In the summer, I remember

[rowancrowned]

WHO: Thranduil, Legolas, anyone good with a bow or who enjoys the wine on offer.
WHAT: ROOTY TOOTY POINT N SHOOTY ARCHERY CONTEST
WHEN: 8th of Bloomingtide, midmorning until sunset.
WHERE: Valley
NOTES: log for a friendly wager! 

The eighth of Bloomingtide began as a chilly morning; not quite cold enough to leave frost on the budding flowers and fresh-sprouted plants in the heights of Skyhold, but nearly, nearly.

By the time the sun was been in the sky for a few hours, most of the early-morning chill had burned off, leaving a day that promised to be nearly too-hot for those who would be stuck in full-plate and in direct sunlight. Thranduil wasn’t expecting any to come clanking down to his little fete, but had none the less secured a spot in the shade. Varric had apparently found him while he was still working on organizing—the target launchers are set neatly in line with everything else. Along the clay pigeon launchers were the standard, stock targets, blindfolds—and on a table off to the side was a few bottles of sweet wine beside loaves of brown bread and hard cheeses.

The contest did not pretend to be anything other than what it was; a chance to meet, and mingle, and possibly show off archery skills. The purses wrested next to the wine and cheese and Thranduil himself. He had found a chair to rest in while waiting for the contestants to arrive, dressed plainer than he had so far allowed himself to be seen. On his fingers, four rings glittered—but his confidence in Legolas was so absolute, he doubted he would lose even one before the days was out.

Comments

[chainlightning]

"Aneth ara!" Merrill happily links an arm with one of Ellana's while Barkley wags his tail and paws at her ankles. Perhaps it shouldn't, but the question takes her off-guard, which is why the first thing that comes out of her mouth is-

"They all have such lovely hair!"

[serannas]

That makes Ellana laugh, and she turns her foot to tap the ground with the toe of her boot, so Barkley will play.

"They do. It doesn't seem real, does it? Or... realer than real, if that's even possible."

[chainlightning]

Jumping slightly, Barkley playfully growls at Ellana's boot before darting forward to try and pounce on it. Merrill giggles, keeping an eye on him to make sure he doesn't chew any actual holes in the shoe.

"It is nice to know that there are elves in other worlds though, isn't it?" They may not all have magic and they may not even all have their ancestral homes, but they also aren't living in alienages.

[serannas]

"It is. And they have a completely different history than our people do," Ellana replies, trying to focus on the conversation while the dog plays. "I look at them and see these grand leaders. They're what we used to be, I think. They're immortal, and powerful, and so wise."

[chainlightning]

"Close, anyway," Merrill agrees, momentarily distracted by a cheer from the surrounding crowd. The archer isn't anyone she knows, however, so it doesn't last long. "They don't sleep, back where they're from. I imagine that makes for a very long life, since they're also immortal." And no uthenera, if you don't sleep.

[serannas]

"Oh, I know," Ellana says with a chuckle. "I had to teach Galadriel how to sleep. I've never had to do that before. It's hard to describe something that just happens to us."

[chainlightning]

"Did you know they just call humans 'Men'? I was so confused - I told Legolas that he should try to sleep like women, if he doesn't like how men sleep." Which she still maintains made perfect sense at the time.

[serannas]

Ellana giggles, lifting a hand to her mouth.

"That is confusing. I would wonder if their race had women at all if everyone calls them Men."

[chainlightning]

"I wonder if they call themselves Men, in their world. Legolas said they also call them the second-born and the... children of... someone, but I doubt humans would call themselves second anything."

Humans and their egos. Of course... "But maybe they're different, in their world."

[serannas]

"They could be. Elves are much more well-respected there. And it appears they're demanding that respect here as well. It is hard to imagine humans seeing themselves as lesser, isn't it?" Galadriel's descriptions of Arda have included the beauty of the two trees of light, as well as the darkness of war. It sounds like an incredible place, but that it also faces evils like Thedas does.

[chainlightning]

"Very. I mean, I don't think elves are necessarily better, but- we could all be equal." Right? Depends entirely on other people, she supposes, and that's what makes it hard.

[serannas]

"Wouldn't that be nice?" She smiles faintly. "At least to some people, we are. Some humans, I mean. But it would mean so much more if everyone felt as they do. If they taught their children to see elves as equal, and we taught our children that humans are equal to us. It seems like a dream, though."

[chainlightning]

"Well, dreams can be powerful." They both know that -- they're mages. But even metaphorical dreams. "It might not happen while we're alive, but as long as it does... I think that's good to work for."

[serannas]

"I like the way that sounds too. Hoping for someday." She smiles and bends down to scratch Barkley behind the ears. "And we can start working towards it now as well."