(Untitled)

[somanytitles]

Evening had settled on the island and Aragorn leaned back against the small hill he had found himself on. It was a relatively quiet night, for which he was thankful. He had spent a few days down in the city that was known as Rapture and was looking forward to something a bit more peaceful. It reminded him far too much of the Mines of Moria, and

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[hastrustissues]

There's quiet nights where Wichita starts to feel restless, needing the opportunity to get out of the room she's sharing with Columbus at the Compound and just move, slowly walking and breathing in the night air without having to worry about whether or not she's going to get chased down and made someone's human Happy Meal.

Tonight it's not too late when she sets off, leaving a note to let Columbus know where she's going, and though the sun is gradually starting to sink below the horizon, the air is still warm. She sheds her jacket halfway through her walk and pulls her hair up off the back of her neck before hiking to the top of a small hill, where the smell and stream of pipe smoke reach her nose before she finds its source.

"Oh, sorry, I totally didn't mean to harsh your mood up here," she murmurs apologetically, looking to the man. "If you want to have some alone time, that's cool."

[somanytitles]

Aragorn still wasn't used to much of the colloquialisms from the more "modern" worlds, but he got the gist of what the woman was talking about. He was more than welcome for the company, especially since it gave him a chance to meet someone new.

"You are more than welcome to join me," he said with a grin, gesturing to the surrounding hillside for a seat.

[hastrustissues]

Wichita considers his offer briefly, then nods, setting down her leather jacket on the ground and taking a seat next to it, stretching her legs out and leaning back on both hands. She looks over at the pipe, trying to place what he's smoking by the scent of it alone. It doesn't smell like anything she's familiar with, and judging by his overall appearance, she'd guess it's probably from whatever time and place he's from - medieval, maybe.

"What is that?" she asks, nodding to the pipe.

[somanytitles]

"It is a weed grown by a species in my world, Hobbits," he said, turning to face the woman a bit more, though careful not to blow any smoke in her face.

"It is regarded as one of the finest of its kind in the world. Although I admit it is hard to come by for most and I am sad to say that this is the last of what I arrived with."

[hereand_now]

Wolf has been chasing animals in the jungle. Not hunting, not like before, but he can still chase and when he crashes out of the trees and up the hill, he doesn't expect to find a man there. Most people stay near the big Compound, which Wolf understands, but he doesn't like it there himself. It's not as good as the jungle, not even close. He stops short, his bare feet covered in leaves and dirt, but then smiles brightly.

"Okay," he answers. The people here are so nice, not like Jack's world. Almost like home. "I'm Wolf!" he adds, then sits down on the ground and grins wider. "That stuff sure smells funny."

[somanytitles]

"I am called Strider, friend Wolf," Aragorn said, sitting up just a bit to face the new man that approached. He had the look and smell of the wilderness about him, which Aragorn appreciated. He himself had a tent in the woods that he preferred to stay in.

"It does smell odd, I cannot deny that. It is one reason I came out here to smoke it."

[hereand_now]

"Hi, Strider! Doesn't bug me. The smell doesn't," Wolf is quick to say, because it smells nice, too. Funny and nice, sort of like the stuff Neil was smoking before, but not as strong. "I used to smell things real good, so maybe it would've bugged me before, but I don't smell them so good anymore."

And that's slowly becoming okay, too. It doesn't make him happy to think that he can't run with the moon, but he can still run. He's still Wolf. One day he'll go back to the moon, he knows that, so he can bide his time here until them.

[somanytitles]

"I am sorry for the loss of your senses," Aragorn said, frowning a bit. He didn't like how the island took things from people like that. While most didn't seem to bothered, to Aragorn they were robbing them of who they were, forcing them to be something other than what they truly were.

"Though you seem to be in good spirits despite the loss."

[hylianqueen]

"I've not smoked it in a pipe in a long time. Not since Eugene was here."

It was natural to settle near Strider; since his arrival, Zelda had started to consider him a fast friend given his own home sounded so similar to Hyrule and he had such a beautiful singing voice. She turned slightly to look at him.

"Of course, Eugene disappeared months ago. I think you may have liked him, though. He appreciated beauty too."

[somanytitles]

"I must admit, it is not a habit that most women take part in where I am from, though that is more tradition than anything else."

Aragorn smiled a bit as Zelda sat down next to him, very aware of her proximity, though not uncomfortably so. It was just not something that he was used to. At the mention of her friend, he shifted to face her.

"Then I can see why such a person would befriend you. Did he spend many nights staring up at the stars?"

[hylianqueen]

"Some," Zelda said, smiling a little wider and tucking her hair behind her ear. "And you flatter me, Strider. It's not unwelcome, just surprising. The stars are different here on the island than in Hyrule, though."

[somanytitles]

Aragorn watched her tuck her hair behind her finely pointed ear and felt a pang in his heart and a stronger than usual longing to see Arwen again. He often went years, sometimes decades, without seeing her but he always knew he could.

"I do not know if it is flattery so much as an observation," he said, smiling a bit more himself. "And yes, they are quite different in Arda. Do you know if any here have named the constellations?"

[island_anne]

"Oh, no apology necessary," said Anne, pushing a branch aside and ducking beneath to find herself on Aragorn's hill. "I've never been fond of smoking, though I have a great many friends who are. If you don't mind the accidental intrusion, I would be pleased to join you."

[somanytitles]

"Lady Anne, you are always welcome to join me," he said, beaming her a smile and gesturing at the ground next to him. He had only spoken to Anne once, but he had enjoyed the conversation quite a bit.

"And if I remember correctly, I owe you a song on the subject of your choice."

[island_anne]

"Oh, I couldn't believe it when I heard I'd won!" said Anne, carefully taking a seat next to him and letting her skirt flow down over her legs and the ground. "I don't believe I mentioned it, but I'm a great fan of verse and song and story of all sorts. I am an aspiring writer myself, though there are few venues for my work here, and also a teacher of literature at the school."

[somanytitles]

"I am glad to have such an appreciative winner," he said, encouraged that she was so excited about winning. He had wondered if anyone would actually bid on his offer since most people here didn't value songs and poems the way his world did.

"If you would like, I could sing some of the songs that I know so you may hear what they sound like in the language of the Elves."

[waltsnothereman]

"I guess two out of three ain't bad," Wanda said lightly even though she'd never smoked anything a day in her life and had no intention of changing that, heading up the small rise to where Strider was perched. After yet another day excitedly spent snooping around Rapture, she'd capped things off in the lab by drawing a fairly significant amount of her own blood in her continuing research toward preserving the effects of ADAM on the surface. As a result, she was decidedly... well, woozy, to put it scientifically, and the opportunity to take a break while she cut through the jungle to get home was a welcome one. "What's shaking?"

[somanytitles]

"Ah, another one of your greetings that I do not quite understand," he said, smiling up at Wanda. He was glad to see her, he hadn't asked her out here or told her he was coming, but he had been hoping she would show up.

"Is there a specific response I am required to give?"

[waltsnothereman]

Wanda grinned, and she'd be unable to truthfully say that reactions such as that one didn't make up a lot of the the reasons why she made no attempts to curb her colloquialisms around Strider. "Well, a simple 'not much' would suffice, unless there's more going on here than meets the eye," she replied as she unceremoniously found herself a spot in the grass to drop down next to him. "Or you could just go with your gut, it's really not that big a deal."

[somanytitles]

Aragorn liked that smile, there was a playful mirth behind it that always brightened his mood when he saw it. In truth, even when she didn't smile it brightened Aragorn's mood. It was a dangerous feeling, he knew, but she was a good friend and he would not trade that.

"Much is shaking down below in Rapture," he replied, settling back against the ground. "But as for this moment, very little is shaking."