Morgantus spent the dinner talking to his parents, listening to their tales of work and the local gossip.

Eventually, he noticed his sister had fallen asleep, her head rested on the open book.

He gently nudged her awake. "Hey, sis, wake up.", he whispered.

She looked up and yawned, blinking several times before slowly focusing on her brother.

"By the way, Fediluv is probably in the garden waiting for you.", she said drowsily, pointing at the open door.

"Thanks for the warning...", Morgantus replied with a smile.

He grabbed his hat and left the room, making his way towards the front door of the house. He found Fediluv sitting on top of one of the apple trees in their garden, wearing a mischievous grin on her face.

"Did you miss me?" she asked cheekily, jumping down from the tree and landing lightly on the ground. Morgantus grinned in response, shaking his head as he walked up to her.

"I certainly did not miss you!" he replied sarcastically, hugging her.

"Oi! Why do you need to act so mean all of a sudden?", Fediluv said, pouting as she pushed herself away from him.

"That's better...", Morgantus muttered with a grin. He reached up and tousled her hair, making it stand up in tufts.

"So how have you been? Has anything fun happened during my absence?", Morgantus asked his childhood friend.

Fediluv shrugged, "Same old stuff and the same old people." She paused for a moment as if trying to remember something.

"There was one event though that wasn't boring.", Fediluv said.

"Oh yeah, what was that?", Morgantus asked.

"Remember that incident last year when the gnomes tried to start trouble? Well, they've done it again. Only this time they went further than just setting fires and throwing rocks at the villagers.", she recalled.

"How much further?" Morgantus inquired.

"They managed to convince some of the villagers to attack a nearby town. Luckily, no one died or anything like that, but still." Fediluv frowned. "My grandmother says that these troubles will keep happening until those blasted gnome leaders get punished for causing such chaos."

"The exciting things always happen when I'm away.", he sighed.

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Fediluv rolled her eyes and smacked him across the back of his head. "Shut up, dummy. There's nothing exciting if it escalates to a full blown war."

He let out a slight sigh but didn't say anything more.

"

You know," said Fediluv after a pause, "you really shouldn't complain so much. You got to travel around and see new places."

Morgantus shrugged, crossing his arms.

"Why don't you tell me about all the amazing things that happened while you were travelling? How did you get that bump on your forehead?", Fediluv asked excitedly.

Morgantus winced as he remembered the bump forming on his head and the fall inside the carriage.

"Well...it's kind of embarrassing..."

"No, you're going to tell me all about it.", Fediluv insisted, leaning forward expectantly.

After thinking for a few moments, Morgantus decided to tell his friend everything that happened while he was travelling from the beginning.

He recounted every detail, feeling strangely relieved when Fediluv started laughing hysterically at various parts of the story.

Finally, once he finished telling the tale, a silence fell between them. Morgantus sighed deeply, glancing up at the sun.

The warm rays made him sweat under the summer heat, and he rubbed his sorry forehead to wipe off his sweat.

"Let's go fishing together tomorrow morning, okay?", Morgantus suggested.

Fediluv shook her head in disbelief. "Really? We literally have school tomorrow morning. Didn't you know?"

"That soon? I just got here today after all.", he replied.

"Yeah, but we can make time for ourselves later. Besides, I'll see you tomorrow too."

Morgantus groaned, scratching his cheek.

"Okay, fine.", he answered reluctantly.

He was about to turn his back on her when he remembered something important.

"Say, what does everyone think about the whole thing with the gnomes last week? The attack?"

Fediluv scoffed, "Who knows. Some people are blaming the elves for provoking them. Some are blaming the humans for existing, and others are just hoping that the gnomes calm down again."

"What do you think?", Morgantus asked, turning to look at his friend.

Fediluv shrugged, "I don't care what the cause of it is. All I care about is keeping our town safe."

Morgantus nodded in agreement. He looked up at the sky, which was painted red by the sun. A flock of birds flew overhead, disappearing beyond the horizon.

"Guess we should get going.", Morgantus said as she started walking away from his house.

"Tomorrow we meet for classes, right?"

"Right. And make sure to show up on time!", Fediluv agreed with a nod.

They both waved goodbye and turned to walk in opposite directions.

Morgantus noticed his little sister Olivia peek out through the window, acting like she was just reading her book.

He smiled at her before returning to his house, locking the door behind him.

The next day dawned bright and sunny, much different than the previous one had been.

It seemed like nature itself was celebrating Morgantus' return home. The grass on the ground glittered, making the air sparkle, and birds were singing sweetly from every corner of the garden.

Morgantus yawned as he made his way outside, enjoying the warm sunlight shining down on him.

As he walked, he thought about how lucky he was to be able to live in this part of Teckleville and enjoy nature like this every day.

As soon as Morgantus arrived at the academy gates, a small group of students came rushing towards him, surrounding him in an instant.

"Hey, guys! It's good to see you again!", he said with a wave of his hand.