[h3]Darius [url=http://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/2798916]→[/url][/h3]	[@Laue]
	[b]"It is my pleasure to make your acquaintance, Druindar,"[/b] Darius replied as the young man shook hands with the captain. Unlike Druindar's, Darius's hands were as soft and small as a child's skin, and though that was the case, Darius still gave a nice, firm handshake. They fit nicely into almost any pair of hands as if the teenager's hands belonged in someone else's. He released his grip on Druindar's hand and introduced himself. [b]"I am Darius Sterling,"[/b] said he. [b]"And this man is John Eidreon. As for our kind, we are called humans."[/b]

	Darius chuckled to himself as John talked about some earthly pop culture that the elves would not understand. The boy held some nostalgia for the Lord of the Rings and the work of Tolkien, and he wondered then if that world had an equivalent of Minas Tirith or the Shire... He pushed his elven fantasies to the back of his mind. If Darius pondered any more about the world of the elves, he'd find himself sooner overwhelmed by the pure eccentricity of the world around him, even by the present reality of the stuff which he had before only dreamed of. Unsurprisingly, John launched into a bid for some hands-on experience with the natural world, and in his mind Darius shook his head disapprovingly, not that he hated scientific pursuits. Not that at all, but rather that he abhorred John's brash nature and conviction to exploit all science could offer.

	On Earth, Darius enjoyed reading about the latest discoveries and theories, flipping through headlines about the great achievements of mankind. He recalled last reading about some advancements in the quantum model, he remembered the ruling in [i]Obergefell v. Hodges[/i]. Yes, the world Darius left behind was ever-changing, tumultuous, tempestuous, but even against the light that showed all of the world's sins and crimes, the young man truly believed that in his lifetime, he'd developed a deep fondness for humanity. Mankind pushed constantly forward and stopped at nothing, and mankind exceeded its limits and sought solutions. Mankind made great inventions look like mere stepping stones to a larger purpose. For all its flaws, Darius loved sentient life. He saw the Earth as an embellished entanglement of crossing lives, a [i]kintsugi[/i] of all that was and all that could be. And like any real love, it kept Darius guessing. Perhaps John was not the type for that kind of reflection on humanity, but Darius saw mankind as a species that, at the end of the day, was neither good nor bad but had the potential to [i]be[/i].

	[b]"Very well. If John has clearance, might I ask that you introduce me to your culture and later include me in the plans to subvert the enemy?"[/b] Darius earnestly asked Druindar, with a genuine interest to familiarize himself with elven culture and with the current objective.