Curufin looks at him for a long moment.

"I wouldn't have afflicted you with my presence if I did not know we'll both be living here indefinitely. Better to acknowledge that now, and see if we can come to a rapprochement. I should tell you that I have forsworn the Oath."

Curufin sees that gesture and wonders if Turgon has a fever. "Are you all right?"

"I do not want to stay here any more than you do." But he has to respond to Turgon's attack. "You are right, I took Nargothrond away from Finrod. Believe me, I would give it back if I could, now."

That eerie feeling is taking possession of him, the feeling of time disjunction. Perhaps it has to do with the sudden transport to another world, but Curufin's mind is a subtle one, and he knows he's being presented with a great mystery beyond that of the multiple worlds.

"Exactly what I would say if I had bubonic plague." A little bit sarcastic. You can't fool one who has long since mastered the art of denial. Not that Elves can catch the plague, but a lot of Curufin's expressions were picked up from the Fëanorions' mortal allies, and it amuses him to use them.

"Apologies don't do anyone any good, the living or the dead. Still, there's a point to making them. Especially if you are dead, as I am, and you're making them to the living, as I suppose you still are. I deduce this from your reference to having a kingdom to run."

"Perhaps I should," Curufin answers, bitterly. "Too bad for you; too bad for Finrod and Orodreth; too bad for Dior."

He gazes at Turgon, noticing that pause. He too is thinking of long ago, when they were young and relatively untouched by darkness. The group of cousins had all played together in various combinations. They ran about the city, they hunted and fished and hiked in the mountains, they visited the various shops, they shared their toys, they even studied together. They visited each other's houses, until the adults became so embroiled in their disputes that they wouldn't allow the children to associate with each other openly. Then they did it surreptitiously, meeting down in the ravine or even defying their parents and meeting openly in the square. Yes, it was true that Curvo and Tyelko had bullied Turno a bit, but Curufin was not proud of that, and he had not been proud of it at the time. After a while, he had striven not to do it.

"I'm not going to the Halls of Mandos," he says, quietly. "I refused the summons. So if Finrod wants me, he'll have to come and find me."

"I am no coward, as you well know, Turgon. I simply had no intentions of spending eternity sitting alone in dark thought, as the sages and the poets have said of my father in those dark halls. What good would that be? I could do nothing useful there. But out in the world, there are things I could do, things I still can do, though this be a different world. I will not be deprived of that opportunity. That would not be justice."

Curufn looks him straight in the eyes, not flinching from the glare. "Punishment is a sham, Turgon. It doesn't take real regret into consideration, nor does it think of the future. And the future is what matters the most. The one whom I wronged grievously deserves an apology from me, and he deserves a heartfelt amends. I do care. I didn't then, because I was a madman. But I am myself again now, and I am willing to do my part in building a better world and a better relationship with my cousins -- including Finrod. Especially Finrod."

Curufin smiles a little, dark smile.

"I did. I dreamed of him several times and felt that there was some point in following his traces in the shadowy afterlife. I sneaked back to Valinor by way of the Path of Dreams, and I searched for a back entrance to the Halls. But I didn't sense Finrod anywhere. Perhaps my senses were at fault, or perhaps he really didn't want to be found. I will never know that. . . until I find him. I will not cease to search for him whenever and wherever I can. My words are not empty, Turgon."

"As I have just said, cousin. . . my words are not empty. But we won't know anytime soon if he can forgive me, unless he shows up here in Asgard. Meantime, are you pledging Heimdall?"

He still meets that sour glare with his own dark, sincere gaze.

Curufin responds to that dismissive tone with a small smile. Turgon is certainly the grouchiest of his cousins. Not that he doesn't have reason, but Curufin is used to it.

"I think it is my concern, since I probably will be choosing this world's warrior deity. It would make sense. And if you are too, then we will have to make shift to get along with one another, as we'll be part of the same outfit. But even if we are with different god's houses, Asgard does not seem to be an immensely large city. We won't be able to avoid one another. And I suspect there will be the need to work together. This does not strike me as an altogether peaceful world." The last words are spoken with irony.

"My understanding is that we must each connect with a god. The explanation as to why was a bit vague, but it seemed to have something to do with our survival."

OH, THAT SNIFF. SO FAMILIAR!

"But it will be an issue if this community is attacked from the outside. We shall be faced with the same problem as we had in our world. Shall we die for lack of the ability to ally with one another?"

Curufin speaks softly. "Suit yourself, then, Turgon. I don't suppose there is anything I can say to change your mind."

He will have to find his allies elsewhere. His heart is heavy, but he will walk into the future without his family, if he must.

"Neither of whom is here," Curufin points out, quietly.

"Turgon, if I had it all to do over again, it would all be different. I did not know my own strength in those days, not truly. It did even not occur to me to refuse the Oath when my father demanded his sons swear it with him. And that is the only thing that might have made a difference. I cannot turn the centuries back and change history; all I can do is change the present. I do not ask your forgiveness, for I do not believe I would give it, were I in your position. I only ask that should we face war in this place, you do not refuse an alliance that might serve to save us all. Do not choose death for all of us because I made terrible choices back in those days. It is not a good swap."