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"When they lower the gangplank, we can go across to the Zephyr," Amalirahc told her, his eyes on the giant ship. "And then there will be lots of room. Just stand back here at the rail for now, okay?"

It probably would have been better for her to go to her parents, but it didn't enter his mind. To him, when they got here, his parents were always busy, and he would just be under foot.

Earendil looked around. "She was with Amalirahc a moment ago," he told her. "He would know enough to get her out of the way ..."

But he couldn't see either of them anywhere, probably because they were so small. Even Amalirahc was still small compared to the many sailors that were walking around now.

"Perhaps you should fly around and find her," he suggested to Lin. "You could look from above, it would be easiest that way."

Earendil watched Lin carefully as she searched for Miyuki, his eyes anxious. He knew Lin was a strong flier, but that didn't stop him from worrying. And he was worried about Miyuki as well: it had really surprised him, how quickly she had disappeared. It was something new to him, and not something that he felt he was enjoying.

Amalirahc was still standing with Miyuki over by the rail, staying out of the way of the sailors who were already setting the gangplank in place and fastening it so that it would be safe to cross.

"See?" he grinned. "They're almost ready!"

"Good," Earendil smiled, relieved. "Then if you want to keep an eye on them, just in case, I can get our bags, if you like. And once they're brought over, I should really help with the unloading. It will probably be the middle of the night before we're even finished, so I'm not sure if you would want to take Miyuki and go to bed ..."

He had no expectations that she would wait up for him, and really it was best if she got her rest. They had a long voyage ahead of them, and watching over Miyuki would probably take quite a bit of energy - or such was the feeling that he had.

Earendil chuckled, his eyes growing warm. It really made him feel good that she would say something like that. Loved. Because love wasn't about having to go out of your way to do something for the person you loved: often enough, it was the small, simple things. Sometimes those were the best things.

"Tell you what," he grinned. "I'll check in on you before I go to sleep. If you're up, so be it, but if not then that's fine too. Just promise me if you get tired enough, that you'll go to sleep instead of wait for me."

The second caravel was being unloaded onto the galleon at the same time, but even with all of the crew that there was, it took longer than Earendil had expected, and the night was beyond half over by the time he made it to Lin's cabin.

He didn't bother knocking: if she was asleep, he didn't want to wake her; instead, he simply opened the door and peered inside cautiously. He was tired, but he wouldn't go to sleep without keeping his promise to check on Lin and Miyuki.

Earendil's eyes grew soft as he watched the two people he loved best of any world. It was just adorable, the two of them lying like that. How could he wake them? But it was a bit cool on the ocean, even if they were still near land, and he couldn't help but think that Lin looked a bit cold. He stepped silently into her cabin and took one of the spare blankets from its shelf under the bunk, and slowly, ever so carefully so that he wouldn't wake either of them, he set it over them to keep them warm. Then he tiptoed back over to the door and smiled at them one last time.

"Good night," he murmured softly before turning to leave again.

Earendil was fast asleep in his bunk, still exhausted from the night before. His cabin was directly across from Lin's: he now occupied the one that the three nekos had shared on their last voyage. Kaito had been moved to share with Celeb in Earendil's old cabin, and Amalirahc had Celeb's old cabin to himself.

The ship had set sail as soon as the cargo had been loaded the night before, and by this time there was no land in sight. Roydon had stayed up to captain the ship, and he was standing at the wheel, sextant in hand. Their course had been set, and he was just making sure that the currents would not take them off course.

Amalirahc was also awake: he had been one of the few who had slept well the night before, and he was full of energy. He was standing with his grandfather, asking him all sorts of questions about the navigation. A few of the crew were up and about as well, but other than that the ship was quiet.