kíli (sonofdurin) wrote in saveatlantisic, @ 2019-09-08 22:51:00 |
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august 24
kili ✦ lace harding
two dwarves from different universes meet for the first time! g complete |
After the initial shock of everything that comprised her situation, which took her hours to get over, it took Lace Harding a few more hours to get properly acquainted with whatever weird magical tablet had all the information contained within it. The ghost (hologram, it said it was) called it 'technology' but Harding wasn't too worried about nomenclature. Whatever they called it, she could only judge by her own slate. It did not make the fact that this ghost claimed her to be in two places at once any more acceptable, but... baby steps. Thankfully Harding wasn't the sort to be rendered useless by despair (or even to feel despair, really), and she had a hint of stubbornness about her that had been the reason for her own survival against the crummiest odds more than once in the strange wilderness of Thedas at large. She got there eventually. And eventually, as dusk seemed to approach quickly, she decided to procure pen and paper and draw her own map. Then, she realized there was no better way to populate it than to get out there and see things with her own eyes. Slinging the arrows across her back and the bow over one shoulder, Harding stepped outside her room, then her house, and walked on. It was very unusual to find a dwarf among the first people to be seen anywhere but there he was; not as beardy as they usually came (but then, Varric was a thing), with longer hair than she was used to seeing. She waved, smiling. “Hah, well met ser dwarf. I wasn’t sure I’d find more of us here, we’re usually not many around.” This was, undoubtedly, the most interesting, most confusing place Kili had ever visited. He’d understood little of what the image had told him, and found he understood even less once he ventured outside. The city wasn’t anything at all like the cities he was used to. The buildings were taller, and there weren’t any horses on the streets at all. It was brighter, too, especially as the sun began to set. Lamps were lit all up and down the streets, and in the windows of nearly every building. It’d reminded Kili a bit of the stars, and that was what he’d been looking at (or trying to, in any case -- it was early, still, and the light from the city made everything seem fuzzy) when he heard someone call out to him. He spun towards the voice -- did she say dwarf? Us -- with wide eyes. Sure enough, another dwarf was approaching, and he didn’t recognize her at all. “That’s because none of them want to go on grand adventures,” he commented. “They’ve no idea what they’re missing.” Harding had never heard that particular take before, but she supposed it was true. When venturing out either meant death by darkspawn or being struck from the stone records adventure might seem unappealing. "You're not wrong." She replied, chuckling lightly. "I don't rightly know where we are, but I've always grown with the notion that there are one hundred humans for every dwarf so I guess numbers also contribute to it. Anyway, glad I'm not the only one. This is a weird enough place as it is. Scout Harding, at your service. Though… maybe drop the Scout for now." That was what Kili was used to as well - more humans than dwarves. He suspected there were even more hobbits than dwarves, and certainly more elves than dwarves. It didn’t help that dwarves weren’t sociable, either. Kili bowed slightly. “Harding it is, then. I’m Kili. Where are you from? The Iron Hills? Rhûn?” He was sure that he’d met all of the other dwarves in Thorin’s Halls, so unless she was from a smaller community, she must have come from farther away. Reflexively, Harding bowed back about the same amount, smiling. It didn't occur to her that they might be from different worlds until after she replied, although the ghost had talked about that. "Redcliffe. Um… Thedas." She wished she had a map of it to clarify any doubts. "I have to say I have never heard of the places you mentioned… And I like to think by now I've heard of everywhere." She gave a little chuckle. “Oh.” Brow furrowed, Kili couldn’t hide his disappointment that he, too, had never heard of Redcliffe or Thedas. It didn’t last long, however. Kili wasn’t someone who liked to dwell on the negative if he could find something good about a situation instead. Unless, of course, it involved Tauriel, but he was trying very, very hard not to think about her. “I’ve not heard of those places either,” he admitted. But any dwarf was kin in some way, as far as he was concerned. It didn’t much matter to him where they were from. “But the world is far more vast than I ever imagined.” "Yeah, so I've gathered. There is a whole half of the world or more that hasn't even been charted from what I've heard. It's all very mysterious." Harding confessed. She'd known of people who had headed that way but they were few and hadn't sent maps back home. And though the Qunari were supposed to have come from the North, as had humans, no one knew much about their origins anymore. If they did, they weren't sharing. Looking around she gave a slight chuckle, adjusting the bow at her shoulder. "This place, though… Apparently it's in another world entirely. The, uh, the weird ghost thing said so." The same was true of Kili’s world, or so he’d heard. He’d heard stories, legends more like, of times long past and of places that felt so far away that they might as well have been in another world. He’d always hoped he’d get to see some of it -- and now, he was seeing far more than he thought he would. “Atlantis,” he agreed, sounding out the word slowly on his tongue. It didn’t flow right, not like Khuzdul did. “It’s full of some sort of magic I’ve never seen before.” He frowned. Not that he’d seen a lot of magic, admittedly. “If Gandalf were here, he would have more answers.” “Friend of yours?”Harding asked, raising a brow at her new acquaintance, waiting for him to elaborate on this Gandalf person.“I have heard of mages who could make entire places in their image, from their thoughts, but that was a long, long time ago. Magic was different then, apparently. I don’t know. It’s all a bunch of unattainable crap to me, I only know one dwarf who really comprehends magic and she’s spent her life studying it. ” She shuddered at the idea of magic so powerful as to make all of this but then, she knew better than to think all powerful magic was bad just because it was powerful. “A friend, yes.” And a guide, a defender, a rescuer, a leader, depending on who was asked (or how generous they were feeling). “And a wizard, one of the greatest. He assisted us on our quest to reclaim our home.” Gandalf was still a mystery to Kili in many ways, but he respected the wizard a great deal. They owed Gandalf their lives several times over. Magic wasn’t entirely inaccessible to Kili -- dwarves had skills of their own that drew upon what existed in the world -- but magic of Gandalf’s kind and of what they were experiencing in Atlantis so far was beyond anything he was familiar with. It was unsettling, but … this place didn’t seem all bad. “I was going to attempt to locate an establishment that serves ale, if you’d like to accompany me?” “Oh! That’s good. Better to have a mage on your side than against it.” Harding nodded, smiling faintly. It was always about a lost home. So many people with the same story. She supposed she had it too, even though technically her home was Redcliffe. But she couldn’t go back to Orzammar and once Orzammar had been but one tiny part of a home that sprawled the whole of Thedas. Once. Maybe someday some great wizard would help them get it back. “I’d like to hear about that quest if you’re in a talking mood.” And it seemed that he might be, as with ale usually came conversation unless one was drinking alone. “When in doubt, and boy am I in doubt, a tavern can make you feel right at home. I have a map and I think the tablet thing has information on where all the taverns and shops are. Let’s go.” There were few things Kili enjoyed more than telling a good story -- hearing a good story would’ve been near the top as well. He couldn’t resist the opportunity to tell her about everything that had happened to them on the way to Erebor, all of the ways he’d nearly died and all of the ways they’d been saved. Some might’ve hesitated to tell a story that featured their mistakes so heavily, but what was really important to Kili was that they’d survived. He thought it explained more about their characters that they’d survived, rather than how they’d failed. “I was told Cinders had good food and drink,” he offered, since that was where he’d already agreed to meet Roxy. “We can begin there, and then see what else this city has to give us.” “Cinders. I like the name. Sounds warm. Let’s go.” Harding smiled and started to walk, only pausing a moment to check the map as habitual. As the scout she was Harding found them a path to Cinders in no time, but still took her sweet time actually making the trek. Everything bore a second look. Eventually they arrived, and Harding took it in. “Nothing like the taverns back home. Much brighter.” She took a seat at one of the empty tables, leaning her bow and arrows against the chair before she sat. There was paper with the list of things on offer, which she began perusing, stealing a glance up at Kili. “Lovelier than a drink at a tavern is a story to go with it. Wanna do the honors?” Though he’d spotted the bow and arrows earlier, it wasn’t until they’d sat down at the table that he was able to get a closer look. It was beautiful -- though, to Kili, all bows had a very specific beauty to them. He’d been leaning over, slightly, to look, and when she posed her question, he glanced up. “I’ve got loads of stories,” he began, pulling himself back up to sight upright in the chair. “Where should I start? With my childhood? The first time I left home? Or when I left on a quest to reclaim Erebor from a dragon?” He had a feeling she might want to jump right to the good bits, and he was grinning already in anticipation. “We fought off trolls. Goblins! We rode on the backs of -- oh, but I ought to not spoil the story for you.” Harding noticed Kili’s interest in her bow and smiled. “You an archer?” Not keen on hearing the dwarf’s entire life story although she was sure it was way more interesting than her own, Harding decided to focus on the dragon bit. “Oooh a dragon? The Inquisition has fought a bunch of them, but I never have, personally.” She furrowed her brow. “Trolls and goblins? What are they? Tell me everything!” She sat back, ready to listen, but someone approached them and asked what they wanted to have. Harding blushed with slight anxiety; not a lot on the card was like anything back home. Eventually she ordered what was: the cider. “Okay, now tell me everything.” With their orders placed (Kili asked for two pints of cider to start, since he assumed they’d be there a while, and so that he’d have an extra drink to offer if someone else arrived), Kili leaned forward, his forearms resting on the table. “You don’t have trolls and goblins?” He thought they were everywhere, but it seemed he had much to learn. “What about orcs?” He paused. “Elves? Hobbits?” Harding shrugged. “Maybe by another name. We do have elves. Pointy ears, taller than us? Some live in cities, some in the woods. We also have giants, don’t recommend dealing with them, and qunari, also don’t recommend but some are nice. Then there’s humans...” The more they spoke the more apparent it became that they were from different worlds and that was tripping Harding out more than she’d like to admit. At the same time she was endlessly curious about what else was different. Despite all of the differences between their worlds, talking to Harding made Kili feel like he was home. He knew she wasn’t really distant kin, but there was still something comforting about her. Kili felt like he’d known her all his life. “If I tell you about our quest, will you tell me about these qunari?” The word felt strange and thick in his mouth, unnatural, but he was eager to learn. “It’s only fair. Stories for stories.” He grinned. “Are you in?” Harding grinned right back. “I have a few tales of my own. You’re on!” As the bartender had just come back with their ciders, she lifted hers toards Kili in a toast and settled back to savor it - as well as some good, good stories of worlds not her own. |