<b>His words, and the brief kiss, did much to ease her, and she relaxed into his arms as she listened to him ponder what it must have been like to be Allasea. She couldn't deny the fact that a life roaming the forests, protecting Arda, would have been a much different life than the one she'd led in the vineyards. But, if she truly was so much like her mother, would it have mattered to her? <br/>
<br/>
You'd never have known Allassiel, or any of the other elves. Never have come here at all, or met Lotharn. A line formed between her eyes as she frowned. Perhaps it was true, as her cousin often said, that all things happened for a reason. <br/>
<br/>
One of Lotharn's questions peaked her interest. Araw's wife? “Vana,” she responded, after a moment of thought. “She is also Valie, one of those that wanders the forests of the Valar's home and makes things grow. She does not come to the realm of mortals, though Araw does frequently to hunt … and keep his eye on the elves, I think. It is said, though, that she frequents her husband's forests, growing golden flowers for unsuspecting travelers to find. It is strange, to know one such as her is an ancestor of mine.” <br/>
</b><br/><br/><b>Allassiel closed her eyes, not really sleeping but neither quite awake. She listened to the sound of Thorgan's breathing, his heartbeat. So different from that of the elves, but not at the same time. And, though she'd had to share bedrolls with others in the past, it wasn't the same as feeling the warmth of his body seep into hers, or have the scent of his skin fill her mind. This … closeness, it reminded her of happier times, and another who had been her heart.</b><br/><br/><b>She tensed and waited for the wave of sorrow that came at the thought of her Hadron. And yet, when it came, it was diminished, a sense of peace and relief overshadowing the pain. She released the breath she'd held, relaxing once more, and returned to her meditations with a lighter heart. All things happened for a reason. </b>