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"Well... since it blindsided a good amount of us," Kara murmured, "It could have been there for a while and they were tired if waiting... or skirting around the issue, if there was any of that."

She would imagine so after all this was something she had to deal with, but was something that came with mind with all the melee of children.

"I mean.. things were a bit stressful even before Adonai left.. between them I mean?"

She did recall a few mentions from Haradhel, and for her it wasn't that long ago.


"I would be happy to help," Ryu agreed.

It sounded interesting, though he had never been on a swing before, but had seen them enough. He forgot now why he never went on them, but he strongly suspected Feng was involved.

"Going to see him tomorrow hmm? Lin is here too, so maybe she can go with you," Feng added.

"Well he was probably also confusing himself," Kara murmured, "Though I would imagine the cold shoulder was probably the result of the fact he knew as her brother he wasn't supposed to like her in that manner...."

She could only imagine how complicated it got.

"At least it's sorted out now, I would imagine if it hadn't been sorted out the way it had been, it would have been more difficult on the both of them."

She could see it too, though she had never been in the position to have to worry about something like that.


Feng thought about it, she actually didn't know what she would want to do with Aliya, "It's been a while... I don't know," she laughed a bit, "I mean... nearly anything is fine with me and you know I always like playing with the kids."

Footsteps could be heard coming from the cellar steps, and Ulani let the conversation die into silence as the subjects of their discussion appeared suddenly.

Shael led the way and was carrying a large dish in her hands. It was covered with a towel, and she brought it over to the counter and set it down.

"I made this last night," she told Ulani, smiling widely. "I thought ... well, since we have guests and all, and since they're not particularly hungry, that we might have this instead of bread. It's certainly more delectable."

Ulani lifted the towel and peered beneath it, then laughed softly. "Indeed," she agreed. "Very well. Go right ahead."

Adonai was right behind Shael. "Go and sit with our guests, Mother," he grinned at her. "We'll take care of this."

And he reached over her head for the dishes that were in the cupboard.

Ulani sighed, then smiled and moved to sit at the table with the others. "I think I'm actually going to miss the help when they do move in together," she laughed.

Shael smiled over her shoulder at them. "I'm still living with Aliya and Amdir until then," she explained, "though I help out here. After all, it really is the proper thing to do."

If there even was a proper thing to do in a situation like theirs.



Aliya grinned at Feng. "I think Adanedhel and Adwin will be preoccupied for the afternoon, but I'm sure we could get some good quality time in with Alyse and Adonijah - that is, if we can get Alyse to leave her books alone for long enough."

Lin shoved the book back into her bag before Donovan could say anything. Smiling sweetly up at her Daddy, as if she was innocent (which she was technically) of any mischief she found her own seat, making room for him.

Donovan refrained from rolling his eyes as he took a seat beside Lin.

"At any rate," Ulani murmured, looking at Donovan, "I imagine that you would be wanting to know which way to head for a hunt. Shall I get my vision crystal? Then you can head to the ranch after lunch and start your preparations right away."

Shael looked up sharply. "But I was going to show them the house after lunch," she murmured.

Ulani sighed. "After that then."

But her eyes were laughing.



Aliya nodded at Feng. "She's read every book we have, all of Mum's, all of Adonai's journals, all of the books that are at the ranch, and every single one that any of the ranch hands own ... at least three times. I can't understand why she wants to reread them all the time, but ..."

She shrugged.

"Still, I asked Ada to pick up some more books for her on his trip ... he's gone to the city to pick up some things to finish up Adonai and Shael's house ... did you see it on your way in?"

Donovan nodded at this, "After the tour, then I'll ask and then go to the Ranch."

It sounded like a plan it wasn't like they were in a complete hurry as long as they had time to prepare.

"I'm reading Rediscovering History, the librarian at the school said it was a history textbook for older grades, so it looked like a good place to start," Lin explained, "For history class, if I take the exception test I can drop that class and take magic class instead. Though.... I also had to borrow a dictionary because I didn't know some of the words, and then I had to borrow a small book on writing tests, but the smaller one isn't so bad. It's like arguing in person only you do it on paper."

Lunch turned out to be a cake that Shael had made - something like the cakes they would normally have for snacks, but less sweet, and less snacky.

After lunch was over, Shael and Adonai moved to help with clearing the table, but Ulani waved them away.

"Go on, take our guests on a tour of your house so that they can get on with their work," she shooed them.

The two young lovers laughed and beckoned for the others to follow them outside once more.



The moment the children were done their lunch, Adan and Adwin shot out of their seats and made a beeline for the door.

"Come on, Ryu-kun!" they called over their shoulders as they ran outside.

Alyse rolled her eyes and sighed. "Boys," she murmured, sliding gracefully off her chair and starting to collect the dishes.

Lin hopped off her chair and followed after her Daddy who was already going out the door. She wanted to see too, exactly what this was going to be like, since it was a place that Shael and Adonai was going to live.

"See you later," Donovan told Ulani as Lin latched onto his coat.