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Earendil chuckled. "Now that, I can only imagine," he grinned. "But that's fine."

He looked over the side of the roc at the scenery passing below them. "I think Haldia's turning an hour's walk into just a few minutes," he commented with a laugh.

And sure enough, the ranch was already in sight, and they were approaching it very rapidly.

"Not that there's anything wrong with that," Earendil grinned. "Though Haldia's still soaking wet, she'll need that time to dry off and get changed, maybe even take a warm bath. That water wasn't cold, exactly, but it wasn't warm either."

Besides, it would give them a bit of time to just relax before going on to the next thing.

The roc began to descend slowly, still moving quickly over the forest.

Very soon they were on the ground again, and as had happened the day before, there was a bit of a crowd there to greet them when they climbed down from the roc's back, onlookers who were curious and excited to see the roc up close.

Earendil helped Lin and Kara and Donovan down, then led them towards the house.

"We should probably find Haradhel and see how much time we have before dinner," he suggested as they made their way towards the house. "Just to be sure."

"In the kitchen!" Haradhel's voice came back to them.

Earendil chuckled. "She seems to spend a lot of time there," he grinned at Lin. Raising his voice a bit, he called out, "Does that mean that dinner will be soon?"

"By the Valar, no!" Haradhel laughed, coming out to the dining room and then to the hallway to greet them all. "I've barely just begun, it will be an hour at the very least."

She tilted her head as Haldia came through the door behind them all, still wet (though no longer dripping). "I see someone enjoyed the weather," she smiled. "Come, Haldia, you should put some dry clothes on."

"Perhaps a hot bath?" Earendil suggested, stepping aside so that Haldia and Haradhel would be able to reach the stairs without any trouble.

"That would be wonderful," Haldia spoke up sheepishly. "It is cold when you fly when you are wet."

Earendil was about to open his mouth and offer to help with feeding Miyuki at the meal, but a quick glanced at Donovan was enough to silence him. The last thing he needed was for Donovan to start his teasing all over again.

"I'll see you down here when you're ready then," he nodded at Kara and Lin and Haldia, while at the same time wondering if it would be safe for him to stay down here with Donovan while the women all went upstairs.

But at that moment the door opened, and Ahren and Shiara stepped inside, and he felt better immediately. Donovan wouldn't be rude in front of Shiara, would he?

"Excuse us," Ahren murmured as they passed through the crowd of people in the hallway. Shiara was right behind him, her hand tucked securely in his, and they made their way past everyone and headed into the dining room.

As Earendil went off with Ahren and Shiara, Haradhel led the others upstairs. In Kara and Donovan's bedroom, she filled a basin with warm water, and then did the same in Lin's bedroom before heading to the bath room to fill a tub for Haldia. Once they were all set, she headed back to the kitchen to continue preparing the meal.

In the dining room, Ahren, Shiara and Earendil had a light conversation while they waited for the others to come down.

Earendil invited Lin to sit next to him, and when Kara and Donovan came down, he waved to them in greeting. It wasn't long after that when the meal was ready, and Haldia, Leyenda, Kelirahc, Amalirahc, Elrohir and Arahad also joined them for the meal.

Once the meal was over, Shiara helped Haradhel to clear the table, and then, since it was quite dark outside by this time, Leyenda and Kelirahc headed up to bed with Amalirahc. They had had quite an active day about the ranch, it seemed, and even the adults were tired. Amalirahc had fallen asleep at the table already, so there was no question that he was tired.

Earendil glanced over at Lin. "How is Miyuki holding up?" he asked her softly. "She going to sleep all right tonight?"