Despite his bruises, Kin’s heart lightened as the families returned home. Darkness was falling fast thanks to the forest all around them. The entire village had turned out to wish them well in their Ordeal. His heart swelled so much he was afraid it might burst. Though he could admit to himself this was also thanks to Nami's hand wrapped in his as they went.

Their fathers talked in low voices as they walked. He spotted his mother, Sigga, and Nami's mother, Airu, carrying Kisa and Kida. The twins had fallen asleep during the match. They emerged into the clearing, only to find another surprise waiting for them.

Sitting on the steps to the Forgewood home was none other than Nami's older brother, Tarin. Built like a blacksmith with embered eyes, his ashy hair passed his shoulders. Unusually, Tarin had a very pronounced forehead. He beamed and rose from his seat, arms wide in greeting.

"Welcome home," he said to the party at large. Nami’s father pulled his middle child into a hug. Kin grinned as Nami rushed forward to be the next to cuddle her brother. Nami’s mother then walked up and joined in. He had not seen Tarin for almost a year now. He had been training in Rootford as an armorer, a skill neither Heath nor Alastor could teach him. Red Phoenixes generally preferred light armor made from leather rather than heavy armor. He chuckled to himself, trying to imagine himself walking to his and Nami's clearing in a suit of armor.

After his family had moved out of the way, Kin strolled towards him with a lazy wave. Tarin nodded at him with an appraising look. "My, my, could this be Kin? You look stronger than when we last met."

"Believe it." Kin smirked and the two young men grasped arms. "Welcome home, Tarin."

"Glad to be home, little brother-to-be." The older smith chuckled as Kin blushed.

From the corner of his eye, he could see Nami put her hands on her hips as she glared at her brother. Kin then noticed that Heath and Alastor shared a look and a firm nod.

"Kin, Nami," Alastor began. "We have something important to tell you both before you leave in the morning."

His father had a serious look as he continued. His face, usually so full of joy, seemed wrong in this form. His heart beat faster from anxiety. "It would not be a stretch to say your journey hinges on this information."

A sense of foreboding washed over Kin at the words of his father and mentor.

His mother shook her head. "Not yet, dear. Let's do presents first before we get into that unpleasant business. You have to go and settle down while we bring some warm cider and fetch them."

Alastor and Heath agreed to this, which didn't surprise Kin. He felt a twinge of annoyance at the delay, the suspense was killing him. Nami and himself headed over to the tables set up in the center of the inner yard of the Smithy. Tarin was quick to follow them, having taken Kisa and Kida from the women. Heath and Alastor were the last to join them, Gami went off with their wives. He watched them approach, once more in deep counsel with each other. Nothing unusual for them though.

As he pondered what they wanted to discuss, Nami leaned in and whispered into his ear. Her breath was warm and delightful on his flesh. "You know, we take after our fathers."

"You think so?" Kin asked in surprise. "I mean, I am a sword smith like Dad is but I don't look like him enough to say I take after him."

He didn't need to see Nami's face to feel her coy smile. She replied, "No, I mean how close we are. They're always together like we have been since we were kids."

Nami was right. Kin himself had noticed Alastor and Heath had always done everything together. They had opened a smithy together. Their bond mirrored the one their fathers had.

"You're right," He felt Nami brush the single tear away.

"Of course I am," she teased. He looked into her blue eyes and began to get lost in their depths. "I know you better than anyone, Kin, your strengths, and your weaknesses. As I know you put up with my perfectionism and my uncontrollable vice."

Tarin interrupted bluntly, "How long are you two gonna be in your little world?" Kin jumped away from Nami, and she did the same. His face heated, even in the cool evening air. There was a chortle from their fathers.

Nami stuck her tongue out at them and then her expression turned somber as she remarked,

"I wish Raian was here tonight."

Her words sobered the mood up a little. Raian hadn’t been home in three years. He hugged his partner, running his hands through her soft hair to calm her down.

Kin nodded in agreement. "He's a lot of fun. He was the one with the best jokes."

Heath put on a mock frown. "Are you saying my jokes are not funny, son?"

"Yes, Dad."

Heath smirked. "I admit I ran out of new material ages ago."

Alastor muttered, in a stage whisper they could all hear. "You ran out way before that, old friend." This earned him a mock look of shock as Heath touched his heart, feigning pain.

"My best friend and my son turned against me. My daughters are asleep at the table. Only my wife left at my side."

Sigga emerged at that moment, hot mugs of cider steaming in the cooler air. "Sorry dear, but I didn't marry you for your jokes."

Ashen-faced, Heath down at the table, a defeated man. Alastor poked his shoulder. Kin was trying his best to repress his laughter, but giggles escaped him as he watched his father pout. Nami buried her face in his shoulder and cried from laughing so hard. Kin rubbed her back to calm her down. Gami came out with two large packages in her arms, Airu right behind her with two more. Sigga had a pleased look as she approached and took one of the packages from her best friend. "Here, let me give my son his gift."

"Sure." Airu grinned and let the Golden Phoenix woman take the gifts. There was a clink as the contents shifted inside. Gami approached Kin and Nami first though, a matching package in each hand.

"Here, my mentor gave me one of these on my graduation day from her tutelage. I figure it's time I do the same for you, as you go off on your Ordeal." She handed them each their gift. Kin inclined his head in thanks, as did Nami.

"Thank you, Gami." Nami gushed as she ripped the paper off hers like a child during the Giving Festival. Kin shook his head at his love and opened his own. He found himself speechless by the contents. Inside the box, there was an oiled leather coat, with the same design as Gami's. It would keep the wearer dry in the rain and offer some protection. Kin heard Nami sniffle as she hugged Gami, starting to cry again.

"Oh. Thank you. Thank you."

Kin smiled as he examined his jacket. He saw that the back had straps to attach his sword scabbard to. He gave Gami a brilliant grin.

"I love it, thanks Gami."

The older warrior beamed and petted Nami's hair as they hugged. "You're welcome. Wear them with pride. Anyone who sees you in one will know who your teacher is, so be ready for them to ask you to handle things for them."

Kin nodded, the trust she was giving to him worth more than this wonderful gift. It took Nami several moments to regain her composure. When she rejoined him, she had slipped the jacket on. He noted her jacket was also reinforced on the back for her quiver.

Gami winked at Kin. "I also had some compartments for blades made into yours, Nami. In case you ever need to toss some knives. And Kin, there is a place in yours to keep something small. I don't know if that will be useful to you, but Jason suggested it."

He rose and clapped arms with Gami. "I'm sure it will be when needed. Thank you, Gami. I enjoyed learning from you."

Gami pulled him into a hug. "And it was a pleasure to teach you. Make me proud. Remember, once you draw your sword—"

"It cannot return to its sheath until I have crossed blades with the enemy," Kin finished.

"Good lad. You'll be fine, I'm sure. Take care of Nami. And Nami," Gami looked at the archer. "Watch your man's back. Alone, the two of you have tons of promise and will be great one day. Together, you will be a formability force."

Gami went and sat down, her part finished. Kin sighed as a rush of nostalgia ran over him. No more hours of training with Alastor or Gami before him. The next time he fought, it would likely be for real. Next, Airu approached Nami with her parcel. Nami took the package and then hugged her mother. Kin elbowed her when she seemed unlikely to let go.

"Come on, open it," he said with a playful grin, the need to know what was inside already nagging at him. Nami puffed up her cheeks as she opened the package. Within, there was a quiver of high-quality arrows made from various woods. The fletching of the arrows was a bright red from birds in the region, but one of the arrows had rare blue feathers. Kin could see Nami's breath catch at the sight.

"They're wonderful," came her emotional reply a few moments later.

Alastor had a pleased expression as he ruffled his daughter's hair. "You're welcome. Jason made the fletching and set the arrows, I and Heath made the tips. Jason said the blue feathers are from a bird he saw as a child, a rare occurrence it seems. The arrow is a good luck charm of some sort."

Kin saw father and daughter embrace. "Be careful out there, Nami dear," the older smith said. "Oh, my baby girl is leaving the nest."

"Oh, father." Kin watched her smile, tears glistening in her eyes.

Heath and Sigga approached him and offered him the other parcel. Kin noticed as he took it into his hands, it was quite heavy. He opened the package and pulled out a shirt made of chain links, interlocked together. There was a clink as he picked it up and examined it further. As he did so, two shirts made of very light cloth meant to go with the chain shirt fell to the ground. The make and color reminded him of his mother's weaving. He looked up at his father as he held up the shirt and Heath laughed, holding his belly. He couldn't help but grin; his father's laughter was very contagious. He admired the way the man's features all got involved with the laugh, like the way water rippled when you throw in a rock.

"Did you make this?"

"Oh, no, son," the smith said as he calmed down. "I didn't make this. Nor did Tarin." As Heath had been clarifying this, Kin's eyes had been wandering over to examine Nami's older brother. "We ordered it from a shop in Rootford. When you go there on your trip, you should stop in and say hello to the owner. He made that for you himself."

Kin nodded. "I will. It's woven tight." He tapped it with his finger. Gami walked over and felt the shirt herself.

"Hmm, yes it is a good make," she confirmed. "The Doves usually forswear metal armor in favor of mobility but this is the best of both worlds. I hope this piece saves you during many battles, Kin."

Kin found himself speechless and a burning warmth in his chest for everyone that was there. For his parents for the thoughtful gift that must have cost them much. For Gami, who was his mentor and friend. And for Nami, whom he could see from the corner of his eye. The smile and affection on her face mirrored the feelings in his own heart. He was unable to stop the happy tears flowing down his cheeks. Airu hugged him along with Sigga and he could hear Nami's mother speak to him.

"Never feel ashamed to cry, Kin. Not when it is from happiness or even sadness. I hope you know me and Alastor have always loved you as much as our child, and we wish you to return safely."

Kin, so moved in this moment, knew he needed to confess their deepest secret. He opened his mouth to tell them but stopped as Alastor shook his head. "I know what you're going to say. We have all known. You and Nami want to explore the land and not settle down here to work the forges after your Ordeal."

Kin heard Nami gasp in shock. "But how?"

Alastor smirked at her and Kin realized where he had gotten that habit. "Because the two of you inherited the spirit of four adventurers. We never told you this, but before we settled down here, we were a pretty famous adventuring party."

Gami snorted at this. "You mean infamous, don't you, Alastor?"

Alastor put on a mask of mock shock. "Why, whatever do you mean?"

"Don't play innocent. How many times did you four end up in trouble for burning something down?"

Heath protested. "Hey now. That only happened once."

Sigga sighed. "Twice, dear. You're forgetting the windmill."

"Oh right," Heath said, his expression turning sheepish. "That malformed building, I thought it was a giant monster."

"Three times," Airu spoke, her voice almost a whisper. Heath and Sigga both looked in shock at the quiet housewife. She blushed and continued. "Alastor and I were in a hot spring when a monster attacked. It all ended in flames and angry words in the local Doves office."

"Oh," Sigga and Heath said in unison. "So it was you two that destroyed our favorite hot spring." Alastor was still trying to play innocent but was slipping to sheepish.

Kin listened to this back and forth, basking in the casual tone in which the news came, from a distance. It felt amazing that he had discovered a side to his parents he had not known before. Kin felt the corners of his mouth tug up into a smile. He noticed Heath looking at him from the corner of his eye and grin as well. Soon Airu, Sigga, and Alastor joined them, all smiling. After what felt like a while though, Tarin coughed.

"Well, we should let the lovebirds get to bed." He jabbed at his sister and Kin. "They have an early morning coming."

Kin sighed but Tarrin had a point. Sunrise would be here before they knew it and the road was waiting. He stood up and helped Nami to her feet. He stopped when his father spoke, his voice more serious than he ever.

"Hold on, there is one more thing we need to discuss."

Alastor paced back and forth, something he did quite often when he was nervous or at a loss on what to say. The swordsmith looked at Kin's father as if asking for help. The mountain of a smith shrugged and scratched his head. He seemed unsure how to help the dark-haired man. Alastor gave a slight glare at Heath before stopping before the table where they sat.

"I'm sorry kids," he started. "This is difficult for us to talk about. Your mothers are the only people we have shared this story with. We haven't even told Raian yet."

Kin looked at Nami and then Tarin. Both seemed to grasp the depth of what was to come. Alastor sat down, facing the kids, and steeped his fingers, elbows on the table. "As you already know, Heath and I have shared many things, including a birthday. We share a love of fishing, cold cider, and the heat of a forge. But unlike the two of you," and at this, he waved at both Kin and Nami, "we were not always friends. We were not even allowed to speak to one another, let alone play together."

Kin felt his breath hitch. He had so many questions, but he couldn't get the words to form. He gulped back and waited as Alastor continued.

"The Hearthstones and the Forgewoods have been rivals for generations in the capital. We were never told why—"

Heath laughed as he cut off Alastor, though it sounded strained. "My mother clipped me over the head with the back of her hand once for asking about it."

Alastor shook his head. "Yeah, your mum had a mean backhand. I cannot count the number of times she and my mum went at each other's throats."

Kin could see Nami's aghast expression at the thought. "But why would they attack each other?"

"I know, baby girl. It seems so odd given our communal way of life. You are correct about that. It is very unusual for our people to fight with each other. But for some reason, our families have always had a grudge against each other."

Kin could see the question in Nami's eyes and decided to be the one to ask it. "Why are you bringing this up now?" The appreciative look Nami gave him for that almost made up for what came next.

"They're your grandmothers, so the leaders of our families. You must have their blessing to take the Ordeal."

Nami's voice sounded panicked as she responded. "We don't need the Ordeal to become adventurers though. We can still follow our dream, right?"

"Of course not, baby girl." Her father took her into his arms to try and calm her down. "The issue is, most of the tribes are big on tradition. They might not hire you if you haven't at least finished that most basic one."

Kin could tell Nami wanted to say more but Airu stepped in and took her little girl into her arms. "That's enough of that for tonight. Kin, Nami, off to bed with both of you."

***

Kin lay in bed an hour later, looking up at the ceiling. He could hear his younger sisters sleeping in their bed on the other side of the thin divider wall. They were always so noisy in their sleep. He had been thinking he should have gone to sleep early himself. But the secret revealed to Nami and himself had shaken him to his core. As he lay there thinking, the window near him slid open and a dark shadow came through.

He rolled his eyes as the only person that would enter that way was Nami, and moved over to let her snuggle in beside him. She had already changed into her nightclothes as she slid in next to him. His arms wrapped around her and her head went to rest on his chest with a contented sigh.

"Hey," he said to which he heard a muffled giggle.

"Your pillow talk needs work." The sweet voice of his love drifted to his ears in the dark.

"Nah, you know you love it." He cradled her close. "How did you sneak out?"

"It's a full moon," Nami responded from her place on his chest. Kin wondered how he forgot that. Their parents always went out every full moon as far back as he could remember.

"Yeah, I forgot it was already that time of the month."

Nami leaned up on her arms. "Did you forget or are you distracted with what they told us?"

He bit his lip as he considered it. "You're right, I'm distracted. After all, I never expected something like that."

As she lay in his bed, Kin could feel Nami clutch to him a little tighter. She sought comfort from the torrent of memories of the conversation. Her voice was hoarse with worry as she asked what was on her mind.

"They... they cannot stop us from completing the Ordeal and becoming adventurers. Can they?"

Kin sighed as he cradled his love close, his hand rubbing her back. "Our grandmothers are the heads of our families, and as such we need their permission to do the Ordeal. They could be an obstacle, one we are not prepared for."

She let out a frustrated groan. "I suppose we cannot beat them up until they agree to let us do the Ordeal?"

He chuckled and kissed her forehead. "I don't think this obstacle will be one we can solve by force."

Nami moved so he was gazing into her deep blue eyes again, a sight he never tired of. One of the boons of their unique eyes was minor illumination in the dark. "You're right. I guess we'll have to play it by ear when we get there."

He nodded as he got lost in those eyes once more. "Yeah, I wish we could find the source of the feud. We can bring it to an end and get the future in-laws in agreement."

Nami laughed, a sound he never tired of hearing either. "A fine adventure for the two of us, but I doubt we can bring several generations' feud to an end. And regardless of what those old ladies think, you are mine." Her lips touched his. "No matter what, no one is standing in my way."

Kin pulled her into the cuddle again. "No worries, I won't let anyone stop us from being together either. Now, let's get some sleep. We got an early start tomorrow."

All he got in response was a soft snore. In her sleep, Nami looked even more like an angel than when she was awake. Usually, the full moon was a time of passion between the two, but he could forgive her this time. Tonight had been trying and they both needed sleep. He kissed her cheek and then let sleep claim him as well.