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WHO: Anyone who wants to come!
WHAT: Cyril plans a surprise party for Sam and Kirk
WHEN: This Saturday
WHERE: Sam and Kirk's home
NOTES: This is the party Cyril started planning here. I'm going to include two header comments for prep before the party, and for Kirk and Sam to come home so everyone can enjoy the 'Surprise!' moment, otherwise, please treat this like a normal mingle post, put in your characters enjoying the party and tag around!

Cyril was pleased with how many had wanted to help with this party. Christine had offered to distract both Kirk and Sam. Adasse had put together some tasty potatoes. Korrin had arrived to help arrange furniture to use the space better for a crowd and had brought spiced wine and sweets. Anders had helped with decorations.

They had done well, even with the food shortage, and the house smelled inviting thanks the the work of everyone coming together.

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Kirk is surprised when he sees Elros in the midst of the crowd, but he smiles all the same. He had enjoyed his meeting with the elf, and new friends were always welcome, especially the Rifter sort.

"Elros!" he called in greeting, walking over to the other. "I'm surprised to see you here! Are you enjoying yourself?"

"Jim!" Elros turns to wave, and offers him the small package - it's only a small bottle of the local high potency rotgut, but it tastes good, and Elros figures Jim will appreciate it.

"Aye, and more now I've found you in this crowd! Happy birthday."

Jim took the package and unwrapped it, giving a soft chuckle when he saw what was inside, wondering what it meant that his new friend would get him booze as a first gift. Not that he minded - it was a lovely gift, and anything was appreciated. He stepped in and gave him a quick hug with one arm in thanks before stepping back.

"Thank you, Elros, it is much appreciated it. Have you gotten something to eat? Drink?"

Elros nods.

"I've had a drink - I met your... ah... housemates?" Lovers? Husbands? Is it polite to mention this aloud? "And Cyril showed me to the bar. What about yourself?"

Kirk looks nothing if not amused at the other's inability to name what he and Sam are.

"Housemates works. Lover too, if you prefer. Boyfriend is a term in my world, or partner," he suggested, taking a sip of his drink. "I'm having a grand time. This really is something - I honestly wasn't expecting it. "At least Cyril didn't set up an ice rink, right?"

Elros looks relieved.

"It is outside of my experience." He says apologetically. "I did not want to give offence. I seem to be doing that randomly to far too many people already." Thus reinforcing Elros' perception that it's the natives who are oversensitive and touchy about random word choices, and Rifters are by and large quite nice.

"Hah! I am quite happy about that too, belive me! Although I suppose we did eventually make it all the way round at least once."

"It's all right," he waved his hand. "We don't exactly hide it, after all, and you didn't call it an abomination, so you're fine." He actually wasn't to sure what he and Sam should call themselves. Lovers, for sure, though given their lifestyle someone might say husband was also appropriate.

"We did, we did. I think given a bit more practice, we could be regular champions of the rink," he laughed.

"I will confess I find it extremely disconcerting." Elros says dryly. "But clearly, it somehow works for you so..."

He snorts. "Maybe! I think I'll stick to snow forts and snowballs, though!"

"Disconcerting?" he raised a brow, not necessarily offended, but curious as to the choice of words. Was it just because he and Sam were open about it?

He shook his head. "No no, you can't think like that! Believe and you will achieve as they say! We just have to get out there and... stop falling." He laughed because he knew how ridiculous it sounded. "Hell, who knows, maybe if we drank a bit before we went out there, we'd do better." He waggled Elros' gift.

"I was brought up amongst the Eldar. Specifically, amongst the Noldor household of the Feanorions, who, for all their many many many faults, did hold onto one thing of their long distant youth - their penchant for learning and histories, which was drummed into my head during my lessons! Many of the griefs of their later lives can be traced back to one particular problem - when the High King Finwe took a second wife, and in so doing set the heart of his eldest son to burn at what he saw as rejection of his mother." Elros says quietly.

"Of course, that was hardly the only problem and not the most pressing, either, for that matter. And the situation is far different to yours, for the Lady Miriel had long been dead when Finwe wed Indis of the Vanyar. But for the Elves, to lie with another is to tie yourself to that one, heart and soul, eternally. Quite literally, I might add. To bind yourself more than once... is unthinkable. And became more taboo than ever, when folk looked back and thought 'if not for Indis, might Feanor have been different? Might he not have been roused to such hate for his brothers, if brothers in truth they had been and not half only?' You are not Elves, of course - and nor am I, now. Men don't think of things that way. But still... I wonder."

He runs a hand through his hair and sighs. "Forgive me. Tis your birthday, and here I am speaking of such things! If you'd rather just get a drink and forget about it, I would not mind."

Kirk listened, enraptured with this new knowledge, these stories of another land and another culture. It sounded a bit stiff for him in the terms of soul binding, but it was obviously an important cultural aspect for Elros and his people. He really couldn't fathom that sort of thing, to be honest, but he loved it too. He loved these differences, these unique pieces that formed the foundations of a people.

"No, I cannot say we think that way - or at least, most don't. Through time I am sure there has been more than one son who has resented their stepmother and half-brothers, but I don't think it's ever been such a... deep schism shall we say?" he said and then shook his head. "No, no, don't be sorry. I'm happy you would share stories of your world with me. I love that - learning about other cultures. It was part of my job, back in my home world. I am glad when I get to experience it again here."

"I would hope not, consider it led to the kinslayings!" Elros shrugs as if to say Elves.

"Then again, I've also had to mediate between the Easterlings over a bride price that created a generational war so I dunno, maybe everyone is equally as bad about such things in Arda."

He smiles.

"That sounds like a good deal of fun. You must have seen many cultures, then? Any good stories?"

"Oh, more than a few. My crew and I were responsible for first contact with a number of species, including one that had a very unique relationship with time," he said, his eyes shifting upwards in the way of someone recalling a memory. "They were an interesting lot. A touch scary too, but interesting. They gave me crew quite the scare when they whisked me away for a bit to talk."

"Ooh, now this sounds a tale!" Elros reaches and grabs them both a flagon of whatever is going past and pops it in Jim's hands.

"Go on!"

"Haha, well, it's a bit complicated, what with bending time and such," he said as he caught the drink Elros pushed into his hands. "It started when we discovered a new planet, rich in minerals, and we were also determining if the species we found there were sentient or not. We believed at least three resided on the planet, though the third was... rather difficult to identify. In fact, we couldn't do so at all, practically, and only knew it existed because of the only species on the planet that had any sort of viable language. Or at least one we could understand."

"You mean they left their scripts about for you to see or...?"

Elros leans forwards, eagerly soaking up the story.

"No, we have these things called universal translators, in my world. They listen to alien languages and use a computer program to parse the syntax and other audio cues that form a language so we can communicate," he explained. "As you communicate more, it becomes more exact and eventually it has the full lexicon."

"That sounds like an incredibly useful device." Elros says, impressed.

"Would have been awfully helpful in some of the trickier negotiations, I tell you! But coming back to your tale... it picked up a language?"

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