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Earendil smiled. "Well, I leave all of that to you," he murmured, "since I have no idea what meditation is all about. To be honest I've never heard of it before, or at least never had it explained beyond, 'it's a good way to start learning about magic'."

So he wouldn't interfere, but allow Lin to take charge of Miyuki's training.

"I am curious though," he added, "are you going to be teaching her weaponry yourself?"

He was wondering if there were some part of her education that he could help with. He had trained future members of the Home Guard before, perhaps he would be able to help train Miyuki a bit. He wanted to be part of that part of her life as well. Not just the father she was excited to see at the end of the day.

Earendil pursed his lips thoughtfully. "Well, you know that I used to train the Home Guard ... we started with three basic types of training: hand, staff, and blade. If ... if you like, I could ... could help with her ..."

He had no idea why he was feeling awkward about this, perhaps because he was asking to make himself an even bigger part of Miyuki's life.

Earendil smiled, then reached out and took Lin's hand, squeezing it gently. "I would be more than happy to help her," he told her softly. He raised her hand to his mouth and kissed it lightly, then smiled again. "But we should be getting back, then, so that she doesn't sleep too long. Otherwise, she really won't sleep tonight."

"I'll call Skyel," Aurin offered, rising and heading to the edge of the plateau.

"Oh, I'm sure she will be," Earendil chuckled as he started to pack up the food again. "She seems to be thrilled with everything. Especially if it's new."

And yes, Miyuki was fond of him, he knew, and that just made it even more exciting for her.

Earendil glanced down at the sleeping Miyuki, and realized very quickly Lin's reasoning. "Sure," he nodded. "Thanks."

He scooted over to Miyuki and picked her up gently, holding her in his arms like an infant. He was careful not to wake her, though he was certain she would wake up once they strapped her onto Skyel's back.

"Ah, and there's a flask of malek," he called back to Lin. "I'll need that before we leave again."

"Ah ..."

Earendil thought about it for a moment. "Could. We could tie it on, too." He looked down at Miyuki, then back at Lin. "I might have to drink it after she's strapped in, if you don't mind holding it for a bit."

There was a sudden rush of wind as the great roc returned, flapping her wings as she landed on the edge of the plateau and lowered her head for a quick pat from Aurin.

"Whenever you're ready," the captain called back to the others as he began to check over the straps.

Earendil held Miyuki to himself as he started over to them. "We're going to have to wake her up for this, aren't we?" he asked with a faint smile.

"Don't you worry about her," Aurin grinned at Earendil. "She's young. She'll be fine."

He finished checking the straps, then climbed up atop the enormous bird. "Here, pass her to me," he called down to Earendil. "I'll harness her in while you're taking your malek."

"Thanks," Earendil called back, holding Miyuki up to the captain.

"Come on, Miyuki," Aurin grinned at the girl as he set her in her place. "Time to wake up so we can get back home again."