Welcome to Gaia! ::

Alyse's blush deepened, but she smiled and nodded shyly, holding one hand out to Feng. Of course, to her, Feng was no different from anyone else - most of the people she knew were tall and had black hair, after all, and English wasn't that uncommon, even though she rarely used it. She glanced up at her mother once more, but she understood that her brother was hungry and that her mother was going to be needed, so she held one hand out to Feng and looked back at her, her clear blue eyes filled with trust.

Adan took the feather gleefully from Tao's beak and stuck it in the top of his golden braid. "Thanks, Tao!" he said brightly. He stroked her cheek and looked up at Ryu. "I know she can't talk but it's still good to talk to animals, because it makes them feel happier and it helps them trust us," he grinned. "That's what Papa says. The animals say so too, when they talk to me."

Aliya smiled gratefully. Now that the kids were occupied again, she was safe to go inside and feed Adonijah, and she took the opportunity to do just that, disappearing from the group and heading inside.



There was no response from Elros's door, but Aragost's door opened after only a moment, and the tall, dark man appeared in the doorway, hidden away beneath his robes and cloak as always.

"Miyu," he greeted the child, his pleasure evident in his voice. "Lin. Storm. Starr. Welcome. Elros is out on duty at the moment, Lin ... he will not be answering his door ..."

He opened the door wider. "Come in, come in," he invited them all.

His room was no different from how it had been the last time, just as empty, just as emotionless.

Elnara took her drink from Haradhel and thanked her, then looked back at Lore, smiling softly.

"Thanks," she murmured softly. "I look forward to it ... time to relax ... no worries ..."

She was half listening in on the conversations going on around her, and she couldn't help but hear Arwen's comment about the slavers. "Who's Adan?" she wondered aloud, more to herself than anything else.



Storm and Starr exchanged a curious glance, then Storm looked up at Aragost and asked bluntly, "How do you know who we are?"

"We've never seen you before," Starr added as she stepped into the rather empty room.

Donovan frowned, the things he missed when he was away and when in the hell did they get that close?

"No, actually I didn't know about Adan getting taken like that," he replied, "Is he alright?"

Well of course the boy had to be if Arwen was talking about him like that, but still.

Lin whirled around and smiled, well she could wait after all and he did have a job to do.

"Hi Aragost," Lin greeted him not at all startled by his knowledge in names, that was just Aragost and he knew everything, she turned to join the others in the room.

Haradhel heard Donovan's question, and, reasoning that it was best they get the facts before they heard a distorted version of the story from one of the children, she decided that it was best she just tell them herself.

"Last summer, Adanedhel was kidnapped by the largest group of slavers we've seen or heard of yet. Amazingly, he was the only one taken," she explained, "but he was horribly mistreated ... Ulani said that when she and Aragost caught up with them, he was barely conscious and very badly injured. He kept falling in and out of consciousness on the journey back, too. He's fine now, and we won't have to worry about those slavers again .. though Aragost didn't leave any of them alive to warn others."

She grimaced. "Ulani won't say what he did to them ... and when he talks about it, she's frightened ... like ... it's something that none of us could imagine, so terrible that even to speak of it would be impossible."

"Well... not as much as I would like, once every year or several years depending," Feng explained, "I live far away where things are very different so it's hard to come here so often, even though I really do try!"

Ryu had to laugh at that, because Adan was right about Tao, she had always been the type to want to be talked to or just loved.

"Yes, Tao does love attention very much."


Miyu nodded, "I'm very good," she murmured softly.

She paused as if not sure how to bring this up, because she had thought she would be alone when she did. She wasn't very good in front of people sometimes.

"I... brought books."

Kara murmured, "Even though Donovan and I aren't here that often, we seen all sorts of children come through. They must have been particularly absuive though, and that's saying something for a slaver."

Alyse smiled shyly and led Feng towards the treeline. "Far away like Grandmother?" she asked softly, looking up at her. "We saw her a long time ago, she was nice."


Adan grinned. "Do we really get to keep her?" he asked Ryu, still unable to believe his good fortune. "I always wanted a griffin for a pet but Mama always said no."



Aragost smiled widely within the shadows of his cowl and knelt next to Miyu, putting one hand affectionately on her shoulder.

"That was very thoughtful of you," he murmured warmly. "I am very happy that you remembered ... thank you very much."

And he put one arm around her shoulders and brought her close for a hug.

"Bento boxes?" Storm questioned. "What are they? And what's the big deal about books? There are lots of books, why did Miyu bring them here?"

Starr poked her brother. "Stop being mean," she admonished him. "Just because we have lots of books at home doesn't mean that they have lots of books here."