“Take care of yourself, Father.”
“I will, my boy, I will. Just take care of yourself and your wife. Know that your mother would be proud of you.”
Gregory swallowed the lump that suddenly appeared in his throat at those words. “Thank you.”
“And I’m sorry for what I did... for not being the father that I should’ve been.”
“No, it’s fine. I understand now.”
Carmichael looked over to where Hao was hugging Yukiko. “Yeah, I guess you do, but that doesn’t excuse my behavior.”
Stepping back, both of them wiped the tears from their cheeks.
Yukiko went to stand by Gregory and gave them a soft smile. “Might I have a hug, before you go, Father?”
Carmichael gave her a smile back. “Gladly.”
~*~*~
The drive up to the academy was quiet, each of them thinking of their parents and about how long it would be until they saw them again.
“I’m glad my gift was acceptable,” Yukiko said after a few minutes.
Gregory covered her hand with his. “More than acceptable. Thank you, Yuki. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to express just how much it meant to me.”
“And for me, as well,” Jenn added. “Seeing them and hearing my father’s praise...” Her lips curled into a soft smile. “I hadn’t realized how much I wanted to hear it.”
“I just wanted to do what I could for you both,” Yukiko replied. “I honestly didn’t know if your parents would accept the offer, Jenn. I was just as shocked as you that they were both there, as Mother didn’t send word ahead of them.”
“It was a happy surprise,” Jenn said.
“It was,” Gregory agreed.
The carriage slowed, and they looked out the windows to see the walls of the academy. They could hear the driver speaking to the guards on the gate. A minute later, one of the guards was knocking on the carriage door.
“Can we help you, sir?” Yukiko asked, her medallion out.
“I have to verify that you are all magi,” the guard said. Gregory and Jenn fished their medallions out for him, and the guard nodded. “Thank you.” Stepping away, he went to speak to the magi on duty.
“Odd,” Gregory said. “Why the check?”
“The tournament is over,” Yukiko said. “Only magi are supposed to be inside the walls again.”
“Right. I forgot.”
The gates opened, and the carriage rolled forward. When the carriage came to a stop again, Lin opened the door for them. “I have delivered you back to the academy. I hope you all stay safe.”
“We will, Lin,” Yukiko said, climbing out first.
“We’ll watch each other’s backs,” Jenn said as she hopped out.
“It’s what friends do,” Gregory added.
Lin bowed his head to them. “May Aether watch over you.”
“I’m sure he is,” Yukiko replied brightly. “Take care of my parents.”
“With my life,” Lin said.
They watched as the carriage started back to the gates, then turned and headed for the clan hall. The evening air was warm and comfortable. A few cicadas were already present, the still air carrying their distinct vibrations.
“What do you think it’ll be like?” Jenn asked as they walked.
“Training outside of the city?” Yukiko asked, getting a nod. “Besides the little we’ve been told of learning a craft, I’m not sure. A month isn’t a lot of time to learn any craft, but it’ll give us an appreciation for what the crafters have to do.”
“I think it’s more about that, than anything else,” Gregory said. “It’s to remind us of how hard crafters have to work and to keep us grounded.”
“All of us come from working families, so it won’t be as jarring to us like it would be to others,” Jenn said.
Yukiko nodded. “It won’t, but it’ll still be different for me. I wonder how much they’ll have us doing with them?”
“You mean hands-on learning? I hope for some, at least,” Gregory said. “I want to experience as much as I can.”
“Same with me,” Jenn agreed. “I know a good amount about smithing, but I didn’t get to do a lot myself. I hope the smith will let me work.”
“Maybe Dia will have information for us when we reach the hall?” Gregory suggested.
“I hope so. We need to ask about the ring, too,” Yukiko reminded them.
~*~*~
Dia was smoking on the porch when they got back to the clan hall. “Novices? I didn’t expect you to return so soon.”
“We wanted to pack for tomorrow,” Yukiko explained. “We also have a question, Dia. We wanted to give a ring to our friends, but we weren’t sure if it would be allowed.”
Dia looked thoughtful. “The clan cannot give gifts until we approach the novices. I’m sure it would be frowned upon if it happened openly... but if one were to lose an item and it was found and used by another…” She shrugged and took another inhale on her pipe.
“When do we leave tomorrow, Dia?” Gregory asked.
“We are slated to leave after your morning training,” Dia smiled.
The three friends exchanged glances and bowed to her.
“We’ll pack tonight and be ready after training,” Yukiko said.
“Leave your bags outside your doors,” Dia told them. “They will be put onto the carriage while you are out. Pack for a month away, and bring anything you want to entertain yourself with during your free time.”
“We were wondering about that, Dia,” Jenn was quick to say. “What will our schedule look like?”
“It depends on the crafters you are with, but mostly, you will work from sunrise until near dark. The rest of the time is yours to do with as you see fit.”
“Only a few hours a night, then,” Jenn said.
“Which we’ll fill with our training,” Yukiko said. “We should get
