Welcome to Gaia! ::

"Pretty much," Serah nodded. "We've not been all the way up north, but thet's far away, even for us. Too cold up there, even in the summer it's not very nice ... so Da says. What about ye? Ye been traveling long?"

Levi chuckled. "I think people jes' like telling stories," he grinned. "Making things more int'restin'. 'Sides, it gives them another reason te hate us. If thet's the way they wan' te be, I say let 'em. It don' change anething for us, so there's nae point in gettin' worked up o'er it."

"Sailing?" Serah was interested in hearing more about that. "What kind of places did ye see when you sailed? How far away did ye have te go? Are there other kinds of people out there?"

"I'd say impossible," Levi chuckled. "But I like I said, I jes' don' let it bother me."

He glanced at Lin's wings, then looked back at her properly. "So ye ne'er did get the chance te tell me," he said. "What be ye? Since it's clear ye be nae human."

"Nauros a'most sounds like the elven Southlend," Serah giggled, "except thet there's months o' rain. I don' think the elven Southlend ever gets rain. Thet's why there's nae plants 'cept near the rivers."

She thought for a moment. "Still ... a lend where there be humans en' elves together ... thet'd be a sight te see."

"Ah," Levi smiled. "And like Kaito, ye be'en't from our world then, be ye? 'En Shiro, I wager? Sin' 'e be like Kaito, leastways sommat."

"Don' be silly," Serah laughed. "There be no such thing as part humans! It's impossible."

Of course, she didn't realize what Luk and Arthael were. She'd just been raised knowing the prejudices of the world that she lived in.

Levi chuckled. "Clearly not identical," he winked. "Nae, I have te admit, it's a surprise te me te know thet they be brothers 'tall, let 'lone twins." He took a moment to look at the two nekos. "They don' even have the same kind o' wings."

"Luk?" Serah blinked, taken completely by surprise, and she looked around at the others, trying to figure out which one it might be. "Which one is Luk?"

There were several people she could have guessed, because they were so different - but if she hadn't noticed yet, then the different must not be noticeable, right?

Levi shrugged one shoulder. "Aye, 'tis true enough," he agreed. "And what be their parents like? Or - wait a moment, I remember now ... they be adopted, be'en't they?"

It was a fact he'd learned on their first meeting, and since forgotten.

Serah looked at Luk intently. She couldn't see him overly well, considering that it was very dark outside by now and Luk wasn't sitting by the fire with the others, as well as the fact that she, being human, did not have elven eyesight.

"He ... looks normal," she admitted, her dark eyes confused.

Levi nodded, and his expression was thoughtful. For the nekos to be so different meant that their parents would have had to be very different ... and that was such a strange thought to him ... though not necessarily an unwelcome one.

"Yer world must be very diff'rent fro' ours," he said solemnly.

Serah wasn't entirely sure how to explain herself. "Well he - he - he don' look like'n elf!" she said finally. "He jes' looks human! Jes' - jes' like a normal human! I mean his ears ain't pointy or ... anythin'!"

Levi smiled at Lin. "Aye, well ... it takes them thet be diff'rent te'ccept them thet be diff'rent. Fer us, the on'y thing thet makes us diff'rent then the rest is thet we travel ... but thet's enough fer them."

He slapped his knee suddenly and rose to his feet. "T'any rate," he announced, "s'time we were gettin' back. Come, Serah, yer ma'll be fer ye. We best not let 'er cookin' get te wastin'."

"Comin', Da," Serah called back, scrambling to her feet. She smiled at Miyuki and River. "We'll meet again someday!" she promised them as she scampered off to join her father.

The following day, they returned to the city to get Miyuki fitted for her clothes, and Luk and Emile set about getting supplies for the group. From time to time they got a visit from Levi and Serah, though the attitudes of the people inside the city didn't change a bit.

It took five days, but Miyuki got a full new wardrobe, Andarien got some new clothes and a few different slings (just in case he grew, one never knew with Gaian children after all), and they got several weeks' worth of supplies. They had some trouble fitting all of it into the wagons, but since they had slings for the babies now, it wasn't a big deal.

At last they were off, leaving the unwelcoming city behind them.