gondolin_noble | (no subject)

"You're in luck." Glorfindel grins, because... yes.

Yes he does.

A lot.

The only time he hasn't was during times he had to actively protect his lord (or said lord's sons), or when the world had devolved into outright violence once again.

This is somehow not surprising, but is somewhat reassuring. Rae grins, chuckling, as they ride into Rivendell. The buildings are even larger up close than they had seemed at a distance. Perhaps it was how delicate their design seems, that she figured them smaller to make their existence feel less improbable. There is nothing like them in her world to compare them to.

The buildings fairly boil with elves as Asfaloth clatters into the courtyard - some bringing lights and wine, some coming to take Asfaloth away, some coming just for the spectacle of the thing - the Peredhil's champion and a strange human female.

Sunshine feels very out-of-place and uncertain amid so many strangers.

Also, very short.

Neither are things she's used to feeling so acutely, even in Milliways. She has experienced the awareness of being the only human in the room, before, but that was among her SOFs. Even if the dynamic had changed with the addition of unexpected information, they were friends. These elves seem in all respects to be good people, but they - while Elrond and her nameless, golden-haired guide are familiar and have been friendly and kind to her - are still strangers to her. And Rae is unfamiliar with the feeling of being a guest among strangers.

"Glorfindel!" His feet have barely hit the ground before he is nearly tackled by an elf only slightly smaller than himself. The two get caught up into a rapid-fire Sindarian conversation, which only continues as they head indoors.

Glorfindel casually reaches behind him, collars her, and pulls her along. No being shy, Sunshine!

Besides, Asfaloth has already disappeared down another winding pathway.

Though the sound she makes upon being collared may be inelegant, Rae doesn't take much urging to stick close. Her guide is a strange island in a strange sea, but he is currently the only point of familiarity she has. She follows closely, unable to disguise her curiosity despite the trepidation she feels.

And, though it gets quickly filed away as there is far too much to take in as she follows them inside (for a given value of inside; these buildings are far more open than she is used to), Rae would bet money that first exclamation by the other elf was a name, despite the fact that she doesn't know the language. Her guide's name, then. Glorfindel.

The hallways are mazelike, but neither elf takes a wrong turning, and soon they are in the travelers' wing. Two maids, both human (one dark-haired and grey-eyed, the other shorter with the wildest brown curls) bob and curtsey - Glorfindel politely ignores the blushes of the younger maid.

"This is Rae, she will be spending a few nights with us - see she is well cared for, and knows the way to dinner tonight."

There are too many places to look - too much that passes by too quickly for Sunshine to get a good look at. The overall effect is still pretty phenomenal.

Once in the travelers' wing, Sunshine offers the two women a smile and a slight wave. It does bother her, finding that being the only human in an immediate area affects her like it does. She's not normally shy at all - a little too content to be on her own, yeah, but she never had any trouble talking with people - but after seeing there are other humans here, for whatever reason, she feels a tightness in her chest she hadn't known was there... relax.

Rae can rationalize it, easily - being the only human in a place has only happened to her twice before, and both are high up on her list of bad experiences - but it's just, she tells herself, something she's going to have to get over.

"I guess I'll see you around, then?" she asks Glorfindel, just by way of checking. She promises not to be shy.

"This evening, never fear - the cooks would have my head upon a pike to warn others if I dared miss a meal without due cause." The dark-haired elf cuffs Glorfindel like a misbehaving puppy, cheerfully enumerating threats of scrubbing the road off of him under the ice water of the scullery pup as he hauls the taller elf off. Considering the threats are made in Sindarian, the threats are only partially caught by the maids, and Glorfindel is laughing too hard to be taking them seriously, clearly.

The language might be completely opaque to her, but the tone is unmistakeable. She's used that tone before, though she had been being cheerfully infuriating at her younger half-brother. Rae chuckles, grinning after the two elves until they disappear around a corner.

Shaking her head wryly, she offers a smile to the two women. "Testing the wrath of cooks is dangerous everywhere, it seems."

Some things never change - it's not smart to mess with feeders of people trying to feed people.

"I'm Rae - though he already mentioned that. Nice to meet you."

"A pleasure, miss." They chorus, bobbing in neat curtsies. The pair shares a glance, and the shorter girl heads off down the hall to start the process of fetching hot water, and the other heads in the other direct, gesturing for Rae to follow. "If it please you, miss, the room at the end of the hall here gets the best light." She opens a door to a very well-situated room - with a bed piled high with fluffy blankets and pillows, a full-length mirror, an intricately carved wardrobe, and through a partially open door, a honest-to-goodness bathroom is visible.

Rae can feel her smile broaden as she walks into the room. "Oh, it's perfect," she breathes, beaming. "Thank you."

And there's a bathroom. Bathrooms mean baths. Thank all the listening gods.

Rae made that bath count, too, so it's a scrubbed baker in clean clothes who follows the curly-haired maid to supper later that evening. Sunshine reflects that it's very good she wasn't left to find her way on her own. There are many halls in this place. The two women have been very helpful, indeed, if not nearly as easy to converse with as Rae expected.

She is very unused to being curtsied at.

The hall of Imladris is filled with folk: Perhaps not so many elves as in times past, but they still made the majority. The rest are made of humans - some clearly Dunadain stock, some in the grey cloaks with star broaches of the Anor Rangers; some of the natives peoples of this land. Dwarves are there as well, usually banded together, more comfortable in the company of their own kind. At the head of the table are three chairs upon a dias. In the center is a silver-haired elf, ageless and noble - on his left sits the dark-haired elf that had greeted them when they came to Imladris, watchful and content. On his right sits Glorfindel, tall and straight, fair and young and fearless and full of joy.

Even in these late days, there was still strength in the elves, and they took pleasure in these days of peace.

The tables are fairly groaning under the weight of all the food - some clearly could meet Rae's tastes easily - dishes of local fruits and vegetables, breads and pastries. There's just a few more animals gracing the boards than Glorfindel has been offering her lately.

The dwarves certainly do not seem to mind.

It's one thing to see Glorfindel or Elrond in Milliways, where no one really belongs. It's another to see Glorfindel among other elves. Even among them, he shines.

Rae smiles in his direction for a moment as she enters, before she goes to find herself a seat at the table. There is an empty space at the left edge of a group of humans, to the right of a group of dwarves, where her inquiry whether that seat is already taken is met with negative answers and invitations to join them.

So she does.

Obviously, in Rivendell, there is no trade-off between quality and quantity. None of the many kinds of foods Rae tries, though she still shies away from eating any of the meats, is anything short of delicious. She feels somewhat foolish asking after the name of an unfamiliar type of fruit, but it certainly serves as a way into a conversation.

A server appears at her elbow before too long, with a flagon of spiced wine.

"From the high table, miss, with compliments." If she looks up, Glorfindel is giving her a cheeky sort of grin before he's distracted by a comment from Lord Celeborn. Every movement he makes is highlighted in the flash of white gems from his braids.

The nearby diners become more friendly and chatty as the meal draws on and the beer and wine flows - they are used to the mixed company here, and reassured by the reputation of safety. Even the Rangers let down their guard (at least a bit) after a while, telling stories of the wild - misfortunes that seem more humorous now than when they were happening, misunderstandings and missed connections that now make excellent stories rather than bitter complaints.

Her replying look towards Glorfindel is a wryly laughing grin; she hasn't forgotten the wine Glorfindel once introduced her to, any more than he's forgotten it. Rae certainly hasn't forgotten the resulting hangover, either, but the gift tonight is taken in the spirit in which it was given.

Even if she makes sure to drink it slowly.

Anecdotes of dealing with the public in a family restaurant pale in comparison to some of the stories being told here, and Rae figures stories of her other work would take too much explaining, so she is content to listen as she eats and drinks, and to occasionally ask questions to help spur the story along. The wine and food leave her pleasantly warm. She might not know the people around her, but some of them remind her so much of her SOFs talking shop and trading stories of Others over plates of food at the coffeehouse, that she is comfortable even in unfamiliar company so very far from home. Her laughter mingles with theirs as another story concludes.

Eventually the meals winds to an end - Lord Celeborn stands and, in due order, the rest of the household follows, with Glorfindel and his dark-haired companion foremost, the two deep in conversation. Rae is suddenly flanked by the two maids charged with keeping track of her, both looking a bit worse for wear from the evening's libations.

"They'll spend the rest of the night in the Hall of fire." The taller one informs Rae, grinning.

"Singing and dancing and poetry-reciting until the sun rises." The other explains, cheerfully.

"You need only stay as long as you like." The first adds, helpfully.

"Or not at all - the dwarves almost never stay."

The libations have been much better than what Rae usually has, when she has things that could be called libations. Her face is pleasantly warm, and simply from the movement of standing up she can feel that yes, the wine was very good.

"I'll stay for a little while and listen, I think, but I seriously doubt I'll make it until sunrise," she grins at them. What in the world time is it, anyway? Rae had already been tired when they had arrived and the food and wine have left her contented and warm, but there's no way she's going to miss this opportunity simply to get to sleep sooner. "Just an hour or so."

The pair look at each other, and giggle. It's entirely possible they've heard that before. By the time they reach the hall, already there are elves performing - a quartet with a harp and flute and unnaturally perfect voices have started the nightly praise of Elbereth.

After she has settled down, a new flagon of wine is set beside her.
"I do hope you are enjoying yourself?"

Oh gods. More wine.

"Very much, thank you," she replies, grinning.

The music is of a sort she's not familiar with, and she couldn't know less of the language if she tried, but it is, without a doubt, beautiful.

Noting her blank expression at the words, he sits himself next to her and, in a soft undertone, translates as the song goes along. He's having to do it a bit on the fly since it was newly written a few days ago, and while the theme is intimately familiar, the specific words aren't predictable.

"Later tonight," He adds, once the song is through, "There will be dancing."

Yep, that's a positively gleeful look.

Rae listens to the beautiful song and its translation, content. The mention of dancing, however, certainly wakes her.

"Dancing, too?" she says, setting down her drink. Damn, why does the wine have to be so good? "Wait. you mean, like the singing, right? Performance-type dancing? Not..."

Surely not.

He laughs uproariously, the flickering light of the bonfire catching in the gems woven into his braids. Someone across the fire calls a question, and he answers, cheerfully, in Sindarian.

A few minutes later a lively, catchy tune strikes up, much to the delight of pretty much every elf in residence, and more than a few of the tall gray-eyed humans.

Sunshine's look at him says, very plainly, that she'd be calling him some very creative and objectionable things right about now, but he's important and she's a guest, so she's not.

It's the thought that counts.

Even if - maybe it's the wine's influence - she can't quite keep a straight face.

He stands in a flurry of green and gold, holding a hand out to her. Behind him, those who just want to watch are moving further away from the center floor, and those who plan on dancing are taking the floor - elves, men, and the occasional brave dwarf.

Even Rae's two maids have taken the floor, one on the arm of an elf, the other in the company of a ranger.