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"Wait until you see the ranch during the day," Rhea murmured. "You'll see how empty it is."

"Where are you staying?" Shael asked the two. "If you're going back to the ranch, you might want to get going right away ..."

"They will have room," Shael nodded. "Ruran has his own place now, so they have a few empty-"

"No," Rhea interrupted, "don't forget, Mother, they have the new fighters staying with them now."

"Ah, that's true," Shael recalled. "Perhaps Ruran, then. I'm not sure how much extra space he has, but he does live on his own ..."

"I think it might be best if they asked Mother and Father," Adonai spoke up softly. "They have the space, and we know their rooms are empty."

"Some people from your world," Adonai replied. "Seconds, like you. Not Gaians. An elf and a human girl ... Corrah and Armus. At first we were a little iffy about them, but they've turned out to be quite nice, really, once you get around the fact that Corrah just doesn't know how to act around people."

Kaito blinked at Lin. "You know these two?" he asked her curiously. "You've met them before?"

He hadn't heard of the incident, and he was curious.

Rhea smiled and reached over, placing her hand on top of Lin's. "I think you'll find that they are quite changed since you knew them," she said softly. "Niyana has accepted them into her home until a place can be built for them, since the barracks are full ... and she was their most vocal dissenter when they first arrived, if that tells you anything."

"Well, you can worry about that tomorrow," Adonai said, pushing his chair back and standing up. "For now I think it would be best if you went to Mother and Father's, whoever is watching tonight will already be on their guard."

"I'll see you in the morning, Lin," Rhea smiled at her.

"Good night," Kaito murmured, turning from the dining room and heading to the living room to get his cloak.

Kaito pulled on his cloak and slung his bag over his shoulder. Bidding good night to Adonai, who saw them to the door, he headed out into the darkness.

"It's a good thing Ulani and Ulrich live right close," he murmured to Lin as he trudged off into the snow. "I don't know about you, but I don't really relish the idea of being picked off just for moving outside at night."

Though he was sure that those on duty would be more careful than that, they would know after all that they wouldn't be the only ones out there - they had to have more than one person guarding, after all.

The sun was just about gone now, and Kaito picked up his pace. "At least it's not far," he murmured as they came closer to the house that was already in view. He noted the smoke that was curling from the chimney. "Looks like someone's still up. That's good at least."

"Which is excellent," Kaito replied just as the door opened.

It was Ulani who stood there, and she opened the door wide for the two. "Come in, come in, quickly," she urged them. "Out of the cold. What are you doing here?"

She didn't mean to make it sound so negative, but she was quite surprised to see them - and especially this late at night.