Breakfast went by fast, though that was entirely by design. Toast was something they could eat quickly after all, and it was easy to prep. Sure, they could have been faster with wither cereal or using the premade food that was stored in Char's Core. However, food was always worth the time, at least in their mind. Time could always be made or set aside for the reason of food. After all, proper food was what gave them the energy to do all of the things they enjoyed, as well as tasting so good that it put them on a cloud. Though fast, it was a filling breakfast, and one meant to give them plenty of energy. Just in case they needed more energy later on though, Charlene did get it stored in her core before they started eating, spreads all over top of them. Better to have it available than not after all.

Clean-up was quick and easy after that. Since Matis had already taken care of the tent and brought it over to Charlene to store, all that was left was the fire pit that had been used for breakfast. That was easy to deal with, as they just dumped a bunch of dirt on it. There wasn't even a need for shovels, as they just had Sheera pop a bunch out from inside the Core. After making sure that all the embers were out and there was no risk of starting a forest fire, the two humans started down the road towards home. Sheera had decided to stay inside the Core for the day, at least as long as nothing serious came up.

The walk today was long and boring, at least for the first half. Thanks to the area being either on or near the reserve, not many people came and tried to live out here in the woods. If one accidentally tried to live somewhere that was part of their land, the locals would take it to them legally. And it was highly unlikely for them to lose the case. Still, a few birds fluttered overhead from time to time, but nothing major. It was mostly larger birds that lived this far north, as the smaller varieties generally weren't built to resist the cold.

As the sun started dipping towards the west, buildings started becoming an odd occurrence. Though it wasn't like there were any chances of people showing up. All of the buildings they passed were drills and pumps made to retrieve oil from underground. Since the people usually drove out to check them from High Level, they felt the chance of running into other people was extremely unlikely. Regardless of that, they kept a close watch on those areas. After all, they were buildings that could be used as monster spawns. They did not want to be caught off guard, as they already had enough scars to prove how much of a bad time that was. There were a couple goblins that came out, but every encounter was very straight forward. The monsters made no attempt to sneak up on them or ambush them, just mindlessly ran at them. Very easy to deal with, but neither Matis nor Charlene got too proud of their success. After all, if there were more goblins than them, it would not turn out well.

As the sun began to sink below the horizon, they passed the five-kilometer mark for High Level. They judged that it wasn't too far, so they pressed forwards. They could stop and set up camp, but the promise of sleeping in their own bed was just too alluring. So they pushed forward, as the sun continued to fall. Within fifteen minutes, the sun dipped below the horizon completely, causing the stars to shine through above. They moved a bit slower, making sure to keep a watch on their surroundings. It was difficult, as the only light was the stars and moon above. It didn't help that the moon was waxing, leaving most of it in shadow.

After another forty minutes, they finally made it to the edge of town. They lived just outside, so as to not disturb any of the residents. Sure, they practiced a lot with firearms and weapons, but that was fairly normal up here. It was mainly due to the wildlife that seemed to congregate around their place. Not many people would appreciate it if their neighbour had a large predatorial animal on their property as it was recovering from medical care after all. Still being intensely vigilant, they turned onto the back road that led to their house. Just to prevent any issues, the road was so unnoticeable, that one wouldn't even think it was a road unless they knew better. The only thing that gave away the location at all in the batch of trees was the mailbox that sat out on the edge of the property. Everyone who was local knew who they were and what they did, and were therefore quite cautious about visiting or dropping things off. All it had taken were one or two times when someone had accidentally stumbled into a large, hurt, and angry animal to cause word to spread among everyone that their veterinarians were just a little bit out there.

As they approached their house in the dark, they passed by a number of animals and formations in the ground. Some boulders, a bunch of trees, the usual things around them. They just went past and opened their front door, getting in and taking off their shoes. The entire place was dark, as if there was something hiding behind every corner. Remembering what had happened in Chateh, they moved around the place together, checking every room and alcove for any signs of monsters having been there. Not having found any, they set the spears they had in hand beside their bed. Now they were home, and now they had time to relax and prepare for what the future would have in store for them. Though, that could wait till later. For now, they crawled into their bed, cuddled together, and drifted off to sleep.

Huge thanks to my Elder Wolves Viktor, Saganatsu, Eeleater, John, Hades, Sir Hellington, Onean, Sebastian, Adam, and Kevin for supporting me and my writing! Remember that I keep Patreon ten chapters ahead at all times. Our next goal on Patreon will be getting up to 50 patrons, which I will then spend more time each month writing some side stories and shorts that show other perspectives throughout my stories!

 

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