"We got her, Benny. We got her real good."

Ben's spirit no longer resided at his grave, but Ellie wanted to go there anyways. The roses she'd unintentionally grown around his tombstone were still blooming and thriving, looking oddly fresh and lush compared to the rest of the cemetery.

It was important to her that they stop here on the way out of the village. She buried the glass bottle of his blood behind the headstone, or rather... she gave the bottle to the roses, and they sunk it deep underground with their roots, keeping it safely buried with the rest of his body.

She blew a kiss towards the tombstone as she got to her feet and slowly walked out of the cemetery. Though her grieving process was not over, though it might not ever be over, she hoped this would be the last time for a while that she felt compelled to spend time at his grave.

After all, Ben wanted her to live.

"Where to now?" Kaz asked as she came closer, reaching out for her hand. He had insisted on being the one to pull the small wagon with their trunks, arguing that it wasn't very heavy and they were heading downhill anyways. Ellie planned to annoy him about it later.

"We could look for a room in town... Or, I mean, we have a tent and a camp bed. We could go on up to Howard's Knob and camp for a while," she said with a shrug.

"It's a good thing I have a better solution, then, isn't it?" came a voice from behind them.

"Granny?" Ellie asked, taken aback. Kaz, on the other hand, just smiled.

"Oh, you didn't think your ol' Granny would let you leave me behind, did you? I just needed time to pack!" she said with a chuckle. "And you should thank your demon for helpin' me with that, too."

"I didn't want you to have to move out into the Boonies when you're safe here!" Ellie said, laughing incredulously.

"Look around! We're already in the Boonies." The older woman gestured vaguely to... everywhere. Trees. Woods. More trees. More woods.

Ellie and Kaz exchanged glances.

"A... Fair. Yeah, fair point," she admitted. "But—"

"WAIT FOR US!"

A shriek of laughter cut through the cool mountain air, and Ellie turned to see two faces she wouldn't have expected.

Alice came tearing down the hill faster than a jackrabbit. Ellie would have said she was toting a wagon, but it looked more like the wagon was toting her. There were three trunks piled on top of one another, along with various sacks and bits and bobs that jingled as it rolled down the bumpy dirt road. Behind her, Simon struggled to keep up, moving at breakneck pace down the hill.

"We're comin' too!" he shouted, waving his arms wildly.

"What the living—" Ellie said, cutting off with loud laughter.

"Granny said y'all were leaving, and y'ain't leavin' without us!" Alice said, holding onto her straw hat so it wouldn't blow off her head as she ran towards them.

"We figured... we..." Simon said between pants, finally catching up. "Figured we... could help out."

"You're okay with this?" she asked Kaz.

He nodded. "I may have had a hand in it."

"Well... come on if you're coming!" she said with a smile. "It's a long walk to where we're going."

It took the rest of the day to trek to Howard's Knob, and by the time they made it there, Ellie did not think she would be up for pitching a tent, making a fire, and generally doing anything besides falling into a deep sleep.

However, as they made their way over the last part of the hill, she noticed a shadow on the horizon. A very large, very house-shaped shadow.

"What in blue blazes—" she muttered, squinting into the late afternoon sun.

"Did you really think I'd let him move you up here in a tent?" Granny scoffed. "Gimmie a lil' more credit than that."

A house.

A real house.

... And it was huge.

As they approached, she could see it more clearly. Two floors, probably a basement underneath for cold storage if the builder had any good sense, though... the thing was shaped a little strangely.

It was a sturdy structure made of logs and brick and whatever else the builder could get their hands on. The roof was clay tiled, the windows different sizes in different shades of colored glass, as though someone had picked them up from a scrap pile and made something new from them. It was absolutely, incredibly, wonderfully beautiful.

"Called in a favor," Kaz said, smirking.

"It's... perfect," Ellie whispered.

"There's three bedrooms, an attic, and a cellar, and we can always build more space if we need it." Granny paused. "... I want the attic for my room, though. Old woman's rights and all that."

"Granny, I've never had this much space in my life, and you know it!" Ellie said, laughing. "What am I even gonna do with all this?"

"You'll run your apothecary, just like you wanted to do out of the village," Granny said firmly.

"And you?" Kaz asked.

"I'll be over here making sure she doesn't call any more demons into the house. One is enough for a lifetime," Granny joked. "Nah, I'll take care of the gardening and the house, don't you worry. And I can teach ya how to trap and skin game in the winter."

"Can you teach him how to swing an axe first?" Ellie asked.

"Hey! I'm improving," he protested.

"Before y'all get too into bickerin' and flirtin' over there, this s also yours," Granny said, handing Ellie a thick envelope with an official seal and a ribbon.

"What..." she blinked, slowly opening the seal to peek inside.

"It's the deed to the property. You've got all forty acres," Granny said with a smile. "Now, it ain't all flat, of course, but it's enough land for hunting and trapping. Maybe even makin' your own little village if you want."

"Kaz," Ellie said in a warning tone. "I told you I was payin' for it."

"Well. You can pay me later, then," he said, waving her off. "I won't tell you not to because I know it's important to you, but I think room and board for me for the foreseeable future should put a good dent in the price, anyways."

"Kaz," she huffed.

"My foreseeable future is a very long one, to be fair," he said innocently. Ellie rolled her eyes, though... she was glad his foreseeable future was very long. Hers was, too.

"I... I like this plan," she said softly, a slow smile creeping across her face.. "No Council, though. Keep those power-hungry city rats offa my mountain."

"About that," Kaz said slowly. Ellie raised an indignant eyebrow.

"Don't tell me you registered with the Council. Please."

"I certainly did not," he said, frowning, but he cheered up quickly. "However, if you're up for housing a city slicker professor, I've got someone interested in residency. A vampire, too, but she speaks southern. Oh, and somebody wrote back from Virginia. She wants to move here with her family."

"I think I can handle those specific folks," Ellie rasped, biting back tears.

"Just us and some friends. You know, a few good people." Kaz smiled, swinging their joined hands as their little group started off down the road.

"We'll make out just fine," Ellie said as she gave his hand a squeeze. "I've got a good feelin' about it."