Blue swords|| Legolas

04

The party found suitable shelter from the still raging storm within a cave tucked out of sight behind a rock ledge. It was spacious enough inside for everyone to curl up to sleep and the entrance kept out the worse of the howling winds. The party huddled themselves inside, Oin producing flint and steel in a effort to start a fire as everyone crowded to sit down and relieve their aching feet. Dust and sandy gravel coated the floor making it hard for the kindling to catch. It didn't help that the flint and steel were probably damp from the rain, not protected by the oils of their backpacks, like the kindling which had been stored in Nori's pack.

Luin watched the dwarf struggle for a while before taking pity on him. He languidly lifted his hand and let a tendril of flame drip from his fingers. His Qi mixing with the fire root in his meridians. The flames sparked as he shook them over the kindling. The wood caught instantly. There was a groan of relief as the party began to warm themselves up. Fili, Kili and Ori placed themselves around where Luin had settled into a corner of the cave. "How did you do that?" Ori asked. The three youngest in the group waiting for his answer in anticipation.

"I'm good with fire", Luin shrugged, tone deliberately nonchalantly. It was true, fire was one of his spiritual roots, the second weaker one being air. The combination made a powerful force on the battlefield, not that anyone here knew about cultivation and Qi. He grinned as their faces fell, obviously disappointed by his answer. "Tell me", he smirked. "Have you ever seen Gandalf's fireworks?"

"Yeah, only once though", Fili answered first.
"We were much smaller", Kili continued.
"They were amazing", Ori finished.

"Well who do you think taught him to make them?" Luin asked. It's true, fireworks were invented in his home country and one of his parents crew members had taught him to make them as a child. When the ship had washed ashore, Gandalf had found one of the fireworks and had figured out how to make his own. Luin had helped him of course.

"Really? Fili asked in excitement.

"I suggest you all get some sleep", Thorin's voice echoed around the cave, over the noise of the storm outside, interrupting their conversation. The three young dwarves obediently shuffled onto their sleeping mats. Luin glanced around the cave for a moment. Everyone was curling up under their blankets exhaustedly. Thorin had volunteered to get first watch and he was standing near the opening, watching the storm with his usual brooding expression.

Luin took his time settling down. First, he took a comb from his case and tried to untangle his storm messed hair. "Preening pretty boy?" Came a deep voice. Luin raised his head to see Thorin watching him. Snores from the sleeping group echoed slightly around the cave, disturbed occasionally by a slight snuffle.

"Merely combing my hair Thorin", Luin replied. He winced as the comb removed the last stubborn knot. His hair was his pride and joy. He always took good care of it.

Thorin snorted. "You're like an elf", he remarked sourly. "If they removed your black hair and eyes".

"I'm not an elf". Luin's tone was lazy. The sentence one he had often repeated.

"Could have fooled me", Thorin muttered quietly, so quiet that the howling wind almost washed away his words, but Luin still heard him. "I don't know what you are. Some say you're one of the blue wizards, some say you're a immortal from another country. All I know is that you're friends with Gandalf", he continued a bit louder, turning to glare at him.

"Technically", Luin shrugged as he wound his hair into smooth braids. He spoke plainly, without any annoyance or anger, simply stating a fact. "I am all of those. But if you want to know what I am, then I am nothing of consequence. Although, in my home, there are no such things as elves, dwarfs, hobbits, or orcs. There are just humans. But some of them possess an ability for cultivation. And if you become powerful enough, you can become immortal. It is so more different here".