It would be weird for Maitimo to lie, but also it feels like they should be upset! Probably this is a stupid thing to feel but Leareth can't help it, and can't stop feeling scared and confused about it, or prevent it from leaking into his body language. 

If it were Vanyel would you be upset with him, once you had rescued him?

...No

And now they're at the rooms. Maitimo nods at Vanyel and sits down and tries to be still and unsurprising.

Leareth flinches again when he sees Vanyel, though he controls it fairly quickly, and stepping across the threshold takes a surprising amount of effort, pushing through pointless mental resistance.

(Leareth still isn't sure why entering or leaving rooms is so saliently scary, relative to just walking somewhere; as far as he can tell, it doesn't even feature in any of his hallucinatory rescue memories because he didn't...do things...in them. It might be that it feels more obviously like an action or decision, and it's also true that nearly all of his memories of talking to Melkor involved entering a room. And, often, leaving it expecting to die.) 

He manages it. There's a bed, which he heads straight for. It has a blanket and he wraps it tightly around himself. It's sort of stupid that this helps but it does. 

"Want to watch me do the wards and shielding?" Vanyel says, neutrally, once Leareth has had some time to settle in. "I can bounce my Sight to Maitimo and he can send it on to you." 

Leareth thinks about it for a while, instinctively evaluating it for potential danger (to other people, more than himself), and eventually nods. 

Then Vanyel can share his mage-sight with Maitimo so it can be relayed on. 

He can send it.

Vanyel goes slowly and carefully, both because he wants Leareth to get a good look, and because he wants to do it right - it's important, they cannot in fact guarantee yet that they're perfectly safe here and he would feel so awful if something happened to Leareth when he didn't have magic to defend himself. 

Leareth is quiet for a while. He's tired, although not really more tired after the walk than before, and it turns out he has no idea what to say to the people he crossed a world to be nearer to. 

When Vanyel looks to be getting close to done he has someone bring them all some food.

"It's - really good to see you again."

Leareth stumbles over all the words that feel either appropriate or true, eventually just nods. He's thought so much about what to say; he doesn't understand why he can't, now. 

"I - think I missed Arda," he manages, a minute later. "There are so many things about your people which are very good. Even if most of them are not skilled at paranoia."

He looks down. It's suddenly too hard again to speak out loud. They are skilled at trust instead, he says, unfortunately to just Maitimo because Thoughtsensing doesn't work that way. I...think I learned something, from it. What it is like to - have allies. 

(And his alt doesn't have that, not yet, but that's a thought Leareth is still struggling to pin down.) 

- nod. "Well. And here I was moping that we probably wouldn't get to see very much of you."

"Did you think I was going to stay in Velgarth? There are far too many gods there who wish me dead. The remaining Valar seem less of a threat to my wellbeing, especially a continent away. Even if they are not very competent." He manages a slight smile. "If they did wish to kill me, they might not be very competent at it either." 

"I guess I figured the Velgarth gods would have killed you a long time ago if they could have reached you in the north. The other Leareth was planning to administer both organizations, I think, for a while at least while you recovered."

"Oh. I had not asked about that," (and he really should have) "but that makes sense. I will have to go back at some point. I, just... I suppose it did not really feel like home, staying in the other Velgarth, where all the people were not quite the versions I knew. And I feel much less comfortable being in Velgarth at all when I do not have magic." 

He really wants his magic back. It's a stupid idea and they shouldn't give it to him but it's still an insistent ache, he feels helpless every time he remembers.

Shrug. "I am not sure how long it will take before I can - do things." 

"My understanding was that it can take decades. It's okay. All the things that need doing are getting done, and we'll keep you safe."

It should be okay but it doesn't feel that okay, right now. Leareth hugs the blanket more tightly around himself. He's desperately exhausted at this point; listening to people talking is starting to feel metaphorically like someone grinding broken glass against his ears, one part of him only wants some space and quiet but another part wants the odd reassurance of these specific people, who just won the war when he couldn't, nearby and keeping him safe.

He is basically ignoring his food. 

"Should I sing you to sleep?"

Leareth thinks for a while and then nods, shakily. It still takes a lot of effort to move his plate of food somewhere else and lie down. "Thank you for doing the wards, Vanyel." 

"You're welcome. I care a lot about you being safe and comfortable here." 

And he'll sing.

It's nicer than the way Bella does it, in a way, because there's time to notice the falling-asleep happening, and that he's okay with it. 

And then Leareth is asleep. He still doesn't look totally relaxed, and he sleeps sort of curled up, which is different from before. 

Vanyel relaxes a little. :I hope it gets less stressful talking to him when I'm more used to it. I'm just always so worried I'll say the wrong thing and upset him a lot: