Welcome to Gaia! ::

"So he grows like Miyuki, then," Haldir said slowly. "Not like us."

Earendil smiled. "That's right. Miyuki brought me a musical egg from Gaia when she and Lin came back this time, just before we started on this trip. A week out, there he was all of a sudden."

Halaleel was more amazed than her father - though to be fair, he had at least heard something of Miyuki and Lin, and how they grew, whereas she had never been interested in listening to those kinds of stories.

Andarien looked up at Earendil. "Can we show them my egg?" he asked him. "But I didn't bring it today so maybe another day?"

Earendil chuckled softly. "If you'd like."

Andarien grinned and nodded.

"Yes, we are," Earendil smiled, opening the door for the rest of his family. It was a little past the lunch hour now, and he was hoping that the lunch rush would be over so that his great-grandparents would be free to visit. Of course, they still needed to eat, so worse come to worse they could order some lunch and talk afterwards.

"Nana, what kind of place is this?" Andarien asked her, looking up at the unfamiliar runes as he went ahead of her into the inn.

"What's an inn?" Andarien asked as Earendil led them towards a vacant table.

"An inn is a place where people can have a meal, or if they're traveling, they can stay overnight," Earendil explained. "We haven't needed to stay in one yet on this trip because we've been staying with family, but when we go to other countries we usually stay in an inn."

"And this inn belongs to your nako and your neko?" Andarien pressed.

Earendil nodded and helped Andarien onto a chair. "Well, my ninako and nineko," he corrected him - though really, Lin was the one who had (obviously unintentionally) misled the child.

He held out a chair for Lin before taking a seat himself.

Earendil smiled ruefully at her and put one hand on her shoulder gently. "You're probably just used to thinking about the generations from Aunt Elnara's point of view," he murmured. "Don't worry too much about it."

Before they had completely settled into their seats, Starr, the same woman who always seemed to be working, approached them, smiling warmly at them.

"Welcome," she greeted them. "It has been a long time since we've seen you. And I see you've a new addition to the family."

She smiled at Andarien, who blushed lightly at the attention, and then turned back to Lin and Earendil. "Would you like something to eat?" she asked them. "Or shall I find Rigel and Soronumë for you?"

Starr grinned at Lin. "Well, they haven't eaten yet, either, so you could always eat with them," she suggested. "Shall I fetch them for you?"

Earendil smiled. "I think that sounds good," he agreed. He looked at Lin. "What do you think?"

"Then I shall return shortly," Starr smiled. She bowed her head respectfully and headed back to the back room of the inn.

While they waited, Andarien had to cover his mouth to hide a yawn. Earendil smiled softly at him.

"I think, when we return to the castle, it may be prudent for Andarien to take a nap before we try to squeeze anything else in," he murmured quietly to Lin. "It's been a very busy day for us, after all."

"This is also the most people we've visited in a single stretch, I think," Earendil added, smiling softly as Andarien rubbed one eye with his fist. "And the traveling we've been doing lately has been more difficult than usual. We have to remember to replace our tents before we go off anywhere else, otherwise it's going to be cold at nights again as we travel. The desert nights are the worst, after all."

After a few moments, Starr returned alone and approached the table.

"Rigel and Soronume are a bit busy, but they'll be free in about a minute. If you'll follow me, I'll take you to where they take their meals," she told them.

Andarien slid off his chair and grabbed a fistful of Miyuki's dress as he followed after her and their parents. There weren't many others in the room, but there were enough that he still felt shy, and he hurried after Miyuki as quickly as he could.

Starr led the family through a door to the kitchen, and past the kitchen to the door that led to the backyard. Things hadn't changed there since Earendil and Lin's last visit, except that different flowers were in bloom. The same stream trickled quietly through the middle of the yard, the large canopied swing still stood in the same place, and the same small table was in the far side of the yard with cushions all around it.

"Make yourselves comfortable," the woman smiled warmly at them, stepping aside and motioning for them to head out into the yard. "Rigel and Soronumë will be out shortly."