"You didn't think to write and tell us that our relatives now account for more than half the government?" Shayn stared at his mother in disbelief.
"I definitely did, but they warned me that the letters might not reach you out in the wilderness. They weren't sure what villages, if any, where you were likely to check in next." Amelia defended herself.
"That's fair." Kyler put his hand on his brother's arm. "But it is strange, all of it."
"I suppose it is. We've all gotten used to it as it happened, but hearing it all at once does put everything in a slightly different light, doesn't it?" Amelia chuckled.
"Papa's doing an excellent job, and so is Uncle Riley," Lily told them seriously.
Shayn laughed heartily. "I'm sure they are, Lily. We weren't worried about that for a second, were we?"
"Not at all," Kyler smiled. "It's just that now we have to go report to our big brother. Does that sound very fun to you?"
"I should think it would be a lot of fun," Riley strode in unannounced. "What's NOT fun is to find out I have subordinates playing hooky in my mother's home while I'm working the day away!"
"Please, you weren't working," Ashley corrected from behind him. "You were next to me playing with the children when Amelia's note came."
"That IS work!" Riley declared. "Strength training! Those little gremlins are getting bigger every day and still demand that I throw them each in the air one by one! I'll be the strongest man in the world by the time they're all grown up!"
Ashley giggled and adjusted the sling around her shoulders where their newest addition snuggled against her.
Shayn and Kyler both stood to salute and hug their elder brother and sister-in-law.
"How have you boys been? What all did you find? Tell me everything," Riley encouraged.
"Shouldn't we save the report for the Council?" Shayn wasn't sure how much of this could be done informally and how much would need to be saved for the official meeting.
"Please, Roland and Finn are practically the same person, so most of the Council's here now," Riley gave them his lopsided grin, but it faltered just a little. "Hey kids, have you seen Mimi's garden recently? The strawberries are starting to be ready, and I bet if you pick some, she'll make you a pie out of them for tomorrow."
The triplets looked at their mother, who nodded. The trio dutifully excused themselves to march out the door, the guards' watchful eyes on them.
"All right, now that younger ears are gone," Riley turned to his brothers. "The anomalies. How many did you find?"
"Most of the quadrants had only one or two, at most. The last areas we surveyed had quite a few more." Shayn pursed his lips, "and they seemed to last longer. A minute or two as opposed to a few seconds."
"Anything special about that area?" Riley squinted.
"It was the part closest to Klain," Kyler shrugged. "Other than that, there was nothing in particular about the landscape which differentiated it from the rest of the Northwest territory. We started at the furthest point and worked our way inward. It took years to do it all, but we headed straight back once we finished."
"Anything strange on the road back?" Riley leaned forward.
"We saw one or two on the way back and marked them, but didn't stop to study them since they weren't in our assigned area." Shayn frowned, unsure it that was the correct decision.
The young General nodded and passed his hand down his face. "Thank you boys… er, men. Goodness, you're older than I remembered."
"Are we the last ones back?" Kyler asked. "The rest of the mapping, is it done?"
"Most of it's already been compiled by the Treasurer's librarians. I'll need one of you to assist in doing the same."
"Not it!" Kyler cried.
"Very mature," Shayn cut his eyes over to his brother.
"I just meant… my legs get so sore if I sit too long at a desk compiling things…" Kyler massaged one hand on his thigh for dramatic effect. "But if you really want me to do it, of course I would suffer through the pain for you, Brother."
"Wow. Guilting me into doing the tedious paperwork? Really?" Shayn rolled his eyes.
"Whatever I have to do to get out of it," Kyler's eyes glinted.
"Fine. I hope you feel bad for using me this way. Know that it will only work so many times before I'm immune!" Shayn declared.
"I'll save my guilting for the most important of times." The elder nodded solemnly.
"Paperwork certainly qualifies," Riley smirked. "Fine then. Shayn, I'll expect you to report to the library tomorrow morning to begin compiling the maps and incorporating the information into our known intelligence about the anomalies. Kyler, you'll come to the Council meeting to report officially."
Riley turned to Finn. "Are you done with that library assistant that you were working with on the Cetoan book exchange?"
"Yes, I think so. I brought some more books I need to give to her after my last trip, and should receive a few in return from the outlying towns to send back to Ceto. I was going to go by tomorrow to complete it, but I don't need anything further for now." Finn smiled.
"Good. True competence is hard to come by and this deserves to be done well," Riley nodded. "Would you take Shayn with you and introduce them to begin the work?"
Shayn noted the sparkle in Riley's eye when he talked about his middle brother doing paperwork. Was torture by tedium his reward for years of adventuring in the unknown?
"I'd be happy to." Finn said graciously, turning to Shayn. "The childrens' tutors will begin working with them an hour after sunrise. Shall we meet there or walk together?"
"This is a little out of your way, we can just meet there for your convenience," Shayn nodded with a formal smile.
"Sounds wonderful. It's so good to have you back," The lady smiled, but having satisfied the obligations of manners, took a few sideways steps towards Ashley. "And how is this precious little one?"
"Loud and smelly, like the rest," Riley teased.
"Hush, you. If you don't like them, maybe we should stop having them," Ashley tilted her head at her husband. He opened his mouth for a witty comeback, but when his wife's eyebrows rose, he snapped his mouth shut and kept his comment to himself.
"What I MEANT to say was, we make absolutely beautiful, fantastic children and should bless the world with a dozen more," He grinned mischievously.
Ashley rewarded him with a kiss after passing the baby to Finn to cuddle.
Shayn watched the familial display warmly. It would be nice to be surrounded by people again, especially since he wasn't ultimately responsible for any of the children. "Fun uncle" was a title he was more than ready to embrace.
He hadn't realized until this moment just how isolated he and Kyler had become. They shared everything with each other, but there was more to life than being in the wilderness. As great as that had been… home was a pleasant change.
Finn cooed at the baby and Shayn leaned over to see his newest little niece. Small and red and bald, he didn't particularly see the appeal, but the women seemed besotted with the tiny thing.
"Would you like to hold her?" She asked kindly, though obviously reluctant to share any of the baby's snuggles.
"No, thank you. I prefer playing with the bigger, sturdier ones. I think she'd break if I touched her," Shayn smiled self-deprecatingly. "It'd be too easy to drop her. I don't even know how to hold one."
"It's easy," Ashley assured him, taking the baby from Finn and passing it to him before he could protest. "Hold your elbow like this to support her head, and keep your other hand here."
Shayn let himself be positioned, terrified to do anything wrong. The tiny girl gave a great yawn, and the women sighed happily. Shayn gulped, his hands suddenly feeling large and clumsy.
"All right, thank you, I'm done now," He said tightly.
Ashley laughed at him but obligingly removed the baby from his arms. He was sweating! How could such a little person make him so nervous?
"Would you like to hold your niece, Kyler?" The mother asked.
"Of course, thank you," Kyler said easily, holding his arms out to take the child with a mocking grin at Shayn as if to say 'See how easy it is?'
The younger brother didn't care. He'd never felt so nervous as he had just now. He could entertain a toddler or kid for hours, but anything that couldn't talk and needed diapers changed was not within his skillset to handle.
Amelia put one arm around her son's waist and hugged him. "I'm very glad to have you both home again."
"It's great to be home, Mom," Shayn hugged her back.