Hey guys! Guess who's gotten her life in order? Well... not me, BUT I do have a posting plan for the rest of this story! So I'm going to be posting on Thursdays for the remaining chapters. I have only chapters 19 and 20 left to write, so I should have plenty of time. Please let me know what you think of this, and let me know how I'm doing!

-owl

Rollan and Tarik quickly fell into a routine. Every morning, one of them went down to the docks to see if a Greencloak ship had come in. Then they would head over to Jon's house, where Tarik would train Rollan, in place of Lucette. After they eventually ate dinner, Tarik had them spend their evenings teaching Rollan how to read and write properly. (It wasn't that he didn't know anything, but that what he did know was majorly limited, mostly to what had been written on signs that he had memorized).

Essix was happy enough to explore the airspace of the city, occasionally checking on Rollan. He always got odd looks from those around him when she would swoop down and perch on his shoulder. Lumeo, likewise, was out of passive state for the entirety of the time spent in Surtin. The two animals often had what seemed like heated debates in the evenings while Rollan was trying to focus on his letters.

It wasn't until nearly a fortnight later that Rollan ran up to the docks and saw the green flag at the top of the mast of a ship. He excitedly ran back to the inn that they were staying at to get Tarik.

Nicolai clasped Tarik's arm and shook his hand when Tarik and Rollan walked up the gangplank and onto the ship. He looked no different than when they had separated, other than now he was sporting a mild tan.

"How went your journey?" He asked, nodding to Rollan and letting go of Tarik's arm.

"We got done what we needed to," Tarik responded before turning to Rollan. "Take your stuff down to the cabin you were in last time. After that, find the first mate and see what you can do to help."

Rollan nodded and, with a smile for Nicolai, he left the two Greencloaks by the gangplank and descended into the bowels of the ship. Essix launched herself from his shoulder and made her way to the top of the masts.

It was dark inside the ship, as there were few lamps to reduce the risk of a fire, and the lack of sunlight. The walkways were clear, though, so there was no need to worry about tripping over anything.

Once Rollan had thrown his stuff in the cabin and made his way back to the deck of the ship, he began to look for the first mate. He spotted him quick enough, Essix flying over and landing on Henry Harrison's shoulder certainly helped the matter. A second later she took off again, seeming happy to drift on drafts in the air above the ship.

"Hi, Henry!" Rollan greeted, approaching the tall man.

If Henry had been startled by Essix suddenly perching on his shoulder, he didn't show it as he turned to face Rollan. "Hello, Rollan. I'm glad to see you and Tarik back on the ship."

"Tarik wanted me to help however I can." Rollan shrugged.

They came into the port at Greenhaven three days later. Rollan was thoroughly tired of traveling, both on horseback and by ship at this point. He was looking forward to getting back to the routine at Greenhaven, training and developing the bond he shared with Essix. Maybe if they kept working on it she would go into passive state soon.

When they disembarked from the ship, Lucette was waiting for them at the bottom of the gangplank. She was wearing her thick green cloak over a warm-looking dress. By her side was Bryer, sitting and wagging his tail.

Lucette hugged Nicolai as soon as she could, grinning from ear to ear. Then, letting her brother go, she turned to Rollan and gave him a hug as well. "How was your journeys?" she asked as they began walking up the trail towards Greenhaven fortress.

Tarik stayed at the ship to talk with some of the other greencloaks that were milling about on the docks. Nicolai let Diata out of passive state and the cougar was quick to greet Bryer. Essix swooped down from the crow's nest to land on Diata's back gently.

Nicolai shrugged. "I can't tell you anything until I talk to Olvan, Lucette, you know that."

She gave him a withering look. "I do know that. I was asking both of you, hoping that Rollan would answer."

Both siblings turned to Rollan expectantly.

"I don't know. I didn't really do anything, Tarik did. If you want to know how things went, you should ask him."

Lucette shook her head. "No, Rollan, I'm not asking about what Tarik had been sent to do, I meant 'how was the journey itself?'"

Oh. that made more sense. "I had fun, I guess. I'm fairly sure that even with a nice horse, I prefer traveling by ship. I met a boy my age in Trunswick, and he seemed nice."

The group of three chatted all the way into the fortress, where Olvan was waiting for Nicolai. Lucette then left Rollan to himself to get settled in once again. Essix chose to perch on his shoulder and let him carry her up to the rooms they stayed in, rather than flying up herself.

His room was the same as it had been left, not one thing had been moved. There was an odd feeling in Rollan's chest that he couldn't quite place, and it wasn't until he had returned his bedroll to his wardrobe and hung his traveling cloak on the post of the footboard of his bed that he realized what the feeling was.

He had grown up on the streets, almost never sleeping in the same place for more than one night. Rollan hadn't realized that he had come to appreciate not needing to do that at Greenhaven. The feeling, it seemed to be, was one of home. Something that he had never experienced before. Maybe staying with the Greencloaks a little longer wouldn't be too bad of an idea after all. Only time would tell.

With that thought at the forefront of his mind, Rollan left his room and wandered back down the tower to the main part of the fortress.