Welcome to Gaia! ::

Kaito shrugged. "Same as usual, I'd guess. Loves learning from the elves. Really wishing he was immortal. Still, he's young - early twenties. Got a lot of years ahead of him, still."

"Are Aethos and Alassëa not coming?" Earendil asked, confused.

Kaito opened his mouth to reply, then slapped his forehead. "Yeah," he muttered, clearly feeling rather stupid for having forgotten. "Yeah, they're coming."

"Any news on that front?" Earendil asked curiously. "Things were a bit ... questionable when we left."

Despite the three-quarters of a year that had passed after Aethos had asked Alassëa to marry him, to his knowledge she had still not given him an answer when they'd left for Gaia. In that time, Daeron and Iorlas had married, and that had been a bigger unknown than Aethos and Alassëa.

"And that's not even including Arwen and Roydon," Shiro quipped.

"Yes, hush," Kaito hushed his brother. "Alassëa I think has finally accepted the fact that Aethos loves her for her and that he's not just pitying her. She's accepted him. They're going to wait until they're in Amon Darthir to get married. I think Aethos wants to let Aerin marry them in the manner of the Sky Elves."

He laughed. "I wonder if his people will recognize him when he gets back. I don't know if I would, if I hadn't been with him to see his transformation!"

"I'm sure she will be," Earendil chuckled. "I don't know what she'll be more thrilled about - his transformation, the fact that he's getting married, or the fact that he wants her to marry them. And I wonder how the people will react."

"Why?" Andarien asked, looking from one parent to the other. "What's so strange about him?"

As far as he knew, Aethos was kind and gentle, fun - and funny to watch when he was with Alassëa.

"That's a bit of an oversimplification, I think," Earendil said, smiling gently. "He needs to know more than that to understand. You see, Andarien, for all of Aethos's life, his country was at war. Growing up for him was very different than for you, or for anyone else you know. He wasn't able to play or have friends to do things with. And his father was not a kind person. So Aethos was quite unhappy for a long time. But because it was all he knew, he didn't know that he was unhappy."

Andarien blinked at his father. "But what happened after his sister came back?" he asked curiously. He of course knew nothing about Aerin at all.

Now that was a more delicate matter, Earendil thought. Still, they couldn't shield him from the world forever.

"She took over the country from their father, who was king at the time, and became the new queen," he said, still keeping it simple. "Aethos didn't know what to do, because suddenly everything was different for him. So we suggested he come here with us to see what it's like in countries where people are happier."

"Oh ..." Andarien thought about that for a moment, then grinned. "I guess it's good that you thought to take him here. I think he's one of the nicest people I know."

Lancaeriel had not appeared at breakfast that morning, but when Miyuki arrived at the library, she was seated, as usual, at the desk which she seemed to have taken over. Nor was she alone: despite the fact that she seemed quite lost in what she was reading, Sir Valdemar was standing next to her, holding a smaller book close to his face and reading through it intently.

As incredible as elven hearing was, both of them were so intent in their reading that neither of them noticed when Miyuki arrived.

Both of the scholars jumped when Miyuki spoke, and Sir Valdemar nearly dropped the book that he was holding.

"Good morning," Lancaeriel returned the greeting, the first to recover from her surprise. She rubbed her eyes and turned towards the window. "Goodness, is it already that time?"

Sir Valdemar's eyes widened, and he set his open book down on the table. "Excuse me," he muttered, brushing past the others and leaving the room quickly.

Lancaeriel rose from her chair and stretched her back. "Far too long," she murmured. "Since just past dinner last night. I'm ashamed to say that we didn't even realize it was morning."

She rubbed her eyes again. "Sorry. I'll be fine in a few minutes. Now, last day we were looking at the presence of magic in nature, beginning with living things, where it's easiest to see. Remember, we're not talking about magic that is used, but magic that simply exists. Can you remember some examples?"

They'd discussed the more obvious ones - the elves' properties which defied the laws of nature. Supernaturally light for their mass, possession of gifts, the way their genetics defied what should be, and immortality among them.

"Try thinking of different races," Lancaeriel urged her with a smile. "You also have experience with humans, for example. How is magic present in humans?"

She could lecture, but she wanted to give Miyuki a chance to think on her own first.