Trace wandered out of his room as the sun crept over the trees. The six of them had spent the better part of the evening retelling their story to Eric, Mike, Evals, and Kathrine, who all listened with baited breath. Going there, and coming back again, the story was so wild, the four could hardly believe it was real. Even as they retold it, the six could hardly believe they survived most of it. After the story was all told, Eric had told them about the various visitors: Templars, then wolves, then Templars again. Edinmire has been a hot spot for conflict for the last two months. Things had calmed down in the past week, but they were liable to start back up at any minute.

Sighing, Trace walked down the stairs to the dining room. Kathrine was already awake, with a fresh pot of coffee. "Good morning!" she said, all too cheerfully.

"You know you don't have to do this. You aren't a slave or servant of mine, or anyone for that matter."

"No, but I like serving people! It makes people smile, just knowing that I'm happy to get a cup of coffee or a nice meal ready." There was suddenly a loud clatter from the kitchen, and she sighed. "Though… not as much as some people apparently."

Another loud clatter, and the door opened to reveal Barret, covered in flour, a mixing bowl in one hand, a spatula in the other. "Sorry Kathrine, it's a mess in here! Do you know where the- Trace!" He had the biggest grin Trace had ever seen. "You have everything in this place! I can cook so many good meals! At the same time! I can make things I never thought of before! And you have ingredients on demand?! I'm gonna make us a buffet for dinner tonight!"

"Um… good morning to you too." Trace couldn't help but smile back. "Just don't go overboard-"

"Oh, it is way too late for that! Gotta go, food is burning!" He rushed back into the kitchen with another loud clatter. Trace shook his head, chuckling.

"What a strange person!" Kat said, sitting down with Trace.

"That's… a word for him."

"You alright down there?" Natani's voice echoed down the stairwell.

"Yeah, Barret found the kitchen. We won't be seeing him for the rest of the day I suspect."

"Oh dear. He found out how to use the summoning charms?"

"Yeah. He's rather excited. How'd you sleep?"

Natani sat down and grabbed a cup of coffee. "Like a rock. I like not being chased. Or sleeping on the ground. Or on a rock, for that matter."

"It's rather nice. I'm surprised Barret didn't say anything about mattresses." Natani chuckled, and Kat raised an eyebrow, but Trace continued "I think we should stay here for a week or so. I don't want to just stop traveling, but it is nice to take a break."

"Yeah. I know how you feel. There's a war going on, and we could do something about it if we tried. But we can't do anything while we're just sitting here."

"But you need a break." Kathrine said, sipping her coffee. "You've done so much in the past few months, it would be wise to slow down and re-focus. I don't know what you will do, but you'll think of something."

"I hope." There was another clang from the kitchen, followed by Barret both shouting and laughing at the same time. Natani smiled and chuckled. "It's like a kit who just discovered his tail."

"I'll take your word for it…" Trace said, rolling his eyes. Over the next ten minutes, they were joined by Keith, Eric, and Zen.

"Flora still asleep?" Zen asked as he sat for coffee.

"She's had a long journey. I'm happy to let her sleep as long as she wants today. She was just getting over the baby, only to be reminded of it again. It's taken a toll on her both physically and mentally. I wish I could do more, but there's nothing I can do that I haven't already."

"It would be difficult for anyone." Eric said, leaning back in his chair. "From what I know of her, she's stronger than you realize. She may not show it, but that would be one of the most painful things imaginable for her. Just being there is probably all she needs, and all you can do right now."

"You don't have kids, so how would you know?" Keith asked, almost scowling over his cup.

Eric sighed. "You forget what my job is. It's my job to manage slaves, and that includes breeding them. I've seen my fair share of broken mother Keidrans. It's not pretty, and some of them become incapable of conceiving another for several cycles, some even permanently. But Flora is strong. She's had all of you. Just be there for her, that's all you can do."

"Then I'm going to do-" CLANG "-just… that. Barret found the kitchen. He's going to be in there all day. Please, try to help him. I'd rather my house not go up in smoke today because he forgot to watch something."

"I'll go help him out." Kathrine stood up. "I like cooking too. I might try to make some desserts we would all enjoy."

As she vanished into the kitchen, there was another loud crash, and light laughter around the table. Trace finished his coffee and excused himself from the table, wandering back upstairs. His- their room- was quiet and calm. Flora was indeed still asleep on the bed, gently snoring. Trace walked over to the desk that was tucked over in the corner, and searched through it. Smiling, he pulled out a blank piece of parchment and a pencil. He would stay in the room today, but he wanted to stay busy. He looked out the window, and began to slowly sketch on the paper.

The morning passed quietly everywhere in the house except the kitchen. Keith and Natani sparred for the first time in ages, Zen decided to take a look around the whole building for the first time, since he had been bedridden the last time he was here. Eric, Mike, and Evals went around the house, cleaning and sweeping, straightening things up, and keeping things tidy.

It was afternoon when Flora woke up, stretching her arms high into the air. "Morning Trace…"

"You're a bit late for morning, but nice to see you're awake."

"Oh! How long did I sleep?"

"I'm not sure, but it's after noon now. How are you feeling today?"

"Better. Last night helped…" she said with a low purr. "Maybe… again tonight?"

"Anything for you. You should get some food, but don't fill up too much. Barret found the kitchen." As if on cue, there was a resounding crash that echoed even into Trace and Flora's room. "He's been in there all day with Kat." Trace said with a smile.

"Oo, what's he cooking?"

"What isn't he cooking is the real question. I've never seen him so giddy. I didn't even know he could be giddy!"

Flora giggled and walked over to him. "Well, I'm glad he's keeping himself busy. And I'm glad we spent a night here without any demons coming back to haunt us!"

"It's been nice. Mostly quiet, save the occasional kitchen clatter."

"What are you drawing?" Flora asked, looking over his shoulder.

"Well, it was going to be the mountains over there, but my mind started to wander, and I just kept drawing, and made this without really paying attention." He looked at the strange spiral design on the paper. It looked like someone had taken a dragon, and twisted it inward on itself, the wings stretched up and back. "I don't know what it is, but it looks cool… I guess."

"Hmm. Come on, let's see what everyone else is doing."

The evening was quiet like the afternoon, but the smell of food wafted through the estate, drawing everyone to the dining room. There, they gasped, as laid out on the table was all manner of food, steaks and fillets of salmon, stews and soups, pastries and breads, veggies and fruits, coffee, tea, pitchers of water, cakes, and more. "I told you I would make dinner!" Barret said proudly, still carrying more food from the kitchen.

"We might have gotten carried away." Kathrine said, blushing as she poured drinks.

"Come on, the food won't eat itself. Dig in!" Barret said, sitting down, reaching for a fork and knife. Dispersed around the table, food was eaten, drinks were consumed, conversation struck up. For over an hour they sat, smiling and laughing. Kathrine kept walking, eating as she did, filling drinks and getting even more food from the kitchen. Keith dared Zen to throw a knife into an apple he tossed, and with a soft thud, it fell to the table with cheers. Natani seemed uncomfortable, but would always relax and open up when Keith was listening. Mike and Evals soon were drunk and struck up a drinking song they learned while traveling the seas. Eric pulled Kathrine down, making her take a break from serving people, telling her to just relax and enjoy being there. Trace and Flora watched, talked, listened, and even joined in singing as the night went on.

As the sun set, stomachs were filled, last cups of coffee were polished off, and Natani and Keith excused themselves to go to bed. "Urgh, I can't eat another bite." Eric said, having long since loosened his belt. "Where did you learn to cook?"

"Learn? Oh, I just made most of this up. I never have had access to this sort of a kitchen. But I'm not doing this again for a while. Maybe on holidays… or when I'm bored." Barret said, yawning. "Well, I'd better start cleaning up."

"Oh, no you don't." Eric said. "You've been cooking all day. Take a break. Everyone else can pitch in."

"If you really want to, I'm not going to complain." Barret still stood up. "I'm going to go sit somewhere… in a nice, big, comfy chair… and maybe sleep for a few days…"