"There it is. Home. Finally.

" Walker looked at Genesis which had finally come in to view. Understandably. He, Su, and Midnight were pretty tired. They had pushed themselves to get back sooner since they were excited to share some of the news from the royal dragon court. But on top of that they had been doing a lot of training while on the way.

By the time they got to the gate, they were looking at the night sky. The sun had set and the night guards had taken their places.

" Well look who it is. The last of the hero party returning already.

" Of all people, it was Garret, Walker's father.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be done for the day?

" Walker wasn't sure why his father was at the outer gate nor why his father was guarding a gate in the first place since he had applied and gotten a higher ranking position within the guards.

"Well, when someone's daughter has a fever you let them stay home. The man's a single father. Who else would she have to rely on? Plus, he owes me now. From what I understand he has made a few friends in the market and he might get me a good deal on those glittering zinnias that the forest elves grow.

" Walker knew that these were one of his mother's favorite flowers and could not fault his father for helping someone out and getting a favor of such reasoning.

"It's good to see you. Tomorrow we can send Remey with some medicine if he needs it.

" Su was glad to see a familiar face at the gate. It made the late return feel a little warmer.

"I swear, all of you look a little taller. Kids. Get home and clean yourselves up. I am sure you will have a lot to tell everyone tomorrow.

" Midnight was tempted to drag Garret home with them since she wanted everyone to be back at the mansion. However, she understood that he had a job to do and it was very important. She didn't spend much time with him but she had always felt protected when he was around. For all the things he said in joking fatherly ways, she could see that his eyes always followed and paid close attention to his family. It was why she had managed to see him catch Lisa when she slipped on the stairs once. He just had the familial dedication to be a good father.

The other guard at the gate started to tease Garrett for being a softie to his family, but that was just two people keeping the time going in the night air while they worked. Their voices eventually faded out and all that the three could hear were the sounds of Genesis sleeping. It was a wonder how such a busy place could calm down so much when the sunset. But it was not totally silent. There were guards that moved about patrolling while some cleaning crews moved about the streets. It was one factor that was not forgotten, a clean city was a healthy city. There was a cleaning force that came together even before half the buildings had foundations.

"I think we are too late. It looks like everyone has already gone to sleep.

" Su was not that upset to have missed dinner with everyone. She knew that the odds of them falling asleep at the table were a little high. It was better to just sleep well and see everyone for breakfast.

A huff from Midnight got their attention.

"Umm, I think everyone is definitely asleep. Especially Remey who is on the floor and Gil who looked like he might have been studying.

" Su didn't really believe what Walker was saying before she went in to the dining room. She found that Gil was asleep at the table with about fifteen books of varying ages around him and note scribble don a bunch of paper.

Then there was Remey who was still in her training gear asleep on the ground. Onyx was asleep by the fire place and had clearly been keeping watch over them. But the next surprise was that Alice was asleep on the armchair that they would sit on for tea. She appeared to have fallen asleep herself while reading one of the books she had borrowed from the library.

"You think we should wake them up?

" Part of Su thought it rude but they were all in odd positions other than Onyx.

"If you get Remey, I will get Alice. Midnight, you are in charge of Gil.

" Walker knew that they all had bedrooms and that Alice could take the spare room. They had plenty of them and it was better for anyone to be in a warm bed than on a couch with their head using a book as a pillow.

Su didn't miss the heavy dents in the carpet from Remey's bracelets and saw how sluggish she was as she tried to push herself up. She barely woke up enough to give Su a hug before nearly crawling her way out of the room. Gil was mumbling about the elves and daggers which was even more confusing while he gave up on picking up his notes. Midnight was the only reason he made it to his bedroom without falling asleep walking.

Walker took a different approach and scooped Alice up in his arms. He might not have been the strongest in the world, but Alice was a petite young woman and he could use the strength he had built through his adventures. The spare room he left her in was one that she had used before so he knew that she would not be scared when she found herself in the morning. Just before he left he swore he saw her smiling for a split second. But he just told himself it was a trick of his tired mind.

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