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"Hello," Ruque smiled, his voice a little raspy, as if his throat were dry.

Earendil smiled back at him. "Hello. It's good to finally meet you, Ruque. How are you feeling?" He didn't want to say anything, but to him it looked as though the man were in a lot of pain.

Ruque chuckled softly. "Rather stupid," he replied quietly. "But lesson learned. Smaller amounts next time. I'm sure Mama must have told you what happened."

Celebor put one hand gently on his son's uninjured shoulder. "We're just glad you're alive," he smiled. "Valar know, it could have been much worse."

"Trust me, I'm aware of that," Ruque winced. "Careful, Papa."

Ruque smiled. "Thank you," he said quietly, sparing his throat.

Celebor looked at Lin. "He'll be speaking properly soon enough, I'm sure," he told her. "It was just smoke inhalation while he was trying to put out the fire. Yesterday he wasn't able to see very well, but today that's better already."

"And I couldn't talk at all yesterday," Ruque added.

"Well, it seems as if you're recovering fairly quickly then," Earendil smiled. "How are your burns?"

Ruque held up his bandaged left hand. "To be honest, I won't be writing for a long time," he admitted. "And I'm going to be avoiding the sun until next year at least. As for my face ..."

He hesitated. "Well ... it doesn't hurt as much, but I think that's because of the salve that Aerin made for me. Kenet, I think she called it. Someday I'll have to get the recipe from her."

"Sounds like it," Earendil nodded. "And with a culture full of fire-users, they would need a good burn salve."

Kanis blinked at the two of them. "Aerin's home?" she asked. "You discovered where she was from before she came here?"

"I bet it's somewhere exciting!" Aras beamed, leaning forward, her eyes sparkling. "What's it like?"

"And our home would be peaceful if not for the problem with the dwarfs, and now with the humans," Celebor commented. "That doesn't tell about what it's like." He grinned.

Earendil smiled. "It's an island, just a small one. Temperate weather, not too hot in the summer, and they get a little bit of snow in the winter - though from my understanding, not as much as you get here."

He looked to Lin for confirmation, since she would know much better than he did.

"But you say they have quite a few interesting recipes?" Ruque asked, leaning forward slightly. "What kind of recipes do you mean?"

Earendil thought carefully. "Well ... there were two that we used," he murmured. "Malek and ... drust?"

Ruque looked thoughtful. "I wonder if Aerin would know these recipes," he murmured. "Or Shiro ..."

"But if Aerin is from an island," Kanis asked, "how did she end up all the way out here? Why leave her home?"

"Dragon attack," Earendil replied, deeming that much safe to tell. "Caranthir took her here to be healed, and she hasn't since had an opportunity to return."

"Of course," Ruque murmured, nodding slowly. "And they won't let themselves be separated by worlds ... I see. Perhaps another time I can ask him for them."

He laughed softly. "Well, it will be a long time before I can get back to work anyways." He held up his bandaged hand. "I'll never get anything done with this hand still bandaged. And even after the bandage is off, it will be a while before I can do much."