(no subject)

[bow_of_the_galadhrim]

Characters: Legolas (bow_of_the_galadhrim) and OPEN
Setting: Forest floor, slightly backdated to after the droning plot
Format: prose to start, will match you
Summary: Legolas is pissed and lacking confidence in himself now.
Warnings: Nothing but I'll update if anything comes up.

The elf drew back an arrow, pulling the string taut and releasing in quick succession. Each arrow struck the farthest tree from him with inhuman accuracy, each one close enough to another that it was hard to differentiate them from the distance. And he didn't stop, not until his quiver was empty. And then he dropped his bow where he stood and when to recover the arrows, returned and did the same all over again.

If anyone didn't know better, it would seem almost like he was in a trance. He didn't make a single sound as he worked. He didn't need the practice with his bow but he didn't want to not practice. And each arrow he shot, he was visualizing the various administrators. He'd never killed a sentient being before and never considered it but now he was completely without remorse for his own thoughts. Orcs he didn't consider sentient because they lived solely to obey Sauron or Morgoth, they were stupid and confused without them.

He was not their toy. He would not let them make him feel so weak or worthless again. He was the prince of the Woodland Realm, friend to Gimli, one of the Nine Walkers who had chosen to free the world of Sauron.Just thinking of having been Jason's plaything, of being subservient to any of them, a pang of white hot rage flowed through him and he grabbed three arrows, drawing them back together and firing. Watching as they struck the tree together, each one above the other.

Comments

[sonof_thrain]

Thorin stepped close to view the elf loosing his arrows with deadly accuracy. Kili could loose arrows, but none like how Legolas was doing so. The elf had skill and Thorin could not deny it. He was secretly jealous at how good he was using the bow. Dwarves had their own skills apart from the bow, as he approached him.

"Legolas. You are a fine shot with the bow." He narrowed his eyes as he sensed a bitterness about the elf.

[bow_of_the_galadhrim]

Legolas spared a quick glance towards Thorin before continuing his next shot. For all his caution in not ruining his arrows, this one split a previously used arrow down the center of it.

"I am one of the best in Eryn Lasgalen. The only elf I cannot outshoot is my king." His father. One of the people who were dead now and he was here. He was here when worthier elves had died. He fires another and then lowers his bow. Half his quiver still remains but suddenly his anger had made him weary. It's still there and won't vanish completely until he'd made Jason, Ruana and Riki hurt as much as he does but he'll keep it in control.

[sonof_thrain]

Thorin had no doubt the elf was telling the truth as he watched how precise a shot he was. At the mention of the elven king, Thorin bristled. It was not a subject he wished to speak about since he did not care for Thranduil much. Many bad feelings he bore against him from times past.

"I do not doubt your skill, Legolas. It pleases me to see you back as your normal self after those horrid events past." Thorin could remember how changed the elf was when the admins changed him into a drone. Right now, he wished to help the elf think about other things. Maybe even cheer his new friend up.

[bow_of_the_galadhrim]

Normal. Was he back to normal? What was normal here? He smiles, if only slightly and with a bitterness that probably seems foreign on his fair features before he sets his bow down to sit in the grass. And, briefly when he spots the dwarf bristle, he wonders how Thorin would react to knowing he was trying to console the Elvenkings son.

"I will never be back to normal. This place has changed me." Never again could be be the cheerful and carefree elf that had brightened his fathers halls when Sauron had darkened the forest or when his mother had departed.

[marchwarden]

Within the shadows of a canopy overhead, Haldir watched in silence as Legolas practiced. The march warden hadn't been very forthright as of late with allies or acquaintances alike. In truth, Haldir kept to himself more so than ever before. His silence spoke volumes since before his name was almost synonymous with joy and cheer. He once striven before to keep his morale high, but as of lately he has succumbed to the gloom that hung in the air. Everyone in Animus were either suffering or dying at this point. There was no in-between despite how much everyone wished for one. Haldir knew this quite well considering that his mood as of late took a drastic change for the worst.

"Legolas." He called the younger elf quietly by his name. "Enough, Legolas. You punish no one but yourself." Haldir leap down to the forest floor below with relative ease. The tunic he wore looked a tad gray and tattered but not by much. The march warden has a habit of taking care of his belongings.

"You will sicken yourself with anger if you continue any further."

[bow_of_the_galadhrim]

He paused while he drew back another arrow, Haldir's voice practically wrapping around him. It felt safe and like home, enough that he loosened his hold on the arrow and returned it to his quiver. Setting down his bow he walked towards the one he loved and reached out to him. Haldir was right, he would sicken himself but he couldn't help himself. He'd been made the administrators puppet, been made to hurt others and treat the administrators as his masters.

"I find that I cannot help myself." He thought it better to be angry and ready to fight than broken and subservient. Haldir, he was sure, would understand that better than most. "I'm glad I did not hurt you."

It would have absolutely destroyed the prince to have hurt Haldir.

[marchwarden]

Haldir's gloomy demeanor changed drastically once Legolas called of him. He had feared that Legolas wouldn't want to see him now, but he was clearly wrong about that. Within an instance, they've wrapped each other in a loving embrace. "You could never hurt me." Haldir muttered as he nuzzled his cheek against Legolas.

"Dhe melin.” He whispered into his beloved’s ear before gently kissing the pointy tip. Haldir pulled away somewhat so he could get a good look of him. All the joy that Legolasf used to cherish seemed to have left him these days. The light within his eyes have grown dim and his very essence felt so melancholy. It hurt Haldir to see his lover in such a state, but he felt so powerless to change it.

“Bare no shame, please.” He pleaded with Legolas before pressing his lips to his cheek. “You were not yourself, my love. They played a horrible trick upon you and others.” Of course he means the Administrators. “Only know despair and hate. They want us to suffer for their amusement.” Haldir said as he gently brushed back some of the blond strands of hair that fallen over Legolas’ s eyes.

“They want to break us but we can’t let them.”

[bow_of_the_galadhrim]

He held tightly to Haldir, afraid that he might disappear at any moment. The days he'd spent worrying over whether or not he was strong enough to go on, whether he was worthy of Haldir or strong enough for him just fading away at the embrace.

"Ci velethron nîn. Annon 'ûr nîn angin." Came his reply, voice soft as he tried to express just how much he cared for Haldir. How much he loved him. Biting his lip carefully at the kiss to the tip of his ear, a spot very sensitive for the younger elf, he leaned against the other.

"I will never break for them. And I will never let them do anything that might bring harm to you." He had suffered enough for becoming one of their drones. What should have completely destroyed him had only made him more determined, tempered him. Whatever followed would only strengthen his resolve.

"And I will give you what strength I can when they try again." Kissing Haldir lightly, he reached to a chain he'd been keeping around his neck. Two silver rings hung from it, the chain long enough that they always sat directly over his heart.

[notagiraffe]

Taiki was collecting mushrooms in the forest when he spotted a familiar elf. He skipped forward to great him but paused wide eyed when he saw the weapon, and the anger on Legolas' face.

[bow_of_the_galadhrim]

He sensed Taiki before he saw him, the little ones spirit already calming him if only because he never wanted to scare the child, never wanted to see him hurt. Taking a deep breath, Legolas tried to calm himself and lowered his bow, quickly retrieving his arrows and tucking them back into his quiver.

"You're keeping busy, aren't you Taiki?"

He tried to keep his voice light and welcoming but it's hard. There was an edge to it that tells of how tired he is of this tower.

[notagiraffe]

Once the weapons were away Taiki got close and wrapped his arm around him. "What... sorry are you hurt Legolas?"

[bow_of_the_galadhrim]

Legolas gives a short but heartfelt laugh and hugs Taiki close, his wordless way of apologizing for scaring or worrying him. If there was one thing, one person, other than Haldir that could warm Legolas' heart in the tower, it was Taiki.

"I'm not hurt, don't worry. It will be very hard for them to hurt me again."

[neverbeamemory]

Sephiroth had spent a lot of time in the Forest when he'd gone on his own binge-monster-hunt after being returned to normal. Though only in the First Block of the Tower, this floor still proved an ample hunting ground. Especially at night, there were hundreds of thousands of dark alcoves which might hold any level of monster.

That had been a few days ago. Sephiroth now returned to the Forest during a break from picking up Ryoji's trail. The kid didn't need to be watched all that much since the event, he -like a lot of them- had been hit hard by what had happened. Sephiroth didn't care much for that though, but he came away quite often to put away that temptation to take it all out on one person. He had to keep it all under wraps, burying it within his psyche whenever his thoughts drifted back to his time as a drone. The one fact that kept him sane: Jason hadn't cracked his mind. It served a purpose to believe that he wouldn't ever.

He watched Legolas from a distance, seeing reflected the same logic - the same drive that he had exerted during his own venting phase. That mindlessness that eventually made them little more than drones themselves. If exhaustion hadn't made Sephiroth stop, he wonders sometimes if he would ever have stopped.

"They got to you too, Legolas?" Perhaps, elves weren't so raised above humans as he had initially thought.

[bow_of_the_galadhrim]

Oh, Elves were above humans in certain ways but not all. Humans could leave the circles of the world when they died, elves could not. Humans didn't have to suffer the bitterness of immortality, didn't have to live with the knowledge that they would outlive every mortal companion they'd ever had. Humans had it so much easier.

"They did." And he'd make them pay for stealing away his free-will, his dignity, like they had. Jason especially. Ruana wasn't particularly high on his list of likeable administrators, but he'd had some pity for her for having been experimented on as well. That didn't excuse her though.

It was a good thing Legolas was an elf though. It wasn't as easy for him to become exhausted. And if he did get tired, he could just let his mind wander to more beautiful memories, to faces of loved ones, to rest. And he would still be able to shoot while doing so.

[neverbeamemory]

There might be a lot that Sephiroth could learn from Legolas then, about consequences of the immortality he believed so fervently that he was entitled to. Not that he'd even care to listen, mind. Companionship is the furthest from Sephiroth's needs, especially now.

Sephiroth glanced over at the arrows stuck in the trunk of the tree and his gaze lingered there for a few moments. Thinking. There wasn't much he would say to the elf - he's not about to want to talk about or dig up events that he's making a concerted effort to bury away as quickly as possible.

He still feels disgusting a lot of the time, though it's no longer mad enough to smash any mirror which he can stare into his own eyes with. He still over-scrubs in the shower and probably will do for a long time yet.

Sephiroth is being watched now as well. Though he doesn't care for what gets back to the Admins about anything he might say.

"You know, if you come back after dark. There will be many more things for you to shoot at."

[bow_of_the_galadhrim]

A small, almost non-existant, smile appeared on the face of the young elf. There was a hint of malice in his eyes, almost eager for something for him to shoot at but it vanished quickly. He wasn't the aggressive beast that they'd made him into so short a time ago. As much as he wanted to hurt them, he wouldn't become something he abhorred.

"I'm actually waiting until it's dark again. If only for a chance to keep myself busy." And maybe find a pack of Uruk-Hai. His bitterness towards those creatures had only increased. The stories of their creation stemming from elves that had been corrupted sticking in his mind where it never had before.

"It will be good practice for when we see Jason again."

[lightofhumanity]

chaos sometimes wandered around in the forest, admiring it and thinking back to the days of Earth, where forests like these were very common. However, when he sensed and saw Legolas in his normal form firing arrows, he smiled to himself. The man was enraged, but otherwise, he was fine now. Silently, he walked toward him and spoke.

"It is good to see that you are back to normal."

[bow_of_the_galadhrim]

Enraged might be too much. Enraged would imply that he was actively seeking blood in a wanton manner. He was angry though and even more determined now to take down the administrators. He wasn't a plaything, he wasn't a servant. He was a prince, a warrior, one of the guards in his realm who worked to keep his people safe, one of the Nine Walkers.

"Normal isn't quite the word that I would use."

Normal would be him going back to be cheerful, being carefree. That was an impossibility now. Now, he understood why his father sometimes acted the way he did. And he was learning in the last way anyone would have wanted.

"I'm glad that you've recovered."

[lightofhumanity]

chaos could understand anger being used as fuel to make things happen, it helping a person become more determined. But it was important that a person didn't forget about being cheerful when they could be.

"..In some ways, I suppose not. Not bound to the Administrators might be a better way to put it. But..you needn't worry about me. I heal up quite quickly. It's you I am more concerned about."

[oathshackledbird]

It is the repeated sound of arrows striking wood that causes Diarmuid to pause on the floor. No, not just that, but the rhythm of the sounds. The precision of the hits. All of these things tell him that the person firing is very skilled. In the back of his mind, some part of him assesses and gives the person doing the shooting the class Archer before he can even stop himself to think of how silly it is to be assigning servant classes to non-servants.

Only moments later, Diarmuid is able to confirm visually what his senses were already telling him--that the bowman is no servant. In fact, it is an acquaintance he has not see for some time. Part of him is relieved to find that his words to Haldir when Legolas was missing were correct. However, his relief doesn't last long because it is easy to see that the elf is not as relaxed or upbeat as usual. In fact, not only his face, but his actions ring of anger.

"It is good to see you again, Legolas, especially after hearing that you were missing for some time. Though, it saddens me to see you so distressed. It seems not a one person was spared grievous wounds during this experiment," Diarmuid stops several feet away from the prince expecting the elf's senses to easily detect him like they had the last time they had met. Indeed, Legolas is not the only one who doesn't look himself today. Diarmuid's face holds both a weariness and strain that weren't present when they last met. Yet at the same time, there is a glow deep in his amber-gold eyes that seems to show a determination that wasn't there before either.

"I know it would be foolish to ask if your fellows are all well, so I will instead ask if they are all safe. I believe it will probably be a while before any of us can say we are well again."

[bow_of_the_galadhrim]

Another arrow is fired, landing again very close to the previous one he fired. He hadn't expected others to come to the forest, not far enough in to hear him practicing. He'd thought that a few hours here would calm him enough to travel the rest of the tower, to face his friends and other people he'd hurt while he was brainwashed.

"I was... very busy." He pulled another arrow from his quiver and fired at the tree. Busy losing use of his arm, dying, spending days hidden away only to be kidnapped by retrieval units this month and turned into one himself. One that looked like an orc. Another arrow slammed into the tree.

"Thank you, they are safe. Safe but tiring from being here. I want to get them home safely, the hobbits especially." Haldir too but keeping Haldir safe was a personal priority. Getting Frodo back was for his own safety as the ring continued to weigh upon him. "And you and your own?"

[oathshackledbird]

"We survive. Since I was one of the few amongst my friends who were not changed, it has be difficult trying to comfort them when I do not know their pain. I know how it felt when I could do nothing to stop them from hurting me or others, but it is not the same as being the one who has lost control," Diarmuid shakes his head, continuing to watch as the prince fires his bow. "A strong shoulder and open ear is really all I can give and yet it doesn't seem to be enough. I suppose that is one of the pains of a warrior. I am of more use solving problems through strength of skill than words even if my words are more heartfelt than some.

"You mention hobbits. This is a word with which I'm not familiar. Is it another race from your world? Have you had new friends arrive then since we last spoke?" It might seem like an abrupt chance of topic, but Diarmuid doesn't expect Legolas to say much about what happened to himself during the experiment. They don't know each other that well and the last thing the servant wishes to do is make the prince feel he is pushing him for information he has no right to know.

[justabignobody]

[Whelp, Riku actually wasn't standing all that far from that tree when the first of arrows hit their marks, jumping slightly, tense and ready to call upon his barrier if needed. he relaxes a second later when he recognizes Legolas as part of the group (if you could really could call them a group) he had ventured down into Riki's room with.

...He's also sensing that anger. To him, it feels like neon sign above the elf spelling Approach With Care. Or well. Smells. Details

He moves a little further away then, he definitely does not want to get caught by one of those arrows, and keeps quiet until the last of them has lodged into the wood.]

...Impressive.

[bow_of_the_galadhrim]

[He glances towards Riku and lowers his bow, slipping his bow into his quiver before retrieving his arrows. He hadn't seen the other since the unfortunate incident downstairs. Of course, he had been fairly distracted by the near loss of his arm from the lasers.]

I've had a very long time to practice. And more than enough reasons to do so daily.

[He's been given plenty since arriving. Even more since he was made into a drone.]/small>

[justabignobody]

[Well, it's a big tower.

He nods in understanding; he has no idea what has irked the others' temper, but he knows well enough that one can only go so long in his place until some kind of vent is needed. He usually falls back on the nightly increase in the monster population for that.]

It's not like there aren't enough targets in this place either.