"You're just very cute when you're talking about people."

"Okay but what was I saying -"

"If you try to make the most beautiful glass it won't hold water. I think I understood where you were going with that."

"I think he tried to make the person most capable of ending the reign of misery in his world. And what a thing to try! And I don't have any idea what he wants aside from that, because he mostly doesn't, but I think he might want this, if he knew what it was like.

I missed you."

Leareth has a reasonably good day, and Vanyel sits with him and sings him to sleep. And then goes and sleeps in the chair in the adjacent library just in case. 

This is good because it means that when Leareth wakes up panting and whimpering from a nightmare, it wakes Vanyel as well, who is right there and can run over and - Leareth doesn't seem to want to be touched, he pulls away noticeably enough that Vanyel backs off and instead sits in the chair beside his bed. 

"I'm sorry," he says. "Nightmares are really bad - I know what it's like, trust me. If you want to talk about it...?" 

(It seems like no.) 

"I never do either. I can try to sing that calming song - doesn't work as well but I think I got it working at all." 

Sure, that would help – oh right, Vanyel can't osanwë-read public thoughts, his Gift works the usual way for Velgarth and he's way too ethical to even try to read Leareth's thoughts anyway. "Yes," Leareth can manage to say out loud. 

Then Vanyel will sing to help him calm down a bit, and then sing the sleep song, and then sit there and keep singing because he's wide awake anyway at this point and maybe it'll help Leareth sleep better for the rest of the night. 

In the 'morning' he raises a Gate for Maitimo to come back. 

He comes back. He looks notably happier. "Is everything here okay?"

"Fine? I'm short on sleep because Leareth had a bit of a rough night, so I'm going to take a nap after this. Leareth is fine right now, I think, he's eating breakfast and doing that thing where he reads all of his notes." 

"Thank you." He'll stop in briefly to let Leareth know he's back and then pass on messages from Vinyamar to their recipients here.

Leareth is very glad he’s back and hopes it was a productive trip, and he doesn’t need anything right now but he’s wondering if Melody could come by again later.

"It was productive! - And I'll ask her."

Melody can definitely come over but she’d prefer to do it at the end of her workday so she doesn’t have to trundle all the way back again and see more patients.

He passes this along to Leareth and arranges to also stop by Leareth's at the end of the day.

Leareth spends most of that day writing things down - not about the last few weeks, but about the snippets of memories he's managed to pin down enough that he can think about them.

He talks to Vanyel for a bit. Takes a nap. Is sitting in his room waiting when Melody and Maitimo arrive. 

"Hey. I am to pass on the gratitude of everyone in Vinyamar."

"...That is very kind of them?" Leareth is confused and he knows he shouldn't be, this is - the error he keeps making in the same direction, that Maitimo brought up earlier. 

"When you're up for it maybe we can all go visit together, they're doing some really neat stuff with it and it has the Silmarils so it's much nicer to walk around in."

"I would like that, I think. Probably not immediately, I am - somewhat easily overwhelmed, currently, and I think that having a panic attack in the middle of a strange city would be unpleasant and awkward." 

"That makes sense. I'm sure it'll be even nicer in a couple of months or years."

Nod. 

"Ready?" Melody says, gently. "Also, I just wanted to say: Leareth, you're doing really well. I know this is - not the kind of problem you're used to having to solve, and I imagine that's fairly frustrating, but so far you've noticeably made progress every time I come here. You have a lot of tools to bring to bear, and I know it's still very hard, but – I'm quite hopeful about how much better off you'll be a year from now. All right, now that I've said that, are you ready to look at some more memories?" 

She waits for his agreement and then pulls up the tapestry, shares it with Maitimo who can bounce it on to Leareth.

"...Huh, this one's different," she says after a while. "Leareth, is it all right if we go in and have a look? I'm pretty sure it's not torture, but if I'm wrong or if it's otherwise too distressing, please let us know and we'll distract you and do something else." 

If Maitimo will come preemptively hold him then sure, that's fine, he can look at the memory.

Maitimo will do that.

...and he's in a stone room. Magic doesn't work but his receptive Othersenses do. 

There's a Vala. 

Leareth, says the Vala. I apologize for kidnapping you. In my defense, I think it's what you would have done. 

I think you're on the wrong side of this war. I understand you will have every reason to disbelieve me about this; I wouldn't expect any less of you. But your friends are safely on their way from Nolofinwë's camp to the Dwarf city, unimpeded; I tried to permit you the magic I was sure enough was sensory; and all I'm asking, right now, is that you hear me out.