(no subject)

[bow_of_the_galadhrim]

Characters: Legolas (bow_of_the_galadhrim), OPEN
Setting: Room 3-06 then Floor 48
Format: Prose but will switch
Summary: Finding his “costume” of his father and then exploring the new floors, only to find the graves of his friends.
Warnings: DENIAL and trying to dig up a grave or two because of said denial

Room 3-06

Legolas did not technically sleep, it was an elvish thing but he had been unaware for most of the night, resting. When he climbed out of bed in the morning though, he was surprised to find the costume he had worn sitting at the edge of the bed. Including the crown of Thranduil. He said nothing and gave no outward reaction but he carefully and fondly folded the costume and placed it inside his trunk, the crown being set on top of with even more care. As though it were made from the most valuable of materials.

And under his breath, soft enough that few outside of elves themselves would hear him, he uttered a small prayer to Iluvatar.

Floor 48

He‘d seen enough since he came to this tower. Seen enough to last him an entire life and that was saying something, considering elves were immortal. Finding the cemetery floor was just one of those toppings on a cake, or whatever it was that humans said. He tried to ignore the sight of the headstones until a name caught his eye. Aragorn. And then Boromir. And Faramir.

He could feel his chest tighten at the sight of his friends names. Two members of the Fellowship right there. Seemingly right below his feet. He took a step back, eyes blinking in denial, holding back tears he knew might fall.

They couldn‘t be dead.

And the another name caught his eyes.

Gimli.

Dropping to his knees, the prince just stared for the longest time.

For Haldir - Floor 48

He’ll find Legolas on his knees, digging at Gimli‘s grave with his bare hands. He simply can‘t believe that the dwarf is dead. He‘d been taking him to the Undying Lands with him. Gimli simply couldn‘t have died! His hands and clothes are dirty but he has his face set in determination.

Comments

Floor 48 [Sorry for jumping in..I know our characters haven't interacted at all..><]

[tohko_amano]

Tohko was ecstatic when she woke up and found that she was wearing her school uniform again and that her fingers were back to normal. She didn't have to worry about cuts, killing people over messes, or accidentally ripping apart books. Her first instinct was to go to the library, but after walking around, she heard that there were a few new floors. So, she managed to find one, and wandered inside to find a huge cemetery lying at her feet.

A couple of feet away from her was a guy with blond hair, who was on his knees, staring at some of the tombstones, looking horrified. Worried and wanting to help, Tohko ran over to the man, and put a hand-how wonderful it was to put a hand on a shoulder! To feel someone's body heat instead of cutting into them!-on his shoulder.

"Sir, are you okay?! What's wrong? You look horrible.."

[Totally alright!]

[bow_of_the_galadhrim]

Legolas almost didn't feel the hand on his shoulder, so distracted was he in staring at the graves of his friends. He tried not to cry, he had to retain his dignity but it was hard. He'd spent months since they had disappeared convincing himself that they were safe back in Middle Earth.

It was Tohko's voice that made him focus on something else. He blinked slowly and turned to look and her, giving her a slightly pained smile.

"These were my friends. I knew them well before we'd even come to this accursed place." Well, he hadn't known Faramir very well but he'd known him.

[Alright then! ^^; ]

[tohko_amano]

Tohko sighed and gave the man a sad look when he said that. Despite the smile, she knew he must be hurting like crazy. After all..she had felt that pain. She sat down beside him so that she could look at him better.

"I-I'm so sorry to hear that. If it's any consolation, I know..almost exactly how you feel. And..it's possible that these graves are just cruel jokes. Your world may not actually be destroyed. Your friends may still be alive."

Tohko then looked at him again, trying to give off a calming air. She had read so many stories where friends calmed each other down and were shoulders to cry on..but it was much, much harder in actual practice. She put a hand on his back.

"If you want me to help you dig these things up, or listen, or whatever, I'll help. And I know this sounds silly..but don't be afraid to cry. You'll feel better afterwards."

Tohko gave him a look, hoping that it would carry over the message-that she wouldn't tell anyone if he cried. That she'd be a shoulder for it.

[:3 ]

[bow_of_the_galadhrim]

"That is what I've been convincing myself of for months. That there was no possible way for anyone to have died, for our worlds to be gone."

He sighed, very softly, running a hand across Aragorn's name as though the words might wipe away. As though someone had simply written his name on there in dirt as some kind of cruel trick. Of course, he knew it wouldn't but he also knew that this could still a trick, like Tohko said.

"They would not wish me to weep for them. They would wish me to carry on their memory, as friends would."

Legolas wanted to weep though. Old as he was, the death of a friend still hurt. It had hurt when they thought Gandalf had been killed by the Balrog. It had hurt to bury Boromir after he was killed by Orcs...

"Boromir was slain by Orcs."

[:3; ]

[tohko_amano]

Tohko sighed. "Friends and family would want you to carry on their memories..but they would also want you to be happy. A long cry after several blows makes you feel better. I know it sounds silly..but that's how it goes. The Little Prince always felt better when he cried. Unless, of course, crying would make you forget your friends. Then forget what I just said."

At the last sentence, Tohko sighed. She didn't know what an Orc was exactly, but she assumed it was some horrid monster or creature. She knew how that felt.

"I-I'm so sorry to hear that. It hurts, doesn't it? The stinging, and the aching..and the guilt and blame you toss on yourself." Damnit. Tohko was having to bite her lip to stop herself from crying. "My parents..they died in a car crash..so I know how you feel."

[bow_of_the_galadhrim]

"It wouldn't make me forget them." He'd cry later, in the privacy of his room if he could find time alone there. He didn't want his roommates to find him like that. Legolas wasn't and elfling anymore, he had to control himself when he could. "Who is the Little Prince?"

He turned to her and listened then. Though he didn't know what a 'car' was, it was obviously dangerous and to lose ones parents... it was harder than losing friends. And when he saw the telltale signs of tears in her eyes, he decided he was suddenly less in need of comfort than the girl.

"Come." He held his arms out to her, recalling when he was young and his adar or naneth would hold him to still his tears.

[tohko_amano]

"If it won't make you forget them..then don't worry about it, alright?" Tohko sighed when he asked who the Prince was. She'd have to show him that book later. It might make him feel better. "He's the main character of a story called The Little Prince. He's a small, bright boy who doesn't know much about the world..and he cries occasionally and gets depressed sometimes, but he keeps going because he wants to see new people and things. And..because he has a flower he has to go back to. The story is like drinking a glass of water when you're in the middle of a dry, hopeless desert."

Tohko bit her lip when the man held out his arms to her. She really shouldn't. She was trying to cheer him up and calm him down, not the other way around. If she let him cheer her up, then who would take care of him? However..in stories, sharing wounds and scars and having a scene like this sometimes helped both parties, not just the recipient. Those scenes sometimes got too mushy and silly, but when used well, they really worked.

So, quietly, with a tiny nod, she moved over into his arms. "I'm sorry. I'm trying to help you out. I shouldn't be the one about to cry here." Despite the words, and the small, sad smile, a tiny tear trickled down her face.

floor 48, obviously

[floreatnoctem]

"As if this place weren't morbid enough."

Not that 'morbid' held any truly daunting connotation for Chidori. Not anymore. She's stopped in front of a rather ostentatious headstone, her fingers trailing idly over the stone as she raises her gaze to him again. Her eyes flicker from him to the grave he's in front of, and she bends down in front of the headstone she's been examining, pulling a piece of paper from the book in her hand and pressing it to the stone. As she starts rubbing a pencil sideways against the paper, she glances at him again.

"I was told trolls do not bury their dead- so I honestly doubt any of these 'graves' are actually real."

If it's meant to be reassuring, she doesn't sound it. She's never been quite good at it, save for with children.

"Besides, they have a nasty habit of reviving the dead here. I do not think they'd waste the space to keep bodies they could not reuse."

[bow_of_the_galadhrim]

"Trolls?"

He hadn't had the chance to encounter any since he'd arrived, which was strange really, so he knew nothing of their culture. He'd heard of them though, it was impossible not to, and they weren't like those of Middle Earth.

"You raise an excellent point but why would they waste a floor for this nonsense?"

[floreatnoctem]

"Different, perhaps, than ones you may be used to," she concedes, and finishes up with the pencil and paper, tucking it away in her book for later. She steps around the grave with another trail of her fingers across the stone, and takes a slow step toward him.

"Why do they do anything? Because they can..." She hesitates, frowning, and then continues- her expression looking like she's tasted something sour- "And because some of them like to watch us suffer, in one measure or another."

[bow_of_the_galadhrim]

"I should hope so. Trolls aren't at all friendly and would sooner eat any human, dwarf or elf that they came across." He watched curiously as she finished and tucked the paper away, wondering what it might be. The distraction she now provided was gratefully grabbed by the prince, eager to ignore what these graves meant.

"They have made me suffer greatly at this sight and so they have succeeded in what they hope for. Nothing can hurt more than thinking your friends dead when you long sought to prove that they still live."

[floreatnoctem]

"I would not put as much past some of the higher-blooded of the trolls, honestly."

She says it idly, a passing thought, and comes to a stop beside him, peeking quickly at the name on the grave. Ah. No wonder the man was in such an upset, then. She brushes a hand idly over her skirts and tips her head at him, her brows drawing down in a little frown of distaste.

"I still refuse to believe there is really anything 'destroying' the places we come from. Do not let them make you despair with this as well- they can work for it with their games and ill-advised attempts at torture. Eventually, they will have to realize they can only take so much before we are not afraid to lose what remains."

[bow_of_the_galadhrim]

"It seems I shall have to endeavor to learn of these kinds of trolls, lest I find myself mistaking one for another."

Perhaps he could find a book in the library or seek information on one of the terminals. Although, he had no immediate desire to seem the fool. He stands then, as she tips her head, and inclines his own while laying a hand lightly on the stone that bears Gimli's name.

"I've become unsure of what to believe. A friend bade me keep hope while here and another seems convinced that all is lost to us now." One brow rises at her comment. He's not near enough to lose what he has left though it's without question that they will wear him down to it eventually.

Floor 48

[maidenidrial]

Idrial is glad to see that the horrific events that had been happening throughout the Tower are finally over. However, she is far from happy. Yes, she is new to the Tower and she does not know very many people here yet but she does not believe that so many of them have passed onto the next life in such a short time. She recieves directions from her roommates to the cemetery floor and she makes her way there to pay her respects to those who have lost their lives.

It is then that she spots Legolas' figure dropping to his knees and suddenly sadness overwhelms here. She does not know who's tombstone he has seen but it is clear it was a friend of his and she immediately feels his pain. She approaches slowly and her eyes finally catch sight of the name on the stone.

Gimli...no, it cannot be true.

"He will be remembered in history for his acts of bravery and for his part in saving our lands from the darkness of evil."

[bow_of_the_galadhrim]

The prince almost doesn't realize that Idrial had joined him, trying to hold back tears that sting the back of his throat. He's just thinking back to before the tower, building a ship for himself and Gimli so that they might sail to Valinor together, unwilling to leave his friend to die in Middle Earth.

At the moment, he wants nothing more than to strike one of the administrators. There's not a care in him as to what punishment he might suffer, if only to let them feel even a single ounce of the pain he felt at the seeing the names of four friends on graves here.

When he finally hears Idrials words, though it takes a moment or two for him to actually process what they mean, he turns to her and tries to hide his pain.

"He will be. I am glad that, while he was here, I did not mention my promise to take him to Valinor with me." The guilt he would feel if he had would be unbearable.

[maidenidrial]

He should not have such thoughts in his mind, though she can understand how he must be feeling. If she had seen Elegost, Hadhod, Berethor...the name of any of her companions on one of the many tombstones she knows in her heart she would feel the same.

His pain is not hidden from her as he turns and without hesitation she places a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"You should not think such thoughts, Legolas. Perhaps you still shall. After all, perhaps he is not truly gone forever. There are many strange things that happen in this Tower, you told me that yourself. Would it be so strange to think that this is all false?"

[bow_of_the_galadhrim]

He can't hide his pain from anyone right now, he hasn't the energy for it. Not yet. He was, at least, able to hold any tears at bay. The hand on his shoulder is appreciated, feeling like an anchor to sanity.

"I'm not sure it is anymore. I do not know what to believe of this place or of our home." He'd never doubted that Arda and Middle Earth still lived but this... This was hard. This hurt him in a way he'd never felt before.

"It would not be strange if it were false but I am not sure anymore. In the past several weeks, I had been too consumed with survival that I had not thought to seek Gimli out. I was a fool."

[maidenidrial]

If any tears had fallen she is sure that her own heart would not be able to take any more. The hand remains there on his shoulder and will do so at least until she is sure he has been calmed down even a little.

Idrial has not yet given up on the idea that their homeland still exists. It cannot be destroyed like they say it is. Maybe when she's here longer she will start to feel as he does but she hopes that this day never comes. Her necklace from the Lady of Light starts to glow ever so slightly in this dark place as if in an attempt to comfort Legolas itself.

"You were not a fool. Everyone in the Tower was forced to focus on their survival. If you are to blame anyone you should blame the cruel rulers of this place and not yourself. As for our home I believe that it still survives. The people we left behind would net let it fall so easily."

[bow_of_the_galadhrim]

And that was one of the last things he wanted, to upset a friend over his own misery. No, he'd not allow her to know the extent of his pain or burden her with it. The light from her necklace doesn't go unnoticed by the prince though he makes no comment on it now.

"I've placed the safety of others before my own while here, I should have done so again." He sighs, trying to see the sense in her words but finding it difficult. He could pick out so many flaws in his behavior.

"You are right though, they would not."

[marchwarden]

While the prince dug for his fallen companion, another watched. Haldir, who've just recently arrived, was dismayed by the scene before him. How could the dwarf be dead? Gimli was just alive and well a moment ago. While the two of them weren't entirely fond of each other; the march warden would never wish for any ill to befall upon the dwarf.

Gimli was a valued friend and companion, one of the seven who bravely escorted the One Ring to the Black Gate of Mordor. How could Haldir possibly show any dislike to someone so valiant? While he may have seemed to dislike Gimli, in truth he didn't. It's just that the dwarf had a very particular way with words that irritated him. Yet, beyond that Haldir never truly disliked the little one.

"Legolas." He called to the prince in hushed whisper. "You bring yourself more grief in this."

[bow_of_the_galadhrim]

That was the same question that continued to run through Legolas' mind over and over again as he dug. Having thought himself alone, he let some of his tears fall while he dug, if only to ease the sting at the back of his throat from holding them back. The prince was determined to prove he wasn't dead though he also feared what he might find. If anything, it would only strengthen his resolve to fight against the administrators and return home.

When Haldir called out to him, he stilled and just stared into the hole he'd dug so far. It wasn't very deep, a lot of it falling back in as he had dug. His clothes were dirty and so were his hands, dirt stuck under his nails and he didn't actually care.

"He cannot be dead Haldir... He cannot."

[marchwarden]

A sigh would be Legolas' answer until the march warden approach nearer. Wrought with grief, it would seem that Thranduil's heir shan't give into reason. If necessary, Haldir planned to drag the prince away from here kicking and screaming. He feared that Legolas' sanity would not be able to cope with whatever he'll find within that shallow grave.

Thus he reaches to still those dirty hands with his own that were bound in leather. "Stop this now." He urged the younger elf with faint hint of worry in his tone. "You'll sooner drive yourself mad than know the truth." Now clutching Legolas' hand within his, Haldir kneels down beside him.

"I highly doubt he would wish to see you like this." He's speaking of Gimli.

[bow_of_the_galadhrim]

Kicking and screaming, he wouldn't do but he would resist. Unless, of course, Haldir convinced him otherwise. The prince was already in a dark place, beginning to understand and perhaps even agree with Gandalf that Middle Earth was well and truly gone. And there was no way he could prove who was right or wrong in that belief.

Tears stung at his eyes again as Haldir took his hands, urging him to stop. He knew that he should but he wasn't sure that he could. Gimli was an elf-friend, his friend.

"I was taking him to the Undying Lands, Haldir..." His voice was thick and he was fighting himself to control how he felt.

[marchwarden]

His grip upon Legolas' hand never waned even when the sternness of his tone changed. "Then you know he is not dead." Haldir whispered softly as he entwined his gloved fingers around Legolas'. "Until we've solved this troublesome mystery, do not believe him to be dead." There's just no possible way that Gimli would die here. The dwarf was too proud for that. Haldir was certain that this shallow grave was nothing more than a mere trick. After surviving a month of pure torture by the hands of Rauna; the march warden wasn't about to believe that Gimli, Son of Glóin, had passed.

"Dry your tears and think, Legolas." He continued after a brief moment of thought. "Do you truly believe he would let himself fall here? Nay, he wouldn't without killing all those who've scorned him." If Gimli was truly dead, then the dwarf's grave would have more company since Haldir was certain that he would've killed at least three of the administrators out of five.

"He is not dead, Legolas. I can tell you with certainty that he cannot be dead."

[bow_of_the_galadhrim]

Legolas' own hands turned to grip onto Haldir's, like a lifeline. His words made sense, and he knew that he had sought to take Gimli with him to the West but part of him couldn't help but doubt now. He knew some of the things that could be done to everyone here, knew how cruel the administrators were but this... This hurt more than he thought it could.

"He would not. No more sturdy a dwarf have I ever known than he." The prince did try to calm himself, tightly closing his eyes to prevent the fall of anymore tears. He needed to believe that but it was hard with the graves of friends around them.

"What if Gandalf is right..?" He felt so young suddenly, like a child.