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Earendil chuckled and poked her on the forehead. "Right. The others are all awake already, so as soon as you're ready we're off. Arwen's already stuffed our bags with food. We're going to start around the coast first, so that I can get the general shape of the island - at least partway."

He didn't want them to be gone too long from the camp after all.

"Oh," he added as an afterthought, "we also have an extra person coming with us."

He pointed over his shoulder to where Leyenda and Kelirahc were getting ready - with Celeb clinging to both of them at the same time.

Earendil smiled. "When he found out that they were going to be leaving again ... wow. You should have seen him, it wasn't pretty. It wasn't hard to convince Arwen to let him come with us, after all she did promise him before you all went to the village that he could go with the next time ..."

And especially now that she knew Kelirahc was trustworthy, it was important that he become a true part of the family, if things between him and Leyenda were expected to work out all right.

"And it's about time he got to see some adventure, too," Earendil nodded as he waited for Lin to get ready. "I mean sure he's little, and he can't exactly defend himself if something were to happen, but we've been here several weeks now and nothing has happened. Besides, we'll have enough other people with us that he'll be safe - and I'm sure Leyenda and Kelirahc would both guard him with their lives."

Once Lin was ready, Earendil got the whole group together, and they set off into the jungle.

Kelirahc and Leyenda led the way with Celeb riding on Kelirahc's shoulders, and Storm and Starr followed behind them with Rhea (so that she could be near the dark elf for translating purposes), and Earendil and Lin took up the rear.

The jungle was thick, just as it had been when Lin and Rhea had first done their little bit of exploring, but their progress was made easier by the fact that Kelirahc knew the best paths, the easiest ways to get through the foliage. Still, their intent was not speed, and whenever they spotted something interesting to look at, they stopped and took their time.

"Look, Lin," Rhea grinned, pointing off to the east at one point. "Those birds we saw the day Leyenda went missing."

And there, perched on a low tree branch, huddled so close together it almost looked like one long bird with ten or more heads, was a group of the red and green plumed birds that had so suddenly taken to flight the week before.

"Pretty," Starr smiled widely, pointing them out to her brother. Storm looked at the birds, and a faint smile crossed his face and he nodded slightly.

"What are they called?" Starr asked Rhea, looking up at her. "Will you ask Kelirahc for us?"

Rhea nodded and did just that, and when she heard his answer she burst out laughing.

"I don't know if they would have an actual name in our languages," she giggled, "but in the ancient tongue they just call them 'snugglers'."

Earendil chuckled. "Cute."

Starr giggled. "Even this close they look like one!" she laughed. "They're so close together!"

Kelirahc added something else, and Rhea smiled. "He says that even in the hottest weather they snuggle like that. Some of the Night Elves theorize that it might be how they keep cool, rather than keep warm like we would think."

Rhea shrugged. "Their theory, not mine. I'm just the translator."

She scratched her head a bit. "Though I wonder if it wouldn't be a good idea to start teaching him our languages, and all of you his," she sighed. "I don't mean to complain, but after a week of translating everything for everyone ... it gets a bit tedious."

"I want to learn!" Celeb beamed, one hand shooting up into the air.

"Careful," Leyenda admonished him, reaching up and tugging his hand down again. "And I would definitely like to learn, and I'm sure Kelirahc would love to know our languages - or at least one of them - so that he can talk to anyone he wishes."