As the sun was setting, its last rays of light gleaming off of the tops of the wagons and tents to the west of Arvel’s farm, Fidget was making her last check of the evening. She made her way around the chicken run to ensure that the fence was secure, she checked the garden for signs of vermin, and she made sure the gate of the goat pen was firmly latched. While she was making her rounds, Arvel and Rain sat on the edge of the front porch.

Under normal circumstances, Arvel might’ve asked Rain what was wrong. But he could confidently pinpoint the moment that her mood turned sour, and he hoped that if he didn’t bring it up, she’d eventually let it go.

“So,” she said stiffly, “Fidget has been keeping you from being lonely ‘every night’, yes?”

She wasn’t going to let it go.

“Yep,” he replied, “Said you told her to.”

“I absolutely did not tell her to sleep with you!” Rain huffed, looking at Arvel, red-faced.

“She’s a grown damn woman,” Arvel said, “Pretty sure she can figure out her own wants and needs without you commanding it, ‘my lady’.”

Rain folded her arms and said, “I’m not upset with Fidget. ...Alright, I’m a little bit upset with Fidget, but...”

“You’re upset with me?” he asked indignantly, an eyebrow quirked as he looked at her.

“Of course I am!” she replied, “I thought... I thought after those kisses... and that time in the tool shed...”

“You thought I’d wait around in case you ever came back?” Arvel asked, “Maybe months or years from now, if ever?”

Rain fell quiet.

Arvel stood up, dusting off his backside before looking toward the sunset, and said, “You told me you hoped you’d come back for a visit someday. Now, just because you got back to Fairvale and decided to pack your bags and turn right back around the next day, doesn’t change the fact you said goodbye.”

Rain looked as his words sunk in. She unfolded her arms, and rested her hands lightly on her lap, before her fingers curled in her apron. She took a deep breath, and let out a shaky exhale, before saying, “I just didn’t think you’d move on without me so fast.”

“Without you?” Arvel asked. He shook how head and said, “I ain’t gone anywhere, and sure as hells not without you, seeing as you’re back.”

“But you and Fidget are—”

“Having sex, yeah,” he interrupted, “Pretty frequently actually.”

Rain’s face turned beet red.

“And you also showed up with a whole passle of uninvited guests, and brought a bunch of trouble right to my doorstep,” he continued, looking down at Rain seated on the edge of the porch beside him. He then knelt beside her, resting his arm on his knee, and continued, “But you know what? I ain’t kicked you out for a reason. I like you a lot, Rain. And I’m real damn mad at you right now. But that don’t change the fact I like you.”

Rain fidgeted, tugging at her apron and smoothing the newly-made wrinkles, her eyes on her nervously swinging feet as she asked, “Do you really?”

“Sure I do,” he said, “I like that you care about folk. I like that you always seem to mean well, even if you mess up.

Arvel nudged her shoulder.

“I kinda like that you spoke up about what made you mad,” he said, “Even if I kinda wished you wouldn’t have. I mean, at least we got to say a thing or two about it.”

Rain looked up at Arvel, then glanced away shyly, with a tiny smile tugging at the corner of her lips. She then asked, quietly, “Do you think Fidget would get upset if we hugged?”

Arvel reached down, and wrapped his arms around Rain tightly, pulling her against his chest. Rain felt her heart begin to race, pounding in her ears, as she lifted her arms to wrap around his waist.

“If she is,” he said, “Well, then we’ll just have to say a thing or two about that too.”

“Are you still mad at me?” she whispered.

Arvel was quiet for a moment, before he told her, “You just dumped a whole bunch of people on my front doorstep. You’re darn right I’m mad at you. But we’ll figure it out.”

The sound of horses’ hooves reached Arvel’s ears, but not before they alerted Fidget. He saw her head pop up from the garden patch, her ears perked. She bristled at the sound, glaring to the west, squinting in the direction of the setting sun to try to see who was approaching.

“Knight lady is coming!” Fidget announced loudly, looking toward the porch.

“Ser Lunette?” Rain asked as she let go of Arvel.

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Fidget nodded firmly and said, “Other horses too! And people!”

Rain smiled up at Arvel and said, “I hope you’re ready for visitors!”

He was not.

Arvel’s readiness to receive guests mattered very little. Ser Lunette arrived, accompanied by several others on horseback. She dismounted at the front gate, moving slowly, with a faint groan. She had shirked her armor in favor of a cream-colored blouse and brown trousers, and there were clearly bandages wrapped around her body, visible at the edge of her collar.

“You doin’ alright?” Arvel asked as he approached the front gate.

“Standing upright and breathing,” Lunette replied, “And how is my lady?”

Rain followed shortly after Arvel, with Fidget hiding nervously behind her skirt. She reached back to pet Fidget’s hair gently and said, “I am well enough, Ser Lunette. The camp...?”

Lunette was quiet at first, going over her answer in her mind before she chose to state it simply; “We lost four to the attack. A dozen more are badly wounded.”

Rain’s shoulders slumped as the news struck her.

“How’re the rest managing?” Arvel asked.

Frederik, the skinny bookkeeper, scrambled off of his horse and hurried to field the question, saying “Many of our tents and wagons were damaged, but we’ve made enough repairs and consolidated enough groups to keep everyone dry overnight should the rain return.”

“Patrols have been organized as well,” Lunette added, “Until we have stable structures, we’ll be keeping a constant vigil for further attacks.”

“Most threats are gonna come from the mountain,” Arvel said, “Goblins like to keep low and circle around because they know that’s where you’ll be watching, but last I heard, the biggest goblin pack moved out recently and I ain’t seen em back for a while.”

Frederik caught a glimpse of movement behind Rain’s skirt. He tilted his head and peered a little closer, noticing the edge of a blue skirt, and a mop of messy hair. A smile spread across his lips as it occurred to him that a child was hiding shyly behind his lady. While Lunette and Arvel discussed the complexities of setting up their camp, Frederik edged a little closer.

“Hello there,” Frederik said softly.

Fidget leaned around Rain’s hip and hissed fiercely, mouth open wide to bear as many of her pointy teeth at once as she could.

Frederik let out a yelp of surprise as he scrambled backward, bumping into Lunette, who barely budged from the collision.

“Goblin!” he announced loudly.

“That’s Fidget,” Arvel said, “Fidge, this is uh... a guy who writes records or something.”

“Frederik!” the record-writer shouted indignantly, “My name is Frederik!”

“Frederik is one of the finest scribes in Nathulan,” Rain said, petting the top of Fidget’s head to calm her, “He was excited to come on this expedition, not only because he knew he could be of assistance, but because he wanted the opportunity to chronicle the foundation of a new town from its first day.”

Frederik straightened himself out, tugging down the hem of his doublet and holding his head up high before saying, “All of the greatest cities in our nation, nay, the world, all started as small villages. But none have ever had their chronicles recorded from when the ground was first broken.”

“City?” Arvel asked, his head snapping to look at Frederik; “Oh hells no. I’m not even happy about a village on my land. There’s no way you’re putting a city out there.”

“It isn’t your land,” replied Frederik, making no attempts to hide his exasperation, “Furthermore, cities take many decades, if not generations to develop. Your great-grandchildren might be the first to see Elediah’s Trail become a proper city.”

Arvel glared suspiciously at Frederik as he slowly turned his head to look at Lunette again, and said, “Well, your people ain’t gonna last a real long time if they don’t know how the land works around here. It ain’t just the demon problem. But I’m gonna guess that’s why you’re here.”

“It is,” Lunette replied, “If you would be so gracious as to pay us a visit tomorrow, the farmers and craftsmen would very much like to ask you questions about life and work here. But it isn’t the only reason.”

Lunette looked past Arvel’s shoulder at Rain, who was still trying to calm Fidget before the lady knight returned her gaze to meet Arvel’s.

“This land has proven itself deadly more than once,” she said, “It has also taught me that I cannot always be at my lady’s side to protect her if I am also to fulfill my duty to our people. Thus, I beg to impose upon you to offer my lady shelter and safety in my stead.”

“Yeah, she can stay here,” Arvel said with a small grin, “Just so long as she plays nice with Tim.”

Lunette didn’t seem at all surprised by Arvel’s strange request, or even stop to ask who Tim was. She just smirked in a way that told him she’d already heard Rain’s myriad complaints about the ‘beast’.

“I’m sure she can be convinced to be diplomatic,” Lunette said.

“I can be convinced to keep my distance,” Rain muttered.

Arvel chuckled, before glancing past Lunette, and giving the other riders on horseback a nod as he asked, “So who’re these folk?”

“I asked these gentlemen to help me bring some goods back,” she said, “I told you that I would be sending gifts of gratitude. It just worked out a little differently than I imagined.”

“Whoa, whoa!” Arvel said, waving a hand, “Your folk are about to face a damn hard few months. I ain’t taking food when they’re in a state like that.”

“Fair, and to be expected,” she replied with a smirk, “Which is why I opted not to send you food. Did you think I haven’t noticed how hard you are on your farm tools?”

By the time the visitors were leaving that night, there were many new gifts scattered around Arvel’s living room. There were two sacks full of cloth goods, including bed sheets, curtains, and towels, to replace the threadbare linens around Arvel’s home. There were also several tools, including a couple of shovels, pots and pans, and kitchen knives.

While Fidget was finding places to store the pots and pans in the cabinets, Arvel carried a stack of bedsheets into the bedroom. As he began to strip the bedding off of his mattress, he noticed Rain in the doorway.

“Hey,” he said quietly, “Not sure what we’re gonna do about sleeping arrangements.”

“I understand,” she replied, “It was one thing for you to volunteer your bed, but another entirely to kick two people out.”

Arvel lifted his head to watch her for a moment. After an awkward length of silence, he said, “You could stay too.”

Rain’s face reddened. She looked away and muttered, “That... that would just be too much.”

Rain was almost knocked over as Fidget ran past her into the room, already yanking her dress off over her head. Fidget threw the dress in the corner, and spun around, completely naked, wearing naught but a big toothy grin.

“Bedtime!” Fidget said, “Rain in or out?”