Welcome to Gaia! ::

"That is such an odd feeling," Iorlas murmured, smiling faintly. "Not to be alone."

Earendil chuckled softly. "Well, for the moment, I think it is best that we leave you to your thoughts. But we won't be far. And remember, we are ready and willing to help you with whatever you might need. All right?"

Iorlas smiled at him. "Thank you. Both of you."

Earendil stood up and held his hand out to Lin.

"We will see you later, all right, Iorlas?" he told her. "Take care of yourself."

She smiled softly. "I will."

Earendil turned to Lin. "We should check on the children," he told her softly, switching back to Common Elvish now that the private conversation was over.

"Probably still at the park," Earendil replied as they headed off.

The week progressed slowly, a bit boring for most of the group, but they waited patiently while Alassëa tried to find out if she was going to be able to get on well with her family or if she was going to continue on with the travelers.

It took a while, but finally, one morning at breakfast, when most of the group had assembled, she made her announcement.

"I think it's safe for your journey to continue," she told everyone, stroking her bird's head as she spoke. "My father and I have come to an agreement."

Alassëa kept stroking her bird, her sightless eyes fixed straight ahead. "As much as my father would love for me to stay with him, it will not work with my stepmother and half siblings. He knows that I am alive, and he is happy. I won't way that it's enough for him, but it will have to do. It simply will not work out for me to stay here."

She smiled faintly. "Besides ... Aethos has given me much to think about. I would much rather take the time to consider his offer than to turn it down hastily. I don't know if I can belong in his world, but if I don't give it a try, then I can't hope to fit in anywhere."

Alassëa smiled in Lin's direction. "Yes ... for the most part. And yet ... I'm sad. I know I will probably never return here again, especially if I do find a life somewhere else. I'm sure it will pass, though. It could never negate the happiness I've found with all of you."

Earendil smiled warmly. He was glad to hear it. She deserved to be happy.

"So when are we leaving, then?" asked Emile, who was not very comfortable in this particular town. He wasn't sure why but it was different from the other towns for him.

"Does anyone see a need to stay another day?" Arthael asked, looking around the table. "Or can we set out as soon as we're all packed?"

It seemed that most of the group had been quite bored in this town.

Earendil looked down at Lin. They'd gotten Andarien's clothes several days previous, so as far as he knew they had no reason to stick around any longer. "Lin?"

The others voiced their agreement, and Alassëa blushed slightly.

"I'm sorry to have kept everyone waiting," she apologized.

"Don't worry about it," replied Kaito, the most impatient of them all. "You had things that needed to be worked out, and rushing it would only have led to regret. One thing I think I can safely say about everyone in our group: every single person here would put up with an awful lot if it meant helping someone else out."

"You're like family to us now, Alassëa," Leyenda grinned. "You'll get used to it."

Alassëa smiled widely and rubbed the back of her hand across her eyes. "Thank you. All of you."