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Earendil coughed, and then he chuckled, and it slowly grew into a full-throated laugh.

"Is it bad that I find that quite funny?" he laughed. "Poor Leyenda ... how is she taking it? Bit self-consciously, I would guess?"

He knew the feeling. How often hadn't he himself been envied? Perhaps not for his spouse (since obviously he wasn't married) but in other regards? It was nice not to be one of those people for once.

Earendil smiled warmly at Lin. "In a way, that does make me feel better," he admitted softly. "Knowing that both of them now have a prize on their arms ... I have to admit, I was also nervous while you were gone. We had no idea what to expect, after all, or where to look for you if something did happen ..."

He glanced around. "And speaking of which, where is Shiro? Did something happen to him?"

"Ah, I see," Earendil smiled. "Then he's going to have to fill me in on all of it once he's finished. But in the meantime - obviously there's no time to set out today, but tomorrow I'm going to start charting out the rest of the island. Did you want to come with me? I'm also hoping to ask Leyenda and Kelirahc to come as guides, though I'm not sure if they would prefer simply to have some time alone while they're getting to know each other."

He paused for a moment, and then added, "I don't know how often I'll be coming back to the beach while I'm working, I might not come back for days at a time, just to warn you ahead of time."

Earendil smiled widely, happy that Lin had agreed to go with him.

"Then we should get some food packed today so that we can leave at first light," he grinned. "And ask Leyenda and Kelirahc if they would like to come, what do you think?"

He stretched a bit. "And you're going to have to tell me all about everything you did at the village," he added. "Since I don't know when I'll have a chance to go there." He winked at her.

"More than just who's going to stay where?" Earendil asked, slightly puzzled. "Didn't Kelirahc already say that he was willing to come along with us when we leave?"

Didn't that make everything simple? Or was there more to this than he knew?

"Lead the village?" Earendil was surprised, but he laughed. "Well now, if that doesn't beat all. It seems our family does like to get themselves into the most interesting situations."

He chuckled. "The irony of it is, Arwen technically should have been the heir to Ninako's throne, rather than Tinuviel. Tinuviel may be older, but Arwen is the eldest daughter of the eldest son."

He paused. "Actually ... I guess that would go to Hana now," he admitted. "Or Aunt Elnara, really. Point being, our family has a habit of abdicating power, despite one of our members always remaining on the throne. If Leyenda chooses to continue with us, she'll be continuing the trend."

He pursed his lips thoughtfully. "Though I thought Shiro said something about the village having elders ... was that just while they were waiting for him to grow up? Or will he lead the elders? Or just be an elder?"

Earendil nodded. "I see. Still, it sounds as if he is quite an important man in the village ... whether he is elder or leader or not. It's not going to be an easy choice for Leyenda. I just hope that she and Kelirahc can eventually discuss it and come to a decision together. If they leave, they might not be able to come back ... but if they stay, Leyenda may never see her home or family again. It's going to be hard either way."

Earendil blinked at Lin, a little surprised by her question. "Epic?" he repeated. "What do you mean by that? I mean ... this trip is perhaps epic in its proportions, but ... life goes on as it always has, with little adventures on the way ..."

But of course he had nothing to do with the Borderlands or the other places that Lin so often visited, so to him, life was just ... life.