We'll dance among the stars by daughterofshadows

Aman

No warnings apply.

Galdor reminisces about his old home planet.

The prompt for Aman was A dream of a faraway place. It made it in, just barely XD

Read Aman

“What was it like, the place where you grew up?”

Galdor froze, his arm tightening around Nellas’ waist.

“You don’t have to answer if the memories still pain you,” his lover rushed to assure him. “I’m just curious, I suppose. We’ll be on the Gondolin soon, and of course it’s not the first time I’ve been off-planet, but it’ll be the longest trip yet, and I was thinking about all the things I’m going to miss and what I want to tell Anneryn about Doriath when she’s old enough to understand and then it made me wonder about your home and whether you’d want to tell our daughter about it. But as I said, you don’t have to answer. I don’t mind.”

 

“It’s the dawn I miss the most. Silly, isn’t it? We left behind friends and family, and our entire lives, but if I could see only one thing again, it would be Tirion’s walls gleaming in the red-golden light of a Laurelin morning. There is no sight more beautiful. We lived on the outskirts, just outside the old city walls, built when our three people had not yet made peace with each other, and every morning those white walls turned into a canvas. Elenwë and I often sat on our roofs and watched the artist at work. She liked Telperion’s silver light far more, she said it reminded her of the snowy peaks of her hometown.” Galdor sighed deeply. “I wish Anneryn could have seen it.”

 

“So do I. Your description has painted the most beautiful picture in my mind,” Nellas whispered and squeezed his hand.

A baby cried out.

They stared at each other.

“She must have known we were speaking of her,” Nellas laughed, shrugging off the covers, but husband’s hand stilled her before she could get out of bed.

“I’ll check on her. She doesn’t sound like she’s hungry. You’ll have to get up often enough tonight.”

He slipped out of the room, and Nellas soon heard him whispering to their daughter.

She drifted off to the soft notes of a lullaby.

In her dreams, she saw a white city and a golden sunrise.

Balar 1

The prompt was Feeling alone, and that's what it's about.
Nellas struggles to find her place now that she's left her home.

The chapter ends on a positive note, but the beginning is a bit sad, so tread carefully.

Read Balar 1

When Fingolfin’s fleet reached the Beleriand System after a turbulent journey through the Helcaraxë meteor field, they claimed the planet Hithlum for their own, and the people living on Doriath and Balar, Beleriand’s two main habitable planets, had let out a collective sigh of relief.

Nellas remembered well the fear of an attack hanging like a cloud over these days. Even battered as they were, there was no doubt that the VSS Rochallor and her companions would have made a formidable foe to Doriath’s defences.

But no attack ever came. Instead, the fleet settled on the rocky planet, generally deemed too far away from Anar to support a colony and integrated nicely with the rest of the system. The engineers on Balar, especially, had struck up a close friendship with the newcomers.

They still maintained a small outpost on Hithlum, headed by Fingolfin himself, but most of the ships had soon left again to explore the rest of the system and beyond.

Nowadays, the Noldorin ships often carried supplies and messages with them as they went back and forth between Beleriand and its neighbouring systems, their ships made for deep space in a way that most of the Beleriand ships weren’t.

 

One of these carrier ships was the VSS Gondolin.

Galdor had been called back to work by his captain, and after many hours of discussion they had decided that Nellas and Anneryn would join him on the ship, so their family, including Galdor’s nephew Laegolas, had taken a shuttle from Doriath to Balar where the Gondolin was undergoing repairs.

Nellas would miss her gardens and greenhouses in Menegroth but working with the biologists on the ship promised to be interesting and the few members of her team she had met so far all appeared to be nice people.

 

That did nothing to soothe her current loneliness though.

She’d known being so far away from her friends and family would be difficult, but perhaps she had underestimated how difficult.

Nellas had hoped Galdor would introduce her to some of his friends, make it a bit easier to make new connections while they were still docked, but he’d been busy helping to prepare their departure ever since they arrived, and so they had barely seen each other, let alone had time to socialise.

Laegolas, too, had slipped away as soon as the shuttle landed, and truly, Nellas did not begrudge him the chance to meet his friends again, but it did mean the only familiar person left on the ship was her daughter. And as much as she loved Anneryn, a baby hardly provided stimulating conversation.

 

With a sigh, Nellas abandoned her novel and moved to Anneryn’s crib. She lifted her daughter up and settled her into her carrier sling. “What do you think about a walk, my treasure? We’ve been on Balar for a week now, and I have yet to see a beach. We can’t let that stand, can we? It’s Balar, after all!”

Anneryn gurgled in response, and Nellas chose to take it as agreement. She wrapped her coat around them both, fished her keys out of her bag and left the small apartment they had moved into for the time being.

 

There were three things the planet Balar was known for: The Yard, managed by Círdan the shipwright, a pioneer of the spaceflight movement, and his partner Aerchen; the vast oceans, covering nearly all of the planet’s surface; and the ever-present wind.

Nellas had seen the yard when they had landed, met the wind as soon as they left the terminal, and now she would finally see the ocean.

She had never seen the ocean before. Lakes, yes, even fairly large ones, but neither Doriath, nor its moon Dor-Lómin had any oceans. Nothing so big that you could see nothing but water all the way to the horizon.

 

But here she was now.

Grey stairs led down to stony beach and beyond that, there was only water, as far as the eye could see.

In the afternoon light, it looked almost green, and suddenly, she was reminded of the view out of the shuttle window as they left Doriath behind them. The two planets could not be more different from each other, nevertheless, the thought made her feel less alone.

Nellas took a deep breath, tasting the salty air. She wondered whether the water would be warm enough to swim in. Perhaps she could convince Galdor to spend a day here together, before they left for the unknown.

A shimmering caught her eye. She picked up a seashell, its smooth, white inside shining in the sun. The outside was as green as the ocean beside her. Or the leaves of the apple tree in her garden.

Nellas slipped it into her pocket with a smile.

---

Chapter End Notes

I'm trying my best to keep the info-dumping to a minimum, but there is so much I've been developing for this universe that I don't want to keep it all just in my mind.
I've got a meta fic of sorts planned though, to explain all the surrounding things!

In the mean time, ask if you want to know anything specific!

Balar 2

Okay, here are where things get minorly complicated, because I introduce a lot of OCs from my other Gondolin centred fics.

As per usual for any fic involving many of my OCs, I'll give you a short who's who. This includes Quenya and Sindarin names where applicable.

Language Notes:

Nellas is speaking nearly exclusively Sindarin, so she'll be using those names until a character tells her otherwise. Laegolas, too, is speaking mostly Sindarin at this point, while Celebrilmal uses Quenya names, even though she is in-universe speaking Sindarin for Nellas' sake.

The Cast:

Nellas: We've met her in the previous two chapters. In this universe, she is a biologist. More on this will come in Balar - Part IV, so stay tuned to learn about her research!

Laegolas/Laiquilasse (of Gondolin). Also called: Laiko: Just like in And we were never meant to win (a canon universe Galdor/Nellas romance), I'm not using the Silvanised version of the name, because I don't see why Nellas would be using it. (Also, it helps me differentiate him from LotR Legolas, which is sometimes important). He's Galdor's nephew, but was mostly raised by him and therefore considers him his father.

Celebrilmal. Also called: Celee, Laura (based on her Quenya name Laurelohte). OC: Originally developed by Lyssa, I adopted her when I started writing the TMP universe. You can find her in a few canon universe fics such as Coming home and How I met your mother. She is the daughter of Salgant of the House of the Harp and Laurendil (another OC. More on her next chapter.)

Read Balar 2

Nellas had left the ocean behind and was standing on the boardwalk again when someone called out to her.

“Nellas! Wait!”

She turned toward the voice. It was Laegolas, hair tousled by the wind, and bright smile on his face. By his side walked a golden-haired girl.

“I’m so glad to see you here! How do you like Balar? I still find it hard to believe a single place can contain this much water! But it looks rather beautiful, doesn’t it?”

He had linked their arms together, while he rambled on, talking about this and that, and nothing at all.

Nellas looked at his companion and saw the same fond smile she knew was on her own lips.

When Laegolas finally paused to take a breath, the girl linked their fingers together and said, “Perhaps you can introduce us now?”

A blush darkened Laegolas’ face.

“Of course! Celebrilmal, this is Nellas, Ada’s wife and their daughter Anneryn! Nellas, this is my best friend Celebrilmal. Her parents have invited us for dinner tonight! Ada said he wasn’t sure if he could make it, but you should come anyway. They’re all really nice, and you’ve probably not had the chance to meet many people, yet.” He looked chagrined. “I’m sorry about that. I shouldn’t have left you all to yourself. That wasn’t very nice. Especially since Ada hasn’t had much time for you either.”

 

Nellas patted his arm reassuringly.

“Don’t worry too much about it. It is hardly your responsibility to keep me entertained. Yes, I was feeling rather lonely this morning, but it was nothing a nice walk along the shore couldn’t fix. And besides, soon we’ll be on the ship, and I’m sure I’ll have plenty of opportunity to meet people then.”

“You should still join us for dinner. My mother was glad to hear that Galdor found you. She is very excited to meet you,” Celebrilmal announced. “My uncle and his family should also be there. You may have met him already since you’ll be working together in the future. His name is Glorfindel.”

Nellas’ mind flashed back to the blond officer that had shown her the labs. Now that she was looking for it, she could see the similarities between uncle and niece, shared family traits that went beyond their golden hair.

Glorfindel’s enthusiasm had known no bounds as he talked about his team’s previous projects and what they hoped to achieve on the coming journey.

Perhaps joining Celebrilmal’s family for dinner would not be too bad. If worse came to worse, she might at least be able to learn a bit more about her new workplace.

“Alright then, if your parents truly don’t mind me and Anneryn coming, even without Galdor, we’ll happily join you for dinner tonight.”

Laegolas and Celebrilmal cheered.

 

They chose to spend the time until dinner together, wandering through the town bordering the shipyard.

At one point, Laegolas had taken Anneryn, so Nellas wouldn’t have to carry her the entire time, and Celebrilmal took the chance to tell her more about her family.

Her parents both were from Valinor, albeit different parts of the planet, while Celebrilmal had been born during the crossing of the Helcaraxë. Just like Laegolas, she had spent nearly her entire life on the VSS Gondolin.

“Ammë and Atto both work in administration, which is how Laiko and I met. Technically, Galdor works there, too, though in reality, he goes where the captain needs him to. They’ve known each other since childhood, and Turgon holds him in high regard. You might meet him tonight, too. His wife, Elenwë, is my mother’s older sister, and our families are close.”

“And Glorfindel is your mother’s brother, yes? Or are you related on your father’s side?” Nellas’ head was spinning with all the new names, and she very much hoped she would not be introduced to all of them tonight.

Celebrilmal nodded. “Glorfindel is Ammë’s twin, yes. Atto doesn’t have any siblings, as far as I know.”

 

“Really, the only two people you need to know about on Salgant’s side are Rog and Alma. The trouble is all on Laurendil’s side,” Laegolas added helpfully, and Nellas sighed.

“And Rog and Alma are…?”

“My father’s best friend and his spouse,” Celebrilmal immediately replied. “You will definitely meet them tonight. We’ve been living together for as long as I can remember. They’re kind of like second parents to me.”

“Rog used to watch us a lot when we were younger. Our parents were often busy, and we didn’t have a nursery or a proper school on the ship, yet. Those were only added a few years ago,” Laegolas picked up the tale. A nostalgic smile spread across his face. “We had a lot of fun. He must have been so frustrated at the time, but he never let it out on us.”

The question must have been obvious on her face, because Celebrilmal answered before Nellas could ask what was meant by that.

“Crossing the Helcaraxë took nearly 20 years. Two ships had to be left behind when they were damaged beyond repair. The Gondolin almost suffered the same fate when we were hit by debris. I’ve never been so terrified in my life. I thought for certain that the ship would fall apart.”

 Celebrilmal shuddered.

“So many were injured. Rōka was one of them. It was really bad, and it took a long time before he was cleared for work again. I think part of the reason we ended up with him was so he wouldn’t go stir-crazy. You see, Rōka and Alma are both engineers. Alma works with electronics and systems and Rōka is one of the people responsible for the reactors that provide the ship with energy. They’ve been working on the Gondolin since construction began, and not being able to help when she was in such a terrible shape was really frustrating Rōka.”

 

“But it all worked out in the end!” Laegolas cheerfully concluded, bouncing Anneryn on his hip. “We reached Hithlum shortly after, and Rog was back at work before the Gondolin headed out again three Anar years later. And in the meantime, we spent just enough time with him for Celebrilmal to fall utterly in love with Silma-engineering.”

“Laiko!” Celebrilmal exclaimed. “Don’t talk about that!”

“You know you’re going to have to confess soon, Celee. We’re almost done with our schooling. Have your parents not started bugging you about your career choices yet? Ada won’t shut up about it.”

Celebrilmal looked chagrined. “They have.”

“And?” Laegolas asked expectantly.

His friend sighed. “I haven’t told them yet.”

“Celee!”

 

Nellas looked from one to the other.

“Is Silma-engineering such a contentious career choice that you fear your parents’ disapproval?” she asked.

“Not really?” Celebrilmal replied, though it sounded more like a question. “I’m just worried they’ll be disappointed because it’s got nothing to do with administration.”

Laegolas rolled his eyes. “They won’t mind. It’s a well-respected career, and you’re going to have your pick of ships to work on. Nearly our entire fleet uses Silmaril-based cores and all of them are desperate for more engineers who know how to deal with them. And besides, I don’t think Salgant or Laurendil actually expect you to follow in either of their footsteps.”

Celebrilmal said nothing and Laegolas let the matter drop.

 

Instead, Anneryn joined the conversation, making it known that she’d had enough of her brother’s arms, and wanted to return to her mother.

“You’re probably hungry, aren’t you, my treasure?” Nellas whispered as she lifted her daughter out of Laegolas’ arms and back into the sling.

“The park is just up ahead. We can find a bench to sit on while you nurse?” Laegolas suggested carefully.

Nellas smiled brightly. “Lead the way!”

---

Chapter End Notes

Worldbuilding notes:
I decided that in this universe, the Silmarils are nuclear fusion based power sources.

The first three where developed by Feanor and are used in the largest ships of the fleet (such as the VSS Rochallor), but since then, the concept has been adapted, and nearly all VSS ships use a similar concept as their power source. It allows to them to make the long journeys between the different systems.

 

As always, ask, if there is anything unclear! I promise, the majority of the background info is not particularly relevant if you're happy to just go along.

Balar 3

And on we go! Nellas and co finally make it to dinner with Celebrilmal's parents!

That means we're introducing more cast members! I'm keeping these shortish, because there are a few things planned that will dive deeper into their stories.

Galdor (of the Tree): You've met him. Married to Nellas. Currently very busy.

Laurendil. Also known as Laurie. OC: Celebrilmal's mum! Sister to Elenwe and Glorfindel, married to Salgant. In this universe she is an accountant. Bubbly, talks a lot. I hope it shines through.

Taminalma. Also called: Alma. OC: They're Rog's spouse, and an electrical engineer. A fellow enby. Both Alma and Laurie made their debut in my works in Family lost, Family found aka the origin of my Gondolin obsession. Additional interests include astro-biology.

Rog. Also called Roka: Married to Alma, also an engineer. Likes to cook. Has a prosthetic arm, because Anérea shared a link to the Alternative Limb project and it's been incredibly inspirational. This also goes for Idril btw. Descriptive writing is not my strength, so details on how those protheses look is currently lacking. (Which is why I urge you to look at the link!)

Salgant. Also called Salakanto, Kanto: Married to Laurie, Celebrilmal's father. Works in what basically amounts to Human resources, only it's more elves. Kanto/Laurie and Alma/Rog are queerplatonically involved with each other, which is why they're living and raising Celebrilmal together.

Elenwe: In this universe, she's Glorfindel's and Laurendil's older sister. Occupation undetermined.

Idril: Roughly the same age as Celebrilmal and Laegolas. They're good friends.

Glorfindel: In charge of the biology department on the VSS Gondolin. Because I thought it would be fun. In an open relationship with Ecthelion.

Read Balar 3

A gong rang out. At the yard, the evening shift would be taking over, and those keeping to Anar day cycles would sit down for dinner soon.

“When are your parents expecting us for dinner?” Nellas turned to Celebrilmal.

“My family usually eats an hour or so after shift change when they’re working days, so everyone has time to return. Why do you ask?”

“I should pick up some things for Anneryn before we head over, and if I remember correctly, we’re not far from our apartment currently.”

Celebrilmal grinned.

“Let’s go then! We can grab your things and go to mine after. Nobody will mind if we’re a bit early.”

 

Luckily, Nellas’ sense of direction had not betrayed her, and they found the way back to their temporary home without trouble.

They were not alone when they arrived.

“Hello my love. I see you are getting ready for dinner, too,” Galdor greeted her when Nellas unlocked the door.

The sound of his voice made warmth pool in her belly.

He must have been home for some time already, because he was no longer wearing what Nellas had termed his work uniform. Instead, he had put on a loose green shirt that matched the colour of his eyes perfectly, and soft brown trousers.

He reached out for Anneryn, and Nellas passed him their daughter before kissing him happily.

“I missed you,” she mumbled into his mouth, and Galdor hugged her close with his free arm.

“I missed you, too,” he replied. “Forgive me for leaving you alone so long. I hoped to spend the first few days in your new home rather differently, but unfortunately, Turgon had other ideas.”

“You’re here now, at least. We can figure out the rest later. Are you coming for dinner?”

Galdor nodded. “I am. Rōka’s food is not something I’d want to miss.”

“I’m glad. I’m definitely going to need your help keeping everybody’s names straight. Celebrilmal and Laegolas gave me the rundown while we were out, but I’m afraid I’ve forgotten half of them again already,” Nellas said sheepishly.

Her husband laughed. “I can’t blame you, my love. Celebrilmal’s family can be like the jungle in Nan Elmoth. Rather difficult to navigate. But never fear, I will be your guide tonight. I’ve known Elenwë since I was a boy, so I am rather familiar with her family.”

 

Celebrilmal’s apartment was only a short walk away from their own, it turned out, and it looked nearly identical, too.

A blonde woman opened the door and Nellas noted amused that while mother and daughter were near copies in looks, Celebrilmal was nearly a head taller.

“Welcome! You’re a bit early, dinner isn’t quite ready yet, but it’s so good to see you! I’m Laurendil—” she smiled brightly at Nellas as she introduced herself “—and you must be Nellas! We were all quite excited when we heard you and Galdor had married!”

Her gaze fell on Anneryn. “Oh, and who is this sweetheart?”

 

Galdor’s chest puffed out proudly and Nellas almost laughed at his expression. Sometimes her husband truly was a bit of a peacock.

“Meet our daughter, Anneryn,” he introduced.

Laurendil cooed. “They’re so cute and innocent at this age, aren’t they? But just wait until they’re old enough to walk. Suddenly, you’ll find yourself constantly running after them.”

She gave them a rueful smile, and Nellas briefly wondered what sort of mischief Celebrilmal had gotten into when she was at that age, before Laurendil drew her attention back to the present.

“But come, let me take your coats so we can head into the living room. Just go on through, I’m sure you’ll find it. These apartments are all the same. Glorfindel and Ecthelion aren’t here yet, and Turgon said he couldn’t make it, but Elenwë and Idril might still come if they finish their errands in time. And of course, Alma and Rōka are here, too.”

 

“We’re not expecting any members of the Hammer of Wrath tonight, then?” Galdor asked while they made their way into the living room.

Laurendil shook her head with a fond grin. “For once, no. Truth be told, it’s already a small miracle that Alma and Rōka could change shifts so they could be here. If you were to judge the state of our ship by how busy the engineering department is, you’d think it was falling apart. But it’s just the usual mad dash to prepare for departure. It did mean nobody else could get the time off, though. And as far as we know, Erferil is not back on the planet yet.”

She turned to Nellas and explained, “The Hammer of Wrath is how we jokingly refer to the strays Alma and Rōka pick up. I’m sure you’ll meet them sooner or later.”

“They’re not our strays!” two voices chorused from the kitchen.

“You can deny it all you want, we all know the truth,” Laurendil called back. Then she added, “Alma, leave your husband to the cooking and come greet our guests!”

 

“They’re one of our electrical engineers,” Galdor whispered into Nellas’ ear, and she nodded. “I remember. Celebrilmal mentioned it. They’re not related to Laurendil or Salgant, right?”

Galdor squeezed her hand. “That’s right.”

Alma was much taller than Laurendil and their body spoke of regular physical labour, but they let Laurendil drag them towards Galdor, Nellas and Anneryn without complaint and their smile was warm when they shook Nellas’ hand.

“Welcome to our home! I’m Taminalma, but you may call me Alma. Nearly everyone does. Can we offer you anything to drink while we wait for dinner?”

“Water would be lovely,” Nellas replied with a smile of her own. It seemed unnecessary to introduce herself, she was certain their hosts all knew her name already.

Alma led them over to the dining table, and she took the time to look around the room. A harp stood in one of the corners, and books were scattered across the low table by the couch, but that were the only personal touches. It made sense. These temporary apartments were not meant to be a home. Nellas expected their quarters on the Gondolin were a far closer reflection of their occupants’ lives.

 

Laurendil put glasses and a pitcher with water on the table, before she and Alma settled on opposite sides.

“Are you certain we can’t help you with anything?” Galdor asked.

“I’m quite certain.”

The elf that stepped out of the kitchen was as tall as Alma, if not taller, and Nellas rose automatically to greet him.

His handshake was firm, and the metal of his prosthetic arm blessedly cool against Nellas’ heated skin.

“You must be Rōka,” she said and nodded towards his arm. “I like the flames.”

Rōka laughed delightedly. “Thank you! Laura and Laiko helped pick out the design. You’ve probably heard it many times already tonight, but it’s lovely to meet you, Nellas. As you guessed correctly, I’m Rōka, though you can also call me Rog, if you prefer. I’m not too fussed about it.”

He looked around the room.

“Is Kanto still in the office?”

Laurendil nodded. “But don’t worry, I’ll chase him out if he doesn’t join us when dinner is ready.”

 

The doorbell rang, and Celebrilmal was at the door before any of them could stand up.

“Auntie! Idril! You made it!” she called.

Elenwë was already talking before she fully entered the room.

“Nellas! Lovely to finally meet you in person, rather than through a call! I can’t wait to get to know you better. Galdor has already told us so much about you! And that must be little Anneryn! Aren’t you just the cutest?”

She claimed the seat on Galdor’s other side, briefly diving in for a hug and cooing at Anneryn.

 

Anneryn yawned and rubbed her face against Galdor’s chest.

“Are you tired, sweetheart? Me too. We’ve been on our feet all day, and still, we almost didn’t finish our errands. I’m glad we made it here though because dinner smells divine. What are we having?”

“I decided to take advantage of the fresh produce available, so we’re having oven-baked vegetables with soft cheese and massaquanta. Though Alma made the dough for those.”

Rōka wriggled the fingers of his right hand. “Flour and prosthetics don’t mix very well, I’m afraid, and I don’t need to hear yet another one of Egalmoth’s lectures.”

Next to him, Idril groaned in agreement.

“They’re the worst. I know he means well, but ugh!”

She tapped her legs.

“So, we did some upgrades on these recently, since it looks like I finally stopped growing, and the talk he gave me before giving them back was insane. Especially, since, you know, I’ve had them for a while now. I know how take care of them. And I swear it was an accident the one time sand got into the joints. He doesn’t have to keep reminding me of it!”

Rōka laughed. “That sure sounds like him. I get the same talk whenever I come in for a check-up. Minus the sand bit, of course.”

 

In the kitchen, a timer beeped, and Rōka stood up. “Sounds like dinner is done! If someone could grab the plates while I get the vegetables from the oven?”

Another elf padded into the room and over to Rōka. He took off his glasses and rubbed a tired hand over his face.

“Ah, Kanto! You’ve emerged just in time for the food. Have you had a productive day?”

Salgant only buried his face in Rōka’s chest with a groan.

Rōka bent down to press a kiss on the top of his head. “That bad, hm?”

“Hundreds of personnel files were lost in the system when the update went through. We’ve spent all day trying to recover them. It’s been awful.” Salgant sighed. “But I should let you get the food from the oven. I wouldn’t want all of your hard work to go to waste.”

Rōka hugged him tightly. “Then I’ll do that, and you go sit down and say hello to our guests.”

“Don’t worry, we’ve got it!” Celebrilmal announced brightly, leaning over to press a kiss to her father’s cheek. In her hands she held a steaming bowl. “Laiko is just grabbing the massaquanta and refilling the water. So, you can both sit down.”

“Alright then,” Rōka nodded. “Have you remembered to turn the oven off?”

Celebrilmal turned towards the kitchen and shouted, “Laiko, have I turned the oven off?”

“Wait, let me check… Yes, you have!”

She turned back to Rōka with a pleased grin. “I remembered to turn the oven off.”

“Excellent. Then I will let you do the rest,” Rōka said, and settled back into his chair.

 

Salgant rounded the table and sat down in the free seat between Nellas and Laurendil. He exchanged a sweet kiss with his wife, before turning to Nellas with a tired smile.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Salakanto. I’m very glad you followed our invitation.”

“Thank you for having us. It’s good to have the chance to meet Galdor’s friends. And if the food tastes as good as it smells, dinner will be a delight.”

That elicited a soft laugh from Salakanto.

“As long as Alma or Rōka are cooking, it usually is. Laurie and I could both burn water. We’re very happy that our daughter doesn’t seem to have inherited that trait.” He shared a besotted smile with his wife, before passing a basket to Nellas.

“Massaquanta,” he explained. “It’s quite good, I promise.”

 

Nellas curiously picked one up.

“Oh, we’ve talked about this, haven’t we, Galdor!” she suddenly exclaimed. “You said they were like panbas, only you put beef and egg in it, instead of chicken and potatoes.”

“These also contain a dash of spinach,” Alma offered, breaking their own apart and revealing that indeed, there were spinach leaves mixed under the ground beef. “But your version of it sounds delicious, too. Perhaps you would be inclined to share the recipe?”

“Certainly! Once I’ve found it again, at least. Most of my belongings are currently stored in crates, and I’m not planning on unpacking any of them until we have settled on the ship.”

 

As promised, the food was delicious and they’d already finished much of it, when the doorbell rang yet again.

Elenwë and Laurendil shared a look. Both rolled their eyes.

“That will be our brother. Fashionably late, as always!” Elenwë said while Laurendil got up to answer the door.

When she returned, it was indeed Glorfindel who followed behind her.

“You’re lucky, there is still food left! Had you come any later, we’d likely have eaten it all,” Galdor teased, before rising to greet his friend. “No Ecthelion tonight? I was hoping to catch up with him before the department leads meet.”

Glorfindel laughed. “Alas no. My better half is on a date with a historian he chatted up in the food court. I’m afraid, you’ll only have my wonderful company tonight.”

“I’m sure we’ll make do, brother,” Laurendil said. “Barely perhaps, but we will. Now sit down, eat, and then you better tell us all about that historian. We can’t let Ecthelion date just anyone, after all.”

---

Chapter End Notes

Massaquanta/Panbas (both should mean filled/full bread): This is what happens when two people from different parts of the world discover that they have a comfort food that shares a lot of similarities. It's a homage to the delights of Empanadas and Piroggen.

Panbas are inspired by the Filipino Empanadas that Lyssa's family makes, Massaquanta by the Estonian recipe for Piroggen that my family uses.

 

Next chapter, dinner at long last comes to an end. Seriously, I did not expect to write 5k for this prompt, but it's been so much fun!

Balar 4

Final chapter of the Balar arc!

A bit of science geekery, a few fears for the future and a generous pouring of love.

No new characters, just a few beloved old ones.

Read Balar 4

The hour was late when they finally left Celebrilmal’s family. They had lingered far longer than Nellas expected, but Anneryn had slept peacefully in Laurendil’s and Salakanto’s bed, and none of them had the urge to let a lovely evening end.

 

Nellas was surprised when Alma sat down next to her after dinner and asked about her research on the growth of crops on space stations.

“I read your last paper on the topic,” they explained. “My mother had similar ideas, but we left before any of them ever came to fruition. She was part of the village council at home, and often dealt with agricultural projects. This was a special interest of hers, and so it became one of mine, too.”

Their gaze grew distant.

“You see, the village Rōka and I grew up in was very similar to what Círdan and Aerchen have created here. A place for brilliant minds to gather so our people could reach the stars. And we did! My father worked on some of those projects, and so did both of Rōka’s parents. Actually, nearly all of his family members have worked at that yard at one point or the other. Most of them are craftspeople of some kind. You know, it’s kind of funny. We didn’t consider ourselves engineers until we first heard the term here. Before that we were smiths and ropers, glassblowers and jewellers, makers of things. We worked together, but we did not consider ourselves one whole.”

Alma laughed.

“But I digress. The point is we figured out how to go to space. But quickly that wasn’t enough anymore. We wanted to go further. Reach those stars properly. We figured out the technical aspects surprisingly quickly, but the question of how to feed those adventurers going out into the void? That wasn’t as easily answered. It’s another thing we learned from you.”

 

“But what did you eat?! You spent twenty years out there on your own!” Nellas finally interjected.

“Coimas!” Alma and Glorfindel chorused.

“It’s a waybread of sorts,” Glorfindel added. “Don’t ask me how they make it though. High nutritional value and very little taste. There were a few other things, but that was our main meal. It stored well, and apparently the ingredients are easily produced even with our limited knowledge astro-agriculture. Still, we were so glad when we finally harvested the first crops on Hithlum. I was surprised we hadn’t lost all our seeds to radiation damage.”

“Yes!” Nellas exclaimed. “That is what I was hoping to research next. I’ve figured out how to support the growth of crops like corn on a space station, and the methods should be applicable to spaceships as well, but the question of course is whether their fruit will still be safe for consumption, let alone produce useable seeds when exposed to radiation long term.”

She turned to Glorfindel.

“I was actually hoping to continue my research on the Gondolin. It would be the perfect opportunity to study behaviour across multiple harvests. And of course the radiation environment of deep space flight is the one I’m most interested in. The research has less relevance for travel within the system, since ships will usually be near enough to a planet or outpost to restock.”

Glorfindel nodded seriously. “An excellent idea. If you write a proposal for it, I can discuss it with the relevant people so we can ensure you have all you need.”

 

 

“You enjoyed the evening then, my love?” Galdor asked, lacing their fingers together as they walked back towards their own apartment. Eglarest was never truly dark, but at this time of night the lights along the road were dimmed, and the wind had died down to a soft breeze.

Laegolas was a few feet ahead of them, humming along to a music only he could hear, and Anneryn still slept in her sling. Nellas considered it a minor miracle that she hadn’t woken when they picked her up from the bed.

“I did! It’s always fun to talk about my research, and Glorfindel and Alma both made some interesting remarks that got me thinking. We’ll see whether they’ll go anywhere. Did you enjoy the evening, though? You looked rather serious when you and Salakanto returned from the kitchen.”

 

Galdor glanced at Laegolas, fingers tightening around Nellas’ hand.

“We were talking about further studies. I know Laegolas has yet to make up his mind. He might still choose to attend lectures in Vinyamar in person. Or maybe even here on Balar. I wanted to know whether Celebrilmal has decided yet. She has a good head on her shoulders. I would feel better if they were together. Especially since Idril will most likely attend remotely.”

“Did Salakanto have any insight to offer?” Nellas asked, even though she already knew the answer.

He shook his head. “He didn’t. I know we still have some time left before we’re scheduled to leave the system again, and the application window for the academy opens, but…”

“But you are his parent and you worry,” she said knowingly. “For what it’s worth, I think it will all work out in the end. They’re good kids, both of them. They’ll be fine.”

Galdor sighed and pressed a kiss to her temple. “You are right, of course. What would I do without you?”

Nellas grinned. “I have no idea.”

 

They were getting ready for bed, when Nellas finally said something that had been on her mind since they had left Celebrilmal’s family.

“You know, I’m glad we went to dinner tonight. I was feeling a bit homesick this morning, but talking to your friends really helped. Laurendil and Elenwë invited me to join them for coffee sometime, and they promised to introduce me to the person in charge of the nursery. I don’t think I want to leave Anneryn at the nursery while I’m still nursing, but it will be good to know for the future. And even though I didn’t talk to Salakanto or Rōka much, they seem like good people, and I hope next time I might get to know them better. And of course, talking about my research to Alma and Glorfindel was great. Maybe next time I can ask about Alma’s work instead. Perhaps we could host a dinner, too, before we leave. What do you think?”

“I think, if it makes you smile like this, I would host a hundred dinners with you,” Galdor replied.

Nellas rolled her eyes.

“Oh, you are a charmer, Galdor Aldaron. Now, take me to bed. I plan to make good use of our night together.”

---

Chapter End Notes

Nellas' research is heavily inspired by some papers I read a few years ago about studies done on plankton growth on the ISS.

The researchers were wondering whether it might be a self-sustaining way of producing oxygen, for example for a trip to Mars, where radiation damage is a big concern.

Now, I'm a physicist by trade, not a biologist, so I took creative liberties and extended the research to include plants beyond plankton, but that's why this is a science fiction AU, not a science fact one 😉