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River nodded. "Yes, I can understand that. I suppose Aethos-sola is with her? He's always trying to help her out with things. I imagine he would want to make her feel better somehow.

She had seen the way the sola looked at Alassëa, and she had a feeling he had strong emotions about her.


Earendil nodded again slowly, still gazing at his brother; then he turned back to Lin and nodded to where Miyuki was sitting with River and her grandparents. "We could talk to Daeron, if you like, but we should probably get Andarien something to eat first. I can feel his stomach growling against my back."

The boy had fallen asleep on Earendil's back, his head on his shoulder, but his stomach was still growling nonetheless.

River sort of grinned at that thought. "I wonder if her family knows that," she giggled. "It might make them think a bit more, maybe. About what they would be losing, I mean."

It was one thing if they didn't know she was alive, but to know she's alive and have her somewhere else - it might make them treat her a bit better.


Earendil chuckled at Lin's comment. "To be fair," he winked at her, "Miyuki gets distracted a lot. It kind of goes without saying after a while."

Since his hands were full, he couldn't put an arm around Lin's shoulders like he would have liked, and instead he nodded and started leading her towards the table where the others were sitting.

"I see," River murmured. "Well that's good at least, but ... if his new family doesn't want her, and she stays anyways, it might cause some trouble between him and the rest of the family."

She didn't like the idea that there might be a division in the family, and she especially felt bad that Alassëa might end up seeing it as her fault.

"I just hope that she'll let Aethos help her," she added as an afterthought.

Earendil had to agree with that. "We're just epic. Here, can you grab Andarien off my back? I don't want to drop him."

He turned slightly so Lin could take him as they approached the table where Arthael, Halmir, River and Miyuki were sitting.

River grinned at Miyuki, and when she looked over, she spotted Lin and Earendil, and she waved to them. "Hi!" she said warmly. "You're going to join us for lunch?"

"We are," Earendil grinned back at her. "How was your morning?"

"Good," River smiled, though a bit hesitantly.

"We had to really pull her out of bed," Arthael spoke up. "She did not want to get up this morning."

Andarien groaned softly in Lin's arms as he was pulled off Earendil's back. He turned in Lin's arms and snuggled into her, yawned, and tucked his head under Lin's chin.

River shook her head. "I just didn't feel like getting up today," she said simply.

Arthael poked her in the ribs, making her squeal slightly. "She's moping," she said flatly. "She's back in a town and she thinks that because Jess isn't here, there's no point in going out and seeing what there is."

"I never said that!" River protested, her face flushing brightly.

"It doesn't change the fact that this afternoon, you are going to come out with us and see the entire town," Halmir said firmly. "And I don't want to see any frowns. Understood?"

River turned away from her grandparents and rolled her eyes. "Yes, neko."

Earendil smiled at Lin and reached out to stroke Andarien's hair softly. "We should order something for him so that when he wakes up he can eat right away. Bread and mead is his favourite."

"Now there's an idea," Halmir grinned. "Would you like to come with us, then, Miyuki?"

Earendil chuckled softly and kept stroking Andarien's head.

"Maybe we should get him something different right now, while he's not awake enough to be picky," he grinned.

Halmir grinned, delighted, but River still looked as if she was forcing her smile.

"After lunch, then," Arthael said firmly, giving her granddaughter 'the look'.

River nodded meekly. "Yes, Grandmother."

Earendil watched as Andarien started to wake up, looking up at Lin with sleepy eyes. "Well ... he said he liked the apple at breakfast, but didn't like the peach ... maybe strawberries or other berries? I don't know, he seems to like things with a milder taste rather than strong or sweet."

River gave Miyuki a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, I'll go and I'll try to have fun," she assured her. "All right?"

She would do anything to make her friends happy, and she knew how much Miyuki liked playing with others.

Earendil nodded. "Sounds good. Whatever you think is good for him."

He knew that when it came to nutrition, Lin would know best. For the elves, it didn't matter quite so much, for other races it was very important. And since Andarien wasn't an Ardan elf, it was better to be safe than sorry.