"I don't know, I kind of envy their eyesight."

"We don't mind lighting things for you. We have to do it for Men and they're always so awed it's entirely worth the expense."

"They've got better acuity too, and colors I can't see."

Everyone nods, though very slowly, as if reluctant to acknowledge any advantages to Elves.

So Loki doesn't push it by mentioning the "can't have children by accident" thing. It's not like Asgardians don't have that now, albeit not by nature. "Anyway, I will head back west now, but I'll be back in a few days with Maitimo."

"He'll be welcome," the proprietor of the bank says. "And has leave to spend your money, unless he doesn't seem to understand how it works in which case we should dole it out to him in sustainable increments and help him use it for food and things?"

"I will do my best to explain money to him, but if he strikes you as dreadfully ignorant turning it into an allowance may be reasonable; we can all three talk it over then. How long will this much stretch for necessities, anyway?"

"Who knows what Elves need? I could live on it for several months."

And he doesn't, like, eat. So. "Thank you."

"Time well-spent."

She wakes up somewhere over eastern Beleriand again. There are a few orcs wandering aimlessly below.

He's higher in the sky, in wide slow circles. When he sees her he descends.

Hi! Dwarves will harbor you. I like them a lot; you may or may not. Also, there is drama between your family and the cousins again!

I think I could use healing from starvation. Did you add that to the way this world functions only after I told you I wasn't eating? Because if so, I am very annoyed with you.

She lands and holds out her hand. In exactly what scenario do you expect me to respond to such questions usefully? Anyway, I'm not going to fly all the way to the Dwarves once a week to get you back to 'merely very hungry' so maybe you need to work on eating things.

He lands on her hand. I expect flying is far more draining than being an Elf; as an Elf I should be fine for months, and the consequences of impairment are less serious since I cannot fall out of the sky and become trapped. How are the Dwarves?

When he lands in her hand she heals him and puts him elf-shaped in one motion. "The Dwarves are very keen on the concept of trade! Once I figured it out it was pleasantly straightforward. I accidentally acquired some gold, which I have no particular use for so you can draw it out of the bank where I left it as spending money. It'll probably last a long time if you don't spend it on food except every few months, maybe not the full four years, you'll need to find some other way to earn gold if you run out and need to buy things. They do not think much of Quendi but think that the newcomers sound pleasanter on the whole than the locals. You may wish to make a good impression on behalf of your batch, they're considering opening trade lines."

"Did my father agree to move east?"

"No, he was occupied with the drama. It was not conciliation-inspiring drama, but they didn't seem tense enough that I had to postpone the Dwarf visit. I did however teach Tyelcormo to fly, which development means Nolofinwë supposes you may as well overfly their camp but please don't get shot for obvious reasons." She pulls out drama-related transcripts.

He reads silently. "I wish I'd been there. Though it looks like it could have been much worse."

"Yeah. I'm planning on going to the trial."

"It will be conducted fairly. Nolofinwë is good at his job."

Nod. "But if someone doesn't like it I might be a useful mediating influence. Anyway, I don't have a schedule plotted out for after that. No more orcs to heal twice weekly; I'll want to check on the colonists as they go south but they can get a little farther before I do that, might wind up ferrying palantirs around but that can wait, etcetera. When do you want to go to the Dwarves?"