Welcome to Gaia! ::

From the other side of the curtain, a soft voice called in the Common Tongue, "Come in."

When they entered, Mailon was sitting on a chair by the window, his gaze directed outwards. The sunlight on his white hair almost seemed to glow, and his skin did not have much more colour to it. He was wearing a light, thin shirt and leggings, both white, and only the long, grey scars that now crossed his arms and face broke up the paleness that made him up.

He glanced towards Earendil and Lin when he heard them come in and his grey eyes flickered towards them, and his eyebrows rose slightly in surprise when he saw them.

"Forgive me for not greeting you better," he apologized, turning away from the window to face them properly. "I thought you were Shiro."

Mailon nodded. "I see. Truth be told, I still didn't expect anyone else to visit me, I ... well, aside from Ahkshi, Shiro is the only one I've seen. I suppose I ought to expect it, but ..."

He shrugged. He looked as though he were trying to think what to say, but didn't know what to talk about.

Mailon nodded and smiled faintly. "I must admit, it is a nice change," he murmured. He gestured towards the bed and a second chair that was opposite his.

"Make yourselves comfortable," he invited them.

His voice was so soft that Earendil had been straining to hear Mailon speak, but he understood the gesture and moved to sit on the edge of the bed, leaving the chair for Lin if she wanted it, but making sure there was room for her to sit next to him if she wished.

Mailon's eyes followed Earendil as he sat. "You must have been somewhere dangerous, wherever it is that you went. You did not look like that when first I saw you, unless I am mistaken."

Mailon grimaced when Lin said they'd been in Garnelia, and he was about to say something, but when Lin asked him to speak up he blinked at her, surprised.

"Speak up?" he repeated curiously.

"These scars were not the only damage I received in Garnelia," Earendil told the man quietly. "My hearing was also damaged so I have trouble hearing soft voices, or when there is a lot of noise around."

"Ah." Mailon smiled sympathetically. "I am sorry. I shall try." He looked back at Lin. "But what were you doing there? Most people try to avoid that place entirely, and those who live there try to escape."

Mailon blinked at Lin. "A general?" he repeated. He leaned forward in his chair, putting his weight on his elbows, which rested on his knees. "The General? You overthrew him? He's gone?"

Earendil traced his index finger lightly along one of the scars on his cheek. "Someone had to."

The White Elf shook his head incredulously. "Unbelievable. I did not think it possible. The people with whom I spoke - the people I helped out of the country ... they all said that the royal family had been destroyed. Ended."

"And now she is queen," Mailon murmured, leaning back and looking out the window again. He smiled softly. "Well. That is good news. Thank you."

He looked at the two of them again. "That is the first good news I have received since I came here."

Mailon was clearly surprised by the question - probably by the fact that she would care - and he had to think about it before he could answer her.

"I ... well, yes," he mused. "In some ways at least."

He sighed. "It has been a very long time since I have been in one place for this long, and I know I am not yet well enough to travel, but ... it is getting very difficult to stay. Shiro's visits have been wonderful, but ... it does not change things."