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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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.

Elrond shakes his head, seemingly not bothered by the question in the slightest.
"No. But our time in Middle-earth is over. We will return to the Undying Lands and leave the care of the easy of the world in the hands of Men."

And yes, he does have doubts about the wisdom of that decision. Sometimes.

He shakes his head, smiling guilelessly.

'A horrible decision, really.'

"I am sure they will rise to the occasion should the need be there," Elrond says, calmly.
For he is also loyal.
At least when he is conversing with someone he hardly knows.

'Yeah, but-'

He chuckles out an uneasy laugh.

'Well OK, if they're a certain kind of people...but can you imagine guys like me being left in charge of a place?'

All this is kind of said in jest, the easy banter of a conversation when meeting someone new. It just sounds like things to say, rather than anything he's given any serious thought to.

Elrond looks at him. Really looks at him.

And then he slowly says, "Yes, I think you could manage," and while it might sound like the reassurance of someone taking a casual remark at face value, there is also a hint of - uncertainty perhaps.

He told Javert, that he can see the hearts of Men. And he can. At least when they are Men like Javert.
But this Man. There is something about him that he cannot quite see.
But this is Milliways, so it likely means nothing. Or little enough.

Still.

It is odd.

'Thanks for the vote of confidence, but yeeeeah, I still think it's a bit misplaced.'

He pretends not to notice the scrutiny, of course. He's a very good actor. But he doesn't miss that hint of uncertainty at all, and he adds another mental note next to Elrond's name.

Elrond puts his impression aside.
For now.

"Most of us are capable of greater feats than we think possible," he replies.

'Yes, that's true.'

It really is.

He hesitates just enough to give the impression of not knowing what to say, before adding, 'lets hope we never have to find out, yeah?'

He'd do very well. For himself, not necessarily for anyone else.

Elrond nods.

"At least not due to conflict and strife," he agrees.
For realizing that one is capable of more then one thought - that is not a bad thing. Mostly.

Jim has no problems on that score.

He looks around uneasily, and then slides from his stool.

'OK well, thanks for the chat. You made meeting my first elf pretty easy. But I'd better get back to work.'

He looks like he's had enough Weird for one day. In truth, he just wants to get back to see how Sherlock's getting on with his tasks.

He does so hope he's going to get to blow someone up.

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