girl he fancied," she muses with a smirk. "But I shall not pretend to understand men," she says, her smile broadening with the slight flush of her cheeks. Standing in her stockinged feet, with naught but the leggings and shirt to cover, Aldawin tugs at the knitted fabric which covers her legs and shrugs. "My shirt and leggings could use the washing I suppose.." she says with an eye turned to the pool. And with a last glance at the Beorian messenger, Aldawin scampers ahead towards the dark, cool waters with a whooping shout, jumping from the shelf of rock which surrounds the waters to land with a mighty *splash* in its depths.

"I appears I am not the only one that is not graceful..."Sionell remarks, chuckling as Aldawin hurtles into the pool. It is not long before, she escapes the confines of her tunic, though only after winning the brief struggle with the sleeves. "I'm coming!" she yells, abandoning, quietude and grace as she leaps from the ledge of rock after the healer, clad in her shirt. It is a clumsy dive, yet effortless and she shrieks before hitting the waters with a loud splash.

A glimmer of red hair, and the blurred pale form of her legs kicking below her and the lass breaks the surface, her face appearing above the waterling, eye blinking. "It's cold!" she exclaims, shivering slightly, the shirt floating around her encasing her small form in a small bubble like embrace. "So...Aldawin!! where are you?"

With a splash as she resurfaces, Aldawin sends a spray of water towards the messenger, paddling quickly with her feet as she raises her hand to nudge the long, straight, and now sodden hair from her eyes. "Here!" she says with another laugh, and watching the ripples upon the previously mirror-like surface. "And aye, tis cold, indeed!" she says with another kick which sends her towards one edge of the pool and betrays that perhaps she is a better swimmer than she had owned before. " But I shall soon get used to it, I think," she adds with another splash as her feet break the surface of the water. She sends a glare towards her shirt sleeves, which seem to hamper her movements, though soon finds a shelf of water upon which to sit, half-submerged in the dark waters. Grey eyes glittering, she gives a nod towards the messenger. "And so tell me more of these men from Hadorsford that accompanied you to Brethil? What were they like. I know not many of them, myself...and fewer by name. Was Baradil among them?"

Shivering , Sionell kicks her legs harder, smiling at Aldawin's question. The pale grey eyes, seem to half close as she leans her head backwards, the back of her head just touching the water's rippling surface. Lomg tendrils now darkened and wet hang about her small face, sticking to the back of her neck as wet rills. Water drips down her brow and off the slight curve of her nose and the lass chuckles in quiet response. "Baradil was amonst them, and another called Raelin . Glorfin was the one with the weasel .."she states, grinning again, her eyes twinkling as she arcs her hands skimming below the water's surface playfully. "Baradil saved me from the Teiglin...and Raelin gave me his cloak...it is not a tale worthy of telling..."she murmers, amused slightly. "Have you no tales of your own to tell me Aldawin?" she asks, her curiousity piqued suddenly. "I am doing all the telling..and tis hardly right...we have not spoken like this, since...since..why since Ladros."

As Sionell speaks of Raelin bequeathing his cloak to her, a broadened smile graces the healer's lips. "Raelin lent you his cloak?" she repeats, turning her curious stare back to the messenger. "Tell me of it?" she asks, though seems to admit the reasons for her wonderings with the next. "Fingalad lent me his cloak as well. I still have it, in fact, and must needs return it to him, though I am not sure how that may be accomplished now. "Her expression solemns a little with the thought, and she swims away from the shelf of rock a moment to pluck some small white flowers which grow close to the edge of the pool, returning back to the same shelf to sit and await the messenger's answer. Another breeze ruffles through the glen, causing the healer to shiver as she sinks deeper into the water, so her chin barely touches the surface."

A slight, touch of colour just barely tinges the lass' s cheeks her brow furrowing at the thought. "Yes...he was so odd." she comments, flicking a leaf away from her, looking slightly confused and wistful all at once. "Baradil dragged me from the waters, and Raelin wrapped me in his cloak and led me to the fire...I was so weak I could barely walk, coughing up the river in my throat. Quite an un-lady like picture." She makes a sudden grimace, eyes twinkling. "And of your tale? Who is Fingalad, one of King Fingolffin's people? How did you come to have his cloak Aldawin?" she asks curiously. "The firstborn are so reserved towards our kind..tis a bit strange." She chuckles, swimming towards the other woman, her hair floating about her extending like some sort of aquatic plant.

Smiling, too, as Sionell tells her tale, the healer does solemn at the seeming severity of the event. "Glad am I that you were saved from those waters, Sionell," she says, brows raised. "That must have been a harrowing experience. Do you still have Raelin's cloak?" she wonders, blatant in the inference. She dips the small white flowers in the pool, gazing at the crystal beads deposited upon them before twirling them absently in her fingers and sending the droplets to splash upon the water, her gentle grey gaze transported to memory, her lips curving to a slow smile. "T'was almost a year ago...in winter," she begins, at last meeting the messenger's gaze. "There upon the Ard Galen when Antyr and I were lost of a blizzard. Fingalad was among those that found me in the storm and brought me back." The healer gazes back to the waters again, giving a shrug. "He visited me as I convalesced...and we spoke of things important to us both...and I suppose it drew us close." Her glance is quick to flash upon the healer, and amends quickly, "But not in any way other than friendship. He gave me his cloak for the winter and bid I return it in the spring...but much has happened since then..." The words are followed by a pensive gaze, but then the healer grins at the messenger. "Aye, much," she repeats, a hint only of her inward thoughts.

A look of quiet wonder and perhaps heightened curiousity does the lass give the healer , her eyes gazing at her all the more fixedly especially on the last words. "An interesting tale..yet you would have found a friend .."she says, thoughtfully. "They are an interesting people Aldawin..I am sure there is much you may have learnt from him." She says, quietly though not asking any further of the encounter though, her curiousity tugs her. "I do have Raelin's cloak...still. Though it is only because, I did not see him when the scouts left....there was little opportunity to return it, nor was there time for me to bid him farewell." Again, there is an odd catch in her voice, though she stifles it with a sudden laugh, clearing her throat. Her arms move about, then sweeping beneath the waterline and then erupting moments after at the surface. The waters about the lass, tremble and ripple even as she shivers still her movement slightly.

The morning fades to midday, and here in the cool glade of ferns, silvery birches and crystalline stream, two Beorian maidens swim in the deep-sapphire waters below the Dimrost, and share in the glee of a seeming secret. The healer Aldawin sits upon a shelf of rock, clad in light cotton shirt and leggings--which also benefit from the swim. Her sueded leather tunic and belt with its accompanying short sword and hunting knife are half-hidden in a lush stand of bracken and birch, while the boots of both are haphazarly scattered near the pool's edge. Sionell, for her part, also wears clothes enough to assume modesty, though both seem uncaring that any might happen along, the Beorian healer laughing as she scoots off of the shelf to plunge beneath the depths of surface, leaving no trace of her presence as the waters calm.

Casually, yet quietly strolling along the trees, a rather mid-sized figure comes about the stream, opposite the end where the two maidens bathe. Seemingly drowned in thought, Lauson looks upon his own reflection in the crystal water, oblivious to the reality surrounding him, and trapped in his own mind. A look of sorrow, and concern consumes his sharp features. He gently flutters his eyes as the mist from the stream begins a mild assault on his face. Lau looks to the sky, and sighs quietly.

Gurgling laughter is Sionell's response as Aldawin again slides into the water and arching her head skywards slightly, she says, "You said you couldn't swim much...but you move like a fish" Her eyes narrow in mockery at her friend and she shakes her head, the long tendrils sending droplets of water skittering towards the other. Coughing from swallowing a good bit of the water with her laughing, Sionell grins, swishing herself in small circles where she floats, legs half kicking in the water . "What..will you do next Aldawin" she begins, as if in mild scolding, her tongue clicking softly when the pale eyes spot the looming reflection of another and she falls into silence. An angonized look widens the grey eyes further and wordlessly she points, towards the shape her mouth opening and closing rapidly, yet no sounds leave her lips.

And, as Aldawin is beneath the water when Sionell both asks her question and then spies another standing afar from where they bathe, the healer is quite oblivious to Sionell's alarm, and in truth it might be assumed that the fact the other Beorian has not surfaced yet is in itself cause for concern...

Lauson's eyes start to scan the area in hopes of distracting his troubled mind. First, he gazes upon the tree tops above and smiles, as he always does, at their overwhelming presence and beauty. Then he lets his sights fall down to the glistening stream below him. The radiant water encourages Lau to push himself out of his rustic tunic, and down to his loins. He gently sets himself in the creek, right foot first, and heaves a heavy sigh of relief and relaxation as the refreshing flow massages his worn feet. His eyes slowly shut, and it seems as if a heavy burden has been forgotten.

Eyeing the reflection on the water's surface , the messenger stills her movement. The only sound, that may perhaps tell of her presence is the chattering of her teeth as she shivers slightly and the quiet dripping of water . "Aldawin?" A hissing whisper leaves her lips as she half turns her head, sending a tell tale, rippling of the waters about her, the surface shuddering as the small waves collide. "Aldawin?" This time, her whisper is louder , giving expression to the urgency of her tone. The grey eyes look around wildly, for sight of the healer and taking a deep breath she plunges below the waterline herself.

Skimming the depths of the pool, the Healer from Ladros soon resurfaces--just missing the messenger as she does so. Drawing in deep breaths of air, she swipes the long glistening trails of her dark hair from her face and swims back to the shelf of rock once more, oblivious to the figure of Lauson some yards away. Looking about curiously, she searches for the messenger now in the depths. "Sionell?" she wonders peering first upon the water's surface, but then glancing upwards to the shimmering steppes of cascading water above. Clearing her throat, she reaches up to wring the water from her hair and makes a splash with her feet for good measure--still alert for the messenger's presence.

The waters erupt at that instant as the messenger's head emerges , the grey eyes slightly reddened glance about frantically even as she surfaces. A blur of dark and light, of vague forms of various shapes and shifting hues fills her vision as she draws a shuddering breath, before her eyes at lastfall on the seated healer. "You have been there alll along!"she splutters, coughing slightly, yet looking both relieved and startled. "Shhh!!!" The lass raises one finger to her lips, jerking her head in the direction of the form she had seen. Her grey eyes narrow as she swims towards the healer, tugging on her ankle insistently. "Shh! not a sound....it could be the bandit.."she hisses in a whispery voice, yanking the healer's foot . "Shh!!"

Startled by the messenger's tug upon her ankle, Aldawin is at once alerted by her words. "Bandit?" she returns in a whisper, the grey gaze darting about the glade in alarm. "Where?" For still it seems that the other is well enough hid from the healer's sight so as not to be seen...

Disturbed and shocked by the sudden commotion coming from up stream, Lau quickly slips out of the water, and throws himself behind some random shubbery. He lifts his head up slightly and cuts his breath short listening for any sound or sign of what may have caused all the ruckus. Swiftly he darts behind trunks, stumps, and bushes trying to remain as concealed as possible. Soon though, he realizes he's a good 30 feet away from his garments, and sighs at thought of taking on some sort of aggresor half naked.

"Yes..." murmers, the lass flinching slightly as an insect alights on her nose before she raises a finger to flick away the creature. "I saw, someone....only vaguely..."she explains, impatiently obviously convinced herself that the infamous bandit had once again made another appearance. "We must be still...or he may attack us..."She pales, turning a few shades lighter under her tanned features.."or take us to meet his brothers..."she mumbles, ducking down into the water so that only her chin remains above the waterline. "Come down here...so he may not see you.."she hisses, insistently.

A little perturbed that he can't make out anything that could've possibly caused so much noise, Lau continues inching forward, half crouched, and tense from the calves up. He makes his way up to the pool very slightly, continuing to listen for any signs of life, or death for that matter. Suddenly, he feels a bit of confidence, or if anything, a naive sensation to hail whoever might be out. "I can outrun most anything in this forest if need be," he quietly thinks to himself, "What do I have to fear...?"

Slipping soundlessly off the shelf of rock back into the water, Aldawin looks to the messenger in question. "You are certain it is the bandit?" she whispers, paddling with her legs and arms to keep her chin just above the surface. She looks to the banks, whereupon the boots of both healer and messenger lie in plain sight, and blinks rapidly in thought as her lips press together. "Well, we could not be in a worse place," she says in seeming irritation, though the gravity of the situation has not quite possessed the healer. Once again she seeks to find the other Sionell speaks of, looking southward along the Celebros, yet seeing no glimpse nor view of another. "Are you certain?" she asks again, now shaking her head slightly. "You know..t'would be the type of thing Istadris would do....creeping up on unsuspecting Beorian folk in the forest.." Even so, it seems the healer considers it a ridiculous suggestion, judging by the expression that follows these words.

Bobbing her head , her eyes widened with much trepidation and something akin to stark horror, Sionell looks to the other quietly. "No..yes...but I don't want to take the chance." She shivers all the more in the cold waters, feeling the nip of the chilled waters , all the more in having to still her moevements. Still, her legs kick weakly as she keeps herself afloat looking to the other with scant agreement in her eyes. "Nay tis not the woodsman...it may be Habard or that green troll I met in the woods.."she says soberly, eyeing their boots and tunics with much chagrin. "I hope the thieves do not make off with our packs...there are things I would not wish to lose." She frowns slightly , gazing up and about them, betraying little movement save the drifting of her grey eyes. "It would be useless...to run...we are in a sore spot. Perhaps, we may scare him off!"she whispers, her hands moving along the edge of the pool slowly, her fingers probing the rushes and uneven stone . "Find as many pebbles as you can Aldawin..."

Finally building up enough courage to let his voice ring about the pool, Lauson opens his mouth and begins to take a deep breath from the deepest parts of his confidence, until an involuntary glance spies upon the pairs of boots sitting off to the side of the pool. He hesitates a moment and considers who (or what) the owners may be. "Could it possibly be a trap...?" Once again he resorts to questioning himself. "I see not how, though... But there's always that chance..."

A faint look of amusement crosses the healer's face, yet she does not /quite/ smile of the messenger's worry. "Pebbles will not avail us much, Sionell," she says, reaching a hand for the other's shoulder. "But you are right, and I will not lose that sword to anyone, as well." Canvassing the glade, Aldwain nods towards a covering trailing of ferns very close to where the cascades of water meet the far end of the pool. "Let us take cover in there and watch for a bit. And perhaps I can think of something..." she muses. Gazing overhead, she whispers quietly, "There is little cover from the stream, but I could climb up there..." She points to a slippery outcropping of stone steps that are clothed in yet more ferns and lined by young birches, "...and around. But come..." And she begins swimming towards the sheltering ferns.

Lauson starts to rub his calves as his entire body has been completely tense for the past half hour or so. He glares intently about the area looking for something that would lead to some kind of hint of a trap. Down to his last nerve, he finally settles it. "Whoever's there! Show yourself! I mean you no harm!" Lau shouts at the very top of his lungs.

A nervous twitch of the lips, is the messenger's response to the healer's words. Yet her hands still grip the few pebbles she has gathered and she half turns in the water as if to follow Aldawin through the water, to the ferns ans safety when a shout pierces the air..and the lass's nerves. "It is...the Bandit..." she affrims, the pebbles clattering noisily from her hands in startlement. "Trying to trick us..." She hovers, in the waters as still as one of the rocks, watching Aldawin with fear in her grey eyes,

By her expression, Aldawin does not seem wholly convinced, for there seems something about the voice... Shaking her head, and looking like she sets off to do a task she would rather not do, the healer utters a sharp, whispered "Stay here. I am going to climb up there and see if I can better view what is going on. You cannot be seen from here, so /don't move/," she admonishes. Then, silently swimming to the outcropping she had espied before, Aldawin reaches up and quickly pulls herself to its shelf, rolling back into the lush growth of ferns and other flora, and away into the shadows, yet peering out towards the southward stream once again. Moving to a crouch, she waits a moment before moving to the cover of the line of birches and starting the climb upwards...

Lauson waits many awkward moments with no response. Yet he cannot move. His feet are firmly planted on the ground he stands. His lungs are left frozen at the end of the exhale. He's simply waiting, hoping nothing bad turns of this.

"Don't move" the lass chatters, echoing Aldawin's words softly and looking nonetheless uncomfortable in finding herself deserted and alone in her watery surroundings. Already, the tips of her fingers are wrinkled and her skin is chilled, as cold as the water's touch the wind blowing about the pool does little to help the fact. Sionell draws another small hissing breath, shivering all the while her pale eyes following Aldawin's trail to the ferns. Finally, as if her nerves could take the suspense any longer, she sighs heavily. "Leave the packs but take the boots if you must Habard!!!" she shouts, suddenly her voice ringing out and breaking the prolonged silence. She claps a hand over her mouth then, sinking back to chin-high in the water.

Navigating the moss-covered stones and keeping close to the sheltering foliage as she can, Aldawin half-scrambles up the steppes of stones as quickly as possible, looking towards a copse of close-grown pines, birches and bracken near the top of the Dimrost. It is as expected at first, and though the healer struggles to keep her footing and handholds secure, the sudden and warning cry of Sionell is /not/ expected, causing Aldawin to turn her head sharply to look behind her--and thus in turn compromising her careful balance. With an utterance of surprise, her right foot slips of the already precarious footing, and with a series of bumps and scrapes, the healer slides along the several yards of stone to land with a great splash in the pool below.

"Boots?" Lau laughs, "I was hoping you'd have a cloth, or maybe a tunic so that I might be able to cover myself." A sudden smile comes across his face as he realizes the misunderstanding. "Might I introduce myself? I am known as Lau, of the Brethil. Who might you be my anxious friend?" Lau can hardly keep himself from laughing out loud considering the grave circumstances a few moments earlier. Though for seem reason, there's a slight fear lying in his heart. A fear he hardly cares to take notice, after relieving such a pressure off his body and mind.

Lau's head jerks at the sudden splash from the other end of the pool. He stands on his toes trying to get a glance at what set the water airborne.

"You may call yourself that...if you wish Habard" is the maiden's answer as she swims further towards the rocky shelf, her eyes searching for the source of the voice warily. "You will not trick me again..."she mutters, huffing with effort as she draws herself bodily up onto the rocky ledge , half sprawled on the shelf. Gasping a breath, Sionell tilts her head , her eyes at last finding the adan and a deep flush marks her cheeks. "Oh!!"she cries sharply, covering her eyes with one hand, deep chargrin registering in the voice that follows, soft and subdued and small. "You are not Habard,!" It is then that the splash catches her attention and she falls silent.

With a fair amount of sputtering, Aldawin fights her way to the surface of the pool once more, somewhat shaken and noticeably jarred by the fall. At first she seems to make assessement of her condition--as a healer will--but ignoring any immediate need for treatment, she turns towards Sionell--and now the other whom, having moved closer, is recognisable as the forester. "Lauson?" she says, sniffing back the water in her nose and coughing as she blinks behind the curtain of her dark hair. Swiping the locks away, she swims forward now, glancing with irritation at a tear upon her sleeve.

"M'lady Aldawin?" Lau squints through his eyes, making out the details of the hacking figure off in the pool. Upon realizing it's Aldawin, he tries to avoid looking directly at her by means of respect, assuming she's in her undergarments. But soon he realizes his predicament is a tad more serious. Grabbing the first thing he sees, he lunges for one of the boots he looked upon so intently and covers himself awkwardly. "Er... How fares it m'lady?" He says with a sheepish grin, secretly enjoying the situation.

Bidding her silence, in quiet embarrassment Sionell sits up from her perch atop the shelf , her eyes squinting slightly. "Do...you know this man Aldawin?" she calls out, looking towards the swimming healer in askance. Yet, in the moments following she remains wordless, analysing the last happenings with slight colour touching her cheeks. "Not Habard...not a Bandit.."she mutters to herself, covering her face again with her hands , the droplets of water running into her eyes.

Feeling a stinging sensation upon her chin, Aldawin raises the back of her right hand--which bears a scratch as well--up to touch the bottom of her abraded chin gingerly, rolling her eyes as she discovers the results of her clumsiness. Glancing next at Lauson, she seems further embarrassed at his own predicament, and finally, given nothing more fitting to do in the situation, Aldawin bursts into laughter, sputtering bubbles and water as she sinks below the surface for a moment. Returning to the water's surface, the healer owns in a rather curious tone while averting her gaze from Lauson's half-clad figure, "I have fared better, I suppose, but surely also worse." Again the smile is quelled, though rather unsucessfully. as she swims towards the submerged shelf of stone and there sits to survey the various scrapes and bruises she has earned in her mishap.

Lauson soons joins in with Aldawin, and laughs his full, hearty laugh. "It appears you've aquired a number of scrapes, my dear Aldawin." Not forgetting of dark haired healer's friend, Lau quickly turns to her and bows deeply, (though keeping hand over the boot the entire time) "Although I believe I already introduced myself, it was under rather odd circumstances. I am known as Lau, of the Brethil. How fare thee m'lady?" He hardly manages to contain his laughter, but lets a full grin spread from ear to ear.

Her gaze flitting from Aldawin to the adan suspiciously, the messenger smiles, though looking stil vaguely disappointed that he was not the bandit as she had suspected. "I am Sionell..."she pipes up faintly, looking slightly more than mildly amused and it is not long before she is laughing along with them . "It is good to have met you Lau of the Brethil.."the messenger continues, inclining her head politely, despite her wet state, she offers the customary greeting. "Though, perhaps...under different circumstances...it would have been less humourous." She adds, averting her eyes still, and half flushing with embarrassment, "There is a tunic there...and a cloak nearby if you wish it."

Grinning at Sionell as she speaks, Aldawin continues to count the bumps and bruises--though none are serious and only the scrape to her chin bleeds with any stubbornness. Glancing behind her , the healer plucks some dark green leaves that grow amidst the mint and meadowsweet, and, crushing the delicate leaves in her fingers, she applies them to the seeping wound on her chin, holding them there as she speaks. "'Tis well that you are NOT the bandit Sionell expected, Lauson," Aldawin calls so the Haladin may hear as well. "I for one have no desire to meet any of them." She darts a sharp glance at the messenger, and then flicks a careful glance to the forester. "You are well, I trust?" she then inquires, quelling yet another smile.

"My many thanks, Mistress Sionell. I was starting to catch a draft." Lau grins while snatching up the cloak and tunic, and walks behind a rather large tree. "I must apologize for intruding upon your privacy. I was merely walking along the woods when I heard a rather loud commotion happening up stream. I wasn't sure what it might've been, and though I admit this not without losing some shred of dignity, I almost feared for my life." He sort of half chuckles, half whimpers as he says this. "Quite an odd spell was about me. Perhaps I should find something to eat." He then turns his attention to Aldawin. "Aye, the bandits. I forgot all about them." His face turns solemn for a moment, "I feel not so well, considering I left you almost as frightened as I was. Even worse do I feel knowing I've left you with such wounds." He lets a rather meek smile escape after he steps out from behind the tree. "Much better," he proclaims.

"You have nothing to fear from us..I assure you.."Sionell says smiling, chuckling to herself as he appears decked out in Aldawin's attire and her own grey cloak. "Though, you may wish to find your own clothes before you venture in search of something to eat. Sir.."she adds, her eyes dancing merrily as she looks to Aldawin. "You would be in a sorry state if any were to see you wearing the clothes of two women...and our fate would be even sorrier...granted that we may wish to be fully clad when we leave.."she adds, slightly sheepishly.

"And I assure you, I've no one to blame but myself for these," Aldawin replies as the Haladin forester returns more fully...draped. Lowering her hand from her chin, the healer discards the crushed leaves in the loamy soil behind her and points to the pack set near one of the boots. "If you were to look in there, you shall find apples and bread. There is enough for us all to share," she offers, once more leaving the perch of the stone shelf and swimming now towards the bank where Lauson stands. "I do not think I may stay in the water much longer, or I shall surely shrivel away," the healer says with a gentle laugh. As if to lend further reason for her to leave the pool's cool waters, the breezes start an insistent flurry overhead, and golden leaves fall like fluttering rain.

"Oh yes, my own garments! I'll be back in but a moment," Lau says gingerly, as he begins a sprint down the stream. When he reaches where he originally was, he fails to spot his clothing anywhere. He searches frantically about, searching the bushes and under rocks, yet to no avail. Feeling the guilt of borrowing the two near freezing women's clothing, he quickly sprints back. "I've come across a minor problem, my dear Aldawin. My clothing has seemingly vanished." He almost laughs out loud upon hearing himself speak, though he cannot help but blush. "It's no real trouble though. Living alone in the woods leaves little to judge you. I shall leave your garments as where I found them, and I thank you for your altruism, but I really must be taking off. It's quite cold at night, you see, and I'd really need to find some sort of clothing." The shivering Forester sets the tunic and cloak neatly on top of a mound, and lets out a hasty wave good bye. "Til we meet again, Aldawin, Sionell. Though I hope you won't see as much of me then." He grins to himself, as he begins a rather fast paced trot away.

Her mouth opening and closing in rapid succession, the messenger finally subsides into chuckling as the forester takes off. "Oh dear.."she murmers, casting her eyes skywards , heaving herself slowly to her feet somewhat shakily. "I hope the Bandits do not come across the poor man..."she murmers to Aldawin, as her feet lead her from the edges of the pool . The wind picks up, tugging at her hair and loose shirt and the lass gives a slight sneeze..."I hope we don't catch the cold Aldawin...would be another meeting for the three of us in your healers hall. "She remarks, pivoting slightly in the breeze , as if in dance her eyes twinkling. "But now, we should return ere it grows late...and I have had my fill of the waters ..and would not wish to carry back, anything of the sort...save your little secret.."She chuckles wickedly, shivering in the chill wind, tugging the cloak over her shoulders.

Still swimming towards the bank, Aldawin half-stops of her strokes as Lauson darts away after his clothing. Upon his discovery and subsequent announcement, she raises an arm to wave a farewell, calling after him, "Good day, Lauson!," but next turns to Sionell, starting to shiver of the water's chill, herself. "That was most..." she blinks quickly, her mouth pulling to a straight line. "Most unusual," she finally admits, and with a playful splash towards the messenger, increases her strokes to reach the bank. "I don't know about you," she says with a call over her shoulder, and climbing back upon the forest's soil, "but I have had enough of bathing for a day!" Shivering, she reaches her pack, loosens the fastenings, and takes out the blanket rolled within, unfolding and wrapping it about her.

"Most unusual indeed!"remarks the lass, pulling on her breeches and boots soon after her eyes twinkling. "Strange..we shall speak no word of this meeting amongst anyone Aldawin...I fear twill be most embarrassing for the poor man, if word of this gets out. "She says sheepishly, hefting her pack between her shoulder, pausing a moment to draw a wisp of errant coppery hair from her mouth. She tucks the edges of the cloak about her small form, huddling within it and shivering very much in the same fashion as her counterpart.

Laughing, Aldawin huddles in the warmth of the blanket a few moments more before turning to drying her hair, grinning in tandem with the messenger's comments. "Aye. Would they believe us anyway?" she quips, once again dabbing at the scrape upon her chin. Bundling the blanket up once more, the healer, too, dresses quickly and strapping the belt and sword about her waist, looks to the trail leading towards the hill. "Well, then...foresters and bandits in consideration, perhaps we should be making our way back to the village sooner than later." So saying, the healer nods towards the trail and grins. "First one back owes the other a drink!" and strides quickly under the mottled light of the forest towards Amon Obel.