Welcome to Gaia! ::

Arwen laughed. "Lin, you have so many visits to make, it's a miracle you ever leave this world!" she teased. "Seriously. Eastland, and your - our - journey ... oh, and you asked about the Borderlands, Alyse and Timaeus were married about four years ago and to my knowledge have one daughter. Jasmine, after the flower."

She smiled warmly. "I wish we could visit, but it's a four week journey each direction, so we would be gone at least a year, and Roydon can't leave the business that long ... and Leyenda would go stir-crazy without water, I think."

Leyenda looked as though she were about to protest, but then she seemed to think better of it. She giggled. "Yeah, probably," she had to admit.

"Oh?" Arwen tilted her head curiously. "Why did you think so?"

She turned and continued to prepare the fish while they spoke.

Arwen grinned. "Actually, I think it's kind of funny because when we were all growing up, Alyse didn't like Timaeus too much. They always fought. Worse than siblings." She laughed. "Well, that's how life goes."

She glanced at Leyenda, who was laying her fish out on the counter. She didn't say anything, but the look she was giving her daughter clearly said that she hoped the same didn't hold true for her.

She did not like Brian at all.

Leyenda felt Arwen's eyes on her, and she looked up at her and blinked. "What?"

"And you really didn't see Timaeus in the growing up years, you saw him when he was little and then when he went with on hunts," Arwen laughed, turning back to Lin. She moved to help Leyenda with the fish. "But yes. They've been together for a long time, and married for a while now. Life goes on."

Suddenly there was a knock at the door, and Arwen wiped her hands off on a towel. "Excuse me," she murmured, heading towards the door.

When Arwen opened the door, there was a rather tall man standing there, at least a head taller than Arwen, and his clothes made it look as though he were very wealthy.

"Lady Arwen," he said coldly, his eyes dark.

"Eldoran," she replied, equally coldly. "I expect you're here for Brian's whip."

The man nodded and tried to peer inside. "I don't suppose there will be any trouble getting it back."

"The only trouble," Arwen said coolly, "comes from your son."

Eldoran didn't seem to be listening. "You have a human here," he said, his tone almost accusational as he switched to elvish, obviously believing that Lin wouldn't understand. His eyes flickered back to Arwen. "You never cease to amaze me, Arwen."

"She is a dear friend, and has known my family since long before I was born," Arwen replied evenly. "If anything happens to her while she's here, you'll be answering to me. Leyenda," she called, switching back to the common tongue, "bring Brian's whip here."

"Yes, Mother," Leyenda said obediently, quietly. She dried her hands on a towel and headed towards the stairs at the back of the house.

"Lin," Arwen murmured, holding one hand out to keep her back. "Trust me, don't."

Eldoran laughed. "Disease ... I like that, I'll have to remember it." He grinned and folded his arms across his chest. "You just keep out of my way," he told Lin. "It's a dangerous place here, you never know what might happen."

Arwen kept her arm in front of Lin. "I told you, Eldoran," she said coldly, her eyes narrowing, "if anything happens to her, anything at all, I'll hold you personally responsible ... and you will answer to me."

"Whatever." The man obviously wasn't worried. He peered past Lin and Arwen down the hallway. "Where is that girl?" he muttered, a little irritated now. "She's taking forever."

Arwen kept her eyes on Eldoran. "She will be here when she gets here," she said evenly.

A moment later, footsteps could be heard returning from the hallway, and Leyenda appeared. "Here, Mother," she said quietly, holding it out to her.

Arwen took the whip, but instead of handing it over into Eldoran's expectant hand, she headed into the kitchen. She picked up one of the knives that she had been using on the fish and in a series of quick cuts, she sliced the whip into four pieces. Then she returned to the door and put the pieces of the useless whip into Eldoran's hand.

"The next time you give your son a new toy," she told him, glaring at him and ignoring the fury in his face, "make sure he's not going to use it on my daughter. Because the next time, it won't be the toy that gets punished."

"You watch yourself, Aldrich," Eldoran growled, his fist clenching tightly until his knuckles were white. "Someday you'll regret this."

"No," Arwen replied evenly, her eyes blazing. "You will. Now get out of my sight before I do more."