Welcome to Gaia! ::

"Yeah, we can do that," Andarien agreed. He looked around for the Pokemon in question and spotted him just a little bit behind him with Eon and the rest of his family. He grinned and tossed Zeus a bit of his meat, and Zeus gulped it down happily.

Shiro chuckled softly, and then he added, "Besides, now that I can charge my tablet whenever I need, I could get some work done on there as well."

At that, Kaito rolled his eyes. "You work too much," he muttered.

Shiro chuckled sheepishly. "You'll probably think I'm nuts ..."

"That's a given," Kaito quipped without looking at his brother.

Ignoring him, Shiro went on. "I've approximated the size of this planet and now measuring the distances we're traveling to see the exact size of the land mass, since Kyrie's maps aren't entirely accurately to scale."

He shrugged. "Maybe we can make a guess at how big the oceans are, and whether or not there's a possibility of there being other lands that even the Caras Galadhonians don't know about. They didn't really know about Nauros, after all. And aside from that, I'm checking to see how their seasons match up with ours, even though they classify six different seasons and we only have four."

"In a way," Kaito pointed out, "but don't forget that they knew about the island, they just didn't know there were people on there because the Night Elves are active only at night, when the people here weren't watching."

Shiro nodded. "And they have mentioned other lands as well. Even Kyrie asked if we were from Valeria, wherever that is. But this world is much larger than Gaia. And judging from how far away the sun is, it's about as far away as Gaia is from its sun, and the two suns are about the same size. And it seems that both worlds rotate at the same speed, which is why there are so many more hours here, even though an hour here is an hour at home too. I mean, an in-world hour, not when you compare them together."

His brow furrowed, and he looked at Lin anxiously. "Did that come out right?"

Shiro chuckled. "Good."

The meal was delicious, and it helped to put everyone - even Kaito - in a very good mood. Despite the fact that such full bellies made everyone sleepy - even the seemingly endlessly energetic Kyrie - Lancaeriel made sure that she was present when Miyuki tested her homemade Pokeball after the rest of their party had gone to bed for the night.

Days passed, and at length, Kyrie announced that Shiro's wound was well enough healed that it was safe for him to travel again. They would head directly to the town where Duran and his family lived, a trip of half a day's time along the top of the cliff. It was an uneventful journey, and before too long they were surrounded by crops and cattle, with the stone walls of the town just ahead of them.

"It's very much a farming community," Kyrie explained to the group as she led them down a path that led between some fields towards the town's gate, "but they also do quite a bit of mining here. Silver, iron ... there's even a vein of copper a bit further off. it's a small town, only a few hundred people, but even so it's got quite the variety of shops and the like."

"It's prettier once the crops are growing a bit more," Kyrie smiled, looking around. For the most part, the fields had little more than bits of green showing above the ground. "Actually, to be honest, I'm surprised they planted this early. They must have had an early Stirring."

Just then, there was a shout, and ahead of them the brown-skinned, black-haired boy that had shot Shiro ran towards them from the town gate, waving to get their attention.

Kyrie laughed softly. "You could always ask him," she pointed out as the boy ran towards them. "Unlike his father, he does speak the Common Tongue."

Wren looked quizzically at their guide. "That reminds me. His father doesn't ... will the rest of the people in this town speak Common Tongue? Or were we spoiled in the city?"

Kyrie smiled. "Most of the people should speak it. To be honest, I'm surprised that Duran does not. In this country, there are so many people from so many different places. Rather than having discord, Common Tongue is the official language of the country."

She tilted her head slightly. "Unfortunately for most of you, that is not the case in any other country, though you may find some people here and there who can speak it."

"It would be best if we stay close together when we can," Kyrie agreed, "though if we do become separated, it's good to remember that even when you cannot speak the same language as those around you, actions can speak louder and more clearly than words. Actions, gestures ... body language, facial expressions ... they can get your point across at the very least."

She paused, then added, "And of course as we travel through the lands I can teach you a few key phrases, just in case. I doubt we will be in any country long enough to learn a language completely, but ... a few words shouldn't be a problem."

Though even as she said it, a wistful expression crossed her face without her realizing it.

"Shiezin," Kyrie replied quietly, her eyes growing soft. "It would be nice to spend some extra time with my husband again."

Earendil was suddenly taken by a fit of coughing, which was him covering up his shock. She was married? And spent her life traveling?!