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"Not all grownups," Amalirahc argued. "Ada says that in his country, there is no reading or writing! None at all! And they get along just fine, he says."

Perhaps it had been a mistake to tell the boy that bit of information: since Kelirahc had done so, the boy had insisted that he didn't need to learn to read or write any better than he currently knew how.

"Well ... yes," Amalirahc conceded, "but if we go to different places, they'll just have different languages and different letters, so even if I know ours, it won't do me any good! See? Pointless."

He focused his attention downwards as they headed towards the ship. "They've already set sail," he commented, his tone disappointed.

He was right, and they would be landing on an already moving ship.

"Yes," Amalirahc pouted. "I wanted to see more of how it's done, help out if they would let me. But now we won't stop until we reach Nauros, and we won't set sail again until after our visit there."

They set down, and Leyenda was there waiting for them. She caught Amalirahc when he hopped off the dragon's back, hugging him before she set him down on the deck.

"All aboard," she grinned, holding one hand up to Kelirahc as well.

Earendil slid down and held his hands up to help Lin and Miyuki. "Did Kaito end up making up his mind?" he asked. The neko had been indecisive about whether or not he was going to come - while he liked the island's tropical climate, he also knew he should probably continue to record the progress in Amon Darthir.

"He stayed," Leyenda answered. "But he made me promise to tell him all about it when we return again."

In the blink of an eye, the dragon was gone, and Amalirahc reached over and poked Miyuki's arm to get her attention.

"Want to come watch the crew with me?" he asked her with a grin.

Before Miyuki could answer, Earendil intervened. "She needs to unpack her things in her quarters," he said firmly. "And she needs breakfast. Perhaps then, but not yet."

Earendil blinked in reply, then turned to Leyenda. "Do you know ...?"

Leyenda cleared her throat a bit awkwardly. "Well ... there's a bit of a space problem, what with all the extra crew from Amon Darthir," she admitted reluctantly. "I know how sensitive you are to the rules of society, Earendil, but ... the only room left free is yours."

She looked over to Lin. "It's got three bunks, so you wouldn't be sharing a bed, but ... would it be all right if you shared the room?" she asked hesitantly. "If not, then Earendil can bunk with Kelirahc and I'll share with you, Lin ..."

Though she really would rather stay with her husband.

Leyenda turned to Earendil. "Earendil?" she asked him softly.

He nodded. "I'm sure it won't be a problem," he replied. "Thank you for your concern."

Leyenda smiled and headed off with her family, and Earendil turned to Lin and Miyuki. "Shall we take our things below, then?" he asked them with a warm smile.

Earendil chuckled softly and put one arm around Lin's shoulders. "As we said earlier," he grinned. "That can hardly surprise us."

He looked thoughtful for a moment, then added, "I'll leave the desk to her, for all her lessons and such. I won't be doing a whole lot of work, I can find somewhere else to do it."

"I've already done the mapping," Earendil reminded her, "so I really won't have any need for the desk except personal stuff ... which I really don't have any."

He chuckled. "It's not like a letter home would make it before we do, anyways."