Welcome to Gaia! ::

Jair shaded his eyes with one hand as they entered the brightly lit section of the corridor, squinting into the brightness. "I'm Jair Aldrich Winters," he told the two guards. "And this is my cousin Naida Winters, and that's our cousin Iris Winters." He pointed at the neko that was trapped between them. "We were going to visit some of our friends in the Borderlands, but I think we went through the wrong portal ..."

The guards exchanged a glance. While it was true that the only proof they had was the fact that they had come through the portal, it was powerful proof - because who else could have come from there but someone from Gaia, who was a member of the Winters family?

"We will take you to His Majesty," the first guard decided. "He will confirm it."

Jair shrugged. "Fair enough."

The guards didn't let to of Iris, but held her firmly as they started down the hall with her. Jair followed timidly, taking note of the warmth of the air. Yet there was no humidity ...

"Excuse me," he spoke up, running to walk beside the guards. "Where exactly are we? Who are you taking us to see?"

The guard looked down at him. "To His Majesty, King Estel," he replied.

Jair's brow furrowed with worry. He didn't know that name ... but where could they be then? If this were the Eastland, which was what he suspected, wouldn't it be King Pengolodh? Unless something had happened to him, and there was a new king ...

Of course, it just confirmed in Jair's mind that he had no idea where they were, and so he could only conclude that there must have been a new portal created at some point, one that they didn't know about yet. Maybe it was the Westland, that was one of the only places there wasn't a portal to yet ...

At long last, they reached a tall door, which one of the guards opened so that they could step inside.

"Your Majesty," he said, looking around: but from the look on his face, it was clear that the person he was looking for wasn't in the room. Instead, there was only a woman ...

Jair perked up when he saw who it was. "Seeker?"

Lothiriel was sitting at a large desk, a small child sitting in her lap. She smiled warmly and rose to her feet, moving the child to her hip. "Thank you," she said to the guard. "They are friends. You can leave them here with me."

The guards blinked in surprise, but they released Iris obediently. "Yes, Your Majesty," they both murmured, bowing low. And then they were gone.

Lothiriel smiled and sat down again, setting the child once more in her lap. "Welcome, Jair, Naida and Iris, to the Eastland." She looked down, where she could see Iris's tail, all puffed out and threatening. "Poor girl ... but I cannot fault the guards, they were only doing their duty."

She smiled at Naida and Jair again. "Take a seat," she invited them, nodding at some of the cushy chairs that were scattered around the book-filled room. "I will have some refreshments brought for you. You're going to have to give me news from your home, it has been a very long time since we have seen anyone from your world."

Jair blinked, but he moved obediently to sit in one of the chairs. As soon as the pressure was off his legs, they melded back together into his shimmering tail. "Um ... Lothiriel, did something happen to Pen? The guard said something about a King Estel ... but I thought Pen was the king, and you were queen!"

Lothiriel laughed. "They are one and the same, Jair," she giggled at him. "Estel is his proper name. Like me, he has gone by many names. Pen is just one of them."

Lothiriel smiled at Naida. "When you were brought into the room," she murmured, "Jair called me by the name that I used when I was a child. Seeker. There are many who use multiple names. Sometimes it is for a reason, sometimes it is not."

She smiled down at Iris. "You know, it is quite safe to come out."

"Safe!" piped the little girl in Lothiriel's lap, grinning. "Nako no hurt!"

Lothiriel giggled and put one hand on her granddaughter's head. "No one will hurt anyone here," she murmured.

Lothiriel smiled. "That's all right then," she murmured softly, making sure not to startle the neko. "If she prefers to stay in there, that's quite fine. I'm sure anyone would have been startled to be caught like that, but the men were just doing their job."

The little girl looked up at Lothiriel "Nako," she said softly, "play with her?"

Lothiriel smiled and set the girl on the floor. "Go ahead, but be gentle," she murmured.

The girl giggled and turned to Iris and held out her hands, palm upwards. "Hi!"

The little girl smiled at Iris as she drew closer, and remained still. She had learned from her parents how to act around the animals in the city, and despite the fact that this girl sort of looked human-ish, her actions reminded her of the animals, and so she treated her as such.

"It's okay," she cooed, still holding her hands out to Iris. "You can come out."

Lothiriel smiled warmly as she watched the two. "Sometimes, especially after a scare as she had, it takes a while to trust people," she murmured. "There's no rush."

The girl giggled and rubbed her palm with her other hand. "That tickles!" she squealed, curling up in a ball. She giggled and reached out to poke Iris back. "You tickled me! Silly!"

Lothiriel laughed. "And a more ticklish child I have never seen."