paradisa | Quest 5: Reflecting on recent turns of events -Written-

To help ease them back into life in this place? ...yes, I follow you now.

[To have to adjust to this place once, only to come back and have to adjust to it again - it would at least be a comforting thought to know that past friends would help ease the transition.]

So we endure, and we never forget. Perhaps, in time, we shall meet again, and if not then, then we remember and we cherish those memories we were able to forge.

Well said, my friend. Very well said.

Do you wish to share a drink in her honor though? It might help, a bit.

_{[ He was used to this, but he supposed this might be Thorin's first.
]}

...Aye. I think that would be a fine idea. A good and proper way to send her off and into our memories!

Quite. We can do it in her bar or we could partake in the gardens, or one of our chambers. I suppose it depends on how public we wish to be about it.

In her bar seems the only proper place...but the gardens might be nice too I suppose...

[Honestly between the two he can't really decide.]

How about the gardens? We should enjoy them whilst the weather permits a bit longer. Soon enough, it will be far to cold for me to properly enjoy them.

An excellent point, yes. The gardens it is, then.

[Besides, he's not keen on being around large groups of people at the moment.]

I shall meet you out there then. I could do with a walk.

_{[ And indeed, when Thorin came out, Ashura would be waiting not far
from the entrance, seated on a bench. He was wrapped up in a set of thicker
robes dyed with icy blues and pale, pale greens - a landscape of swirling,
icy flames. A tiny bit of fur trimming was around the collar, but for now
was relying on the thickness of the material. Later, it would involve more
fur. ]}

[Thorin stalks out of the castle - his sadness clear in his movements. He wears a tunic and his thick belt under his thick, dark blue robes with fur trim. As he sees Ashura he gives a weak smile as he approaches.]

Good to see you, friend. Been a while.

Aye, that it has. I am sorry for that, but things have been... strange.

_{[ Felix being made as a hatter, for one. He reached out an arm,
wrapping it around the other in comfort, as much for himself as Thorin.
]}

I am sorry that we should meet again on such a sad occasion.

Aye, that's certainly true...

[Between the encounter with the Gentlemen and the One Ring surfacing, Thorin's had his share of unpleasant encounters as well.]

[He does not shrug away from Ashura's arm, he merely glances up with a weak smile.]

Agreed, but at least we're celebrating her properly here today.

_{[ He nodded his head and motioned for the other to come with him,
walking with him and around into the quieter, more secluded parts of the
garden. ]}

Celebrating.... I like that. It is better than a "parting" or a "farewell".

[Thorin follows in relative silence as Ashura speaks. He gives a slight nod.]

"Parting" and "Farewell" make it sound like we're attending her funeral...

Aye, that it does. And she should not be buried in this place.

_{[ They came to a more secluded place and Ashura took a spot on a
bench, the bushes and flowers around them offering privacy - in so much as
one might get in a garden. He waved his hand and a small table appeared
along with two glasses and a wine bottle. ]}

Do you care to do the honors?

[Thorin nods silently as he sits down beside Ashura and reaches for the bottle, filling the two glasses. He sets the bottle down and picks up one glass, lifting it and staring into the deep red liquid.]

M...you were-...no, you are indeed a fine woman. I was lucky to have made your acquaintance - I only wish that I had known you better before your escape from this place.

May we all follow your trail, and find the path that leads us back to our homes.

[He glances to Ashura, giving him the opportunity to speak as well.]

_{[ Oh, he wanted him to speak did he?}

Ashura was quiet a time, considering what to say. But Thorin had said many of his own sentiments, and Ashura's words of platitude for this sort of thing had run out a long time ago, in the letters he wrote to the families of fallen soldiers, whose bodies had been left behind - and never reappeared on the field.

Finally - ]

The stars guide your way, M, and the fire bird light your way in the dark. We hope you feel our love from across the span of worlds and draw courage when you face the wolf in your night.

_{[ That said he raised his cup and sipped. ]}

[Thorin nods silently an mimics the motion, raising his cup to his lips and taking a long sip.]

This place...truly is full of nothing but wickedness and pain.

[You grow attached to people, only to have them disappear or have a change of heart. Thorin knows Ashura will sympathize with this.]

Do not say that, Thorin.

_{[ He reached out and took his hand, slender fingers wrapping about the
thick palm of the dwarf. ]}

For all that it has its wickedness and its pain, it has its joys to. I have had the joy of knowing you as a friend, for one.

[Thorin glances up to Ashura as he speaks. He is silent; while he agrees and does value their friendship, in the back of his mind he wonders how long it will be before Ashura leaves the castle as M did, or how long before his own Middle Earth calls him back to it.]

[Still, he smiles; indeed valuing their friendship.]

We agree on that much at least.

And more, I should think, but that most certainly.

_{[ He smiled warmly at the dwarf, glad to find this glimmer in a dark
moment.}

He paused to let them take in the moment, to sip their wine and offer more personal, private wishes to M, wherever she might be. He hoped that James had found her back in their world, that they were safe from the Silva man.

Finally, though, Ashura spoke, deciding to choose a topic that had nothing to do of leaving - or so he hoped. ]

Do the braids in your hair mean anything?

[The question snaps Thorin from his reverie. It's almost startling, really - no one's ever questioned him about his hair in this place.]

[He reaches up and idly drags his fingers along one of his braids.]

They can mean different things for different Dwarves.

But for myself, the braids themselves have no meaning. They are merely a gesture of respect to my culture, my people.

The beads-

[He tugs one of the blue beads at the end of one braid.]

-are another matter. They represent loved ones lost. They are a rite of passage, earned in battle.

Many Dwarves also tattoo themselves, or pierce their bodies with jewelry to pay respect to lost loved ones.

[Thorin has enough piercings and tattoos alone; but Dwalin was almost covered from head to toe.]

_{[ He listened, both polite and fascinated. He enjoyed learning of new
cultures, other people's traditions and their stories, and he enjoyed
sharing his own. To hear Thorin speak of his was a small delight, even in
such a sad moment. But then, perhaps that was why they shared them. ]}

Will you add one for M?

I may...

[Thorin hadn't really thought about it. He should though, it was right, after all. Usually such ceremonies were saved on Dwarf comrades, but...as there were none here...]

That, or I may pierce my ear again.

[Thorin reached up and trailed a finger along his lower earlobe, which only had a gold ring or two in it. His other ear though, had a rather large metal cuff in his cartilage. A tribute to his grandfather.]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject