Welcome to Gaia! ::

Arwen smiled, but it seemed a bit forced, and she took a deep breath. "Well ... for the most part we're doing all right, I suppose. Still not used to Roydon being gone all the time, and Leyenda has been going with him since the new year ..." She trailed off, leaving her sentence unfinished.

Kaito blinked. "Oh ... I thought she might be off somewhere with Brian or something ..."

Arwen looked at Kaito sharply, and Celeb darted out and kicked him in the shin. "Don't talk 'bout him!" he ordered in an angry tone as Kaito grabbed at his shin in surprise and pain. "He's bad!"

Earendil was stunned. "What happened?"

Arwen picked up Celeb and held him on one hip. "Why don't you all take a seat, and I'll get you some drinks and fill you in on what's been happening?" she suggested with a wan smile. "Is water all right for everyone?"

The others all agreed that water would be fine, and in only a minute Arwen was back with a tray of cups. She handed them out and made sure that everyone was satisfied before she also took a seat, holding Celeb on her lap - apparently to keep him under control.

"I'm sorry about that, Kaito," she apologized for her son. "He is very protective of Leyenda ... at times I wonder if he's more protective of her than her father or I."

Kaito nodded. "It's all right," he assured her, "it didn't hurt much, I was more surprised than anything ... but ... what happened? If I may ask."

Arwen lowered her eyes. "Brian loved Leyenda, but she never saw him as anything more than a friend ... and when he tried to force the issue, she told him she never wanted to see him again. That very night, he took his own life." She sighed. "Leyenda blamed herself, still does, I believe ... but since then she has been going with Roydon to work on the ship, and she has been slowly getting better."

Arwen smiled faintly. "I agree. And in more ways than just that. They're scheduled to be home by the end of next week, the ship should be finished by then, if there haven't been any accidents. So then it's just a matter of packing up all the food we'll be needing, and taking a ship out to the one we'll be taking. It's too big to fit into the river, so we couldn't even build it here."

Starr looked excited at the prospect. "It must be a very big ship!" she exclaimed.

Celeb pouted. "I haven't seen it yet."

Throughout the rest of the afternoon, Arwen told the group what had been going on since their last visit. She showed them Leyenda's gallery of model ships - she had four by this time, each larger and more intricate than the one before - and about some of the changes in the city, such as Eldoran's departure ... but the one person she never mentioned once was Brian. She told about how Leyenda's friends had come to comfort her when she was depressed, but never once did she mention the boy's name.

Still, it was pleasant enough conversation, for the most part, and quite lively ... except for Storm, who was quieter than usual, even for him. Rhea watched him thoughtfully, though she tried to look as though she wasn't paying him any special attention.

Starr looked at her brother, and then glanced up at the window, and when she saw that it was getting a bit dark, she suggested, "Maybe we should just go to the inn and have some dinner before bed."

Arwen shifted Celeb on her lap. "I would offer to let you stay here," she murmured, "but I'm afraid I don't have enough empty beds for all of you. If some of you want to stay, that would be fine ..."

Earendil looked down at the twins thoughtfully. "Perhaps Storm and Starr, if only so that they're with family, rather than a building full of strangers," he suggested. "It's their first time traveling, after all."

Starr smiled at her brother. "What do you think, Storm?" she asked, putting one hand on his arm.

He shrugged out from her touch. "Sure."

Earendil smiled a bit anxiously. "Then perhaps the rest of us should be off," he murmured. "It's getting late, and even Celeb is falling asleep."

Arwen hefted Celeb in her arms and rose from her seat on the couch. Then she turned around and set her son where she had been sitting. "I'll get Storm and Starr's bags," she murmured. "Earendil, if you would be so kind as to take their horses to the livery with your own ..."

"Of course," Earendil nodded. "Don't worry, we'll take care of things."

Rhea patted Storm on the head as she passed him on her way to the door. "We'll see you in the morning," she smiled, "don't you worry."

Once Arwen had the twins' bags and Earendil had their horses' reins in hand, the group mounted up and set off towards the livery and inn.

Rhea waited until they were on a wider road, since the docks were quite narrow, and then she rode up to Lin. "Lin," she murmured, "did something happen to Storm? I've been noticing for a while ... he's ... very much like Shiara was when she came to the ranch. Quiet, listless ... doesn't like to be touched ..."