Welcome to Gaia! ::

Andarien's mind worked quickly. "Maybe if I could make some kind of ball," he mused, "you could use some of your runes to mimic the recalling properties of the real Pokeballs ... but ... we would have to know exactly what happens to the Pokemon when they go into the balls. Do they shrink? Are they transported to another plane? Do their bodies vanish while their spirits are transported in the balls?"

He had never really considered it before, but he really had no idea what happened when the Pokemon were recalled into their balls.

"We could just do our own thing, too," Andarien pointed out. "Who says everything has to be the same as Gaia?"

He grinned up at her.

"There," Lara murmured softly, pushing herself once more to her feet. "All clean. Though perhaps I should do some laundry now." She laughed softly. "Miyuki, are your clothes still clean or do they need to be washed, too?"

Lara nodded. "Then if you could change your clothes and give that set to me, I'll have it clean by tonight," she told her. "Andarien, come, you sister needs to get changed."

Andarien rose, though it was clear he did so reluctantly, and all the way to the door he kept his eyes on the baby Eevees.

"Oh, and Mi," he added as he stepped out the door, "Ada said to tell you that when you're not busy you have to go see Jess and tell him we need the tents as soon as possible."

Within a week's time, Kyrie had returned with furs for the travelers to have clothes made from, and of course with all the furs came a feast with the meat of the animals the furs had come from - elk, rabbit and wolf, primarily. Then had come the trips to the tailor, fittings and re-fittings, as well as to the cobbler for good warm footwear, and other places for the supplies that they would need.

In the meantime, winter came upon the city, though, being so close to the ocean, it was a very mild winter, with only the occasional snow, and the temperature very rarely falling below the freezing mark. It was far more common for it to rain, and winter ended up being a rather wet and dreary month.

But as there once again began to be more and more sunny days rather than rainy days, their preparations were completed, and it was announced that it was time for them to leave on their journey. That night, Arwen and Roydon hosted a massive banquet on board the Zephyr for those who would be going on the trip as well as all those who would be returning to the Four Lands and those who had come from the Four Lands but would be remaining there in Caras Galadhon - and all in all, it was a huge feast. They had made certain not to let it go too late into the night, however, as the traveling party would need a good night's rest so that they could start off early in the morning.

And then the morning dawned.

"You're certain you have enough supplies?" Lara worried as she prepared a hearty breakfast for the Aldrich family and Kyrie. "You know you can take more if you need ..."

Kyrie laughed. "I don't know why it amuses me that you still worry about supplies," she grinned, her dark eyes sparkling with amusement, "but it does."

"I'm not going to argue that," Kyrie quipped with a grin. "I've never seen so much disappear into such a small space. But I'm mostly amused because in the thousand years that I've been traveling, I don't think that I've ever taken supplies along with me."

"You did once," Lara reminded her sister.

"Once," Kyrie amended. "But I was in a rush that time."

"So after breakfast, if you want to fetch Andarien," Kyrie said to the others, serious now, "I'll meet you and the others at the gate of the city nearest Luk's house."

It had been decided upon the day before, so everyone knew, but Kyrie was going over things aloud.

Kyrie chuckled softly. "I'm sure he will. Corazin will make sure of that."

She rose from the table and pushed her chair in. "I'm going to head out. I'll meet you all there."

She hugged Lara, who kissed her on both cheeks, then picked up her bags and headed out the door.

With a wave, Kyrie was gone.

"We should also be on our way," Earendil murmured, wiping his mouth with a napkin as he rose from his seat. He pushed his chair in and set the napkin down again. "Thank you for everything you've done for us, Lara. Letting us stay here with you and feeding us every day ..."

Lara laughed softly. "Oh, you're very welcome. It goes both ways, you know. You've been excellent guests, and you've made my family very happy. I know Corazin won't ever find another apprentice like Andarien. When you've finished your journey, I know Corazin would enjoy seeing him again."