Welcome to Gaia! ::

Adonai smiled at Cindy and led her back down the hall towards the stairs. "Sorry about that," he apologized. "It's still new to her, and the idea that she can make her magic leave her body and take a visible form ... well ... I suppose no child would be able to resist that. Like Adanedhel and his orbs."

There were more stairs than one might be accustomed to, considering that the elves required a taller ceiling than humans, but they were padded with a plush carpet.

Adonai laughed. "Well, don't suggest that to Rhea," he chuckled, "because she already makes it rain. If she ever learns to control temperatures as well ..."

He let the suggestion hang.

"I imagine it would," Adonai smiled as they reached the top of the stairs. He directed her to the left and opened a door to a large room. "Here you are," he murmured. "Bed for sleeping ... shelves for books, table for writing or ... experimenting or whatever it is you want to do, your mother warned me about that. Large window, so lots of natural light, though of course there are candles for night or dark periods ..."

He stepped in and set her bag on the bed, then moved so that she could also come in. "What do you think?"

Adonai could see in Cindy's eyes and on her face how pleased she was with the arrangement, and he smiled warmly, filled with contentment.

"We left the walls bare," he added, motioning towards the plain wood. "We didn't know if you would want them painted a certain colour, or have pictures to put up, or plants ..."

There were also little tables here and there that were meant for plant pots and the like, in case she wanted to try growing some indoors.

"And you're right above the kitchen," he added with a smile, "so you've got the most warmth in the mornings."

Adonai grinned happily. "I'm glad you like it," he murmured again. He wanted her to feel comfortable there, and happy ... he knew what it was to be homesick, and he didn't want her to have to feel that way.

"So," he grinned. "The rest of the house?"

Adonai smiled. "Why not top to bottom," he suggested. "Since we're up here anyways, and it gives Shael and Rhea a chance to start on their lessons so that we don't delay them any more than we have to."

He led her out into the hallway. Besides her door, there was one other on that side of the hall (but on the other side of the stairs), and three doors on the opposite side.

"This is Rhea's room," he told her, opening the door directly across from hers. "She insisted that your room be as close to hers as possible."

Rhea's room was nearly as big as Cindy's, and set up nearly the same. The main difference was that the walls were covered with drawings stuck up on nails of just about everything imaginable, real and otherwise.

Adonai was relieved that she didn't mind.

"She's a quiet sleeper," he assured her, "though she tends to wake up easily."

Then again, what elf didn't?

"The next two rooms," he went on, leaving Rhea's bedroom and going on down the hall, "are mostly for storage ... though I have to admit we don't have much in them, even after eleven years. If you need any extra space, don't hesitate to ask."

He paused a moment outside the final door, the one that was on the same side of the hall as Cindy's but the other side of the stairs. "And this is Shael's and my room," he told her, opening the door so that she could peer inside. There was a double bed in the middle of the outer wall, and wardrobes on each side, as well as a bookcase on Adonai's side of the room. "If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to ask us, we're here for you."