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Earendil sat on the floor and set Miyuki in his lap. He smiled brightly at her, his eyes glistening with unshed tears of joy. "And you're talking so much now," he chuckled, hugging her with one arm as he took the book from her with his free hand.

He looked at the cover of the book curiously. "It's so ... thin," he mused. "And ... colourful ..."

He grinned at Miyuki. "Does this mean your mommy is here with you?" he asked hopefully. "Both of you came for a visit?"

Shea and Mikhail just kept on staring. This was beyond unexpected, and was just going into weirdness for them. From what they saw, Earendil was this girl's father ... he was acting like one, anyways, and he hadn't corrected her ...

Earendil grinned. "Good for you," he said proudly, hugging her again. "You're speaking very well now! Growing up so fast ..."

He kissed her on the top of the head, then stood up carefully and picked her up, holding her on his hip. She was much bigger than she had used to be, but still very light, and very small compared to him, so he didn't feel awkward at all picking her up like this.

"Earendil," Mikhail spoke up, speaking slowly and trying to remain tactful, "um ... who is this?"

Earendil chuckled. "Lin's daughter, Miyuki," he explained. "She was much smaller the last time I saw her ... but it's been a year and a half, so I guess it's no surprise that she's grown again."

He grinned at Miyuki. "Right?"

"A trick?" Earendil beamed. "I would love to see it!" He put Miyuki carefully on the ground. "Will you show us?"

He didn't recognize the funny words she was saying, but he wasn't too worried about it. Either he would learn them eventually, he was sure, or she would realize that he couldn't understand her and start speaking in a language he did know.

Earendil laughed when Miyuki changed into a fox, and his brothers just stared. When Lin spoke up from the doorway, Earendil's gaze moved immediately to her instead of Miyuki. For a moment his love for her showed clearlyl, but then he cleared his throat, getting his emotions under control, and simply smiled warmly at her.

"Welcome back," he grinned.

He was tempted to tease her and ask her what took her so long, but he had a feeling it wouldn't be a good idea ... and besides that, he was certain he knew what it was that had taken her so long to return. He had made things somewhat awkward between them the last time he had seen her, after all ...

Earendil chuckled and ruffled Miyuki's hair affectionately. "So it is," he grinned, his eyes shining brightly. He gazed at Lin again. "And how did the visit to your grandmother go?"

He knew Lin had been trying to put off a visit to her grandmother, and that her grandmother was ... well, pushy about some things ... so he couldn't help but be a bit worried about how it could have gone.

"Oh really?" Earendil laughed at Miyuki's information. "Well that's good. Especially considering I've never met her, and she's never met me."

He grinned. "And speaking of meeting, Miyuki, you have to meet my uncles." He turned to them and introduced them. "Uncle Shea and Uncle Mikhail."

Shea and Mikhail smiled at Miyuki. "Hello," they said, one after the other.

Mikhail glanced at Lin. "Earendil never told us he had a family," he commented.

Earendil blinked at Lin, her comment taking him completely by surprise. "Wait ... what?" he stuttered, his expression growing perplexed. "We're what?"

He looked at his uncles and then back at Lin, speechless and not quite understanding what was going on.

"When Miyuki came in," Shea spoke up, "she called you 'ada'."

Mikhail gave him a strange look. "You responded quite favourably to it, too."

Earendil blinked again. "I ... she did?" He looked down at Miyuki again, confused, and then turned back to Lin, filled with wonder. "Then ..."