Character meme

[dreamflower]

Gacked from danachan: Ask any of my characters a question, and I will answer as that character.

Comments

[fell-beast2.livejournal.com]

What sort of unpleasant experiences did Paladin have when he became Thain (hinted at in "Life of a Bard")? Did he and Pip ever talk about this? What did they have to say to each other after "Life of Bard"?

Beruthiel

[dreamflower]

Oh my, aren't you the curious one? Let me fetch Paladin, and see what he has to say. No, no come back here, Paladin Took--you are *not* to sneak off and leave me holding the bag.

"Well, if you must insist on humiliating me like this. I really do not care to speak of it, but if I must, I must. When my grandfather Hildigrim moved from the Great Smials onto the farm at Whitwell, his father Gerontius gifted the property to him. However, the Old Took failed to take all the legal steps necessary. The date that the deed was signed over, one of the witnesses failed to show, and so there were only *six* signatures on the deed. This meant that the property actually still belonged to the Took. Hildigrim's cousin Fortinbras always meant to correct the oversight, but somehow never got around to it. It was not a common bit of knowledge; my father knew, but never got around to telling me. If it had gone one more generation without being noticed, the property *still* would have passed into my branch of the family, even without the seventh signature, but unfortunately on Fortinbras' untimely death, his widow Lalia discovered the oversight. She at first said nothing, for she was content to let things go on; after all she expected her son Ferumbras to wed and have a son. But no hobbitess in her right mind wanted Lalia for a mother-in-law, and Ferumbras remained unwed. It was known, of course, that if he did not wed and father children, the Thainship would pass to my branch of the family. It was my fervent hope that this would never come to pass--it was not a duty I cared to have, though I would live up to my responsibility.

And then, the year Pippin was thirteen, there was an outbreak of the swelling sickness in the Great Smials, and the Thain came down with a bad case of it. He very nearly died. And afterward, he discovered that 'his health was no longer what it was'--among the Tooks this phrase was known to mean he could no longer hope to father a child. Tooks kept this knowledge from most of the rest of the Shire, and for a time, Ferumbras even kept it from
his mother. But his health continued to decline, and he grew weary of having to constantly override some of his mother's more outrageous behaviors. When she discovered the truth, she realized I was going to be the next Thain, and she revealed her knowledge about the deed to her son.

The year Pippin turned fifteen, the Thain came to me, and informed me that he would be stepping aside as Thain, and that I would be taking the office over. I was shocked. I thought I had several more years to prepare for the job; it was made clear to me, however, that if I did not agree to this, our family would lose the farm. Lalia threatened to have us turned out.

It was clear to me I had no choice but to agree, but it galled me that it could not be my free choice, and that I had been forced to it in order to keep a smial over my children's heads. I sent Pervinca and Pippin to Buckland to stay with Esmeralda, and Pearl and Pimpernel went to stay with Eglantine's cousin, Dianthus Goodbody. Tina and I moved into the Great Smials, and I was invested as Thain.

[dreamflower]

(Sorry for the interuption, Paladin, but the LJ would not let me post, so I had to split this reply for you.)

"I spent nearly a year trying to come to terms with the job. Because Lalia, as Fortinbras' widow, technically was still 'the Took', I was constantly trying to do my duties around her. Fortunately for me, her own health began to deteriorate due to her immense size, and she was eventually confined to one wing of the Smials. There she continued her reign of terror, but I was able to deal better with the rest of Tookland without her interference. Ferumbras also retired to his own apartments, where he pottered about aimlessly. His health grew worse, and he began to be nearly forgotten. It was a difficult year, and I did not want the children to know about any of it.

However, when Frodo told me of what Pippin believed, I finally realized that in spite of acquiesing to my duty, I had never truly come to terms with it.

I did have a long talk with Pippin after the episode with the minstrel. He finally understood a few things, and so did I. We were getting along a good deal better, in fact, for the next three years, though we still had the occasional clash. I was completely shocked when he vanished from the Shire, seemingly at Frodo's instigation. I felt very betrayed, and was angrier at Frodo than I could begin to say. I should have realized, of course, what kind of person I knew Frodo to be, and trusted that there truly was a good reason for it all, but I am afraid that my Tookish pride got the better of me."

[fell-beast2.livejournal.com]

Lalia was alive then? Wasn't she supposed to die in 1402?

Poor Paladin. *hugs*

Beruthiel

[dreamflower]

Oh, my! Thanks for catching that! I was doing this from memory from some of my backstory material that got lost when my computer went down a couple of months ago. I'm afraid I did not bother to look at the dates, as I thought I was remembering them correctly. This is stuff I didn't really mean to publish, and I had a good deal of material in there. I had not really firmed up this part of Paladin's story, and was uncertain of the role I intended for Lalia. Still, the rest of it will stand. But I don't know that it will ever make a story on its own.
Of course, I said that about the times Merry was angry at Pippin, too.
And that's what I get for posting in the wee hours, LOL!

[topaztook.livejournal.com]

Dear Healer Poppy Burrows,

Prior to meeting Men, at least, you seemed supremely confident in your abilities as a healer. What gives you the confidence that you are such a good healer in the Shire? What is your training and/or experience?

[dreamflower]

I studied under an excellent mistress, and learned all she had to teach me. When I finished my apprenticeship with her, I did not immediately set up on my own. I took another mistress for about three more years. She was a healer in Tookland, and was almost ready for retirement. When she did retire, I took over her patients, most of whom were Tooks. One *must* learn to at least *feign* confidence when dealing with them, as they are very recalcitrant patients, and will seek out the least hint of weakness. And if one *feign* confidence long enough, one eventually *becomes* confidant.

I became the healer to Paladin Took's family, and after he became Thain, he asked me to become the healer there at the Great Smials. I have tended his family for thirty-five years.

I do not know that I am "such a good healer in the Shire"--there are a few whose skills I would place above my own: my friend Mistress Lavender Bunce, Master Dodinas Brandybuck, the late Mistress Jewel North-took--all excellent healers with skills in many areas that I think would surpass my own.

But I am determined to continue learning, and to become the best healer that I can--this means of course, taking the opportunity to see how things are done outside the Shire. To have a chance to discover the secrets of healing from the King, and perhaps even from the Elves, is not a chance I can afford to pass up.

And when I return, I hope to convince the other healers in the Shire to try some of that knowledge out.