As promised, Syrin had a meeting with the members of the rebellion later that day. It was well into the afternoon but some people, namely Darius, still had to be woken up for this meeting. This time they were in Toha in the tavern that they were Kaetar remembered trying Darius' alcohol in, gathered around the biggest table with the tavern serving glasses of water and some nuts for snacks, which Kaetar found himself nibbling at. Syrin had a sheet of paper and some ink with him as everybody else gathered around him, careful of the ink pot he had.

"Taking Melior will occur in three phases – the first phase is to recruit the human soldiers using our civilians, or fight the soldiers if we have to. Next, the Daeins will keep conflict to the castle by blocking the exits and fighting whatever sand creatures come at them. The third phase is to clear the castle using a strike team, which will be you. Everybody will be organized into either pairs or threes, and one person in the group will be given an enchanted weapon in the event you encounter a sand creature. After that, we'll organize what general direction the pairs will be going in. Additionally, Joel, Vaughn, and Mike should be going in on foot – there is no room for mounts."

Joel and Mike both nodded, though they both looked reluctant. Vaughn didn't seem to care one way or another.

"Adrien wants me with Kaetar," Vaughn said with a nod. Joel growled.

"Yes, that's the only way Kaetar will be allowed," Syrin mumbled. "I think some pairs will be obvious. Arum and Ellie will go together, and Ellie will keep the enchanted weapons she already has. Misha and Ema will work together, and Misha's Wishblade is already sufficient in destroying sand creatures since it's blessed." Both of Ema and Misha nodded at that, and even give each other a high five. They initially bonded over being the only women in the rebellion for a time, but they have since become great friends outside of that. Arum and Ellie accepted with a mere nod, as both of them were more reserved than Misha or Ema. He quickly wrote something down, probably their names.

"Can you enchant arrows...?" Soren asked. "I want to be with Rykuu."

"We can look into it," Syrin mumbled. It got Kaetar curious though... was it the arrows or the bow that would be enchanted? He wondered if arrows were ever enchanted before.

"I've never heard of enchanted bows or arrows though," Joel mumbled.

"There was a blessed bow but I doubt we could find it in time, or at all. We're lucky we have two blessed weapons." Syrin looked like he wanted to say more, like something was still bothering him, but he let go unsaid.

"How did it work though?" Joel asked. "Do you bless the bow or the arrows? Does an enchanted bow enchant the arrows? I'm guessing you were too busy fighting to really notice back then, huh?"

Syrin shook his head. "What do you think? Yune blessed our weapons so that we could stand against the dragon laugz Ashera blessed. Excuse me for not paying attention to a bow," he said dryly.

Soren looked at him but he looked down again, so Rykuu spoke up. "Should we choose a different partner?"

"For now. We can do two groups of three but if we do give you a bow, assume you can be with Rykuu," Syrin decided. "Now for everybody else..."

"I'll go with Rylar," Aletta offered. "I can use my magic, so he doesn't need a fancy bow." Syrin added more to his notes.

"I'll add Rykuu to your group for now," he mumbled. "Does anybody else have a specific request?" There was a silence hat followed. Kaetar wanted to add Joel to his group but Vaughn was more than enough to protect him and Joel's talents were better used elsewhere. The rebels began talking among themselves as Syrin wrote down some names, somehow able to tune everybody else out as he made the rest of teams.

"So your father really almost didn't let you go?" Joel asked in disbelief.

"Well, I'm not sure about that, specifically. He just demanded it," Kaetar mumbled. "I guess he's just worried. I don't blame him." After all, Kaetar himself wasn't sure what would happen if he saw Liam again. Liam always scared him, Kaetar always needed somebody else to distract him so he could get away, and Kaetar wasn't so sure that what he learned of combat was currently enough to actually be able to defend himself. It wasn't like he actually had a lot of experience in a real situation and he had no practice against fighting and dodging knives. If he saw Liam there, then Vaughn's strength would be a comfort.

Joel didn't get a chance to say anything else, as Syrin had the list drawn up. "The first group is Kaetar and Vaughn. The second group is Misha, Ema, and Darius. The third group is Arum and Ellie. You three groups will take care of the west end of the castle. The fourth is Rylar, Aletta, and Rykuu, the fifth is Gus, Peter, and Chifee, then Zara, Stefan, and Soren, and finally, Joel, Nicholas, and Mike. You will taking the east end. Mike and Joel, if either of you prefer to be with the second phase, then say so now."

"No way. If Kaetar is going into the palace, then I'll go with him," Joel growled. "It's bad enough I'm not in the same group."

"You don't trust me?" Vaughn asked with an amused smirk as he stood up to fluff Joel's hair. Standing up while Joel was sitting down was the only way Vaughn was actually tall enough to that, and even then, he had to stretch himself a little bit. Joel swatted his hand away. "If I recall, you have yet to beat me."

"Nobody has beat you yet!"

"Mike?" Syrin asked, rolling his eyes.

"I can fight without Makken. He's smart, he'll be fine to fight on his own," Mike said with a nod.

"Is there anything I can do?" Meagan asked suddenly. "I know I'm not allowed to battle anymore but..."

"Tomorrow, we'll need to make the enchanted weapons. I doubt you are so far along that your pregnancy will impede your ability to cast magic, so you can help create those."

"And what about Nasir?" Joel asked. "And you?"

"I will be throne room speaking to Eero. That should give everybody enough time to sweep the castle. Nasir will be my backup. I don't intend on dying, so if Nasir feels that I'm in danger, he has my permission to pull me out and stop Eero." That was not the exact same answer he gave earlier that day. He never seemed to really look forward to the future but something changed. "When you can't find anything amiss, then feel free to head towards the throne room as well. However, if nobody has anything else to say, then you are all dismissed."

Everybody got up and left, including Vaughn and Joel who continued to bicker on their way out. Kaetar stuck around, earning an arched eyebrow from Syrin.

"Don't you have something better to do?"

"I was just surprised when you said you wanted to live," Kaetar mumbled. "Well, at least it sounded like you had something you wanted to do with your life. It felt like you were willing to sacrifice everything earlier, so long as Eero was stopped. Why the change?" It wasn't like he was complaining that Syrin decided to do more with his life, it was just sudden. Syrin was the one who was previously willing to use Rexcalibur to the point where everybody was worried it would kill him. Syrin wasn't stupid, he knew his limits, he just chose to ignore them when he couldn't think of a way to save the rebellion.

Syrin shifted uncomfortably. "I thought about it," he answered simply, placing his good hand under his head. "I offered to be Stefan's advisor so he would participate more but if that's all I'm going to be, my life will feel even longer. I'm not sure what I'll end up doing on the side but I refuse to let Eero of all people decide that for me."

"You could write a book or do magic research," Kaetar offered. "I don't know what happened to the history books at the library but your view on the last two wars would be valuable. Nobody else was Ike's tactician."

"You're just saying that so you can read it. Is the necklace not enough for you anymore? "

"It's not that! I'm the only person who would be interested in something like that."

"I'll consider it," he mumbled, waving his hand dismissively. "We should leave. Surely, we have something more productive to do than sit and talk." Kaetar nodded. He slid out his seat and grabbed the sheets for Syrin, then passed them over when he was standing. Syrin didn't complain about the help, probably because Kaetar didn't grab everything for him, and they left the tavern in silence.

That night Kaetar was pulled away by Vaughn, out of Toha and faraway from their camp. Thankfully, the moon was out so Kaetar didn't feel as though he needed another source of light. He followed Vaughn to a rather large clearing.

"What are we doing out here?"

"We're going to talk and train," Vaughn said with a stretch. "It's been some days since you trained with that hawk lady, no?"

"But now?"

"Of course." He cracked his knuckles. "Unless you don't want to talk. Adrien said you were asking about me, not that he would say what you were asking about, but if you're curious, I'll reward your effort with some answers. Rewards work on wyverns all the time and I know it would work on you too."

"Do I have to win?" Kaetar asked. There was no way he could win against somebody who could rival Stefan. Vaughn was not only the go-to when it came to any sort of wyvern problem due to his expertise, but he was also a fearsome fighter. He was one of the best in Daein so his skills were nothing to scoff at. He didn't know who was better when it came down to him or Zara, but Kaetar never expected to win against Zara either.

Vaughn chuckled. "Nah, like I said... I reward effort." He began taking off his armour and dropping it to the ground, then he slipped out of his shirt and kicked his boots off. Kaetar had no warning for his sudden advance and he plowed into Kaetar, knocking the air out of him and knocking him to the ground. He rolled out of the way of Vaughn's next attack and stumbled to his feet, just in time to block Vaughn's fist. He saw him smirk for just a moment before he countered by sending his barefoot into Kaetar's gut.

Zara was slower, probably only in that she cared to show Kaetar her techniques. It wasn't the speed that was expected in battles and they both knew that but she focused on how to do something and the speed would come later. Vaughn's method was different – he was going to make Kaetar catch up or risk getting even more bruises. He didn't doubt that the kick in his gut would bruise even with his barefoot.

Vaughn stepped back, giving Kaetar a chance to collect himself and send his fist at him, only for him to grab it, so he sent his other fist at him. He caught that one easily too but Kaetar. Since Vaughn had both of his fists, Kaetar used his foot and kicked Vaughn in the stomach. He didn't have much room to do so but it was something he picked up from Zara.

"Not bad," he said, letting go of his fists and stepping forward until their noses nearly touched. Suddenly, he used a hand to move the hair out of his eyes. His eyes were a pretty yellow colour, not quite gold like his own were, but it was the kind of yellowish-green that animals had. His first thought was the yellow eyes that Vaughn's wyvern had but his second thought was that of a simple house cat, like the mouser who liked to bring gifts.

However, the more he looked at Vaughn's face, he realized that his right eye had what looked like claw marks, which were red. A brand then. He was right! He grew his hair out over his eyes to hide it, though that didn't explain how he could see. After a couple of seconds, Vaughn moved his hair, letting his wavy hair fall over his eyes again and suddenly punched Kaetar in the shoulder.

"You haven't earned all your answers, yet, buddy."

"Can't we just talk?" he groaned as he sidestepped the other fist going into his direction. He grabbed Vaughn's arm in the heat of the moment but Vaughn tore it out of his grip before kicking him hard enough to knock him to the ground and leave him winded. Vaughn stepped over him, but Kaetar dove off his feet and tackled Vaughn to the ground. Kaetar was on top of him, his hands around his neck, but he didn't place any pressure on it. It was just a winning gesture.

Vaughn was smiling but he didn't move, so Kaetar got off and offered a hand to Vaughn, but he didn't take it and hopped to his feet on his own.

"Aren't you a noble? Why do you work like you do?" Kaetar asked as he got to his feet and dusted himself off. "Shouldn't you have gotten married off or something?"

"I just happened to be the one to get the stupid brand. It's not like my parents were branded so I have no idea where it came from. Because of my brand, my father decided I'm not entitled to inherit anything since it would cause trouble in the face of the other nobles but my father wanted me to learn useful skills. I was the only noble child put to work with the wyverns and received military training on top of it. I met Adrien when his father needed wyvern help and since I was the best at it, even when I was just fifteen, so I was the one who got to do it."

"And none of them nobles knows about your brand?"

"Nope. Mother had me wear an eye patch and all of my siblings were taught not to say anything. I think there was some stupid story about an accident and being blind in one eye... I had to wear an eye patch until my hair grew out. Your father doesn't know and I'm only telling so that you don't tell anyone else." Vaughn's tone was serious, and his lips curled into a frown.

Kaetar frowned. He only confided in his father about his suspicions, and he hadn't outright said he he thought Vaughn was branded. However, his father wasn't stupid, so by bringing up his suspicions, his father probably got the hint. Besides, what did he have to ashamed of? "You realize that there's safety in numbers here, right? Our leader is branded, Micaiah is branded, my father and I have her branded blood in our veins, it just didn't lead to a brand. There's also Aletta, Rylar, Zeke and Stefan. Chibuike's not here and I don't think you know him but he's branded too."

"Just because some people here are comfortable with that doesn't mean I am. Besides, once we go back home, it's just me again. Micaiah doesn't show her face in the castle, probably because she doesn't want people to find out about her brand either. You are idealistic, Kaetar. In your mind, it's not a bad thing to be branded, but I've been told my entire life to hide my brand because my parents knew what would happen if I was discovered. It would ruin my entire family, everything they've worked for, and they don't deserve that."

"None of that will happen on my watch or my father's-"

"Just don't even try it Kaetar. This is my brand, my decision. You are not tell anybody, even your father. I wasn't going to risk you talking about it anybody else. Most things don't bother me but my brand and a lack of respect are two things that do."

Kaetar frowned. He hated the idea that Vaughn felt so insecure about it his brand but he supposed that he shouldn't get so excited about a brand that wasn't his. He didn't have to deal with it or live with it. Maybe the whole reason Vaughn wanted him to practice combat was so he could beat him up a little bit for revenge. He wouldn't blame him.

"I'm sorry, Vaughn."

"I'm not that mad, kiddo," Vaughn mumbled, ruffling his hair. "But this our secret, okay?"

"What about all the other brandeds? And the laguz? Surely, they know just because you're here," Kaetar muttered.

"I'm sure they do but I doubt they'll say anything. If they wanted to, they would have said something by now. Anyway, we should get back before your father starts to get worried."

Kaetar merely nodded and followed him back.

The next two days went without any more problems. Vaughn was more or less back to his laid-back and joking self, so Kaetar felt better about himself afterwards. When he said he wasn't that mad, he truly wasn't that mad. He spent the time training, sparring with either Vaughn or with Zara, or shooting arrows with Soren and Rylar. He spent the days prior to the trip to Melior being sore and he had an impressive collection of bruises, but he was satisfied with himself.

On the morning of the third day, they left Toha. They had a wagon full of children, a wagon full of enchanted weapons, and a wagon with everything else. This wagon used to be where Syrin and Zeke were but neither of them needed it anymore. Zeke's gait was not exactly normal, like he was still trying to figure out how to walk again, but Zeke was determined so he stuck with it anyway and with a smile on his face. He was walking alongside with Stefan, who seemed to slow himself down to stay at Zeke's pace.

Micaiah and Syrin hung in the back. They seemed to arguing back there and probably hung back so most people couldn't hear what they were saying. He was sure that the laguz could hear everything, and they seemed to be trying to ignore them for the most part. At least, that was the look Ema had on her face, her lips curled into a frown and her ears flattening. Kaetar glanced at her.

"...What are they arguing about?" Kaetar asked.

"Something about being branded," Ema mumbled with a shrug.

"Is that a still a sore spot for him?" Misha asked, her face confused. "I thought he was better about it when he told us."

Ema hesitated. "A nice beorc girl like you wouldn't understand the history of the brandeds. Nobody is allowed to be mean to their faces anymore but that's relatively recent. Both of them are old enough to have received harsh treatment from both beorc and laguz. That won't magically go away. Syrin only told us of his brand because he knew we would question him for going to Grann for help."

"So you think he would have kept it a secret for as long as he could," Misha said with a frown. "I can't believe people would treat other people badly for something they can't change but... I've seen people treat others badly for no reason too. I thought I could join the military to maintain peace but I never had the chance before the laws changed."

Kaetar looked at her curiously. "Why didn't you do anything when you saw people treating others badly? You interfered when that soldier attacked me when we were at Toha the first time around. It seems weird that there was a time you were never like that."

"Well... Cameron was the first time I was brave enough to stand up for what I thought was right. I was tired of how everything was going in Crimea and Cameron was the final straw," Misha said something. "I feel bad for not doing anything earlier. I wonder if that would have changed anything."

"I think it's better not to think about it sometimes," Kaetar answered. "You can't change it so it doesn't deserve your energy. You've learned your lesson, so you can stand up for your beliefs now and make sure something like this doesn't happened in the future."

Ema laughed. "It always surprises me when you sound like a prince."

"Why? You two have been there when I was doing all of those speeches. You should be used it by now!" Kaetar gasped.

"But you don't look like a prince," Nicholas said suddenly as he strode up beside Kaetar. "You wear the same clothing any commoner would and there's no sign of wealth on your person. You don't act like a prince most of the time, at least not when you're talking to us."

"I wear this kind of clothing at home," Kaetar stated, looking down at himself. He knew his father never really liked it and he would need more suitable clothing if he was going to be expected to actually perform as a prince. He used to be the prince that people were content in just knowing of, for as long as he was around, the dynasty Micaiah started could continue. He wasn't expected to make a lot of showings, so he could walk around in plain clothing, despite what his father wanted.

"When I'm done following Ellie and Arum around in Begnion, I'm going to Daein and we're going to get some more clothes for you."

Suddenly, the wagons stopped and Syrin stopped arguing with Micaiah in order to make his way forward. "Why have we stopped?" he asked. Kaetar, curious about what was going on, followed Syrin. In the middle of the road stood Liam, his posture relaxed like he was waiting for them.

"A word, princey?" Liam asked.

"Disarm yourself first," Syrin demanded.

"Don't trust me? I'm hurt," he mumbled as Liam slowly began dropping daggers to the ground. He had a surprising amount of them hidden along his body – he was pulling two daggers from each of his boots, several hidden along his waist, and from other places that Kaetar failed to catch in awe of it all. "Good enough?"

"Why do you want to talk to me so badly? I'm surprised you haven't tried to kill me yet," Kaetar muttered. It wasn't like Liam to just stand and talk. It was unnerving. Syrin glanced over at Kaetar, so he knew that he wasn't getting help from him. Syrin looked a little curious, or at least mildly interested in the whole thing.

He approached Liam slowly before his father could tell him no. He was too interested in what Liam had to say, though Liam also didn't seem to the kind for thoughtful speeches so he had no idea what to expect from him. He could see his grin from under his hood. He met Kaetar in the middle and they both left the path, so the wagon could go through while they talked. He could always catch up – the Daeins wouldn't leave without him.

"I'll be brief. I was forbidden from showing my face at the battle and I'm disappointed. I assume I'm also forbidden from killing you... Master said I should forget you for now," he mumbled. Kaetar was relieved beyond belief but he hoped it didn't show, or Liam he wouldn't let it live it down. "But that might be a good thing! That branded I fought said it would be good to let you grow and get stronger, it would be more fun that way... a bigger prize!" he chuckled a little and then licked his lips.

"You've wanted to kill me for at least a year now... what is so important that you're willing to drop it?" He was surprised. He was sure that Liam was going to be there and he was sure that he would have to face him. He was relieved but also confused. Liam hesitated, putting a finger to his lips. "What are you up to? I don't get it. You come all of this way to essentially tell me to be careful, like I didn't already figure that, and for what? I just don't understand your logic... not that you are full of it anyway."

Liam laughed and smirked. "I just wanted to see you one last time, just so that you won't forget me. I don't want you to die to a pile of moving sand. Is that so wrong?" Without warning, Liam gabbed Kaetar's arm and exposed his wrist. Kaetar tried to rip his hand out of his grip, but Liam's grip was too strong for that. Liam pulled him closer, pulling Kaetar's wrist to his mouth and biting down as hard as he could. Kaetar's first instinct was try and pull away again but stopped when that hurt even more and he realized it may have caused more damage. Liam licked some of the blood off and let go, licking his lips one last time.

Kaetar immediately applied pressure to his wrist. Liam managed to sink his teeth deep, even his flatter teeth seemed to go deeper than they should have. Both sides of wrist were bleeding, although he didn't seem to go through his wrist despite how deep he did manage to go. He was grinning wildly, his teeth covered in Kaetar's blood before he decided to take that opportunity to vanish without explanation.

"Kaetar! What's going on?" Kaetar, still holding his wrist, spun around to find Joel behind him, his eyes wide with worry. "I thought I saw Liam. What the hell did he do?"

"He bit me," Kaetar answered back as Joel gently guided him back to the road and to safety. He didn't fall that far behind, since neither the Daeins or most of the rebellion willing to leave him behind. His father and Vaughn were there but Kaetar refused to meet their gaze – talking to Liam was a stupid idea but he was also just curious about what he had to say.

He felt even worse when Syrin had to call for a break, just so that Peter had time to wash the wound before he could heal it. "Don't worry about it, Kaetar," Peter said with a soft smile as he gently poured a canteen of water over his wound with one hand while gently wiping the wound with the other. Kaetar turned his wrist whenever Peter indicted for him to do so.

"I didn't think everybody would have to stop."

"Everybody could probably use the break. I mean, Syrin is the only one who looks grumpy about it but I think even he is a little concerned about a bite like this," Peter answered softy. "It's easy for bites to get infected, so it's necessary to clean it very well. It should be back to normal before we get to Melior but I suggest you don't do your training tonight."

"Liam isn't coming to the battle anyway. It feels almost pointless to train that hard right now... I could train when this was all over," Kaetar mumbled. He dedicated all of his training as of late to help him against Liam, not so much to improve his own survival. When Vaughn was around, he didn't really have to worry about his survival. It wasn't like he didn't want to be stronger, the fight with Liam would come eventually, but he could have months or even years to train for that battle. It felt almost pointless to train himself when he still had to march. He didn't want to show up to Melior exhausted because he trained too hard.

Peter frowned at that. "If you don't train, you would lose your progress, Kaetar. I've managed to stay fit because I work out every morning without fail. I don't necessarily try to be stronger or more fit, but I work out to keep all of the work I've done up until now. It's hard to get back into a routine, it's best to stay in one."

It was nice to have that sort of motivation, Kaetar supposed, but his motivation to train all but disappeared at that moment. He was excited to see it through, for it finally all end, but he accepted the fact that his role may just be a smaller one in the battle with Liam gone. Peter looked up but looked down again, concentrating on rubbing a vulnerary into his wound with a new, clean wipe. They sat in silence until Father and Micaiah came over.

"Is it bad?" Father asked. Kaetar still couldn't make himself meet his father in the eye. He was probably disappointed, or at least, Kaetar managed to convinced himself that he would be.

"It's bad for a bite wound but it doesn't need a staff," Peter answered with a nod. "He should take it easy for tonight and we should still try to watch for signs of a fever just in case, but he'll make a full recovery."

"May I?" Micaiah asked as she placed a hand over his wrist. Peter looked at her curiously but he back off, removing his hands. She closed her eyes and Kaetar felt his wrist turn warm, the sort of warmth he felt when a staff was used on him. When he looked, the wound was completely healed, with only a small scar remaining in place. It was the kind of scar that you would have to know it was there to really see it. The scar was probably what Liam was going for – he dug in so deep just so that he could leave something behind, just that Kaetar wouldn't forget him. It wasn't like Kaetar could forget, even if that barely-visible scar wasn't there. Liam had scared and beaten him enough times that he doubt he would ever forget him.

The bite wasn't necessary.

Micaiah let out a long sigh and her shoulders fell. "What did you just do?" Kaetar asked, examining his wrist closely.

"I have the ability to use some my own energy to heal wounds without the use of a staff. I've gotten a lot of practice, so it doesn't take as much as of a toll on my body as it did before, but it still exhausting," she mumbled quietly.

"You didn't have to that!" Peter exclaimed.

"It's fine. I just need a little bit of rest is all," Micaiah said with a nod, standing up slowly. Peter shot to his feet and went behind her. "I haven't been able to do as much for my descendants as I would have liked, so if I can make Kaetar better physically, I would be glad to do so."

"Why did he bite you anyway?" Father asked, bending down so he could examine Kaetar's wrist himself. His touch was gentle, like he was afraid Kaetar would break under his touch.

"He didn't want me to forget him," Kaetar muttered. "He left a scar. I think that's all he wanted to do... Syrin made him disarm himself, so I guess he truly did hand over all of his weapons if he felt like he had to bite me."

"He's very twisted... I could feel that from where I was standing," Micaiah said solemnly. "I should have intervened but I also felt like it was important for you to be able to do it on your own. You looked so determined. I'm sorry you got hurt."

The conversation was dropped when Syrin approached. He glared at Micaiah and Micaiah just looked exhausted and exasperated with him. He thought they were friends and they got along alright, as he trusted her with Ike's ashes, but he supposed that their relationship was still bumpy. "We'll be leaving again soon since it looks like Kaetar's wound is closed. We have still have a few hours before the sun sets. Kaetar?"

Kaetar lifted his head at the sound of his name.

"Don't lose sigh of what's important. I don't know what Liam said or what he's planning on doing, but you can't let him distract you."

"Shouldn't be worried about Liam though? Whatever mission he has now, it's important enough to keep him away from battle," Kaetar muttered. No matter how hard he thought, nothing really came to mind. Eero should be worried about the rebellion and he was better off with Liam around, so what was more important to Eero than his own safety?

"I have a couple of ideas of what he might be up to," Syrin muttered. "However, I don't think there is a lot we can do about it right now. It's too late to send anybody after him, and I think even Chibuike would have a hard time trying to track Liam down. It's best to let him go for know and brace for that later. Whatever he's up to, it won't affect us now, aside from his generous donation of daggers."

"You have a strange way of cheering people up, Syrin," Miciaiah mumbled. She looked a little unsteady on her feet, so Peter began guiding back to the road and Syrin followed. Father helped Kaetar to his feet – he did feel better now and he didn't feel so ashamed around his father anymore. Syrin wasn't exactly good at comforting people and Kaetar wasn't sure if he was really trying to comfort him, but what he needed to hear did end up being something he may have wanted to hear.

"Are you okay?" Father asked when they were on their own.

"I think I'm fine now," Kaetar said with a nod. "I'm looking forward to the end, at least."

"Feeling a little homesick, are you? It's been over a year." He would be lying if he said he wasn't. Warm baths, a nice bed, a personal library... he found himself missing it all often enough.

"It's just nice to see something you put a lot of blood and sweat into finally pay off."

Father smiled a little and patted Kaetar on that back. "That's the spirit. C'mon, we better get going. We don't want everybody to wait."

I feel bad that this chapter doesn't really move the plot forward all that much but hey, characters!

Anyway, I'm going to try to wrap this up in the next three chapters or so, one of those being an epilogue. My pace might be slow though, considering my "fun" schedule for school. I also donated blood just a feel days ago and walking too much still makes me dizzy so hopefully, all mistakes are at a minimum.

And hopefully I didn't fuck up it this time... the real chapter and line breaks. Let's hope it goes well!