Having taken a seat at one of several tables in the dining area the girls began reminiscing, telling Rin about what had changed in the area while Rin animatedly told stories about her training and exciting stories from missions she’d taken.

They looked in awe at the young hero as she spoke of dodging claws within the narrowest of margins, trying to escape hordes of monsters after unknowingly walking in the center of a trap in a dungeon. Even some of what they’d experienced under the mountain near the outpost town.

Through it all, her audience young and old were on the edge of their seats, looking pensive at Rin as though they were they ones experiencing the harrowing odds and amazing victories.

Belle and Adrest quietly snacked on offered biscuits and honey, always happy to hear more stories from her school life. The group happily caught up before Alren’s face turned serious and a little apologetic, getting the groups attention.

“You actually showed up at the perfect time Rin. Do you remember Roy and Rodge?”

Rin thought hard for only a second, “The dirt twins?”

Alren’s face turned red as she tries to hide a chuckle, turning it into a cough midway through and nodded as she regained composure.

“Yes, well, about a few months ago the boys got it in their head to join the Adventurer’s Guild and earn a living through that. They might have the muscle for it, but there’s not an ounce of sense between the two of them. I’ve insisted they stay here and help with the hard labor, but they’re proud and want make more space for children.”

Adrest could already see where this was going, confirming as much when Alren looked pleadingly at Rin, “I know you probably want nothing more than to catch up and take a break before you set off again, but could you try talking some sense into them? You know firsthand how dangerous even the easiest jobs can become. They’ve been fine for now, mostly sticking to the woods surrounding the town and falls, but one of the children said they heard the two talking about sneaking deeper into the woods, looking for more rare plants.”

Rin looked over to Adrest and seeing him shrug, she wrapped Alren’s hand in her own, “What do you want me to do?”

Alren was grateful seeing the successful young woman across the table was the same kind and brave girl she’d sent off. She sat thoughtful for just a moment before telling Rin her plan.

“When they return tonight, I’ll tell them you came back and you’ll be accompanying them tomorrow. Then you can watch over them for a day and see how they’re doing for yourself. Use your own judgement and be as harsh as necessary. I’m sorry to put it on you Rin, but you’re all my children and I’d rather have those two moping for a few days than crippled or worse, one day.”

Rin shook her head, wanting to keep her friends safe. Even she’d almost died more than a few times while training. How safe could two farmhands possibly be?

“It’s no problem at all. I’ll make sure they know exactly how dangerous this job is.”

Alren nodded relieved, shaking her head, angry with herself for having to leave it to her poor Rin who’d already worked so hard for almost a decade.

A distant door squeaked open and a pitter-patter of feet raced towards them, the noise rounded a corner and the person was revealed. A small blonde girl, maybe ten years old ran forward with a bright smile holding a big box that came up to her chin with both hands. The joy as plain to see in her jade green eyes, coming to a stop right next to Alren.

The child carefully set the box down on the table, then fished a leather pouch the size of her hand from a pocket inside her thin jacket.

Alren took the offered bag, smiling as she rubbed the top of her head, “Great job Ari, I think you might’ve set a new record. Now go get cleaned up and get everyone else.”

Ari bounded off just as fast as she entered, as Alren explained to the curious crowd, “When I heard Rin came to visit, I knew it was an occasion we had to celebrate.”

In just minutes, well over a dozen children varying in age from three all the way to around Rin’s age who were excitedly chattering and eight adults, smiling warmly at the red-faced Rin sitting at the table with Alren in the center of the crowd.

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Alren stood up, silencing everyone as she started speaking, “Most of you are too young to remember, but Rin was raised here just like you all. She had to go the Capital and was hard at work studying, but she's come back to see us. I’m sorry we couldn’t be there for you on the actual day, but I thought it’s never too late to celebrate.”

Alren paused as she carefully opened the box revealing a beautiful three-tiered cake in a deep orange. On the top, carefully written in white frosting was “Happy Birthday!”

Alren continued, this time quieter and beside Rin, “It must’ve been hard Rin, but we are so proud of the beautiful, strong, and smart woman you’ve become. Congratulations on becoming the adult I always knew you could be.”

Rin was outright bawling at the words she dreamed of hearing for years, pulling Alren into a tight hug. Adrest had to wipe away the stray tear in his eye, then took a handkerchief to carefully dab Belle’s.

As Alren cut the cake and doled out slices to the children, they couldn’t hold back their curiosity and longer and a group of them surrounded Adrest and Belle.

“Who are you Mr.?”

“Where are you from? What’s it like?”

“Are you and Rin dating?”

“Can I touch your horns?”

One of the voices wasn’t like the others, the more mature voice of one of the caretakers that was around Rin’s age tried sneaking in with the group. Adrest was speechless for once, and Rin who heard flew out of her seat in protest.

“We’re just friends traveling together!”

Alren and the older Caretakers didn't bother to hide their knowing smiles and small giggles at the show while Rin pulled Adrest and Belle away from the crowd and back to the table.

It didn’t take long for every child to have their share of cake, with Rin and company at the door bidding their farewells. As they left under the entourage of children and followed Rin further down the worn path away the town, Adrest spoke up.

“You know you could’ve stayed there all day, right Rin? Belle and I were having fun, and I imagine you have more catching up to do.”

Rin looked back with a big bright smile, “Thanks Adrest, but that was enough for today, and I have a tour to give! It’s your guys’ first time in Raille, I want to show you as much as I can! Besides, we’ll be going back tomorrow, if you and Belle want to that is.”

Belle jumped over and grabbed Rin’s hand in excitement, “Can we!?”

Getting the overexcited rabbit back under control, Adrest was happy to agree, “We’d love to. Have any idea how you’re going to handle the two boy adventurers tomorrow?”

Grinning in a way that made Adrest think of Alissa right before she beat the hell out of him Rin said, “That’ll be easy.”

As they meandered down the trail, faintly Adrest could hear water roaring in the far distance, slowly growing louder with every step. When it became near deafening, Rin pushed through a final line of bushes to reveal a river, as big as anything Adrest had heard about in his life, dwarfing the Niagara Falls he’d seen as a kid. The only thing that came close were sections of the Amazon so wide, you couldn’t see land on the other side.

What really stunned the pair though, was the enormous waterfall just a few hundred paces out. It was pushing tens of thousands of gallons of water a second over the edge with such force Adrest knew there would be no escape if he were caught in the current.

As the crystal clear water rampaged, rainbows were constantly forming in the air, overlapping and intersecting one another. It was a stunning kaleidoscope of color, constantly shifting and changing. Adrest and Belle sat silent taking in the natural wonder, Rin looking over the two with a reminiscent small smile.

This little clearing on the shoreline was a “secret” that the older kids had shown them way back when. From then on, Rin’s favorite thing to do when new kids showed up was bring them here. No matter how sad or depressed they were, seeing such a wonder always made the children forget about their own worries for just a bit.

Clearing her throat and slipping into a tour guide impression, Rin cheerily spoke, “And here we have the largest waterfall in all of Radagon, and the fifth largest known waterfall on Elaris. It’s so powerful, even B ranks have died going over the edge. And you can see it miles from miles away at the base. They say some S rank carved it out while practicing and made an abode deep in the stone behind the falls. It’s either fake or no one’s bothered to check though, because I never heard anything more about it than rumors about what other kids thought was hidden there.”

“When Alissa comes, we can make her bring us to check!” Adrest’s eyes glowed with mischief at just the thought.

Rin was confused on the wording, “When Alissa comes?”

“Do you really think she won’t drag us all here again when we’re all together? She goes crazy over stories like that, not to mention getting to see where you grew up is something she'd refuse to miss out on.”

Rin nervously chuckled as she really could imagine Alissa dragging the three of them back here as soon as she heard.

Belle spoke up, “What’s it like at the bottom? That’s so much water going down”

“Wanna see? We can hike down in a few hours and be back for dinner.”

Belle was hopping in excitement, grabbing Rin’s hand “Can we?!”

Another scenic walk down semi-steep trail and the party found themselves right beside the base of the falls, close enough water was spraying through the air, slowly soaking them.

Belle and Adrest couldn’t have cared less though, awestruck by the other end of the falls. It was truly something to see so much water crash down with such force. Adrest had zero doubts in his mind, even with how much stronger he’d become, he would be crushed like a bug instantly under the pressure. Thinking back to the story Adrest couldn’t help but try to peak through the curtain of frothy white rapids, but it was tens, if not over a hundred feet deep, with absolutely no gaps to see even with his super human sight.