Welcome to Gaia! ::

"It's not?" Shoneah blinked in surprise. While Eron might be familiar with the idea, it was completely new to her - or rather, it had been, before she had come through one of those tears.

Earendil chuckled softly, unable to help himself. "Lin's grandfather ended up here quite a long time ago, and my aunt also somehow ended up in Gaia," he explained. "So the idea isn't new to us."

Shoneah nodded. "Well, at any rate, we ended up here ... well, in Wolsic, anyways, and that was about a month ago. We just want to get home, and Kyrie says our best bet is to go with all of you."

"Month?" Shiro asked. "Solar month?"

Shoneah nodded, and Shiro smiled. "Ah. Well, Kyrie is probably right. We do intend to return to Gaia, at least those of us who are from there. But it will be quite a while before we do so."

"I explained to them about your journey," Kyrie spoke up. "They know it could be quite a while." She looked back at Shoneah and Eron. "That being said, I also told them that their only other option would be to go to Caras Galadhon, which was their destination before they came here, and wait for you."

"So regardless we're stuck here and can't get home without you," Shoneah shrugged.

Wren grinned from where she was still sitting by the fire. "Well, I say the more, the merrier."

Shoneah's heart skipped a beat and her muscles tensed.

"Really?" she breathed softly.

Shiro grinned. "A year here typically seems to be two weeks or so back home. We've spent probably ... what, ten years in this world? Maybe more? Yet my youngest siblings, whom I've known for probably almost all of those ten years, plus time spent at home, are only about five years old. It's brain-bending, I know, but your family won't miss you for as long as you'll miss them."

Shoneah nodded slowly. She didn't know if that was a comforting thought or not. For her, no. On behalf of her family, yes.

She looked at Eron. "What do you think?" she asked him softly. "We have to wait either way, and at least this way we won't be on our own."

Shoneah smiled tiredly. "My people are nomads, I'm used to this kind of life. Before I ended up here, I was training to become my tribe's next Grandmaster. I was in charge of training my little brother, Tokala."

She turned her body slightly one way, then the other, showing the group her sword and pistols. "My life is the life of a warrior and tracker," she shrugged.

Andarien was intrigued by the metalwork on the pistols, and when he looked closer he also noticed the goggles around Shoneah's neck. His curiosity was aroused, but for the moment he kept to himself.

Shoneah didn't understand most of what Miyuki was talking about, but she did understand the last comment about another tent and immediately she held up two fingers.

"Two tents," she said. "Separate."

"We don't need new tents," Shiro spoke up again. "Eron can join Andarien."

"And Shoneah is welcome to join us, I'm sure, Miyuki," Wren added.

Shoneah frowned slightly. "You're sure the tents are big enough for so many people?" she asked doubtfully, looking at the rather small structures.

Shoneah looked doubtful, but she didn't say anything. She simply shifted her bag on her shoulder.

"Well, I think it's official that you're welcome to join us," Lancaeriel said warmly, stepping forward. "Come. You both look exhausted. Take a seat, let your bags down, and have something warm to eat."

At the mention of hot food, Shoneah's stomach growled, and she did as she was bidden. "Thank you," she murmured.

"Kyrie, you staying too?" Wren asked, looking up again from her cooking.

Kyrie shook her head. "No, I promised Ahkshi I'd see him at home and let him know how this went. Another time." She bid everyone a good day and turned to head back to the city.

Kaede was also sniffing around the bags, and nosed her way into Shoneah's bag, where some delicious smells were coming from.

Shoneah didn't bother pushing the Eevee away. It wasn't as if she had anything in there that the creature could damage, and what food was in there, she wasn't interested in preserving any longer.

"Is there any chance for a bath?" she asked while they waited to be served some lunch. "It's been a few weeks since we've had the chance and I feel ... pretty gross."

Lancaeriel gestured towards the river. "We wash there, usually," she replied. "We set up a barrier for privacy."

Shoneah nodded. Perhaps she would wash as soon as she'd eaten. And then she wanted nothing more than to sleep. She had questions for the people they'd found to travel with, but those could wait.

Andarien's curiosity was getting the better of him, though. Warrior and tracker were things he understood, but he wanted to know about Eron's profession. He set his bow aside and moved to sit next to Eron.

"Hi," he grinned as he sat. "I'm Andarien. Are you too tired to talk or can I ask you some questions?"

Andarien grinned and made himself comfortable.

"You said you're a teacher," he began. "Just what is chemistry? I'm not sure but I think I might have heard the word before, I just can't remember where, or in what context."

He of course was used to using chemicals, and had been doing chemistry for over a year now; but he had never been told the name of it, and called it different things.

Andarien pursed his lips thoughtfully. "Sounds kind of like alchemy to me," he admitted after a moment. "I don't do much like that, I work with metals. If I had some forges of my own I could make a lot more things, but for now I just tinker around with the parts that I have."

His brow furrowed slightly, and he looked intently at Eron. "Do you think I could use chemistry to make things?" he asked. "I mean ... I've got brass and silver and gold and a bit of iron and stuff, and someday I hope to learn to use littinum, but if I can do more with what I've got, then I'd like to learn that, too."