Hey guys! Welcome back to Hear a Tale! Sorry for the wait - turns out work-life balance is actually pretty difficult. Huh. But regardless, let's start with review time!

Thanks so much to CitrusChickadee for reviewing! Yeah, it was a little difficult to translate everything that happens in-game to something that would work for a written narrative that included all of the characters, but I'm happy with what I ended up going with! I'm glad you liked the puppets too - they were certainly fun elements to come up with :) Glad you enjoyed!

With that, on with the tale!

Relevant Events: Post - Therion and Cyrus' Chapter Threes, Pre - everyone else's

46. Family

Tressa breathed in deeply, the salted sea breeze bringing a giddy smile to her face. Already, the sight of the sun beginning to set over the glittering ocean was melting her homesickness away as she and her companions entered the familiar coastal town of Rippletide. They were en route from Stonegard to Noblecourt to take care of Primrose's business there, but since they were passing so close to the merchant's hometown that evening, she insisted on stopping there for the night rather than set up camp somewhere on the road again. That way, they could get a good night's rest, she could see how her parents were doing, and, most importantly, she could show her friends around the place she called home.

"Ma and Pa'll be happy to meet all of you!" she assured them all as they walked into town. "Well, most of you, anyway. Can't make any promises about Therion."

"Thanks," was the thief's flat reply.

"What? It's not like any self-respecting merchant would invite a known thief into their shop and home!"

"Uh huh. And…what does that make you, for traveling with me anyway?"

"I…" Tressa paused, then scowled. "Never mind! Just make sure you behave yourself, okay?"

Therion shrugged. "Whatever."

"Don't worry, Tress!" Alfyn laughed, throwing an arm around Therion's shoulders, oblivious to the other man's glare. "We'll be sure to keep a close eye on him!"

"Why do I continue to hang around you people." His voice was so flat it was barely even a question.

"'Cause you love us, obviously. Anyway!" Tressa turned on her heel and began to march towards her family's store and home, waving at the few neighbors who were still out and about despite the setting sun as she went. "Follow me!"

The others trailed after her as she practically skipped up to the entrance and threw the door open. "Ma, Pa!" she called out, bounding inside. "I'm home!"

Olneo and Marina Colzione had clearly been in the midst of closing up shop for the day, but at the sight of their only daughter barging in after months of absence, all of their usual tasks suddenly lost their importance all at once. Marina's broom clattered to the ground as she rushed towards the door, and Olneo practically flung the cloth he'd been wiping down the counter with across the room.

"Tressa, dear!" her mother cried, pulling Tressa into a tight embrace. "Oh my, it's so good to see you again!"

"Thank the gods!" her father exclaimed, wrapping his arms around them both. "Our little girl…you're alright!"

"Mmph…I'm more than alright, Pa!" Tressa wiggled a bit to loosen her parents' grip, if only to the point where she could breathe properly once again. "I've learned and seen so much already! And guess what - I've even made lots of new friends!"

Marina looked over her daughter's head, eyes widening at the sight of the seven visitors just outside her door. "Oh, my! 'Lots' is right - here, come in, come in, all of you! We'd love to meet you all!"

"Well now," Olneo coughed as he and Marina stepped back from their daughter and the doorway in order to give the travelers room to enter, "this is a surprise! Quite the collection of characters - er…is that a leopard?"

"No need to ben afraid," H'aanit said calmly, patting Linde's head. "She is quite friendly."

"I…see." Tressa's father blinked. "Well, uh, in that case…anyway! Don't be shy, now, Tressa - will you introduce your friends to us?"

"Of course!" The young merchant jogged over to where the travelers had positioned themselves in a line. "Okay, so first, this is H'aanit! She's a huntress from S'warkii, and her snow leopard's name is Linde!"

"'Tis a pleasure to meeten thee both," H'aanit said, putting a hand to her chest and giving a short bow. "Tressa hath spoken highly of thee quite often."

"Oh, the pleasure's all ours, dear!" Marina assured her with a smile, though Olneo was still nervously eyeing the big cat by the huntress' side.

"And this," Tressa continued, moving along down the line, "is Ophilia! She's a Cleric of the Flame from the Frostlands, and she's on a really important holy mission right now, which we're all helping her with!"

Ophilia smiled slightly. "And I'm thankful for it every step of the way."

Barely even giving her parents a chance to smile at Ophilia in return, Tressa continued on. "And here's Alfyn, an apothecary from Clearbrook! He's traveling around helping people, and he's even taught me a little about medicine! And I'm…well, trying to teach him about actually charging for his services."

Alfyn laughed sheepishly. "Aw, well…I'm a work in progress, I guess. Tressa really knows her stuff, though!"

Almost before Alfyn had finished his sentence, Tressa was speaking again. "And this is Olberic, a warrior from Cobbleston! Or, well, originally from Hornburg, I guess, but that's his story to tell - it's a whole thing. He's great, though!"

Olberic's eyebrows lifted. "Er…thank you, Tressa."

"And here's Cyrus! He's a professor at the Royal Academy in Atlasdam - he knows a lot about a lot of stuff! We're helping him find a creepy book, to make sure that even creepier people can't have it."

"That's…a bit of an oversimplification, but I suppose it's not wrong," Cyrus chuckled. "It's a pleasure to get to meet you!"

"Next we've got Primrose!" Tressa rolled right along as though the scholar hadn't spoken. "Originally came from Noblecourt, but she was a dancer in Sunshade for a while - and she's really good at it! She's on a mission to…ah…" The young merchant trailed off, putting a hand to her chin as she thought better of revealing all of the specificities of Primrose's revenge plans. "...to find some guys she knew in the past! So…we're helping her with that, haha."

"Indeed," Primrose agreed smoothly, patting Tressa's shoulder. "We were actually on our way back to Noblecourt in hopes of finding one…but Tressa wanted to stop here for a visit, and we were happy to oblige."

If Tressa's parents noticed any lingering tension from details left unsaid, they did not say so. "Well, we're more than happy to have you all!" Marina assured them instead, a smile on her face. "Oh, but who's your last little friend on the end here, Tressa…?"

"Him? Oh, that's just Therion," Tressa replied with a shrug. "He's the problematic one, but we keep him in check." She lifted her hand to the side of her mouth, stage-whispering to her parents, "He's got some sticky fingers, but don't worry, I always keep an eye on him."

Therion's eye rolled. "Brat," he muttered under his breath. Louder, he said, "As much as I appreciate the glowing review, Tressa, I think I can handle making my own first impression."

"Oh, can you now?"

The thief eyed her for a moment before clearing his throat, straightening his posture, and dipping his head respectfully in her parents' direction. "It is an honor to meet the family of such a valued companion," he said primly, blatantly ignoring Tressa's slack-jawed stare. "I must apologize for the reputation that seems to precede me…I was, in truth, a troubled youth who once resorted to thievery to survive. However, since meeting this wonderful group of fellow travelers, I have changed my ways, and endeavor to make an honest living for the rest of my life. I understand your daughter's distaste for my former lifestyle, truly, I deserve it…yet even still, she is something of an inspiration to me."

"Hm, what a respectful young man!" Olneo commented, stepping forward to shake Therion's hand (with the thief offering his left hand to avoid drawing attention to the Fool's Bangle adorning his right wrist). "You ought to give him a bit more grace, Tressa - it takes a lot to turn one's life around like that."

Tressa gaped at both of them. "B-But…I…you…"

"Oh, before I forget!" Marina chimed in, clasping her hands together. "We don't have nearly enough room to house you all for the night, unfortunately, but I insist that you stay for dinner before heading off to the inn!"

"That would be wonderful," Primrose said, moving to put her hands on Tressa's shoulders before the girl could start letting out screams of frustration. "Please, allow us to assist with preparation however we can."

"Oh, no, no, I couldn't possibly ask that of you! You're guests!"

"True, but there must be some way to repay your hospitality…"

As Tressa's parents and most of the other travelers began retreating to the kitchen, Tressa remained stock-still in the center of the shop portion of the building, staring at Therion. The man smiled smugly at her, letting his shoulders drop and the spark of mischief return to his eye.

"You really are an inspiration, you know," he teased. "In the art of being an annoying brat, there truly is no better teacher."

"...you," Tressa muttered, "are absolutely evil."

Therion swept past her, patting her on the top of her head as he went. "Little piece of advice," he called over his shoulder. "Don't shoot an arrow if you're not prepared to deal with the returning volley."

()()()()

Over the course of the evening, the seven travelers quickly charmed both of Tressa's parents. They told stories of their adventures (the less harrowing and life-threatening bits, anyway), made small talk, and continuously assured both Olneo and Marina that their daughter was holding her own as a valued member of their group, as well as flourishing into a spectacular merchant.

By the end of dinner, Tressa's parents had been delighted by Ophilia and Alfyn's open friendliness, Olberic and Primrose's calm poise, Cyrus' intellectual enthusiasm, and H'aanit's cool serenity. Even Therion, much to Tressa's chagrin, had managed to keep up the facade of a charming, repentant young man, though he still smirked wickedly at the young merchant whenever her parents weren't looking.

Despite her irritation with a certain thief, Tressa's heart lifted at the sight of her smiling mother and father. She'd known they'd been worried about her, even with the handful of letters she'd found time to send throughout the course of her travels. It would be a comfort, she figured, for them to meet the people who'd been sharing the road with her, and to see that they were all capable and kind when it counted - even Therion wasn't terrible, she had to admit.

Not that she would ever tell him that.

Once the evening was through, Tressa's parents offered to have her sleep in her own bed for the night while the others left for the inn, but the young merchant quickly refused before she could end up changing her mind. It made her heart ache, and she glanced at the closed door to her room more than once before the travelers left for the night, but she couldn't allow herself to succumb to the temptation.

"I have to stay strong!" she'd insisted, holding her head up high. "I can't start getting nostalgic now…I'll keep on staying with the others until my journey is done!"

Olneo and Marina only had fond smiles to offer in return.

"Our little girl, growing up so fast…" Marina had commented, swiping a bit of moisture from the corner of her eye. "Just know that you're always welcome here, Tressa, no matter what!"

Olneo had nodded firmly in agreement. "Family always looks out for family." His gaze had swept across the other seven travelers. "No matter how much it ends up growing."

Those words stuck with Tressa as she and the others walked out into the night air, making their way towards the inn after bidding her parents farewell. Her seven companions all seemed to have little to nothing in the way of family themselves - as far as Tressa knew, she was the only one with a complete set of living parents. Ophilia and H'aanit both had father figures, but the rest had either openly lost their family or otherwise did not talk about it. In many ways, Tressa was the lucky one.

And yet despite all of the loss and heartbreak that might have been in their pasts, the eight of them were together now. They may have been a ragtag group filled with conflicting personalities, but they were always there for one another in the end. Because of them, Tressa's journey had been anything but lonely, and she was sure many of the others felt the same.

I think Pa was right, Tressa thought, smiling as she walked alongside her fellow travelers. I think my family did just get a whole lot bigger.

See you guys next time for Tale 47: Creation!