So was she okay? A good parent?

She's not the kind of person who should have been a mom, but she figured it out smart quick and did her best for us anyway. She's not really my mom but she's a friend.

...okay.

I'm kinda glad, really, it means there's no conflict in my parent-feelings.

She didn't really know how to handle us, so she mostly trusted us to handle ourselves. She taught us everything we wanted to know that she knew and signed us up for whatever classes or activities we wanted but she wasn't so good at the emotional stuff you're supposed to have parents for.

He hugs her tighter.

It was mostly okay. I remembered my real parents pretty early on. I don't have that many memories of my biological father this time around but one of them had me shouting "you're not my real dad!" at him.

We should have been looking for you. Your names should have been on Nelyo's list.

You had no way of knowing we could possibly be alive.

Still.

That would have been a very awkward age thirteen.

I'd probably have just asked Macalaure to raise you or something so you could meet me at twenty-five or whatever the mortal age of full maturity is.

...Well, I can't say I'm thrilled with the possibility of having to wait another seven years to see you again.

Is it younger than that?

This body is eighteen years old, which is the age of legal majority.

I guess if you remember everything I shouldn't really worry about the time since reembodiment - if Mandos had brought you back we wouldn't have said 'technically this body is an infant' - but still, six would have been weird.

Yeah, I've been myself-as-you-remember at least since I was sixteen but, uh, when I was six I was basically a six-year-old.

Definitely would have gone to Macalaure. He actually adopted some six-year-old twins at one point.

Really? When?

It's not actually a cute story.

Ah.

Not - not much is. 

Could've happened after you got back.

Raising human children - to grow up and die-

Could've still been alive--your dad's working on mortality, right, you haven't freaked out that I'm going to die--

Dad's working on it but I think he thought it'd take fifty years. You don't die that fast.