Welcome to Gaia! ::

Artemis's smile grew wider when he saw that the three of them were heading towards him, and he waited patiently for them to reach him.

Earendil chuckled at Lin's comment and nodded, following slowly after Miyuki, one arm around Lin's shoulders. "Indeed," he grinned. "She seems to really like soft or beautiful things ... and you and I know that Artemis's work is both of those things."

"Hello, Miyuki!" Artemis replied, equally brightly. "I saw the parade, all right! I made sure I was set up bright and early so that I wouldn't miss it! I saw you in it, too! One of the scholars of the country, eh?"

He chuckled softly. "You all looked like you were having such fun. In a way I wish I could have been part of it, but it was fun to watch it too, I couldn't have done that if I were in it."


Earendil could only agree with Lin. Miyuki was a very touchy-feely sort of person, had always been so. Not that it was a bad thing; not at all. It was just the way she was.

"What do you think she might end up doing when she grows up?" he asked Lin curiously. "She's not nearly as interested in learning about things as you were when you were young. You had to know everything ... she doesn't have nearly the curiosity."

Artemis grinned and motioned towards one side of the booth. "Here, I tried some new designs for clothes, I based them off of the clothes that I see you and your family and friends wear - and some new purses, this time I burned some designs into them ..."

There were shelves of the new products, soft as velvet but with all of its leathery strength.

Earendil tilted his head slightly at Lin. "You know, I hadn't thought of that," he admitted. "I guess everything you had to ask about, she's experiencing."

Artemis picked out a purse with a design on it that looked just like Kelirahc and Leyenda's spirit dragons and held it out to show Miyuki.

"First, I draw the design I want very lightly on the leather," he explained. "Then I use a piece of fire-hot metal to sear the image into the leather itself. It's like a scar, only pretty."

Indeed, it looked like the black designs had been dug out of the thick, soft leather.

Earendil chuckled. "Maybe when we get back home, we should have Mother teach her," he grinned. "She's a wonderful player, and I'm sure she would be happy to teach her. And it would be a great opportunity for Miyuki to get to know her other grandmother."

Artemis smiled and put the purse back on the shelf. "It's not as difficult as it sounds," he promised her. "For that matter, I don't even have to design it myself. My mother's a far better artist than I am, some of these designs are hers. As long as I have a steady hand to go over the design, it's guaranteed to turn out well."

Earendil squeezed Lin's shoulders. "Come now, after all this time out here, would a week make that much of a difference before you head home, or before we take Luk to the Borderlands?"

He smiled down at her. "Though if you really are eager to return to your home, I could always try to convince Mother to come with to the Borderlands. She might even be able to convince Father to come along."

Artemis smiled brightly at Lin. "Good morning," he replied brightly. "Lin, Earendil-sola. It is wonderful to see you both again! Especially on such a beautiful occasion!"

Earendil smiled back at the boy. "It is indeed a celebratory day. You're looking forward to it?"

"Very much!" Artemis replied, completely unfazed by Earendil's hesitance. "I couldn't be happier!"

"Thank you, Lin," Artemis said warmly. "I have you and your friends to thank for all of it, you've given me a great many new ideas for my work. I just hope that the people here like it as much as you do."

He was hoping to sell most of his stock that day - hoping that the people of the island would be interested in the foreign designs.

Artemis shrugged one shoulder. "I'm not sure, to be honest," he admitted. "I told them to just spend the day together, I haven't seen them together since ... as long as I can remember, not like this."

He paused, then, with a smile, he added, "But knowing them they'll try to come back and take over for me, at least for a while."