And as soon as he's through he will update Yfandes and Leareth. Vanyel was struck by a strong conviction Stef was in danger, which turned out to be correct. He's taken him to Lórien. The other Valdemarens think that they are lifebonded, which seems like the only explanation for Vanyel's intuitions and, ah, subsequent behavior. 

:Goodness! I wondered what could possibly have him haring off like that. I'd better go meet him? Guess I'll need passage on the boat, I can't exactly swim...: 

He will arrange Yfandes a boat and then come find Leareth. 

Leareth is sitting in his library, clearly deep in thought. 

- maybe best not to interrupt, then. He will hang around and update everyone else from here and wait for Leareth to talk to him.

Leareth emerges a couple of hours later. "...Oh, are you back already? What happened?" 

"Vanyel sensed suddenly that Stef was in danger somewhere. It turned out that he had been injured in an altercation with the Iathrim border guards, so Vanyel Gated him straight to Lórien. Well, to the air well above Lórien, and then he jumped. ...his companions were at first as confused as me by this set of decisions but then they concluded that he was lifebonded."

Leareth stops. "Really? Vanyel." He says it with exasperated fondness. Then looks down. "That...would perhaps explain it. I suppose we will know soon enough; Lórien would be able to see it, no? I hope the Gate does not cause too much difficulty with the Valar." 

"I don't know whether Lórien would be able to see it, I'm not entirely clear on what it is. Lórien can sense marriages."

"I suspect it would be at least as obvious as a Quendi marriage." Leareth frowns slightly, switches to Mindspeech. :What are your feelings on the matter?: He can imagine it being a bit of a sore spot for Maitimo, watching from the perspective of a species that isn't permitted marriage at all with a same-sex partner. 

I think it'll be good for him. 

That was not exactly what Leareth was asking but he nods. :I agree. I admit I am confused if it is true - I have not known a person to ever lifebond twice - but I think he will be much happier: 

It seems like usually if a person were capable of lifebonding again after the death of a partner no one would notice.

:I suppose that is true: 

Maybe someday Quendi who are interested in being married can tour Velgarth, see if anything happens.

:Perhaps. I wonder if that would work: Leareth glances at the door. :I was going to walk. Would you like to come?: 

Sure.

Then they can go outside. Leareth follows his familiar route to near the edge of the cliffs, quiet in thought. 

:This is not particularly related to anything: he says finally, :but – I keep wondering. What my life would have been like, had I grown up in a place with fewer horrors than Velgarth at the time of my original childhood. How much of my - willingness to use methods that cost a great deal of harm, is that such harms were already happening around me, for no reason at all: 

That makes sense to me. I mean presumably part of it is just - if you were in Arda there wouldn't have been anything worth accomplishing at that cost.

:Even killing Melkor? ...Probably still not, I suppose, when the other Valar could presumably have defeated him eventually at a lower cost. And - if I were Quendi I would not have needed to take any measures in order to ensure immortality: 

I guess I don't know if some of the awful stuff would've been worth it to defeat Melkor. I think - the cost to who is willing to ally with you would've mattered more? And the Valar were probably going to get on top of it eventually, and having good lines of communication with them is valuable....I argued a version of this with my father all the time, right, when he'd feel that anyone discouraged from obeying him by the threats against Nolofinwë was more-or-less-by-definition not worth having -

:Yes, that: Leareth lets out a slow breath. :It means a great deal to me, that you are willing to ally with me now - to be friends - despite the things I have done in my past: 

We owe you everything, Leareth. I can't possibly begrudge you anything that caused you to live long enough to be where we needed you when we did. 

Leareth still isn't sure what to do with that, so he just nods and then looks up at the stars. 

After a little while, a full moon rises on the distant horizon. 

Maitimo stiffens.