Welcome to Gaia! ::

"Lin!" Serenity exclaimed. She changed into a bird and flew above the chaos, landing in front of Lin in her elven form again and hugging her cheerfully. "It's good to see you again! How have you been?" She looked down at Miyuki. "Busy, apparently." She laughed.

Leyenda and Kelirahc stared in shock at Serenity, amazed by what she had done.

Serenity giggled and smiled down at Miyuki. "Hello, Miyuki," she beamed. "You're a very lucky girl, you know. You've got more family than you would ever believe."

Beren was greeting Leyenda and Kelirahc and Amalirahc, and Earendil came over to join Lin and Serenity.

"It's good to see how comfortable you are now, Grandmother," he grinned at Serenity, referring to how easily she had shapeshifted. "Though I suppose it does help that you know Father isn't going to panic anymore."

Serenity laughed. "He has changed a lot in the past few decades. Though I wish the reason for it were different, I am still glad of it."

"We've been doing well," Serenity beamed. "Lots of traveling, visiting the family. We're spread out everywhere now, just about. Just not the Northland, though I'm sure that's just because it's nearly uninhabitable, and the human Southland, for obvious reasons. So we split our time ... somewhat unevenly, I must admit, between all of the various regions."

"Where do you spend most of your time?" Earendil asked curiously.

"The plantation," his grandmother replied with a smile. "It's where I grew up, at least partially, and it is where we were married and where our children were born. It is home more than anywhere else. We don't have anything to do with the business itself anymore, though Beren does help with the work."

"They're doing quite well," Serenity said pleasantly. "Galdor is still content to work the plantation ... I don't know if he'll ever go off and get married, but at least Gion and Nadya don't have to worry about him for descendants. Estel and Lothiriel have done a good enough job that way." She laughed. "Lothiriel as you know has four children, and Amora already has three of her own."

Earendil grinned. "We're definitely going to have to see them when we visit there," he said warmly, looking at Lin.

The afternoon, busy as it was, passed very quickly, and just as everyone was preparing to leave to get ready for dinner, two more people joined them. Rhea instantly threw her arms around Serenity and Beren, squeezing them in a group hug, squealing excitedly, while Aurin, his skin tanned from a summer in the desert, watched curiously.

"Hello, Lin," he said in the common tongue, greeting her while Rhea was busy. "It is good to see you again. How was your trip home?"

"Thank you," the captain smiled warmly back at Lin. "It is easy to learn the language here, where everyone speaks it. On Amon Darthir, or even on the ship, everyone tried to speak in my language so that I would feel comfortable. Here, I cannot choose comfort. It was necessary that I learn at least this language. And so I requested that they only ever speak to me in the common tongue, and so I have been able to learn it quite well."

He turned to watch Rhea. "Who are those people that she is greeting?" he asked curiously. "I know of their names, but ... who are they?"

"Ah, I see," Aurin nodded. "So though they have the same name, they are but acquaintances, rather than relatives."

He smiled. "It seems so carefree here in this land," he murmured. "I cannot help but wish that our people would know the same peace."

"Nauros," Aurin repeated thoughtfully. "That is the island where Kelirahc and Haldia originate from, is it not? Rhea respected that place, and their people, but she tells me that she has learned that she loves her own land above all others. Though her home is a place of battle ... it is a battle worth fighting, and it gives not only her, but everyone there, a strong sense of purpose."

It was interesting that way. She liked Nauros for its peace, but she felt useless there. Life had to have a point to it, something beyond simply surviving. She had great powers at her fingertips, and she felt guilty when she could not use them for a greater good than herself.