Grace took measured steps through the halls of the station, making just enough noise that she wouldn't startle the fifty demi-humans that had claimed sleeping quarters in the main hall. They had taken to cleaning them up with vigor, and with the station systems working, they made short work of the dust.

Still, even though they were more comfortable, they were skittish to random people entering the station. Only two or three of them were willing to explore the farm and kitchen, cooking meals for the others. Most everyone else ate in their rooms as they recovered.

Stopping at one particular room, the skunk knocked a couple of times before opening the door. Lional was waiting on the other side. The elf was putting together a puzzle that the previous room's inhabitant left behind.

"These puzzles are fascinating," the elf muttered before moving a piece.

Grace watched him snap it into place. Lional had taken the leadership role for the others, making her job that much easier. She only had to talk with him each day to see if everyone was doing well.

"How is everyone?" she asked.

"Nearly the same as yesterday." Without looking up, he added, "I heard James and the others left."

"They did." Grace didn't bother hiding the fact that they were gone. "They went after a nest to help reclaim some of the land the wasteland expanded into."

Finally looking up, Lional smiled. "Is that possible?"

Grace didn't want to give him false hope as she didn't have a sure answer. James believed it would, and that would have to be good enough. "It is, but it may take a long time."

"Destroying a nest is sure to take a long time," he muttered.

Chuckling, Grace shook her head. "No. James could destroy the nest whenever he pleases. I don't know how long the land will take to heal after he destroys it."

Going back to his puzzle, he clicked two large sections together. "Is he truly that strong?"

Grace felt pride as she answered. "He is. He's the strongest man I know and I'm going to follow him until the end."

Humming, Lional didn't respond. Instead, he kept working on his puzzle, leaving Grace to leave. Everyday seemed to be the same. The elf would talk for a few minutes before dismissing her with a hum.

Leaving the room, she meandered toward the farm. The plants would be ripe any day now, and would need to be harvested and stored in the fridges and freezer. The kitchen had a flash freezer that would keep the vegetables in good quality for future dishes if the demi-humans used it properly. Thankfully, they were from a time that using such equipment was normal. They were actually teaching her how to use most everything.

Walking through the farm, she found a lone squirrel demi-human checking the plants while humming a tune that Grace was unfamiliar with. The woman picked a few peppers before waving at her.

"Gathering for dinner?" Grace asked.

"Yes," the woman answered. Her tail flickered a couple of times before settling. "I find myself craving vegetables more than meat."

"I have those moments," Grace admitted. "Although, I technically don't need to eat anymore, or at least not that often."

"Soul cultivation?"

"Yes. James helped me gain power that I always desired. Look at me now." Grace gestured to her surroundings. "I went from hiding in a city to exploring the wastelands without fear. How many people do you think can say that?"

"I wouldn't know…"

Smiling weakly, Grace said, "there's not many, I'll tell you that much."

Moving to another patch of vegetables, the squirrel checked carrots and onions. "Do you have any stories about the new world?"

A real smile fell into place as Grace nodded. Moving to the woman's side, she held out her hand. "I'm sure you know me, but the name is Grace."

"Emerald," the squirrel said before taking the offered hand.

"Let's start with how I met James. He was terrifying at first…"

Telling the story reminded Grace how much James meant to her and helped Emerald relax. They laughed together at certain parts and continued to different tales of Running River and her life growing up in the city. It was an easy way to pass a few hours.

***

James stared out over the city, his eyes flitting from one building to the next. Even though it had been a few hours of fighting, the others hadn't ventured more than a block away from him. His frown slowly grew as he realized they weren't trying to clear the place as quickly as they could.

"Zenaria?" he asked.

Stepping up to his side, she rested her tails against his back. "Yes, James?"

"Why is no one venturing further into the city?"

Her soul felt nervous for a moment before she answered, "they are wary of the nest and what it will do if they venture further. As they should be."

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James agreed with that and felt tension leave his body. His shoulders drooped slightly as he let out a heavy breath. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For reminding me that the others are more capable than I think sometimes."

Smiling, she took his hand. "You're welcome, James, but we should be calling everyone back soon. We have tested the waters and we should meet up and talk about what we've learned."

James glanced at their joined hands and felt warmth in his chest. "Sounds good." Spreading out his soul, he tapped on each person and slightly pulled them toward him. Everyone acknowledged his call and left the buildings they were in. "We should go back down to the street."

Zenaria pulled on his hand, guiding him down the stairs and out of the building. They were both eager to hear what everyone had learned, and he needed a break from chess. No number of memories helped him beat the kitsune.

Amber was of course the first one to reach them, her feline legs changing back to their human form as she walked over. Retracting her claws, she smiled and jumped into his arms, pushing Zenaria away. "Did you miss me?"

Picking her up, he held her comfortably against his chest. "Of course! But I'll admit that Zenaria is pretty good company. Maybe even better than you." With a wink, he made sure they both knew he was joking.

Scoffing, Amber bit his shoulder, making him wince. "You can't joke like that!"

Giggling, Zenaria wrapped her tails around him again. "That's sweet of you, James, but I think I'll teach you a new game tomorrow."

Frowning, he let Amber down. "You're staying with me tomorrow as well?"

"Yup!"

He wanted to know why they were keeping someone with him. They must have a good reason. It's not like Amber and Luna to baby me like this.

"James?" Amber asked softly.

Blinking a few times, he looked around and found the others all waiting on him. When they showed up was a mystery, but when he smiled, Luna walked over and wrapped her arms around him.

"It's been a good day," she said softly. "Let's go back and we can all talk about what we learned."

Hugging her back, he nodded. "We can all talk about how Zenaria got naked for me."

"James!" Zenaria growled.

Amber tutted. "We leave you alone with him for a few hours and you already seduce him. Kitsune's really are trouble."

Chuckling, James took Luna's hand and started leading her back toward the little hamlet a few miles away. They kept a slower pace, simply savoring the afternoon sun.

How did everyone's day go? What kind of monsters did they end up fighting?

"We're here!" Luna chirped.

Looking around, James frowned when he found the familiar house and garage in sight. Not wanting the others to worry, he rubbed his hands together. "I'll start the firepit and we can get some meat cooking!"

"And fruit!" Jamie added. "We need a well rounded diet!"

"Do vegetables come into play?" Mender asked.

Blanching, Jamie shook her head.

They all shared a laugh before breaking apart. James set out a bath for each of them having drained the water earlier in the day and scrubbed them out. Zenaria had helped, and now it was time to relax for a few hours before bed.

"You need a bath as well," Luna reminded him. Not leaving his side, she set up the firepit with wood from her ring. "Get into that water, mister!"

Rolling his eyes at her caretaking, he walked over to his bath and started the water. Zenaria was by his side, winking at him while getting undressed and setting a brush down on the edge of her tub.

"I'm not brushing you again," he stated.

Pouting, she sent him teary eyes and quivering lip, making him regret his words. Thankfully, Amber cleared her throat and smacked the kitsune on the butt before chastising her.

"Take your bath, James," Amber said with a sigh. "I'll handle the kitsune for you."

Chuckling, he slipped into his bath and savored the hot water. With the afternoon sun shining down on him, he felt his eyes grow heavy and the conversations around him grew distant. It was only seconds later that he slipped into the dream realm.

***

Luna rested her hand on James's forehead, feel his soul relax deeply. Sighing, she met everyone's eye, one by one. "He's fine for now."

Amber slipped into her bath. "That's good, but we need to move him to his room. Should we wash him first?"

"I'll handle it." Luna pulled out a washcloth and dipped it into the water. Starting with his arm and hand, she hummed while wiping him down.

"He had an episode today," Zenaria said. "We were playing chess and he disappeared for almost an hour."

"There's nothing we can do about that," Mender stated. "I can't do anymore than what I've already done. He'll need to come out of it on his own."

"So you've said," Jamie grumbled.

Linda sighed as she slipped into her hot bath. "He's been very exhausted lately. Does that mean he's healing?"

"I believe so." Mender shrugged. "I'm not an expert on the mind. We normally don't touch it because it can lead to complications."

Luna moved to his shoulders and said, "it doesn't matter now. It's already done, and now we wait. We need to talk about what we learned today."

"I found lizardmen," Amber announced. "They were low level trash that even a level one could kill, even if they were numerous."

Luna pointed to Linda. "What about you."

"Slimes." Shuddering, Linda added, "they tried to melt me…"

Chuckling, Luna remembered James and the slimes he faced after they met. They dropped delicious food. "Did they become hard orbs after you defeated them?"

"Yup." Pulling one from her ring, Linda held it up. "I haven't tried it yet, but I have hundreds of these things."

Beaming, Luna wanted to greedily take it, but barely controlled herself. "We should try them later. James brought me a few of them once and they were really good." Moving on, she pointed out Jamie.

"Nothing unusual," Jamie announced. "Some simple abominations with spindly arms and legs. The typical monster we normally fight."

"Fish," Mender announced. "Or fish hybrids I guess."

Chuckling, Luna said, "makes sense. The city we settled in had those monsters. It appears they came from this nest."

"What did you have?" Amber asked.

Luna moved to James's other arm. "I had plague wolves. Had to use my claws more than teeth today. I prefer just to Siphon them, but I did level a few resistances."

"We'll tell James in the morning if he remembers to ask," Amber said. Getting out of the water, she used a towel to wipe herself down before getting dressed. "I'll stoke the fire. We don't need to eat a hot meal, even though James wanted us to. We should conserve our wood."

"I'll pass out the slime orbs," Linda said before getting up as well.

Luna hummed an agreement before continuing with James. Washing his hair was a chore, but she managed and rinsed him well. It wasn't until she was done and she drained the tub that she realized that she had to dry him off. Thankfully, Zenaria was waiting with a towel.

"I'll pick him up," Luna volunteered.

Zenaria nodded and readied her towel. Once they started, it only took moments to dry him off.

"Do you need help getting him into bed?" Zenaria asked softly.

Cradling him against her chest, Luna shook her head. "I'll be fine. I'll be back down in a few minutes."

Carrying her husband away, she took him to his bed and happily slid him under the blankets and into the middle of the bed. She wanted to climb in next to him, but knew she had the others to talk with still. She was effectively in charge while he was sleeping.

Kissing his forehead, she wished him a goodnight before tucking the blanket up to his chin. Turning, she took a deep breath before letting it out slowly. She promised herself that she would be back to cuddle with him shortly.

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