Coming through a clearing that was familiar to the mind of Stephen, reminded of the times he spent with grandfather after he took him to their family home.
Together he shared tales of their family history, being the only time Stephen heard words of pride shared about the less peaceful parts of his history.
"I know your father wouldn't like to see you here, Steph but it is important that you know about your lineage, even the parts he tries to shield you from."
The old man moved with surprising grace around the vast tight passages of the study.
The space was musty and dusty, with more scrolls and books than places to make your way through, and yet, the history of several generations filled those halls, settling them with the presence of time.
The halls of the study were quiet, and lit with the light streaming from the auburn-colored mosaic in the window.
"Each of us wandered these halls before, I, your father, even my own. It heartens me to see you do the same, though it is unfortunate that I would bring you here with this place in such disrepair."
The old man, lifted a wilted parchment, with whatever secrets were once etched into its paper now lost to history.
"Once our legacy was that of blood and war, but our ancestors worked hard to free us from that curse. However, that does not mean we are no longer possessed of our talents."
He sat on a leather-bound ottoman and unfurled the scroll, while calling Stephen near.
In his child-like form, he pushed past the stacks of books and manuscripts, some towering a head above him, before reaching and holding onto his grandfather's leg.
His tiny hands gripping tight against the seam, a simple gesture met with the elderly man lifting him up and passing him on his lap.
"Someday, Steph, you will bring your own children here. After you understand what all of this means, why your father resent it? One day you'll be the bearer of our family's secrets." His voice was heavy but unshaking.
"You finally stopped!" Torren's shaken cries finally reached Stephen, bringing him back to the Bladed Woods
With a graceful leap, the Ryokin came to a stop beside Stephen's own, while the force of the sudden landing threw him to the ground, right into front of the ruins.
"I changed my mind…the princess can keep her beasts." Struggling to his feet, Torren came to find him standing in front of a collapsed building, taken over by the reaches of nature and time, the only semblance of the stonework's original shape was the archway that stood sentinel above him.
"Are we in the right place, because it doesn't look familiar to the place we once visited." Torren's curiosity pulled him out of the sea of memories.
"That was the family shop, this is…was the family home" Stepping away from the structure and walking towards the Ryokins, with a handful of feed, he tends to them. Both the beasts circled him with a playful joy about them.
"Wow, they really like you don't they?"
"I guess."
Not a response born of dismissive wind about him but an honest attempt to address the question.
Much like the Ryokin Race during the Carnival, the moment grabbed those reins, it felt like one of a hundred times he had ridden the beast, even though it was his first time.
"Well I hope we're not camping, not that your home isn't lively" Torren teased, bringing out a muffled chuckle from Stephen to his surprise.
"Sujing, let's get going. If we don't head home before dinner, we'll be something else's food."
He mused after hopping onto his mount and taking off. Leaving an odd smirk on Torren's face, as with a handful of feed, to satisfy his companion, they set off.
"Keep up Sujing." shouted Stephen.
Finally breaking through the tree line at the edge of the Bladed Woods, they are once again brought to the foot of the Bloodsong Mountains, though from a different side as during their flight, Torren saw a wooded and lush landscape greeting him, not the snowy crags that ribbed and ridged the mountain range.
Here before all eyes, was the twisted and knotted trunk of a tree so large it almost imposed its shadow upon the peak of one of the mountains.
"Is that a…" Torren muttered.
"Come on, let's settle the mounts down there."
Stealing his companions attention away from the canopy of auburn leaves streaming the glow of an amber sunset on the area.
Within the Sword Oak Forest, the space opened up to someplace familiar.
"We'll stop right here to grab the keys. Wait here."
Stephen left his reins with Torren before he ran into the Open Table, with a few minutes passing before curiosity had the better of Torren, bringing him into the previously closed restaurant.
Expecting to run into Stephen in the foyer, what he found was him with a note in hand.
Running his hand through hair in exasperation, before he put it down on the countertop in front of the reception.
Saying nothing before he started opening the curtains, and then the windows, allowing the golden light of the morning to stream in, dusting away the shadows that creeped in during the absence of the last opening.
Heading into the back of the seating area, he returned wearing a deep blue apron, bearing 'Open Table' in red script across his torso.
Stephen moved with a rehearsed annoyance, ignoring Torren's surprise, instead he danced between flipping chairs and wiping tables clean.
With his Water Magic, the decorative plants had their thirst quenched. Once he worked through the Western Dining Room, he moved to the Eastern one.
The design of the Open Table resembled a flat rounded plate, with three quarters of the circle being divided into the Western, Eastern and Northern Dining Rooms, while the Southern portion of the restaurant held the kitchen and facilities.
After filling a bucket of water and wetting his rag, Stephen moved past Torren to the Eastern Dining Room, but Torren grabbed the bucket from his grasp
"Looks like rest is only for the wicked. Relax, I'll handle this right? As long as there's no need for me to be in the kitchen, I can handle this" Torren teased, after skillfully untying his apron with a single fluid motion.
"I'm sure you've a hundred other things to worry about before we can open this place." Tying the apron around himself before he went to the adjacent dining room.
'You really are some kind of idiot, Sujing.' Stephen wondered as he watched him go off, following the exact steps he had followed in setting the dining room.
An hour later and both boys were catching their breath near the foyer, Torren pulling off his headband and letting his hair fall down, while Stephen moved a glass of water over to him. Over their shared drink, Stephen finally felt the need to ask:
"So, how long do you plan on staying?"
"I sent a message to your mom, and asked her if she has a place for me."
"And instead of politely refusing, you made the choice to accept with open arms."
"Well if I can recall your parents said I should make myself at home"
"You really are shameless aren't you, Sujing?"
His Fire Magic flared at the comment, when the back of the restaurant rang with the sound of pots and pans splaying about.
"Crap, they're in the garbage again. Wait here, Sujing."
Stephen ran for the kitchen, before bursting out of the backroom, grabbing the mop on the way out.
"Oh, it seems like the place is already open. Say weren't the bosses out of town."
Heavy footsteps followed a conversation between a thin tired voice and one that sounded aged and coarse. The sounds got close to the door when Torren heard them pass through the threshold
"Yeah..."
The thin voice answered.
"So whose the kid."
A large group entered the restaurant catching sight of Torren when another screech outside had Stephen rushing back in.
"Watch out for the Tigras, if they get into the garbage, they'll bite off your fingers but I'm pretty sure they were scared off to the other side by the–oh..."
With the mop end ragged and a dented pan on his head, he came to stop after running into the group at the door
"Stephie, is that you? We thought you were at school?"
The group wondered in unison after Stephen found them circling about a crouching Torren. With a simple gesture, he called to his friend, having him rush behind him in confusion.
"Mom and dad are out of town, and we got some time off, it only made sense to come back home and help out."
Stephen answered, pulling the pan off his head and handing it off to Torren.
"All right, kiddo, but are you going to stand there and act like a stranger?"
While he turned to run away from their embrace, Torren made his escape impossible since he was still cowering behind him.
Piling on their kindness and curiosity, the early morning's opening was paused for a time of tea and coffee, and a lot of questions from Torren and Stephen's first guests at the Open Table.
Lisa, was the most affectionate, never far from Stephen, she took any chance she could to dote on him, her curiosity was around how much he matured, anytime she tried to pursue more hot-blooded interests, Arlow was quick to remind her.
"Don't mind her. Her blood runs hot but she's always well meaning."
Arlow reassured Torren.
"She's honestly wasting her interest on this guy."
Torren teased, earning a laugh from the group, only to go for a sip of his drink and with a sleight movement of the hand, Stephen left him a surprise, a delicious serving of hot water.
"That was just petty. You're not going to win over the princess like that?"
Said Torren under his breath as he went to fill his cup once again.
"What was that?" Stephen shot him a harsh glare.
"Y-you're supposed to be nice to your guests." Torren cried, before silently walking outside and bringing in the supplies for the day.
When the group had arrived at the restaurant, it seemed like there was an argument between Arlow and Lisa, leading to their truck crashing into the garbage shed in the back.
The commotion that Stephen found was the opportunistic Tigris clawing at the loose gate of the garbage shed. After moving the truck out of the way, and beating the beasts back, he mended the gate and returned to the kitchen to find the culprits.
Thankfully, the produce was undamaged, allowing them to unload them into the restaurant before they sat down to catch up with Torren.
"So the two of you are in the same class. It is quite surprising."
June commented, giving Stephen a look over before her gaze moved over to Torren, watching as he accidently spilled the boiling water over his hand, while trying to silence his whimpers.
"He's a lot like Yuzen."
She said, with a gentle smile. While lifting his blonde locks to match the bangs on Torren, earning a gasp from the rest of the group from how uncanny the visage they shared was.
"You think so?"
Stephen said dismissively. Pulling his hair into a ponytail as he did.
"I see it too."
Lisa freed herself from Arlow's grasp.
"I don't know anyone who would put up with your constant scowl, and yet, here you are making jokes and actually giving someone else the time of day. I'd go as far as to call him your friend, kid. I'm sure your parents must be excited to meet him."
Arlow shared, acting as the voice of reason among the chaotic group.
"I owe him a great deal. Torren, for all his many many flaws, is completely earnest, reliable and loyal. In some ways, he's done a lot to follow the old family's ways."
Stephen lamented, his gaze fallen onto swirling steam coming from his cup.
"Does he know that?"
The group wondered, taking in by his sudden change in personality after saying such words.
"...Come on, at this rate, we're going to open up during the lunch rush."
Standing up and clearing the table, leaving the group surprised and yet relieved.
Torren, on the other hand, was still sulking in the kitchen, cleaning out every space he could, before taking the garbage outside, letting out panicked shrieks with the sound of aggressive thrashing mixed in.
While cleaning up after the group, Torren came across the note left by his parents:
Dear Stephie,
If you are reading this, it means that we've just missed each other.
No matter, you can find the key to the Old House where we usually leave it.
But if you happen to arrive before even another, could you open the place up. Thank you, dear.
Oh and P.S. Try to be nice to your little friend while they stay with us, it's not often that
You bring a guest home. Your grandparents will already know to expect you but please don't start;e the,
We'll be back in a week, Love you.
- Your Parents.
While Arlow and his companions were working late into the night shift, Lisa and June sent the boys home, not wanting them to travel about the Sword Oak Forest in the dead of night.
After finishing the last of their chores, Stephen dragged a tired Torren back to their mounts before they took off.
Torren only came a few minutes after the Ryokin were already in the air, asking Stephen where they were headed. His answer came in the form of a gesture, with him pointing in the direction of the enormous tree stump they passed earlier.
From above the treetops, you could see the impressive network of roots that jutted out in all directions, in some places forming hills and in others carving out streams and crevasses throughout the foot.
Ten minutes from the tree stump and the ruins, they finally found a lit path. Cobblestone lined the walkway while the lamp posts lit a silver green hue along it.
It was a path leading deeper into the forest before it cut through a tunnel bored into a cliffside.
Seeing its shape from above, Stephen clicked his tongue, alerting both Ryokin who moved without misstep, descending through the night with speed until they touched down on the cobblestone path