Kings and Kitchens

Throughout her childhood, Takabi had seen many grand depictions of the Old Kings in her homeland. In the newer ages, kings were left out altogether, and after the unification; statues were reserved for that of the Emperor. Regardless, many of the colossal old statues continued to be reverently maintained and cleaned. These grand stone figures possessed many grand, powerful weapons to symbolize protection of their people. However, Takabi noticed a particular feature, once she had grown and had been exposed to the cruelties and scandals of the world of nobles. In jarring contrast to their great displays of power and control, those powerful kings had smooth faces were always set in an impossibly kind, serene expression, raising one of their hands in blessing to any onlookers. Takabi had dismissed the fanciful notion, as she did not believe that the stonehearted, sturdy leaders required to keep a society from falling possessed such a demeanor.

With that in mind, it was obvious to predict the tenklaki soldier's surprise when she had encountered the embodiment of these statues, and it had turned out to be an Elvish Lord from the south. They had gathered in a meeting room of sorts, though it was more of a pavilion, with pearl-white stone floors and decorative tapestries. The smooth, symmetrical foreign intricacies of this style stirred up the tenklak's instinctual love of order in aesthetics, and calmed her in an odd way.

As Takabi finished her repeated introduction speech there was a silence in the room she stood in. She had reverently placed the offerings – extremely valuable gold trimmed silken bags of precious seeds – lay in front of the elf lord. They were the only ones present save for a few of the elf-lord's subordinates and a handful of guards, as the meeting was called in haste. Surprise showed on the elf-attendant's features when they saw the contents of the bags, and showed their leader, who appeared curious, more than anything.

After a while, Lord Elrond asked a question in a smooth voice. "Your people have been secluded in the north for a significant number of centuries. I take it that people are not aware of the growing threat of Mordor?"

Takabi met his impossible ethereal gaze, as she had noticed that eye contact had no negative connotations of disrespect with these people. It also helped that he could see the sincerity in her eyes. She still refrained from blinking her wind-lids, as she had noticed that it disturbed Sairahiniel when she did so, and as diplomat, Takabi wanted things to go smoothly.

"No," she replied earnestly. "We are stay in The North. No talking with others for long time. Until now."

Elrond sat for a few moments, his ageless face looking somewhat thoughtful, before he spoke once more. "I do recall members of your kind visiting these lands for a brief period of time - a great many centuries ago. They had introduced themselves as explorers. Has the language of your people changed substantially?"

"You-You talk of Gatabu? The Explorer? That great many years, yes," She answered, mind spinning. How did he know that? "We not know that you remember him. He only see few villages, then go back."

Inwardly, she was shocked, and she tried to keep her feathers from rising in response to her unease. Takabi didn't think that a barbarian civilization would last so long to remember such an event, not to mention be intelligent enough to catalogue events and histories. But if that was true, then-

Elrond gave her an affirmative gesture, smiling politely. "I do acknowledge that it was an extremely brief encounter, and did not make an impression on the histories of Middle Earth. It is fortunate that your explorers found the elves, as our lifespans are endless, and our memories run deep. As your people recorded and remembered the common tongue of the south, we remembered your language in turn," He concluded, in perfectly fluent, albeit formal form of the Tenklaki language.

Takabi's eyes widened so much that they resembled a barbarian's. A mixture of emotions managed to well up inside of her – surprise, amazement, happiness at the familiarity, and even some admiration to replace her fear. Hearing the Tenklaki tongue coming from an elf was still surreal to her, though it was evident that he was speaking in an older dialect. She felt as though she was talking to an old legal record, instead of the illiterate, magic wielding beings she had read of. Being largely at a loss for words, she merely bowed lowly in turn.

"Ah," Was her intelligent and eloquent response to this revelation, before she forced herself to stammer a complete sentence. "You… You speak eloquently, your Lordship. I am thankful, for easy communication will surely ease negotiations." Takabi said, and then noted that those who were in the room were looking on with relatively curious or confused expressions.

"Your request for negotiations are welcomed," The Elf-Lord said slowly, with a note of finality in his voice that made him sound like he was making an announcement. Takabi supposed that he would have to answer for the benefit of everyone in the room. "There is much to discuss, as there are grave forces at work, and it is imperative that your people are made aware of the danger they pose. A council will be called, after all those that are invited have settled, and recovered from their journeys. As a representative of your people, you are also invited to attend."

"Ah. Thank you," Takabi said, bowing lowly, her voice conveying the strong gratitude that her broken sentences could not. "Thank you very much."

Even after the Elf-Lord was forced to hurriedly call off their meeting in order to check on Frodo, Takabi felt surprisingly stable and calm. It had been on the way to the kitchens, after Sairahiniel invited Takabi to eat, that the realisation had hit her.

She had done it. Takabi – firstborn daughter of a disgraced family and a mere female in her emperor's army – had completed the journey to the south. She had braved the bandit infested, blizzard afflicted mountains past her homeland; survived encounters with both the savage and the magical; and had been welcomed to the halls of the ageless, alien elves that dwelled in the inhospitable landscape. When others considered the task a thinly veiled banishment/death sentence, Takabi had managed to pull through.

Needless to say, after all of this, Takabi thought that a celebratory smorgasbord might be due. The fact that her task was not quite yet complete was irrelevant in the moment.

It was only mid-afternoon, so Sairahiniel lead Takabi the kitchens instead of the dining hall. There was a small dining area around there, largely unoccupied except for a few souls and cooks tending to their duties. Takabi couldn't help but perk up when she saw two of the Short Ones from before, the younger ones, by the looks of it. Like Strider, they looked far more civilized now, after being preened and washed to a surprisingly good standard for barbarians.

"Hello," she said politely, bowing her head in respect and wondering if she should approach. Takabi hadn't spoken to them too much during the journey, and she wondered if they were on amiable terms. Her doubts were expelled, however, when they smiled and waved her over to them.

"You are well?" Takabi asked, though she couldn't help but eye the food they were eating.

The youngest – Pippip? Piplup? – said something, though it was muffled by an unidentified food.

The other, Merry (ha, she remembered that one) not-so-covertly nudged his companion. "We're in front of a lady, Pip."

"Ah, is alright," Takabi said, not wanting to show ill manners by starting an argument. She was unsure of what to do next, and glanced back at Sairahiniel, who was leaving to collect food. The she-elf waved at her charge to stay there, and that answered that nonverbal question. Takabi looked awkwardly at the wooden chair near the table, and turned it around to the side so that she might sit comfortably while considering her wings and tail. This action drew curious glances, but no objections, so Takabi inferred that she was not being overly impolite.

It was then that the ever dutiful Sairahiniel returned, offering Takabi a platter of food filled with different dishes. As dignified as she tried to be, Takabi couldn't help but pick through the offering set on the table, having a discerning eye for anything that would appeal to her tastes. In true tenklaki style, she chose every dish containing fruit, meat, or excessive amounts of sweets, immediately bringing them in front of her. Back in her room, Takabi did not want to appear rude or demanding by asking of more frequent meals from Sairahiniel, and her appetite was roaring for sustenance.

When she looked up over her mound of food, she found the two watching in slight surprise.

"You have a good appetite, there," 'Pip' remarked (damn it all, why was his name so hard to remember?).

Takabi couldn't help but smile, nodding. "The journey… There was no enough food," She said, trying to keep amiable despite the frustration of not knowing the language as well as she would have liked. "I not know how Strider…"

"Managed?" offered Merry helpfully, a scene that reminded her of her meeting with Glorfindel.

Takabi nodded in affirmation.

"We did notice, you almost had the same appetite as us," the younger mused. "What happened to the saying 'eats like a bird'?"

Takabi had the manners to swallow the drumstick she was devouring before shrugging her shoulders and wings dismissively. Her attention was more on her newfound free access to food than the conversation, and she had to glance over to the two Short Ones to see how the foreign cutlery was used. Despite those troubles, she had to admit that the meat was exquisitely prepared. Savory, unfamiliar flavors graced her taste buds, and it was a real effort to remain polite when she hadn't eaten a smorgasbord like this since she travelled along the coast.

The fruit was largely unfamiliar, though the taste of it was not altogether unpleasant. After one incident that had the two short ones almost jumping out of their seats, saying: 'No, don't eat it like that, Miss, you'll choke!', she settled for holding up each item, asking what it was, and how exactly she should eat it. For example, she found that she should not eat the peels of 'oranges', and it would be detrimental to her health if she stuffed it in her mouth whole. Apple cores were also not edible, and neither were the brown twigs that held grapes.

Smooth communication proved slightly difficult. Sometimes, the two Short Ones talked a little too fast for Takabi to follow, or used contractions and slang that she was unfamiliar with. Also, the tenklak still had trouble stringing together cohesive sentences, and conveying particular meanings. Regardless, they found themselves interacting quite amiably, despite the language barrier they experienced. She had eaten everything she had an interest in, and moved onto the deserts, having the two notice that she had left a few particular dishes untouched.

"You're… You're not going to touch those mushrooms, then?" Pippin (she had finally learned his name) asked.

"No, sorry," Takabi shook her head politely. "I am not… I do not like."

The two's exclamation of 'how can you not like mushrooms?' was cut off when Takabi slid the platter towards them, already clumsily digging into some berry-flavored bun of some kind, and a deposit of whipped cream with another hand.

The offering of mushrooms officially solidified their friendship, and as the two fully relaxed around her. Other cooks that were milling about gazed at the seen with approval on their ageless faces. The aura of suspicion surrounding the winged stranger had dropped somewhat.

Takabi even answered questions about topics that interested the small beings, (yes, she could fly; no, her wing wasn't quite healed yet) and extended her uninjured wing fully so that the small beings could marvel at the large limb.

As the food craze in Takabi's head lessened and her stomach filled, Takabi remembered a question that was nagging at her mind, despite the fact that she had sworn she didn't care, the jumbled words still left her lips. "Sam is… well?"

The two's expressions (how did they finish that dish in such a short time?) sobered somewhat. "He's with Mister Frodo. Hasn't left his side since we got here," Merry answered.

"They is – are well, now?" she asked, putting the last empty plate back down.

"Lord Elrond's still tending to Mr. Frodo, but we have heard that he's recovering. He has the best healers in Middle Earth looking after him, so don't you worry."

Takabi visibly relaxed, despite herself. "That is… well." Catching herself, she somberly picked at a platter of unidentified sweets, trying to cover up her show of emotion and improve her mood with more sugar. Everything was well.

She repeated that phrase through her dead as a mantra, continuing throughout the afternoon, through the evening, and even as she lay on her stomach on her feather-soft bed. Tomorrow would be when she'd allow herself to think of the future, and the rest of the daunting task ahead of her.

Surprisingly, I really hate to end it here, for now. I've been doing by best to get this chapter up, since I actually have reviewers (yay!), but uni's really starting to pick up. I did manage to try really, reeaaally hard on the Elrond scene, and I pulled that off ok. The grammar might need a bit of reviewing later on, but my part time beta is also occupied with her studies, so apologies for any mistakes! (The aforementioned beta doesn't know much about the LOTR book-verse, but she has a good eye for grammar mistakes and typos, and is wonderful with structure and the like.)

I do admit, I'm getting pretty into this story, now. I'm looking forward to gradually revealing more and more about the tenklaki people, especially culture and customs. Well, sort of, since I've decided to stick close to my ancestry/speciality, which is ancient Asia-centric. But yes, there's wind-lids and talons and lots more fun terms that are a pain to come up with, considering that I can't exactly say 'nictitating membrane' and stuff like that, but it's still an adventure. I've also got a few plans for Beridhren, since I've actually got a pretty good idea of what caused him to be so… unique.

Also, Tenklaki language is a pain, since I am no linguist, though I have a principle that might help you imagine it. Their words contain lots of sharp, clicking, easily enunciated sounds, easy to hear over wind and snow. Hence the huge presence of K's in their words. The sentence structure is inflexible and rigid, so learning a divers, fluid language like common would be hard to this order-orientated race. I'll cut myself off before I go and ramble too much, but I thought I might include this bit of information.

Anyway, thanks for reading, you marvelous folks!