Tyelkormo's Great Escape by Aprilertuile

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Spring and the return home

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Winter had passed in a surprising flurry of activity for Tyelkormo. Yes, he did need to learn, and learn fast, how to pull milk from a goat, which he did not appreciate at all, but the fawn loved the result of.

Also the goat had been extremely patient with him.

But now the season had passed and it was time for him to go back home. The fawn had grown up nicely and Tyelkormo taught it during the winter how to find food, which was easier to do in a forest of pine in winter than anywhere else he could think of.

Tyelkormo gathered his belongings, and started to leave the cave, the fawn and the goat trotting at his side.

The two animals were endlessly chatting, as they always did, and they followed him to the village, where the people looked at them with concern:

“Oromë. It’s all I’m willing to say about it. This is entirely Oromë’s fault.”

The village’s leader looked very entertained at that, and led Tyelkormo to his horse.

Tyelkormo looked at the three animals and sighed:

“I leave with one horse, and I come back with a horse, a goat and a deer. No one is going to let me live it down.”

“You know, the rumor that you went far north to escape the palace balls of Tirion was heard even in our village.”

“You mean that I’ll never live down the tale of my escape in the first place.”

The other shrugged, amused. Tyelkormo sighed and leaned against his horse.

“Well… At least I’ll have a good excuse to argue with the siblings then, I guess. Thank you for taking care of my horse. Did you need more money than expected to cover the costs of her presence?”

“No, the money you left us before the season was enough.”

“Good. I’ll be on my way then.”

“Be safe, your highness.”

Tyelkormo sighed but left, walking first, his horse, the deer and the goat following him cheerfully. Tyelkormo planned to go around Tirion, to stop home to reassure his family that he survived the winter, and then to lead goat and deer to Vána and Oromë respectively.

The whole journey would take a while, so there was that. His mother was probably still seething about his escape anyway so better to make himself scarce and he had a good reason this time.

As planned, he went around Tirion.

And when he came into view of the house, he found Maedhros in the courtyard with Findekáno.

“And here is our missing cousin. Did you enjoy your cold dreary… What the fuck?! Where do those animals come from?!” Findekáno spluttered, seeing him coming and finally noticing the deer and goat.

“The woods and Oromë.”

Maedhros only shook his head, half amused:

“Only you brother.”

The red-head came to hug his brother, and Tyelkormo leant firmly against him, enjoying the contact, and the brush of Osanwë, his brother’s fëa against his, after months of silence, forced by the distance.

“Hey, at least it gave me something to do during the winter months. Teaching a baby deer how to be a deer is quite the task, you know.” Tyelkormo muttered, his head hidden against his brother’s neck.

“So I have some good news, and some bad news. Which do you want first?”

“Start with the bad.”

“Mom is still furious at your disappearing act and your refusal to obey when Oromë tracked you down.”

“I suspected that would be the case, yes.” Celegorm nodded, stepping back from his brother’s embrace.

“But the good news is that she’s decided that you were dad’s son, and that since dad found your escape so fun, he could deal with you and since she’s now pregnant… Well, she has other, more pressing concerns to deal with.”

“So I’m somewhat safe from motherly retaliation?”

“Eh. I wouldn’t try her patience if I were you but…”

“Hm. I won’t have the chance to before a while, I need to bring both deer and goat back to Oromë so…”

“No offence, Tyelkormo, but you’re the weirdest elf I know.” Findekáno told him.

Tyelkormo raised an eyebrow at that.

“I’m not sure you know enough elves if that’s the case. There are plenty of people out there with their own bags of tricks and weird choices.”

“No one in their right mind would decide to go camping in the northern mountains in WINTER just to avoid a perfectly fine, fun and more importantly warm and popular celebration at the palace.”

Tyelkormo shrugged.

He wouldn’t have avoided the palace had his mother not been so pushy about him meeting a woman. He did not want to and it was high time she realized that her meddling wasn’t welcome even if she was his mother and he loved her as such.

“Come, tell me that you’ll at least spend a few days here, dad and Makalaurë would be glad to see you and even mom will be relieved to know you’re fine after all that time away.”

“I suppose I can if we can leave the deer and goat with the horses.”

“Sure, I don’t see why not.”

Tyelkormo was subjected to a hug by everyone, including his very much showing mother.

“Uh… When Nelyo said you were pregnant, I didn’t think you were…”

“I suggest you choose your next words carefully.” Nerdanel said warningly.

“Showing that much. I mean, you look radiant, far more than usual.” Tyelkormo said quickly.

She eyed him judgmentally at that, knowing full well he only thought of the physical signs of her pregnancy.

“The pregnancy is developing well and next winter you’ll have a new sibling. I dare hope you will be more… careful about not disappearing when they are about to arrive.”

“I will of course endeavor to be here to welcome my new sibling into the family.”

But I will certainly do my best to not be here-here for the birth itself. There are things out there that are too terrible to contemplate.” Tyelkormo thought, sharing this through Osanwë to Maitimo and Makalaurë, who were hard pressed not to laugh at him.

“How long will you stay home this time?” Nerdanel asked him.

“Not very long? I came with a deer and a goat that I need to bring to Oromë so…”

She raised an eyebrow.

“A deer.”

“Yeah? I found it as a baby, wandering alone in the wild and I could either give it mercy or raise it myself so… Well…”

She raised an eyebrow at that.

“And you didn’t kill it? That’d have been food for the winter.” She pointed out simply.

“You know, mom, I came to the conclusion that apparently I love to complicate my life needlessly. Mostly I came to that conclusion when I found myself stuck in a cave, snowed in, with a baby deer, newly weaned in need of food, and a moody goat that doesn’t like to be stuck in an enclosed space.”

Makalaurë cackled at the idea, leaking through their mental bound the idea of a very, very tired Tyelkormo facing an angry goat, and harassed by a baby deer.

“Not that far from the mark actually.” Tyelkormo mused silently for his brother.

Makalaurë devolved into hysterical laughter at that, and had to leave the room, laughing.

“You are not going to escape a song about that, you realize, right?” Findekáno commented with amusement.

“It’ll go well with the song about the wild hunter who escaped Tirion in a panic at the coming of the winter celebration.” Maitimo said with a snort of amusement.

“… Excuse-you, our brother did what?”

Findekáno was laughing even as Maitimo sang a few verses of the song before Makalaurë took it up from outside, singing cheerfully. Hearing the mocking verses, Tyelkormo ran after his minstrel brother who started running, laughingly singing at the top of his lungs.

Maitimo and Nerdanel exchanged a look at that:

“Well… Tyelko’s home.”

She snorted in amusement at that:

“He shouldn’t have left in the first place but… It’s good to have everyone home, if only for a few days. Now, let’s see that deer, shall we?”

Maitimo led his mother to the horse pasture outside, where the deer was sticking to the side of Tyelkormo’s horse. From there, they could hear Makalaurë taunt Tyelkormo who was swearing inventively at him.

And in his forge, Fëanáro was building a new crib for the future baby. The family was reunited again, doing what they did best.

The day was nice and, Nerdanel thought, perhaps she could even convince Tyelkormo to stay for more than just a few days. Surely the deer and goat could stand to be here for a little longer. The house was certainly more comfortable than a cave or a hunter camp in the middle of nowhere in winter.