Welcome to Gaia! ::

The little boy looked stunned, and the entire group stopped as even more children gathered round, eager to see the strange newcomers.

"So there's more of you, then?" the first boy asked, amazed.

Earendil chuckled. "A great many more of us, more than a nation."

"Are you important there?" a little girl asked, a little younger than the boy. "If Lady Alena is with you, you must be!"

"Well," he smiled at her, kneeling down to be closer to her height, "I am a prince."

A soft murmur spread among the children, and after a while one of them called out, "What's a prince?"

Alena stepped forward and smiled warmly. "Yes, sola is the term," she affirmed. "Now, from my understanding, Earendil-sola is ... ninth? Tenth sola?"

Earendil blinked at Alena. "You mean, my position in line?" When she nodded, he thought about it. "Well ... to be completely honest ... I don't know. When I think about how many children my oldest aunt has ..."

"But they've renounced their claim," Rhea pointed out, "so you don't count them at all."

"True enough," Earendil realized. "Well, then ... tenth, I suppose."

A murmur rippled among the children once more. "Tenth sola?" the whisper went. "There can be that many?"

Some of the children turned to Lin. "Does that mean you're a sol?" one of them asked, tugging on her hand.

Another was behind her, poking at her wings. "Are they real?" she asked eagerly.

Yet another was gazing up at her in wonder. "Are you one of the Maiar?"

The children looked confused. "What's an angel?" one of the smaller ones asked.

Alena giggled and patted the little girl on the head. "From what I understand ... basically the equivalent of one of the Maiar."

Earendil laughed. "So much for not confusing them."

"Lin, how much do you really know about the Maiar?" Earendil asked her with a smile. "They're like any regular person, save that they have wings, and they can use magic. They are not like the Valar, and really, in our world, they are the nearest reference we have. Except they're winged elves, not humans."

Alena smiled and shooed the children away. "Off you go, don't crowd them," she laughed. "Come on now, you're going to scare them off!"

The children raised their voices in protest. "No!" "Come on!" "Do we have to?" "Please can we stay?"

Aurin was standing at attention, watching the situation and trying not to laugh.

Earendil smiled softly and put one hand on Lin's head. "Don't mistake the Maiar and the Valar for the same thing," he murmured reassuringly. "If they believe you are one of the Valar, they will bow to you, even worship you. But the Maiar are hardly different from an everyday person, save that they have wings and only a little more magical power. Until now, people have mistaken you for a Vala. If you tell them you are similar to a Maia instead, you will not be treated awkwardly. I promise."

"He's right," Rhea put in. "When we came here, I told them that I have Vala blood in me, which is the truth. They assumed that it would be the same with you, that was why they treated you the same as me."

She giggled. "Besides, it's not as if Kelirahc's got it any easier."

She pointed to where Kelirahc and Leyenda were fending off yet another horde of curious children, trying to answer their questions. Poor Kelirahc looked completely lost - understandable, since he didn't know the language and really had no idea what was going on.

Seeing how the children were swarming around them now, Alena clapped her hands together loudly to get their attention.

"Children," she said firmly, "that is enough. Do not crowd us. Give us space, please, our time is limited."

The children murmured softly, but they stepped back obediently. "Yes, Lady Alena," came the chorused reply.

As they started off again, Kelirahc looked at Leyenda, completely perplexed. "What was that all about?" he asked, clueless.

Leyenda giggled and put one finger to his lips. "I told you," she grinned at him. "You're just going to have to learn the language."

"What strikes me is that they're so open with their questions," Earendil commented as Alena led them forward once more. "And how they get so close ..."

He was still trying to flatten his tunic again where the children had been tugging at it.

"Wish they'd keep their hands to themselves," Kaito muttered, ruffling his wings to get his feathers back into place. Obviously he hadn't been spared the attention either.