Welcome to winter! ...in the middle of autumn. xD But that's only because I thought I was going to drop down to two chapters a week once the dates in story were close to those in real life. But I still had 12 chapters in backlog so I kept the three chapters a week upload schedule. Aren't ya'll just so lucky?

Thank you for reading!

It didn't actually hit Anora that she was going home until Brain offered to take some of her bags for her. The past few days, she had prepared three suitcases worth of clothes to take with her. Just yesterday she had given Strelitzia and Skuld their gifts. Strelitzia in particular had been thrown off guard, immediately apologizing that she had nothing to give Anora. In her humble ways, Anora told Strelitzia that it was alright- but the older refused to listen. She promised that she'd have a present for Anora when she got back.

Deciding how she was going to give Ephemer his gift was more of a struggle. A part of her just wasn't brave enough yet to give it to him in person. But she also wanted him to get it before she left. It was Brain's idea -one that she didn't want to do because of the middle man- to give it to Headmaster Ava. Anora had put off handing the gift over until this very morning. Brain reminded her. How dare he. But she did it. Ava was even in her office this early in the morning. It made the small exchange more awkward than it already was.

But at least it was done now. Now she felt bad that Brain was carrying most of their luggage to the taxi.

"Is that the last of them?" he asked her as he took the suitcase she still had in her hands. Anora absently hugged herself before giving an agreeing nod.

"Well then," Brain decided, "I guess it's time we hit the-"

"Anora!"

The duo blinked before turning their attention to whoever has just called the young woman. A spike of shock hit Anora when she easily recognized Ephemer running up to them. He caught up to them quickly- having to take a moment to catch his breath.

"Ava said… you left me a… present." he said through labored breaths. "So I… I had to..."

Without another word, he held up a small box. It was covered with gift wrap with a tag on it that held only Anora's name. It felt bad to admit it- Anora almost refused to take it.

"Thank you." she said regardless. She carefully took the present from him without so much brushing her fingertips against his.

"You can't open it until Christmas, though." he then informed her. He even gave a small grin. "That'll ruin the surprise."

Anora nodded as she unconsciously held his present closer to her chest. Ephemer did not leave right away. The two looked at each other, their slow breathing mirroring the other, as they both debating wanting to say something further. Brain had to let out a forced cough to get either of their attentions.

"We need to get going." he told him.

Ephemer and Anora looked at Brain for a moment, before looking back at each other. They gave each other a bashful nod before Anora carefully backed away. After getting in to the taxi, Anora continued to look out her window at Ephemer. She kept watching him as the vehicle made its way out of Daybreak Drive and to Roue 7-13. Her eyes welled up with tears. When she started crying, the only thing she could feel was empty.

. . .

"I'm still not convinced we left something at the airport." Brain mumbled to himself. "This is why kids from outside Departure Country usually aren't recruited for Daybreak. The logistics of getting a student from here to there without personal items getting lost is ridiculous."

Anora only gave him a nod. Her forehead was pressed against the cool window as the sights outside were becoming more familiar. A part of her was incredibly excited. The other part wanted to cry. Brain noticed her silence, looking over at her with a tilt of his head. He studied her for a moment before reaching over to rub the back of her hand.

"You did great back there." he assured her. "If it were me, I would have thrown it back at his face and tell him to get lost."

His only answer was a halfhearted hum.

"Come on," he lightly teased, even giving her a little nudge, "You're almost home for the first time in forever. It couldn't hurt to show a tiny amount of enthusiasm."

But Anora only shrunk, still refusing to look at him.

"Anora," Brain finally sighed, "You don't have to look at me, but please try to listen. Ephemer is a thousand miles away from here. He doesn't matter now- your family does. Don't let him, or whatever he got you in that little gift box, distract you from that. You're home now. Not at Daybreak. Not in Departure County. Not anywhere near him or anyone else he knows. You're free."

For awhile, Anora continued to sit in a contemplative silence. She looked over at him and nearly felt her heart pound in seeing the sincerity on his face.

"Why are you always right?"

Brain let out a light chuckle, fingering the front brim of his fedora and tilting it slightly at her. "Because I make a lot of observations and theories." he claimed. "Some tend to be wrong. But most of the time, they also tend to be incredibly right."

Anora studied him for a moment. Eventually, she let out a little sigh and even put on a gentle smile.

"That's the spirit." he teased before giving her nose a little tap.

. . .

Kieran had been waiting outside despite how quickly the temperature dropped that afternoon. He was already daydreaming about the hot chocolate Ma was making, along with working up the fireplace in the living room, and then wrapping up in a heavy comforter while chatting it up with Anora and the boy she brought home with her. But, for now, he had to wait. The shiver he gave when he finally saw their taxi was from the cold, not excitement. He was excited -don't get him wrong- but the cold was a bit more prominent.

"Razzie!" the 30-something happily declared, barely giving Anora time to get out of the taxi proper before scooping her into a crushing bear hug. The sounds of her exaggerated strangling meant that he was doing a good job. He only let her go when he saw the boy she brought with him come around the taxi. The boy was already carrying two suitcases- no doubt there was more.

"You must be Brain." Kieran greeted, going over to help him with the luggage.

"Yes sir." the boy agreed with a nod.

The grin Kieran gave Brain was wide and welcome. "It's a pleasure to meet you, then." Then, Kieran turned to Anora to say, "Go on ahead inside. Let Ma squeeze some more life out of you while Brain and I get your stuff inside."

It was weird seeing her cousin and Brain side by side. Anora remained where she was only because the scene seemed so odd. But what about it was so odd to her? Was it because Ephemer should have been here instead of Brain? She couldn't quite place it, but Kieran had a point; Aunt Dawn was waiting for her inside.

After everything had been brought in, everyone met up in the living room to relax. The familiarity of the old farmhouse was enough to let a large part of Anora relax. She was home. Brain was right- nothing else mattered but her family mattered now. And, oh wow, had she missed them.

"So, Brain," Kieran started to say- his voice was light from the conversation so far, "Is that your actual name, or..."

Brain offered up a smirk. He would have messed with his fedora had he not taken it off out of respect. "Just as real a name as you insisting on calling Anora, 'Razzie.'"

Dawn immediately started laughing. Kieran on the other hand was almost shocked. But that first reaction gave way to a much more cheeky outlook.

"Touché." he bemused. "Definitely walked into that one."

"It's so great getting to know you Brain." Dawn cheerfully said. "But I think it's time to finish off dinner. Anora, would you like to help me?"

Anora, who was wrapped quite snugly in an afghan blanket and barely awake, slowly nodded her head and started to get off the couch. She shuffled behind her aunt as they headed into the kitchen. Dawn had started the main course (a meat and potato stew) the moment Anora and Brain arrived. The warmth of the kitchen mixed with the delicious smell of stemmed beef was almost the final straw in keeping Anora from drifting off.

"Was the traffic bad?" Dawn asked Anora as the former started to get out bowls. Anora shook her head- a small yawn escaping her lips that Dawn almost immediately mirrored. "Oh stop that." the older woman teased. "Waiting for you guys was so stressful. I think I spent the whole day cleaning the bathroom alone."

Anora offered a small half smile. Dawn looked back at her and smiled right back.

"Honey," Dawn then told her, "You brought home another Kieran."

Anora's heart stopped for a moment. Sure, it wasn't that surprising she had went to Brain because he had some resemblances to her cousin in personality. But was it really enough for her own aunt to notice? A small blush started to form on the young woman's face.

"Guess I did..."