On the paths of life by Aprilertuile  

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Chapter 3: Yes dad, I know

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Celegorm grabbed his applications answers back and went to his room. The place was neat but for the desk that was apparently ransacked. So not only his little brothers went through his belongings, they also didn’t do it carefully and left a mess behind. 

They’d have to beg him for him to ever again agree to buy them sweets behind their parents’ back. 

He sat at the desk and while the squirrel ran to its nest, he started to put his things in order. Papers he needed in the top drawer, school work separated by subjects in the lower side drawers, pens, pencils back in their case, books put back in his shelf, and laptop back on its stand. 

He then pulled his phone out, and hesitated, but… 

“Hi Oromë. It’s Celegorm. I’m back home and I think I got mom to decide to wait until we know my finals result in June before she starts hounding me about my future. Sweet uh?” 

He typed, then deleted it, then typed it again, hesitated… but shrugged. 

The other man did say to keep him updated if he wished to and… 

He and his wife had been… More open than any other adult in his life, and easy to talk to and… He had a good feeling about them. 

Besides if the message was bothering him, Oromë could always ignore it. 

There was no answer for a while, and Celegorm just left the phone on the desk and fell on the bed, pulling out one of his books. A book written by the famous oceanographer Ulmo. 

The man was an old legend by now, and did a lot for Ocean conservation. 

Celegorm wasn’t going to lie, he dreamed of doing for the Woods what Ulmo did for the oceans. Oh he knew he probably never would. A man like that was like, one in ten lifetimes. But dreams couldn’t hurt. 

Oceans were vital to life on the planet, but so were forests. So were wild animals. 

But for now he settled, reading on his bed, until Caranthir knocked at his door and entered the room without waiting for an answer: 

“I got Curvo to understand that his continuous support of dad’s plan for our lives isn’t appreciated.” 

Celegorm looked at his brother with a raised eyebrow. 

“What did you do to him?” 

“I threatened to tell dad he was the one who messed his computer last time.” 

“That is evil and I love you for it.” 

Caranthir smiled briefly in amusement at that. 

“And you’re an idiot.” 

That however made Celegorm look serious fast. He was tired of hearing that sort of things in the mouth of his family. 

“What were you thinking leaving as you did! I called Nelyo and Kano, they didn’t see you either! Where the fuck did you go?! We were worried here!” 

Ah. That. 

“Himlad’s national park’s easier trail.” 

“There are no easy trails in that national park as you are so fond of telling us.” Caranthir hissed. 

“I said easier, not easy.” Celegorm answered flatly. 

“You need to stop doing that! Stop running away to the gods-who-don’t-exist only know where when you’re upset!” 

“I literally always go to the Himlad national park when I run away from home and have been since I was 10 and discovered I could go there by bus. There is zero mystery there. Like… None. Anyone who knows me can tell you that. Hells brother, our cousins could tell you where I go.” 

“Yes, because a national park is such a small place where we can so easily find you shall anything ever happen because you’re too upset or drunk to think straight.”

Celegorm winced at that, thinking of the numerous lost hikers reported missing every year, some of them never recovered to this day. 

In front of his strategic silence, Caranthir nodded: “That’s what I thought.” 

“Look, you know I hate to be cooped up, and it’s worst when I have things in my mind, it’s not new. I also stay safely on the path of whatever trail I take. And last, brother mine, this is my room, you are my little brother, and I owe you neither explanation nor apologies. Get out.” 

Caranthir looked momentarily like he was going to insist, but one look at Celegorm made him reconsider. He left the room, slamming the door on the way, and Celegorm went back to reading his book. 

The next interruption was his mother calling them for a late evening meal. 

Celegorm briefly considered skipping it but decided that it was absolutely out of the question in a matter of seconds. 

He was sure of his choice, and avoiding his parents wouldn’t allow them to trust that he was mature enough to make said choice. If he wanted them to take him seriously, he had to show them he wasn’t afraid to argue his point. 

Again. 

So he went down to the dining room, took a seat at the table and as they were going to start eating, Fëanor arrived victoriously with a stack of papers that he brandished like a standard: 

“National park rangers are about 10 times more likely to die on the job than even police officers!” Fëanor said, putting a paper under Celegorm’s nose. 

“Actually, I think you mean 12 times more likely. And 42% of those deaths over the last… Ten year or so according to last year’s data, was human interactions issues. The rest was all accidents, nature taking its toll and animals being wild.” Celegorm corrected flatly, putting the paper aside to serve himself a plate of the lasagna his mother had served. 

The silence at the table was shocked. 

“What? You though I did no research and only trusted the postcard images of guys in ranger gear in front of a cabin in the woods? Please…” Celegorm sighed with a roll of eyes. 

“That… But then why?” 

“I love nature, I think it needs to be protected from humans as much as humans need to be protected from nature. I love nothing more than to be outside, I love hunting, I’m actually following every year the research that the rangers participate in about wild-life… It’s something I am passionate about, I’m aware the pay isn’t the best there is out there. I’m also aware it’s enough to live well. I’m aware it’s a dangerous job, but so are other jobs out there. And don’t tell me that nuclear weapon manufacturing is all that safe. I was there when the police came to talk to you about the deadly accident at the lab, 3 years ago.” 

Fëanor visibly wanted to argue the point but also seemed impressed that his son had actual arguments and did his research. 

“Fëanor, enough. Celegorm received a partial scholarship. I did read the information he was sent, it’s perfectly fair, and as it’s all depending on his finals grades, we agreed to revisit this conversation when he will have the result of his finals at the end of the school year.” Nerdanel intervened, salad bowl in hand. 

Fëanor grumbled but put his papers aside and came to sit at the table. 

“If we do wait until the end of the school year, it’ll be late for him to send his application to proper universities and he’ll be able to get in only if there are enough places left, which, late in the school year, isn’t a guarantee.” Fëanor pointed out. 

“Because you’re entirely unable to throw your weight around and ensure your son enters the university of your choice, even if late in the season.” She said drily. 

“That is not… I thought you didn’t want me to do that anymore?” Fëanor commented with a raised eyebrow. 

“Because you used to do that about anything at all and that is a worrying behaviour. Right now we’re speaking of our son’s future, not the about the next holiday you decided to take on a whim.” Nerdanel pointed out. 

Celegorm snorted softly at that. 

He did intent to keep his grade up, and so the question that would arise would be more how long his father would allow him home, and absolutely not how to push him into a university he was sure to hate on principle alone. 

But for now he’d let his parents keep their illusions about this. They’d see well enough by the end of the year. And oh, that discussion was going to be… Ah explosive if he trusted what happened with Maglor last time. 

Although the situation would be a bit different wouldn’t it? 

Maglor launched his own Youtube channel and quickly gained momentum and money from that, and chose to drop out of university to go into making music full time. 

Whereas he wanted to keep studying, just not in the subjects his father wanted him to. He didn’t endanger his future, other paths of work would still be available to him if he couldn’t become a national park ranger… Just less interesting ones. 

Celegorm wondered if he could argue that point next time the subject would come up...