[It was luck, mostly, that had kept Fingon from a similar fate. He was certainly no less of a tempting target for Sauron or Morgoth, especially now, but he had slipped by them unnoticed. A gift of the Valar, perhaps? He tried not to think too hard about it because he could never believe even the most fell of the children of Eru deserved this sort of fate.

He was not even sure that the orcs deserved it.

Haldamir smiles softly at the joke but keeps working, gently turning Maedhros's hand over in his own, smaller hands to check for any broken bones now that the bruises are fading before their eyes.]

I'm sure a lot of them would be heartbroken by the thought of going to Himring. It is very cold there and not so many flowers grow. And your pretty face in all that cold with not a flower to be seen? A tragedy. [It was easier to joke than to face the truth of things. So much easier.]

You have had my heart since I first heard your voice. Though it is funny to watch ladies flirt with you. [Maedhros was nowhere near as comfortable or smooth with interested elves as Fingon was. Sometimes to the point that it meant dinner came with a show. It could be quite entertaining.]

May I check your upper arms and shoulders? [Haldamir asks quietly when he is content that he is not missing a smashed finger somehow.] Is Himring very cold? The King never takes me. This is as far east as I have yet come. [His speech is light but he does shoot a look at Fingon as if to say and I have survived it just fine. Haldamir was one of the elves Fingon kept safe and hidden from danger, deep within the walls of his protected city. Almost like he was his own son, one Fingon would never have.]