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[of_mirkwood]

It was difficult to determine his date of birth with the shift in calendar from Middle Earth to the Nexus and, furthermore, Legolas had been alive for so long that the years had all become something of a blur. Still, this was the time of year that he usually celebrated his birthday and it felt wrong to let the occasion go without even a passing mention.

Birthdays among elves were normally quiet affairs. Unlike the hobbits who loved to give lavish parties and bestow gifts upon their friends and families and unlike humans who lavished the celebrant with their own gifts, elves used their days of birth to reflect upon the world and how much had changed in it over the long years they had been alive. The older an elf was, the harder it was for he or she to remember what it was like when the world was young and the forced contemplation on a birthday was a good reminder.

When Legolas had left Middle-Earth, it was in the autumn of the world. The world was changing, swiftly, and the age of elves was ending to make way for the age of men. He had left the relative isolation of Mirkwood and embarked on a grand journey with the company of nine, only to get separated at Amon Hen and cast his lot with Gimli and Aragorn. They fought for Gondor and for all men, seeking to end Sauron's reign of terror, and Legolas did not know if they were yet successful - all hinged on the will and heart of a hobbit and his ability to bear the ring.

Not knowing the outcome of the war was something that disturbed him but Legolas had, as of yet, been unable to return to the battlefield. The few times he had made it into Middle-Earth, it was a younger Middle-Earth and the world seemed less troubled. The leaves shone with spring green and not the autumn he knew was the harbinger of war.

So today, he had decided to set up a target in the gardens and loose his arrows into it, wanting to hone his skills even if he could no longer go home and fight for his people and all the peoples of Middle Earth. When he heard the soft footsteps of someone behind him, he did not turn and, instead, merely spoke softly and evenly.

"It is impossible to startle an elf, even one who is far from home. Careful that you do not wander into the path of the arrow, please?"

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[thelostprince]

Archery on Asgard was not considered quite so lofty a skill as the other warring arts, that was for certain, but he considered it valuable. Loki himself was not an archer, though he worked with spear and dagger, and his aim was one of the best on Asgard. It was easy to recognize similar talent, and he noted the natural grace of the archer, the ease in which targets hit home - as if they were drawn to the target, rather than leased towards it. As he considered sparking his war on Earth, naturally he was curious regarding the deadly skills of any acquaintances in the Nexus.

He had not meant to creep; rather he was always somewhat silent of step, though perhaps it was a touch heavier, now, that the Tesseract weighed upon him. "I'll do my best," he said, his voice soft and mostly flat, but with a tint of humour existing in it. Even if he was foolish enough to wander in the way, he was not quite certain an arrow would harm him terribly, even though he wore no armour just then - clad mostly in the wools and soft leather he had taken to wearing when he was at the Nexus for a rest.

"You are no elf of my realm nor any other realm I know," he mused, circling into sight from behind. He stood a few feet away from the elf, respectfully out of the way of the targets.

[of_mirkwood]

"I am an elf of Mirkwood, in Middle-Earth," Legolas explained, nocking another arrow and letting it fly. There was a bit of a breeze today and without compensating for it, his aim was not as true as he wished it to be. He would have to be more careful in his next shot.

"What sort of elves do you have in your realm, then?"

[thelostprince]

"Ah," Loki replied, though that did not sound familiar to him. He tipped his head to the side, noting the slight pull of the arrow off-centre, but did not comment when the aim was not quite so true.

"None in my realm, particularly," he said. "Unless they are travelers. But many kinds, all across the worlds we are connected to. Light elves, bright elves. Dark elves, too, though they were said to have perished long before my birth." He said the last sentence with a twist of his mouth. "Then again, I do think that is yet another lie of my father's house."

[of_mirkwood]

"I have never encountered a dark elf," Legolas said, letting his arrow fly true and, now with compensation for the wind, it hit its mark. "All the elves of Middle Earth are bright and beautiful save for one, though he is no longer an elf. He is something twisted and evil now and cannot be considered anything living."

[thelostprince]

"Sounds familiar," Loki said, with a somewhat crooked grin.

He watched the arrow fly, finding it to be a beautiful thing to look at, for the moment. There was something so elegant in the savage simplicity of a weapon well-handled. "Who taught you how to shoot?" He asked. "I can imagine you have had many years of practice." Unless, of course, elves of Middle-Earth did not have so lengthy a lifespan as those Loki knew of.

[of_mirkwood]

"My father's royal guard, when I was young, but I have had centuries of practice since then. I was always precocious with a bow," Legolas said, smirking a bit. He had never been modest about what he could do with arrows and his pride in that area had led to significant arrogance.

Arrogance, in and of itself, wasn't a bad thing but Legolas knew it could eventually lead to madness like that of his father and sought to keep it in check as best he could.

[thelostprince]

"That so?" Loki repeated, smiling. Naturally he did not miss the reference to a royal guard, but then again, he found it a very human thing to describes oneself in terms of rank and status as a way of identification. It was never King Odin, nor Queen Frigga. Where he came from, titles were always secondary. He did not find it surprising this elf did not so readily declare himself royalty. Loki, himself, rarely mentioned it in the Nexus, even though he was aware of the burning presence that was his birthright.

"I am Loki," he said. "What are you called?"

[of_mirkwood]

"Legolas, of the woodland realm," he said, offering a quick bow to Loki in greeting. "I am far from home but even an elf who wanders is still an elf. I hope to return someday."

There were things left undone in Middle Earth that Legolas desperately wanted to get back to. He needed to aid his brethren and the Men of Gondor in battle.

[thelostprince]

"I would not have considered an elf anything but an elf," Loki replied, amused at what he found to be a rather strange detail to mention, to be sure. "Does your door not take you where you wish to go? How fickle they are."

[heir_of_durin]

He had not thought there to be an elf amongst the habitants of the inn, but when Fili caught sight of him, he knew it not to be any elf, but that of Mirkwood and its dark passages. This was one of the elves who belonged to those forests and his pride flared to see him here, he could not keep himself away, though his anger burned bright for the offense. "I am sure you would prefer to imprison me than shoot me with an arrow," Fili replied. "Given history."

[of_mirkwood]

"Nay," Legolas said, turning to face the dwarf. He has seen him within the halls of the Nexus but had never had an opportunity to speak to him. It seemed this dwarf was not unlike Gimli in his greeting to him; the enmity between elves and dwarves was long and bitter.

"I have no desire to bring harm to you, master dwarf. One of your kin is a dear friend of mine."

[heir_of_durin]

Fili remains stalwart and steady, not sure he ought to place his trust in such a creature. "And by what name does this kin of mine go by?" Fili asked, questioning the very possibility of such a thing. "After you and the others in Mirkwood held us captive, I do not readily believe such things."

[of_mirkwood]

"Gimli, son of Gloin," Legolas said coolly. "It took him a long while in our company to truly become comfortable with me but we consider one another close friends now. I even brought him through to Lothlorien to see Lady Galadriel and he nearly wept at her beauty. He plans to take me to some glittering caves beneath the earth in exchange, though elves have little love for lands beneath the ground. He saw our forests, so it seems only fair I see his caves."

[heir_of_durin]

Fili could not believe such a thing and yet, the details were convincing and were enough to plant the seed of doubt within his mind. "I am part of a company that includes Gloin, which would have included Gimli were he ten years older," he said, eyes flashing with confusion. "And you call him friend?"

"And which caves does he intend to take you to?" Fili wondered, for they had only reclaimed Erebor. Surely Gimli would not bring an elf to such an unstable place, where Thorin was perched on the edge of gold sickness and prone to snapping at any moment.

[of_mirkwood]

"Caves beneath the fortress of the Rohirrim called Helm's Deep. We fought through Moria together and he assures me these caves have no danger in them, only beauty. I remain unconvinced," Legolas said, a smile touching his lips.

"I suppose you have never encountered a Balrog?"

[heir_of_durin]

He shook his head, a dark look in his eye. "Moria is a name I faintly know, only as Azanulbizar, a battle which stole many family members away from their dear ones," Fili said. They had fought to reclaim it, fought so hard, but had barely won it. "I have only lived in the towns of men and briefly in the Blue Mountains, but there was no trade there."

[of_mirkwood]

"I could see where Moria was once beautiful," Legolas said. Objectively, it must have been, even though elves tended to like trees and the open sky over mountains deep beneath the earth.

"In her glory, she must have been a fine dwarven city. It saddened me to see it overrun with evil."

[silverandcold]

Something about the summer heat offers Elsa a greater feeling of safety. Her ice will never be free of danger but its natural enemy, heat, does much to mitigate her nervousness. It even gives her the space to become playful as she sneaks behind Legolas and whips out a hand, sending sliver-spears of ice right into the target.

"Don't plan to."

[of_mirkwood]

"Elsa!" Legolas said warmly, dropping his bow to turn and see her. He had grown fond of her over these past months and was glad that she could call him a friend since her gifts seemed to isolate her so much.

"It seems strange to see you in the warm summer air but I think it suits you."

[silverandcold]

"I've always been good about beating the heat in summer," Elsa promises with a small smile. She's known Legolas has skills in archery, but seeing them still takes her breath away.

"Did you just start with the targets?"

[of_mirkwood]

"Only just," he confirmed. "I hardly ever use a target back home. Usually there are plenty of orcs to stand in for something more stationary and mundane. Luckily we are unplagued by war in the Nexus."

It was nice to be somewhere peaceful for once, a place where he could seek solace and the company of friends without fearing for their lives.

[silverandcold]

Elsa laughs softly behind a hand in the gentle, practiced way of courtiers. She doesn't mean to tease him. "It's very lucky. I...I feel safe here," she admits. More to the point, she doesn't feel like a danger to others.

[of_mirkwood]

"I am glad you do," Legolas said, lowering the bow and turning so he could talk with her with his full attention. Elsa's safety was important to him - both her safety from others and her safety from herself.

"Have you found it easier with the ice yet? I noticed that you controlled it just now with great precision."

[silverandcold]

"I am," Elsa says. Raising a hand, she summons a tiny flurry that disperses in the warm air. "I'm realizing when my father said to conceal, not feel, I don't think he meant for me to conceal it and not feel anything..."

[of_mirkwood]

"Not feeling anything is no way to live but there are ways to feel things less deeply, to let them affect less," Legolas said gently. He had learned to do that very thing over his long life and had tried to withdraw feeling so much of the world's pain.

"I wish it was something I could teach you but it is something each person must learn for themselves."