%20pngg.png)
(welp I need to head to bed, turns out T.T But have this anyway, I'll see you tomorrow ^^)
Mike nodded. "He seemed pretty attached to that water beast we rescued, and that kid Snatch, so I think he'll still be close by." At that point there was a sound from the trail up ahead and Mike broke off, backing into the shelter of the trees. "Hold up. Someone's coming, from the direction of the lake. Let's see who it is."
(okay, night see you soon)
Tanrial stood up straighter. Hopefully it was just Brandon or some other traveler. If it was the bandits then well, the trio weren't really in the right position to fight back, not when Bernon and her were starting to struggle with the hike back.
After a minute, a group of figures came into view. The moment he saw them, Mike relaxed considerably. "Nevermind, it's just some fishermen from the village. I recognize a couple of them." He stepped back out onto the path, waving to get their attention.
When the fishermen spotted him they halted suspiciously, not sure if this was a trap. But then one of them looked a little closer and grinned, stepping forward. "Hey…..Mike? Is that you? Where have you been?"
Mike gestured for Tanrial and Bernon to join him. "It' a long story. Do you mind guiding us back to the village? We could all really use some rest."
"Of course," the man said quickly. "It's good to see you three, we were all worried."
(sighs The time has come… I have to go back to hhhheckin school tomorrow and I'm sad because I won't be as active :(((( )
Tanrial relaxed slightly, heading out onto the path and next to Mike, "I don't think I've ever been this relived to see someone as I am now."
(aw, rip :( I'll be with you in spirit. And lately I've been getting up earlier, so that might give us a tiny bit more time to hang out)
The group gathered around the three of them happily. "You all look like you've been through a lot," the lead fisherman said. "But don't worry, you're safe now. The village is just around the corner. Did you make it to the market, then?"
"Yeah," Bernon said. "We at least got there in one piece. It was the trip back that gave us so much trouble. Did you guys notice that huge storm a few days ago?"
"Oh, did we! It severely damaged some of our boathouses. And the trail up the mountain was completely washed away—we've been so busy doing repairs that we couldn't come looking for you until today. Sorry about that."
(Yeah hopefully, I'll try to be on as often as I can, though)
"Don't worry about it, it was probably good you didn't, there was too much going down and we wouldn't want any of you guys getting hurt." Tanrial sighed, "Can we get going? I seriously need a nap."
(sounds like a plan)
"Of course." The fishermen turned and led them down the trail towards the lake, making sure that Tanrial and the others could keep up. Soon they rounded a corner and the trees fell away, revealing the welcoming sight of the lakeside tavern with all its lights on and the door wide open.
Bernon smiled and picked up the pace when he saw it. "Ahhh, feels like coming home. There's still an empty room or two for us, I hope?"
"Yup, we left them open for you," the fisherman reassured them. "By all means, go right upstairs and sleep if you want to."
"Thank you so much," Tanrial sighed in relief, "I'm going to do exactly that, sleep sounds very appealing." She turned to Mike, "Don't spend too long talking to Polla or conjuring up plans, you also need rest."
Mike gave her a wave. "I know. I'll be done soon, don't worry."
"You'd better be," Bernon said, already heading for the stairs. "C'mon Tanrial, let's let the silly grown-ups talk if they want. I'm so ready to sleep in a real bed again."
Tanrial snorted, following closely behind Bernon, "Me too. Don't get me wrong, the floor can make a great bed at times, but there's only so much my back can take."
"Saaame." Bernon reached the door to his room and paused, glancing warmly at Tanrial. "We finally made it back," he said more quietly. "I'm so glad everyone's okay. I'll see you in the morning, Tanrial."
Tanrial smiled softly back, giving Bernon a small nod, "See you in the morning Bernon, sleep well." She said before disappearing into her room.
The night passed in blissful peace. Tanrial's room was exactly as it had been—cozy, warm, and quiet except for the sound of the waves lapping against the foundations of the tavern. At a certain point, there were muffled footsteps on the stairs as Mike went up to bed, but otherwise, nothing disturbed the silence.
Eventually the sun rose over the small village, flooding light into the trio's rooms and successfully waking Tanrial up, sadly. She was out of bed shortly after and headed downstairs to see if anyone else was awake.
It seemed that Mike and Bernon were still asleep, but most of the villagers were up and about by now. The bartender and his daughter both spotted Tanrial as she came downstairs and waved, smiling. "Tanrial," the bartender called. "You're looking well. Are you hungry? Come have something to eat."
(I gtg to bed now ironically, seeya!)
(lol, seeya soon :)) )
Tanrial smiled back, heading over to the two of them, "Morning guys, how you doin'?" She sighed, "Yeah I'm pretty hungry, haven't had a good meal for a few days."
"Mike told us everything that happened," Rebka said earnestly, pouring Tanrial some tea and glancing to make sure that her father was in the kitchen getting food. "Pa made me go to bed, but I stayed awake and listened anyway. Those bandits sounded really horrible!"
Tanrial shrugged, thanking the small girl for the tea before taking a sip, “Not all of them were that bad. The chief, yes, he sucked, but there were a couple of them that weren’t horrible.”
Rebka looked like she had trouble believing this, but didn't get a change to reply before the bartender returned with a hot plate of food. "How are you feeling today, miss?" he rumbled. "Anything else I can get you?"
She smiled at him, "I'm feeling better, thank you. Still kinda tired but eh, what else can you do," She shrugged, "Thanks for the food, and I think I'm good for now. Just make sure you're ready for when Mike and Bernon come down… whenever that is."
The bartender nodded. "Hm, you're right. Those two will probably clean out our pantry by midmorning. Rebka, go start some more acorn biscuits, will you?"
Once his daughter was gone, the bartender started polishing the counter. "You know, when that fellow Rick heard you hadn't come back before the storm, he was pretty worried. He went out looking for you the second things calmed down. In fact, he only just came back yesterday, a little before you did. He went straight around the lake to see his water beast friend, so I don't think anybody's told him yet that you're all right. Bet he'll be happy to see you three."
Tanrial hummed her agreement around a mouthful of food, swallowing before she replied, “I think we’re all happy to see him again. We thought he might’ve left while we were gone. Good to know he’s still here.”
"Yep, I doubt he's leaving anytime soon." The bartender glanced up at the stairs and smiled as someone came down. "Good morning, Bernon."
"Morning," Bernon yawned, walking over and taking a seat nearby. "Sleep well, Tanrial?"
Tanrial nodded, smiling at Bernon, “Better then I have in days, how about you? Is Mike awake yet?” She asked, turning back to her food a moment later.
(I'm off to bed, but here)
"I slept great," Bernon replied cheerfully, nodding gratefully to Rebka as she brought him some food of his own. "Mike's still completely zonked, he must have stayed up pretty late. I say we let him sleep in, he probably needed it just as much as us. Any plans for the morning so far?"
Tanrial rolled her eyes, "Of course he did. We;re gonna have to start staying awake so we can force him to go to bed earlier," She sighed, "And not currently. Rick is back though, I say we go see him and Snatch at some point."
(Goodnight)
"Oh, that's a good idea." He glanced at Rebka and her father. "How have they been doing lately? Any word from them or the water beast?"
"Snatch came to visit the other day," Rebka piped up. "Apparently Rick is her adopted father now. She says everyone's very happy."
"Aw, that's great! Yeah, we definitely need to visit them today."
"Visit who?" Mike asked, having just come downstairs looking as well-rested as ever. "Good morning, guys."
“Morning Mike,” Tanrial gave him a small wave, “We were gonna go visit Rick and Snatch and the water beast. Thought it was best since we haven’t seen them for a while.”
"Ah. Sounds good." Mike accepted the food and drink the bartender offered him and started to eat. "I think this morning we should spend our time resting and catching up with everyone, and then after lunch we can decide if we want to stay another night or start heading west. Now that we have all our supplies, there's not much point in hanging around, but on the other hand we might not be up for another trek quite so soon."
Tanrial shrugged a shoulder, finishing off her meal and then turning to face the two of them, tea in hand, "Well, I say we spend the day with Snatch and Rick and the water beast, catch up with the three of them and set off tomorrow after a day of rest."