With seeing his parents briefly during the horsemen trials, then seeing the result of his whole world destroyed in an alternate reality, not ot mention the heaviness of current actions involving seeds, Calder needed to get away. Sticking at the school had been a act of loyalty and paranoia. He worried that if he left, something would happen while he was away and something or someone would be destroyed. However, there was only so much even he could take. He wanted to go home and assure himself his parents were alive and happy, to return to a place he felt safe and everything seemed simple.

He just needed to step back a moment and take a breath.

It was with that that he alerted his friend he was going home for a few days. Then, because they had all extended welcomes to allow him to go to their homes, he did the same. If he needed a moment of peace, he was sure they did.

Packing was easy. Calder grabbed some clothes, a tin of food, and a few other things into a knapsack and waited outside the gates. It was a long walk to his home. Calder would probably be carrying Barth if he decided to go, but he was fine with that.