Welcome to Gaia! ::

Caranthir and Aerin were the first to ride into the ranch, and Aerin, as always, was silent. She rode past Miyu without a word and headed towards the stables to have her horse looked after right away.

Caranthir followed shortly after her, and then the rest of the group arrived. Timaeus, riding alongside Lin, Celeborn with the cart of children, Bronwe, asleep in the cart with the children, Arthael and Halmir following behind everyone, and Donovan somewhere in the mix. There were eight children in all, a smaller number than there had been in the past, though still a sizable group.

Miyu wasn't the only one there to greet them: Haradhel of course was there, and Arahad, and Ruque had asked to be allowed to be there, though he was the only of Celebor's children. Ruran of course didn't care (and it would probably be disastrous for him to be there), Kanis was a bit shy of large groups, and Aras was still clinging to her father. Niyana had wanted to come as well, but as there was no telling how the children would react to seeing a new human ... well. In the end, it was Alyse who took Ruque to the ranch, and who was also there to greet the group.

Ruque looked at everyone quietly. He had been told about what the hunt was about, but he hadn't been certain what to expect. All of the grim faces made him feel a little anxious inside, and when he saw the children, and how sad and tired they were, he had to bite his lip to keep from going over to look at them right away.

He looked up at Haradhel. "Do they need help?" he asked quietly.

Haradhel nodded. "We'll look after them," she smiled. "Don't you worry. Come on, let's go help them down and meet them all." She led him towards the cart.

Celeborn climbed down from the cart and began to help the children to the ground, speaking to them in elvish, calming them.

Ruque also helped the children down from the cart, speaking to them in their own language. Once they were all down, they headed off with Haradhel towards the house, and Ruque looked up at Donovan.

"Hey you," he said shyly, sidling up to the man slowly. "Are you my great-grandpa?"

Timaeus dismounted his horse and hurried after Lin, worried about her well-being.

"Are you all right?" he asked her softly as they headed to the stable. "You look exhausted ..."

Ruque grinned at Donovan. "Papa told us all about you," he said, nodding wisely. "He said a lot of things. He says ... he says you're really strong, and that you're always looking out for people."

He had said a lot more, too, but Ruque didn't bother mentioning a lot of it.

"Are you going to stay here for a while?" he asked. "And help take care of the kids, too? Aunt Haradhel says I can help, Mama trained me a bit in first aid so I know a little bit about medicine and stuff."

Timaeus smiled faintly. "Have you been having dreams?" he asked her softly.

He'd had dreams when he had first gone with on the hunts. He hadn't slept well for days. And after the little girl had died on that one trip, he hadn't slept for months.

Ruque smiled brightly at Donovan. "Papa would really like that, I think," he said warmly. "He was talking a lot about seeing you again. We saw Grandma and Grandpa before we came out here, and that made him happy, too."

Timaeus looked at Lin with pity in his eyes. Yes, he knew what she was going through. Without uttering a word, he let go of his horse and reached over to Lin, gathering her into his arms and hugging her tightly. He wanted to comfort her, let her know that she wasn't alone.

"I'm here for you," he murmured softly. "If you ever need anything at all, I'm here for you."

Ruque nodded happily, glad that Donovan was starting to be more conversational - or at least, it seemed so.

"Aras and Kanis and Ruran are at Ulani and Ulrich's house," he grinned. "That's where we're staying until we have a house of our own! Papa's building it with Ulrich and Adonijah. Ruran doesn't like Adonijah much ... well, he doesn't like most of the people here but he especially doesn't like Adonijah."

Timaeus gently stroked Lin's back. "Would you like me to walk you to the house?" he asked her softly. "Others can worry about the horses. You look like you're going to fall asleep on your feet."

Ruque blinked. "Um ... I don't know what that means, but Ruran said Adonijah threw him in the river and beat him up ... but I think Adonijah's really nice, so I don't know if maybe he's lying or something ..."

Of course, he was the type of child who hated confrontations, and so he wouldn't ask about it either.

Timaeus smiled and started towards the house carefully, making sure that Lin wouldn't trip. "I know you really didn't know what to expect on this trip," he said softly, "but I think you should know ... you did an amazing job. With everything."

Ruque shrugged. "Well, Ruran had a reeeeeeeeeally big bruise," he said, "so ..."

He let the sentence hang. How else would Ruran have gotten such a huge bruise, and in such an awkward place?

"Lin," Timaeus said firmly, "everything you did, you did for the sake of those children. Don't have regrets. Yes, lives were taken, but think of those that were saved because of it. Not only the eight children that we brought home, but the hundreds more that won't be kidnapped by these men because of it."

He hugged her again. "It should never be easy to take a life, I agree. But on the other hand, if you hesitate, it could someday mean your own life instead."