Damus, City of Brenton, one month later.

…

…

The stay in quarters was quiet for the most part, the crackle of firewood and the soft breath from two of team ‘Revenant’ being the only noise to accompany the lone creaking of the structure. Hatsumi, and Callum, reunited nearly a month earlier, lay together on the couch, lazing away on their rest day before resuming their work. Callum lay longways across the couch, his head held up with the armrest, while Hatsumi was nestled firmly in between his side and the cushions of its backrest. They lay there, Callum blowing at Hatsumi’s ears, and much to her chagrin, he was beginning to enjoy himself.

“Don’t you think you should be helping me right now?”

A furrowed brow adorned her face, while Callum could do no more than smile.

“She’ll be fine, Hatsumi, the girl is near grown. I’m sure she saw this coming eventually.”

Callum tilted his head.

“Especially when she knows we were married– well, are, married.”

Hatsumi looked back at the fire, laying her head down of Callums chest.

“I still can’t believe you told her.”

“Didn’t give me a choice, not when Findlay opened his loose jaw.”

Hatsumi rubbed against his chest as to nod.

“Still, formally telling her. It feels more right? More than her suddenly seeing us like this. She’d have plenty a question, you can be sure.”

“Let her, she already does a plenty. Besides, I’m not sure she’ll take it as the end of the world. She’ll have a Pa again, and a full family makes best, especially with how we spend time together.”

Hatsumi smiled, running her fingers over the seam of Callums collar.

“It would be nice. Being whole together. Are you sure you would want that yourself?”

She found herself looking up again.

“Hatsumi, we’ve been over this, or do I need to drive it home again?”

They both shared a laugh, their mirth near making them reseat themselves into the comfort of the cushions.

“No, no, leave that for later.”

The crackle of wood, coupled with the sudden groan of the crowds downstairs rising, then falling.

“Actually, on that subject, will we not have to worry about our noise?”

Callum nudged Hatsumi’s shoulder.

“I remember every night she’d scream and whine in her sleep, it died down over the years, sure, but I needed a damned pillow for that.”

“Why bring it up now? She still talks in her sleep, but it's a far cry from how she used to lament.”

“Oh, c’mon, Hatsumi, really?”

Her ears shifted upward and to the left, whilst her tail rose, then fell. She was genuinely oblivious.

“Hatsumi, you yell when we, y’know.”

Callum risked a nudge at her chest, massaging its side through her robes before relenting. She stifled a faint moan, not one of sheer sensuality, but one that said the gesture at least brought a hint of comfort.

“For real, though, we’ll need to deaden our noise. Maybe take my room with me? It’s larger, and while it’s closer to hers, it’s well insulated and also has an exterior wall.”

“Aye, only if you pull your head from your arse to help with the explanation. Lest ye beware another dry spell until you pay for an inn again.”

It was Hatsumi’s turn to chuckle.

“Do you think she will really take to it so quickly?”

She asked with a long sigh.

“Well, if she doesn’t, that would be a first. Did I ever tell you she used to tease me for being a womanizer?”

“Hah, no? I’d recall that one if you did.”

“She knows a bit more all around than you’d think, for better or worse.”

Callum seemed to cringe.

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“Every time she saw me hire help for our practices, she’d think they were my next fling.”

Callum was casual with the past, but it did not take long before the joking became one-sided.

“If I could forget those gaps in myself, I would.”

“And I’d scrub you of their scent ten times over; the shit pissed me off every time I could smell another woman.”

“Wonder if she seems lost as we are sometimes?”

“No, she always has something up those sleeves of hers. I wouldn't doubt those horns are packed with brains instead of blood and bone.”

“True enough.”

Callum stretched one of his legs outward, using the leverage to roll himself towards Hatsumi.

“She should be back today or tomorrow going by the letter we got from that team she arrived next to.”

Hatsumi buried her cheek back into his chest as he settled.

“What team?”

Callum hummed to himself as he tried to remember.

“Vulpis or something of the like?”

“That’s weird, could’ve sworn Kiyomi and their team leader would have been at each other's throats in the field.”

Callum chuckled once more.

“She’s more patient than you, Hatsumi. I highly doubt she’ll have caused a ruckus, they wrote well of her. Not so generous with Beryl, but things should be fine.”

----------------------------------------

“We’ve allotted most of the seasonal monsters that need taking care of, so we should be set until winter.”

Elaine stacked a small stack of papers, containing tallies for each slain monster that was docketed within the last week.

“That’s good. Any word from Krakow’s guild?”

Lorn asked, turning her chair from her balcony. Elaine joined her for a majority of their time working as of late, Lorn taking her on as an apprentice of sorts until further notice. Receiving a nod of affirmation, Elaine produced a note book with a list of topics she’d taken of the correspondence.

“Kraków’s report of traffic from Brenton is as expected. They had a near scare from two possible diseased individuals entering the gate, but they chocked that up to mana density. The suspects were held in the city for a few days longer than their initial stay length, but they were cleared. The teams that were given paperwork to register with Kraków’s guild did so roughly two weeks ago. Vulpes and Hollowpoint.”

Elaine tapped at the paper.

“We had one report of a mimic that gained self-locomotion, but it was killed on sight. That report is from Kiyomi’s team.”

“Did they burn it?”

“Yes.”

“Good.”

Lorn nodded, waiting for Elaine to continue.

“From here the correspondence does become… odd. Firstly, the city seems to be raising concerns of lycanthropy going about.”

“That old curse? It’s been damn near a few hundred years since it reared its head, I think that’s the shortest without it we’ve been.”

“You’ve experienced it before?”

“Small outbursts, but it usually never spread past a village or two. Krakow is worried for another?”

Elaine nodded.

“Francia as well, enough so to acknowledge it in correspondence.”

Lorn waved a hand.

“What else?”

Elaine flicked the papers up straight.

“The guild also said something about the nobility of the floor becoming antsy, and there was a fair amount of shuffling in regards to that.”

Elaine placed the papers onto the coffee table in front of her.

“Something about unexpected visitors?”

Lorn shrugged.

“It’s the frontier, I wouldn’t doubt correspondence from a harpy messenger would be lost from time to time.”

Lorn stood, shakily, before a voice pried at her mind.

Do you have a moment? We need to talk.

It’s been some time since I’ve heard from you.

Lorn sighed, taking her seat once more as she plopped back into it.

“Elaine, be about your duties. That should be all for the records for now.”

The younger of the two nodded, collecting her work as she stood. She made her way for the door, the drone of conversation downstairs rising and falling as it opened, then closed.

“So, Tyr, what of it?”

Lorn leaned back, turning to her side to see the god standing over her.

It seems we are in a predicament of sorts, your ship has a leak.

The elf god, not seen In some time, the picture of elven youth as his clean, soft features, made him glow in the light. Clad in silk and wool, he seemed the part of a young noble trying to play peacock in front of an audience. It was strange for his face to wield a frown as naturally as it did his usual smile.

“Of gold, good morals, or knowledge?”

Tyr smirked.

The last one.

Tyr produced a book, worn, stained with blood, and covered in dust. A diary, one that screamed trouble with the name pressed into it.

“Kiyomi's diary? What's the importance of it now?”

Lorn eyed the book as she watched Tyr open it, then close it after a quick glance. He dropped it on the surface of her desk.

It's emphasis, Lorn. Emphasis to the name it bears. Someone has leaked more information to Krakow than necessary. They know her lineage.

The words sent a spike of sweat down Lorn's back.

“How much?”

Tyr shook his head.

Everything, I learned as much from my sisters. Solah was less than pleased, earlier, looking nearly as worn before the girl came here. The situation now necessitates that I be up front with you.

“That dire for you lot?”

He nodded and tapped the book.

You will have your hands full upon undoubtedly, she won’t be happy. The situation does allow for me to let that play out without telling you more.

“Straight forward’ is an odd position for you to take, I wouldn't expect less for you to hide something else from me. May I take a guess?”

I won't say whether it is correct or not.

“Wouldn't expect you to.”

Lorn crossed her fingers, tossing her boots onto the desk ahead of her. Tilting her Head to the side, she squinted as she ran over the possibilities.

“She found out by accident?”

No response.

“She found out after someone tried to speak to her about it?”

No response.

“Did someone threaten her? Was she in danger?”

Lorn raised her brow as she asked, but, characteristically, if someone was at risk of being harmed, he answered clearly.

Safe, and thankfully, not threatened, but nearly leveraged. She managed to avoid that quite well.

Lorn lay her head back.

“Then I’ll simply let what comes come. I'll go with another option, that she’s been searching for her background and got some answers. Is that it?”

She raised her head, no response. Dropping it back once more, she sighed.

“Well, I imagine that will be the most likely answer. The hellion thinks she’s slick, searching through the books in front of me while I ‘nap’ in her free time. It’s a good thing I’ve been compiling something for her.”

Lorn looked at one of her drawers through the corner of her eye, reaching for it. Upon opening it, she produced a large, leather bound folder. Stacks of parchment and twine bundled together tightly, a small tab of dried wax denoting each year that passed since the girl arrived in Brenton.

You'll take it in that spirit? The situation is complicated, I can say that much in confidence of you.

“It’s the only thing I can do, considering those are all possibilities.”

Lorn relaxed herself.

“Especially when I can feel their little group on the outskirts as we speak–”

Lorn raise her head again, squinting.

“Who the hell is the extra?”

Extra?

“There's another with them, don’t tell me you didn't even notice?”

Tyr raised his brows in anticipation.

You forget, I can only go where your short sword is, or any of my siblings are looking. The minute Solah left the girl’s presence, I could not see a thing. I believe she won’t show herself for a while, she did not like performing the games of the mind that the rest of us prefer.

Tyr appeared dejected, but, as usual for such a long history together, Lorn confronted it with a sheer wall of apathy.

“Then who the hell is this?!”

Lorn squinted further, able to vaguely sense and make out humanoid shapes at the limits of her senses, the boundaries of Brenton's old outskirts.

“I’ll have to start preparing for a debrief of what they encountered, I’ll get an explanation enough then.”

Lorn sighed in frustration.

“They are going out into the world, I can’t play the grouchy grandmother forever.”

She said in a surprisingly depressed tone.

That’s unlike you to form such an attachment. You haven’t had young ones around you since the generation following the tree’s raising.

“Yeah, well, I don’t have much longer anyways. I may as well come to enjoy it.”