towerofanimus | (no subject)

Entry tags:

(no subject)

Characters: Legolas (

bow_of_the_galadhrim), OPEN
Setting: All over the place, check the prompts.
Format: Starting with prose but will match, as always.
Summary: Various things and some closed moping.
Warnings: Nothing but will update if anything happens.

Floor 48 - Cemetery - Closed

Another grave joining those already there. Not just one but there was only one that mattered. Hardly noticeable to most. Most people overlooked such things unless they were of interest to them. But there was one plain grave marked with a new name: Haldir. His march warden. The prince stood quietly, staring at the grave. His silk cloak hung over his shoulders, hair still short but for the last time.

"You promised me." His voice was soft but there was an underlying edge to it. There was pain to it. He knew that it was a promise easily made and even more easily broken, with how the administrators worked but... He had hoped.

"Gûr nîn níniatha n'i lû n'i a-govenithanc." With those words, he slipped his cloak from his shoulder and draped it over the marker.

Floor 14 - Media Floor

For more than a year in the tower, he had rarely given any much attention to this floor but now it was a curious thing. If they all had but a year left to live, he figured that he might as well learn what he can and make it worth it, in case they couldn't save the worlds.

The elf might well be watching someone playing a video game and trying to learn just how it works.

Floor 7 - Pool

Swimsuits were strange but with such a variety of people in the tower, Legolas had learned not to leave anything to chance. So with a fine pair of green swim trunks, the elf dove into the water and went as deep as her could with how long he could hold his breath. For awhile he just kept diving and floating in the water and then he started to swim laps, untiring. The burn of his muscles felt good, the resistance of the water. It was refreshing but didn't quench the longing he usually felt around the water and ever away from it.

Floor 4

Sitting quietly, Legolas had a book in hand and read. A peaceful and relaxing past time that he hadn't quite indulged in for some time. This particular book had been a gift from Tohko more than six months before, a Christmas gift, and he was finally reading it through. Nothing quite like the stories and books he'd have read in Middle Earth but enough to hold his attention.

And it was quiet on this floor today. He liked that. Legolas wanted things to be quiet for once. It was worse than hearing the joy of others but far better than the screams of those suffering as was common in the Tower of Animus. And it gave him the silence to think in peace, nobody to disturb him. There was a lot to consider each month, how one will survive, what might happen, where or how one might die again. Enough to keep one of the immortal occupied each day.

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This was a floor Sam tended to avoid, but as he passed it he saw Legolas in the water and stepped out onto the pool side.

He hadn't seen the elf in some time, and had feared him gone like Gandalf and Frodo, he waved but did not go too close, he had no wish to be drownded even if he would just wake again in his bed, and he had no wish to distrub the elf so was silent.

Legolas gave a smile and swam quickly to the edge of the pool close to Sam. It had been awhile since he'd seen the hobbit, even in passing, although that required Legolas to be sociable in general. Something he hadn't been for several months now.

"Sam. You seem downhearted."

Not that it wasn't a common occurrence for anyone in the tower.

"Not so much, you're a sight for sore eyes though, I thought you had been disappeared as well."

As bad as it were that those he cared for were here, Sam did not want to be alone.

"I'm sorry if I worried you, Sam. I've kept to myself more often than I care to admit since coming here."

And now they were few from Arda. So many graves with familiar names decorated the cemetery now that it almost made Legolas sick to visit when he did.

"You've been keeping care of yourself, I hope."

"I have." As well as he could, he tries to sound as cheery as he can. After all Legolas doesn't need Sam's misery on top of his own.

"And you? Is there ought I can do to help?"

That's what Legolas was there for now, though. Mostly. To try to be the support his friends in whatever way he could. He was older than most people in the tower, he should support others like he supported his people when they entered the forest.

"There is nothing that can be done, I fear."

"I feared as much." He sat down, still far from the water. "It's enough to make anyone feel useless."

Slowly, Legolas swam close enough to the edge and pulled himself out, hair soaked, sticking to him and laid back near Sam.

"This place has that effect on a great many people. Just do the best that you can, Sam."

"I try, but it all seems just so... big." He looked over at the elf, "Before there was the fate of our whole world and evil so huge that it felt like if we even breathed wrong it would consume us all. But now, that all seems so small, like the problems of the shire seemed so small when I was travelling with mister Frodo yet had seemed so big before."

He shook his head, "I know we need to be positive but we don't even have a plan this time."

"It seems that way, doesn't it? It doesn't make it any less important to us, to the people of Arda as a whole."

He stepped forward, placing a hand on Sam's shoulder and giving a squeeze. The gesture probably seemed more like something Aragorn would do but Legolas had changed quite a bit.

"Nothing we did, or have to do, when we return is any less than what it was before. And we will find a way to make things right here."

"You think we can do it?" Sam looked at him, "Restore the world, all the worlds?"

He might have believed it when Gandalf were here, and not that he doubted Legolas, Elrond or Thorin but they were up against unknown forces, and more power than Sam had ever seen.

"I do. We're alive, Sam. That alone tells me it is possible. Were it not, even my soul wouldn't be intact, so connected to the world are elves."

Gandalf certainly left others with a greater sense of confidence than he could. Elrond could do far better than he as well and he didn't know enough of Thorin to really put a great deal of trust in how much confidence he could place in others.

Well that was a point Sam hadn't thought of before, and he nodded, reassured for now. After all Legolas was still here, and physically well at least.

"I guess I'm just worrying," Which wasn't like him at all. "I didn't mean to bring your mood down."

"How could you not?" Who wouldn't worry about things here? Legolas worried about a great many things each day since he'd arrived, since he'd experienced his first death.

"You didn't bring me down, Sam. I've been brought as low as I could be brought by the administrators and I knew it would happen."

Sam once again felt a wave of helplessness. He had no idea what he could do in such a place as this to ease the burdens of those around him.

He just looked at Legolas sadly, he knew little of the sadness of elves but he thought that it was so great that he had little hopes of even easing the surface.

The look Sam had on his face hurt him more than he could admit, if only because it would only make Sam feel worse. Reaching forward, he light ruffled Sam's hair and gave him a tired smile.

"Everything will be alright, Sam. Don't worry."

"I'll try not to." He smiled softly at the elf, "Only if you promise to try as well."

Brunwulf had no idea where he was going, as he was new to this tower unlike others also. He had stumbled into what looked like some kind of room with a small lake inside. Although, it was no lake, but looked like some kind of pool built by human hands. He walked closer to examine the blue depths and wondered if it were safe to jump in and test the waters. It seemed harmless enough.

Brunwulf's eyes caught a movement within the calm waters. He saw long, blond hair and a lean atheletic figure emerge. Alarm bells rang in his ears, as he gazed upon the figure of the elf. A Thalmor? But this one looked different. Had he stumbled across a Thalmor bathing room? Gods, no.....

He felt for this hilt of his broadsword but did not bring it into battle position yet. This elf may or may not be working with the Thalmor, as he was no longer in Skyrim.

"I did not expect to see an elf within these walls." His voice was gruff and his gaze wary.

Edited 2013-08-08 08:49 (UTC)

Treading water, Legolas brushed soaked hair out of his face and looked to the other. A Man and armed, one who seemed perfectly ready to draw said weapon which only Made Legolas glance around in confusion. He was sure the monsters didn't come to this floor at this hour of the day and few, if any, sought battles on this floor.

And then he spoke and Legolas had to fight to keep his features from hardening. Another who seemed to have problems with elves but that wasn't his problem.

"This tower is filled with others from a great many worlds and of different shapes. It would be best to expect anything and everything."

Brunwulf listened to the elf and was studying him at the same time. "You are not a Thalmor are you? You look different from all the elves I have ever seen." He stepped closer to the pool, but still remained on his guard. What the did elf mean by expect anything and everything? Was this some kind of trap he was walking into? He eyes snapped down to the floor and imagined the floor tiles pressing down and fire shooting up into his face. Ah, too many tombs he had traipsed through. He was just being paranoid, wasn't he?

"How long have you been within this tower, elf?"

"I've never heard of the Thalmor. I am Silvan, one of the elves of Mirkwood." He continued to tread water for a moment or two longer before swimming to the side of the pool to the ladder, pulling himself out and brushing his hair from his face. He had to think for a moment, time in Middle Earth passing differently to elves than to the mortal races of the world.

"Nearly a year and a half now. I have seen more here than you might desire to hear about." So many things. Too many things. And now the one person that kept him from losing his mind was gone, the one person who could calm him.

Brunwulf was curious as to what the elf was talking about. "What sort of things does this tower have buried inside it's walls? I wish to know, so that I may defend myself against any kind of evil which may show itself." He kept his eyes on the elf as he spoke. He did not trust the elf, but his words could prove valuable. He was no Thalmor, which was good. Elf or not, Brunwulf knew no one, so he could not afford to just pass off the opportunity to know the tower's residents.

"I can tell you of some of the things that have happened in the past but that may not promise to help you int he future. The administrators are impossible predict, anything they do can literally be anything. Things that might normally be impossible in the worlds we hail from."

Legolas said this easily, as though it were normal. Fear, he still felt it but he'd detached himself enough that he could ignore his feelings. And he'd grown up in a place known as the 'Forest of Great Fear.' Plenty of experiences to prepare an elf for danger and plenty more here to cement that. Loss helped too.

"There are also some foes here that cannot be defeated. Some that you absolutely must run from if you have any hope of living."

Taiki had been looking for Legolas ever since Haldir had disappeared. Taiki's eyes were still red, but it wasn't only Haldir he was crying for.

He saw him reading and went towards him, he didn't speak, he just went to sit at his feet, blinking up sadly at him, not knowing what to say to make his hurt go away, since he knew how much Legolas had cared for Haldir.

It didn't take long for Legolas to focus his attention on Taiki, setting the book aside. The tears he'd fought back until down suddenly seemed so much stronger and he couldn't help himself as he reached to gather Taiki in his arms.

Taiki let himself be picked up, and pressed into Legolas' side, his own tears starting again.

"I'm sorry... I tried to find you earlier..."

"Shh, it's alright." Legolas' voice cracked, just a bit, the elf gently brushing a hand through Taiki's hair. He would have known before Legolas about Haldir's disappearance. He should have gone to find Taiki sooner but he hadn't been thinking clearly.

"We'll find a way to save Haldir."

"We will." Taiki whispered through his tears, "We will get him back... Sorry..." He wiped his eyes.

"Nothing to be sorry for..." Legolas said softly before laughing, the sound a little bit hollow. He leaned back slightly, tilting Taiki's head up just enough to look at him.

"I think Haldir might scold us for shedding tears over him."

Would that stop them? Not likely.

"He would..." The thought of making Haldir mad just made Taiki want to cry more. He blinked up at Legolas sadly.

"Oh, Taiki..." He sighed softly, choking a bit on his own words. Fighting it though, Legolas kept hold of him and tried to control his voice. He had to for both their sake and Sam's, as well as to help Pandora.

"We'll be alright. So will he."

"And we will get him back. People... sorry... they are trying really hard right?"

Taiki wished he could do more, but he was small and underfoot and most of the time he was ill.

"They are, yes. So, we'll have to be brave until we save him."

Taiki being with him was enough, his presense made Legolas remind himself that he couldn't just lay down and let himself die. Which was entirely possible for him to do.

Taiki nodded and leaned against him for a moment before speaking again. "What book are you reading?"

"The Forty-Seven Ronin. Tohko gave it to me for Christmas and I'm only now reading it. Interesting story, as they go."

Lifting the book from where he'd placed it, he offers it to Taiki to look at it.

Taiki reads the blurb and realised he knew the story, even if a shorter spoken version. "We have this story on earth." He said quietly, he didn't like it though, a story full of revenge and death, though his grandma had tried to use it to teach him about honour and duty it had just made Taiki cry.

"Do you?"

Could Taiki and Tohko be from the same world? Hmm, the thought hadn't really crossed his mind until now but there were a lot of similarities between all sorts of worlds.

"I admit, I much prefer the tales of my own people and my own world."

He nodded, "My grandma told me it once, my earth grandma I mean..." He blinked at Legolas again. "Can you tell me one? A story of your world... I mean... um... only if you want to... you don't have to..."

"I can, if that's really what you'd like. I enjoy sharing our songs and stories."

It's just a matter of thinking of one that isn't terrible or sad. That's how most of the stories survived so long. Not that there weren't any happier ones.

"Only... sorry... only if you want to..." He nodded, he liked stories but he didn't want to take up Legolas' time if he wanted to finish his book instead.

That someone happened to be Arturia, who was currently playing a fighting game. She had greeted him when he entered, then fell silent when she realized he wished to observe her playing. The two did not know one another too well, but would have seen each other around the Tower in general or speaking with Zelda on occasion.

That was why Arturia didn't mind him watching her play. In the eight months since arriving in the Tower, she had gotten quite good at this game, and when she finished her match she turned to him.

"Would you like to play with me, sir?"

And he watched quietly, eyes moving between the screen and Arturia's hands. He'd never really seen the like of it before although that was more his own negligence in stopping on this floor for the past year. It was interesting, very much so.

He questioned actually caught him by surprise and the elf had to watch her for a moment before laughing softly, a bit embarrassed. More than six hundred years old and he was still being surprised.

"I'm not sure how to, actually."

"It's easy, once you have some practice," she said, reaching out and grabbing the other controller to hand to him. She could understand his embarrassment, she had had to figure out how to use the game system by herself with no help. It led to many, many deaths of her character.

But it was also only a game and games were meant to be fun, right?

"I could teach you, if you like?"

He took the controller carefully, recalling how she held it while playing, and holding it the same way as he sat beside her. It felt strange in his hands, foreign, but he wasn't going to let that put him off.

"I would like it if you would."

It couldn't hurt to learn. There was always time in the tower that he couldn't think of anything to do but relax. And this seemed like a good way to relax too.

"All right. This particular game is a fighting game...."

Thus Arturia began to slowly explain the type of game it was, which buttons had the characters do which move, and even switched it over to the training mode so he could practice. All throughout it, Arturia was patient. At least, much more patient than she would be if she were teaching the sword.

"It does take a while to get used to the controller, but it gets to be natural after a while, like using a sword or a bow. Though this is strictly for entertainment, not combat."

He listened intently, carefully trying to controls after she put it on training mode. He was quick to learn, always eager to understand new things. It had been that way since he was young and first learned to use a knife and a bow so he could hunt with his father. He even found himself to be enjoying it where he couldn't enjoy actual fighting. Even when he would compete with Gimli, it hadn't been entirely enjoyable but to make the dwarf work to try to beat him.

"A shame such a thing exists not in my world.."

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