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Kaito nudged Lin forward. "You might want to go rescue Senka," he said nervously.

In the other room, the two children were still eying each other warily, but it was the boy who was looking more nervous than ever. "Why'd you have to go do that for," he muttered, looking torn between running away and standing his ground.

Leyenda used one finger to stroke the top of Senka's head. "Sorry," she apologized to the cat; and then she stuck her tongue out at the boy. "I warned you!"

And then Arwen was in the doorway, looking rather annoyed. "Would the two of you like to explain what's going on?" she asked them folding her arms across her chest.

Arwen eyed the cat for a moment, but then she looked back at the two children. "Well?"

The boy pointed at Leyenda. "She took my whip! I had to chase her all around the city and she still won't give it back! I just got it today, my dad will kill me if I lose it already!"

Arwen sighed. "Leyenda ..."

"He was using it on me!" Leyenda protested. "I took it away so that he would stop hitting me with it!" She held out her other arm, the one that had so far been hidden. She was holding the whip in question with that hand, and sure enough, there were welts all down her arm, as if she had used that arm to protect herself. "See?"

And suddenly there was a fire in Arwen's eyes. She turned to the boy, and now her entire demeanor changed. "What have you to say now?" she asked him through clenched teeth.

Leyenda was a little startled to see Lin, but she held Senka a bit more firmly as she was told to.

The boy looked positively terrified of Arwen. "Please, Lady Arwen," he begged, "can I have it just so I can take it home? I promise I won't use it like that again-"

"I think not," Arwen said angrily. She reached out and took the boy by the ear. He cried out, his face twisting in pain, but she didn't relent. She pulled him by the ear down the hall and towards the door again. "If you want it back," she told him, "you have your father come and pick it up for you. And if I ever catch you using it on my daughter again I'll use it on you myself!"

She pushed him roughly out the door, then closed the door and leaned against it tiredly. She smiled faintly at her guests. "I apologize," she murmured. "Brian has been playing with Leyenda since they were old enough to walk ... but lately he's been nothing but trouble."

"The two of them have always gotten into trouble together, though I admit not usually as bad as today," Arwen nodded. "Leyenda, come here." She nodded towards the other guests. "Go on and sit down, I just have to take care of Leyenda's arm and I'll be right with you. I'm so sorry about this, it's not always like this here, I promise."

"It's all right," Tinuviel assured her cousin as she set Regan on the floor and sat in a chair. "Things happen, especially with children. I used to be quite the troublemaker myself."

Arwen laughed softly. "Yes, didn't you run away to visit Grandmother when you were Leyenda's age?"

"Daeron took me, it wasn't running away," Tinuviel giggled.

Meanwhile in the other room, Leyenda held Senka out to Lin. "She's awful cute," she smiled at Lin. "What is she?" She motioned for Lin to follow her to the room where everyone else was.

Leyenda frowned. "I thought cats didn't have wings," she commented; and then she shrugged. "Well, I've never seen one before, so I guess I wouldn't know."

She stopped short when she got to the sitting room, and she broke into a wide grin. "Hey! I saw all of you outside," she beamed. "I'm Leyenda! Who are you?"

As Tinuviel introduced everyone there, including Lin and Senka, Arwen got Leyenda to sit on the floor and began to tend to her injuries. As it turned out, Leyenda was as chatty as Arwen had used to be, and as curious as Lin. She asked question after question about where they had all come from, why they had come to visit, what exactly their relationship to her was, and how in Arda did Kaito end up the way he did?

Kaito just laughed at the question. "Born this way," he grinned. He explained what he was and what it meant, and told her about Shiro and Ura, who had stayed back at the plantation.

Once those questions were all dealt with, Leyenda turned to Lin. "How did you end up here?" she asked. "I've never seen humans in our city before. Did you come for trading?"

"Ah, I see," Leyenda smiled.

Just then, Arwen finished bandaging up Leyenda's arm. "Why don't you go find your father," she smiled at her daughter, "and tell him that we have guests. Don't be too long about it, all right? We don't want to keep everyone waiting."

Leyenda grinned. "I'll be fast!" she promised; and then she was out the door.

As soon as the door was closed, Arwen laughed and moved to sit in one of the remaining chairs. "Ah, that Leyenda," she smiled. "Ten years old, and more of a handful than any other child I know ... with the possible exception of Brian. Sometimes it makes me wonder why we tried for a second child, but there you have it."

Tinuviel tilted her head slightly. "You're expecting again?"

Arwen pursed her lips. "I think so, but I'm not sure yet," she replied finally. "I hope so." She smiled. "It will do Leyenda good not to be the only child."

Arwen laughed at that observation. "Well, it had to have come from somewhere," she grinned. "Though Valar know, neither of my parents were like that when they were young, so who knows where I got it from?"

She stood again and brushed her hands together. "Can I get you anything to drink?" she asked them warmly. "How long have you been in the city?"