Katerin paced in her office, clutching a cup of cold tea. Mordai would not leave her mind and had not for days. His thievery still stung and so did the notion that he was in trouble, though she already knew that he had made his own bed.

Lugaria had not sent her so much as a word and if anyone else had been scouting Hearth-Home, she would expect them to be dead. But not him. She was sure that the only thing that could kill that man would be a strike from the gods themselves, and likely more than one.

She pondered the idea that he was keeping silent only to torment her, and while she suspected that might be a minor motivation, she trusted him to speak up, should something important arise.

She had to trust him.

A knock at her door interrupted her pacing, and the adolescent face of Rykir poked in.

"Lady Katerin, uh, Zino would like to show you something."

"What kind of something?" she asked, smiling to the boy.

Rykir and his older brother Bandin had taken up residence when she had hired Zino and Pilard, and though they were not blood, they were the children of the pair. And fine children they were. They gave the manor something that it all too often lacked. Life, noise, and excitement. Before Katerin had made it out the door of her office, Rykir was already at the end of the hall and headed for the door out the back of the kitchen.

Katerin rounded the corner to the sound of a door swinging shut.

"I've told you more than thrice about slamming doors and running past the ovens, Rykir!" Pilard's angry tone carried far, and loudly, and she turned to regard Katerin with a pale face. "My lady! I wasn't expecting him to bother—"

"He's no such thing, Pilard." She smiled. "Apparently I am urgently needed in the garden."

"Don't slam the damn door," The dwarvish woman said under her breath in her native tongue, as though Katerin could not hear it.

The back gardens were deep in the grip of fall, and the wild grasses had turned to a beautiful golden brown. As Katerin found her way out, Zino and Bandin waved her over, the older and quieter of the boys. Bandin was sixteen, and despite his young age he held himself with all the dignity that Zino held, and he worked alongside his adopted father every chance he got.

"Is everything all right? If it has to do with the animals, that is probably a better issue to bring to Fykes—"

"No, no, my lady. Nothing is the matter," Zino began, "We wanted your thoughts. You said you wanted to improve the appearance of the manor grounds, but you gave very few... instructions. How does this suit you? It's simple, but we thought it added a certain elegance."

He stepped aside and gestured towards a simple fountain of stacked rough stones that glistened under the running water. At the bottom of the basin, a metal etching was resting delicately upon the stone, as water splashed over it. It was the insignia Katerin had displayed upon her door. A crest of sorts, featuring a half-lit moon with a star at its center that shimmered over ocean waves.

"Bandin had the idea," Zino said.

Katerin let out a delighted laugh. "It's wonderful." She blinked at the flowing water. "How did you manage to keep it flowing?"

"Typhon helped with that," Bandin said. "I'm no magician."

"And aunt Imeiza made the metalwork," Rykir said, his hands clasped while a grin showed off his dimples.

"Aunt, now, is she?" Katerin laughed. Over the past few days she had seen Imeiza out with them, and it warmed her heart. Imeiza was incapable of having her own children, but she had no problems entertaining and caring for others. That was a trait that Katerin could never have enough thanks for.

"She wants to teach us about swords!"

"And what do you think of that?" Katerin's gaze turned to Zino, with an inquisitive expression. She knew firsthand that her stepmother was easily persuasive.

"I see no harm in it, and your mother seems to enjoy their company, my lady."

Katerin shook her head. "Zino, please, Katerin is fine. There's no need for titles."

"Then why do you have one, my lady?"

"Technicalities. I would much rather consider us friends then simple acquaintances."

"If we call you 'my lady,' we can't be friends?" Rykir asked with a frown.

"No, Ry—" Zino waved a hand.

"Exactly!" Katerin said with another laugh, resisting the urge to grin at Zino. "And I would much rather we be friends. So call me Katerin." Before Zino could argue further, Katerin spoke again. "The fountain is beautiful." She paused. "I have to go speak with Graiden, though. He had someone he wanted me to meet."

"Tell him we appreciate the thought," Zino insisted.

"Of course." Katerin knew he would be more at ease with another pair of eyes on the grounds. Her meeting with Graiden was to look for another guard to hire, to keep watch on the manor, while she, Fykes and Brazen were away. Most of the town was respectful, but Graiden had a deeply cautious side, and had convinced Katerin that another guard would only help protect them, if trouble should come. She had worked the past few days to pick someone who could fit in, as it gave her something to keep her mind busy. And today she was to meet the woman, officially. Katerin waved back at her steward and his sons as she left.

"You're far more cunning than you appear... my lady," Zino called after her departure, in a joking tone.

Graiden's office door was open, and as she knocked on the door frame, she saw Graiden speaking with the woman she was to hire. As soon as Katerin's presence was known, the woman jumped to her feet and straightened her shoulders in such a quick movement that her hazel ponytail bounced.

"Katerin, this is Olivia," Graiden's tone was almost too formal.

Olivia was clad in Sahn-Raidar's standard teal and black uniform, but her weapon belt was empty. She stood slender and of an average height, and her face had a certain air of familiarity to it. When Katerin had taken up Graiden's idea of hiring a guard, he had seemed insistent she meet Olivia, first.

Olivia nodded and struck out her hand. "Nice to meet you... my lady." She looked the picture of military structure.

Katerin's eyes narrowed. "I hope he put you up to that."

Olivia grinned. "He did."

"Have you ever worked as a guard before?"

"No, but I've guarded food and camps, so." Olivia shrugged, and the discipline faded a fraction.

"I'm surprised that you want to, then. Any reason for that?" Katerin looked to Graiden now. She could not understand why, exactly, a soldier would give up the relative freedom and promise of travel, to watch a barn full of sheep, and a barren wall.

Olivia grew sheepish. "I have a..." She paused on a look from Graiden and cleared her throat. "Guarding a house sounds like easy, steady pay. And I'm good at breaking up  trouble." Her last sentence sounded as if it was tacked on, so there was no oversight.

Graiden nodded emphatically from behind Olivia, so that only Katerin could see.

Katerin bit her lip in a bad attempt to hide her amusement. "Well, you're honest, at least. Did Graiden tell you what it would involve?"

Olivia nodded. "Yes ma'am. Sounded kind of boring, but he also said you aren't there much, so there aren't many orders."

The struggle to contain her laughter, had Katerin taking a deep breath. "He's not wrong. Do you have your things? There can be a room at the manor ready for you by the evening."

Graiden's eyes widened.

Olivia blinked and stuttered for a moment. "No, but I can go get them."

"I'll give you a tour once you're ready."

Olivia looked to Graiden and bounded out the door with quiet, jovial footsteps.

"Well, aren't you through."

"I don't see any need to be critical, Graiden. You recommended her, yourself."

"She just needs..."

"Less bureaucracy?"

Graiden's gaze narrowed. "That's one word for it."

Katerin draped her arms over the back of the chair opposing Graiden's. "But, why her? I expected you to have someone... bigger, or angrier. No offense to her, but..." She let her words trail off, knowing Graiden got her meaning. He was practical in everything, and they both knew it.

"She would do well with you. She has too much spirit for the main force."

"I never pegged you for showing favoritism." Katerin raised an eyebrow.

"It's not..."

"Just tell me why?"

Graiden groaned, but answered promptly. "She's my niece."

"There it is." Katerin patted the table, and Graiden placed a serious look on her.

"I need her safe."

"I'll keep her out of too much trouble. Zino can most likely keep her busy, anyway. Besides, it'll be nice to have another girl around." There was a long moment of silence before Katerin spoke again. "I thought you didn't have any family left."

Graiden sighed. "To most, I don't. There's too much animosity on Ellispyre among certain groups, so I try to keep our relation as... quiet as possible." His face grew distant for a second. "It's only her."

Katerin felt a pang of sympathy, and she offered Graiden a reassuring pat on the hand. "Thank you. But next time, you could just tell me."

"You needed to keep your mind busy," he said. "I did you a favor."

"You... fine." Katerin huffed, waving a hand at him.

Her idea of busy had to include going over papers and talking with people, but if she could shorten the process she would never complain.

After Olivia had been introduced and gotten settled in, Katerin wound her way up the manor stairs, now fully set on keeping her mind off of Mordai and her worries of Heath-Home, and letting them be replaced by other thoughts, instead. She had hardly seen Brazen for two days, now. He had been in a fine mood when she had seen him, but the sparsity of his presence was unsettling.

She found his room and knocked lightly on the door.

"Who is it?" Brazen called, sounding out of breath.

"It's me," she said, her brow furrowed at the oddity of the moment. He's alive. Breathing. The thought was still boggling, despite the time she had had to adjust.

"Oh! Come in!"

She cracked open the door to behold Brazen standing on a short ladder, holding a pin and hammer in his hand, looking as though he was in the midst of hanging a blanket fort, only the blankets were strips of multi-colored silk and other fabrics.

Her mouth opened, but she found no words. All around the room there were strange pieces of furniture, a stack of books, a weapon rack that held Brazen's axe and shield, and one corner was dominated by a complex wooden birdcage, though it held no bird. The blanket that covered his bed was a thick, knitted thing with a mural of wildlife across it, and accompanying it were pillows of spun wool, so thick they looked as if a sheep had laid upon his bed. Not one thing matched another, and the variation in styles and colors almost made Katerin dizzy.

"What do you think? I was going to come find you before dinner, but this pin just won't stay up." He grimaced at the hammer in his hand, and to the various holes in the ceiling.

"I think it's... different." Katerin let out a nervous chuckle. "Do you like it?"

"Imeiza gave me the silks, and Graine gave me some of the furniture. He said he was going to chop it up for firewood!" Brazen's tone told Katerin just how terrifying he thought that was.

"Well, this explains how you've been so busy." Katerin decided against voicing her thoughts that Graine would have been doing the town a favor, as she looked over a dresser with a crack that ran the length of its top, and the mismatched bed frame.

Once Brazen had driven the pin into the wall, he tied the loose end of silk around it, so it billowed down like a cloud across the ceiling. He stepped off the ladder and sat on his bed to catch his breath. "I think it looks nice."

Katerin joined him and glanced again at the menagerie of items around her. "I think you would like Errwood Bay, or Edelocke."

"That's what Fykes said." Brazen fixed her with a serious look. "Does it look strange?"

"Why should that matter?"

"The rest of the manor is simple, its colors don't variate so much and..."

"The rest of the manor is that way so the guests can feel comfortable, and I don't have to change them. This is your space, and you are free to do whatever you wish with it." Even if that includes putting holes in the ceiling, she thought.

"I tried to make those hang strongly enough that I could sleep in them, but it... it didn't work out." He shook, as if shooing away a painful memory. "And Pilard just got pale and walked away when she saw it."

"They don't have to like it, so long as you do." Katerin pulled him into a hug. "Why go to so much trouble, though? You seem a little rushed."

"I... feel a little restless." Brazen's brows furrowed. "When I came back we had things to do, and there wasn't time to think, really. About all this." He gestured at himself with the hammer in his hand. "Now there is."

"Avoidance isn't always the answer, though, I can't say I blame you."

"You don't avoid things."

Katerin let out a harsh laugh. "Oh, yes, I do. Everyone does. I am no expert on coming bac... coming to life, or living it. But I can say that most problems like these will work themselves out with time. Give yourself a chance, and you might figure out what you need to know, without too much of a fight."

"It's not a fight. It's worse than that. I have no idea what I'm supposed to do."

"Start with what you like, then what you dislike, and go from there?"

"Will you help?"

"In any way I can. But you have to make your own opinions now."

"Why is that so hard?" Brazen stepped down the ladder, his face pinched.

"Because nothing is as simple as it seems, and living is more complex than skin and blood." She glanced at his arms and hands and noticed the scrapes and bruises along them. "Speaking of, you should clean those, before they get infected."

Brazen scowled at his arm. "See? I know nothing."

Katerin glared at him, angered that he could insult himself. "What's the correct way to counter a flanking maneuver, when you're outnumbered?"

"Against infantry?" There was a spark in Brazen's eyes.

"Sure."

"You can't just ignore it, so the best bet is to slowly hinge away, so that your back is no longer toward the enemy. But you can't go too fast. Calvary charges are useful here, but so are mages if they use magic that can create distance on the field. It's fairly easy to counter a flank if you catch it early on, as then you can still move..." Suddenly understanding dawned in his eyes, and he scowled. "Knowing that doesn't matter."

Katerin snorted. "It might surprise you. You know, I have a friend in Hearth-Home, and when I met her, she couldn't read. Despite that, and her lack of written knowledge and magic in general, I have met no one better at finding food or water, and tracking, and she can read a person by the first look they give her. Brazen, no one knows everything, and even when they lack knowledge on a specific subject, that does not make them worthless, or small-minded. Learn what you want to know. Not what others believe you should."

His shoulders lost their slump, and he gave her a shy smile that held more emotion than she could have ever imagined him capable of, before.

"I've got to find Fykes for dinner, but if you need a hand with any of this," she gestured around the room. "Just say the word."

The evening air was chilly, but it never lost that brine-like taste. It seemed to Katerin that the colder it got, the more beautiful the ocean became beneath the moon. And in the cold, the cozy torch-light of O'siaris grew to be more inviting. Like the promise of an embrace ever waiting. It distracted her from the churning of worry in her stomach and kept her from the stone in her pocket. Lugaria would alert her when he needed to.

If there was an important matter, she knew she could trust his judgment. For all the name calling and arguments they had over magic, and her design choices, he did not make mistakes when he was working. He was not in Hearth-Home risking his skin for nothing, and he would have answers for her in time. All she had to do was be patient.

She could offer him that much.

She heard Fykes' approach and sighed as he moved to stand beside her. "You have a look that says you're loosing a battle, and I can only wonder of what sort this battle is."

"Patience, and stillness," she answered with a grimace. "Neither are my strong suit."

"That's not true. You simply need a distraction." The look in his eyes was earnest.

"And where might I find that? I can hardly even study. Every time I try, I only end up questioning Mordai and his reasons. As if the reason matters in the slightest."

"It does." Fykes leaned over the railing and pushed his hair back, welcoming the chill.

"I can think of no good reason."

"Just because you two are close does not mean that you can ever understand the inner workings of his mind. Or his plans."

"If we had stayed in O'sia—"

"Don't start that." Fykes took her hand. "We didn't stay in O'siaris. There was a war, and now there is this. It is not your fault, and you could have done nothing to stop either event before they started. You would only have suffered with the rest." He turned to her, and there was no hint of humor in his eyes. "You cannot hold the action and reaction of every soul to your responsibility, Katerin. Working for a cause has sacrifices."

She snorted. "And what cause is it other than my own? I only sought Alkyrindaun and the giants for answers."

"And in doing so, you made powerful allies." He looked at her, as if trying to will her to see his point of view. "And you found some of the answers you sought. That is a victory, if anything ever was."

She sighed, her shoulders slumping. "It feels like I have only caused more problems."

"That is the other edge of the sword that responsibility is. How do you think Graiden feels? He was duped, robbed, and did not even know it, until you recovered his memories. What would have happened had you not come back?"

She let out an angry groan and fought the urge to stomp her foot. "Lugaria is taking his time."

Fykes chuckled. "That's for the best. You asked him to go for a reason."

"I needed answers. I thought he would keep haste in mind."

"He is. But you aren't angry at him, you are angry at the circumstances."

"It's still anger," she said, the lines upon her arms glowing in her frustration.

"Pack a bag, tonight."

"If you suggest we get on a ship..." The distrust in her tone voiced her full opinion.

He held up a hand. "No ship. We'll visit Ky'lei'mei. It's been awhile, and I'm sure Do'vak would love to have us."

Her anger faded at the mention of the treetop village. "He has asked about a dozen times. But shouldn't I stay here?"

"To wait? And pace, and go without sleep? I don't think so. The trees would do us both good. And Brazen has not yet seen it with his... fresh eyes."

Katerin's smile almost brought tears to her eyes, and she laughed. "Have you seen his room? Not one thing matches."

"Who do you think helped him carry all the furniture?" Fykes tone was a playful groan, and he took a drink from his mug. "Come on. If we're to travel tomorrow, you'll need to sleep."

Katerin narrowed her gaze. "This is all a plot to get me to sleep, isn't it?"

Fykes turned away before the grin took over his face. "Plot?" he asked, innocently. "I could never plot against you."