Welcome to Gaia! ::

Storm didn't really react to Lin's question, but Starr smiled a bit and nodded. "We haven't been here in summer before ... I wonder if they have different flowers now."

And of course in the many years that had passed, who knew what had happened to the courtyard since then.

"Then why don't we go now?" Rhea smiled at the two. "If you're finished eating ..."

Storm had barely touched his food, but he nodded and pushed his plate away. Starr grabbed some bread from his plate before standing up. "We're ready," she told Rhea and Lin.

Earendil laughed and ruffled the fur on Senka's head affectionately. "I've got some good sun in my window in the morning," he grinned at her, "if you would like to keep me company."

Starr tugged on Storm's arm and tried to get him to take the bread, but he didn't seem to want it at all.

"Well, let's go," Rhea smiled. "The day won't wait forever."

Rhea walked on the other side of Storm, though she was too tall to take his arm the way Lin had. "I understand Sir Valdemar has been your teacher here for languages and history, Lin," she commented. "Fascinating, isn't it?" She smiled warmly at Lin, though she was beginning to feel the uneasiness excreting from Storm. Oddly enough, it seemed ... familiar ... somehow.

Storm looked up at Lin, and since she had asked him directly, and since it wasn't a big deal, he figured he would answer. He nodded jerkily. It had been a long time ago, but it had been pretty neat ...

Rhea tilted her head slightly. "Book?" she asked, more to try to get Storm to talk than anything else.

Storm looked up at Rhea, his milky eyes emotionless. "Sir Valdemar has a book that he made that shows the history of the Four Lands, but when you read it it comes to life."

Rhea nodded and smiled. "It's an interesting language, especially when you try to pick through it and see where our modern languages came from. They did used to be one language, but when the Light and Dark elves split they changed, became unique."

Storm looked up at Rhea silently for a moment, then turned back to Lin. "Maybe we could see if Sir Valdemar has stories we haven't seen yet?" he suggested.

"I think that would be fun," Starr spoke up brightly.

Starr tilted her head curiously. "Alyse like Aliya's daughter?"

Rhea smiled. "The elves like to name their children after ancestors. Queen Alyse was the last common ancestor between our branch of the Aldrich family and Queen Atalya's. Adwin was named for Nako's grandfather. Adonijah for my father, since to my understanding, Father was not present when he was born."

"Do you think maybe we'll see Nako and Neko somewhere on our travels?" Starr asked Rhea.

Rhea smiled and shrugged. "Who knows? Though I do know that it's just about time for them to visit Arwen and Roydon. They usually come every other summer, and they didn't come around last year."

Rhea looked at Lin, puzzled. "Kick ... off?"

"Start off," Starr smiled. "I think it would be wonderful."

Even Storm looked a little wistful at the thought. "It's been a really long time since we've seen Nako," he said softly. "I liked it when she visited us at home."

"It was only two weeks," Starr murmured, "but it was a lot of fun."

Rhea patted Storm on the head. "Perhaps we'll see her," she told him encouragingly. "And if not, then we'll write a letter to her when we return and ask her to visit us instead, how does that sound?"

Storm looked up at Rhea, and a faint smile crossed his face. "Yeah?" he asked hopefully. "Really?"