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At Alassëa's instruction, Earendil put one of her hands to Andarien's forehead, and her other hand on his stomach. The boy was squirming, not trying to get out of Lin's lap but just squirming, and Alassëa had to add a bit of pressure to keep her hands in place.

"He's a little fevered," she murmured softly. "Earendil, fetch some water for him."

As Earendil reached for a flask, there was the sound of something tearing. In the blink of an eye, the seams of Andarien's clothes popped as his body suddenly seemed to stretch.

Earendil stared, and there was a brief moment of silence as even Andarien seemed too surprised to cry. He had gone from the size of a half-year old to a three or four year old in the space of about one second.

Alassëa bit her lip anxiously in the (to her) ominous silence, and after a moment she asked, "What happened?"

Earendil was still staring in amazement when Andarien got over his surprise and realized that the pain was still there. His cries started up again, but they sounded different now - instead of the yowling of an infant, it was the pain-filled cries of a child.

Alassëa frowned. "That doesn't sound pleasant," she murmured. "Even growing normally causes pain for some people. I can only imagine what it must feel like to grow that fast."

She put one hand back on Andarien's forehead, and her frown deepened. "He is still very warm ... is that usual?"

Alassëa kept her hand against Andarien's forehead to double check his temperature. "Serenity?" she repeated curiously.

"My cousin, Lin's niece," Earendil replied. "She grows like this as well, and she was always quite achy afterwards. But she never complained of this kind of pain ... I mean, she never cried."

"It's a fact that females can tolerate more pain than males," Alassëa replied. "That may not mean much. Water please. And a cloth."

Earendil handed her the flask, then reached for a piece of Andarien's torn clothes. He wouldn't be using them anymore, after all.

Alassëa uncapped the flask and poured some water onto the rag, then capped the flask and held it out for Earendil to take again. Then she put the cloth to Andarien's forehead.

The boy was crying again, but his cries had quieted somewhat. His squirms had stopped completely. Every now and again he would twitch, but it would set him off crying a bit louder again for a few seconds, as if every little movement hurt him.

"I'm sure that now that he's grown, he'll learn to speak quickly," Earendil smiled faintly.

Alassëa listened to the conversation with interest as she gently checked all of Andarien's joints. It was new to her, and as a healer, she wanted to know what she could about the people she was traveling with.

"The problem is that we have others with us who only speak one language," Earendil frowned. "I mean ... Alassëa, you only know Common Elvish, right?"

"Yes," Alassëa replied. "But Kelirahc does not speak it at all. And the others all know both languages. So really, for our sakes, it doesn't matter what you choose. If you are going to travel with Andarien, then it makes sense that he should learn whatever languages he will need."

She finished checking him over. "Massage his entire body for now," she told Lin and Earendil, "but when we stop for the night he needs to have a hot bath, if possible. Every night would be best, though on the road I know that's not always possible."

Earendil stared at Lin. "Do we even have something for him to soak in?"

"Then he will need to be rubbed down with warm water and soft cloths," Alassëa said. "A massage afterward would be best, as well, even if he falls asleep."

"For how long?" Earendil asked. "I mean, how many days?"

At that, Alassëa shrugged. "Until he seems comfortable without it," she replied simply. "Though I would imagine that three days would suffice. Still, look to him to see how long he needs it. I can only give advice."

Since the wagons were still moving, Alassëa decided to stay with them rather than have to stop again for her to get back on the other wagon. They continued on until nightfall, when they stopped to pitch their tents and prepare some dinner. Earendil and Lin gave Andarien a warm sponge bath and massage, and he fell asleep almost immediately.

So went their travel for the next week, until they at last reached the small village of Andunin.

It was a quaint little village, with lovely little cottage-style houses, each of which had a neatly tended flowerbed and yard. The roads in the village were dirt roads. Thankfully, the rain that had fallen in Chansond'eau the week previous hadn't seemed to be as bad here, and the roads were dry enough that the wagon wheels didn't get stuck.

They settled into the inn for the night, and as they were in the process of drifting off to sleep, Earendil asked Lin, "How do you suppose we'll find Alassëa's father, if he's still here? She doesn't remember his name or anything."

"Or more specifically, how many are blind from birth?" Earendil asked in return. "Some are blinded in accidents, but my understanding is that Alassëa was born blind. That's the rarest of all causes with elves."

Thinking of it that way, he supposed it might not be difficult at all.

He closed his eyes and nuzzled into Lin's hair. He was tired, but his mind was racing.

"I suppose we could ask just about anywhere," he mused quietly.