The journey home began in late autumn, when the leaves had mostly fallen and the first hints of winter touched the morning air. They did not take the direct route. That would have brought them back to Moonvalley in perhaps three weeks. Instead, they chose the wandering path, following curiosity and need as they had learned to do.
"We are different from when we left," Liora observed one evening as they made camp in a forest that was gradually becoming familiar territory. "I can feel it."
"How so?" Aria asked, though she felt it too.
"We move differently. Make decisions differently. I watch you with patients now and you are so certain. Not arrogant, just confident in a way you were not before. And Kaelan barely looks at maps anymore because he has internalized the rhythms of travel."
"You are different too," Kaelan said. "You have stopped trying to prove you are useful. You just are useful, and you know it."
