"Aye. I have seen enough of war to last me a lifetime. It is quite sad." he agreed, pulling his steed up even with hers. "You have no desire for a position of power?" he was genuinely surprised.

She spotted some cover under a rock formation on the side of the mountain, and made a motion for Faramir to follow. Just as thunder echoed over the hills, she pulled her horse up. "This should keep us mostly dry." she dismounted and began pulling her pack off the horse. "We can camp for the night anyway."

"No one would follow me, knowing my background," she shifted uncomfortably. "It is a battle I can do without. Besides I am happy where I am. Attracts less trouble," she mused. "A person of my...class is lucky to be where I am. I will take what little victories I can." Caran drew her cloak close, shielding herself from the rain as best as she could. She shivered involuntarily with the cold wind. "Besides, in our time, it is a man's job to lead and a woman's job to support him." Caran spared a glance in Boromir's direction. "Do tell me if I share too much. There's no need for this journey to be uncomfortable and long."

Faramir followed Lona in an obedient manner. It surprised him to come across a woman so assertive. It was a breath of fresh air to him. He knew Lona was someone he would follow without doubt or question. Her confidence was in the way she held her herself, the way she conducted her tasks. What man could not find that attractive? "Yes," he answered after what seemed to be a long silence. "It is best to travel when we can see what is ahead of us. We need every defence in the open like this. Who knows what is lurking in the shadows."

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"No. I rather like your views and your voice as you speak them." Boromir dipped his head and gave a slow smile to her through the rain. "We should stop and camp. It is indeed late and cold. Wouldn't want you getting sick." he turned his horse towards the forest. There would be shelter there.

"Aye. Agreed. There are many things I would wish not to encounter on this journey." she pulled her hood up. "I can go search for some dry wood for a fire." a small shiver shook her as she stepped put of the dry into the cold, wet rain. Wind was blowing practically right through her cloak.

Caran nodded as she followed his lead. "You are too kind my lord. So sweet to listen to the ramblings of a mere peasant." Caran breached the boundary of the forest, her back stiffening ever so slightly. They did not have to venture far before coming across suitable camping ground. Once she had dismounted and set her horse up with refreshment, she began to gather wood for a fire. Soon she was on her knees, trying to hide her cold trembling hands as she tended to the slowly growing fire.

"Please. Allow me." Faramir collected a blanket from his satchel and placed it around Lona's shoulders. Faramir gathered wood swiftly. Within minutes the two of them were sat in front of the fire. Faramir held his hands out to the flames, delighting in their warmth.

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"You can stop calling yourself a peasant. You're not even close to a peasant." he shook his head. "You're a soldier." why women troubled themselves with what kind of class they were boggled his mind. A woman was a woman, right?

"Thank you." she said quietly as she warmed her hands for a minute, then pulled put the maps. It was a never ending job for her, studying the maps, planning defenses and the best places to attack...

Caran frowned slightly. "Sorry I guess that is just something that has stuck with me all my life. It is hard to teach an old dog new tricks as they say. Sorry," she added again. The fire was now roaring, Caran sat close. She pulled down her hair and fanned it out allowing it to dry. "You can sleep, I'll take the first watch," she offered.

Faramir smiled inwardly as he too drew out his maps. "The journey around the mountain is going to take too long, but then again the journey over the mountain is far too treacherous." He frowned deeply. "There was a way through the mountain. It had been used for trade, between Mirkwood and Gondor." He still continued to frown, he was not sure what would have come of that path, now that war was upon them.

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"Old? Now you're calling yourself old?" he replied with a slow, teasing grin. "You can't even be half my age!" then at her next words he shook his head. "I'm not even close to tired yet." he stood and retrieved a blanket, which he settled over her shoulders. "Tell me about yourself, Lady Caran." he sat down again, looking at her intently through the jumping flames.

"The mountain pass...We cannot be sure what lies there no. Orcs, Uruk-hai or even Goblins may have taken that over...yet you are right about the mountain overpass...I would be hesitant to take that road unless it is necessary. And time is of the essence..." furrows appeared between her brows. "It is settled then." she tapped the mountain on the map. "Unless you disagree?" she raised her eyes and raised one eyebrow at him.

"Well I am certainly no fresh kitten," she chuckled lightly. Caran watched him closely, smiling brightly once he settled the blanket around her. "Thank you," she bowed her head to him, settling into the warmth of the blanket. "How much time do you have Lord Boromir?" Caran teased, settling her arms around herself. "Let me see...As you know I am from Rohan, from a family not particularly high in the class hierarchy. That never ready bothered us. We all got by with smiles on our faces. My mother was an administrator for King Theoden. My father worked in the fields, collecting the harvest of the day. My twin sister and I were inseparable and quite the pranksters." Caran ran her fingers over the necklaces that hung low around her neck, one held her name and the other, the name of her sister: Miran. "She died when we were young. The plague took many lives in its stay in Rohan. It destroyed my mother to lose my sister. In a way she didn't though, I was always here to remind her. We continued on the only way we knew how to. The men of the North began a fight with us over territory. They wanted more. Theirs numbers were large, my father was asked to defend. He died on the battleground." Her eyes fell to her boots, where her dad's cleaver rested. "My mothers heart was broken beyond repair. I guess she just couldn't go on. I came home from work to find her..." Caran swallowed, now stroking the ring on her third finger. "Well she had taken her own life. Since then, I took up both of my parents jobs in order to keep the house. Then word of war reached us and I signed up under the guide of a man. Only when I proved my worth, did I reveal my true identity. That shocked many of them," she chuckled. Her eyes rose to meet Boromir's "It's funny, I don't believe I have told anyone that. I guess you make me feel safe. Is there anything I haven't answered or covered? Anything more you would like to know?" She tilted her head slightly.

Faramir stared at the little furrow that had gathered on Lona's brow he had a strong urge to soften and straighten it. "I agree, but let us take the route at a lower height. Might be less treacherous. And now," he snatched the maps from her hands. "We relax!" He grinned brightly.

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* guise

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"Hm..." Boromir looked at her thoughtfully. "You endured much. You should be proud of your accomplishments." he tilted his head. "It seems as though you already shared everything."

"hey!" she launched herself at him, aiming her hands for the maps. "I wasn't done!"

Caran lay on her side, curling round herself slightly. "Yes, that pretty much is my sad life story. Do not feel pity for me Lord Boromir, I am much stronger for it." Caran gazed into the flames. "Your turn," she grinned meeting Boromir's eyes once more. "Tell me what no other knows about Lord Boromir?"

Faramir chuckled, rolling onto his back, pushing the map beneathe him. "Tough!" he teased, grinning up at her. "You're not getting them!"

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"Everybody knows everything, I'm afraid. My life is usually an open book for all the gossips in Gondor. Of course, I cannot blame them for their curiosity." he gave her a flirtatious wink.

"no! I need those!" she stumbled up next to him and tugged on his arm, trying to get them out from under them.

Caran shook her head, giggling softly. "Now Lord Boromir if your head grows much more it will get rather difficult venturing through these woods," she winked back at him playfully as she tucked an arm under her head. She rolled onto her back and gazed up through the canopy at the now clear sky. Her eyes danced over the stars. "There is no one on this planet who does not have secrets," she ventured a glance in Boromir's direction before returning her green eyes to the night blue sky. "Off course, we are all entitled to our privacy. Without that we have nothing to protect really..." she mused quietly. Her body was sore with fatigue, but her mind and eyes were wide awake. Caran smiled simply.

"Not tonight, you don't. Please Lona, relax for one evening in your life," he teased lightly, not even moving to pull the maps from his back. His arm burned where she had touched him. He savoured the sensation, wishing she would do it again. He worried that he was agitating her, but just could not help, laughing at the expression on her face. It was so stern and yet so adorable. He could feel himself falling for her already. Off course what interest would she have in him? He was nothing like Boromir. The women flocked to him. Faramir was the quiet one, that was cast aside.

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"I wish privacy was as easy for me as it is for you." Boromir watched her, unable to tear his eyes away.

"C'mon! That's not fair!" she tried to reach under his back. "There are plans to be made...it isn't my place to relax.."

"I think privacy is much easier than you think. I for one do not know you that well, much like everyone else. We know who you are and where you come from. We even know where your path is taking you. Everything else remains a mystery. Sure there is idle gossip. There always will be, but only you can confirm or deny it...should you choose to listen to it." Caran found her eyes constantly wandering over to Boromir. She told herself time and again, she was being foolish. There was no way a man like Boromir could take interest in her.

Faramir stared up at Lona. "For tonight I grant you the right to relax." He watched to see if any of this would register or if she would keep fighting him. At that moment a thought occurred to him. He chewed on it for a few moments and then he leaned up a gently captured her lips with his own.

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He grinned and looked down for a moment. "There is one thing that even the gossips don't know." he looked up at her, his eyes serious, with something unreadable behind him. "A little problem...perhaps you can even help me with?" he lay on his side to watch her.

Lona's eyes widened for a moment, and she froze. A dozen thoughts flew through her mind. What? But the way his lips on hers felt...her eyelids fluttered then closed, and her hand came to rest on his cheek. It was hesitant, feather light, but she returned his kiss.