Welcome to Gaia! ::

Earendil chuckled and reached out for Senka, holding her to his chest and petting her gently. "Good news," he beamed at everyone. "We're finished!"

Haldia blinked. "Finished? Truly?"

All three of the others looked excited about that. "Then it's time to go back to the beach and then on the ship?" Kelirahc asked excitedly.

Earendil chuckled. "Yes. But yes, Lin and I were hoping that we could see the lava tunnels before we leave. Kelirahc, you and Leyenda seemed to find them so fascinating, would you mind taking us there on the way back to the beach? Just for a few hours or something?"

His skills with the Ancient Tongue had greatly improved in their half year with the Night Elves, and with so much immersion he was very close to fluent.

Kelirahc nodded, smiling in amusement. "That would be fine. Kelleshahn is magnificent, and the lava tubes are ... unbelievable."

"Talking with Shi'nala," Haldia replied. "She has taken an interest in your people, just as Shiro has taken an interest in ours. He has been spending most of his time with her since he arrived, actually, right from your first visit here."

She glanced down towards the far end of the flet 'village', a few dozen trees away. "The elders are way down there. You can follow the flets there, there's nothing stopping you, and that way you don't have to go to the ground to get there. It will save you some time."

"Want someone to go with you?" Kelirahc asked, rising to his feet. "I need to speak to the elders anyways. Leyenda, Haldia, you should come along as well, I'm sure they will want to give us all a proper farewell."

Leyenda nodded and rose as well. "And I want to thank them for all they've done for us," she smiled. "Without them, I don't know if anything could have been resolved with us."

Earendil nodded. "That does sound like a plan," he agreed. "As representative of our nation, I have to speak with them as well."

He exhaled slowly. "Right. Just a bit more and then I can rest again," he murmured in English. "Funny how you don't feel tired until you actually sit down."

"I'll be fine," Earendil grinned. "I'll just be sure to sleep extra well tonight is all. Then tomorrow the lava tubes and the beach, and the day after that we can leave, at least in theory. And then I'll have all sorts of time to rest."

Which was fine for him, he was ready for a good long rest after two years of constantly walking and working.

Earendil smiled back at Lin, then braced himself and set off after the others, who had already started off towards Shiro and the elders.

Shiro was disappointed that it was time to go, but even he had to admit that he had already accomplished more than what he had planned or even hoped to do, and it was time for him to find a new land to explore and learn about. The elders were very kind and warm towards the group, and they made Kelirahc promise to send word back with Haldia about how he and Leyenda were doing when Haldia returned to them. And as a gift, Zylvithra gave Shiro three small orange saplings, for his experiments in seeing if they would grow elsewhere.

After a good night's sleep, it was time for them to head back, and Kelirahc brought them to the nearest clearing, where he summoned his spirit to take them back.

"I have to say," he commented, his English now as good as theirs, "I'm rather excited about the prospect of traveling. I had never thought about it before."

Kelirahc smiled at Lin as he touched his mark, and his spirit shimmered into being in front of them.

"As long as I am with Leyenda," he said softly, watching his wife with loving eyes as she helped Shiro and Earendil up onto the dragon's back, "anywhere is paradise."

Behind them, Haldia also summoned her own spirit, and her roc appeared in a shimmer of light and she climbed up onto its back. "Do you want me to go ahead?" she called out to the others. "I'm not particularly fond of the volcano, I can meet you at the beach and let the others know that you're coming."

Kelirahc nodded. "That's fine," he called back. "We'll only be an hour or two behind you."

With a nod, Haldia spoke to her spirit, and in a flutter of feathers and a rush of air, they were gone.