For my long absence for which I apologize, I offer you this longer-than-normal chapter, in which we find out quite a few interesting things. Sorry guys, I was off doing relief work and also had a slight writers block from the sheer hectic-ness my life has been these days. Meh. If I didn't reply to any reviews, my deepest apologies. I was tired. Enough of me, let's get back to the story! *dramatic flourish*
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Chapter 5
It has been a hectic month. Everyone has been busy, what with preparing for the wedding, planning how things will go, making the invitations, and doing normal day duties along with attempting to prepare for going to Arda- Earth.
Elíl and Lir and I have been teaching the Feänorians and Glorfindel and Ecthelion and Mairon and Beleg and Maeglin and Nerdanel about modern-day technology. Thanks to our Maiar skills, we were able to pull up images of our memories and show it to them, reminding them of our visit and all of the other things that they'd already seen once before.
Thankfully they had all taken time to read while we were on earth the first time, so we were safe enough as far as history and culture went. So far we had managed to get as far as electricity and cell phones, and were planning to teach them about aerodynamics and other high-tech gear such as security and guns.
I was in Mandos attempting to sort out a bunch of feär that had fallen asleep in a tangled pile and put them to bed when I got a message.
*Padawan, when you are finished please come to Ilmarin. Elíl and Lir will be there as well.* Nàmo bespoke me.
*Yes master, of course.* I answered respectfully, and he faded away.
Finally the last feä had been settled into their own bed. "Calimo, I have to go." I called to the Maia who was my good friend. He nodded at me.
"See you later, then." He waved, and I waved back before thinking myself away up to Ilmarin, the mansion of Manwë and Varda on Taniquetil.
When I arrived at the front gate, Eonwë was waiting with a smile. I smiled and bowed, and he nodded and began to lead me towards the audience chambers. "They are waiting for you." He said simply, and went to stand guard by the door along with another very familiar Maia. I grinned.
"Thank you, Eonwë. Nice to see you, Olòrin!" I said cheerfully, and Olòrin chuckled.
"And you as well, Míleth. Congratulations on your betrothal." He winked, and I rolled my eyes.
"Thank you. You know Glorfindel." I sighed exaggeratedly, and he laughed.
"Oh yes. But he grows on you." He winked, and I couldn't deny that.
"Very true. Well, I'd better not keep master waiting, or uncle Manwë." I bowed, and then went in, the doors shutting behind me. Lir and Elíl were already there, and smiled at me briefly from where they sat at their masters' feet. I walked to the center, where all fourteen Valar sat in a non-formal manner, and bowed.
The room was large and open, with several balconies leading to the outside attached to the room. The breeze blew through freely, and the view was breathtaking. White marble pillars supported the roof, with vines curling around them, and the domed ceiling was painted night sky blue and decorated with living, pulsing, miniature stars.
"Masters. I'm sorry that I came so late." I apologized, but Manwë only chuckled.
"No need, my dear, we know that you were busy." He answered. Nàmo smiled.
"Come, child, and sit by me." He said in his darkly melodious voice, and I gratefully sat on the pillows that were scattered about his feet. He reached down to draw a hand through me hair in an intimate gesture that I welcomed gladly, nuzzling into his hand as he smiled.
"We have called you three here for a purpose, of course- several purposes, to be exact. We have matters to discuss concerning your mission, as well as orders to be given." Manwë began, and Elíl and Lir and I glanced at each other with smiles.
"Of course, my lords, ladies. We have been expecting them, as your servants." Elíl answered softly in a respectful tone. I snuggled against Nàmo's legs, looking to Manwë with all my attention. He gave me a wink before going on.
"Good. Firstly, you must know that the wall between the tenth and first dimensions are thinning more and more with each yení that passes. Time between the two are slowly congealing, merging until they will be the same. We, the Valar, and the Maiar are able to travel very easily to and fro between the dimensions, and have done so for a long time." Manwë waved a hand, and three goblets appeared in front of us. We took them with murmured thanks as he waved again and a picture appeared in the center of the room- of angels from various Biblical events.
"This is a picture from Earth or Arda depicting the birth of Jesus Christ, which all of you have chosen to believe in. And it is true. Eru Ilùvatàr did send His one and only Son from his own bosom down to Arda to die for mortal kind. You remember this story of how the angel appeared to Mary, and Joseph, and the shepherds." Manwë said, and we nodded.
Then he chuckled. "You may be pleased to know that the Gabriel that appeared to Mary was actually Melian, the one that appeared to Joseph was Fionwë, and the one that appeared to the shepherds was Olòrin." He chuckled, and the three of us grinned at each other.
"Why am I not surprised?" I quipped, eliciting much laughter from them all.
"Very good. And yes, sometimes we the Valar also appear to certain mortals. But now, the time has come when you must go and find these lost elves, and to prepare the chosen mortals for the Dagor Dagorath." Then Manwë sighed.
"There are some mortals that have gone astray that you must being back, men who are the descendants of Beren and Luthien and therefore Aragorn and Arwen, descendants of the house of Beör and Eorl that must be brought back to the light. The elves have not strayed from the path, but the men have, and both elves and men wander in darkness, though each is a different sort of darkness." He said with infinite sorrow, and I noticed that Lir and Elíl's eyes were filled with tears as well.
There was a momentary pause of sadness, then Manwë spoke once again. "Therefore, when you go, you must re-accustom yourselves to remaining fully incarnate most times. Of course, at times we may ask you to fulfill a task that has to do with going places incorporeal, but these will most likely be few and far between." He added, and we nodded in understanding.
"After all as it is written; 'always open your doors to strangers, for you may have entertained an angel unawares.'" Nàmo said slyly, and we laughed.
"Or a Valar." Elíl added, causing more amusement.
"You have been teaching the elves well, I deem." Manwë said with a smile. "Now, I know you are wondering how you will keep their race a secret. The answer is simple- they must not tie up their hair. Little by little, the city will come to find out the secret, and then you may go about more freely, but at first take all precautions. Wiseman, as we have said, is small and tightly-knit, and the only visitors that pass through are tourists, for there is a tourist industry there. The rest we leave to you to find out." He said with an amused smile, and we three rolled our eyes.
"Typical." I muttered, and the Valar exchanged amused smiles.
"Indeed. Now, have you three any other questions?" Manwë opened the floor to us, and the three of us exchanged thoughts through ósanwe.
*What about orders?* Elíl asked sounding confused.
*We'll ask that in a moment. What I'm worried about is what we're gonna do for a living. Can't live without money, you know, unless the Valar are planning to help us out there, which I doubt.* I answered.
*True. It would defeat the purpose of our mission. And what about us? We're Maiar, so will we have to go in human or elf form? Can we change between the two?* Lir interjected.
*Well let's as them, then.* Elíl said, and piped up we her question. "What about orders, my lord? Will we have to take them now, or just receive them as we go?" She queried.
"Good question. The answer is that you will receive them as you go." Irmo answered her. She nodded.
"What about working for a living? I doubt you will help us there too much." I said with a thin smile, and they laughed.
Nàmo stroked my hair. "Very true. We will help you to a certain extent until you can fend for yourselves, but we expect you all to find a legitimate way to earn money for yourselves." He answered me, and I smiled.
"Oh, well thank you, master." I said dryly. "Just another thing to add to our already-chock-full schedule."
He chuckled. Lir spoke up this time. "Will we be allowed to change between human and elf form? Or will we be required to only use elf or human form?" She asked.
Nienna answered her apprentice. "Around mortals you will of course be incarnate and corporeal. Whether you choose to be mortal or firstborn is your choice. As long as you are actually incarnate, it doesn't really make a difference." Was her answer. Lir nodded, and I asked the question that suddenly burned on my lips.
"But then how do we prepare the elves and mortals for the Dagor Dagorath? I mean, I can understand if we teach them to use swords and bows, because many people believe that despite modern weaponry Armageddon will be fought with those implements of war, but what about us? Elíl and Lir and I have no idea how to fight with those kinds of weapons, seeing that we've never had any training." I said uncertainly, and this time Tulkas spoke up.
"And that is where you are wrong. You do not need to be trained because you will not be fighting- that is, not in the way you speak of. You three are Maiar. Therefore, you can easily change form. You can become a weapon." He said, and Elíl and Lir and I exchanged startled glances.
Tulkas proceeded to elaborate. "The three of you are pure spirits, not 'stuck' in one particular vessel or form, therefore you can easily clad yourself into a 'skin' and just as easily shed it to wander about freely as spirits. All Maiar and Valar are so. However, this also means that you can 'inhabit' certain things, in a manner of speaking." Then he called before him his sword, which was easily as big as one of us.
"Aulë." He said, nodding to the smith, who nodded back and then thought into his hand three small pins.
"These pins have been specially designed and made with the three of you in mind." Aulë began his lecture as we listened raptly. "These can easily be shifted to become almost any manner of archaic weapon: sword, dagger, throwing knife, war fan, metal whips, and the like. However, they can only do so under one condition. Should the three of you choose to you may bind yourself to these weapons, which would mean placing a part of your spirit into it so that you partially 'inhabit' or 'possess' it." He explained.
"Once you have bound yourself to them, you could easily choose to carry them on your person, or allowed it to be carried by another- with you 'in' it, or at least connected to it and therefore bound to follow it wherever it is taken." He said handing them to us as we took them and looked them over.
The one I was holding was a delicate pin that was meant for either a brooch or cloak pin. It was in the shape of a sun-in-eclipse, the outer rims made with Mithril, the sun inlaid with gold, the moon with silver, and the dark shadows with jet, onyx, and obsidian. I smiled at it happily and then turned to look up at Nàmo, who ran a fond hand through my hair in reply.
"Then, you can easily change the shape of it into any weapon you want with your powers. It is easily done, no more than a simple thought. Each one is made to reflect the personality of the bearer, that is why each of you have one that is the symbol of the Vala you serve and owe allegiance to. Your powers will be bound to that object as well, allowing the wielder to call upon your powers for their own purposes." Aulë went on with his discourse.
"However, not anyone or everyone will be able to do so. Rather, you must make a contract with the being that would attempt to use you and the weapon. The way to make a contract is simple. As soon as they attempt to wear the pin, they will immediately be put into a deep sleep-like state, wherein you will be able to see into their minds and hearts to ascertain their purposes. You may put them through a test, any test you choose, in order to test their mettle and see how they react to certain scenarios. A popular test would be one where you pull up their most difficult or worst memory and make them relive it, except with you acting as the antagonist in the memory. See what their reactions are and how fast it takes them to realize that something isn't right." He rattled off, and I felt myself becoming immensely interested. Judging by the looks on my sisters' faces, they felt the same.
"If you determine that they will not call upon you to act in revenge or hatred, that they are properly emotionally and mentally stable, and that they are capable of using your powers wisely and not abusing them, then you may make a contract with them. All you need to do is hold out your hand and tell them to take it. Then the contract will be sealed, and they will reawaken. If they fail, you may either mark them in some way to show that they have failed, or let them go free unscathed. It's your choice. When you make the contract, you may choose to take on any form you wish when you confront them." Aulë went on.
"Just don't scare them into Mandos." Nàmo interjected off-handedly, and I snickered.
"Aww. And here I was planning so much fun- just kidding!" I yelped as he smacked me upside the head as the Valar laughed. I rubbed my head and grinned innocently up at him as he gave me a mock scowl.
"As I was saying-" Aulë said with a raised eyebrow, and we subsided. He went on, mollified. "You may also make a contract with a maximum of three people. All contracts are until death, where they are then rendered null and void. Except, of course, with elves, who are reborn. So, choose wisely, my children." He finished with a smile, and we nodded.
"Thank you, lord Aulë." We chimed, and he nodded sitting back down with a pleased smile.
"So you see, you have no need to be adept in weapons training. And the three of you are more than capable of defending yourselves in hand-to-hand combat." Tulkas added dryly, and we grinned.
"Especially poor me." I muttered, to which Lir and Elíl snickered as I glared balefully at nothing in particular. Nàmo chuckled. Vairë stroked my hair fondly.
"Any more questions?" Manwë asked patiently, and we shook our heads.
"I think we will have a family meeting and try to come up with plans on what to do for livings." Lir said, and we nodded.
"Good, my children. You are dismissed from duties for the rest of the day." Manwë said summarily, and we thanked him.
"You had best go home now and prepare, best beloved." Irmo murmured, and Elíl crawled into his lap.
"Just a little longer? Please?" She begged, and Irmo and Estë smiled at her.
"Very well." He conceded, and I saw that Lir did the same with Nienna.
I crawled into Nàmo's lap, burying myself into his robe comfortably. "Me too, Atto." I pleaded. He sighed, and I could feel Vairë give me an indulgent smile.
"Very well." He answered fondly, stroking my hair as I purred in contentment. I smiled up at him.
"I love you, Atto, Ammë!" I said, and they smiled at me.
"And we love you, yeldë." Was Nàmo's answer as he kissed my brow. I was so warm and comfortable I didn't want to leave...
"Master, did I ever mention that people who say the arms of death are cold are wrong?" I asked.
Nàmo sighed exasperatedly as the Valar roared and I smiled smugly.
"Padawan-!"
...
Home. I stumbled into the house, rubbing my eyes and yawning. Lir and Elíl were doing the same as we kicked off our clothes and headed for showers. The process in transferring a part of ourselves into the pins had been rather taxing, and we were all feeling slightly drained from it, highly unusual for a Maia.
After I had taken a shower and dressed myself in a comfortable pair of pajamas, I started to pad my way downstairs when Mairon suddenly tackled me so that I went tumbling down the stairs with a yelp. Everyone came running, specifically my parents, just in time to see me land at the bottom with an 'oomph.'
"Mairon!" I complained, untangling myself as I scuffled about on the floor with him playfully. "How many times to I have to tell you not to make me fall down the stairs!" I demanded as he giggled wildly at me.
"I can't help it. You look so funny!" He cackled as I growled and managed to finally stand and scoop him up, settling him on my hip.
"You little brat." I sighed, and he snickered at me. "What about the time you fell all the way down from the top trying to tie up your obi?" He teased, and my parents gaped as I blushed.
"Hush, you." I muttered, glaring at him as he laughed unrepentantly. Glorfindel came up and kissed my temple.
"Are you alright, melda?" He asked calmly, and I smiled up at him.
"I'm fine, thank you." I answered, just as Maeglin attached himself to my side and Elíl and Lir came downstairs.
"Mairon send you down the stairs again?" Elíl grinned at me as I stuck out my tongue at her, eliciting laughs from the others.
"Do you do that often?" Mom asked weakly, and I immediately went to her side.
"I'm fine mom. Breathe." I said gently, rubbing her back. "I'm not fully incarnate, therefore such things don't necessarily hurt me. Take a deep breath." She regained some color and smiled shakily.
"I- haven't gotten used to it." She sighed, and I smiled sympathetically.
"I know." I answered, and left it at that. Dad came and led her into the living room as the rest of us marched in after them. I sat on a mound of cushions on the floor next to Glorfindel, with Maeglin and Mairon playfully squabbling over who got my lap, to my bemusement and the amusement of the rest.
Elíl sat with Ecthelion and Amras, Lir sat with Maglor and Amrod, and Beleg decidedly attached himself to my mom and dad as Elíl's parents sat with Nerdanel who was ringed by most of the Feänorions.
"Nana?" Beleg asked.
"Hmmm?" I answered, cuddling Maeglin who had won the battle for my lap. Mairon chose to sit between Glorfindel and I for compensation. Maeglin curled into me with a purr. Both Beleg and Maeglin had matured quite a bit since they had been reborn, though they were still emotionally unstable.
"Do you and Elíl and Lir plan to have any elflings?" He asked innocently.
I choked on my spit, doubling over and coughing until tears rose to my eyes as Glorfindel rubbed my back, chuckling. Everyone was laughing at a choking me, a spluttering Elíl, and a blushing Lir. "What?" Beleg asked, looking confused.
Mom buried her face into his hair, shaking with laughter. "Nothing, Beleg, honey, it's just that they may find that question embarrassing." She answered through giggles.
"Oh." Beleg blushed slightly.
"Well... I- I don't know, yonya..." I rasped, recovering and blushing. I risked a glance at Glorfindel to see that his normally bright sapphire eyes were dark, pupils dilated as his breathing went funny. I looked away pointedly. "One day, I suppose." I finished awkwardly, making Glorfindel drag me into his arms and hold me there.
"I would like that." He said wistfully. "I always wanted a child... After Erestor..." He murmured. I looked down at Maeglin.
"I see." My answer was soft and quiet. Dad raised an eyebrow.
*Erestor was an elf in the realm of lord Elrond. Apparently his roots are in Gondolin, then, an orphan from the war.* I spoke in his mind, and he nodded, apparently mollified.
"Well, to be honest we want to use this time to brainstorm." Elíl spoke up after a moment. Everyone's attention turned to her.
"We were called to Ilmarin today to receive information from the Valar about our upcoming mission." She started without preamble. "The Valar will only help us to a certain extent before they leave us to fend for ourselves as far as basic living goes. We need to find jobs. They will tweak some things so that we will have government recognized papers and therefore become legitimate citizens of America with believable backgrounds, but we will have to find a means for living on our own." She then nodded to Lir, who picked up.
"We'll need to work as a family to do this. According to what information we've been given, Wiseman Alaska is a small, tightly-knit community and out-of-the-way enough so that we won't raise too many suspicions. However, it is also a very popular wintertime tourist area, with quite a few tourist resorts. It's a small town with a good-sized hospital, elementary, college, a single hotel, several resorts, a large shopping center, a library slash bookstore, bakery, several restaurants and bars, and other clothing and accessory shops. We might have to split up and rent apartments or buy houses nearby each other to live in, as I'm doubtful there's a house big enough for all of us unless we build one, which we'd rather not do for legal and monetary issues." She went on, and then handed the floor to me.
"So what we need to do is discuss this as a group and come up with several legitimate ideas on what to do for our living, who's working and who's not, who's living with who, and also take into consideration what our ultimate goal is and somehow work that into our plans." I added, thinking several pieces of paper into my hands along with a quill pen. "Our goal is to find these elves that are lost, as well as reveal ourselves to the chosen mortals and prepare them for the coming Dagor Dagorath. So, why don't we start by opening the floor for any questions?" I said, nodding to the rest.
There was a silence for a moment as everyone digested the information. "How will we prepare the mortals and elves for the war?" Nerdanel asked quietly.
Elíl answered the question by mutual consent by the three of us. Lir was to answer questions of living arrangements, and I was to answer questions about the job issues. "By teaching them self defense, martial arts, and the use of fencing with swords and other archaic methods of fighting. Glorfindel, Ecthelion, Maedhros, and whoever else is interested can teach. Beleg, of course, would teach archery." Elíl answered with a smile towards the ellon, who blushed shyly and smiled back. Everyone nodded.
"And what of living arrangements? Who would live with who?" Caranthir spoke up with a frown. I nearly snorted. Of course he would bring that up.
Lir answered with a knowing smile. "Most of the houses in America have either one or two stories. A typical one-story house has two or three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, a living room, and if it's big a dining room too." Then she shot us ex-earthians a wry grin. "I didn't even think of cars until now..." She laughed as we groaned exaggeratedly at the thought.
Then she went on. "A typical two-story house has about four to six bedrooms, four bathrooms, a kitchen, living room, and dining room. An apartment has two bedrooms and a kitchen and living room." She finished. "To be safe, we'll pair people in two's and three's and just assume that we'll be in apartments." She finished. "So it's best if we pick partners." She said. I handed her a piece of paper and she took it and began to write.
"Obviously all couples will live together, and most likely with one elfling as well." She said. "So say Maglor and I and one or both twins in one apartment, Elíl and Ecthelion and one or both twins, unless they want to stay with Nerdanel in another apartment, and if they don't then Nerdanel and another Feänorion in another. Glorfindel, Míleth, and Mairon or Maeglin will be in another, or even both. Then the Feänorians can pair up." She said. Soon we had all of the pairings completed to satisfaction.
"Of course, this could all be moot if we actually find somewhere big enough for all of us to stay, but it never hurt to make- Errm- contingency plans, as I believe the Valar put it." Elíl pointed out with a wry look, making everyone laugh.
"Now that that's settled- what about jobs?" Uncle Jonathan pointed out. I smiled as I began to answer.
"Each person has their skills and preferences, so let's start there. We need a job that can provide us with fitting income and yet at the same time leave us partially free to do other work." I said, making a list of names on the piece of paper. "So let's start by listing each person's name and writing their preferences and a possible job for each. For example, say you, uncle Jonathan. The Valar will fit us to start out, so let's say that you open a jewelry shop. You can make select winter pieces and even elven styles for the tourists who come through, and maybe even have an open window type store where people can actually see you work to make the pieces. Perhaps if anyone becomes interested enough you can even make it into a school for training the residents to do the same, or even give tourists an opportunity to make their own simple pieces with already-cut gems and jewelry frames. Make it tourist and people-friendly." I said, scribbling it down.
Everyone was nodding, faces lighting up as they began to understand what I was saying. "That's true. I would enjoy that, and at the same time make good relationships with the people of the city. If the Valar start me out, I could easily gather enough money from my first sales to buy more gems and the tools I'd need." Uncle Jonathan said in satisfaction. Aunt Carrie nodded.
"I wouldn't mind helping him in the shop when necessary, and maybe get a job in one of the other stores as well." She said, and it went down on the paper as I nodded.
"Tyelko could be outfitted with papers proclaiming him a dog-whisperer, excuse me, veterinarian." Lir offered slyly, and Elíl and I killed ourselves laughing as Celegorm demanded to know what a dog-whisperer was. But I wrote it down anyways.
"I could probably go back to being a professor in the college." My dad said, and I nodded. Mom was opting for the elementary or any daycare that might be there. Nerdanel shyly chose the same.
"But what about the rest of us?" Moryo asked with a frown. I shook my head, then abruptly stopped, my face lighting up.
"Wait. Uncle Jonathan gave me an idea. What we need is a business of our own, so that we can control it and not be hampered by any guidelines or limitations, right? So it only makes sense we make an establishment of our own. And if we do so, we can also expand that into several branches of different courses." I said, and they nodded thoughtfully.
"I know you, melda. You already have a suggestion, don't you?" Glorfindel said, and I smiled up at him with a nod before turning back to the rest.
"Easy! A maid cafe!" I exclaimed. Everyone stared, confusion on their faces. I laughed.
"In Japan, there are things called maid cafés, where the waiters are called butlers and the waitresses called maids. It's nothing more than a small restaurant slash café that specializes specifically in the dessert and sweet drink sections. There are certain clothes that mark off the workers, and certain themes to the restaurants. Why don't we open an Elf Café with a Silmarillion theme? We can even expand it into different classes people can pay to take, including house and restaurant management, Sindarin and Quenyä classes, and martial arts!" I said with a grin.
Everyone stared.
"Epic!" Lir exclaimed, and moment later everyone was chattering excitedly about ideas for the café.
"That's brilliant!" Elíl said excitedly, sitting up with Amras clutched in her arms. "We could have the 'ellyn' and the 'ellith' to wait on people, and use elvish greetings and phrases and even use our own back stories and names!" Her eyes were glowing. Then Nelyo turned to me.
"What other things does the café usually do?" He asked interestedly. Everyone turned to me expectantly.
"Well, whenever someone enters, an 'ellon' or 'elleth' will bow politely and say, 'welcome back, master' or 'mistress' depending on who it is, and either singular or plural. We could just change that to 'Mae Govannen, hîr nîn.'" I answered.
"What would we serve?" Káno the ever practical asked thoughtfully.
"And who would cook?" My mom interjected.
It was Lir who answered. "If I'm correct, Míleth, then all of the drinks are made in sight of the customers at a bar area, right?" She asked. I nodded, scribbling furiously.
"Then that means we just need to figure out what kinds of drinks we want to make and what kinds of foods we want to serve. For example, everyone knows that my dad is the coffee expert, so he can tell us how to serve that best, while Moryo has been gathering the perfect hot chocolate recipes for a long time. As for foods, we can easily either hire cooks and specially train them, or we can do it ourselves and take shifts between cooking and serving." Elíl interjected as Lir nodded enthusiastically.
"I think this is turning out to be an exciting adventure." My dad said with a gleam in his eye, and everyone laughed in agreement.
"Okay, so now we've got that settled, but what about these other classes? There's a lot of legal work that needs to go into this, am I correct?" Nelyo said.
"Hello? Valar much?" Lir sniffed, and everyone laughed.
"Very true." Nelyo admitted amusedly.
"That may be true, but he's right." I said thoughtfully. "We'll need to look up the laws pertaining to such a business and make sure we abide by them. But in the meantime, let's talk about these other classes." I opened the floor for anyone to talk.
"We need a practical application for the classes if anyone's going to want to attend." Moryo pointed out.
"True." Lir answered. "But then, don't forget that there are a lot of tourists. We can also have really short vacation sources that last for a day or so along with longer classes for residents. Which really actually cuts down the possibilities for the café. We'll have to hire cooks so that many of us can teach classes." She said.
"And what would the courses be?" Tyelko asked.
"Sindarin classes, Quenyä classes-" Ecthelion started to list when Elíl interrupted.
"Wait! Before we go there, we need to figure out what's going to be the practical application for all of this. We can teach self-defense classes elvish-style and that's good, since society these days isn't all that great, as Lir and Míleth already know-" she gave us knowing looks as our faces shuttered off for brief moments. Then we smiled thinly at each other before Lir picked up.
"Very true. Then again, what if we have that as a separate class and compile the other classes into a special course? We have enough people so that we can have several different courses. What we need to do is find a practical purpose and then model the courses around that." She said, shaking her head.
There was a thoughtful pause. "Like you said before, Nana." Beleg piped up. "House and restaurant management. We could give other people training to open their own Elf Cafés, or if not that then how about just the simple idea of the novelty of being able to learn a new, 'secret' language and developing a unique sort of city?" He suggested with a shrug.
"That's a good idea." Uncle Jonathan said. "There's a lot of other cities in America that have opened where people gather and make a community based on something they all enjoy, like an elite group. For example there's a community I heard about that is like a medieval kingdom, where you start out when you join as a peasant and slowly work your way up to page, squire, duke, knight, or lord and lady. There are several 'realms' that are scattered across the country that are united under one organization or 'kingdom' and under one leader like a 'king.'" He said.
Aunt Carrie picked up the thought train with a nod of understanding. "We could make our own 'elvish community' and allow people to join it. The practical aspect would be that it would bring the city together so that we can pool ideas of how to make the city better and more tourist oriented and family friendly."
Nerdanel spoke up softly, and everyone immediately turned their attention to her in respect, for it was almost an unspoken agreement that she was ultimately the head of the house. "We could model it after the government that Tol Eresseä uses." She said thoughtfully. "They have several guilds and guild leaders. Each guild leader speaks for the whole group as a representative for the wishes and concerns of the guild while a leader listens and makes decisions that benefits the whole community. I understand that the country of America from which you hail has a similar set up and does the cities. We could merely... Elfize it, to give it- umm- a new dimension or novelty." She gave us a wry look as there was gentle laughter.
"It's a great idea, Naneth. Thank you." I said, writing it down. "And as for the courses, we could also include a rangers course that of course Beleg will help to teach." I said as though it were obvious, and said ellon blushed in delight at the praise.
"So we have so far a rangers class, a languages class, a self defense class, and?" Ecthelion said.
"Baking class and first aid." Mom chipped in. I nodded and wrote it down.
"Let's make several courses." Lir said, leaning forwards. "We could use the self defense, first aid, and rangers classes as a single wilderness survival course." Se suggested.
"Merge the baking class, self defense, and first aid class for women, with an optional language class." Mom suggested.
"And then make a fan-based course." Elíl said immediately. "There's got to be quite a few people who are into the LOTR and Sil fandoms. Make a language class, rangers class, self-defense and weaponry class, into a single course." She finished. We nodded.
"And a history class." Káno added. We nodded.
"Definitely. We need to teach them about us-" I grinned- "and our dear, annoying masters." I glanced about furtively as I said so and everyone roared at me. I snickered.
"We'll also need to come up with names." Nelyo pointed out.
"And better ones than we came up with last time." Elíl cringed, and I agreed.
"They have to be on our legal papers, after all." I mumbled.
"Why don't we use the basic formatting of our name and try to make something from that?" Moryo suggested off-handedly.
"Yeah, but which names?" Lir snorted. "There's Caranthir, and Moryo, and Morifinwë... Shall I go on?" She grinned as he rolled his eyes.
"Whatever." He answered. I sighed.
"That's my brother. And he just HAD to be my favorite brother. And Maeglin is my little hanno and Mairon is my little brother as well. Really? What's wrong with me?" I moaned, slumping into Glorfindel, who chuckled and kissed my hair.
"You know you love us, melda." He said amusedly. I raised an eyebrow at him.
"Are you sure? I mean, I was kinda not really given a choice if I wanted to love y'all or not..." I laughed at his affronted face. "Just teasing you, Glorfy." I kissed his cheek and sat back up.
"Oh I know. Loren DelaFiore." I said with a grin.
"Which makes you Mrs. Celine DelaFiore." Lir ribbed with a grin as I stuck out my tongue at her.
"Whatevs." I sniffed.
"Makes sense." Glorfindel said thoughtfully. "It sounds somewhat like Glorfindel." Then he smiled down at me in a predatory fashion. "And I'm quite happy about your name." He said softly into my ear. I yanked on a lock of his hair.
"Behave, before I make Naneth Nerdanel scrub your brain out." I growled as he chuckled.
"See? I told you she was capable of handling him and any ideas." Dad was telling mom in satisfaction as everyone laughed. Mom rolled her eyes but winked at me.
"Ecthelion could be Eric Cartelion." Elíl murmured.
"Hello, Mrs. Lark Cartelion." Ecthelion said slyly as Lark smacked him.
"Behave, you." She said shortly. "Before I give you the treatment again and decide to go out with Erunáro of all people." She sniffed. "Or Olòrin." She gave us a grin as Lir and I howled with laughter.
"Blackmail. It always works." Uncle Jonathan said with sage conviction as aunt Carrie face-palmed and the rest roared.
"Olòrin- date- old man-" Lir choked as I screamed with laughter. Maeglin was giggling in my lap.
"Oh? What was that?" Olòrin appeared in our midst with an amused smile. Elíl hugged his leg.
"Heyyyy! We were just talking about you! All good things, all good things!" She said hastily as I doubled over and literally cried with laughter. Lir was rolling on the floor.
"Ohmymelkor that was so funny." I gasped. Olòrin merely rolled his eyes and disappeared with a chuckle.
"Olòrin?" Dad asked with a questioning look.
"Gandalf. Mithrandir." I answered, and dad looked suitably impressed.
"Hmmm... Maeglin would be... Garen Malek?" I asked, grinning at Lir. Her eyes widened.
"Yes!" She shrieked. "YESYESYESYESYES!" She began to fangirl as I laughed and hugged the bewildered Maeglin.
"Aww hanno! Looks like you've got an awesome name!" I giggled. He smiled.
"Really?" He asked excitedly.
I nodded enthusiastically. "Oh yes." I answered with a grin.
"Annatar Fair!" Elíl yelled. "It's perfect perfect perfect." She said with an evil cackle as I rolled my eyes. Mairon looked pleased.
"Oh goody. I like that name." He said cheerfully.
"Maglor, Káno, Kanafinwë... Could be rendered to... Marion Finn." She suggested.
"Hello Mrs. Lyric Finn!" We chimed, and she sighed.
"I mean come on, that fits like a charm!" I said excitedly. "Lyric and Marion!" I fangirled wildly along with Elíl. "You should have seen them courting. I ship them so hard it's unbelievable." I said, hugging Maeglin and myself with a squeal. Dad and mom were rolling their eyes at me.
"What about Nelyo?" Elíl mumbled thoughtfully. "Nelyafinwë, Nelyo, Maedhros, Russandol, Maitimo... Hmm... How about Mark or Matt Finnel?" She suggested.
Nelyo nodded thoughtfully. "I like Mark." He declared after a moment or so of thought.
"I get to come up with Moryo's name!" I exclaimed, and immediately began thinking. 'Morifinwë, Caranthir, Moryo... Which makes up for... Carl Morfinn?" I sent Moryo a questioning look. He bit his lip in thought for a moment before slowly nodding.
"I suppose." He answered. I smiled sarcastically.
"Thank the Valar that you approve, dear brother mine." I said, and he had the grace to blush slightly. "Did I ever mention that you're absolutely adorable when you blush?" I added with a grin as he glared at me and the rest muffled snickers.
"Seler..." He warned.
"Love you too, Moryo." I answered, blowing him a kiss.
"Tyelkormo, Turkafinwë, Celegorm, Tyelko. That can be made into... Oh I know! Teddy Kaflan!" Elíl declared, and I choked.
"Oh Valar." Lir giggled.
Tyelko merely shrugged. "I suppose." He answered with a wrinkled nose. Elíl giggled maniacally.
"How about Pityo and Telvo?" Lir asked. "And Beleg and Naneth." She added, nodding to Nerdanel.
"I choose Beleg's name. Lir can choose Pityo's, and Elíl can choose Telvo's. How about mom chooses Naneth's?" I suggested, and they nodded.
"Hmm, Pityafinwë, Ambarussa, Amrod." Elíl murmured. "That makes for... Phelan Russ." She decided. "Phelan means little wolf." She said slyly, and we laughed.
"But Phelan isn't really a common name. How about we give him the nickname of Wulf?" Aunt Carrie suggested, and we all agreed.
"Telyafinwë, Ambarussa, Amras." Lir mused. "How about... Aiden Russ? It means fiery one." She suggested. Amras liked it.
"Nadie Russ." Mom immediately said. "Nerdanel is kown as the wise, and Nadie means wise." She said with a smile towards a pleased Nerdanel.
"Hmmm, for Beleg Cúthalion... How about Bane Cad?" I asked Lir with a grin. She shook her head with a smile.
"You come up with the AWESOMEST names." She giggled, and I laughed.
"It's your name, yonya. You want me to think of another?" I asked. He pursed his lips.
"What does Bane mean?" He asked. I smiled.
"Long-awaited child." I answered. "I kind of played on another famous character from another book series named Cad Bane. He is a very good warrior." I said, and he nodded in satisfaction.
"I like it." Was his simple answer.
"Well good. That about wraps it up, correct?" Mom asked.
"What about family relationships?" Elíl queried.
I spoke up. "Right, let me go over this just one more time. My mother is Joy Ravid, my dad is David Ravid, Beleg is Bane Cad DelaFiore by adoption, Mairon is Annatar Fair Ravid, Maeglin is Garen Malek Ravid, Uncle Jonathan Pond, Aunt Carrie Pond, Lark Cartelion, Ecthelion is Eric Cartelion, Glorfindel is Loren DelaFiore, Celine DelaFiore, Nerdanel is Nadie Russ, Nelyo is Mark Finnel Russ, Káno is Marion Finn Russ, Tyelko is Theodore or Teddy Kaflan Russ, Moryo is Carl Morfinn Russ, Pityo is Wulf Russ, and Telvo is Aiden Russ." Have I gotten all of us?" I queried, looking up. They all nodded.
"Yep." Was the general answer.
I smiled. "Well family, looks like we've got this all wrapped up and ready to roll. Elíl and Lir and I will have to talk about this with our masters to hash out the fine details, but otherwise I think we've got it down pretty good." I said, carefully stacking the papers before thinking them away to my room. We had been teaching the rest about a lot of slang and 'modern' language as well.
Elíl yawned and stirred herself. "Yep! Well, I'm retiring for the night. Tomorrow morning I have to watch over one particular reborn and then in the afternoon I'm supposed to go to lady Vairë to see about the last details on the dress." She sighed, kissing Amras' cheek before making as though to get up. Ecthelion held her down for a moment and gave her a chaste kiss before letting her go with a smile. She returned it and then saying good-night to us, waltzed upstairs. Everyone grinned knowingly at the wistful look on Thel's face.
"Me too." Lir said with a sigh. "I'm supposed to counsel tomorrow and it's also my turn for kitchen duty. King Arafinwë and prince Findárato are coming tomorrow and I'm supposed to be on table duty." She said, hugging Amrod and kissing his temple before stirring herself. Káno also gave her a good-night in the form of a gentle kiss before letting her go. We all bid her a goodnight as she made her way up the stairs in a graceful glide.
Then they looked to me with a smile. "So what do you do tomorrow?" Dad asked teasingly as I smiled slightly.
"Frighten some poor feä to death and pronounce doom in the most effective way possible." I dead-panned, and everyone laughed at me as I cracked a grin. "No, actually I volunteered to help Maranwë with paperwork tomorrow because he's utterly swamped, and also I need to go see Ammë- lady Vairë, that is- for last minute preparations, because I doubt I'll have any other time after that." I answered with a sigh, kissing Maeglin and Mairon's cheeks and then attempting to get up.
Glorfindel pulled me into a brief kiss before letting me go. I gave him a smile before moving to Beleg and giving him a fond kiss and saying goodnight to everyone else. Then with a grin I gave Caranthir a hug. "Love you Moryo." I said as he glared at me.
"Don't say that in public!" He hissed as everyone muffled snickers. I rolled my eyes.
"Whatever. If you need a stuffed animal you can always remember me." I said with a laugh before sashaying up the stairs.
"Celine, since when have you walked like that?" Dad asked disapprovingly. I looked back with a slightly amused smile.
"Since I was thirteen, dear daddy, which you never noticed." Was my amused reply before moving the rest of the way up the stairs.
"Is that so? I had the feeling it was for my benefit." Glorfindel said slyly, and I rolled my eyes.
"Don't be so full of yourself, you orc-brained ninny." I retorted, and there was laughter as I slammed my door shut.