Welcome to Gaia! ::

"Likewise," Pengolodh replied warmly, reaching out to shake Daemon's hand. "It's been decades, Daemon. Not that it's your fault, I know, Grandfather hadn't visited for a long time and then you had to get back to your own world."

Pengolodh's wife looked at him, her brow furrowed in confusion. "What does that mean?" she asked him softly.

"It means exactly what he said," came another voice from the doorway. It was Amora, small and slight like her mother, the same black ringlets tumbling around her shoulders, though her face was like both of her parents'.

Directly behind her was her own daughter. Maeglin was an adult by this time, and she had inherited more of her father's traits than her mother's: she was slim but taller than her mother, and her hair was pin-straight, though it was pulled back into a long braid at the moment.

"Welcome back, Daemon," Amora greeted him. "And Long, welcome for the first time. Well," she added with a laugh, "the first time from me. I'm sure Mother and some others have welcomed you already."

She turned and put one arm around her daughter's shoulders and brought her forward. "My eldest daughter, Maeglin," she introduced her proudly to Daemon and Long.

Maeglin smiled warmly at the two. "It's a pleasure to meet you," she beamed.

Alinda still looked doubtful, and it was clear that no one had explained to her before that the family was connected with another world.

"Perhaps you could explain during lunch," Pengolodh chuckled at Daemon, motioning for them all to sit. He led the way with Alinda, and Saria ran after them.

It was then that a large group of people entered the dining hall together: Celebrindor, the fourth of Estel and Lothiriel's children; Elwin, Amora's husband, and Lalwen, whose foreheads were beaded with perspiration; and then Egleriad, Amora's eldest child, with his wife, Kiara, both of whom were still very young, and Kiara was carrying a basket with a sleeping child in it.

Of all of them, Kiara was the only Light Elf, and though the fact made her stand out from the others, it was very clear that id didn't bother her in the least. She was so comfortable that it was if she had always been a part of the family.

Most of the clan wanted to meet Daemon and Long before they sat down for their meal, and Lothiriel introduced them all to Long and Daemon, by name and relation.

Kiara was delighted to meet more people from Gaia.

"So you're related to Miyuki," she said, making the statement sound more like a question when she said it to the two men. "It's been a few years since I met her ... how is she doing?"

She still remembered her time exploring the maze below the palace with Miyuki and Elia fondly: it had been at that time that she had first begun spending time in the palace without her (then) fiance and it had been quite enjoyable.

"Ah." Kiara smiled softly. "I should have known. When she was here, they were already speaking of a long trip they would be taking ..."

She gestured for them to sit at the table so that the meal would be served.

"Did River end up going on that trip with them as well?" Maeglin asked from across the table as she slid into her own chair. Then she blushed lightly. "Or ... well, I suppose she's not from your world, so you might not know ..."

For that matter, really she could find out on her own, if she wanted to. But she was curious about River and Jess, since River had spoken to her so much about the boy when she'd been there.

"Oh, I'm sure it would," Maeglin agreed with a smile. "Well, perhaps I'll see her again someday."

It was then that the servants brought in the meal: trays of thin, naan-like bread with various jellies made from the desert fruit, as well as dishes of fresh fruit, cut into small cubes.

"So tell me, Daemon," Lothiriel smiled at him from her seat, "how was it, returning home? Were you able to adjust easily?"

Lothiriel laughed softly. "I would imagine that your family must be quite large by this time," she winked at him, her eyes sparkling with amusement. "Much bigger than you would ever have imagined it would become."

They were interrupted briefly by the arrival of the human that she and Estel had been speaking with earlier, and everyone except for Estel and Lothiriel rose to their feet to show respect to the youthful prince. Estel spoke to him in the human tongue, and the prince bowed respectfully before moving to an empty chair at the end of the table.

Once the prince had sat down, the others also resumed their seats and continued their meals.

"And how is my aunt doing?" Lothiriel asked Daemon eagerly once he had also sat down again. "We haven't seen her since before we were married, when she and Lore were on their ... oh, what did they call it, Estel?"

Her husband looked over at her and thought a moment. "Honeymoon?" he suggested.

"Yes, that was it," Lothiriel agreed. "Their honeymoon."