Welcome to Gaia! ::

Earendil chuckled. "I'm not even going to venture a guess as to who-"

But before he could even finish his sentence, the door flew open and River stood there, violet eyes shining.

"Hi!" she said excitedly. "Come in, come in! Grandmama, it's Earendil and Lin and Miyuki again! This time they're going to come in! Grandmama!"

And as quickly as she had appeared, she ran off, still calling for her grandmother.

Amdir had returned home by now, and he was in the living room. He came over to the door and opened it a bit wider. "Welcome," he smiled warmly. "Come in, make yourselves comfortable. You're welcome to stay for dinner if you want. Don't mind River, she's very excitable."

Amdir smiled warmly and closed the door behind them. "Oh, she does," he assured her. "River has more energy than anyone I've ever seen before."

Earendil smiled and sat on the couch. "She certainly does seem to be excitable."

"You could say that again," Amdir chuckled. "The only one quieter than either of them is Adonijah himself. Jasmine is more like them. River ... well, who knows where she gets it from."

He laughed again.

"There is always that!" Amdir laughed heartily. "Yes, Aliya used to be a real wild one. Not that you would know it to look at her now. And to be honest, I haven't seen a whole lot of it myself, but I have also heard the stories about her growing up."

"I had to be," Aliya cut in as she entered the room, River on her arm. "We were the only ones living out here, what else was there to do?"

"I'm sure I was," Aliya laughed. "Adonai never understood why I was so excitable, but we got along well enough. And of course now we get along great. But keep in mind, I am older than him." She grinned. "I had to entertain myself for quite a while before he was even old enough to play with."

"It sounds like you had an adventurous childhood," Earendil smiled.

Aliya grinned. "I surely did. I don't think there's anything I didn't try at least once."

"I think they were amazed when I reached my sixteenth birthday, and thus adulthood, without killing myself," Aliya agreed with Lin. "Sleeping in trees, swimming downriver as far as I could go, traipsing through the mountains, wandering in the forest ... my parents were beyond worried, I'm sure."

Earendil could only shake his head in incredulity. "I can't imagine being able to do such things as a child," he murmured. "For as far back as I can remember, everything has been strictly regimented ... lessons, training ..."

Earendil looked at Lin skeptically. "You do realize you're about as different from most other children as it's possible to be?" he asked her flatly. "Anyone else would have to fight with their children to get them to go to their lessons. You showed up more regularly than the full moon!"

Amdir chuckled. "We've heard stories," he grinned. "Sir Valdemar's been here a few times."