p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: 'yes'; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"等线/span/font;""Barret, can you come here for a minute?" Flora called as they packed up the camp./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: 'yes'; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"等线/span/font;"Walking over he asked "What can I help with?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: 'yes'; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"等线/span/font;""Oh, I don't need any help, I just want to see something." She walked over to meet him and pulled out a piece of thread, holding up next to his leg./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: 'yes'; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"等线/span/font;""What are you doing?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: 'yes'; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"等线/span/font;""Measuring."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: 'yes'; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"等线/span/font;""OK… for what?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: 'yes'; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"等线/span/font;""I bought a decent amount of fabric in Blackwood, and my cloak is almost done. You, however, are in desperate need of some new clothes. I can use my leftover fabric to make you a fresh set of pants or a shirt. Considering how often you are in the woods, a good thick set of pants would do nicely." Barret blushed as Flora stood up and measured his waist. "It's going to take a while, but it'll give me something to do at night."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: 'yes'; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"等线/span/font;""Oh. If you really want to, then by all means, I won't stop you. But I've made due with what I have for-"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: 'yes'; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"等线/span/font;""I'll try and put a pocket on the side too, that way you can carry some of your things with you." Barret laughed./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: 'yes'; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"等线/span/font;""Clearly I'm not going to talk you out of this!"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: 'yes'; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"等线/span/font;""Nope! You're going to get new clothes whether you like it or not."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: 'yes'; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"等线/span/font;""Well… then thank you. It's hard to find anything that fits. I'm so tall no one makes anything big enough, and needing to accommodate for a tail makes things extra difficult."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: 'yes'; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"等线/span/font;""Honestly, I'm happy to make it. If I can make my own clothes, then I'll have plenty for when the baby comes." She beamed with joy as she looked down. "It'll be good practice for me, and practical for you." Once the camp was fully packed, they set out once more. Keeping to the low paths still, the woods were thick and lush. Travel was slower than anticipated, but still they pressed on. Occasionally, Barret would break away from the group, head up a nearby hill, and survey the landscape. Never gone for too long, he kept them on the right path, moving ever eastward. The mountains on their left, vast forests on their right, the grass under their feet, and the company of each other was their day to day./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: 'yes'; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"等线/span/font;"The next week went by without much deviation from their routine. Packing up in the morning, traveling until noon or when Flora needed a break, continuing until dusk, when Barret, Zen, or both would go retrieve dinner. Zen loved fixing up whatever the catch of the day was, but Barret was a bit pickier. Everyone learned that in one of the pouches on his bag was filled various herbs and spices he would use constantly. He would sometimes leave the group for a while, only to come back half an hour later with a bit of dirt on his hands, and a fresh plant in his bag./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: 'yes'; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"等线/span/font;"He and Zen got along rather well, spending a lot of time together when cooking. Nigh inseparable when sizzling up a piece of deer or frying a salmon whole, they became friends rather quickly, though they often argued over seasonings and veggies to pair with. When on the road, he and Keith kept the maps. While Keith was all for traveling the easiest route for Flora's sake, Barret would often try to convince him to take a faster, though usually rougher road. The quarrels were never heated, and Barret rarely convinced anyone, but would usually head off to scout ahead. Flora finished work on her cloak, and was happily wearing it almost all the time, pulling it close when she was cold, or letting it catch the wind on particularly breezy days./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: 'yes'; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"等线/span/font;"Trace noted that over the week, Barret smiled more and more and seemed to become actually comfortable with being himself. Though he often went over to sleep in the branches of a tree, he stayed with the group later, and listened for longer. He often wondered how Barret had lived so long without anyone, but never said a word about it./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: 'yes'; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"等线/span/font;"The sky slowly turned gray, and a gentle rain began to fall in the afternoon. Normally not that bad, but in the ever colder days of autumn, the damp air gave everyone chills that ran deep. Even during the day, Nat, Trace, Zen, and Barret carried warm torches. Though their feet were muddy, their clothes soaked through, and their muscles ached, they marched on, happily. They knew with every passing day, Lyn'Knoll grew closer. Though it rained without ceasing for four days, they endured it. They couldn't really do anything about it, and just accepted that if it was going to rain, then it was going to rain, whether they wanted it to or not. Finally, the clouds let up, and the sky became bright and blue, the world looked fresh and clean, and morale soared./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: 'yes'; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"等线/span/font;"The worst seemed to be behind them./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: 'yes'; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"等线/span/font;"At the estate…/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: 'yes'; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"等线/span/font;""You haven't seen him since when?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: 'yes'; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"等线/span/font;""Oh, not for almost 4 weeks."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: 'yes'; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"等线/span/font;""And did he say where he was going?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: 'yes'; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"等线/span/font;""I'm afraid he did not. All he asked me to do was watch the place while he was away, and that he would return eventually." Evals and Mike listened from the foyer's balcony. This was the fourth Templar to visit this week. Every time they asked the same questions, and every time Eric gave the same answers. They both knew the last question was coming./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: 'yes'; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"等线/span/font;""And did he give any indication as to when that would be?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: 'yes'; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"等线/span/font;""If you would listen to everyone else who seems to want to know, then you would already know the answers to all of these. I do not know when he will be back, as I told your people yesterday."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: 'yes'; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"等线/span/font;""Here comes the cavalry…" Mike whispered as Kathrine strode across the floor./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: 'yes'; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"等线/span/font;""Eric! Can I have some help? I need some more water for the storerooms fabricators, can you help me carry it?" she called as she went past, not even stopping to hear his answer./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: 'yes'; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"等线/span/font;""I'll be down in just a minute! If that is all, I have duties to attend to." Eric closed the door before the soldier could say anything else. Sighing, Eric leaned against the door. "Trace, I hope this is worth it to you. Wherever you are now, I hope you're safe. Be glad you aren't here." With that, he strode off down to the storerooms to help Kat./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: 'yes'; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"等线/span/font;"Walking over he asked "What can I help with?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: 'yes'; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"等线/span/font;""Oh, I don't need any help, I just want to see something." She walked over to meet him and pulled out a piece of thread, holding up next to his leg./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: 'yes'; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"等线/span/font;""What are you doing?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: 'yes'; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"等线/span/font;""Measuring."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: 'yes'; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"等线/span/font;""OK… for what?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: 'yes'; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"等线/span/font;""I bought a decent amount of fabric in Blackwood, and my cloak is almost done. You, however, are in desperate need of some new clothes. I can use my leftover fabric to make you a fresh set of pants or a shirt. Considering how often you are in the woods, a good thick set of pants would do nicely." Barret blushed as Flora stood up and measured his waist. "It's going to take a while, but it'll give me something to do at night."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: 'yes'; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"等线/span/font;""Oh. If you really want to, then by all means, I won't stop you. But I've made due with what I have for-"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: 'yes'; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"等线/span/font;""I'll try and put a pocket on the side too, that way you can carry some of your things with you." Barret laughed./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: 'yes'; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"等线/span/font;""Clearly I'm not going to talk you out of this!"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: 'yes'; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"等线/span/font;""Nope! You're going to get new clothes whether you like it or not."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: 'yes'; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"等线/span/font;""Well… then thank you. It's hard to find anything that fits. I'm so tall no one makes anything big enough, and needing to accommodate for a tail makes things extra difficult."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: 'yes'; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"等线/span/font;""Honestly, I'm happy to make it. If I can make my own clothes, then I'll have plenty for when the baby comes." She beamed with joy as she looked down. "It'll be good practice for me, and practical for you." Once the camp was fully packed, they set out once more. Keeping to the low paths still, the woods were thick and lush. Travel was slower than anticipated, but still they pressed on. Occasionally, Barret would break away from the group, head up a nearby hill, and survey the landscape. Never gone for too long, he kept them on the right path, moving ever eastward. The mountains on their left, vast forests on their right, the grass under their feet, and the company of each other was their day to day./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: 'yes'; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"等线/span/font;"The next week went by without much deviation from their routine. Packing up in the morning, traveling until noon or when Flora needed a break, continuing until dusk, when Barret, Zen, or both would go retrieve dinner. Zen loved fixing up whatever the catch of the day was, but Barret was a bit pickier. Everyone learned that in one of the pouches on his bag was filled various herbs and spices he would use constantly. He would sometimes leave the group for a while, only to come back half an hour later with a bit of dirt on his hands, and a fresh plant in his bag./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: 'yes'; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"等线/span/font;"He and Zen got along rather well, spending a lot of time together when cooking. Nigh inseparable when sizzling up a piece of deer or frying a salmon whole, they became friends rather quickly, though they often argued over seasonings and veggies to pair with. When on the road, he and Keith kept the maps. While Keith was all for traveling the easiest route for Flora's sake, Barret would often try to convince him to take a faster, though usually rougher road. The quarrels were never heated, and Barret rarely convinced anyone, but would usually head off to scout ahead. Flora finished work on her cloak, and was happily wearing it almost all the time, pulling it close when she was cold, or letting it catch the wind on particularly breezy days./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: 'yes'; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"等线/span/font;"Trace noted that over the week, Barret smiled more and more and seemed to become actually comfortable with being himself. Though he often went over to sleep in the branches of a tree, he stayed with the group later, and listened for longer. He often wondered how Barret had lived so long without anyone, but never said a word about it./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: 'yes'; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"等线/span/font;"The sky slowly turned gray, and a gentle rain began to fall in the afternoon. Normally not that bad, but in the ever colder days of autumn, the damp air gave everyone chills that ran deep. Even during the day, Nat, Trace, Zen, and Barret carried warm torches. Though their feet were muddy, their clothes soaked through, and their muscles ached, they marched on, happily. They knew with every passing day, Lyn'Knoll grew closer. Though it rained without ceasing for four days, they endured it. They couldn't really do anything about it, and just accepted that if it was going to rain, then it was going to rain, whether they wanted it to or not. Finally, the clouds let up, and the sky became bright and blue, the world looked fresh and clean, and morale soared./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: 'yes'; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"等线/span/font;"The worst seemed to be behind them./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: 'yes'; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"等线/span/font;"At the estate…/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: 'yes'; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"等线/span/font;""You haven't seen him since when?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: 'yes'; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"等线/span/font;""Oh, not for almost 4 weeks."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: 'yes'; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"等线/span/font;""And did he say where he was going?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: 'yes'; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"等线/span/font;""I'm afraid he did not. All he asked me to do was watch the place while he was away, and that he would return eventually." Evals and Mike listened from the foyer's balcony. This was the fourth Templar to visit this week. Every time they asked the same questions, and every time Eric gave the same answers. They both knew the last question was coming./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: 'yes'; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"等线/span/font;""And did he give any indication as to when that would be?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: 'yes'; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"等线/span/font;""If you would listen to everyone else who seems to want to know, then you would already know the answers to all of these. I do not know when he will be back, as I told your people yesterday."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: 'yes'; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"等线/span/font;""Here comes the cavalry…" Mike whispered as Kathrine strode across the floor./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: 'yes'; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"等线/span/font;""Eric! Can I have some help? I need some more water for the storerooms fabricators, can you help me carry it?" she called as she went past, not even stopping to hear his answer./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: 'yes'; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"等线/span/font;""I'll be down in just a minute! If that is all, I have duties to attend to." Eric closed the door before the soldier could say anything else. Sighing, Eric leaned against the door. "Trace, I hope this is worth it to you. Wherever you are now, I hope you're safe. Be glad you aren't here." With that, he strode off down to the storerooms to help Kat./span/p