PLS READ
Hey, guys. Sorry for the wait—like I said before, I'm kinda lazy busy.
Anyway, this chapter is dedicated to Robin Williams. I know Ena shouldn't know he's dead, and the timing of this chapter is weird, as it's going to take place is Rivendell. That just seemed to make the most sense to me and I really wanted to give him a dedication. (I refuse to apologize for the cheesiness of this chapter, though)
. . .
"Ena, you are not paying attention." Elinoic chastised for what had to be the fifth time in the half hour we'd spent on this tracking lesson. "How are you going to be of any help to your friends if you refuse both sword fight, and track? You must be the most absent-minded student I have ever seen."
I frowned at his words. I mean, he was right, I guess, but I resented his tone of voice so, I replied with a sardonic smile, "You ain't never had a friend like me."
El sighed in annoyance. "What does that mean?"
"I'm full of surprises." I said with a shrug. "Maybe I don't need to track."
"Maybe you just don't want to."
I shrugged again and started forward, pretending to actually be looking for animal tracks. Elinoic sighed audibly and followed so we were walking down a grassy hill side by side.
"What is bothering you?" El asked, and this time it was my turn to sigh as I tried to sort through my thoughts to answer him. Just as I was turning to look at him, however, my foot caught a loose root and I stopped to try and pull the knotted laces free, but they held fast.
"Hold still." Elinoic knelt to in front of me. "Let me help you."
The moment he had the laces unknotted, I yanked my foot back as hard as I could and lost my balance. I fell forward and Elinoic tried to keep me balanced but instead lost his own, and we rolled down the hill in a human knot.
Or, I guess an elfin knot.
We came to abrupt stop at the bottom, breathless, and after a few seconds of shock, we began to laugh. Elinoic was the first to stand, and he helped me to my feet.
"At least neither of us broke anything this time," I said smiling up at him. My first day here I'd passed out and broke my wrist. And then I frowned. "Your hair, it's…perfect." But we had just rolled down a hill—it should be a bird's nest! I reached up and felt my own hair: perfect. For a second I was confused, but then I remembered. "Elves don't get dirty, do they? Dirt just kind of evaporates, doesn't it?"
I think that's when it really sunk in. I'm not human anymore.
"Huh." I sighed. "How bull shitty, is that?"
"What?" Elinoic's eyebrows came down in confusion and his nose crinkled.
"Elves are perfect. They don't get dirty, they don't die…but humans do."
"Ena, are—"
"I won't ever have that experience again—no mud caking in my hair, no death unless I happen to die when I'm with the Fellowship. I never noticed before."
I turned and walked back up the hill, El coming behind me. All the people back home—they'll die. Some of them already have…and that is incredibly sad and strange. I wandered into a pavilion and sat down, and Elinoic sat next to me.
"I never realized." I said quietly.
"Realized what?"
"…Humans are ridiculous. All our crazy thoughts; the zombie Apocalypse, the gadgets, our money problems—"
"You are not human." Elinoic said softly.
"I know. And doesn't that suck?"
I felt El shifting, and then he was kneeling in front of me.
"Lle tyava quel?" Do you feel well? "This is not like you, Lirimaer. (lovely one) What is this really about?"
I bit my lip as tears began welling up in my eyes and shook my head.
"Have I ever told you about Robin Williams?"
El shook his head.
"He's an actor—talented, funny. He defined humor. And he's dead. I just…always looked up to him, but…I guess I never fully appreciated him. How he struggled with depression and alcohol and drugs, but never stopped making people laugh. I know some people won't think so, but he was strong. He got through all that crazy shit life throws at you for so long, all the while making people laugh…I just never realized before…how perfectly wonderful it is to be human."
Elinoic stood, gently pulling me to my feet and wrapped his arms around me.
"Ah, Lirimaer." He said. "You do not make any sense to me sometimes."
I smiled lightly and hugged him back.
"Guess it's just the human in me"
Favorites Robin Williams movies:
Aladdin
Flubber
RV
Night at the Museum
Robots
Fern Gully
Happy Feet 2
Hook
O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills,
For you bouquets and ribbon'd wreaths—for you the shores a-crowding—Walt Whitman
Rest in peace, Robin. There's a little more laughter in Heaven now. We ain't never had a friend like you.