{Video; UN: elvenking}

[tauraran]

{He is a king without his elegant trappings - but, really, he doesn't need them. The robe he wears catches the light with the smallest of motions, glittering faintly as if precious jewels are woven in the fabric. His hair is bound into a single thick braid that lays against his back and his circlet is elsewhere - as are his rings.}

How many parents reside in Lunatia? Are you separated from your children if so? {The flickering light on the table before him is all the illumination he requires as he works on a sketch. The drawing depicts trees and a variety of animal life beneath their mighty boughs.}

My fear for my son increases by the day and I have found no relief for it. I hardly realized how helpless I could feel as a father.

{His attention shifts from the sketch of the forest to a second sketch of a face much like his own - yet different enough that it must be his son.}

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video; un: high.priest

[hymnals]

[Another elf? Not like him, that's clear, but an elf all the same. The elegance of his bearing and the sumptuousness of his attire remind Adra of his own people, or at least of their taste.

Nevertheless, the question strikes home.]

I have a son, too. I've been apart from him for over a year at this point.

[A pause; a shake of the head.]

That worry never goes away.

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[tauraran]

{Eru must have a grand plan for them - or so Thranduil presumes. He takes note of the differences, however it is their similarities that intrigue him most.

For a moment, his eyes are unfocused - his mind is elsewhere. Then he breathes out.}

I will be parted from mine for longer. {Much longer after Legolas Sails.}

Is there no way to soothe it?

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[lioness_rampant]

I can't imagine what you must be feeling. I have a great many responsibilities back home, but no children of my own to care for.

[ She also has elfin features, her ears coming to a delicate point, but there are glowing markings on her cheek unlike any seen in Middle-earth. ]

If it helps to ease your mind, it is my understanding that no time passes while we ourselves are away. Several of my companions have experienced this.

[hymnals]

[Adra observes the shifts in this man's expression carefully; the sudden leave of absence from the current moment, the quiet return.

He spreads his hands in front of him, his own tone somber.]

Distractions help. Besides that, I try to keep in mind that time here passes differently than time at home. That alone consoles me with regard to his safety, even if it doesn't stop me missing him.

[For it was a dire world he left behind, and dire circumstances.]

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[tauraran]

{Those markings certainly set her apart and he takes a good long look, quietly admiring her beauty before he responds. He is, at his heart, an Elf who is quite decadent.}

Whether I am here or there, he is away from me. The only difference is: if I were there, I might be able to hear news of his travels.

{In Lunatia, he is blind and deaf to any and all of his son's perils.}

If you wish to forget - for a time - how do you go about it?

[tauraran]

{Dire is a word he would use to describe Middle Earth too. Actually, all of Arda will be at stake if the Enemy returns to his full might.}

What distractions do you favor? {There isn't any wine strong enough for his tastes and until he can afford a larger residence, his apartment feels...confining.} He and I did not part on good terms. There is much more that I would have said had I known...

[lioness_rampant]

I'm afraid there's no method I know of to forget.

[ She smiles, but it's a sad and distant thing. She has her own unspoken pain. ]

I wish my father were here, but... that is not possible.

[tauraran]

What ails you? {He can listen and not be completely selfish. It's a stretch for him!} I'm sure he would desire the same if he knew of Lunatia.

[lioness_rampant]

Oh.

He... perished. A very long time ago, though it does not seem so long to me.

video; UN: Persephone

[ragingnature]

[ Given its currently Sanguis, Persephone is dealing with those complications so instead of receiving a small pink woman with flowers in her hair on the other end, Thranduil will find a small pink dragon. ]

I'm not a parent so I can only begin to imagine what you're feeling. But I do miss my mother.

[ She wonders if what he describes is how her mother feels with Persephone away in Olympus. Her head dips a little. ] We didn't part on the best terms.

[tauraran]

Time moves slowly for those of us who mourn. I too lost my father and there was naught I could do to spare him that fate.

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[tauraran]

{That is...problematic. However he manages to hold himself in check after a faint twitch of repulsion.}

Neither did I...with my son. {He regrets that deeply and will continue to do so until he holds Legolas in his arms again.}

What would you say to her?

[ragingnature]

Quite a bit. We had an argument over her not letting me leave home to attend school in the city. I think the worst of it was me saying I wish that Zeus would marry me off to someone so she wouldn't be able to control me anymore.

[ That might not have been the last thing she said to Demeter but it's still enough to leave her feeling guilty. ]

What happened with your son?

[tauraran]

{Leaving home had been an issue between Legolas and himself too. Thranduil can easily understand Demeter's side, especially if her daughter is/was rash enough to choose marriage to a stranger over listening to her mother. Sorry Kore/Persephone.}

There was a battle and he made the decision to...leave. He is grown and I had no power to hold him.

{It is difficult for him to tell a...pink dragon's...age, so he must ask:}

Are you fully matured?

[ragingnature]

[ Marriage would have likely meant going from one controlling situation to another for her. ]

Oh... [ In that situation she can see how he'd have wanted his son to stay. ]

Yeah. I stopped aging probably a year ago at this point. [ And then she realizes he's probably judging her age on her current shape. Her eyes go wide before she lets out a laugh. ]

I don't always look like this, by the way. Normally I'm more human but still very pink. I could try to change back but the Sanguis changes are often stronger than my own abilities.

[tauraran]

{Or worse. There are plenty of boorish men (and gods) out there.}

I am relieved to hear this is not your normal state. {Because dragons are the worst. The worms/serpents/dragons of Arda burned him down to his very spirit.}

I see; this transformation is the doing of the Sanguis moon. {Sanguis, why?} I am not...fond...of dragons.

video | un: druidic

[arrowroot]

Does raising a dragon from an egg count? I mean she ascended so it's not like I'm really caring for her anymore...

[Achem.]

I-if it's any consolation, my brother and a friend recently arrived here and no time had passed for them from the last time they saw me.

[hymnals]

[He's at home right now, engaged in one such frequent distraction--baking. There are glass bowls with melting butter in them near him, as well as an orange, half sliced, on the cutting board.]

Oh, ah ... Cooking and baking, making ink, working on my herbarium, caring for my garden. That sort of thing. Little tasks to occupy the mind and the hands.

[He clears his throat, the tips of his long ears reddening. He was never very good at talking about himself. When it came to others, however -- ]

It's difficult to leave family, and even more so when there are feelings left unsaid. I know you it may be hard to think of it now, but I believe you'll see him again.

[ragingnature]

[ That too. ]

I have to admit it's an improvement compared to some changes the Moon has saddled me with in the past. Though I can't cook or bake like this and it's quite frustrating.

[ Is it possible for a dragon to pout? Because she certainly is. ]

[tauraran]

{The idea of Thranduil covered in flour in a kitchen is rather hilarious. But he admits that there are activities he could do instead of giving himself an ulcer about Legolas. Can Elves even have stomach aches? Probably not. Even so, being this stressed isn't good for him.}

You have a garden? I do miss my forest. {Keenly.} Is there a place I could go to walk under trees again?

{The rush of color stands out so boldly against the other Elf's hair and Thranduil can't help smiling.}

Perhaps. I have no intention of dying and I do not believe he will either.

[tauraran]

In comparison to the beasts I fought in the past, you are quite charming. {The pink helps - plus there is her personality.} What do you eat? I do not wish for you to starve.

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[tauraran]

Dragons... {Do not count he wishes to say, but he tempers himself.} A child is a child.

{Even if he would personally strangle it the moment it hatched.}

Strangely, time can pass or not and that does nothing for my concern. I know that doesn't make much sense.

[hymnals]

I do, on the roof of my building. It had many caretakers once, but these days it's mostly just me.

[People come and go, here. After a year's stay, he's used to it, so there's only a little bit of melancholy to his tone--and he brightens as he answers the next question, nodding.]

But I spend quite a bit of time cataloging the plants in the Greatmoon Groves--you'll find plenty of trees and other flora there. It's my favorite place in the city.

[He smiles back; always one to offer warmth for warmth (though he's a bit sheepish, being fully aware of how easily he blushes).]

I shall pray for your reunion, and for your hearts to know each other when they meet again.

[ragingnature]

If you think I'm charming now you should meet me when I'm myself. [ She flashes what passes for a smile in her current form, really it's just a bunch of sharp teeth. Maybe the small white flowers bloom atop her head and along her horns help make up for that. ]

Oh, don't worry. I have a roommate and while he's not the best cook he's able to help in the kitchen.

[tauraran]

Would you mind if I visited? {He understands plants and knows how to care for them. Dirtying his hands might do him good.}

Yes, I was invited to the Groves recently. I must say I would rather reside there than in an apartment.

{Or in the city if he is being honest. There are far too many foul sounds and smells.

The offer is kind enough to break through his thoughts about their temporary home and his voice softens.}

He will Sail before I do and we will be reunited on Valinor. But the years will be long until then.