The tapestry was finally finished. It had taken Nimgileth far longer than she thought to gather the right materials for the project. She was sure that her tutor Merindiel serving Elrond's halls had given up hope of receiving a result from her by now, but after a short conversation in the Hall of Fire one evening not long ago, Merindiel had assured Nimgileth that she would be expected to provide quality first and foremost. She would have the time she needed to complete her work.
With a sigh and a smile, Nimgileth meticulously folded the embroidered piece of cloth. It was heavy on her thin arms, but she was used to the weight by now. As she lay the cloth down on a piece of wrapping paper resting on her diningroomtable, she heard a sudden knock on the door. Nimgileth walked over to the door, opened it and... saw noone. She leaned out and peaked around the corner, but nothing.
"Caaaw!" She jumped. On her doorstep was a cage, a birdcage. With two ravens in it! Nimgileth, hardly known for her skill in sewing, was however noted as one to fare better in the company of animals. Ever since Minassion brought his cat along to stay at her house, she had grown fond of the critters. Lady Himwen had stopped by to leave her frog there for the long journey, and although Nimgileth did not really care for amphibians, her fascination with all animals' biological functions enthralled her. Basically, Nimgileth was in the process of procurring animals for study. Noone knew this of course. She thought it might be ill-advised to confess to a curiosity about the animals' origins and lifecycles and not primarily her own heartfelt emotions towards them. She cared for their safety and wellbeing, definitely. But she did not always feel passionately for them.
One of the ravens peeked at her. It sort of tilted its head and took a good look at what would be its new caretaker. Or so she thought. Nimgileth leaned down and picked up a note that was attached to the cage's top. The other raven made a lunge for her fingers, as if it was hungry and wanted a snack. "Bad boy!" Nimgileth burst out, surprised by the brash behaviour. A moment later, her curiosity took over. "Or are you a girl?" she continued, suddenly mystified by the birds gender. "I really cannot tell at this point." She opened the envelope and read the letter aloud, as if to let the birds know what their caretaker had planned for them.
In so many words, the lady Golosbrindi of the house of Vanimar had been kind enough to deliver the birds to Nimgileth. She read it twice, just to confirm that the contents of the letter did not deceive her. No, she read it correctly; it was a gift. For her. Surprised by the charitable spirit of this kind lady of her new house, she concluded that her choice of action would be to accept. To refuse would simply be impolite.
Still astounded she put the letter back into the envelope and took another look at the birds. They were large and had outgrown their current cage. Obviously it was made for transport and not for keeping. She pondered on the possibility of having someone in the valley craft a more suitable abode for the two. While tucking away the letter in her beltpouch and carrying the cage inside, at a preferable distance between herself and the snapping beaks of the two birds, the idea of naming them came to mind. She would have to study them for a while first, get to know their behaviour. As she closed the door, she realised she would need to fashion a proper present in return to the lady Golosbrindi.
"Might as well get started on it right away. Perhaps a shawl would satisfy the lady's interests?" she pondered while rummaging through the cupboard of fabrics she kept for special occasions. The ravens cawed and peered at Nimgileth as she worked for a long while before they finally settled to grooming eachother.
