Ensemble - Happy Homecoming

"Home is a place you grow up wanting to leave, and grow old wanting to get back to."

For all that the waist high, split rails would do nothing to hinder attacking monsters, the fence still served an important purpose to the town. The pine barrier wound its way around the small village of Hot Creek, encompassing the outer fields and quite a bit of the creek and hot springs for which the settlement was named. It served not to keep anything out, nor anyone in, but merely as a reminder. Beyond this fence, the miasma loomed.

The village's founders had spent years marking out the exact boundaries of the crystal's strength, a task as risky as any caravanner's. Mina Mi knew the stories of the founding, from the marauding monsters to the slow work of mapping the edges of protection. As the village's schoolteacher she had told and retold them to the children in historic pride and caution.

So why were so many of the villagers gathered at the rails today, leaning on them and even sitting atop them, with no regard to the miasma beyond? She clutched her wicker basket closer, hoping no underclothes had peeked out from her laundry. Why had the village decided to have a meeting by the entrance to town, and coincidentally the path to the creek?

She drew back to the other side of the path, hoping to leave without being seen, when someone shouted. Soon everyone was shouting. Mina froze.

"Well, look who finally decided to show up," one of the elders drawled. Jerking her head to look at him, she was surprised to find that the man wasn't paying attention to her at all, but rather to something beyond the fence.

'Oh, no,' she thought faintly. Yet she still stood rooted to the spot, clutching her basket of undergarments, and hoped the ground would disappear beneath her.

The moment the caravan crossed between the two posts signaling the entrance to the village, the townspeople seemed to explode with noise. A chorus of 'welcome home's and 'we missed you's rang out, villagers ran forward to help Ren with the pack animals. Friends and families greeted the caravanners.

It was easy to see Kellen in a crowd, particularly with that familiar girl on his shoulders. Sherrill ran to him, practically leaping into his arms in order to kiss her daughter. He took the chalice from Sherrill as she leaned on him in order to whisper to Lena, she hugged him gratefully. "Kell!" she said, smiling warmly. "How are you? How are the girls?"

"Inseparable," he told her, reaching back to lift Lena over his head and set her down. The child instantly ran to Sherrill, hugging her mother around the waist and pressing her face into Sherrill's stomach. "Not that I'd ever mind. I think Mari worries a bit."

"Mari worries enough for all three of us," Sherrill shrugged absentmindedly, battle roughened hands stroking through Lena's hair over and over. She scanned the crowd. Her Lilty partner was nowhere in sight. Marina was probably up at the house with Arro and Loren.

Kellen took in the sight of the dark circles under his friend's eyes, her slumped shoulders. "How was the year?" he asked her, placing a gentling hand on her back.

Her sharp eyes found his. "Other than...you heard about Hao Ri...other than that, easy I guess. Picked up a new guy, he's all right. Good fighter. Bit silly at times, we'll see if he sticks it out."

"Did ya bring me presents, Mom?" Lena looked up from where she pressed into Sherrill's front. "From Alfitaria?"

Sherrill crouched, the better to look her sweet girl in the eyes. "And if I did, little one?"

Lena said something or other in reply, but a flash of blue had distracted her mother. Sherrill looked over the top of Lena's head into Mina Mi's grey eyes. Both women started, and paled.

Kellen frowned as Sherrill stood abruptly. "What's-" he asked, but she cut him off with a glancing look.

"Just don't," she said, taking Lena by the hand.

Narrowing his eyes, he shrugged and told her, "I'm glad you're back."

"It's good to be back." They hugged once more, and Sherrill moved away hastily to greet someone else, Lena in tow

Julin the Yuke stood tall on her front porch, mage robes blowing lightly about her ankles in the breeze. She squinted through the slits of her helm toward the village entrance, where a sizeable crowd had gathered.

Her husband Harrier approached from behind her, magic glowing on the tips of his long fingers. Sliding his fingers into the gap between helm and white fur, he pressed the magic to her. Instantly the minor headache she'd been nursing for the past day faded and her vision sharpened.

She turned to Harrier. "A new spell," she stated, knowing the younger man had been working for the past month in his own study on combining magics.

He hummed a positive reply. "Cure, a little Blizzard, some vervain for the headache. Clear for vision. Very nice, I think."

"The caravan's back," she told him, and though they both had their helms on, she could feel the way he lit up with joy.

"Should we-?" Harrier hesitated.

Julin shook her head. "No. Get Nama and 'Lira, we will await him in the inner sanctum."

Cool green eyes watched the merriment around the return, noted the fence, counted the houses and guessed the distance to the crystal at the center of town.

It wasn't the town's fault that they didn't know what to do with him, Jai Noo recognized. It wasn't anybody's fault. He could count the number of Selkies he saw before him on one hand. Normally that would make him worry. In his homeless days he'd learned to watch out for towns where there weren't many Selkies. Too often the Selkies weren't there for a reason.

And yet, though he saw maybe three Selkies here (four, the lady in the background with the sad eyes), he somehow knew that this place was all right. Maybe it was the way the caravan had taken him in with some rather odd questions (Would you be upset if you woke up to find Raithen staring at you and documenting your sleep state? What the hell? Do you take offense to arrogant Lilty braggarts? ...No?). Maybe it was the way the townspeople congratulated him on a job well done this year, even though they didn't know him.

Whatever it was, Jai knew he'd be all right here. He'd find a place to sleep at some point, and Raithen had said he'd help feed him. That was all the general needs taken care of. Now as for being happy here...well, he'd need some gorgeous babes, and he'd need them right about now.

Where were all the Clavat and Selkie hunnies? He sighed. Maybe this place wasn't so great after all.

Kellen looked around to see what had spooked Sherrill so badly. Surely not the reunions around them? Maybe it was the new boy's rather odd, hungry gaze. Then his eyes lit on silver hair and storm grey eyes and he knew.

Mina Mi, the village schoolteacher, stood at the edge of the path. A basket piled with cloths was clutched to her front, her tanned skin glowed in contrast with her blue cotton dress. Her hair was unbound, it fell to her shoulders in waves. She looked as if she'd been caught off guard, heading down to the creek to do her washing. She looked as if she'd rather be anywhere else at the moment.

There would be no happy homecoming for Mina, Kellen knew. She had lost her sister, her identical twin. No wonder Sherrill had faltered. Hao Ri and Mina Mi had been mirror images of each other.

He wondered if Mina would ever look at her own reflection the same way again.

Even now, three months after they'd received word, Mina looked as if the tragedy had occurred all over again. She swallowed visibly, looking down at her feet. Whipping away, she dashed off unnoticed toward her little room above the schoolhouse.

It was none of his business. And yet, he'd felt the deep heartache of grief before. He knew what it meant to lose half of yourself. No one should have to be alone through that.

Before he even realized what he was doing, his legs were taking him to the path down which she had just ran.