Welcome to Gaia! ::

Behind the shop was not the place where the candy was made, but rather a comfortable looking office area. The back window was as large as the front display window, and in front of it was a long, plush couch. In front of it was a short table, and across from the table were two plush chairs. Across the room, in one corner, was a large writing desk, and beside it was a tall bookcase with many shelves on which were stored and neatly labeled many volumes of records for the shop.

Haldir helped Halaleel to one of the plush chairs and brought a footstool for her to put her injured foot on, then motioned for the others to make themselves comfortable.

"Help yourselves to a mint," the shopkeeper invited them, indicating a small jar in the middle of the table.

Andarien eyed the jar, but he didn't want to let go of Lin's hand yet. He still didn't trust Halaleel. She'd laughed, which had made him feel a bit better about her, but still - the face she'd first made when his ada had told her he was married ... that still bothered him. So instead of going for the mints, he just held Lin's hand more tightly and pressed himself closer against her side.

Andarien curled up against Lin, and when Earendil sat down as well Andarien made sure that the three of them were sitting close together. He took the mint from Miyuki and uttered a quiet "Thank you" before sticking it in his mouth and resuming his observation of Halaleel.

"He seems a quiet boy," Haldir smiled, nodding at Andarien.

Earendil chuckled softly. "Not usually. Usually he's bursting with questions."

"Does he know High Elven well?" Haldir asked, curious. He knew that the last time Miyuki had been there, she hadn't known any High Elven yet, and he hadn't heard either of them speaking a lot of it yet.

"Ah," Haldir nodded. "That does make things more difficult." He turned to Miyuki and smiled at her. "How do you usually learn a language?" he asked her. "From your parents?"

Andarien blinked and looked at Miyuki. "Yeah, Mi, how do you learn languages?" he asked her curiously. It was a question he had never thought to ask, though looking back it might have been helpful. He had never seen her learning languages, but clearly she had - she spoke several!

"That's also how we tried to teach you," Earendil added, nudging Andarien playfully.

Andarien looked up at his father. "But it didn't work for me," he replied, finally sticking the mint into his mouth."So it's good Nana got me that drink, because Mi is lots better than I was."

"Drink?" Haldir questioned curiously.

"Impressive gift," Halaleel spoke up, her faced etched with surprise.

Andarien grinned at her, warming up a bit to her. "She's really nice!" he exclaimed. "Really, really nice. Everyone says she's going to be my aunt someday. Soon, I bet. Because Uncle Daeron really likes her. They're going to come here too, but just they have to do some ... some ... business!"

"Take care of some business," Earendil corrected him. "And then they'll be joining us here in the city, yes."

Haldir tilted his head curiously. "When was the last time Prince Daeron was in the city?" he asked Earendil. "I don't think I can remember."

Earendil shook his head. "Decades, that's about all I know," he replied. "Fifty, sixty years? A long time." He smiled. "But I think he's looking forward to coming back this time."

He finally had a travel partner he could get along with - and even liked. And despite knowing wheat Ruel used to be like, Earendil was certain Daeron was quite eager to introduce Iorlas to their parents. The fact that Ruel was no longer the a** he'd used to be was just a bonus.

"Of course, he was busy with other things," Earendil pointed out.

"What did he used to do before he traveled with you?" Andarien asked curiously, crawling up into Lin's lap and snuggling into her. "Where did he live, anyways, if he didn't travel with you?"

Haldir blinked at them. "How old is Andarien, exactly?" he questioned, confused.