Coming out of hiding

[undroppedeaves]

Characters: Samwise Gamgee and all the food (also you)
Setting: Cafeteria, dinner time and then the kitchens
Format: Either
Summary: Sam is happy it is no longer a Jason month. Also there is fall out from the last event.
Warnings:

[Cafeteria] Since Sam had come back from dying, and that would never not sound strange and frightening to him, he had spent all his time in his room. There was so much he could have done, a whole library of books to read, meadows and gardens to explore, and tend to after the strong winds. But he had just stayed in his room, seeing no point in anything.

The death was strange, just as it had been the first time. Coming back was frightening but it was before the death that had been the worst. All those he knew from home, their cruel words.

Sam had never heard mister Frodo so angry at anything. And it hurt so deep that that anger had been because of him.

He had been going to the cafeteria every couple of days to get some nutrient bars, and today he arrived to realise the month had changed. There was actual food now.

It was enough to lift his mood a tiny bit. He took a plate and went to sit down, finding a table to sit at.

Kitchen Sam entered the kitchen, he worked there and it had been something else he had been avoiding. But he figured now there were actually dishes to wash he should do some work. And hobbits weren't really made to be solitary, he had missed conversation, even just hearing it.

Comments

[undroppedeaves]

[Sam nodded] It's still cruel. [He handed the boy a mug of tea] But there's not much more to be expected here.

[bashfulshifter]

...Thank you. [The tea is happily accepted. Rick takes a careful sip and decides that it is both too hot and slightly too bitter, so he adds a pinch of sugar and lets it sit for the time being.]

I, um...I f-figured as much. F-First thing p-people t-told me when I got here... [He breaks a small smile.] ...At l-least w-we're n-not alone.

[undroppedeaves]

That's true, and things aren't too bad when you got folks around to help you.

[bashfulshifter]

Th--That's the i-idea.

[He smiles warmly and nurses his hot cup of tea, going silent for a minute or so.]

...What d-did you do b-back home?

[undroppedeaves]

I was a gardener. [He smiled again] How about you?

[bashfulshifter]

[...A professional gardener? What, like...a landscaper? Or a farmer? Ah well--different universes have different trades, Rick guesses.]

[Whatever the case, his own job is quite underwhelming, and he seems kind of embarrassed about it.]

Ah...a-accounting.

[undroppedeaves]

Accounting? [He sounds impressed] You must be fair clever then?

[bashfulshifter]

[Rick's reply is immediate and extremely bashful.]

--N-Naw, I--I w-wouldn't s-say-- [His face goes bright pink, which he tries to hide behind his mug of tea.] ...I'm j-just g-good with n-numbers is all.

[undroppedeaves]

[Sam smiled, coming from a place where most hobbits couldn't even read or write, someone who could figure and do accounts was very clever indeed.] You shouldn't sell yourself short, being good with numbers is something many aren't.

[bashfulshifter]

[Rick has been thoroughly embarrassed to the point of trailing, self-conscious murmurs that don't really go anywhere. He forgoes speaking and focuses instead on drinking his provided beverage, until he can think of a way to draw attention away from himself.]

...Wh--What k-kind of g-gardening?

[undroppedeaves]

All sorts, I worked up at Bag End until a little while ago, mostly flowers there though I have a garden for all kinds of vegetables at home, it's my da's really, the vegetable one I mean.

[bashfulshifter]

[Rick nods, although he has to admit that this is...a rather odd description of a job. Must have been casual work; cultivation or something. Or maybe it really was just a hobby, or a simpler way of life, like a smaller scale farming operation.]

Sounds...r-r-relaxing. [He gives a small, embarrassed smile.] ...Bag End...s-small p-place?

[undroppedeaves]

It was nice. [He frowned] It may be for menfolk but for the home of a well to do hobbit it was very nice indeed.

[bashfulshifter]

[His response is immediate, instinctive and, once his mental filter catches on, promptly regretted.]

...H-Hobbit?

[undroppedeaves]

Aye, I'm a hobbit. [He grinned]

[bashfulshifter]

[...And there's the regret, hitting Rick's cheeks and ears in a red wave of embarrassment.]

--Oh. [He pulls a face. That smile tells him that Sam isn't offended by the term, at least...maybe it's safe to inquire further?] ...is th--that...a d-different s-species, then? I m-mean, i-instead of...ah...

[Nope, can't salvage. Rick trails off into awkward silence.]

[undroppedeaves]

[Why is he being so awkward? Sam looks at him curiously] Not sure about species as such but we are different then men yes, different from elves and dwarves too. [Definitely different than orcs but that went without saying]

[bashfulshifter]

[But does Rick really need an excuse to be awkward]

...E-Elves and... [He's quite confused.] ...S-Sorry, I...g-guess my w-world d-doesn't have...well it's k-kind of h-hard for me to p-p-picture... [Rick hides behind his tea again.] ...n-nevermind.

[undroppedeaves]

It's alright, it's hard for me to imagine the worlds a lot of folk around here come from. [He smiled] There are two elves from my world here though, and a dwarf.

[bashfulshifter]

[Rick is past censoring himself at this point. His eyebrows disappear into his hairline.]

R-Really? [The smile that crosses his face is both pleased and somewhat apologetic.] ...You're...l-lucky.

[undroppedeaves]

I am, they are all nice folk though, because of the queer stuff that happens around here Thorin is actually someone I grew up hearing stories of, but here he is a young dwarf. It's all very strange.

[bashfulshifter]

[He chuckles and finishes off his tea.] Th--That's a g-good way of p-putting it. A-Although, I w-wonder...

[Rick is pensive for only a moment before he dismisses the thought with a wave of his hand.]

...nah, that's...I'm p-probably wrong.

[undroppedeaves]

[Sam blinked] What were you going to say? You will never know if you never speak it out loud.

[bashfulshifter]

[At first Rick seems too bashful to continue, blushing pink and waving more emphatically to ward Sam off. Of course this doesn't last for very long.]

...A-Alright, alright. D-Don't laugh. [He shrugs a little reluctantly.] ...W-Well I've b-been told...that Z-Zo can o-only b-bring one p-person from each w-world here. So...even if you r-recognize s-s-someone from y-your world...th--they're a-actually from some...I dunno...

[Rick cycles his hands, failing to conjure the right phrase.]

...a-alternate...place. I'm...r-really not e-explaining this well. [Beat.] --A-Anyway, my th--thought is...well the w-world's a p-pretty big place, right? I w-wonder...how many p-people here are f-from my, ah, 'u-universe,' but I just h-haven't m-met them? Does that...?

[He frowns. No...that didn't make any sense.]

[undroppedeaves]

I wont, promise. [And he doesn't laugh at all because it's a really good point that Rick has. He nods] Yeah I heard that too, that we aren't from exactly the same place and there are a lot of versions of the same people and all that. I bet there might be a few from versions of your world, because there are a fair few folk in the world and I only ever met a few handful outside my town.