Welcome to Gaia! ::

They ate their breakfast leisurely, since they were in no rush for the day, and then they prepared to leave for the day. It was mid-morning by the time they left the house, and they meandered through the streets towards Aennan and Aranxia's house.

"So Andarien," Earendil spoke up as the four of them walked, "did you and your grandfather end up finding an efficient way to bring Galanna to Aennan and Aranxia's house?"

Andarien grinned at his parents over his shoulder. "Yeah. Got the idea from Shiro, actually. A chair with wheels."

Andarien nodded. "Yeah ... and handles so that it can be pushed easily, because Aennan says she's not very strong and she probably couldn't move it herself. Shiro helped me and Neko design it and then Neko and Corazin and I built it together, we finished it yesterday morning and brought it to her."

He smiled, recalling the occasion. "She was really grateful," he murmured softly.

"It was good for lessons," Andarien grinned. "I think the part I liked best about making it was that it's actually going to be used. It's important, I mean. Sure, some of the other stuff I made is useful, but not as important as something like this."

Earendil chuckled and had to fight back the urge to ruffle his son's hair. The youth was too old - and too tall - to do that now. But he was proud of him nonetheless.

"And there were no problems?" he asked, letting Andarien interpret the question how he would.

Andarien tilted his head thoughtfully. "Well ... Neko was a bit quiet, which was weird, but other than that, no. The chair worked well, Galanna was happy, Lykor was happy ... and I think Neko was happy, too. Kind of hard to tell with him."

Andarien raised one eyebrow at his mother. "You think?" he asked, sincerely rather than sarcastically. "I mean, yeah, he's a bit quiet sometimes, but I always thought that was just because he's not very good with people he doesn't know."

The corner of Earendil's mouth twitched. Far be it from him to spoil his son's view of his grandfather.

"It's hard to tell with him sometimes," he said evasively.

"Huh." Andarien grew quiet as he thought about that. He had only seen the nice side of his grandfather, personally, and the thought that only a few people got to see that side of him was odd to him.

Soon enough, they arrived at Aennan and Aranxia's home, which was now fully completed. The front door was open invitingly, and Earendil allowed the rest of his family to enter before following them.

Inside, the place was nicely decorated, without being overly much so. There were flowers lining the walls, and in the (rather large) sitting room, a table to one side hosted a myriad of refreshments, both food and beverages.

There were also some other people there by this time, though they were still expecting more: Regan, Aranel, and Luthien seemed to be more or less just hanging around; Aennan was fussing over a few last-minute things; River and Jess were present and seemed to be exploring the house; Lancaeriel and Wren were in conversation in one corner of the sitting room; and even Amanya, the librarian, was there, keeping to herself and looking as though she felt somewhat out of place next to a window.

Aranxia, Tinuviel, Ruel, and Aennan's family were nowhere in sight, and Earendil also wondered who else might have been invited. It was definitely a smaller crowd than had been invited to Luk and Lily's wedding, but a good number nonetheless.

It was not long before a few more guests arrived: Aysu, energetic and bubbly, along with her sister, Ta'neer, who, as usual, was far calmer than her sister, and Dwr, who was making a point of not being overly excited.

"Unbelievable," Dwr murmured, looking around in awe at everything. "A house like this in just a few weeks ..."

"Some people know what they want and make a point of getting it," Ta'neer replied simply, without her usual sting. Indeed, her words were now accompanied with a smile, and Dwr himself chuckled back at her.

"Naida!" Aysu beamed, greeting Naida with a tight hug as if she hadn't seen her in a very long time (which was of course not true, as they swam together almost daily). "Isn't this just exciting? It was crazy enough when Aennan started courting Aranxia because we all thought no one would ever be able to drag him away from his work, but now - wow! They're actually getting married!"

Her enthusiasm was unbridled, and she was drawing more than a few glances - though most of them were amused.

River and Jess had finished their exploration of the house about the same time as Naida and now came to join their group of friends.

"I bet it won't be long before there's yet another wedding," River grinned, winking at Ta'neer and Dwr.

Ta'neer smiled self-consciously, but Dwr just chuckled. "Nah, not for a while," he grinned. "We're in the same boat as you - waiting to be of age."

"At least you finally got your head on straight," Aysu teased him.