Day 18

[laurefindil]

[Greenhouse]

Glorfindel has been spending a lot of time in the garden, what those on the train called the greenhouse. His flowers were already starting to push up through the dirt, which he was encouraging with his light. He was also singing some songs from his old home, back when Ecthelion kept making up songs for every occasion and then getting them stuck in everyone's heads.

If anyone else is growing something in the greenhouse, it is thriving by association.

He is singing softly to his flowers as he waters them, the room is suspiciously bright.


[Cabin](For roommates to walk in on him if you want to!)
Glorfindel frowned at his bed. It was...functional, but lacked interest. If he was going to spend time here, he wanted to personalize his space more. He knew there was fabric available somewhere on the train. He wondered where he could get his hands on some, and if they had any greens and yellows, if there were sewing kits available, and what his roommates would think of custom curtains.


[Hallway]

Glorfindel stepped out into the hall, glancing out the windows at the colorful display outside. He was on a mission to find a sewing kit. He wondered where to start looking.

Comments

[stealsyourheart]

"I figured you must have been an elf." He grins. "Although you're the only blonde one I've seen! And since you're older, you'd probably call me Kaito-kun, instead." He offers. "I don't mind though - you can leave them off if you want. I don't expect other people to rigidly follow my customs!"

[laurefindil]

"Yes, I imagine you thought most elves were red-heads, by the example you've seen so far. Very few Noldor are blondes, except those crossed with Vanyan lines," Glorfindel said. "Admittedly, most Noldor are actually dark haired, not red-heads. Yet again the Feanorians are skewing the average," he added with a laugh.

"Kaito-kun, then. I try to call people by their preferred names, so if that is your custom, it seems quite simple to do it." Glorfindel shook his head. "I will not ask you to call me by what my people would call me, though. I prefer to be known as simply Glorfindel. Or Glorfindel-san," he added with another smile.

[stealsyourheart]

He listens interestedly - he's not actually asked any of the others, as it seemed they were a family.

"So like... Noldor and Vanyar... you're like... different races of elves? What do your people call you?" He asks curiously.

[laurefindil]

Glorfindel shook his head. "On Arda, Races are Eldar, Hobbit, Man, Dwarf, etc. We are just different branches of elves. When F...those who slayed the Teleri for their boats, they were referred to as Kinslayers forevermore."

He laughed and tipped his head for a moment before standing straight, then sweeping a deep graceful curtsey, introduced himself. "Glorfindel, Captain of Gondolin, Lord of the House of the Golden Flower, Slayer of the Balrog, Reborn, most lately of Imladris, at your service. Depending on when and where someone knew me, they used any one or several of those."

[stealsyourheart]

He tips his head, listening curiously.

"Why did they kill them?"

He whistles.

"Those sound really impressive. Do people really use all of them at once? And what's a Balrog?"

[laurefindil]

"They had...sworn an Oath and wanted to pursue their goal, and to do so easily involved crossing a sea by boat, and the Teleri refused to have any part of it. So they slew them to take their boats. I was not involved in that," Glorfindel added. "I crossed the Helaraxe to get to Middle Earth."

He laughed. "Not all at once, no, not usually. I often just get 'Lord Glorfindel this,',and "Captain Glorfindel that.' Just Glorfindel is fine. Here I am among equals, correct? We're all in this together, after all."

Oh, that last question. He sat down and settled himself. "A Balrog was once a Maia, that had chosen to follow the Dark Lord Melkor. They were corrupted and changed, and were very large, and mostly made of fire. They hated anyone who did not follow their Master. And probably quite a few who did, but only attacked those Melkor told them to. And he told them to attack my home, Gondolin."

[stealsyourheart]

"What's Helaraxe?" He asks curiously. "And... a Maia. Also, killing someone to steal things is a dick move. Also, suggests they're really lousy thieves."

A GOOD thief doesn't need to hurt anyone, that's why he's the best.

[laurefindil]

"The Helaraxe was a bridge made of ice. It took a long time to cross, and, well, you can tell which of us crossed, we aren't fond of the cold," Glorfindel said with a wink.

"Maia are like...halfway between the Valar and us. Not quite as powerful as the Valar, but with abilities most Elves don't have." Since he'd been reborn that had gone from, 'that no Elf had.'

Glorfindel nodded emphatically. "Very lousy thieves, indeed. Feel free to point that out!...if you should ever meet one of them." It wasn't his place to out the Feanorians, after all.

[stealsyourheart]

"I don't know what Valar are either." He says apologetically. "All I get is that they're really powerful?"

He grins. "I will have to. Are they here?"

[laurefindil]

Glorfindel laughed. "The Younger Races do consider them gods, so pretty powerful, yes."

Of course he would ask. Glorfindel didn't want to lie. On the other hand, "You should ask Feanor," he advised, with a small smile that wasn't quite a smirk. "If any of my kind on this train would know, it would be him."

[stealsyourheart]

He boggles. "Whoa. Actual real gods?"

"Oh! Feanor-san?" Kami, why do all of them have names with so many weird syllables. "Yeah, I know him. I'll ask!"

[laurefindil]

"They are in the service of Iluvatar, excuse me, Eru, to the Younger Races," Glorfindel said, "But each of them has a significant role in the great Song. Manwë, the chief of them and lord of breath, Varda, the light bringer, Ulmo, who rules the sea, Aulë, whom the Dwarves and Smiths adore, Yavanna, Queen of the Earth and Mother of the Ents, Oromë, the Hunter, Vána, the Ever-Young, who brings spring, Mandos, Keeper of the Halls, Vairë, the Weaver, Nienna, the lady of Morning, Lórien, also known as Irmo, the Dream-lord, Estë, the Gentle, Tulkas, the Valiant, and Nessa, the fleet-footed."

He laughed. "Which is likely more than you really wanted to know. I apologize. Yes, please talk to Feanor. I'm sure he will have much to say."

[stealsyourheart]

Kaito listens avidly but he grins wryly at Glorfindel.

"You got it. I dunno if I'll remember half of that."

Lies, he has all of them memorised already.

"But it does sound pretty cool - in Japan we have kami and youkai, but no one's actually seen them."

[laurefindil]

Glorfindel shrugged. "Aside from the older Elves, there are very, very few who have seen the Valar, but that doesn't mean anything. If you know they exist, and can see the effects of their existence, does it matter if you can see them?"

He entwined two of the growing stalks together. It didn't harm the plants, and it looked appealing when in bloom, after all.

[stealsyourheart]

"Yeah, but see... we don't have anything like that, you know? Like. The tales of Amaterasu and Susano-no are cool and all, but ...An eclipse is a scientific phenomenon, and not a lady who hides in a cave when her feelings get hurt who needs her big bro to hang a mirror outside to tempt her out again."

He shrugs. "In my world, anyway."

[laurefindil]

Glorfindel grinned. "Are you sure?" he asked. "To the Younger Races, they have only ever known the sun and the moon and do not understand when the Eldar speak of the Light of the Two Trees, but that does not make it less true."

[stealsyourheart]

"The what?" He tips his head. "And... well yeah. It's like a fairy story for kids, the tale of Amaterasu and the Mirror. We know how eclipses work now. They definitely don't involve a party outside a cave."

[laurefindil]

"Sometimes things evolve. Like on my world. First we had the stars. Then the Trees, then the sun and moon. It doesn't make the earlier version wrong," Glorfindel pointed out. Of course, he didn't know Kaito's world of Japan, so perhaps it was just an old story to help people try to understand the world they lived in. "And when you say 'fairy story' what do you mean?"

[stealsyourheart]

"Ehhh." He says doubtfully. "Maybe in your world? But like. I don't THINK it went that way in mine. Science has gotten pretty good at our past theories now and I don't see anything about trees involved in light-production."

He shrugs. "It's a type of story! Meant for kids, these days, but it used to be more like... a teaching story. But a lot of them have magic and sometimes fairies, hence, 'fairy tale'."

[laurefindil]

"Magic is like that. It can make the impossible real and make you think it's always been like that," Glorfindel pointed out. "Especially if the gods of your world are trying to keep you from discovering the truth. So they make up something to keep you out of their hair while they go about doing their jobs."

"Teaching stories are excellent," Glorfindel agreed. "But why would you teach your children to believe in something that you feel isn't true? Unless it really was? Or at least, used to be?"

[stealsyourheart]

"I guess." He says doubtfully.

"A buncha different reasons, but in the old days, there was a lot of superstition coz we hadn't worked out how the world worked yet, see? But also... it's fun. Basically. Humans play pretend all the time."

[laurefindil]

Glorfindel laughed. "I have noticed that! But then, playing pretend can keep us sane in a world that isn't." He thought about his own world just now recovering from being under the influence of Sauron for far too long. "And sometimes, if you pretend hard enough," that hope existed and you could prevail against an impossible foe, "you might even make it real."

[stealsyourheart]

"Sounds like you've come from a rough place." He notes.

[laurefindil]

"We have been fighting evil, off and on, since I was a much younger elf," Glorfindel agreed. "First Melkor, then after he was defeated, his disciple, Sauron. It has taken the concerted efforts of many people to finally bring him down. Though in the end, it fell on the shoulders of two young hobbits." He sighed. "The rest of us served more as a distraction, while they snuck in and did what was necessary."

[stealsyourheart]

He whistles.

"Sometimes, its the sneaky people who are more useful that the flashy ones." He agrees. "But man, your world sounds really rough."