savetheearth | Far Over The Misty Mountains Cold [closed]

Entry tags:

Far Over The Misty Mountains Cold [closed]

Who: Killian and Fil, later to be joined by Thorir
What: So after a very odd and crazy family dinner, Killian and Fil head off to talk about what Killian remembers about Middle-earth to see if it rings any bells for Fil. Did we mention that Thorir doesn't know Fil is on the Network?
When: 2/15, evening (forward dated)
Where: Thorir's apartment

So.

That had been a Thing. It had been a good thing, but wow, Killian had not expected that. (Though really, he should have. The Ryans were just as crazy.) He still doesn't know who all had been at the table beyond the twins, Mardis, and obviously Fil and Thorir but they were a good family.

He thinks he could eventually get used to being related to them. Even if the twins were calling him "uncle".

But dinner's done now and he follows Fil into the other's bedroom. He feels a bit bad, talking about this right under Thorir's nose when their uncle doesn't even know about Fil's numbers but, well, that's Fil's place. Once the door's shut, Killian flops down on the floor.

"So, where do you want me to start?"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Don't look at me." Killian shrugs. "All I know is Bilbo was one, he was also kind of a badass in the making, and he had a nice house in a hill called Bag End." The last bit was guessing, but it matched up with what he knew from the pulses. "Epic pantry, too."

"Somebody who liked to eat a lot maybe? Or by your comment about having epic pantry your past self probably raided that pantry?" Judging by the troll comment, Fil thought it was likely to be both.

That gets Killian to laugh and start explaining the memory of the party, how apparently he and these other Dwarves hadn't been expected in poor Bilbo's house.

"I have no idea why we were all there," he says, "but it was kind of amazing from what I remember. Also past me and his brother and actually probably everyone were crazy skilled at juggling because towards the end we all started tossing plates and stuff around to get them in the sink and washed up faster."

Fil laughed hard at the description, nearly knocking over his empty soda can. "That sounds like a real circus, our past lives. Hard to pull off in real life though. Ma will be knocking heads if we tried that in her house. Aunt Mardis to probably."

"And that's assuming you were even there," Killian points out. Oddly, though, he doesn't really doubt that Fil was there. "Oh, yeah, and there were songs." Music seemed to be big with Kili and everything in Killian's past life.

"Music? Can you sing any of it? I'd like to hear some." Fil pushed himself back into a sitting position. The more pulses he got, the more it seemed like he and Killian were part of the same group he kept seeing in bits and pieces. "Though I think I'll get another soda first. Or maybe some snacks. You want anything?"

"Yeah, I can sing one of them and sure. I'm still good from dinner, but soda's always good." He sits up and leans against the wall. "Unless there's still rolls leftover in which case I want two."

Fil nodded and went downstairs to grab more sodas for the two of them. The rolls Killian wanted were cold now, and far better when warm, so he stuck them in the oven to reheat before heading back up to his rooms.

"Here we go. There's still leftover rolls, but they've gone cold now, so I put them in the oven to heat. Uncle says he'll bring them up for us when they're ready."

Killian nods, taking the soda.

"Now, the song's supposed to be sung by people with deeper voices than mine, but..." He starts to hum, a little self-conscious until that feeling of homesickness that usually accompanies the song kicks in and he starts to sing. His voice is just too high to be a proper baritone, but he's not bad at this at all. As Killian sings, he gets a sort of far off look in his eyes. He wishes he knew if his past self had gotten their home back.

Sometime during the second half of the song, Thorir comes down the corridor with the plate of rolls in his hand, not planning on staying longer than he needs to drop them off - the boys are having some time to themselves, after all.

What he did not expect was to hear singing. Not that it never happens in this household, but this is... different. For one, he's never heard this particular voice, which must mean that it is Killian's. And secondly, the emotion in it is so strong, so personal - he's heard sad songs before, well and emotionally ones as well, but this seems different. And... it touches something inside him, but he can't quite grasp what it is or how exactly it touches.

Still, he can't but stop and stand outside the door, staying outside even though it means overhearing them and not announcing his presence. He doesn't want to interrupt... and besides. He's still trying to grasp the meaning of the song. Why does it feel like it should feel like... more?

Fil's eyes had fallen closed as he listened to Killian's voice. The lyrics spoke of a people who lost their home in a disaster and the tune was mournful enough to suit such a topic. What surprised Fil was how it felt unexpectedly personal. But he's never lost his home before, nor known of anyone losing it in such a fashion so he couldn't explain it.

When the last notes of the song trails off, it took him another minute to open his eyes and his next breathe escaped from him in an explosive sigh. "Wow." Fil picked up his soda and opened it. "That was...unexpectedly intense."

Clearing his throat, Killian opens his soda and drinks before speaking. "Yeah, it's...kinda nuts, that song. That and another pulse is why I'm pretty sure past-me was homeless. You don't sing that kind of song if you've got a home, after all." Well, maybe he had a place to live but Killian didn't think that counted here. "I think that was my second one, actually, so that was fun."

Thorir almost drops the plate at Killian's words. He's talking to Fil about pulses. Echoes. Whatever one calls them.

There are two possibilities here, and Thorir likes neither of them.

Either Filbert is on the network as well - since when? How have they not noticed that up until now? And at the very least Killian knows that they are, probably more people, why has nobody told him about this? What has he echoed; hopefully nothing as disturbing as Thorir himself?

Or Killian is telling Fil those things without need - which would constitute a grave disappointment, a deep breach of trust. Even if Killian has a good reason.

He's not even sure which one he should hope for, considering what he has seen being numbered turn some of the others into. On the other hand he really hopes that all the implications of the second option aren't actually happening.

In the end he decides to stand and try to find out a bit more before going in and confronting the situation, because he'd really like to know what he is dealing with first. At least a bit more than now.

"My first few echoes were okay, kinda nice even. The entire being able to write in another language is cool." Fil mused before taking a drink. "I actually got one from Uncle...we was talking about his favourite place in the city and it led me getting a pulse of being taught how to make stuff...you know, just the basics...in a forge by an older guy. He might have been my father or another relative, definitely someone close to my family." This might be Fil's favourite one so far, he thought. There was a definite sense of ... kinship...that he liked from it.

Killian smiles a bit at that one. "All I know is that past-me had an older brother," he replies. "I kind of hope I get more with him, actually. I mean, I obviously don't have a brother so...I dunno, living vicariously I guess. I'm guessing you don't actually know how to make anything in the forge, though, yeah? From that pulse?"

So Filbert is on the network, and has been for a few weeks at least. Maybe longer.

...though now he wonders. He has no pulses with children or forges in them, and it would be way too much of a coincidence if him and Filbert had been that close in their former lives. Still, he can't help but wonder. It would help if he knew more about the world that he was from, probably, or the world that his taller nephew was from.

He shoves it aside. Unlikely, and not important right now. Important is that he stops eavesdropping and announces himself, and starts a conversation about this. So there will be a knock at the door, roughly when Killian finishes speaking.

"Nah...nothing yet on that. Just a memory of me learning to do it, so you won't be seeing me in Uncle's forge anytime soon. Though I might rummage around and see if Uncle has one of the prop swords he makes lying around...there's something I want to try."

He looked up at the knock on the door. It was probably Uncle bringing up the rolls as promised, though there was a spare thought running in his head wondering if his uncle overheard anything awkward. "Come in!"

"You could get the door for him, you idiot." Killian laughs and stands to do just that, smiling at Thorir and praying he heard nothing of their conversation. "Thanks for bringing these up, Thorir."

"No problem." He does definitely look at Filbert for too long as he stands there, though, and then at Killian, without handing over the rolls. After a moment he breathes a deep breath and then addresses the former. "I will assume that you didn't know about both of us having numbers, either?"

He's having this conversation way too often recently, really.

Fil froze as he stared at his Uncle with his mouth open in an unattractive way for a long moment. Several thoughts ran in his head, mostly of the variety of: 'oh shit' and 'another family member is part of this???'

"I...no I didn't. I usually only skim posts on the network and don't read too much underneath."

Well.

Fuck.

Killian sighs a bit as he moves to shut the door behind Thorir, taking the plate and setting it aside before flopping back down.

"Before anyone jumps my ass about not telling you two that the other was on the Network, it wasn't my place," he says. "Before, I was just a friend and employee and even after the whole Hjalti fiasco it still wasn't my place." To Thorir, he says, "We think Fil's past-self was from the same place as past-me. He can read the runes I can." To Fil: "Uncle now hates Orcs."

"I have for about a year." But it's said as a side, not the point of the conversation at all. He'll sit down as well, not wanting to tower over the two younger men for this talk. It's something that he generally tries to not do, tower, and right now... it's the last thing that they need.

For the moment, he isn't adding anything to those words, though, trying to come up with a response to Killian. It's not quite working. He'll address it when he gets there. Maybe not even now, but at some point when Filbert isn't present.

"Though I only discovered the network at the end of January."

Edited 2014-02-14 02:06 (UTC)

"I...I don't know what to say. Except 'holy shit' but I don't think it'll help anyone here. I got my first pulse right after I moved to Locke..so about a month or so back." He decided that leaving out the fact that Killian was the one who gave him that pulse would be the wisest thing to do right now. "I don't blame you for not saying anything, Killian, because probably it's what I'd have done too."

Fil absently set his soda aside on the bedside table, not wanting to spill it by accident. "And...what the hell is an orc?"

He so owes Fil for that. "Fantasy race, I think. How much did you hear, Uncle?" Killian looks over at their uncle, relieved that he doesn't seem to be overly pissed at them.

"From the rear end of your song." And he does feel bad for eavesdropping and not coming in sooner, but he's positive that it was necessary to wait that long - and about the song... well, it is good that he waited. He wouldn't have learned about this otherwise.

He sits a bit more comfortably, crossing his legs and shifting into a position that he can hold for a good while without moving or something falling asleep, and places his arms on his thighs, hands folded in his lap.

Maybe address it better now. "If any other member of the family shows up on this network, I want both of you to promise me that we will tell each other. We cannot leave someone fending for themselves more than strictly necessary if there is family who could help. It will also be safer, and lead to less lies."

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject