❝ a mermaid belongs to the sea. she cannot stay on land without the guarantee of her death. ❞
❝ yes, but her heart belongs here. ❞
↳ gandalf the grey to queen marella
╔═══ -ˋˏ *.·:·.⟐.·:·.* ˎˊ- ═══╗
she belonged...
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AS GRIMMUND ESCORTED VERA BACK TO the halls of Meduseld, the air around them is silent and awkward. They are acutely aware of the uncomfortable atmosphere surrounding the area between them but are completely unaware of what to do about it. Walking up the hill from the cottage by the seashore, Vera shuffles her feet nervously and bites her plump lips in complication. She didn't like the awkward air around them and attempted to start a conversation with the intimidating man beside her but was left unable to do so without the risk of starting an argument or a conversation wherein one of them was left dead and mangled.
Vera huffs, surrendering to their silence, and ceasing her attempts of starting a conversation between the two. She crosses her arms over her chest, shuddering under the pressure of the air around them, and pulling her cloak closer to her chest in order to keep herself warm with the wintry feel of Meduseld. Grimmund's towering form doesn't let any vulnerability show through his cold and expressionless façade, only agitating Vera further than she already felt. Finally accepting the fact that Grimmund nor she is going to start anything, Vera sighs. Besides, Meduseld isn't that far away from their current area, meaning that she only has a few minutes of awkward silences like those.
Vera reminded herself to add awkward silences to her long, and progressive, list of 'Things I Hate.'
However, Vera didn't expect Grimmund to break the silence between them. He starts off with a gruff groan, almost as if he were scolding himself for the next actions to come, before grumbling sourly. Adjusting his body to face Vera while keeping their brisk pace, he let out a timid question, one that was rather different in comparison to his structure, "You know Corin?" He nods his head off behind them, motioning to the cottage by the seashore that was long gone from their grasp. Vera peers at him curiously, looking back at the cottage, and nods.
"Yes," she answers verbally, picking on her hands, and bringing some warmth through her body by adjusting the temperature around them. She had forced both her brother and Corin to stay at the cottage, barely giving them enough time to argue before she was fleeing through the door with Grimmund hot on her tail. They had both tried to stop her but due to their injuries, they were left unable to. Vera hoped that Corin would take most of the heat from her brother about their tiny moment of something more than friends before her departure. "Neptune's my brother, Corin's my...friend."
Grimmund raises an eyebrow at her hesitance of titling her friend but doesn't bother asking. Instead, he squares his shoulders and mentally congratulated himself for managing to start a conversation with the stubborn Queen without an argument. The tension between then lessens. Vera ducks her head in thought, noting her own hesitation and scolding herself for being too revealing to a man she barely knows. She, herself, didn't know what to call Corin for his title had always been 'friend.' If the news that Evian told them, and the small amount of proof they discovered, is true then her whole life and understanding would be going down the drain and turning her world upside down.
