The morning sun crept into the window much earlier than Lloyd desired. He quickly stretched his arms over his head and used his legs to kick off the blankets and roll out of bed. The warmth immediately evaporated, and the early morning chill settled on his exposed limbs. Lloyd couldn't remember much of the night's end; they tossed back a few tankards. The thought last night triggered a sharp pain that cracked through his skull. Shit, this is going to be one hell of a headache, Lloyd thought. He knew they shouldn't have drunk that much last night, but Cassius was correct that they would never have another night like that again.

With a slow shuffle out of bed, Lloyd picked up and put on the clothes he had worn the previous day. A quick sniff test told him they weren't in the cleanest of states, but he would probably have to get used to being smelly as his new norm. He wasn't sure how often he would be able to bathe in the wild. After getting dressed he painfully bent down to pick up his belt and equipped his dual sheaths that already carried the twin short swords. Like usual, he slung the quiver filled with a few dozen arrows onto his back, the bow following shortly after. Lloyd patted around his nightstand, looking for his remaining equipment.

"Where the hell is my bag?" Lloyd asked aloud to an empty room.

Stepping forward, Lloyd's foot collided with something lying on the floor. The unexpected object forced him to stumble before catching the corner of the bed with his thigh on the way down.

"Fuck!" Lloyd yelled as he began to massage his bruised thigh, then quickly trying to mentally massage his bruised ego. This was precisely what I was trying to avoid by not drinking. Damn you, Cassius, and your persuasive speech, Lloyd thought.

Now on his knees, Lloyd patted his hands around the ground until he found the thing that tripped him. His pack. It's good that he filled it up the day before because he wasn't in the mood or mental capacity to do it now. Lloyd remembered placing the bag next to his nightstand the day before, but it must have gotten shifted around the night before in his drunken stupor. He shook his head as he picked up his pack, regretting the movement immediately. Never drinking again, Lloyd thought. Grabbing his skull, attempting to squeeze the pain away, he unequipped the arrows and bow. I'm way too hungover for this, Lloyd thought. Finally getting it right, he put on the pack first, then the quiver, and then slung the bow over his left shoulder. It was a bit more cumbersome than he would have liked, and he didn't enjoy the feeling of having the extra weight and the weird shape resting on his back. He wondered how it would feel during the whole journey. He should have tested that beforehand, but it was a little late for that now.Having gathered all his stuff, Lloyd opened his bedroom door and entered the workshop. He looked back into his room, wondering if he should make his bed. Would it make more sense to leave the door open or closed? A few more simple, seemingly random, insignificant thoughts rapidly rattled through his brain. As the thoughts tiptoed by, a sense of sadness slipped in.

Focusing on deep breaths, he shrugged his shoulders, cracked his neck, and left the room as it was. A little untidy, but it was his. Was his. He supposed after today, it would no longer be his. Maybe Jimmy would move into that room; Lloyd hoped he would enjoy it. He knew that wouldn't be the case; the view from up top was too good. Passing through the workshop, Lloyd's eyes lingered on some of the workbenches. Streams of sunlight illuminated Gavin's work. To his father's chagrin, Lloyd never showed any interest in blacksmithing. At times, he did enjoy watching Gavin work, and of course he enjoyed using the result of his labor. As Lloyd reached the workshop's door, he took another deep breath to calm the pain and take in the place one last time. Exhaling, Lloyd pulled the door open.

What greeted him on the other side some would call a beautiful day. The sun shone bright, and the warmth kissed his skin. Today, it only helped to deepen and intensify the sharp pains that rapidly zig-zagged through his skull like a rabbit avoiding its hunter. Lloyd closed his eyes and let his left hand guide him as he followed it along the tree trunk until he reached the lift. A short ride later, he found himself at the top. The soft sounds of conversations and his brother Jimmy running around guided him as he walked down the hall. Lloyd pressed his hand against the wooden interior once more. His fingers flowed over the bumps and the bark as they slowly traced down the curved hallway.

"Morning honey," Tera said.

"Did someone have a widdow sweepy poo?" Regal asked in a baby voice.

Lloyd quickly glared at his brother while Regal laughed at him. Lloyd was surprised that he couldn't smell it before. Laid out in front of them on the kitchen table was a spread of fresh fruits, berries, oranges, and a large bowl of scrambled eggs. To one side of the table was another plate of cooked sausage. It must have been from one of the hunts the other townsfolks were on the other day. The meat likely came from the copious amount of normal boar that occupied the surrounding area. No matter who you were, Altered or not, you could not consume the meat from a Corrupted animal. The tainted meat would Corrupt and kill any human who ingested it.

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"Yeah, yeah. Not all of us were gifted with awesome powers that apparently also work at preventing or curing hangovers pretty quickly." Lloyd said as he sat at the table next to his family.

"Yeah, I didn't know it would have that effect. It's pretty nice." Regal said.

Lloyd wanted to shove his brother, but keeping his eyes open was painful.

"Yeah, the natural healing of Ascension is pretty good. I can't begin to guess what it's like for an Omega like yourself." Gavin said to his son as he quickly reached up and tussled his hair. Regal gave a playful jab to his father, nothing that would hurt him.

"I've got nothing to compare it to, but yeah it's it's pretty damn nice," Regal answered.

The rest of the morning was mostly idle chitchat as they finished the meals. Both Jimmy and Tera cleaned up the dishes. Gavin and Tera made sure that their sons had everything, going down their mental checklists as both of their sons agreed that they already had everything. Gavin looked over all his sons' weapons and gear, the Soulsmith in him making sure everything was working right.

"Hey son, do you have a second?" Gavin asked Lloyd.

Looking up at his father, Lloyd saw a mix of emotions. He could see the faint frown of worry, and a little bit of joy had reached his eyes, but there was also something else there—something that Lloyd couldn't quite put his finger on. Confusion, maybe?

"Yeah, of course. What's up? I suppose we have a little bit yet before we need to take off." Lloyd said, his apprehension and worry slowly starting to mount.

Gavin motioned for Lloyd to follow as they went outside to the lift. Even though the breakfast helped the pulsing of pain, Lloyd was still nowhere near healed. Unsure of what to say, Lloyd stood in silent awkwardness beside his dad. Upon reaching the ground floor, a few neighbors walked by waving at both Gavin and Lloyd, both men returning the gesture. Lloyd nodded to the passing couple as nervousness began to set in. He knew that within a few hours, that would be the last time he would see them. Gavin held the door open for his son as they both entered the workshop. Lloyd's dad went around the exterior of the room, lighting candles along the way to add extra illumination to the already bright room.

"Do you mind if I check the swords one more time?" Gavin asked as he extended his hands, waiting for swords.

This was the third time his dad double-checked their equipment this morning. Would that mean he triple-checked it? Or could you call it quadrupole-checked? Lloyd pondered. He thought about how his Dad typically wasn't this obsessive or concerned. It was starting to worry Lloyd. He unequipped his belt and handed over his short swords to his father. Unsheathing the swords, Gavin slowly twisted them in the air, his eyes observing every inch of the blades. He slowly swung them through the air in cutting motions.

"You know, son, these are pretty decent weapons," Gavin said

Before Lloyd could respond, he took a second to take in the abnormal nature of this exchange."Yeah, I know, you made them. You made them for me. They're the best weapons I can have. Maybe not the highest material grade but they fit me well. Are you just trying to give yourself a compliment right now?"

"I initially had a different weapon choice in mind when I read your soul. It was early days though, and I think my powers might have been on the frits."

"What?" Lloyd asked as his heart skipped a beat and then picked up its pace. This was the first time he had ever heard something like this. "What weapon were you going to make me?"

"It's nothing. Forget I mentioned it."

"No. No way, Dad. I can't just let you off the hook like that. Come on, you are leaving me hanging here. You clearly wanted to talk to me about something." Lloyd said as a bit of fear and desperation came through in his voice.

Gavin laughed and reached out and scratched the back of his head. He had the same sort of tell the Regal did; it was a tell of embarrassment most of the time. There would be the rare occasion when he would catch Regal in a lie or secret he didn't want to mention, and he would do the same head scratch thing.

"I…," Gavin began to say, as his gaze drifted to the ground and back to his son a few times. "You drive a hard bargain; you know that, right?" Gavin said with a quick chuckle. "When I tapped into your soul around the time you would have been around five years old, I originally thought a staff would have been more appropriate."

"A staff! You mean for magic and stuff?" Lloyd said as his emotions swiftly shifted to a hope he had let go many years prior.

"See, this is why I didn't want to mention it. Truly, it was early days, son. I look into your soul daily and see nothing but the two swords fitting it."

Lloyd's mind began to race with thoughts of potential powers. He was at least 24 years old and had never been blessed with a beam of light. It was too late for him. Lloyd didn't know what to do, so he closed that gap and hugged his father.

"Thanks, Dad," Lloyd said. It was all he could manage to conjure up in his hungover state. Even fully with it, Lloyd wasn't sure how to react to his Dad's weirdness. Inside, he kept wondering what that all meant. Yeah, thanks, Dad, for dropping a few bombs on me right before I'm about to go off into the wilderness, Lloyd thought.

"Let's head back up. I imagine they are waiting for us." Gavin said.