Welcome to Gaia! ::

There were greetings all around, and Luthien grinned and winked at Miyuki. "You really don't think we would miss our first granddaughter's wedding," she teased her.

Ruel was more or less eying Aennan, ignoring most of the others.

Aennan felt self-conscious, though in all fairness it wasn't entirely Ruel's fault. He was after all meeting the parents of his fiancee face-to-face for the first time.

"Hello, Aennan," Aranel greeted the young man warmly, extending a hand to him.

Aennan shook it firmly, his nerves not getting in the way of his courtesy. "Hello, sir," he smiled. "It's nice to see you in person."

"Likewise," Tinuviel grinned. "And I'm sure you can guess that this is our other daughter, Regan."

Regan greeted Aennan excitedly, and Tinuviel went on to introduce her parents. Luthien of course was very warm towards Aennan, though Ruel, as usual, held himself back and was nothing more than civil.

Arwen let the others greet the newcomers first - being as they were more closely related, after all - and instead turned her attention to the two who had made the portal possible.

"Are you two going to be all right?" she asked them anxiously, standing where the portal had been but a moment before. "Do you need anything?"

"Sugar," Lancaeriel replied, closing her eyes to stop the world around her from spinning. Using magic was like running a marathon: the body needed physical nourishment after heavy usage, and sugar was the fastest way to recover. Not the healthiest perhaps, but it was very effective.

"Replenish your blood sugar level," Lancaeriel replied with a tired smile. "Magic takes more than energy from us. Without something to work from, rest will do our bodies no good at the moment."

In the meanwhile, Arwen had headed off to the galley to find something for the two of them to eat, and the others were discussing what to do.

"We might as well stow our bags first," Aranel suggested, "and then go find Aranxia. We can see a bit of the city on our way, but I'd very much like to see her."

"I just want to see her reaction when she sees us," Regan laughed. "She's going to be so surprised ..."

"And what are you going to do?" Luthien asked Earendil and Lin with a warm smile. "Are you going to go with us to see Aranxia?"

Luthien and Regan both laughed heartily. They were also looking forward to seeing the look on Aranxia's face - in addition to just plain seeing her, of course.

"Let us put our bags away and we'll be right with you, then," Luthien winked at the two of them.

"Come, I will take you," Aennan offered. He had helped prepare the rooms for the guests, he knew where they were going to stay: Arwen was still busy with Lancaeriel and Miyuki, so he thought he might as well take them.


Lancaeriel smiled at Miyuki, then closed her eyes and leaned her head against the wall. "The more you use magic, the more you'll find out what your abilities and limitations are. You'll find out yourself what you can do and what you need afterwards."

Arwen was the first to return, and she had a number of snacks with her: some cookies, some candies, and a few miniature cakes. Clearly she had been spending some time at the bakery and sweet shop.

"Here," she told the two of them, holding out the snacks. "I hope this is fine."

Lancaeriel opened her eyes and smiled. "Perfect." She reached for one of the cakes. "Thank you." She turned her eyes to Miyuki and nodded for her to choose whatever she would like and bit into the cake.

Strawberry. Yum.

"Come, if you can make it, you'd best rest up in a bed," Arwen told them anxiously. "My bed is the closest ... it's enormous, so there's room for you both if you don't mind sharing."

"I don't mind," Lancaeriel assured her. She looked over at her young protegee. "How about you, Miyuki? Then we can sleep for as long as we need to recover."

Arwen helped Lancaeriel and Miyuki to the bed in the captain's quarters, and when she returned out on deck Aranxia's family had also returned.

"All right, we're ready," Tinuviel announced. "And I think we're all hoping for a bit of a tour on the way."

Ruel turned his eyes to the sky, but aside from that small movement the group showed only excitement.

Aennan smiled widely. "I'd be honoured," he agreed. He bowed his head to his future in-laws. "Please, this way."

Regan giggled at Aennan's actions. "I can see why Aranxia was unwilling to wait," she grinned, causing Aennan's face to flush. The young man led the way down the gangplank and onto the pier, and started towards the city.

Luthien nudged her way between Lin and Earendil and linked an arm with each of them. "Now," she beamed, looking from one to the other, "I'd like to know how you two have been doing while you've been here. How have you been enjoying yourselves?"

Earendil couldn't hold back a chuckle, either. "Indeed, Mother, I think we can safely say that there is no other place like this anywhere," he agreed. "With the variety of races here, there has been a wide collection of knowledge, such as can only be found where races gather. The advanced they have made, the knowledge they share, the peace they experience ... it's all amazing. And the way everyone is accepted, no matter their race, or their mixture ..."

Luthien's eyes sparkled brightly. "Think it will rub off on your father?" she asked them with a wink.