[Envinyatar]

Supper with Rie had been enjoyable. He had laughed when she blushed, saying that surely Pio would stand them a meal for the hard work done. And it was so. The Elf was grateful that someone had fixed the roof for her.

It was nice to sit with a pretty young woman and forget the baggage of past memories. And she was young. So full of life and sureness, that he felt buoyed up in her hope for the future. She chatted on despite his often quiet lapses, filling him in on this guest and that. It was a momentary respite, as he knew it would be.

She had talked much about her twin brother, Talômi. What a fiery pair they seemed as he listened to her tales of him! He envied the parents that had the opportunity to raise them. Too soon, supper was done, and Rie had gone to visit with her friends. She had invited him, but a melancholy mood had come on him and he begged off, saying he was not good company for the evening.

Derufin went to the bar, and stood behind it taking orders from the thirsty guests. Pio had gone into the kitchen and Cami was showing someone to their room. He filled several pint mugs of amber ale and pushed them across the width of the bar top to the waiting customers. It was good to be active. It kept the thoughts away.

A momentary lull in the demands for drinks let him lean on the bar top. His eyes swept the room, watching the guests talking in groups of twos and threes. He steepled his fingers, resting them against his lips, elbows resting on the smooth top of the bar.

The Elf made her way from the kitchen to her rooms, her hands holding tight to a plate of food and a bottle of pale red wine. She smiled at him as she passed, pausing for a moment with a wince to let him feel how lively the twins were this evening. His hands moved over the lively pair, feeling them pummel their mother with glee. He grinned and stepped to open the door to her rooms for her, then closing it, stepped back to the bar. He thought about her babies. They would be beautiful, just as their mother. And if her sketch of Mithadan had been true, they would face the world clear-eyed and strong. A lucky man was Mithadan, he thought to himself.

A great longing assailed him as he thought of them. And he gripped the edge of the bar top to steady himself. Other faces came unbidden to him. He closed his eyes willing the images away.