faderift | [open] concerning hobbits

WHO: Samwise Gamgee and EVERYONE HE CAN FIND
WHAT: Sam's arrived at Skyhold and is exploring! Also asking questions. All the questions.
WHEN: After arriving from the Fallow Mire
WHERE: Skyhold
NOTES: Feel free to meet Sam in any part of Skyhold! He'll be all over.

He'd tried to stick close to who he'd already started privately thinking of as his new friends - the other Sam and the wizard Twisted Fate. He'd even glimpsed, once or twice, the Man who'd pulled him out of the Mire in the first place, and saved him from being drownded. But the road from the Fallow Mire had been long, and Sam had spent much of it on his own, tucked away in small corners of wagons or sitting astride horses alongside dwarves, being too short to walk and have a hope of keeping up.

And when they'd arrived at last, he'd found himself suddenly left completely to his own devices.

Skyhold. He rolls the word around in his mind, staring up, up at the battlements and the clouds beyond. It's a good enough name for the place, he supposes, being up in the mountains as it is. And there's something in it that appeals to him - it's not quite Elvish, not quite Rivendell or Lothlórien, but it's a bit more fanciful than Hobbiton or Bywater, he thinks. As for the place itself, he finds himself a bit overwhelmed - not only with the size (which is enormous in its own right, apart from everything in it being built proportionate to Big People), but with the ceaseless activity and the seemingly endless places to explore and get lost in.

He finds the kitchen first, hobbit-senses guiding him true, but after he's snacked his fill he finds himself wanting to explore more, and he steps carefully down the stairs into the yard. There are folk of all shapes and sizes everywhere (though nobody he recognizes), and he takes a deep breath before walking forward, not quite sure where he's going.

There are Elves here; he knows that much. If nothing else, perhaps the Elves will know more about what's happened and why he's come here. Perhaps they'll at least know Gandalf's name.

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Ariadne laughed. It was a gentle, bell-like sound that echoed in the branches. Her nickname back home was 'Airy' and she'd come by it honestly. There was a lightness to her presence, to being in her presence. Nothing she did on purpose, of course. It was simply her nature.

"I like being up high," she replied. She set her palms on the branch beneath her and in one, swift, easy motion, she pushed up, thrusting her feet up between her hands and landing in a crouch. She stood, holding her hands out to either side for balance. "You can see more up high."

To demonstrate her balance, she did a little pirouette before leaning over again, offering him her hand. The one with the glowing, green shard. "Come join me?"

Sam backed away instantly with wide eyes, shaking his head. That had been some impressive tumbling, but he had no interest in climbing the tree, nor in being up higher than he already is. They were already in the mountains, after all, and that was more than high enough.

"No - no," he stammered, eyes wide. "You go ahead though. I'll just - keep my feet firm on the ground, if you don't mind."

She hadn't meant to frighten him, and instantly, the guilt was visible in a flash through her eyes. Humanoid creatures could be so confusing. She never knew what to expect. It was part of their charm and allure. But it always reminded her how much she had left to learn.

Crouching down to her haunches, she grabbed the branch with both hands again. "All right," she said, doing her best to sound soothing. "Then I'll come down to you."

And she slid down the length of the branch, landing on her feet with a soft thud. With a shy smile, she offered him a curtsy. "My name is Ariadne."

"Samwise Gamgee," he replied with a short bow of his own. He felt a lot better now that he wasn't being urged to climb up into a tree, but not as well as he might have thought. He'd been feeling strange ever since he saw her, as if he were about to rise up off the ground and float away into the air, and it got worse the closer she came. Unconsciously, he took a step back, grabbing onto a nearby post as if to anchor himself down.

"Beg pardon, Miss Ariadne, but I'm not feeling so well," he mumbled. "I think I'd best go and have a lie-down." And a snack, he thought privately. There was nothing like a good hearty meal to make one feel nice and solid and attached to the ground.

She frowned, just slightly. It wasn't a look that seemed natural on her face. Almost rusty, like it was an expression she didn't wear often.

"I feel as though I've done something to offend you," she said uncertainly. And she went through their conversation so far in her mind. She couldn't think of anything. She'd been on her best behavior, as a matter of fact.

Perhaps it was yet another humanoid rule she had to learn. It stood to reason. After all, she was dealing with a whole new crop of them from new places with new sorts of norms and mores. It was nearly overwhelming, really. And not surprising that she might have messed something up.

"If you tell me what it is," she said earnestly, "I promise to make it right."

"Oh no, miss, you didn't, not at all," Sam assured her quickly. He could see the guilt and confusion on her face, and it pained him. She hadn't done anything wrong, after all, and he hated to see anyone so distraught. Yet the strange, almost sick feeling remained, and he gripped the post a little tighter, his knuckles turning white.

"I'm - I'm just feeling a mite ill," he explained, taking a step or two back. He couldn't say just what was happening, but he knew he had to get away from whatever was causing this feeling - if such a thing were possible. "Begging your pardon, Miss -"

He'd meant to add something else, a better explanation, or another apology or three, but that same light, floaty feeling overwhelmed him once more, and he swallowed back anything else he might have said, releasing his grounding post at last in favor of a hasty retreat.

[open] concerning hobbits

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