Welcome to Gaia! ::

"Lovely, just lovely," Nadya beamed. "Galdor is married now, and they have two children, but really that's the only change. And I can see you've been well. Two children of your own, too."

Her eyes sparkled brightly, and Earendil couldn't help but wonder if she hadn't Seen something about their future the last time they'd been to the plantation.

"But as you said, they were wonderful surprises," Nadya smiled. "But don't look only to the past ... the future holds many wonderful things as well. For everyone." She laughed. "Gion always tells me that I'm giving things away by saying things like that, but to me, even just living out my life with my family, being together, working ... to me, that is happiness in its purest form. What else could I say, then, but that happiness lies ahead?"

Earendil chuckled. "Well, it certainly sounds wonderful to me," he had to agree.

They continued to chat together cheerfully as they came around the plantation and headed up the lane, and as they approached the house others came over to meet them.

"Grandmama! Grandmama! Is that them? Is that them?" an excited young girl asked, running up to Nadya and just about tackling her around the waist. She had the same dark eyes as Nadya, and the same pixie-ish face, but beyond that she didn't share any features. Her dark hair was much shorter than Nadya's, barely past her shoulders, and rather than wearing skirts, she was wearing what in Gaia would have been called a tank top and shorts. Her bare feet were light with dust, though her skin was a sun-darkened brown. She was a little smaller than Amalirahc, though not by a whole lot.

Nayda laughed and put one hand on the girl's shoulder. "Yes, yes, this is them," she grinned. She introduced the visitors, and once she had done so she added, "And this is my granddaughter, Ivy."

"Hi!" Ivy beamed, waving energetically at the group. "Welcome! Grandmama's been saying for weeks that you would be coming, but she never knows just when people are going to show up and sometimes they never do! But we had everything ready for you anyways because Ada-thel said that you would be coming soon and she's never wrong, because her gift is different from Grandmama's!"

"Dear gods, it's River all over again," Kaito groaned, though he was grinning.

Shiro laughed.

Nadya giggled and motioned for everyone to follow her. "I'm afraid we haven't got room for all of you in the house," she said apologetically, "so we're going to have to take our meals out here. We have several outdoor tables, though, so at least we won't have to eat off the ground. And it's always warm and sunny, so no worries about weather either."

"And sleeping?" Emile spoke up timidly.

Nadya smiled ruefully at him. "Your tents, I'm afraid. Sorry."

Earendil chuckled. "I think we've been spoiled," he grinned. "In almost every place we've stopped, we've been staying in a palace. And of course, in the Borderlands, we more or less all have our own rooms."

"Understandable," Nadya murmured.

"Grandmama, should I go get Mama and Papa and Sylvar?" Ivy spoke up, tugging on Nadya's sleeve. "Sylvar did say he wanted to see the guestses when they come because we've never really had guestses here before!"

Nadya laughed. "Go ahead, dear. But if they're all working, let them work. Even with guests, the plantation needs to run."

Ivy giggled and ran off, leaving a trail of dust behind her.

It didn't particularly matter that Daemon hadn't spoken aloud, since he was alone in the room; but Laer, Nadya's mother, was working downstairs in the kitchen, and she glanced up at the ceiling when she heard footsteps moving around up there. She was still trying to get used to the idea that the man in the sword was no longer in the sword, but she was getting better at it.

Well, maybe she would go up and see if he needed anything. With that thought in mind, she headed up the stairs.

Nadya laughed at Miyuki's question. "As she said, we've been expecting you for a while now," she grinned. "She's gone to get the rest of her family. If they're working, really she should let them work, but she'll bring them anyways. That's just the way she is."

Being still on her way up the steps, Laer did not hear Daemon saying her name, and she continued forward as she was.

When she reached the top of the stairs, she turned down the hall towards the room that had been cleared for Daemon. It had used to be Galdor's room, before he had been married, but now Galdor and his family had their own house.

When she arrived, she knocked at the door. "Daemon?" she called through it. "Do you need anything?"

Laer blinked in surprise. "Guests?" she repeated. She laughed. "I'm still so used to Nadya being the only Seer around here."

She grinned at Daemon, her dark eyes sparking with amusement. "Well, if you're going to go down and meet them, I suppose I should do the same. And they'll be thirsty, I'm sure. Come, let's go, then. Do you need a hand down the stairs?"

She wasn't sure how strong he was. He had only been out of the sword a few days, and he was still physically quite weak, but she more or less let Gion take care of him, only doing for him what she did for the others: preparing meals, drinks, baths, and so on.