Egret, Day 23

[laurefindil]

Who: Glorfindel and Open
When: Day 23
Where: Kitchen
What: Food and knives!
Warning: Sharp things

Having taken Evie's class and learned how to use the stove, Glorfindel was able to take part in his Team's chores of preparing the meals. Although, technically, that was what some of the more experienced cooks did. Glorfindel was more of a sous chef (chopper of things). Today he was making some quick, portable snacks that people could come and take with them if they wanted to go to the gym or the library or elsewhere on the train.

[What do people want? Come and ask! You might not get what you hope, but it will be interesting!]

He has also made an concerted effort to go through the kitchen and sharpen every blade in the room, except the butter spreaders.

[You can come help or just chat about sharp things!]

Comments

[laurefindil]

"It depends on how quickly people go through sharp knives, I suppose," Glorfindel said. "I am enjoying puttering about in the garden as well. It is nice to be at peace. Reminds me of when I was a child, in my first life."

He smiled at her. "What do you do to keep yourself occupied on this journey, may I ask?"

[unfavorableinstigation]

"People might start playing darts with something other than magnets," Nita supposed.

Then something abruptly occurred to her. "Oh! You should talk to Thea - she's an archer, back home. If you've got any arrows, she'd be interested."

She remembered well how that practice session had gone...

"So, to answer your question, getting to know other people here comes first. Reading what's in the library, trying to keep in shape, keep up with my training."

Nita made a wry face.

"Including oracular training." She did not sound very enthusiastic about it.

[laurefindil]

"Playing darts with...magnets? How does that work?" How would they stick with the force of a throw. The magnets would have to be quite strong to hold and wouldn't that attract the dart, making the skill necessary to score quite different?

"An archer? Do we have an archery range on the train? Arrows, at least practice ones, are dead simple to make as long as you have straight wood and some feathers," Glorfindel pointed out. He'd made more than a few, back home.

Glorfindel nodded along with her list, they were things he would undoubtedly be doing as well. Wait, "You are a prophet?" he asked. Well, that was interesting, he had more in common with her than he thought.

[unfavorableinstigation]

"They're like toys; I can show you what they're like if you want?" Nita offered.

They were surprisingly durable despite how it sounded.

"We have to improvise targets, but the length of the carriage works in our favor for that sort of thing."

And then the topic turned; Nita looked a touche embarrassed.

"It's not like that. Not- not really. But I get visions, sometimes auditory hints- it's a pain reading the way things are going to be accurately," she finished, somewhat lamely.

"You do know what that's like though, right?"

[laurefindil]

Glorfindel was dubious, but he'd try these darts of hers. "I would be willing to try them."

"Excellent. Please let me know when the next archery practice is."

Glorfindel was puzzled why should looked a little embarrassed. "Yes, actually I do know what it's like," he said quietly. "It was one of the gifts I was given when I was re-born. Images, words, feelings of what May Be. Well, what Will Be, but interpreting it, that is the hard part. Sometimes you think what you see says something will be impossible, but in fact, it is telling you how to do it." Like No Man being able to kill the Witch-King and he was felled by a human woman and a Hobbit.

[unfavorableinstigation]

Putting the archery-and-arrows discussion aside, Nita replied, "Exactly," in as exasperated a tone as she ever got about these matters.

"Or it's showing who you think is the problem when they turn out to be the solution - or a channel for it."

Like Della, and the Hesper.

[laurefindil]

He laughed in spite of himself at her tone. This was someone who knew his pain. "The not knowing, if they are the problem or the solution, is really 80% of the battle," he agreed. "By the time you find out, sometimes it is almost too late to move the right pieces into place."

So far it had always been almost, never actually too late. But not knowing was quite stressful. When would they not figure it out in time?

[unfavorableinstigation]

"Or you find out you were a piece, all along," Nita replied.

"Passing along the Seeing itself."

That had been the solution with Penn, and his Simurghian problem. And quite possibly his chauvinism problem, though she wasn't entirely sure about that one!

[laurefindil]

"Sometimes the Prophecies are self-fulfilling," Glorfindel agreed. "Neither the trouble nor the solution would have arisen if the Prophecy hadn't caused both. Although," he drew the word out, "often in that case it is bringing to a head an underlying issue, moving it out in the open where it can be dealt with. But still, never a pleasant thing."

/pointedly stares at the Train.

[unfavorableinstigation]

That brought a grin out of Nita. A grim one, but still.

"Like cleaning a wound; it hurts, even if it's supposed to help heal."

To solve a problem, you had to admit there was a problem, after all.

Re: /pointedly stares at the Train.

[laurefindil]

"Quite. I used to help Elrond out in the Healing Wing, and cleaning out a wound is an important part of the healing process."

Glorfindel sighed. "It is a good analogy. Prophecies, even the ones that turn out just fine or end up seeming quite minor, cause a lot of stress and anxiety. Perhaps in the Grand Scheme of Things it wasn't minor, but only because we did what we were supposed to do, but we're not granted that part of the vision."

[unfavorableinstigation]

Nita nodded. "So much of what we're supposed to learn, we have to realize on our own, or it's not as effective."

Which was a real pain, especially if it wasn't just your choices and thoughts everything rested on.

[laurefindil]

"Yes, well, as I tell the trainees, 'It builds character!'" He gives her a look. "I have enough character now. Seriously."

[unfavorableinstigation]

Nita practically chokes.

"Oh, I'll bet!"

Settling back, she asks, "Did you want an audience for the sharpening, then, or were you almost done here?"

[laurefindil]

Glorfindel laughed, both at her comment on his character and at her question. "One is never truly done sharpening knives. And I never mind an audience. Though if you are not careful, one of two things might happen. I will start telling you all of the mystic secrets of knife sharpening...which might take all of five minutes, or I will start telling you stories from my past. And I have a LOT of past."

Thread wrap, if that's alright!

[unfavorableinstigation]

"Y'know," Nita said warmly.

"I don't think I'd really mind either."

And so she improvised herself a stool why were there no standard chairs on this train, she really should ask for some sometime, and settled in to listen.

Perfect wrap! :)

[laurefindil]

[Thank you for a lovely thread!]