Welcome to Act VIII. The family is reunited, and Toby has perhaps taken the next step in his personal evolution.

Oh, and there's puppies. Lots of puppies!

Winter had been slow to arrive this year, for some reason. It was still cold, to be sure, and the snow had finally started to fall, but there wasn't nearly as much of it as there usually was by Christmas.

Across the great clearing, you could just dimly see the big hill now covered in white, and the interlaced lines of the new house's infrastructure delicate in the moonlight. The top of the hill and all the lattice of beams were free of snow, thanks to a continuously generated forcefield that kept the work area clear. Because of this, work on the new house did not have to be utterly abandoned due to the winter - though it was certainly slowed down due to the temperature.

The cabin itself was wreathed both in snow and lights both inside and out. Strings of multicoloured lights outlined the porch and the door and windows, and within each window itself sat a three-bulb candle, glowing with a comforting orange hue. On the door itself hung a large wreath, bristling with bulbs that changed colour every second.

Inside, red and green garlands hung all round the edges of the cabin's main room, and more coloured light strings filled the room with a twinkling rainbow aura - all the more noticeable with the main lights off. In the near corner, not too far from the kitchen door, a seven-foot tree was decked out with golden and silver tinsel, white and blue lights, and all manner of ornaments - from coloured bulbs, to figurines, to abstract little things clearly made by little hands with adult help.

Tabitha sat on the couch, arms carefully cradling her gently swelling tummy, with Maurin and Reinette curled against either side of her, and little Selene laying with her head on Mama's lap. Their faces glowed warmly in the flickering firelight from the hearth, eyes half asleep in the cozy evening dim.

Duchess, the proud new mama, lay curled nearby in one corner of the hearth area, with her pups either fast asleep against her, or nosing their momma eagerly for their dinner, while two of them whined and nosed at each other for the comfy spot next to their sleeping brethren. Duke, the proud papa, was sitting nearby, tail swishing - only occasionally stretching a paw out to keep one of the more adventurous puppies from trying to wander off. Toby had put up a little 'kiddie fence' in that corner, so that the pups could have plenty of room to nose around safely, without getting too far into the rest of the cabin.

Toby himself sat at the baby grand piano in the other corner of the hearth area, bathed in the warm orange glow of the windows candles nearby. Next to him was his old keyboard on its stand, which was plugged in and humming quietly. After dinner (and dessert!) had been finished, the family had all curled up comfortably on the couch, to listen to Daddy play some holiday music for them. Some songs had been on the piano, while a few required the more sonorous tones of the organ (hence the keyboard). As always, the very last song that he played before everyone was bundled off to bed was "Joy to the World", with full organ accompaniment; a song that Tabitha had introduced him to years before.

In fact, the bulk of Toby's understanding of the holiday of Christmas came from Tabitha. He'd picked up a few things here and there growing up and moreso when he'd returned to Rhydin as an adult, but it was Tabitha - herself a native of twenty-first-century Earth after all - who had really brought the fullness of Christmas to the little cabin.

As he finished up the last verse of Joy to the World, (and the girls sang along with the last few lines), Maurin wriggled herself free of Tabitha's left arm, and pattered over to her father, tugging insistently on his sleeve. With an understanding smile, Toby got up and let the five-year old guide him over to the window, and the little table sitting next to it.

On top was a small box with a little directional cantenna atop it. Assembled by Toby, nevertheless it had the slow and messy scrawl of a child on its side, reading only "Reindeer Beecan". Toby plugged it into the wall outlet, and watched as Maurin pushed the big red button on top. The whole assembly began to pulsate with red and green LEDs, while the cantenna swiveled slowly on top to point up at the sky beyond the window.

Maurin looked satisfied with herself. "Now Santa can find us." She was insistent, every year, that Santa Claus would have trouble navigating the endless forestland north by the mountains, and more trouble still finding the little cabin in that clearing. So with her father 'helping', little Maurin had put together a special beacon to guide the jolly old elf and all those reindeer to the cabin.

"An' no barking at Santa," Maurin reminded the dogs sternly as she gave her father a hug and wandered back over to her mother and sisters, all of whom were rising sleepily from the couch. Duke wagged his tail at her, while Duchess was too preoccupied giving one of the little puppies a slow and patient cleaning with her tongue.

Finally, with a few sleepy complaints and much prodding, Toby and Tabitha managed to shepherd their trio of little angels to their beds. Selene was practically asleep as it was, requiring Toby to carry her to bed, while Reinette was still insisting she could stay up to watch for Santa (even as her head kept nodding forward), and Maurin had her head buried against her mother's hip as she was nudged into bed.

Finally, the cabin lay wreathed in quiet. Even the puppies, like the girls, were curled up and sleeping in a tangled mass against their mama's warm tummy, and the girls were deep in sugar plum dreams (or whatever exactly it is that little girls dream about these days). Toby and Tabitha settled onto the couch, he with a glass of grape juice and she with some hot cocoa, to watch the fire burn low together.

A year ago, things had been so very different. Tabitha had been lost in a seemingly endless dream, and Christmas had been an uncertain affair without her. Now, the family waited contentedly for Christmas to arrive as one.. and with one more addition well on his way, things looked very bright indeed for the St. Germain family tonight.

Overhead, a lone star twinkled and winked at the cabin, and you could almost hear a deep and rich 'Ho Ho Ho!' echoing across the winter sky. After all.. here in Rhydin? All things are possible.

(Note: The events of the next few posts, wherein the family visits the Harker Academy, took place just prior to Keith's birth.)

Harker?s Academy was down the street from the Old Temple Baronial Manor. The building was stone and two large windows on either side of the entrance. Passersby might be able to get a look at some of the activities going on inside the school. It had a basement where some of the weapons and alchemy work were done. While the building was one of the older structures in the district, the place was well kept and clean inside.

Rhiannon Harker was in the front office attending to paperwork. Maggie, her eight year old, was peering out one of the window as she waited for the expected visitors.

The small party made their way down that street, three small figures flanked by two larger ones, and a sixth that glided along behind them, ominously quiet. As they came up to the building, everyone stopped to look up and around at everything. Toby turned to the quiet figure, and gestured with his head. ?We?ll be fine, Max. Hang out here. Keep out of sight. Don?t scare anyone.?

As always, there was no audible reply from the burnt-red armored machine. Its single red eye pulsed once, and it drifted away into the shadows beyond to await the family?s return. Toby turned back to his wife Tabitha, and then gestured to the three little girls. ?Ok, who wants to ring the bell?? He expected a cacaphony of ?me! me!?, and was surely not disappointed. Little Selene was the one who got to toddle up and (with an assist from her big sister Maurin), pushed the button for the doorbell.

The ringing of the doorbell was followed by a rushing of small feet and a call of, ?Mama! They?re here!? Maggie waited for her mother to answer the door. Friendly folk or not, she had been taught to wait.

Rhi opened the door and gestured for the family to come inside out of the chilly winter weather. ?Welcome! How are you all today??

Maggie was excited about this visit. She would get to share the art room and other things with the St. Germain girls. ?We?re having hot chocolate and banana bread for snacks today. Do you like those??

Rhi grinned and gestured to Maggie. ?You have now met our social director. The rest of the tour will follow shortly.? She opened the coat closet so any outerwear could be hung up for the time being. ?To add to what Maggie said, snacks are being served in the lunch room at the rear of the building. Maybe the girls would like to start there. My first question for parents and guardians is always ?do you have any questions or concerns that I can address for you???

The girls were quite pleased about the snack situation, and managed to talk over each other as a result, until Maurin settled her younger siblings down and answered in her best ?I?m the big sister? mode. ?Yes, please!?

Maggie directed the girls to lunch room so the adults could talk.

With that settled, Toby and Tabitha were able to talk to Rhi while the girls were otherwise occupied. ?Oof, wow.. where do we begin,? Toby chuckled. ?Well, I guess to recap what I was telling Miz Colleen at the snow event.. our three little whirling dervishes there are pretty close in age, and we?ve been doing a little bit of home schooling up until now. But we both want them to have a proper school education, with other kids, and not be as isolated. And that?s something of a complicated issue, because they?re all three, um, gifted. Which we?ll talk about in more detail.?

He glanced over at Tabitha, with a smile. ?And it?s going to be four rather shortly, as well.? Then he turned back again to Rhi. ?I guess for myself I?d like to know more about the school, you know?? And a questioning look to Tabi to see what she thought.

With one hand resting on her ever-growing belly, Tabitha looked around the entryway, taking note of where the little ladies had gone. Usually, new places set her on edge, but there was no such feeling here. In fact, Tabitha felt nearly as relaxed as she did at home - which Toby would know the minute she brushed his arm, threading hers through his. ?It seems more like a family, rather than the schools I?ve read about and seem ads for all over Rhydin - you know, the ones with the robed professors and funny hats.?

(cont'd)

Settling into a comfortable chair, Tabitha happily prepared a cup of tea (one lump of sugar, and a splash of cream) and indulged in both a slice of the warm banana bread and a cinnamon roll - both of which reminded her of her grandmother?s cooking. After finishing a bite of the roll - and catching a drip of icing that almost escaped - she nodded her agreement with Toby. ?A challenging curriculum would be welcome, especially for Reinette. She always seems to be not only one step ahead of us, but a whole city ahead at times. Of the girls, she?s the one I worry about the most - she has a knack for? manipulation. Nothing cruel or anything along those lines, but when it comes to chores, she is supremely talented at getting one of her sisters to do the jobs - especially little Selene.? She took a quick sip of her tea, then continued. ?I wanted to make sure you were aware, in case she starts with her teachers, getting out of homework and projects that don?t catch her attention.?

Rhiannon curled her fingers around her mug. ?My eldest sister, Christina, was the governess for Princess Erwyn when she was younger. She?s the one in charge of the basic studies here: reading, history, mathematics and so on. She?s also a good painter and has been passing those skills along to our students. I expect Her Majesty learned of Chrisy?s presence here and it was extra in the academy?s favor.? She cleared her throat. ?Paranoia in small doses isn?t necessarily a bad thing, you know.?

She smiled slightly. ?As for my family, that could get into a tangled family tree as you already pointed out. However, I?ll stick to my own small family for the moment, you can ask what you like about my siblings and all afterward.? She set the mug on a coaster. ?My husband, Dennis, and his business partner, Albert Hall, have their own architectural firm. My brother, Garrick, has taken an interest in the building side of things. I do the public relations for them.? A teasing smile flitted across her lips. ?Dennis and I often joke that Bertie?s charm would get him into too much trouble to be the public face of the business. They?ve been friends since they were quite young. He?s Maggie?s godfather and has his own quarters in our home.? Rhi paused to consider what else to add without getting overly long winded again. ?I?ve been active in the Duel of Swords since I was younger than Maggie. My mother and I have been criticized for allowing children to take part. I feel that?s between us and our children. I don?t force Maggie to take part. Rick and Catie have well developed skills, but have no interest in competing there. People get the wrong idea.?

She took a bite of a cinnamon bun and licked her lips. ?My Aunt Ariana makes these. We have them brought in fresh from her shop.? Her head tilted slightly. ?Is there anything more specific I can answer for either of you on my family?? She looked to Tabitha. ?I think we can find plenty to engage Reinette. The key is finding what she likes to do and wants to learn.?

Toby shook his head, for his part. ?I guess the next thing would be to tell you a little about ourselves, now, and about the girls. Both for the social reasons, which are fun.. and so you know the people coming in here. If I were in your place, I know I?d want to know exactly what?s walking through that door to mingle with the kids under my care.? He leaned his head back slightly, fingers steepled again in thought.

?Well, as I mentioned, I am native to Rhydin. I grew up in the spaceport, which means that I was effectively a gang kid until I was about seventeen years of age. I got better. My interests, or field, if you will, are primarily technological. I do still hold a pilot?s license, and maintain a cargo craft that I?ve had for?, ? he thought about that, ?about twenty years. I am very big on tinkering, and my field of expertise is applied energy field manipulation. And if that wasn?t weird enough, I am the assistant manager for Star?s End Bar, under Mr. Kane.?

There was a bit of a pause here. When he resumed speaking, his voice was considerably more subdued. ?I was unaware that there was anything more to me until about the age of thirty. Without going into tedious and overdramatic detail, I am gifted in the field of psionics. Many, but not all, of the things the girls can do come from me.? A sidelong look at Tabitha, as he knew she?d fill in the rest of the blanks there. ?That?s how I came to study under Kairee, and please do not hold that against me - I swear that I am not an accident waiting to happen.? A wry smile.

?Maurin is our oldest, she will be turning six very soon. She?s very, er, forceful. She?s been told more than once just how she?s to talk to an adult, but she can be stubborn. I don?t know where she got that.? Utterly, utterly deadpan. ?She?s very keen on electronics and technology, and she has long had quite a fascination with her godmother/Aunt Wyh?s sword. We plan on giving all three of them a basic grounding in basic swordsmanship, just because? well? you?ve lived here. You know what Rhydin is like. Xenograg, their godfather, is going to be handling that, but as such I?d be happy to know that they can get additional instruction and practice here, in a safe environment.?

?Maurin is also telekinetic. She, and the other girls, have had.. blocks in place from a young age, to keep them from endangering themselves, but also so they could have a normal childhood. She was able to make her toys move around from a very young age, hence the reason I did that. However, I?ve been slowly allowing those to lapse? I don?t want to make the mistake of making them wait to learn to control these things. That?s? what happened to me, and it did not go well. She occasionally shows hints of other things, what I could best describe as perceptions. We honestly do not know the absolute extent of what they inherited from the two of us, but that?s the majority when it comes to her.?

?Reinette is four and a half? and she is a charmer, as Tabitha mentioned. Part of it comes naturally, she just has that sort of personality. All little girls have that gift for batting the eyes at you, but she has a knack for it.? He paused, looking at his tea. ?But Reinette seems to have more than just a knack for it. I could probably best describe it almost like a form of ?offensive? empathy - she can get her way almost subconsciously. I think she knows it, but doesn?t know *how*. Mind you, it?s a lot harder for her to pull it off if you?re ready for it. And now you are.? Another pause. ?She, and Selene too, have a little hint of telekinesis, but very.. very minor.?

?Selene just turned three last month? and she is a different kind of special. And by that I mean, she has a gift that has nothing to do with me. We first realized it when she was only a few months old, and we swore we saw her almost go transparent on us. Tabitha was? terrified. She called me home in a panic. It took us a long time, and talking to many people, before the truth came out. She?s gifted with Dreams. She was able to nearly disappear into her own, and we almost lost her before someone else we know with that gift was able to go in and find her. It terrifies me, I will be honest, because it?s something I have no knowledge of, no way to control aside from the block I was able to put on her. But there it is. She?s not shown too much in the way of other gifts, at least not yet.?

Toby sat forward a little, now. ?By objective standards, Maurin is the ?strongest? of the three of them, she?s shown the most aptitude for her gifts - probably because she?s the oldest. But? and this is something Tabitha and I have not spoken of to almost anyone else? Reinette is the one that we worry about. I can?t really put it into words?. but potentially.. she could be ?, ? Toby trailed off, unable or unwilling to finish that thought. He went silent now, turning to look at Tabitha.

(cont'd)

Rhi hid a smile behind her hand. ?I think we?re ready. That is, unless, there are other questions??

Toby glanced at Tabitha, and there was that one moment of silent eyes meeting - any married couple knows it, even if one isn?t a telepath and the other an empath. He then shook his head and set down the teacup. ?As it always works out, we?ll probably think of two dozen questions after we?ve been less than two minutes out of this meeting.? A low chuckle. ?But for now, we?d love to see the place.?

Rhi got to her feet and leaned toward Maggie. ?Are you playing tour guide, today??

The answer came without hesitation and with a squeal of delight. ?I can do that!? Maggie beamed brightly and directed everyone toward a door along the wall. ?Are the girls coming? If not, they can do the art project with Aunt Chrisy.? Maggie opened the door. At the top of the stairway was a large landing with group of shelves that held art and other supplies. In the interests of safety, it had been built to help prevent anyone from tumbling down the stairs. The same was true of the double set of railings on either side of the closed stairwell. The lower set made it easier for the wee folk to navigate on their own. ?Take your time and hold on!? Maggie called before going downward.

The basement was painted in bright blues and yellows. It had been decorated by the students and some parts of the walls looked like a primary school class had been hard at work. This was where weapon skills were taught. The floor felt cushiony, it had been made to ward off severe injuries from falls, but allow a stable walking space. ?This is the rack of stuff and things!? Maggie said gleefully as she gestured to the wooden practice weapons. ?The metal stuff is locked up. We have to learn with the wood first. School rule is always have a grown person or someone with the ? ? she looked to her mother then the progress chart on the wall, ?bigger number on that chart to show you stuff.?

Rhi cleared her throat. ?That?s our experience chart. It shows the progress of all students with each type of weapon we have available. As you can see, some are good with all, some specialize with one or a few. It?s what they feel comfortable trying and what parents consent to.?

Maggie pointed to her name on the chart. ?I?m learning this one. G-l-a-i-v-e spells glaive.?

Rhiannon opened a double set of doors at the back of the practice room. ?We set this up with basics, but after Hannibal hit, we fleshed it out some.? It was a shelter with cots, canned food and other items on shelves and several closed packages that held clean bedding. ?We never know what nature or Rhydin in general will toss at us. As Mother is fond of saying, better to have this ready and not need it than need it and not have it.?

As they walked along, looking around, Toby paused. ?Do all the students commute here? Or do any stay here?? He was probably thinking of the boarding schools from various stories he?d read. ?We live rather a long way up north, far beyond into the forest regions near the mountains. But in my case, I can drop the girls off, and pick them up.?

?They commute. However, if there are emergency circumstances, we can make arrangements for an overnight stay.? She gesture toward the front of the building. ?Two of my sisters live across the way, advantages of having a big family.?

The next question was one that had been on Toby?s mind since the very first time he?d ever considered sending the girls to a school that wasn?t in their own house. His tone went sober, as he looked back to Rhi. ?What can you tell me about defensive measures??

?Mechanical, magical, or those that have been divinely invoked?? Clearly Rhi was not joking. Keeping the children in her charge safe was paramount.

?Any and all, anything that isn?t kept classified for security reasons.? He was just as serious, though pleased to see that it was a topic that was taken quite seriously. ?It?s almost a cliche, but you know what Rhydin is like. The hardest thing for Tabitha and I was convincing ourselves to let the girls go someplace that?s not home - somewhere where I can?t protect them, by whatever means available. Our greatest fear would be some maniac deciding that the best way to make a name for themselves would be to come after the kids.? Not his kids in particular, of course - just the kids in general.

?Any part of the building past the entrance way and waiting room is warded. At the back and sides of the building we have walls and doors that can withstand heavy weapons fire and a bomb blast. Between my husband?s skills as an architect and my sister?s with tech, we are not unprotected here.? She cleared her throat. ?The front room isn?t warded and is open to the public in case someone is need of shelter from the weather or help. That did cause a window to be broken, but it also saved a couple of people to shelter from storms and at least one person from being mugged. Good with the bad as they say.? She studied Toby a moment. ?My uncle specializes in weapons and custom armor. I tend to make arrangements with him for the students. One of things I try to instill in the younger children is that sometimes they will need their skills to protect themselves, but the best option when available is to hide or run to get help. Depends on the circumstances.?

A slow nod. They understood each other, it seemed. ?You mentioned technology. I didn?t think to ask this when I spoke to Collie previously, but I?m assuming that the school is connected up to where it can be reached over electronic communication? GalNet, the HoloNet, that sort of thing? For emergencies, mostly, or if one of my little dust devils goes and knocks her tooth out.? A beat, and a wry smile. ?Again.? Then serious once more. ?In a true emergency I have my own ways to get somewhere fast, but it?s a little too melodramatic for my taste to appear on the doorstep for something relatively minor. I?ll give you my commcode, which links to both my personal comm,? Toby tapped the device on his belt, ?and to the cabin. Plus even if I?m not actually working at the Bar, I have it set up to where any message sent to Star?s End Bar or the Red Dragon will be relayed on to me.?

?We are connected, yes. Anything that can?t be handled by those with first aid training or a healer?s gift, the child or children are taken immediately to Riverview Clinic. Doc Anya as Maggie likes to call her has been our family physician for several years. No matter how trivial someone might think they are, accident notifications are always sent to parents immediately. When one is responsible for someone else?s child, no injury should be considered too trivial to tell them.? She took a deep breath. ?Worst case scenario,? she tapped hand on wooden weapon,? has happened only twice. Once was an allergic reaction. Not even the parents knew she was allergic to peppers.?

Toby was quiet for a while. ?I?ll be honest, I can?t think of anything else I want to ask right now. I?m sure we?ll think of a million things, but.. ? He turned to face her. ?I?m very pleased with what I?ve seen, and what I?ve heard. I think I can safely say that if there?s any place I would let the girls go? this is it.?

?I?m glad you feel that way.? Rhiannon smiled warmly. ?We can show the art room and other classrooms then discuss the particulars. Our fees are nominal, but I should warn you ahead of time that I believe in community involvement. However the children can help, I encourage them to do so. We have had a few wonderful ideas from the children, too.?

The tour continued through the rest of the building and onward into Rhiannon?s office to discuss fees, activities, and whether or not the family had any faith based issues or if the girls had any known allergies that needed to be addressed.

(Written in collaboration with Tabitha St. Germain and Rhiannon D Harker's wonderful players.)

The sun rose strong and bright over the clearing, enveloping the wide green space in its golden embrace. It would do its level best to beat down on the semi-circle of small figures sitting cross-legged around their father, but to no avail - they were a few hundred yards north of the cabin, under the shade of one of the huge oak trees that bordered the clearing. All was peace, all was still.

Almost.

"Daddy, how 'come we have to do this?" That would be Maurin, for about the seventh time that afternoon.

"I told you why. Because you're in school now, you're spending the day with all the other kids at the Academy, and you're going to start taking lessons with me as well on control." Toby was kneeling (he had a personal dislike of sitting cross-legged), with the three little girls in a rough semicircle facing him, a few feet away.

Reinette, next. "Controlling what?" Even in the shade, her blonde hair seemed like it was faintly luminescent. She had her own issues with the lesson, mostly to do with all the bugs she seemed to find in her vicinity.

"Every one of you has a special gift, one you were born with." This was not the first time he'd had this talk with them, but then the girls were six, almost-five and three-and-a-half. Despite their intelligence, they were remarkably gifted in forgetting things that didn't interest them. And to be sure, he'd only talked about these things very generally before now. But things had changed.

"Me too?" And there was Selene, the little ginger sprite. Paradoxically, though she was the youngest (and by definition, the most restless), she always had a sort of placidity that her older and more restive sisters lacked.

"Yes, you too, Peanut." Toby tried his best not to smile; this was a serious lesson. "All three of you are gifted, though you might not understand or be aware of it yet. And I'm going to help teach you about it, what those gifts are.. and how you control them."

"You're gifted too, right Daddy?" Reinette's eyes showed a little more interest.

Toby phrased his answer rather delicately. "Everyone has gifts, Renny. Everyone. Sometimes they're subtle, sometimes they're very obvious."

"What's suttle?"

Maurin looked at her with big-sister importance. "That's the grilled mushroom stuff Aunt Helix makes."

Toby coughed, barely keeping the smile from cracking. "That's sort?lle, Ree. Subtle means very light, not easy to see. You feel that light breeze that comes and goes? So light you almost don't notice it?"

Three little heads nodded in unison, though Selene was distractedly eyeing a butterfly not too far away.

"That's subtle. The opposite is obvious - you know the big winds that howl outside when there's a big storm?"

Three little heads bobbed again, and Selene looked apprehensive. She didn't like storms.

"That's an obvious wind. You see?" Toby cleared his throat, rallying back around to his point again. "Everyone has gifts - like being able to play the piano. Or sing, like Mama can. Or gifted with a sword, like Uncle Xenograg, Aunt Amal and Aunt Wyh. Or cooking like Aunt Helix." Being as both he and Tabitha were alone in Rhydin (she as a 'transplant', he as an orphan), the girls had rather a large extended group of aunts and uncles. There were a select and trusted few family friends with that title, though the girls were most stridently fond of Aunt Wyh and Uncle Xenograg (not coincidentally, both of whom served as their godparents.)

"Daddy?" Maurin, again. "Is Keeth gonna be gifted too?"

A slow nod. "Yes, yes he is, Ree. But right now he's just a little baby, so you don't have to worry about him. We're here today to talk about you three." The girls took the hint in Daddy's voice and subsided, their remaining questions unasked for now.

With the onset of early summer, the house (Toby had jokingly started calling it the Manor, after the large and venerable house that Wyheree and Roran lived in) had started taking real shape. The framework was up, which had been no small job in and of itself. Weeks and weeks of work with multiple sets of hands and every droid Toby could lay ahold of, as well as the use of the Lady as a skycrane (VERY carefully, mind you), had seen the main support structures and braces go up first. Once secured, then a temporary outer shell had been built up, in order to protect the ongoing work from the weather.

Viewed from a distance, the rather featureless temporary shell looked almost like a giant storage bin had been upended and laid atop the hill. However, as you got closer you could see the basic shape of the house - two stories, with the second story build in a "U" shape around an exterior 'porch' of sorts. The open end of the U faced west, which meant that the bedrooms would face the east and the sunrise, while the rooftop porch would have a fine view of the sunset.

The main doors would be on the south side, leading into the entry foyer. Immediately on the right would be the entrance to something Tabitha called a 'mud room', apparently an ancient architectural drawn from her homeland of Cleveland. This is where coats would be kept, boots, and little children cleaned up before they tracked dirt all through the rest of the house. Also adults, since they weren't much better sometimes. Connected to this was the laundry room.

Directly north of the foyer was the the main room of the house, taking up nearly the entire center of the first floor (including most of the west wall). The center part of the room was wide open, allowing it to be used for parties and many other possible events. The western side of the room was sunken by a few steps, and was modeled much after the cabin's main room. Along the wall, the big Tri-D screen in the center was flanked by several great windows which would give a clear view of the sunset, as well as the majority of the clearing beyond. The big round table (able to seat ten in total) was there, as well as the couch and multiple reclining seats. Toby's piano, too, was tucked into one corner of the room, while a large fireplace dominated the other corner.

In the southwest corner of the first floor was the kitchen, as well as the stairs to the basement. In typical fashion, Toby had also put a couple carefully disguised lifts for bringing large items from the basement up to the first floor, and yet again up to the second - one of these was in the kitchen, another in the corner of the main room.

Along the east side of the first floor, opposite the living room, was a game room and the main bathroom. At the back of the main room, in the center, was the stairway to the second floor. To either side of the stairs, was the exit to the back hallway, which was more of a private area.

Back here, was Toby and Tabitha's own suite, Toby's office, and Tabitha's crafts room. There was also an exit out to the main grounds on the west side of the back hallway.

(NEXT UP: The Second Floor)

20150810.1800

(August 10th, 2015 - 6:00PM local time)

(( Relating to the party invitation in this thread:
http://rdi.dragonsmark.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=25656 ))


The cabin was filled with chaos. Not the scary kind where something dreaded lurks around the corner, nor the confused kind where no one seems to know what's going on. This, my friends, is the kind where you try to get a family of six (three of them aged 3-1/2 through 6 1/2, plus an infant) packed and ready for a 3-day 'camping' holiday on Harkers' Island.

When the invitation had arrived for the 3-day gathering (a combination of celebrating Maggie Harker's victory at the recent Talon of Redwin tourney, and the end-of-summer gathering for the Academy before the start of classes in a few weeks), there had been much excitement to go around. Maurin and Reinette were busy working on their packing, trying to decide what to take (and as is typical, wanting to take *everything*).

Toby looked around, finally calling to his wife. "Where's Selene?" Tabitha, busy with a fussy Keith, could only give him a helpless shrug. Neither of the older girls seemed to know either, as they were still arguing if they should share a tent or not.

Finally he found her sitting in the back porch on the cot (usually covered over with a decorative afghan), with her arms around her knees and her chin resting on them. Toby sat down next to her, affectionally ruffling the top of her fiery head. "What's wrong, Peanut?"

Selene peered up at her father, her big eyes full of doubt. "Daddy, I's scared 'bout going."

"Why scared? You know everyone there from school, and you had a good time at school, right?"

The little head nodded slowly.

"You scared about staying away from home?"

More nodding, and she ducked her face down into her arms.

Quiet chuckle from Toby, who reached down and put his arm around his youngest daughter. "Hey, we're all going to be there, you know. Me and Mama, little Keith, and both your big sisters. So don't be scared, it's going to be a big party, right?"

"But I don't wanna sleep by myself, Daddy.."

His mouth twitched. "Which of your sisters put that idea in your head, Selene?"

"Well, they keep on sayin' they want to have their own tent, an'.. if they have their own tent, I have to sleep by myself." A little sniffle was given at the end of the admission.

Toby raised his voice just slightly (the cabin was small enough that little else was necessary). "Maurin Leigh! Reinette Wyheree! Come here!"

Moments later, two small figures appeared in the doorway, with that universal "What did we do wrong?" expression on their faces. Toby wasted no time in getting to the point.

"Are you two STILL arguing about sharing a tent?"

The explosion of competing voices was nearly impossible to translate, at least if you hadn't had more than one kid of your own.

"I'm big enough to be by myself now - "
"I'm five! I'm big enough too!"
"Rennie kicks me in her sleep!"
"Maurin snores!"
"Do not!"

"GIRLS."

That brought the cacaphony to a halt again.

"You realize that if you both want your own tent, then little Selene has to sleep by herself too. And she's scared of sleeping on her own, so much that she doesn't want to go now."

You could almost hear the trains of thought screeching to halt, as the two older girls looked at their little sister suddenly. Something that had become very clear over the past year or so, was that no matter how much the older two got on each other's nerves, no matter how much they fought or argued or tweaked each other... they both adored their baby sister. She was the one thing they could always agree on.

Toby struck while the iron was hot. "So which one of you is going to protect your little sister on the trip? Hmm?"

"I will, Daddy. I'm the big sister."
"Hey! I'm her big sister too!"
"Yea, but I'm bigger."
"Are not!" A pause. "Well, I'm big too!"

"Girls." Once again, silence. "If we take the big tent that we got from Aunt Helix, then why don't all three of you take share it? It's sure big enough.. so no one will be kicking anyone else. And you can pretend the three of you have your own personal cabin, how about that?"

Maurin and Reinette perked up, and nodded in vigorous agreement. Toby turned to look at Selene, and tilted his head. "So how about it, Peanut? You feel better about going away on the trip since you'll be with *both* your big sisters?"

Even as he said it, the clouds seemed to part on the little redhead's face, and Selene gave him that smile that lit up the room.

Toby gave an unseen, inward sigh of relief. Crisis averted (for now).

For some time now, life in the St. Germain household had revolved largely around two major themes - school (at least for the three girls), and preparations to move into the nearly-finished new house. Furniture and other necessities had been slowly brought into the new house, and the time was fast approaching when the rooms at the cabin would go dark and silent as everyone officially moved in. Though not abandoned - Toby had already made arrangements for a droid caretaker to keep the cabin in livable condition. There were more than a few good reasons for that.

But now, a different obsession had taken hold of the family - clothes. Yes, clothes. For the time was fast approaching when the great Ball would be held in Eldicor, a celebration to which the entire family had been invited, by no less a figure than the Queen herself.

Tabitha had made more than a few excursions into the City with Wyheree and Selene O'Malley in a quest to find that one perfect outfit - after all, a down-to-Earth girl from the Midwest didn't find herself going to an honest-to-God royal ball every day! And she wanted to do the thing properly.

In the same vein, Amanda had taken the three girls with her to Eldicor so that they could, in Reinette's words, "all be princesses too!" They had done their best to coax Xenograg into coming along as well, but he'd pointed out with a smile that the places they'd be going would not be meant for him.

Besides, as he also pointed out, he had his hands full helping their Daddy find something that would look proper for such an event. Which was a considerable undertaking in itself.

--20151231.2100 (aka December 31, 2015)

Despite the unseasonably warm Rhydin winter that year, the snow had made its appearance up in the northern wildlands where the family lived. The great clearing was covered in a muffling blanket of white, and the lake was showing a thin crust of ice along the shoreline. The cabin was quiet in the evening darkness, a soft glow coming from the front windows.

Around on the western side of the lake, however, something new caught the eye. The manor was finally finished, a broad and tall multi-story structure on a gently sloping hill that overlooked the lake. It was lit up brightly, with coloured lights in the windows and a spiral of smoke rising contentedly from a chimney upon the north side.

In the two weeks before Christmas, the last of the moving-in had finally been completed. The furniture was all in place, the rooms were decorated (and in some cases, wired up - Toby had a lot of toys in storage), and the utilities were up and running. And personal touches were finished.. slowly making a new house into a home.

Tonight, the family was in the den, the smell of new paint and varnish still lingering in the air. Tabitha held court on the lush new couch, with Maurin and Reinette curled up against either side of her, and little Keith on her lap snoozing. Selene was already asleep as well, or most of the way there, laying on the rug near (but not too near) the fire. The dogs were, as was typical, all over the place - Duchess in fact was laying curled up against Selene with her tail occasionally tickling the little girls nose. Every now and then Selene would reach up and awkwardly brush at her nose.. and get an indulgent lick in the process.

Toby was in his usual spot as well, at the much-loved baby grand that had once stood in the cabin's living room. He'd been playing Christmas songs by request all evening since dinner, and was now trying his hand again at Silent Night. Christmas was not a native concept to him (having grown up where he did), but Tabitha had given Toby quite a thorough grounding in the entire mythology of the season. And she'd been unswerving in her desire to give the kids the full experience of it.

So there they were... a new year, a new home... but the scene was timeless. Even the new fireplace and hearth had a very familiar row of lovingly decorated stockings hung over it. And this year, a number of smaller ones for their newest family members.

"Daddy, I heard something funny outside today."

Selene's voice drew Toby out of the dissonant state he tended to enter when heavily focused on figuring something out. In this case, it was a rather tricky little piece of programming that needed to work properly in order to make the robotic sentinel program tie together. But there were a lot of intricate changes when you tied together so many complex little mechanisms under one banner.

"Mmm? Did you tell Mama?" Shameless, Toby, pawning the question off on Tabitha. Selene's answer surprised him, though.

"Yah, and she told me to come tell you right away."

His head lifted from the screen, turning to stare at his youngest daughter. The problems of programming drifted off into an unoccupied corner of his mind, where he'd pick them up later. "What kind of funny sound, peanut?"

"Somethin' howling. It sounded sad."

Toby frowned. That didn't sound good in any respect. There were rumors of bears in the farther northern reaches of the woodlands, near the mountains, but never wolves. Not in the ten years he'd lived here, at least. But there was utter conviction in the face of the four-year-old in front of him, and she of all the kids had a definite gift when it came to animals. If she said she'd heard howling, his first instinct was to believe her. And apparently it had been Tabitha's as well.

"When exactly did you hear the howling, sweetie?"

Selene thought about it, screwing her face up into a little frown to match his. "B'fore lunch, when Mama said come take a nap. Meemee said she didn't hear nuffin though."

Toby closed the screen and looked out the window at the darkening sky. The trees to the north seemed a little darker, somehow. Threatening.

"Do you think you could tell where it came from?"

Selene shook her head emphatically. "Nuh uh. It came from everywhere."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Okay, everyone, listen up." The entire family was gathered in the living room, looking very curious indeed - though Tabitha looked more uneasy than anything. She already knew what he was about to say.

"For now, I want everyone to stay either in the house or in the garden just outside. No going out the gate, and that includes the dogs. Okay?"

Maurin, predictably, piped up first. "Why? Is this because of what Selene thought she heard?" The little redhead folded her arms and glared at her big sister, an upset expression forming.

"I did hear howling!"

Toby headed off the inevitable argument with a pre-emptive tap of his foot on the floorboard. "Because I said so, girls. End of story. Are we clear?"

There was only one answer when *that* voice was used. "Yes, Daddy," came the chorus. Tabitha gave him a silent, worried nod. He'd already told her what he was going to do, and she didn't like it one bit.

"Now you girls are responsible for the puppies. *You* have to make sure they stay safe in the house, okay?" There was a chorus of nods this time. Each of them was eager to be the 'responsible' one when it came to the dogs - and each other, he knew. What he worried about was curiosity, especially the older girls.

"Okay. Now go on, get your hands washed. Or Mama's gonna let the puppies have first lick at dinner." Eyes got big, and then there was the mild thunder of three pairs of sneakers bounding off toward the bathroom - with Keith wobbling his way along after his sisters.

Toby had lived in these far northern forestlands for nearly a decade, and (especially during some of his darker times years before), he'd walked the paths of the woods more times than he could remember. There were various animals, mostly of the smaller variety - he thought he'd seen a bear once, but that had been so far north he'd almost come to the beginnings of the distant mountain ranges.

Never in all that time had he felt ill at ease in what he considered 'his own' woods. Sure, you had to be careful, but you had to be careful in deep space too. But now, for the first time, a shadow seemed to hang over the formerly friendly and inviting trees. Something was lurking.

Toby felt no hints of it himself, nor had he heard anything unusual in all those years. But Selene's insistence that she was hearing something howling in the trees north of the house (and in her own words, "really sad"), had set off something inside him.. she was imaginative as any child, was little Selene, but she would not carry a joke this far.

Besides him, Duke nosed happily along the path, his tail wagging casually. The big black dog gave no sign whatsoever of scenting or hearing anything odd, except for the odd squirrel or rabbit here and there. It was his senses that Toby was relying most on now, because if there really were wolves lurking in these woods, Duke would pick up on it before anyone. But so far, the most dangerous thing they'd seen was a fox.

He spent most of the morning criss-crossing the areas north and northwest of the house (with the occasional comm-note to assure Tabitha that they were fine), but finally came home with nothing to show for it. He knew that, notes or not, Tabi was going to be more than a little perturbed with him for the unannounced trip. She was no less unnerved by Selene's tale of howling than he was.

As they started up the hillside path to the house, Toby paused to look over his shoulder at the woods. Was it just his imagination indulging itself, or did the space under the trees look just a little darker? The thought did not make him feel much better as he whistled to Duke and set back up to the gate.

"So what are we looking at here?" Tabitha leaned her hip against her husband's desk, head tilted at the big screen mounted above it.

"The program's designed to coordinate an entire fleet... flock?... of drones at once, but I only have the one right now. The left hand shows what it sees with the camera eyes, the right can alternate between a tactical map of the area, and general scan data from the other sensors. I have it searching the grid sections immediately north, northeast and northwest of the house. It'll criss-cross those areas in a specific pattern to cover as much ground as possible, then move to the next."

Toby was resting on his elbows, watching the screen along with her. The screen showed a digitally-enhanced view of the trees around, as the drone bird sat perched on a branch. Tracking indicators locked in on any movement it saw, such as chipmunks, squirrels, and even a fox at one point.

He drummed his fingers on the keys in front of him, tapping one briefly. The right-hand display changed to an infrared scan, showing the cool blues and greens of the trees, contrasting with the warmer reds and oranges of small mammals scurrying through the foliage or climbing the trees. Anything larger than a baby mouse would show up clearly to those scanners, but so far that's just about all he was seeing.

"You can't watch it all day, honey." A warm hand rested on his upper back, as Tabitha's honeyed tones coaxed at him. A smile drifted across Toby's face at that. He'd once (teasingly) accused her of using that voice like a weapon, to which Tabitha had reacted with an utterly unconvincing display of innocence. Nevermind that she hadn't actually *denied* it.

"I don't have to.. it's designed to record and to send an alert if it identifies anything larger than that fox. The whole thing's meant to function on its own, when it's finished."

"Good." Tabitha slithered onto his lap, shaking that untamed mane away from her face before kissing her husband fleetingly. "The girls and Keith are playing with Wyh and the baby. They'll have her busy for an hour at least." She pulled his hand away from the keyboard, and onto the tied bow at her wraparound blouse's hem. "I don't have a single thing to do in the meantime."

A smirk blossomed into a genuine smile at his wife. "Not a thing, huh?"

"Mmm. Well, aside from the shower I'm about to go take." She slid just as gracefully out of his grasp, and walked out of the room. Toby had no doubts that she put just a little more slink in that strut than was really necessary. She disappeared out the door, leaving just a hint of a musical giggle in her wake.

"Shower sounds good." He muttered to himself, leaving the screen behind. It did sound awfully good. What followed was even better.