Trace, Keith, Natani, and Flora went down to Edinmire that same day. They hadn't gone the day before, because they needed a break from everything. With all of the chaos, everyone suddenly being in the same place at the same time, they didn't even think about Edinmire yesterday. Thankfully, it wasn't a huge deal. Keiren had been working with the local militia to get the wall patched up, and clean the streets of debris. A pale smoke still hung in the air over the city, the last wisps from the battle two days prior. When he saw the four walk into town, he stopped working, and walked over. Despite the chill in the air, he was drenched in sweat, and his face was red from the heavy work. "Come back to help? I could use a hand moving some stones over to-"

"Actually," Keith interrupted "we needed to talk to you. Preferably where there are no other ears listening."

Keiren raised an eyebrow, but showed them into his prefect's station, where he managed the local militia and police force. He pulled over a few chairs from the wall, nothing fancy though. His desk was covered in scattered paperwork and several empty cups, as well as a not so empty cup that spilled on the floor. "Pardon the mess, haven't really had a chance to clean up."

"You have higher priorities right now." Trace said, understanding.

"You have no idea. Ever since the attack, people have been telling me we need to call for aid, but I don't want to. The Templars would only make things worse, I've seen what they're doing outside the walls. War machines roll past every day, soldiers go by in a never ending line, and both captives and the dead are carted past daily. But if we get attacked again, we would be completely overwhelmed."

"That's why I'm here." Keith said, leaning forward.

"You?" Kei looked him over and frowned. "Look, I saw you fight, but you can't hope to defend the whole city at all times."

"I'm not going to. But I have an offer for you to consider."

"Okay…"

"I would like you to write a letter to the Basitin Empire, requesting aid."

"Why would-"

"I'm not done." Keith said sternly. "You write this letter, and the Basitin Empire can occupy the city."

"What?! Why would-"

"Will you let me finish?!" Keith shouted, losing his patience. "Look, it doesn't sound like a good idea, but please, hear me out. The Basitin Empire can have troops here very quickly, and mobilize there main forces to bolster the city's defenses in about five weeks. While it may sound bad, having a foreign power occupy the city, it would actually be the opposite. The Basitin Empire is not at war with either the Wolf Clans or the Templars, and thus, attacking the city would be an attack against the Basitins. Our mere presence here would be a deterrent in multiple ways. On top of that, Edinmire could easily become a safe haven for refugees who have nowhere else to run to. They could stay here until the war is over, or go south to the docks, and from there, go anywhere they want. I promise, this is not an attempt to gain a foothold in the war. We're not interested in open combat. We're not going to kick you out. We just want to help. And… if it gets under the skin of the Templars… that's a nice bonus."

Kei chuckled, and leaned forward. His mind raced, and his eyes danced across his desk. "I… I suppose that wouldn't be bad… but how soon would you be able to guarantee a garrison in my city? We can't leave ourselves vulnerable for too long."

"I don't know. But it would be sooner than you think. We have ships off the coast that have been watching the war go on, and reporting back to the King, but I can't give you an exact date."

"As long as it's not too long. Who knows when the wolves will attack again- no offense." he said, glancing at Natani.

"None take. I do not care for the war, as it has only made things more difficult for me. Mistrust and hate is something I was already far too familiar with, but this is a new level of that. I will not fight against you, and I can speak for my brother as well."

"Well, that's at least something. In the meantime, we should talk about shoring up our current defenses. I was thinking-"

"Uncle Kei, can I go-" A small voice came from the side of the office, and stopped abruptly. Heads turned to see a small white leopard Keidran staring around the corner.

"Maeve, it's alright." Kei said soflty. "They're here to-"

"Miss Flora!" Maeve ran over to her and threw her arms around Flora in a hug. Flora smiled and hugged her back.

"Uh… alrighty then." Kei shrugged.

"Uncle Kei, can Miss Flora and I go play?" She was bouncing excitedly, holding Flora's hand and smiling widely.

"If she want's to go with you, then I won't stop you. Please make sure you stay away from the walls, okay?"

"Thanks Uncle Kei! Come on!" Flora glanced over at Trace, who nodded his head. She followed Maeve out the door, who was squealing and laughing, pulling Flora into the street. Kei leaned on his desk, smiling as he watched her.

"When did that happen?" Trace asked. "I leave for a few months, and now you're an uncle?"

Keiren chuckled, and the smile vanished from his face. "It's… it's been a while. Just after the attack last fall, she came in here, claiming that Adira had been taken from her by Templars. When I sent some people to investigate, I found out that it was true: Adira has vanished, leaving Maeve without anyone to take care of her. Who actually took her, I don't know. She's been gone for four months. I've been trying to keep people searching for her, but with the war going on right outside the wall, and now inside, it's been challenging. I've run out of places to look. I'm not sure if I even can keep trying. If she was taken by Templars, there's no way I would be able to convince them to give her up, and if it was wolves, then she'd be long gone. All I can do is hope, and take care of her as best as I can."

The four watched out the window as Flora and Maeve ran up and down the street, laughing and smiling. "It looks like you've done a fine job so far." Natani said.

"I'm glad. I should write that letter before I forget. I don't suppose you could help us shore up the wall braces?"

Trace smiled. "It's the least we can do."

…

By evening, the wall was shored up sufficiently, and Lynn had sent both the letter with his plan, and the letter requesting aid that Kei had written off to the Basidian Isles. All that was left to do was wait. Maeve spent the day chasing or being chased by Flora, and once they were done, Trace and Natani joined in too. Keith was exhausted. He had put in more than anyone else that day, moving literal tons of material into place on his own. So he rested against a house, sweat dripping off of him. He watched as the four ran around, laughing and smiling. In the orange glow of the evening sun, Edinmire was actually quite pretty, and he relaxed. He happened to catch Natani's eye, and she turned to him, her hair billowing as she ran, and her face wide with a toothy grin. He smiled back, and sighed. She jogged over, and sat down next to him. "You need a bath." she said, laughing.

"I know." Keith looked down at the ground, trying to avoid looking at her.

"Hey, what's going on?"

"I'm just… happy. And it feels strange."

"Being happy is strange? Come on, what's really going on?"

"That really is it. I'm just happy. It's nice to sit back and relax. And… it's nice to see you so happy. So comfortable. You've changed a lot since we first met. You've changed a lot in the last four months. And… I'm happy to see you acting like this…"

"Like what?" Natani turned to him. Keith was quiet, as though pondering if he should actually say it.

"Like… like a mother." Natani's eyes went wide, and her jaw dropped open. She hadn't even thought of that. "You've been so comfortable with Maeve, and she's so comfortable with you, it almost feels like you're acting like a mother. She doesn't have one."

"I'm not going to try and replace her mom." Natani said sternly. "Maybe… she could call me 'Aunt Nat'!" The smile had returned. Keith smiled with her, but then it faded quickly.

"Have… have you considered it?" he asked with barely a whisper. She was quiet for a bit, and looked back out at Trace, Flora, Maeve, and Keiren running around.

"I…
I would be lying if I said I didn't. But… for so long, I didn't think about it. I spent so long pushing away that part of me, and suddenly it's all back. It's been four months, and I'm still processing it. There's memories there that I had forgotten from before the link was severed, that came back once I merged with the younger me. It's like I'm an entirely new person in my own body and mind. And… I haven't really had the time to think seriously about it all, with us running for our lives and everything. But… maybe someday."

"Someday…" Keith echoed, his mind elsewhere.