Welcome to Gaia! ::

Earendil nodded and let Lin take his arm and lead him forward.

It was a long way up the stairs, but eventually they reached the archive where they had been the other day. The door was open, and Rhea led the way inside.

Shiro, Kaito and Alena were all inside the room. Shiro was seated at a desk that had not been there two days previous, poring over a scroll, his own journal out as well. Alena was watching over his shoulder, and Kaito was looking over the labels of the scrolls as if searching for something.

Alena looked up as they entered. "Ah, welcome," she smiled warmly. "I hope things are well with you."

Alena smiled apologetically at Earendil. "I am sorry, Earendil. I assumed you would be all right, having ridden Haldia's roc ... but I know that her roc is quite different from ours. There are few who do not become airsick on their first flight. Give me but a moment, I will fetch a draught for you to treat it."

She stepped towards the door, but Rhea put one hand on her shoulder and stopped her. "Aurin has already gone to get something," she smiled.

"Ah," Alena smiled. "Good. Once he comes then, Earendil, you will feel much better, I promise."

Earendil smiled uneasily. "I must confess, I look forward to it," he chuckled softly. "I have not felt this ill before ..."

Shiro looked up at Lin's suggestion, and moved to vacate his seat, but Earendil shook his head. "No, don't worry about it, Shiro. I'm fine. I'd prefer to stand right now."

Shiro frowned, but he settled back into the chair. "If you say so."

"Alena," Rhea spoke up, "while we're waiting for Aurin to return, we did have a favour to ask of you. Some of us don't have proper winter clothes, and we don't have enough material to make clothes for ourselves. Do you think we could have some?"

Earendil tried not to look at Lin. He knew she would be doubting him, and he didn't want to make a big deal of it. He was feeling a little better already, though his head was still swimming a bit.

Alena was smiling at Rhea. "But of course. And if you need any help with the tailoring, we can help you with that as well. We have several skilled craftsmen, both here and in the city."

Rhea returned the smile. "Thank you, but I think we'll be fine. It's just that Leyenda is using most of our material to make winter clothes for her husband, and Haldia and Earendil were not prepared for the cold, either."

Alena laughed softly. "Well, from what I understand, you didn't expect to have as many people on your voyage, either." She grinned at Shiro, who grinned back at her. "At any rate," she continued, "just let me know how much you need, and I will get it for you. We have a few choices for material. Wool is warmer, but less comfortable. We also have some linen, though that's not very warm at all, soft leather, thicker leather, and a little bit of cotton."

Rhea blinked at Alena. "Does it get hot enough to grow cotton here?" she asked, tilting her head curiously.

"It does when we want it to," Alena smiled. "We have to grow it indoors because of the rain in the summer, the rain simply destroys the crop. We use our fire to give it light to grow, and that also keeps it warm. It also means that we can harvest it year round, though we still don't get large amounts of it. It's warm, and quite comfortable, but of all the materials it's one of the less durable."

"If it lasts just the winter, it will be enough," Rhea mused. "Perhaps we could layer it. Cotton inside, leather outside. That would keep the clothes both warm and durable."

"And comfortable," Alena agreed. "Tell me how much you need, and I'll have it brought up for you."

Rhea thought about it for a few minutes and gave Alena a figure. While the two women worked out the details, Aurin appeared in the doorway with a pewter goblet. It was quite intricate: the shape of the cup was like a small half-barrel being held on the back of a dragon, whose tail made up the stem of it.

"Earendil-sola," he murmured, spotting the prince and stepping towards him. "Here, drink this, you will feel better quickly."

Earendil took the proffered cup and looked inside. The substance within was thick and pale yellow in colour, almost a milky texture ...

Aurin glanced at Lin. "A mixture of different plants, with water to dilute," he replied. "It will settle his stomach. I will prepare some more as well that you can take with you, if you take it before a flight, the sickness does not appear."

Earendil took the goblet and looked at the contents, grimacing slightly. It didn't look very appetizing, and to tell the truth the sight and smell of it was making his stomach turn even more. Still, if it would make the sickness go away ...

"Thanks," he muttered as he raised the goblet to his lips. He hesitated a moment, then threw his head back and drank it in a single gulp, trying to get it down as quickly as possible without having to taste too much of it. When it was gone, he lowered the cup and looked at it in surprise.

"It tastes ... sweet," he smiled.

Aurin smiled back. "And do you feel better?"

Earendil tilted his head one way, then the other, and then grinned widely. "Yes. Thank you very much, Captain."

He saw Shiro eying the soldier, and he chuckled inwardly. The neko was probably making a mental note to ask for the recipe.

Aurin smiled and nodded, taking the cup back. "We use it to prevent the flying sickness, for the most part, but sometimes the women use it when they are with child."

He leaned a bit closer. "And here is a secret ... from time to time, Lady Alena will give some to Aethos-sola to calm him when he is upset. From my understanding, it also serves to cool a hot temper."

Earendil laughed at that. "Now that's an interesting bit of information."