milliways_bar | (no subject)

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As entrances to Milliways go, this is one of the more unprepossessing. A man stumbles through the door in slacks and T-shirt (a particular brand of underwear showing above his waistband); despite the fairly well-groomed hair and care with his appearance, he still seems a little crumpled and ungainly. The door swings near someone, and he instantly apologises before standing almost straight and looking around.

(Interesting.)

'...oh. Um.

...oh.'

Well, this is new. Jim likes new.

[OOC: Note on playing with Jim here. If more than one person tags, could we please only have one intro thread? Anything after the first will find him either sitting a little nervously at the bar, or gazing in wonder out of the observation window. Thanks! :D]

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'Even you?'

It sounds like he finds this hard to believe. Elrond is pretty distinctive.

He laughs.

There's a hint of rustling leaves and tinkling brooks in that laugh.

"Especially I. So much here is unlike anything I have ever encountered before. Patrons and objects alike."
He sounds as if this is the most wondrous thing.

That laugh is impressive. He vaguely wonders whether he can sub tracks in: venom, for instance, or rage. Far more useful for day-to-day situations.

'If you don't mind me asking, what are you? You must have seem men before, yeah?'

"I am Elfkind," Elrond replies readily. "My name is Elrond Half-Elven because I count both Men and Elves among my ancestors. So I have mortal kin."

'So, you're mortal? But an Elf?'

He mentally runs through the pages of a couple of books in his head: he hasn't read them since he was a kid, but he's a smart chap, Jim.

Elrond shakes his head.

"My line is given a choice. To be counted among Elves or among Men. I choose to be counted among the Firstborn, so I am not touched by sickness or old age. My brother chose to be counted among Men and so he lived a Mortal life and died a Mortal death."

He tells it calmly, but there is a hint of sorrow in his voice. Longing.

That hint is a siren to a man like Moriarty, even without having read any books at all. Jim looks sympathetic, even though his privately thinks the brother is the fool. But then, what would immortality do for anyone? He's almost dead of boredom as it is, and he's barely halfway through a normal-sized existence.

'I suppose...if it was his choice, he would be happy enough with it?'

He says this in the voice of someone who is guessing at the right answer.

"He was," Elrond replies without hesitation. "He wanted to lead, to found a Kingdom, and to understand the Mystery that is Mortal existence, it was the right choice for him."

He indicates himself with one, elegant hand.
"As for me, I wanted to be a loremaster. For that purpose, the long years of the Elves is better suited."

Jim tunes out through the explanation, leaving one ear to pick up the noise, and turns his attention to other things going on in the room. When Elrond stops, he has made his face the picture of curiousity.

'What's a loremaster? Is that what we'd call a scholar?'

"In a way," Elrond replies.

"I keep the knowledge and secrets of ancient times safe. And I strive to learn all I can about the peoples of our world."

There is something about the Man. Something he can't quite place.

He privately thinks that such knowledge is largely pointless; most people are the same in all the ways that matter. The nuances might be different in some, but other than that, boring.

'Wow. That's pretty amazing. I bet you're never bored.'

"I have lived for more than 6,000 years. And every day is still new and beautiful to me," he answers. Serenely,

...no. Way.

His surprise is all genuine.

'How? I'm just a guy, and I'm pretty sure living that long would get pretty old.'

Elrond smiles at him.
"Men are not meant for lives of that length. Your fire burns more brightly than do ours. And because your life span is shorter, you cannot sit and watch the sun rise day after day, patiently. You need to do things. Accomplish things."

His tone indicates that both oaths are equally valid.

That...is one way of looking at it, he supposes.

Huh.

It doesn't explain why 99.99 per cent of human beings accomplish nothing, as far as he can see.

'That's what you do? Watch the sun every day?'

The mere thought makes him itch.

"When I have the opportunity," Elrond replies with a smile that seems to indicate that this is somewhat of a private joke.

"I have a large household and frequent guests. I am a healer as well as a loremaster and sometimes those skills are sought after as well. For centuries, there have been much unrest in my world and I have fought in wars too often to counts. These days I enjoy the absence of battle the most of all."

Hmmm.

Boring.

But you'd think Jim was calm, looking at him.

'You fight? That must be different. To learning things, obviously.'

"I used to. But it has been several years since I rode into battle last. I prefer it that way."

He doesn't look like he is good at killing things.
Of course, we all know how deceiving looks can be.

'Do you think you'll have to again? Do you think you could?'

An Elf would have to be a pretty formidable opponent. Well, he knows it. He's seen the movies.

Edited 2015-01-03 22:52 (UTC)

"I hope not," Elrond replies. Quietly.
"But if the need was the, I could. And I would."

ready and willing to fight, then. Also interesting - though if he's a healer, he's more likely to be a good guy. Plus...well, he's Elrond. Jim marks him up as an opponent, and moves on from this.

'I guess war's bad. I've never been in one. They still happen, but no one in my country's forced to fight any more.'

"That is good," Elrond says.

"For us, it has often been a matter of survival and so choice has been rather limited. My sons still ride out to protect our borders, but at some point there might not be a need for that."

There is sadness in his voice. And pride. And hope, however small, for the future.

'I guess you can hope. If it's bad enough that you're forced to fight-'

He sounds aware that when things get to that state, things are pretty desperate. In reality, Jim loves it when things get shaken up, and war's good for that. Particularly in his line of work. One of his lines of work.

"Whatever happens, the time of the elves is at an end. It will be the race of Men who will have to continue the fight against the Darkness, once we are gone," he says.

And again, there are multiple emotions woven into his voice. Love. Worry. Sorrow.

'...oh.'

Jim's quite capable of discerning every emotion, and he observes them one by one as if they've been pulled out of a tangled ball and laid openly on a slab. He tilts his head as he mentally examines each one and leaves it behind as uninteresting.

'Do you mean you're dying?'

He knows the answer is no, but the character demands he ask.