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Adonijah ducked underneath Tao's legs and cuddled up against one of them, wrapping his arms around her leg and holding it tightly. He didn't cry, but his chest was heaving and his eyes were wide as he looked out at the ever growing group of strangers that was so near. He whimpered up at Tao, asking her why there were so many of them and why they always had to be so scary - and why Feng had tricked him into making him think she was his mother.


Lothiriel giggled softly as she approached the twins. "My name is Lothiriel," she said brightly, giving a slight curtsey to the two of them, her black ringlets bouncing around her as she did so. "Elrohir and Haradhel are my aunt and uncle, Daeron is my cousin ... so I'm also distantly related to Aliya and Amdir, and Ulani and Ulrich. And this is Pen, my traveling companion ... we're visiting the ranch for a while, we just thought we would come and visit."

Pen nodded his greetings to the twins, but his mood seemed a little dark, far different from the day before.

Adonijah squirmed until he was safely hidden beneath Tao's wings, where he hid and listened to the conversation that was going on around him.


Lothiriel giggled. "He is indeed quite shy," she murmured softly. "I apologize for frightening him ... I hadn't realized he would react so badly. I can't imagine that he would be the same for his whole life, though ..."

She trailed off, her eyes unfocusing and clouding over faintly. "Yes," she nodded, her tone soft. "He ... will improve ... but he will need help to do so."

Her eyes grew focused and clear once more, and she smiled down at the mer twins.

Lothiriel smiled back at Feng, her eyes glinting with amusement.

"Thank you," she said warmly, moving to sit next to the mers. "I'm told that I look like my mother ... I've been mistaken for her before." She giggled. "Though I'm also told that I take after my father."

Pen sat at one of the tables, leaning forward slightly so that he could still hear the conversation.

"We've yet to meet your parents," he commented softly.

Lothiriel smiled. "Well, we haven't been to the Southland in a very long time," she murmured softly, taking a ringlet in her hand and tugging on it a bit, then releasing it so that it would spring back up again. She repeated the movement several times, as if it were a habit she had.

"Donovan ... was apparently quite naturally himself," Pen sighed. "As were Elrohir and Daeron ..."

"Come now," Lothiriel giggled, "it's not like they did anything terrible. All they did was ask questions to make sure you're safe for me to travel with."


Adonijah was getting rather warm beneath Tao's wing, and he lifted it slightly for a breath of fresh air. He caught sight of the four strangers sitting there, and his chest began to rise and fall quickly, his nostrils flaring once again, but for once he made no move to run further away.

Pen pouted. "They must have all been bored," he sighed, "because it was pick on Pen night, or at least it seemed like it."

Lothiriel giggled and kept pulling on her ringlet. "I won't deny that it was, but you have to admit, you did manage to make yourself a rather easy target. Not to mention, they were just looking out for me."

Pen stuck his tongue out at her.

"So childish," Lothiriel frowned. "Honestly." She turned to Feng and Ryu. "He's the same age as Uncle Elrohir, and still acts like an infant at times."

Lothiriel giggled. "It's the first time since we began traveling together that we've been staying with any of my family," she told them, "so it's the first time he's been subjected to such interrogation. And don't mind him, he's just very ... dramatic."

She laughed.

Pen stuck his tongue out at her again.


Under Tao's wing, Adonijah was slowly calming down. It seemed as though none of them were going to be paying him any attention ... and that was just fine by him. He found himself staring at the golden tattoo on Ryu's tail, transfixed by its beauty. The tail itself was a fish's tail, and the tattoo was a dragon, and since neither of them were humanoid, Adonijah was quite comfortable with both of them.

He reached one tentatively with one finger and stroked one of the golden scales, then jerked his finger back as if afraid he was going to be bitten. When nothing happened, however, he reached out and stroked it again.

"I know for a fact that he was," Lothiriel laughed heartily. "I think everyone was enjoying themselves far too much, making fun of Pen ... though he did smarten up eventually."

"It's not like I was given a choice," Pen shrugged. "They really do lack a good sense of humour. Elrohir especially. So uptight."


Adonijah risked a look up at Ryu, but seeing that the mer was looking the other way, he grew slightly more bold and began to trace the entire tattoo with his index finger, his other hand resting lightly against the red of his tail, though his entire body was poised to hide again at the slightest indication that Ryu might be watching him.

Adonijah jumped and darted back underneath Tao's wing, his heart pounding in his chest, eyes wide with fear. It moved!

After a few moments, he peered out again, his violet eyes wide, to see if it was still again.


Pen chuckled, his mood lightening visibly. "Well, Donovan perhaps," he agreed, "but not Elrohir. I can't see that man being at all amusing. No sense of humour whatsoever."