It had been so long since Galadriel had been confronted with someone who did not know that the Eldar were...unlike men and dwarves in this way, that even the simplest answer eluded her. It wasn't until Katniss replied, when she suggested it was something lost alongside longevity, that Galadriel's confusion cleared. Her expression shifted and a strange sort of nostalgic delight dawned over her features.
Grim as their activities were, as the Emprise was, the few times she'd been called upon to explain this--those were wonderful memories.
"Oh! Yes, it is," Galadriel answered a bit thoughtlessly and shook her head. "That is to say, it is something that comes with age."
It was a vague description and one that had been unacceptable to each of the children she'd given it to. Celebrian had been irritated, Elladan and Elrohir had launched into a litany of complaints, and Arwen had actually rebuked her for her failure to answer. She didn't expect Katniss would be so frustrated, nor so boldly inclined, so she continued without delay.
"There are many things you are skilled at? And you have learned to do them efficiently, cleanly and quickly, have you not? With great age such efficiency can become a part of you, an aspect of what you are, and then it becomes a part of the world as it reflects you."
She drew a cloth from her equipment and wiped her hands clean.
"For three centuries my granddaughter was deeply grieved that she could not keep the hem of her gowns clean. On several occasions she wept to find her favorite dresses frayed and soiled. Now, I expect she could wade through marshes and not a drop of water would dare cling to her once she stepped out of them."
no subject
Grim as their activities were, as the Emprise was, the few times she'd been called upon to explain this--those were wonderful memories.
"Oh! Yes, it is," Galadriel answered a bit thoughtlessly and shook her head. "That is to say, it is something that comes with age."
It was a vague description and one that had been unacceptable to each of the children she'd given it to. Celebrian had been irritated, Elladan and Elrohir had launched into a litany of complaints, and Arwen had actually rebuked her for her failure to answer. She didn't expect Katniss would be so frustrated, nor so boldly inclined, so she continued without delay.
"There are many things you are skilled at? And you have learned to do them efficiently, cleanly and quickly, have you not? With great age such efficiency can become a part of you, an aspect of what you are, and then it becomes a part of the world as it reflects you."
She drew a cloth from her equipment and wiped her hands clean.
"For three centuries my granddaughter was deeply grieved that she could not keep the hem of her gowns clean. On several occasions she wept to find her favorite dresses frayed and soiled. Now, I expect she could wade through marshes and not a drop of water would dare cling to her once she stepped out of them."