Shiri showed Ranvir her new horse, briefly, then she got both of them distracted. Ranvir left through a rear door from the stables, after saying goodbye to her.

Squinting in the morning light his head pounding, he made his way home. He didn’t think he’d drunk that much, but evidently he was wrong. Maybe his body was just more susceptible after a day like yesterday.

Making his way back into the village—he really didn’t remember it being that far away—he saw people already cleaning up in the square. The food had disappeared at some point in the night, and now the tables and benches were pulled back into a shed next to the mayor’s house.

A few people waved at him, which he returned half-heartedly. Opening the door to his house, he found both of his parents sitting at the dinner table finishing up their breakfast.

“Good morning, hearthfire.” His mother called, looking up from her chair. Neither of them seemed nearly as affected by the alcohol as he was.

“Yeah.” He replied, with a low groan his head throbbing in painful time with his voice.

His father grunted around his mug, he wasn’t much of a morning person. Taking off his boots, and stepping into the kitchen, Ranvir was immediately hit by the smell of cooked ham and porridge.

He felt a twitch in his throat.

“No food?” His mother asked, to which he shook his head. “Have some tea it will settle your stomach, at least.”

“I’m not sure.” He felt like any food, could tip the precarious balance in his stomach.

“Trust me on this. I’ve used it often enough to know it works.”

That made Ranvir pause. “You have?”

“It took your old man a looong time to figure out how much he could handle in a night.” She replied, with a wink.

His father jerked kicking out for her leg. When he instead hit the table leg, and shifting the whole thing, he ended up spilling tea on himself.

“Son of a-” His voice was rough and deeper, than usual.

“That’s what you get.” His wife primly replied. She grabbed the kettle and poured a cup for Ranvir.

“Thanks mom. I’ll give it a try.” He grabbed the tea, heading into his room.

“Drink it and just lay down for a while. If you feel thirsty, your dad will come fill it up.”

“I will?”

“Thanks dad” Ranvir replied, turning to shut the door, and hopefully get some escape from the smell of food.

“Also, we’ll have to talk about you not coming home in the night.”

Ranvir froze, did they know? How could they, he’d hidden it pretty well. Even he hadn’t known what was going on. At least, not until he was shoved into the hay.

“Okay.” He replied, timidly sitting down on his bed. The breakfast smell hadn’t disappeared, but if he brought the mug up to his nose, it was overpowered. The tea smelled only lightly of a few choice herbs, he knew his mother preferred. Other than that, it held a strong citrus scent.

He sipped it, appreciating how his stomach didn’t rebel. It mostly tasted like lemon and hot water, but there was an undercurrent of something else.

Ranvir’s mother let him sit for an hour, before stepping in. He’d ended only drinking the one mug, before getting a bit of a nap.

“Hearthfire.” She said, as she lowered herself onto the bed next to him. Placing a hand on his arm, he opened his eyes and looked at her. “I just wanted to talk about drinking alcohol and avoiding abusing it.”

“Wha-?” He blinked, purple confusion swirling through him.

“You’re going out on your own now. Getting away from your parents is a big milestone on any child’s path to adulthood. I just want to make sure you know there’s a responsible way to drink alcohol and not abuse it. If, one time, you wake up somewhere you don’t recognize, then you probably had a fun night. But if it happens regularly the-”

“Mom! Yes! I get it! I know about it! I’ve seen Evarn.” When they were children, Esmund and him had been playing in a field, after finishing their chores for the day, only to stumble upon Evarn. Literally. Esmund had fallen over him, didn’t disturb old Evarn though. He’d died a couple years ago, worn down by his abuse. That was probably why his mother was worried.

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“I’m just making sure.” His mother raised her hands, signaling peace. “When were you leaving with the representative?”

“Noon.” Ranvir replied, a sudden realization striking him. Turning he tried to look out through the thick pane of his window, but he couldn’t see the sun. Which wasn’t a surprise, as it was facing west, but worried him none the less.

“Let’s get you packed, then.”

She coached him through packing from his bedside, as he worked at not being too frantic. Since he was going mostly directly south, he shouldn’t have to worry about dressing for the cold. Which also made it easier to fit everything in his slightly undersized pack.

After strapping his bedroll to it, he was finally ready to go. He double checked the straps, before straightening. He looked up at his mother, who was now fidgeting with the ring on her finger.

They made eye contact and for that one moment, he was floored by how much uncertainty there was in her eyes. It immediately took him back to the accident. Those few moments before reality had really set in, where everyone was just looking. She’d looked up at him from the road, and he’d seen fear and uncertainty in her eyes then.

“Mom, are you okay?” His stomach flipped, as he rushed over next to her. She grasped his hands in hers, as he knelt in front of her.

“I’m fine…” She sniffed, her eyes welling up. “It just feels so sudden. You’re leaving and will be gone for the foreseeable future.” She squeezed his hands tightly, in her strong fingers. He squeezed back just as hard, but he didn’t know what to say.

It hadn’t really hit yet, not truly. He was going to be leaving his village, his place of birth, his home. For the first time. And he wasn’t going to come back any time soon. Probably not before he was in his late-twenties. He was going to train for war, but he was being conscripted really. He didn’t mind, not really, he knew they fought for a good cause.

“I’m going to be safe mom.” He finally said, freeing his hands and wrapping her in a tight hug. It would have to last for many years. “I’ll write all the letters.”

He felt the heavy reverberations of his father’s footsteps, before a set of strong arms enveloped them both. His father didn’t say anything, simply holding them both tightly.

They held each other for a long time, before Frey finally sniffed and pulled back, causing Gunnor to let go, and finally Ranvir himself.

“We’ll follow you out.” His mother said, standing up on her leg. They follow him down to the square, where Taggir was waiting for them. His carriage ready with a pair of horses hitched. It wasn’t a fancy wagon, just an open sided thing, with benches on the side and canvas to keep off the rain.

Sansir was leaning against it. The tall boy was a lot more recognizable now, than he’d been when Ranvir had seen him during the ceremony. It was all in the hat, that he was now wearing. Hats weren’t often seen this late in spring, mostly they only came out during winter, and disappeared quickly after. This one didn’t appear to have been made to keep his ears warm though.

Hugging his family one last time, he stepped over to Taggir and Sansir.

“Ahh good, now we’re just waiting for the short one.”

Looking around, Ranvir didn’t find Esmund anywhere, though he wasn’t surprised. He felt like he should’ve been, maybe Esmund would be early for just this one occasion. But of course not. Other than his parents, no one else was standing around waiting for them to leave.

Ranvir wondered what that meant for Sansir, but didn’t ask. They didn’t know each other that well.

“You can throw that pack into the cart, no need to carry it around.” Taggir said, noticing Ranvir shifting his pack on his shoulders. Ranvir shot an untrusting look towards the carriage and horses, before glancing at the wheels. They were big, reaching up to his thighs. A shiver ran down his spine, considering how much weight there would be on those four circles of wood.

“Yes, sir.” Ranvir replied. Carefully, not wanting to accidentally spook the horses, he stepped into the back of the carriage. One pack was already resting against a bench, so he put his opposite it. As he did, one of the horses whinnied causing him to freeze in place.

“It’s really not that important.” Taggir said, looking through the guardrail that kept them from falling out the sides. “The ‘sir’ thing. You’re not in the military, yet. In fact, some military kids take offense, when others use it. Wouldn’t want to get you into a fight, would we?”

“Probably not.” Ranvir replied, his voice a little shaky. He cautiously stepped out of the carriage. “So I’ll just stick to Taggir?”

“I’ll inform you if it changes.” Taggir replied. “And there’s our last boy! Good to see you made it.”

Sure enough, Esmund was making his way towards them, though with the shadow his pack threw across him, they could be forgiven for missing him. Ranvir stifled a sigh as he looked at his friend. He might have too much frantic energy to worry about not Manifesting, but once he had a goal? Then he could pour all that energy into that one thing. Apparently, packing had qualified.

He heard his own parents chuckle at his friend’s antics. Behind Esmund, his mother, father and two younger sisters all walked.

“Throw it in with the other bags, then I’ll give you a chance to say goodbye.” Taggir said, hopping into the front of the carriage.

Esmund struggled up the step, before depositing his pack with a deep thump. Jumping back down, he ran over to his family. Sweeping both his giggling sisters into a big hug at the same time.

Ranvir jogged over to his parents, seeing Sansir jump into the wagon.

“This is it.” He said. He’d been expecting black and purple fear, or shivering and sickly yellow trepidation. Instead, he was simply calm. “I love you mom, dad, so much, and I can’t wait until I get to tell you all the stories, when I get back.”

“When you get back.” His father’s voice was thick and gargled.

“When you get back.” His mother said. “But now, let me see your necklace.”

He frowned, but pulled it out. His ring catching the light as he did. Frey held out two rings for him.

“Put these on it.”

“Bu-”

“Put them on, Ranvir.” He did, surprised to notice a slight shake in his hands. “We want these back in one piece, you hear me?”

He took a deep breath, surprised to find how shaky it felt. “When I get back.”

They all hugged for a long time, before he turned away walking towards the carriage. He waved over his shoulder, surprised at how weak his knees felt.

“Jump in and we’ll get going.” Taggir yelled from his seat at the front, where he was looking back at them. Esmund was already seated on a bench opposite Sansir.

For a moment, Ranvir considered refusing the offer, but with how weak his legs felt he didn’t dare. Feeling like they would disappear the moment he looked away, Ranvir stared at his parents as the horses pulled the carriage into motion.

He stared at his parents, then the clump of people surrounding them, then just the village, finally as they turned a bend, just a forest.