"Well, let's go crash breakfast," Jenna said impishly, then she pulled her cloak around her. "And get out of this cold!"
They trudged up to the farmhouse, and an entire lifetime of memories swirled up around him. He had been born in that house, and all of this had ultimately started right here. On the Kael farm, that isolated farmstead that held the distinction of being the furthest east of any human settlement in Sulasia. Home to a pensioned Ranger and his Ungardt princess bride, and had been for the last twenty years. This was where he grew up, this was where he learned how to fight and how to hunt. This was where he began, and in a way, this was what he was. The fact that he was one of the most powerful magic-users on Sennadar meant little to him. The fact that he was a Were-cat was only a change in what he had once been, and that was a simple farmboy who happened to live in the best family there was. He had been very happy here, even when he was planning to leave. And it only seemed right that he would come full circle, and he would return here once more after it was over. He wouldn't live in this house, he had his eyes on a small meadow about four hours of human walk into the Frontier, a nice little meadow on top of a small hill that had a stream running along its southern border, at the base of that little rise. That would be his house. But this place, this region, from Aldreth to a day's walk into the Frontier, it would always be his home .
Jenna pushed the door open brashly and stepped inside in front of Tarrin. "We're home!" she shouted, startling her father, who was sitting by the fire with his hands out to it. He had just come in from doing the chores. Eron Kael looked wildly towards the door, and as he ducked under the door to come in behind his sister, he saw his mother, Elke Kael, standing over the stove he'd given Jesmind, cooking eggs and ham steaks in new iron skillets. She took one look at him and dropped her fork, her hands going to her mouth. "Dallstad's axe!" she gasped. "Jenna! Tarrin!"
Tarrin hugged Elke first, if only because she got to her children before their father. She hugged him, then hugged Jenna as Eron hugged Tarrin, then hugged Tarrin again. They caught them up at the door, and the females behind were stopped momentarily. Elke looked under his shoulder during her second hug and saw Jesmind and Jasana, then she laughed in delight. "You brought Jesmind!" she said with a bright smile.
"He brought everyone," Kimmie called lightly. "Can we come in too? It's a bit chilly out here, you know!"
Laughing, Elke Kael made room, and they moved aside so the others could enter. Jasana trotted up and jumped into her grandmother's arms, and Elke hugged her warmly before passing her off to Eron. "Jasana!" he said happily. "How's my little kitten?"
"I'm alright, Granpapa," she said with a bright smile. "We're home!"
Elke hugged Jula, whom she knew was Tarrin's bond-daughter, gave Kimmie a light hug, then offered her hand to Mist. She hadn't met Mist, only knew of her from what Jenna and Tarrin had told her. Triana came in behind them, and she nodded knowingly to her. "Well, who have we here?" Elke asked as she knelt down and looked at the suddenly shy Eron.
"This is your grandson, Eron," Mist told her bluntly. "Say hello, Eron."
"Hello, Gramma," he said bashfully.
"And these are your newest grandchildren, Elke," Kimmie said proudly, holding up her bundle. "This is Tara, and Mist is holding Rina. They're your granddaughters."
Elke turned down the blanket and looked at Tara 's tiny little face, and her eyes simply melted when she saw the infant. "Oh," she said breathlessly. "She's beautiful, Kimmie!"
"They're identical, so when you see one, you've seen them both," Kimmie winked.
"Rubbish!" Elke said. "Let me see my other granddaughter, Mist!"
Mist laughed and presented the baby to her as Eron, with Jasana in his arms, came over and looked at Tara. Tarrin picked up Eron, Triana and Jula gathered in with Jesmind and Jenna, and they all spent a moment marvellling at Kimmie's babies.
"We're home, Grandpa!" Jasana said again happily.
"How long are you going to visit?" Elke asked Jenna.
"No, mother. We are home," he told her. "Everything's been settled, mother. I've come home."
Elke put her hands to her mouth again, then gave him a fierce hug. "I don't know where I'm going to put you all, but we'll find room," she said. "Are your friends staying long?"
"We'll be here for breakfast, mother," he told her. "There's a meadow out in the Frontier that I'm going to claim. About two hours in or so by horse. I'm going to build my house there. Mist and Kimmie have to go back to their own homes. We just wanted stop in and see you before we go."
"And have breakfast!" Jenna said brightly.
"And have breakfast," Tarrin chuckled.
And they did just that. Triana had to Conjure the extra food, but Elke cooked it, with Jenna and Kimmie helping, and they sat down in the common room and had a good, hot, filling meal cooked by his mother's familiar hands. It seemed wonderful to Tarrin to sit down and have a meal with his parents, and know that once he left their home, there was nothing but the trip out to the meadow, and the process of building. Triana would be a big help there, Conjuring the materials they'd need, but they'd be living out of tents for a couple of rides. He thought about leaving Jasana in the house with her grandparents, but she needed to be with them right now. She was a hardy girl, she could handle the cold.
"So, you're building a house," Eron said. "Why not stay here a while? We can round up a house-raising party, son. We can have it up in a few days."
"Thanks, father, but this is something I think we should do ourselves," he said. "I'm not building anything big or fancy. We just need a nice cabin with enough room for me and Jesmind and my daughters."
"And I won't be there too long," Jula told them. "I've been given my adulthood by Fae-da'Nar. I'm going to stay with father a while, and when I'm sure they're settled in, I'll be moving on."
"Well, that's nice to hear, girl," Elke told her. "Does this mean that everything's said and done, son?"
He nodded. "It's all over, mother. The day for the Firestaff came and went, and we're all still here. That's all that was needed. It won't be a problem for five thousand years. I think it's going to take me that long to recover from this," he admitted ruefully.
"Papa died," Jasana blurted. "But the shining lady brought him back again."
"Jasana!" Jesmind snapped.
"You didn't say I couldn't tell them," she said flippantly.
"You what?" Elke gasped.
"Well, it's technically true," he admitted sheepishly. "It's a long story."
"And you're not leaving this house until you tell it!" Elke said flatly, slamming down her tankard of water on the table.
More or less obliged to do so, Tarrin sat down and did just that. He told them about Jasana's abduction, and his wild plan to get her back. The others added in what they knew, and it took them most of the morning to tell it. "It was the only way I could pull it off," he said ruefully as he finished telling them about his confrontation with Val, and his using the Firestaff. "I took a huge chance, but it paid off in the end."
"You're as bad as your father!" Elke accused. Then she laughed. "But you're here now, and that's all that matters," she told him with a loving smile.
"I'm glad you're not mad," he smiled.
"I should be, but I'll forgive you this time," she told him.