The journey home was thankfully uneventful. They were able to maintain a quicker pace since there were multiple argu'n taking turns pulling the cart. The first leg of the journey was filled with excited talk among the younger woodworkers and the smith as they marveled at their new heated coats, but eventually, everyone settled into a comfortable silence, each lost in their own thoughts. When they stopped for lunch, they were much closer to the mountain than the first time Jack and S'haar had traveled this route.

While eating, Lon'thul saddled up next to Jack and S'haar. He looked like something was on his mind, and Jack was content to eat while the young man gathered his thoughts. After a few moments of Jack chewing in what was quickly becoming an awkward silence, Lon'thul finally found the courage to speak up.

"The last time I... 'visited' your home, I unintentionally said some upsetting things to the young female now in your charge. I still feel kinda lousy about that... how's she doing now?"

Jack took another bite, letting the silence grow a little uncomfortable again before responding. S'haar translated from the other side of Jack between her own bites of food.

"Well, it's good that you feel down about what you did. That just means you have some idea of the pain you caused, accidental or not, and desire to make amends." Jack smiled a bit. "It means there's hope for you."

Letting his expression grow somber again, Jack continued. "Em'brel lost everyone she cared about and had her entire life ripped away from her, not to mention the abuse she suffered at the raiders' hands before we got there. That kind of thing can take many years to come to terms with. Even if she succeeds, she'll still bear deep scars on her soul for the rest of her life."

Jack looked at a distant horizon within himself and couldn't help but compare his own history to Em'brel's current state. "However, she's moving forward as best she can. When she realized she didn't have a place in this world anymore, she decided to make one for herself. She's setting goals and making great strides toward them. In many ways, Em'brel is stronger than I was at her age, and I'm not talking about physical muscles."

Finishing his food, Jack stood up and dusted off his pants as he finished his thoughts. "But to answer your question, at the moment, her spirit still bears many raw and bleeding wounds. So I'm only going to tell you this once."

Lon'thul found it surprising such a small, frail man could suddenly look so intimidating. "Whatever your motivations in coming to speak with me now, whatever your intentions regarding her in the future, if you treat Em'brel in anything but the most honorable and gentlest of ways, you will find your welcome to our outpost suddenly and violently revoked!"

Jack and S'haar both got up and walked off, letting Lon'thul sit, lost in thought for a few minutes.

-

After arriving at the mountain, the workers remained outside the cave while Jack and S'haar went in to get the tents and other supplies. They'd almost made it to the door when Em'brel launched herself out of it and at Jack. This time she didn't grip him quite so tightly as to cause significant bruising, which was a pleasant surprise, but the two still ended up in a tangle on the ground.

Jack laughed as he ruffled Em'brels' 'hair.' "What's all this then? Has Angela been so rough with you that you felt the need to run away?"

Em'brel hid her face against Jack while still refusing to let go of him. Her voice was quiet and more than a little embarrassed. "I...I was afraid something would happen to you while you were gone...The last time..."

Jack climbed back to his feet, then helped Em'brel to her feet with a grunt of effort before responding. "Last time, it was much warmer out. Cold as it is now, this is probably about the safest time of year for me to be out and about. Now, S'haar and I need to get the tents out to the workers we brought back with us. Why don't you tell me what you've been studying while we walk?"

Em'brel's eyes lit up as she followed along, her tone of voice further revealing her eagerness to describe it all. "Well, there's all the math stuff, but that's boring. What was way more fun was what Angela called 'simple machines,' things like levers and pullies!"

This caught S'haar's interest. "Angela is teaching you the secrets behind human machines?"

Em'brel looked even more excited to explain the concept to someone else who could learn along with her. "Nothing as complex as, well, anything they have in the ship, but even their simple machines are amazing. By placing a long stick over a 'fulcrum,' you can easily lift something too heavy to lift through usual means." Em'brel's arms moved about as she tried to explain the movement of the stick and fulcrum. "By moving the fulcrum closer to the heavy object, you increase the distance that the lever has to move relative to the distance the object moves, and the weight is decreased by a corresponding amount. The greater the difference, the lighter the object becomes!"

S'haar looked more than a little confused. "You mean you can change the weight of an object just by putting it on a stick, and you're telling me this isn't human magic?" Jack could swear S'haar used the term 'magic' just because she knew it irked him.

Em'brel shook her head before she beamed at S'haar and continued to explain. "Not at all, in fact, many of our own people use levers from time to time, but now I understand why they work and how to better utilize them! On the other hand, the pulley is new to me, but it does something similar using rope and wheels!"

The two continued talking as they walked into the ship. Jack let them go on while Angela floated up to give her own greeting. "Welcome back, and with no broken bones this time! Hopefully, it's the start of a new trend!”

Jack chuckled. “Yes, yes. It’s very funny how I keep getting into trouble. It’s good to see you too.”

Anglea turned to S’haar. “And he was well behaved this time? There were no other...incidents?”

S’haar stuttered incoherently while Jack turned a little red at the memories of what had kept him awake. "Well, not really...no."

Angela's lazy attitude and posture disappeared as she exploded with energy, shooting up into the air and throwing her arms and legs out wide, while words virtually burst out of her. "Ohmygod,somethingDIDhappen! Tellmeeverything! NowaitIwanttohearitfromher! Girls night! We're going to tell stories about boys! Well, A boy! Oh, what embarrassing story should I share? What about the first time you had a bubble bath as a toddler? Or maybe that time you scared yourself with a mirror in a dark room? There are too many to choose from! This is going to be great! I've got pictures and everything!"

If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

Jack was suddenly filled with feelings of fear and trepidation. There was no way this was going to end well for him.

-

Jack finally managed to get the others back on track bringing out the materials for the tents to the workers. S'haar carried out three tents by herself, Em'brel hefted two, and Jack managed to slog out the last one on his own, cursing the unfairness of argu'n physiology the whole way.

Once outside, Jack started showing their new guests how to set up the tents. They were a simple design based on canopy tents back home. Four posts were placed, one at each corner of a square, and one long post was set up in the center. The corner posts attached to each other via beams running between the posts, then they were anchored to the ground by a rope attached to the tops of those posts. A quilted wall was put up around the outside, and the roof was treated to help any moisture roll off easily, then raised with the long post. The floors were thick, linen-like cloth, with each argu'n being given a hide to use as padding under large sleeping bags that had been designed with pockets for more heating packs.

By Jack's standards, this was definitely roughing it, but many of the argu'n noticed these 'small tents' Jack had supplied weren't much worse than the living quarters they were used to in the village. True, they were light on furnishings and a little smaller than even a bachelor's housing, but it was still far better than they'd feared.

While everyone set up their tents, Jack recruited S'haar into helping him set up a large fire pit for gathering around and cooking. As the uninvited guest, Lon'thul found he had the dubious honor of digging out the latrines away from the camp. Jack made sure he dug decently deep holes so they could be filled in later.

At first, Emb'brel had shadowed S'haar, doing her best to hide behind the larger female. However, once the fire pit was ready, she had her own job, and it was one she took pride in. She'd brought out several of the most enormous pots Jack owned and had set them up on an improvised metal grate Angela had procured from some unused device she'd had sitting around in storage. The pots' contents were all in varying states of simmering as the stew Em'brel cooked started to come together. A couple of the workers brought over several of the logs Jack and S'haar had stored before to use as seating, and before long, the whole group was enjoying the fruits of Em'brel's labor.

At some point, one of the woodworkers dug out a stringed instrument similar to a lute, but whose sound was a bit sharper and harsher than most earth music. After a while, Fea'en joined in, lending her gravely voice to the music. As best as Jack could tell, the song told the story of some grand hunt. While the details were kind of fuzzy, Jack suspected most argu'n must be already familiar with the tale, as this song seemed to be more about the beat of the music than the story. The sound was very different from human music, almost bestial in nature, but it had a beat you could move to. Jack found himself tapping his foot in time to the music.

This went on for several songs, all of whose subjects seemed to center around fighting, hunting, and more fighting. All of the music had aggressive energy, and Jack couldn't help but feel his blood pump a little faster as he listened.

He noticed S'haar and Em'brel seemed to be debating something in private, just off to the side of the gathering, and once the music stopped between songs, S'haar gave Em'brel a shove toward the center before telling the musician, "Play something slower."

When the music began this time, it had a slower pace and a quiet tone. Em'brel's voice started with a slight waver to it, but when she looked at Jack, he gave her a big grin and a nod of his head. Em'brel seemed to take heart and closed her eyes to continue her song. Her voice grew more confident, though it was much more gentle than Fae'en's voice had been.

This song seemed to tell the journey of a tribe wandering through the wilderness. As they traveled, they lost men and women to beasts, hunger, and cold. The people's hope slowly faded until the last few survivors gave up and laid down for the last time. The stringed instrument had stopped playing at some point, but no one noticed as everyone sat entranced by the pure sound of the young argu'n's voice.

Once the song ended, everyone sat in quiet for a moment, not sure what to do. S'haar started clapping as she'd seen humans do in some of the movies Jack had shown her, then Jack quickly joined in, and it didn't take long for the rest of the workers present to catch on. Em'brel ducked out of the center of attention with a shy smile and resumed her seat next to S'haar, once more trying to hide in the larger female's shadow. A few more songs were played after that, mostly to lighten the mood a little, but it was clear that everyone was nearing their limit for the evening. Eventually, everyone split off to their respective tents, with Jack, S'haar, and Em'brel returning to their own home, intent on calling it a night.

-

Jack was ready to pass out. Between not getting enough sleep the night before, the long journey home, setting up camp, and the campfire gathering, Jack was surprised he had enough energy to shower and brush his teeth before collapsing into bed. A familiar blue glow behind him told Jack who had appeared even before Jack looked in the mirror and saw Angela just off to the side. Jack spit out a mouth full of toothpaste before rinsing and addressing the not-quite patient presence behind him. "You always seem to catch me right before bed. What's up this time? Please don't tell me there's another emergency that requires me to dramatically readjust our plans again!"

Angela laughed, her face filled with a genuine smile Jack had seen more and more of recently. "No sir, quite the opposite, for once everything seems to be going as planned."

Jack looked at her through the mirror with mock horror on his face. The effect was somewhat diminished as he got ready to floss his teeth. "You shouldn't say things like that! If I was slightly more superstitious, I'd say you just doomed us all."

Angela waved away his concerns. "Oh please, this world seems to do that job well enough without any irony gods having to lift a finger. At this rate, the only surprising thing would be if everything continued to go as planned. We both know neither of us is lucky enough for that to happen."

Jack started using his mouthwash as Angela continued. "I've just not had a chance to talk with you recently unless it was to address some major issue, so I thought I'd stop by and ask 'how're you doing?'"

Jack gave the question some thought before spitting out the mouth rinse and taking a drink from some water he had sitting to the side. Turning to face Angela, Jack leaned back against the sink as he spoke. "You know, given everything that's happened, I would think I'd be more stressed than ever, but more and more, I feel like I'm doing something worth doing. Not just repairing the ship, despite how important that is, but everything else." He waved his hand in the general direction of the cave as he took a breath.

Jack continued as he walked into his room and sat down to remove his slippers before crawling under his blankets. "In a weird way, the large, scary cat-lizard residents of this planet feel more like people to me than most humans did back in earthspace. Weirdly, it almost feels like we've... ah..."

Jack found he couldn't bring himself to finish the thought. It was almost as if he was afraid that vocalizing his thoughts would make him realize this was all a dream, one he didn't want to wake up from.

Angela felt no such compunctions about finishing the sentence. "It almost feels like we've come home."

Jack couldn't help but think of the two other presences just a room away as he closed his eyes and settled into his pillow. "Yeah...home. It feels...nice."

Angela didn't bother to respond, knowing she would have been speaking to herself anyway. Jack was already asleep. Her avatar slowly faded from view, but all her sensors stayed active, keeping a close eye on the three most important people in her world.