Welcome to Gaia! ::

Earendil smiled down at Miyuki and squeezed her ever so slightly. "Lady Alena is one of the Firstborn," he explained. "She was there at the beginning. She is much older even than Sir Elros. She was there when the other races were created ..."

He trailed off, then chuckled softly and added, "Not to mention, she was King Aerennel's historian for almost all of time. I know of no one who would know more than she, save Aragost himself."

"And it will take about that much time to get through it all," Earendil grinned. He set Miyuki beside him on the couch, then stretched and stood up. "On that note," he went on, "we should probably start our preparations. Elberon is worrying about the horses and Haradhel about the food, but we do have to worry about packing our own things."

And the sooner they got that finished, the sooner they could look forward to the celebrations that they were anticipating.

Earendil chuckled softly and ruffled Miyuki's hair. "Why don't we help you first," he smiled, "and then your mother and I can do our packing while you're off taking lessons with Elberon?"

It was only fair, after all, and he knew she liked doing things with her parents rather than alone.

Packing went well, and with everything that was going on, it seemed like no time at all before the first day of celebration arrived. Earendil woke early, excited for the day - not only for the celebrations themselves, though he was looking forward to them, but because it was the first celebration that Lin would attend with him. For all her years in Arda, she had missed every single celebration somehow - Yestarë, Mettarë, and the Enderi.

He slid out of bed, trying not to wake Lin, intent on completing the washing ritual before taking her from her sleep.

Earendil tucked the blanket around Lin to keep her warm before he padded quietly to the closet to choose the clothes he would wear that day. Then he slipped through the door, closing it quietly behind him.

It was about half an hour before he returned, his night clothes in one arm. He was dressed in dark colours: black pants and a very dark green tunic with black trim. His hair was wet, though not dripping.

Upon his return, he folded his night clothes and set them in the basket Haradhel had given him and Lin for their dirty clothes.

Earendil smiled and sat on the edge of the bed, reaching over to brush Lin's hair away from her face.

"I'm right here," he murmured softly.

He was glad she hadn't woken while he'd been gone, at least this way he was at least nearby.

Earendil smiled gently down at her. "Today is Mettarë. For some people, there is more to it than others. There is a ritual washing that many people do ... in essence it's a bath, but with symbolism."

He hesitated, wondering if he should add more, but he figured that in her sleepy state, Lin would probably just get confused - it had even taken him years to figure it out for himself, and that was growing up with it.

Earendil nodded. "To some people, today is just an excuse to have fun," he explained. "But most people take it very seriously. The entire day is a day of remembering the things of the past year, of reflecting on them, and, in the case of certain types of events, moving past them. Remembering those left behind, those who have moved on ... forgiving yourself for things you have done terribly wrong that until now you might have had trouble letting go of, even if others have forgiven you. While it is true that there is much celebration involved in the day, there are more rituals and ceremonies."

He smiled faintly. "I can teach you, if you like," he offered her.