Welcome to Gaia! ::

Lore swallowed a bite of his sandwich as he looked at them a bit confused.

"There's a house?" he inquired.

If they were going to go up there (and he wasn't sure it depended on how dangerous was the mountain) they would have to get someone to show them the way because he didn't know what they were talking about.

"What do you think, Lore?" Elnara asked softly, smiling at him. She reached for her cup and took a long drink.

"Yes, Papa! Say yes!" Storm and Starr begged together, eyes wide and pleading.

"But Idhril's sleeping!" Celebor protested. "What if she wakes up and nobody's here?" He paused a moment, looking as if he was bursting to say something, and only after a moment of serious thought did he blurt, "Besides, Ulani said she would show me something this afternoon so what if I stay here with her and you guys go?"

He covered his mouth and looked at Lore and Elnara as if he had suggested something bad.

"It is a long way," Serenity added softly, swirling her drink around in her cup. "I think I'll stay here, too ... if that's okay ..."

Elnara looked at Lore again. "I think that would be fine," she said, nodding slowly. "You, me, the twins, and Skye? What do you think?"

Elnara smiled. "Thanks," she said to Ulani, rising from her chair. As Storm and Starr jumped to their feet and ran to Lore to be carried, she headed over to Skye and signed the idea to her, asking her if she wanted to come along. The young angel nodded excitedly, grabbing Elnara's hand.

"Ready, then?" Elnara smiled at Lore.

The twins nodded enthusiastically, settling in and grabbing onto his shoulders for balance.

"It's high up there!" Storm grinned, his milky eyes sparkling.

"We'll be up in the sky!" Starr giggled, her expression mirroring her brother's.

Elnara laughed and led the others outside. "Well, it's a bit of a trip, so we'd best get started," she grinned, stepping out onto the porch. "But it is very beautiful," she added, her expression growing soft and wistful.

The mountain had been the first place she had gone, the place she had considered refuge, for the first few months after her rape. It had brought her comfort, but she hadn't been able to bring herself to go to any of the people who lived in the valley. She knew they would have helped her, she had known they would have been concerned for her ... but she had been fearful of hurting them, of not being able to control herself as she had been unable to control herself when she had caught up with the men who had violated her ... the mountain had been her refuge.

"Many years," she replied finally, lowering her eyes. She was silent for a moment longer, and then she smiled and looked at Lore. "It will be good to be back," she told him softly. "Tor Karad, the city where my family lives, is also on a mountain ... it reminds me of that, sometimes."

But without the prejudice and hatred.

Elnara laughed softly. "Look forward to it? I don't think I ever will. No," she murmured, smiling and turning her face towards the sun. "No, I'm not looking forward to it. With you by my side, I might find the courage, I might even be all right ... but I don't think I'll be able to look forward to it."

She glanced at him and reached out with one hand, putting it on his shoulder and giving it a light squeeze. "You'll make it bearable," she told him with a smile.

Elnara walked closer to him, so close she could rest her head on his shoulder - though to keep walking easier, she declined to do so.

"To tell the truth," she admitted, "I don't even know why I want it so badly ... I mean, yes, I do want him to be educated in the way of my people ... of my kind," she amended, lowering her eyes. They weren't her people anymore. "But ... it's going to be hard ... leaving him ... and for us it won't be long, but for him who knows how long it will be?"

He had only been away from her for one night before ... and he had missed her terribly. Of course, he had been only a surprise then ...

No, that had been the first time she had left him alone. She had been away a second time, the time he had grown a stage ... the time she had gone on that trip with Sasku ...

She turned her head and pressed her face against Lore's shoulder for comfort.