Celegorm put his eye to the sights of his rifle, but was careful not to move otherwise. The boar was ambling between trees and he'd soon be in range. He took a breath, then took the shot. He leapt up, slung his rifle over his shoulder, and started the trek down to his prey. It was a sizeable old boar. He hadn't parked his jeep too far away in case of this. He got to work field dressing it to make it easier to transport, then he'd have to clear out. The DNR didn't go for poaching, even if he was doing them a favor by hunting an invasive species.

He drove into town as the sun rose. There was a fair bit of meat and he needed to offload it soon. It would last in the cooler long enough for breakfast though. His thoughts were quiet during the drive into town. He parked outside the local diner and walked in. He'd been in town for a couple weeks now and the waitresses knew him. Edna came over with a pot of coffee.

"Morning, hon, say you know anybody by the name of Kimberly Malcolm?" She asked as she poured him a mug.

He frowned as he picked up the sugar. "Doesn't ring a bell, why?"

"Well, strangest thing." She started, "Phone rings early this morning, man on the other end says he's looking for you. Said he didn't know what name you're going by, but he knew you were around this town, described you to a T. Very tall, long tow hair, one or two knives, probably wearing camo, you know, kinda how you are now," she made a broad gesture to his hunting attire, "When he gave his name he said you'd figure it out."

Celegorm held the mug under his nose and inhaled the steam, puzzlement furrowing his brow. "This man say anything else? Any way to contact him?"

Edna shrugged. "Just a phone number to call. Wrote it down for you." She slid a piece of paper over the counter to him.

He inspected it. Area code from up north. Kimberly Malcolm. He muttered the name a few times, turning it over in his mind. Kimberly Malcolm. Kanafinwe Makalaure. The association hit with jolt. Just like him to play with sounds like that. He stood up, took a swig of his coffee and went to the phone. Kano hadn't contacted him in years. They'd fought again. Maybe he was finally apologizing, but how did he know where he was?

He dialed the number and waited. A familiar voice answered.

"Tyelko?"

"Yeah, what?"

"Tyelkormo, I need to talk to you."

"Obviously, now spit it out before my coffee gets cold." He eyed his spot to make sure no one else claimed it, but the diner was almost empty.

"Tyelko, listen to me."

"I am listening." Celegorm had let frustration into his voice. This didn't sound like the apology he'd been hoping for.

"Tyelko, I saw something last night."

There was something in Maglor's voice that stopped him from making another jab. He waited for him to continue.

A sigh on the other end. "Around midnight last night, a shadow spoke to me."

That had Celegorm's attention. "What?"

"It materialized out of shadow and spoke to me. It knew my name. It knew me from... from the Wars."

"What wars?"

"The Wars." His voice was low and soft.

A chill ran down Celegorm's spine. "It knew your name? What did it look like?"

"Humanoid, but too long, no features, except for a mouth with teeth."

Celegorm was silent in thought.

"I wanted to ask you because I thought you'd know what it was. With your hunting experience. You know, back in the day."

That day had been a very very long time ago, but he still remembered. He sighed. "Anything else?"

It took Maglor a moment to respond. "It said something about reporting to 'him'."

"Who?"

"Just 'him'. It didn't elaborate when I called out to it."

Celegorm was silent.

"Well?" Maglor asked. "Should I be worried?"

Celegorm rolled his eyes. "Sounds like a low level fallen Maiar, you could probably shout at it and make it go away." He grinned, feeling antagonistic, "Why, you want big brother to come up and protect you?" He teased.

"I am still older than you, you overgrown oaf." Maglor snapped back.

Celegorm grinned, ready to dredge up this old petty argument again, but Maglor spoke quickly, "Listen, I don't want to fight right now. Do you know where anyone else is?"

He let the bone drop for now. "Just Curvo and Nelyo. Lost track of the twins a while back, been meaning to track them down and check on them."

"Carnistir?"

"You know I don't even try with Carnistir." He said shortly.

"He is hard to pin down," Maglor said, deliberately missing the bait. "Well thanks anyway. Bye."

"Wait--wait--wait," He gushed before Maglor could hang up. The line held. "How did you know where I was?"

"Nelyafinwë knew. He said this was a diner you frequented."

Celegorm frowned, "Does he know where all of us are?"

"Probably," Maglor replied, "You know how he is about keeping track of us."

Celegorm resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He really couldn't blame Nelyo for it, even if his independent spirit chafed at the thought of his older brother keeping tabs on him. "Well if you talked to Maitimo anyway why didn't you just ask him about this?"

Maglor was silent for a moment. "This wasn't something I wanted to bother him with."

"Hm." He said. Something tugged at his heart to hear Maglor say that. In the old days Maglor didn't have a hangnail without Maitimo knowing about it. No matter how long ago those old days had been, it felt wrong that Maglor would come to him with a problem instead of Maedhros. He was used to being the problem. He sensed an ending to the conversation so he quickly said, "Hey, is this a good number for you? You're still up north?"

"Yes I'm still up north, been following the Mississippi, and no, this isn't a good number for me." Maglor replied, "It's a local YMCA, I've been hanging out here all morning. Glad you got back to me in a timely manner, they get tired of loiterers eventually."

"Aw, were you not able to charm everyone instantly? Your self image must be in the gutter right now." He took a shot.

"Break any hearts down there?" Maglor snapped back.

Celegorm huffed. "See you." He said shortly.

"See you." Maglor replied, then hung up.

Celegorm resisted the urge to slam the phone back on its hook. Instead, he took a deep breath, placed it gently on the receiver, and went back to his coffee.

Edna put a plate in front of him. "The usual for you, hon?"

"Yes, thanks." Celegorm picked up a fork. "Got some bacon for y'all in the cooler if you want it."

Edna wrinkled her nose and grinned, "That tough stuff you been bagging? Just give it to the butcher. Makes good sausage I hear."

He smiled through a mouthful of toast. "Had to offer."

He wouldn't be around for much longer. He'd have to wrap up his business here, then make his priority finding the twins. Without Maedhros' help. He liked to keep his tracking skill sharp.

He pondered what Maglor had said to him over his third cup of coffee. He'd said it was nothing to worry about, but that was just to make Maglor feel better. The idea of fallen Maiar existing in this world in the first place was enough to give him pause. What were they doing here? The spiritual tides of this world ebbed and flowed, a lot of humans claimed not to believe in such things, but they were kidding themselves. There were more holdovers from the elder days than some of the others wanted to believe, but Celegorm was keen to such things. As much as the memories hurt, he brought to mind what Oromë had taught him about dark spirits and monsters.

Not all of them were loyal to Morgoth, though many had followed him, a lot were as free agents, wreaking their own havoc in their own way. In that manner they could be even more dangerous. It made them unpredictable. But the spirit's words about reporting to someone gave him a sense of dread. That implied organization. If maverick spirits were banding together, that was bad. The idea that one of the ancient foes had returned didn't bear thinking of. Morgoth was in the void, the time for the Dagor Dagorath was not yet. The others under him had all been destroyed. At least, as destroyed as a Maiar could be.

As they were spirits bound to Eä, you couldn't entirely obliterate them, in the same way you couldn't destroy the spirit of an elf. His train of thought came to a screeching halt. You could cripple a Maia, but not actually destroy it. You could make it so it would never rise again, not within any living memory, but thousands upon thousands of years had passed. Maybe some dark spirit could rise again, enough to gain back some respect, and cause some trouble.

Celegorm's mouth went dry and he tried to contain his imagination. Names ran through his head, each one attached to a terrible memory. Before he could spiral any further, he took hold of himself. Just because it might possibly happen didn't mean it was going to. Honestly, the odds were stacked against such a happening. Statistically it didn't make sense. It could only be theoretical.

Celegorm finished his coffee quickly, then stood up and went to pay.

"Heading out?" Edna asked from the register.

"Yeah, I won't be in town after today, thanks for everything," He handing her the bills.

"Oh, well good luck then. Oh, and who was the guy on the phone?" She inquired.

He grinned at the question. Trust Edna to be nosey. "Turned out to be my brother. He likes to mess with me."

She nodded with a smile. "Family. Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em."

"You can say that again," He chuckled. Slipping his wallet back in his pocket, he walked out the door. The butcher was a block away, he wouldn't even haggle, just take the going rate for it. He had more important things on his mind.