Welcome to Gaia! ::

"I think it was a wonderful place to grow up," Kelirahc smiled. "But I am still eager to see your lands."

When they arrived outside, Aurin was already waiting for them, though Skyel was nowhere in sight. He smiled warmly at the group, and bowed low as they approached.

"Welcome," he said warmly. "I trust you enjoyed your meal. Are you ready to see the city?"

"Wait, what about Kaito and Shiro?" Earendil asked, remembering suddenly that Kaito had said something about wanting to go with them.

Arin smiled and pointed back into the castle. "It seems he is just arriving," he replied.

Sure enough, Kaito was wandering out of the castle at a leisurely pace, his wings wrapped about his shoulders to keep him warm, his hands in his pockets.

Kaito grinned and waved back at Lin. "Nice to see you all waited for me," he winked, "especially as I waited for you to come!"

Earendil grinned at his cousin. "We could never leave without you," he assured him. He turned to Aurin and nodded. "Now we're all here," he said warmly.

The captain bowed his head again. "Then please, follow me," he murmured; and he turned in the direction of the city, away from the castle, and began to walk.

"Busy enough," Kaito grinned back at Lin. "The palace here has so many more fun areas than Ninako's does, there's all kinds of passages ... can't use them, though, there's always too many guards around. Understandable, seeing as they're at war and all, but still."

Still, he was determined to find his way into and through at least one of those passages, and soon!

"And how's life on board ship?" he asked a moment later. "And how is Haldia doing? And Storm and Starr?"

"Can't blame her, really," Kaito mused. "I mean ... I've been down to the dungeon, I know what the gnomes are like ... at least, I know what they're like down there. I couldn't stand five minutes with them, I can't imagine what an entirely night must have been like!"

He shuddered slightly. "I really feel sorry for Haldia ... but I think, if she were to visit the land before the castle, or even just be treated as a guest in the castle rather than a stranger ... it might help."

He paused. "As for Storm and Starr ... they always used to be adventurous, before they changed. And they've been getting better since Nauros - whatever happened there, I'm glad for it, because they were both getting pretty bad for a while. But I think they would like the island, and I'm sure they would like the Sky Elves - if only because Storm especially likes fire magic, and that's really the basis of their lives here."

Without it, from what he understood, they would likely all be dead. It was their greatest advantage over the gnomes, greater even than their friendship with the rocs.

"To be fair," Kaito pointed out, "Grandma's never really liked them practicing without supervision, and Kaa-san's always so busy now. Hana and Garrick get into everything if you don't keep an eye on them!"

And Kara of course had the twins now, and Storm and Starr were too old for school ... so really they didn't have anywhere to use their magic, and, in Kaito's opinion, their talents were going to waste.

"I just wish there were something for them to do," he murmured wistfully. "I mean ... it's the one thing they love above anything else ... and they've been forbidden to practice their magic almost their whole lives ..."

"Yeah, I've heard of him," Kaito nodded. "Wasn't he the one that kept getting picked on by that naga? The one that scared Serenity? I think Storm's met him, actually ... I think they got along quite well, that's an idea ..."

He paused thoughtfully. "I only wonder ... they would need an end to their studying, a point to it I mean ... something to do with it when they finish."

"Like ojii-san," Kaito nodded, "except that they might actually use it."

He grinned. He knew Donovan was quite capable of using runes - was very good at it in fact - but he had never seen them used by him, only heard stories from his mother.

"Though that really doesn't use the magic they were born with," he added.