Welcome to Gaia! ::

"You can say that again," Earendil murmured to Lin. "And I have absolutely no idea where it came from. All I know is, she was asking Rhea about her baby ..."

Maybe he was better off not knowing. He wasn't sure he wanted to.

Aurin and Rhea led Lin and Earendil and Miyuki outside and behind the palace towards the cliffs. It was a magnificent view: the ship out in the ocean, the rocs soaring above the island, and the palace rising behind them. The sun was high in the sky, and there was nary a cloud in sight. There was a slight breeze, just enough to make the day comfortably warm.

"The air smells so good here," Earendil murmured softly, closing his eyes to more thoroughly enjoy it.

Earendil smiled and slipped one arm around Lin's shoulder, holding her comfortably to him as they stood there, just taking in the sights and the smell. He opened his eyes and looked out at the ship at Miyuki's exclamation, and he chuckled softly.

"Indeed," he murmured. He waved down to the ship, and he could see people on the deck waving back to him. The others might be able to see some of the movement, but probably little else. "They're quite far away, aren't they?"

Earendil chuckled. "Well, I think it's Arwen and Leyenda on deck ... they're waving back. Some of the crew, too, though they're not waving. And ..."

A black speck appeared on the deck, running from one end of the ship to the other.

"That would be Amalirahc," Earendil finished with a laugh.

Earendil saw one of the women, he couldn't tell which, point them out to Amalirahc, and the boy turned and waved back as well.

"Looks like his usual," he grinned. "Just being adventurous."

Rhea was also looking down at the ship, and there was a warm smile on her face. "It's good to see him again," she murmured. "He was so small the last time I saw him ..."

Rhea giggled. "I'm glad to hear that you're still such good friends. Don't let that change, okay? Even if you're not always together, it's good to always have your friends. Even if you grow up and you don't play the same games as you do now."

She smiled and looked down at the ship. "There are a lot of good memories in that place," she murmured softly. "Sometimes it feels as if it was a third home to me, one that I would like to visit again someday."

"Well, we'll see about that," Rhea chuckled. "Aurin after all has his duty here. Perhaps Mama and Papa could come out here sometime, I can't see me traveling at all in the near future. Especially like this." She motioned towards her stomach.

"Look at the bright side," Earendil pointed out. "You're not confined to your bed yet."

"And hopefully won't be at all," Rhea agreed. "I don't know if I would be able to handle that."

"Exactly," Rhea agreed with Lin, grinning. "It's just not in me to sit around and wait for things to happen. And it's not like I have to be carried everywhere, either. I'm perfectly capable of walking around on my own."

"Thank the Valar," Aurin quipped. "Else she'd be driving me mad, I think."

Rather than taking the comment amiss, Rhea just laughed. "Too true, too true."

Earendil chuckled. "Well, everyone is different," he commented. "Tinuviel was on bed rest for Regan, but she was fine for Aranxia."