Outside

[starrydome]

 He's found a tree. It's a good tree, strong and tall, with widespread and sturdy branches.

Elrond is not a wood elf and he does not have as close a bond with trees as the elves of the Goldenwood or Greenwood, respectively, do. But he is an elf and he does enjoy being in the company of growing things. Especially slow and calm growing things. Such as this tree.

He climbs it efficiently, but with less inborn grace than the aforementioned kinds of elves. Trees are less inclined to shift about to accommodate those descended from the Noldo, it seems. 

Once there, he relaxes against the trunk and sighs.

It's tempting to just - stay here.

Comments

[sky_child]

And then, out of nowhere, a demon rabbit lands hard at the base of the tree. It looks like it's gone through a beating--but not a thorough enough beating to stop it from scrambling like hell at the sound of loud "DYAAAAH!!"

It just narrowly escapes being impaled at the end of a blade that is now embedded in the ground, from which a certain pointy-eared youth (alas, still not in green--except for his pants) is trying to extract.

[starrydome]

So much for the piece and quiet.
On the other hand, he really doesn't like those - things.

Elrond looks down and asks, calmly, "Do you need a hand with that?"

[sky_child]

"No, I--nggh--" One last tug, and the blade is free. He lets out a breath and says, "But thanks."

As for the peace and quiet, it could've been worse: he could've been dealing with the Hero of Time!

[starrydome]

"Be careful if you intend to go after those things. They breathe fire."

Elves do not give advice. On larger issues. Which this isn't. And this is Milliways, so normal doesn't really apply.

[sky_child]

wut

"...oh."

[sunbaked_baker]

Though she enjoys being outside among the trees and near the lake, Rae is still very much a city dweller, where everything important is at eye level and everything above that is just signage, advertisements, and architecture. She sometimes forgets to look up.

The idea that someone might be up in the trees doesn't even occur to her as she heads through the trees towards the clearing where she usually practices her magic.

[starrydome]

The "Well met, Sunshine," might remind her that one should indeed sometimes look up. As it drifts down to her from somewhere above her head.

[sunbaked_baker]

Sunshine looks up immediately, surprised, but perhaps some of the surprise and automatic wariness abates when she sees who it is. Upon being hailed, her mind had gone to one different patron who... likes to show up unexpectedly and may use similar phrasing. Despite that he has a completely different accent.

"Hello, Elrond," she smiles up at him. "I didn't see you there."

[starrydome]

"I was not trying not to be seen," he says with a small smile. "But I wasn't trying to be noticed either. "

He leans forward a little. "How does this fine day find you?"

[sunbaked_baker]

"Preoccupied enough that I don't pay enough attention to peripheral vision, apparently," she grins, wryly.

Mental blocking spells are hard.

"But... better. Things are quiet back home." For now. "How about you? How've you been since Cubefall?"

[starrydome]

(ooc: a Kate is always welcome :D)

[ikissdhimbck]

Kate hasn't climbed a tree in ages. It isn't ladylike, after all.

(Not that such claims deterred her much when she was younger.)

She's long out of the habit of checking trees for people, therefore. Gentle people keep their feet on the ground, or, in such cases as Kate happens to find herself now, dipped into the lake as she sits at water's edge. Her eyes are on the water, but she looks lost in thought.

[starrydome]

He spots her - and for a little while debates whether he ought to call out to her or not.

In the end, he does so, if only for the purely selfish reason, that he would enjoy a little company.

"Is the water pleasant today, Kate?"

His voice caries very well indeed. Honed on both the battlefield and in the great halls.

[ikissdhimbck]

It startles her, but she's so occupied with her own thoughts that she does little more than blink. It takes her a moment to find him.

"Master Elrond."

Her voice is not quite as loud, but it's as clear as a bell and accompanies a very warm smile.

"You've caught me in somethin' of an indulgence. The water's very pleasant."

Beat.

"Did you get chased up there?"

[starrydome]

He laughs. "Not at all. I just needed to go someplace quiet to think for a while - and there are few places as good as trees when it comes to that."

He moves away from the trunk and settles down again, in a place where the leaves are fewer and further apart, He even goes as far as to let his feet dangle. A childhood sensation, if ever there was one.

"Are you thinking of taking a swim?"

[ikissdhimbck]

"Ah."

Her face molds into an expression of amusement. He actually looks quite at home up there, but he's such a graceful elf that doesn't surprise her at all.

"No, I actually came here of the same mind. Jus' needed someplace quiet t'sit a spell, an' the water looked invitin'."

[the_cupbearer]

The trees are not inclined at all to shift for a human, Ganymede has found, and it's with this in mind that he climbs up himself, higher and higher until-- Well, if he fell from all the way up there, he would most certainly injure himself. But he walks out along the limbs without fear of falling, one arm occupied by holding a notebook and pen.

Elrond should feel free to interrupt this journey anytime, really.

[starrydome]

At first, he merely watches, loath to interrupt someone in a situation such as this.

He is also curious.

[the_cupbearer]

He does come to a stop when he comes to a branch that bends too far when it holds his weight, stepping down again and chancing a dizzying look down around him.

[starrydome]

Elrond nods in greeting. "They seem a little sturdier over here, " he says. Meaning the branches.

[hey35andholding]

Here's a face he hasn't seen in a very long time. One that belongs to a woman sitting against the opposite tree, staring up into the sky, half-buzzed and trying to enjoy the heat of the day.

She was hoping she'd find him - that he was still around and her timing just happened to suck. There is a smile from below, and a big, frantic wave.

[starrydome]

He waves back, his own smile smaller, but no less warm. He had wondered what had happened to her.

[hey35andholding]

Let's just say long trips through the past suck pretty hard.

"I can't climb up there in these shoes!" she shouts, shading her eyes. "Can you hear me? Or can you come down?"

[starrydome]

He answers that question by dropping to the ground. Landing light as a leaf.

He's done that before. Obviously.