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[gondolin_noble]

The air is sweet in the clearing Glorfindel had been using as a campsite, and the birds are singing a bright morning chorus. Asfaloth, grazing peaceably nearby, nickers a greeting as Glorfindel leads Sunshine through the treebranch doorway he'd found by accident.

There is no sign of habitation, human or otherwise - Glorfindel could have dropped them on an empty planet.

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[sunbaked_baker]

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.

[gondolin_noble]

"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.

[sunbaked_baker]

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."

[gondolin_noble]

"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.

[sunbaked_baker]

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.

[gondolin_noble]

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.

[sunbaked_baker]

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.

[gondolin_noble]

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.

[sunbaked_baker]

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.

[gondolin_noble]

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."

[sunbaked_baker]

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."

[gondolin_noble]

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?"

[sunbaked_baker]

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.

[gondolin_noble]

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.

[sunbaked_baker]

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.

[gondolin_noble]

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.

[sunbaked_baker]

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.

[gondolin_noble]

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.

[sunbaked_baker]

At least one who would say she just wants to watch is nevertheless letting herself be drawn out towards the floor.

"Hope your toes forgive me," Rae chuckles at Glorfindel as the dance begins. Dancing is not something she does often, despite various friends' attempts to teach her, but she keeps up admirably with the lively beat.

[gondolin_noble]

The dancers are a very obviously mixed group of skills, ranging from the ridiculously talented (the older elves, and those of Sindarian blood stand out) to the absolutely fumbling (the newest stable boy, a young human from a small town that is still recovering from the influx of lawless folk on the road), but no one seems to care one way or the other. They trade partners frequently and with a joyful abandon.

You should see them at Midsummer, Rae.

[sunbaked_baker]

Sunshine laughs, spun about in the dance full of color. She shouldn't have groused at the idea of dancing after all that food and wine - if she had known, there would have been no way in the world she'd have missed it.

The strange shyness she'd felt at being a human among so many elves has all but disappeared. Each new partner, whether human or tall elf, is greeted with a bright smile and a ready hand.

She's surprised to feel regret when the music draws to a close, and thanks her current partner, the silver-haired elf lord who had presided over the meal.

[gondolin_noble]

He is as polite as one might expect of someone who has been keeping a firm hand on the ruling and politics of elven lands for ages, and sees her safely to her seat - her golden protector has been somehow hoodwinked into helping a trio of flautists who are missing someone to play the harp in the piece they wrote.

[sunbaked_baker]

Rae is glad for the seat - the dance has left the baker rather giddy. Though she's not nearly as lightheaded from all the wine as she thought she would be, it's been a long day already.

The lights and beautiful music do their best to keep her attention, she soon has to fight to keep from yawning.

[gondolin_noble]

The music goes on, even though those responsible for it change frequently. Eventually, though, there is a light hand on her shoulder, and Glorfindel's voice above her head.

"There are more comfortable places to sleep - if you do not wish for them, however, I know of some places along the trail."

[sunbaked_baker]

Rae looks up at him. She is tired, there's no denying that, and her thoughts have been turning more and more towards the bed in the travelers' wing.

"... I just don't want to miss anything."