Welcome to Gaia! ::

"Yes," Kara nodded with a bit of a blush remembering where she was, "We found out not too long before coming here. Since I had been unwell during the morning and he worries too much and wanted to know what was going on," she pointed at Donovan.

Despite his claims he did tend to get worry, even if he wasn't one to show it... in a normal fashion.

Lin smiled, that was a wonderful thing to hear, especially since everyone close to her lived here too, and here was more dangerous than Gaia (though as she found out Gaia has its own shares of danger).

"I'm glad, I always wonder what's changed every time I come here, or what's happened."

And she knew in the past it hadn't always been good such as Adan's kidnapping to her what had been a month or two back.

"Oh... I remember him, Lin would talk about him," Feng murmured, "Something about sailing.... or that she wanted to go sailing... and she wanted to meet him in his hometown...." then again her sister wanted to do a lot of things, "Well... see how things turn out.. maybe she'll be back... maybe from here he'll improve, who knows?"

Of course if Aliya was worried about Adonijah travelling she could send Tao with him.

Haradhel smiled warmly. "Don't worry, it will go away in a few weeks, I'm sure," she assured her. "I mean, I don't presume to know what an angel's pregnancy would be like, but if it's like ours, it shouldn't last more than a few more weeks or so."

She finished with the dinner and began to carry things into the dining room. "You just let me know if there's anything you need," she grinned. "anything at all."


Elros nodded. "Very little, of late," he murmured, "except for the marriage of Arwen and Roydon. Other than that nothing is different."

He smiled at his young friend. "And how about you?" he asked kindly. "How have you been?"



Aliya had thought to surprise Feng and Ryu with the news of Arwen's marriage, but it seemed as though they either hadn't heard that bit or had already known about it. Ah well, so much for that bit of fun.

"Actually," she said thoughtfully, "I'm wondering if she might ask to stay here when Roydon and Arwen leave ... I know she loves it here, she's more comfortable here than she's felt anywhere before, or so she tells me. Even in their home town with her brother ... she never felt comfortable there."

Suddenly the trapdoor in the floor opened up and a black head of hair appeared, followed by a tall, gangly body of a boy in his early teens. He looked up and spoke to Haradhel in quick elvish, but suddenly his ears twitched and he looked over to see Kara and Donovan sitting on the other side of the room.

"Oh, hi," he grinned, closing the trapdoor behind himself and dusting his hands on his pants. "Kara and Donovan, right? I remember you from Aunt Elnara's wedding. How are you doing?"



Elros chuckled softly at Lin. "I take it you are not fond of your peers?" he asked in a gentle tone. "Perhaps you should just give them some time to adjust ... you are after all an exceptional young woman ... perhaps they just need to get used to you."

He was amused, to say the least. It was rare that Lin didn't want to talk about something, and it only made him curious - though he would never ask.



Aliya giggled at Naida and poked her gently on the nose. "In a bit, I have to get dinner on the table first, all right? Once I'm free, I'm all yours."

She headed back to the counter to get more things for the table, glancing at Feng thoughtfully.

"I had forgotten that you were all here when Rose was," she murmured. "But you'll see her at dinner, unless they come in here a bit earlier." She smiled. "I wonder what Miyu would think if she saw her now."

Suddenly in the other room a third voice joined the first two - a male voice, soft and warm.

"And that would be Adanedhel," Aliya murmured softly.

Arahad laughed. "Well, I would hope so, it's been seven years," he grinned. "I'm not a kid anymore. I help out on the ranch just as much as anyone else- mornings with Celeborn and Elros, training, and then the afternoons with Elberon in the stables ..."

Haradhel smiled and put one arm around her youngest son's shoulders.

"He works hard," she agreed, "and we're quite proud of him.


Elros looked thoughtful at Lin's words, and he nodded slowly.

"It sounds as if your world is perhaps not so different from our own," he murmured. "Not ... exactly, but there are similarities. What would happen in secret in our world is apparently quite public in yours. But tell me. Does the opinion of these people really matter to you? Do these people mean anything to you?"

He looked at Lin, his ancient eyes piercing, searching within her.



The conversation in the next room broke off suddenly, and a moment later Adanedhel appeared in the doorway, Rose and Adonijah both standing behind him.

"Feng and Ryu!" he laughed, his voice quite deep now. At twenty two years old, he had grown into quite a powerful man, his body thick with hard muscles. His eyes however were the same as ever, the same youthful animation flickering in them. "And Naida," he added with a soft chuckle. "Can't forget you, can I?"

Rose looked curious as she peered over Adanedhel's shoulder at the other guests, but though she looked thoughtful seeing them, she remained silent. Adonijah's white head could be seen just behind Rose, though it seemed he was trying to stay out of sight.

Arahad smiled warmly and reached out, placing one hand comfortingly on Kara's shoulder.

"There isn't time in life to do everything we desire," he told her softly. "Even for immortals. Perhaps especially for us. But don't worry, there will be other generations, and the opportunity will present itself again."

For a moment he looked as though he was going to add something else, but it seemed that he thought the better of it and just smiled at her.



Elros nodded, his eyes softening slightly as he thought about what Lin had told him. He wanted to suggest she point out to those people the pointlessness of their actions, but he suspected that she might have already done so, and without success.

"There is only one thing, then," he murmured softly, "that I do not understand. Tell me ... why are you ashamed of protecting yourself? If you had not, then what would be the point of all of the training that you put yourself through? It was not only instinctive, but even after thought ... it would be logical, and quite acceptable."



Adanedhel chuckled and picked up Naida under her arms.

"Up you go!" he laughed, tossing her into the air and catching her again. Then he grinned at Ryu. "Well, like mother, like daughter, or so the saying goes. At least, that's what Elnara always said about Nako and Mother when she was here. And Feng-"

He chuckled again. "You know that you wouldn't normally think twice about doing something like that. I'm not sure what held you back, but you know it's true."

Arahad chuckled softly. "Well ... living out here tends to do that to a person," he admitted sheepishly. "I mean ... growing up with Timaeus, sure we played around a bit ... but it was mostly training and such. Preparing to become an adult."

"It does tend to make an early adult out of the children," Haradhel agreed, "we just didn't see that happen with Arwen. She sort of ... surprised us, on that one."

Arahad laughed. "She sure did ... poor Roydon."

"Am I to be pitied?" Roydon't voice cut in from the doorway. He appeared with Arwen, both of them having washed up now, and he was chuckling at his brother in law's words.



Elros nodded. "I am afraid I must agree with Toshiro on this score," he murmured. "It was self defense. It is all well and good to analyze a fight after is has ended, but in the heat of the moment there is no time for thought, only for reaction. Look at it this way: perhaps now she has learned her lesson, and will stop bothering you."

He raised one eyebrow pointedly. "And perhaps it will be a lesson to others, as well," he added softly.



Adanedhel flushed slightly, but his skin was so dark from the sun that it was hard to see.

Adonijah shrank away from Naida's question, hiding behind Rose so that he would not have to be in the spotlight - and in the end, it was Rose herself who answered Naida's question.

"My name is Rose," she smiled at the little mermaid, her hands clasped shyly in front of herself. "My brother is Roydon, Arwen's husband ... I ... I'm not sure if you all remember me, but I was rescued by Donovan when I was a child ... my brother and I both were."

Roydon chuckled softly. "Then I insist on knowing what I am to be pitied for," he grinned at her. "And if the conversation was about me, then what was being said, so that I can measure the truth of it."

Arahad picked up a large roasting pan full of meat. "Pity you being stuck with my sister," he winked. "Then again, it was your own decision, so maybe we shouldn't feel sorry for you."

Roydon laughed heartily. "Indeed not!" he chuckled, slipping one arm around Arwen's shoulders and drawing her close. He dared not look at her, because he knew that at that moment she was probably making a face at her brother for his teasing.

And she was. Her eyes were narrow as she glared at Arahad, but there was an impish twinkle in them that showed that she wasn't as miffed as she appeared.



Elros smiled. "My dear Lin, if you plan on traveling in our world, then you must learn to expect baseless attacks. From people, from creatures, from ... well, anything you might encounter ... but I do have to admit that I am glad you first encountered something of the sort in your own world, from people who are relatively harmless, rather than something that truly wishes you dead."



Rose giggled at Naida and moved a bit closer to Adanedhel so that she could look a bit more closely at the mermaid.

"And how many times have you been here?" she asked curiously, her dark eyes bright with happiness. "Adanedhel says that it's rare that visitors come ..."

Still standing by the doorway, Adonijah stared at the floor and shuffled his feet anxiously.