Welcome to Gaia! ::

Earendil raised one eyebrow. "Lin, you've been more gone than here," he pointed out. "Not on your end, but, on mine. We've been separated. Unless you're referring to a different kind of separation ..."

Though he couldn't imagine what that might be.

Earendil chuckled and ruffled Lin's hair gently. "Don't you worry about me. As long as you still want to visit our world, or go on adventures, I'm sure I'll be here for you. And if you choose to stay in your own world ..."

He hesitated for a moment, and his smile faded. "Well ... I can't say I won't miss you, I'm sure I'd miss you more than anyone. I'd like to think you would at least visit from time to time ..."

Earendil blinked. "Oh?" He tilted his head curiously. "And what would you do then?" he asked her. "Settle here somewhere? If you could choose a single place," he chuckled. "You've got connections in so many of the elven lands ..."

The only elven land she didn't have connections in - yet - was the Westland, and he had a suspicion that might just be a matter of time.

"Well, you're still very young," Earendil pointed out. "You've got as much time as you want before you have to choose. It's going to be a while before we even get back anyways. I mean, from what Kelirahc says, this is a fairly large island, and who knows how many more there are out there?"

He smiled and put one hand on her shoulder. "What I'm saying is, don't rush yourself, and don't rush your decision. There's plenty of time."

Earendil laughed at that comment. "Why am I not surprised," he chuckled. "Well then what say that sometime after this trip - not right away, we'll give ourselves a good rest and whatnot - but someday, we take a trip around the Four Lands? We can see all of the lands, I haven't seen most of it myself."

He held out his hand to her and grinned. "What say you?"

Earendil grinned widely and shook her hand firmly. "Deal," he beamed, looking quite cheerful now. He glanced back at the rest of their group. "Now we should try to head back quickly, Storm and Starr look utterly exhausted."

And indeed, they did. The twins were holding hands and plodding forward as if they were out of energy, and even their eyes, usually so bright, were dark.

Starr noticed Earendil looking at them, and she smiled faintly. "We just need a good night's sleep in the shelter," she assured him before he could say anything. "Don't worry about us."

Starr nodded. "I know," she murmured, "but it's just ... it's getting kind of hot ..."

Kelirahc, who was following behind the twins with Celeb and Leyenda, looked over at Leyenda, and then lifted Celeb from his shoulders and handed the boy down to her.

"Earendil," he called out, "I take ... Storm, you take Starr, yes?"

His language skills were coming along beautifully: he was a quick learner. He stepped forward and knelt in front of Storm, motioning for the boy to climb onto his back, and Earendil did the same for Starr.

"We'll have you back by nightfall," he assured her, hefting her as he rose again. "Ready, Kelirahc?"

Kelirahc straightened and nodded, adjusting Storm on his back so that they could both be comfortable. "Ready."