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Haldia nodded, then reached for the spear. "Here." She tipped it down, then slid the fish off the end. Its gills were still moving, so it was still alive even if it wasn't really breathing, but besides that it was motionless. She stepped out of the river and picked a large leaf from a fern and set it on the leaf on the ground to keep it clean, then headed back over to Miyuki. "Now we go again," she smiled. "We need to catch enough to feed everyone - so we will need many more."

Amalirahc was still out in the middle of the river. He was still waiting for the right opportunity to catch a fish. There were more fish around him than around Miyuki, but he was using his hands, so he had the more difficult challenge, and he didn't want to go for a fish unless he was sure he would get it.

At the moment, he had his hands in the water, and he was bent forward so that his hands were positioned in front of him, deep in the water, where the fish were swimming. If one would swim close enough to him, he would simply be able to grab it ...

Earendil looked at the fish Haldia had set next to him and Lin. It was a decent sized one, and he was doubly impressed. Miyuki, he was certain, would be able to do just about anything she put her mind to - and do it well.

"I wonder if Haldia would come back with us again," he mused aloud to Lin. "Rhea did ask us to ask her ..."

By the end of the afternoon, the children and Haldia had caught a dozen fish between the three of them, more than enough for a meal for the eight of them. Haldia disappeared for a while to get the cooking tools from the village, but she was back soon, and she engaged the children in helping her skin, fillet and de-bone the fish, and then collect lemons and oranges while she prepared a fire to cook it all over.

Celeb squatted next to her, watching her curiously, while Leyenda and Kelirahc and Lin and Earendil continued to spend time together.

While Haldia was cooking, there was suddenly a rustle in the foliage behind them. They all turned to look and see what it was, but only Haldia seemed truly unconcerned. If anything, she seemed annoyed.

As she looked over her shoulder, a wolf appeared. It was exactly like a wolf of the Four Lands, and Earendil scrambled to his feet, cursing himself for not bringing a weapon with him. All he had was the small knife he kept in his belt.

"Earendil," Haldia called to him. "Calm yourself. It is all right."

"Wolf," Earendil replied, standing down, though he was still tense. "A wolf," he repeated in English so that she would understand.

Haldia straightened and faced the wolf. "A spirit," she added, her tone annoyed.

A moment after the wolf appeared, a tall black-skinned elf appeared next to it, and it vanished into a shower of blue sparkles. It was a young man, a Night Elf. His white hair fell to his shoulders, and part of it was pulled back into a ponytail. He looked around at everyone, then looked back at Haldia.

"I wondered where you had gone," he quipped to Haldia.

"So you lowered yourself to tracking me with your spirit?" she retorted. "That is low, even for you, Cald."

Kelirahc squeezed Leyenda's shoulder, then stood and joined them. "Cald," he greeted the other man. "I see you have not changed in my time away."

"Kelirahc," Cald replied smoothly. "I see your time away has been kind to you." He looked around at the others, and his gaze stopped and rested on the children. "Ah, new faces," he smiled.

Earendil didn't quite remember this guy from their first visit, but he had a feeling he was already getting a feel for the man - and he wasn't entirely sure that he liked what he was getting. He walked over to Miyuki and put one hand on each of her shoulders protectively.

"Our daughter, Miyuki," he told the man.

"And I'm Amalirahc!" Amalirahc announced, folding his arms across his chest and looking up at the man, almost as if he were challenging him. "Don't scare my friends!"

Cald blinked. "What? Scare?" He looked at Miyuki, and his face softened. "I am sorry, I did not mean ..."

"Cald," Haldia interrupted, "please. I am making dinner for them, I will speak to you later if you wish."

Cald's eyes lit up at the mention of dinner. "Oh, you are preparing dinner?" he asked eagerly. "Can I stay?"

He reached for the fish, but Haldia slapped his hand away. "No, you cannot," she scolded him, chuckling. "They arrived only this morning, this is a special meal for them. Now go on, your sister will feed you."

"Tease." Cald was about to turn to leave when suddenly he spotted Celeb standing behind Amalirahc. "Wait a second ... you ..."

Celeb stared back at the man. "Yes?"

"I don't think so," Celeb replied. "I mean, I saw him around the last time we were here, but ..."

He hadn't spent much time in the village at all. Arwen and Roydon had kept him at the beach for most of their previous visit.

Cald shook his head. "No, nothing. Excuse me. I will leave you to your meal." And with that, he slipped back into the jungle and was quickly out of sight.

There was a sizzle from where the fish were frying, and Haldia muttered under her breath and turned to tend to it.

Earendil knelt next to Miyuki and stroked her head softly. "You all right?" he asked her quietly in English. "He didn't scare you too badly, did he?"

"A good question," Celeb put in before Earendil could answer. He looked at Haldia seriously. "He did seem to get under your skin before he even showed his face."

Haldia didn't look up from the fish. "Of the men who have been leaving me gifts," she replied, "he has been the most aggressive in his attentions."

"Aggressive?" Celeb repeated, his tone suddenly cold.

Haldia looked up at him. "In his attentions. Not physically. He just tries to get me to spend time with him, that is all."

She turned her attention back to the fish. "Now it's just about ready, sit down so that you can eat."

Earendil looked over at Lin, then ushered Miyuki to where the two of them had been sitting so that they could all eat together.