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Aliya was back in just a moment, and she resumed her place and continued to eat.

"Poor girl's exhausted," she murmured between bites. "She works so hard all the time and doesn't give herself time to rest."

"Well, I think we could all use some rest," Amdir said pointedly. "After dinner, bed for Adan and the twins. Lin, Shiro, Ura, you may stay up a bit if you'd like ... and Feng and Ryu, you of course are free to do as you wish. If the storm gets worse and you do need to come inside, there is room for you ... though I don't know how you'd like beds."

Adan was still thinking about what Ryu had said, and he was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't even argue to stay up later.

Lin went back to eating, she wasn't sure how late she would stay up. Probably not that late, there wasn't much to talk about or anything to study since she was here and not at the Ranch. She just might go straight to bed or something.

Aliya nodded. "We have several books you could read then, if you're interested," she affirmed. "Lin, would you like some, too? You could read by the fire in the living room until you're tired, then."

Amdir got up and began to usher his children from the room, murmuring something about time for bed and having to get their pyjamas on.

The storm came and went, and, as promised, it was heavy rains, violent winds, and more than a little thunder and lightning. The ground was wet for days afterwards, but Aragost had made sure to bring Shiro, Ura and Lin back to the ranch as soon as it was safe for them.

Days passed, and life continued on as it usually did, with the children playing and learning, the fighters guarding, and the gardeners harvesting the field. The hunters had been somewhat restless during the past few days; the wet weather had driven the game into hiding, and they had had nothing to do: but now that the sun was once again shining, Gwaethir was once more heading out for a hunt.

He had his bow on his back and quiver at his side as he strode across the yard of the ranch, heading out towards the forest from the main house, and though his eyes seemed relaxed, his step was purposeful.

Despite not looking over his shoulder, Gwaethir sensed the moment that Lin began to follow after him. He filed the idea away as something to be kept in mind, but otherwise paid her no heed. He did not slow his pace - though he did not pick it up either - and he did not attempt to say anything to her. There was no point. No need. He had work to do, and he would not allow her to distract him.

Thus he continued on his way, eyes on the ground, searching for any signs of tracks of animals or anything that could be used to find the game for which he was hunting.

For several minutes, he continued on, silent in his erratic movements, stopping every once in a while to examine something more closely. He brushed his fingers along the ground, and once, he stopped and picked up a small dry brown lump.

Excrement. One of the best ways to track something. Find out where it's been, where it's going, what is its diet, is it even worth tracking. He lifted the mass to his nose and sniffed it once, twice, three times, then cracked it in half and sniffed it again. He stayed where he was, squatting on the ground next to a tree, and looked out at the forest around him, his sharp eyes moving erratically, learning what he could from his eyes, ears and nose - until suddenly he rose and was off once more.

Gwaethir stopped in his tracks suddenly, as sudden as a deer about to flee; his ears twitched slightly, his nostrils flared as if he had smelled something, and then, without looking at Lin, he murmured:

"I hope you can run fast."

And with that, he was off, slinging his bow from his back and taking an arrow from his quiver, moving through the trees with the grace of a dancer but with the focus of an animal about to make a kill.

For several long minutes Gwaethir ran at full speed, knowing and worrying about the fact that he was steadily leaving Lin further and further behind, but the ranch was running out of meat, and he needed this kill.

Suddenly he stopped in his tracks once more, his eyes upon the stag that he saw in front of him, neck lowered majestically to pluck the grass from the forest floor and feed.

His bow was already nocked, and he pulled back the arrow, taking careful aim. He had to make this shot before Lin caught up with him, because if he didn't he was sure she would scare the enormous beast away.

At the first sound of her catching up, he released the arrow: it hit the beast just above the shoulder, the perfect shot, and as he rose from his hiding place, the stag fell heavily to the ground, dead.