"Maybe next time, you pick somewhere to meet up that won't have people chasing after us?" Yenna suggested.

"It was the best spot that had enough space and privacy! I didn't think anyone would still care about it," Harry defended, and Quinn nodded along in agreement.

"Doesn't matter now," Lucas mediated. "We didn't get caught, but there will definitely be people keeping a closer watch on the house now, so we'll probably need to go somewhere else anyway."

After successfully fleeing the scene, the four of them had stuck together and made haste toward Belinda's kitchen--only stopping to catch their breath upon reaching the building's threshold. The woman that had seen them leaving the abandoned house hadn't been able to chase them very far, but her loud vocals doubtlessly clued in at least a few people nearby, and so it was necessary to put as much distance between them as possible, as soon as possible.

Quinn, being the only one of the four yet to have his System unlocked, had it worst of all from the pace Lucas had set. He was practically folded in half with his hands on his knees, panting, but apparently still present enough to follow the conversation. Yenna was right behind him in her level of exhaustion, as she was the least physically active of the four and didn't have the same conditioned stamina--though from the way she had easily kept up with Lucas at the front of the group, he thought she might have a high level [Running] Skill. As for Harry and Lucas himself, they recovered from the sprint soon enough to wait on the other two.

"We should probably get inside," Harry said whilst watching their surroundings. "Just in case someone followed us."

"How much trouble could we even get in?" Yenna asked each of them. "It's not like the house belongs to anyone anymore."

"Better not to find out," Lucas said with finality and pushed into the building.

Belinda's kitchen wasn't all that busy at this time, but there was a young couple in the waiting room, and they watched Lucas pass through with the other three trailing behind him.

The sounds of pots clanging and bowls mixing preceded their entry into the kitchen itself, though it was a bit quieter than previous times Lucas had visited. Still, it was loud enough to drown out any attempt at knocking he could've made, so he simply entered straight away.

"It's Lucas," he immediately announced himself, "and I brought friends!"

Across the room and before a couple different stovetops, Belinda and Lucas's mother paused their conversation and both turned to take them in.

"Hey, Lu!" Belinda cheerily wave. "Come in, come in. How many you got with you?"

"Just these three--is it okay if they eat with us?" He moved around the room, dodging the occasional flying cookware, and gave both of them a hug, starting with his mother. "I can help cook for everyone, too," he added.

"Hmm," Mary looked over each of Lucas's companions, "I know Quinn, and you two were at the trial, though I seem to recall you weren't simply there to give testimony, were you, [Hunter]?"

"No, ma'am," Harry looked down, "I got my own punishment from the Elders. I didn't want to do any of it, I swear."

"You didn't want to accept punishment?" Mary's glare intensified.

"Er, I mean, I didn't want to help the exile," Harry practically started sweating, "I'm sorry for the trouble I caused."

Lucas's mom didn't say or do anything more for a moment, till she looked to Lucas and he gave her a single nod. "Ok. Go take a seat," she finally instructed before turning back to the stove.

All the activity in the kitchen suddenly restarted, though Lucas wasn't sure at what point it had stopped. With it, the tension that had been building disappeared, and the four kids let out a small exhalation almost all at once. Harry hurried to follow Lucas's mom's directions and the other two went along with him to a clear counter top with plenty of seats, but Lucas stuck behind.

"So," he stretched out the word, "can I help with anything?"

"Sure, why not?" Belinda waved him over to her side. "See these? I need them chopped into small disks, and these need to be little strips before they can go in the soup."

Lucas nodded and quietly got to work. The adults resumed their conversation over something he wasn't really interested in, so he didn't bother paying any attention other than when they paused to give him a bit more direction. He worked through the food preparation beside them and let himself relax.

He did at one point look back to check in on the other three, as they'd been left largely on their own here. Quinn and Yenna were locked deep in their own conversation and Harry had apparently found the activity around the kitchen intensely captivating--he closely watched as kitchenware manned itself and floated around the room, a look of contemplation on his face. Satisfied they weren't simply sitting there and waiting for him, Lucas soon returned to the food preparation.

"I think it's almost done." Lucas used a small spoon to taste test the soup, before calling out to the adults, "Yeah, it's done."

Belinda came over from where she had been cleaning the dishes used to make the couple from earlier's meal, and took her own taste. "Perfect," she proclaimed and the pot removed itself from the heat, "let's let it cool a little and I'll dish everyone up. You can go join your friends over there."

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Lucas nodded and moved out of the way, letting the notifications roll through as he joined everyone at the counter.

[*ding [Adaptation] has reached level 2!]

[*ding [Keen Mind] has reached level 32!]

[*ding [Cooking] has reached level 24-25!]

"Why'd that one level?"

"Why did what level?" Yenna broke from her conversation with Quinn and asked.

"Nothing," Lucas shook his head, "food will be dished up in a minute. Sorry for the wait."

"So," Harry finally looked away from the diminishing chaos around the room and focussed on Lucas, "can we talk about my Skills now?"

Lucas let out a long exhalation, then nodded. "Sure. I don't make any promises of great advice, but I'll help however I can. Not while we're eating, though, so just share your status with me and we can talk more, later."

Harry smiled and pulled an actual, pre-written transcription of his full status out of a pants pocket. Lucas didn't make any comment on it, simply glad he yielded to the [Hunter]'s request now and didn't let his impatience grow anymore.

The list he gave Lucas was comprehensive, and it even detailed each Skill's description, as well as Harry's full stat breakdown. At level 78, it was a lot to go through all at once, but it was also a great sign of trust, so Lucas used the full remaining time up until food was served to take as much in as he could. When he inevitably ran out of time, he asked, "Do you mind if I hang onto this?"

"Go ahead," Harry eagerly nodded, "just...please don't share it with too many people."

'I won't," he reassured him before folding the paper up and putting it away.

Belinda and his mom brought six bowls over and joined them at the counter, each taking a seat to Lucas's left. Everyone gave their thanks and dove right in, most of them having worked up a great appetite over the course of the morning.

"So what had you four running around all morning?" Lucas's mom conversed between bites.

Lucas and Quinn looked between each other before Lucas answered. "It was mostly just practicing what Eugene has been teaching us, like usual, but Harry and Yenna wanted to join too."

"Hmm," Belinda paused mid-bite and looked at each of them in turn, "a [Hunter] Class makes a bit of sense for that, but [Apprentice]s don't get combat Skills."

"They can with a second Class," Yenna clarified, and Belinda nodded in understanding.

"Maybe they could join Eugene's mentorship program with the guards, too," Lucas absentmindedly speculated.

Harry and Yenna perked up at his suggestion, but Lucas immediately regretted saying anything when the two adults' mood visibly soured. They grew quiet and shared a look, and Lucas had to ask, "Has there been any news yet?"

"No," his mom shook her head.

"I'm sure they're fine," Belinda spoke with false cheer, "it still hasn't been that long. The goblins might have simply been spread out quite far."

"Yeah," Lucas nodded, "that must be it."

The three of them suddenly became quite interested in their soup and the conversation was dropped. The rest of the meal was a bit quieter, with only Quinn, Harry, and Yenna continuing to talk amongst themselves. The unknown fate of the guards' hunting party hung over their group like a specter.

When everyone finished up, the four kids took care of the dishes before everyone got ready to leave. With everything going on, Belinda chose to close her kitchen early and be with her family, and she invited Lucas and his mom to go with her. They left shortly after and Lucas said his goodbyes to the other three kids.

"If everyone isn't busy tomorrow, should we meet up again for practice?" he asked.

"Absolutely," Harry readily agreed. "I'll talk to some older [Hunter]s tonight and see what Skills I could trade out for, and I can get your opinion then."

Could just work with one of those [Hunter]s, but sure.

"I can probably get out of the house at the same time, tomorrow. I'll meet you at your house," Quinn told him.

Yenna hesitated before providing her own answer. "I don't know...I'll try to get out again, but my parents will probably want me to help out around the workshop."

"You can still ask, can't you?" Quinn pleaded.

"I will," Yenna spoke sincerely, "and if I can't get out early, I'll try to find you all later."

"Alright," Quinn accepted, "then we'll stop by your house before we start, just in case you get permission."

After that, they all split up into every direction, and Lucas started following after his mom and Belinda.

"It's been some time since I've met your parent's," Mary offhandedly remarked.

"Yeah, they've been asking about you," Belinda told her. "Usually after mentioning how many times Eugene stays over with you..."

"Oh. I'm not walking into trouble here, am I?" she asked.

Belinda openly laughed. "Don't worry. They might corner you a bit, but they won't go too far. My brother has already told them not to bother you."

Lucas smiled. He'd met Belinda and Eugene's parents a few times himself and knew they were both big proponents of their son's relationship with Lucas's mom, and they often complained over how slow the two of them were taking it. They were a nice elderly couple that just wanted the best for their children.

The two women conversed a bit more as they neared their destination, mostly about relationships, and his mom did some of her own teasing over Belinda's relationship status. Lucas followed their conversation for a while, sharing in the good humor. But before they made it all the way the sounds of a commotion near the south gate stopped them in their tracks.

"What's that?" Belinda voiced what each of them were thinking.

"It couldn't be the guards returning, could it?" Lucas asked excitedly. Eugene might be back!

However, that possibility was immediately squashed when a raise in pitch allowed them to better make out the sounds they were hearing--the screams.

"That doesn't sound like a patrol returning," Mary grimly stated. Then she turned to the two of them. "Belinda, hurry back home and take Lucas with you. I need to go see what I can do."

Belinda nodded and grabbed Lucas's shoulder, drawing him close. "Go, I'll make sure he stays safe."

"What? No, I can help too!" Lucas pleaded his case. "I've got my Class now!"

Mary whirled on him and grabbed his shoulders before lowering herself to his eye level. "Lucas, stop. This might be really serious and I need you to stay safe, otherwise I won't be able to do what I need to," she spoke with deadly seriousness. "Go with Belinda and focus on keeping her safe."

"But--" his complaint was cut off by her squeezing his shoulders a bit too hard, and he swallowed. He knew what she was doing. He knew he Belinda could keep her and her family safe better than he could, and his mom was simply trying to distract him. But if he did follow her into trouble, she would be forced to prioritize his safety over anyone else. His presence would do more harm than good. "Ok," he spoke quietly, "I'll help when it's over. Be careful."

Mary wrapped her arms around him faster than he could blink and gave him a tight squeeze, then she was gone.

"Come on," Belinda pulled on his arm, "I need to get home."

Lucas nodded and let her pull him along, his gaze locked in the direction the screams were still coming from.