The next day dawned bright and clear. Flame and Aidan said their goodbyes to their friends, and set off for their northern home. Below them the effects of chaos showed clear on the land. Colors and shapes were subtly wrong, or sometimes not so subtly. Some of the landmarks they knew seemed to have vanished entirely, while others were changed or twisted. But those effects were only in patches, here and there. Most of the countryside was as it had always been. It would be years, perhaps decades, before everything recovered completely, but it could have been much worse. It had been very, very close to being much worse.

But that is all in the past, thought Aidan as he flew. No more risking our lives, no more saving the world. Now we will live an ordinary life and raise our children.

They took their time as they went north, flying at a leisurely pace through the cool autumn days. They camped early and spent their evenings curled up together in front of their campfire. Flame took firecat form most nights, and Aidan leaned against her, stroking her soft fur. They did little more than that, simply being together again was enough.

They did have to fly fast when they made the ocean crossing again. There was nowhere to stop at the halfway point, just empty water beneath them, so the day and a half journey had to be made in one long flight. They stopped, tired and hungry, as soon as they reached land. They made a rough camp atop a high cliff with the ocean crashing below. The night was cold; here in the northlands winter was already settling in. There was a thin layer of snow on the ground, and Aidan was glad of his warm coat. Flame Song didn't feel the cold, for her this was still mild weather. She stretched out on the ground, and Aidan rested his head on her side and ran his fingers through her warm fur. Sleepily she murmured, “Don’t do that, your fingers are cold.” Aidan gave a soft chuckle and then all was silent as both of them drifted off to sleep.

The next morning they flew on to Snowcap, where they resupplied themselves, but with the winter cold rapidly deepening they couldn't delay. The pass over the Barrier Mountains might be crossed by air even after the first deep snows closed it to wagons and foot traffic, but flying during the winter at those altitudes was a chancy thing, and they wanted to go over the pass before the snow set in. So they stopped in Snowcap for only an hour or so before setting off again. By sunset they had crossed the pass and were winging their way over the forested foothills. They camped on the fringes of the forest. When they set off again at sunrise Aidan could just make out a glint of light to the west, where the high spire of Coppertop threw back the light of the rising sun.

“I wonder if Belak has managed to reach home yet?” asked Aidan.

“I doubt it. This late in the year he’ll have a time getting a reliable ship to take him, and even if he found one we still probably beat him here.”

They flew on, passing now over the low rolling hills of the northern plains. The land looked barren, the grass was dead and patched with early snow, but it was also home, and they both felt their hearts lightening as they flew ever closer. Flame Song laughed and looped a loop in the air. Aidan laughed back at her and did a double loop with a barrel roll at the end.

“Show-off!” Flame accused with a grin. “Race you home!”

“You got it!” Aidan started winging north with all the speed he had, but he knew that despite the skill and experience that came from being an aerian, he didn’t stand a chance. Sure enough a moment later a great eagle, larger than Aidan but much faster than the less aerodynamic humanoid could ever be, came streaking past him.

"Cheater!" he yelled after her, and laughed again.

A few minutes later Aidan landed at the base of the hill that was their home. Flame had arrived just before him and had already ducked into the dark entry and was unlocking the front door. Inside the air was a little bit stale, and everything was dark. Flame Song went inside with Aidan close behind. She went to one of the oil lamps in brackets on the wall and, taking a match from a low table nearby, she lit it. She occasionally missed her fire-starting gift. Before coming to Aretha she could have lit the lamp with a touch. But considering that if she had never come here she never would have met Aidan she did not at all regret the loss.

The warm glow of the lamps showed that there was dust everywhere. They had been away for less than two months, but dust gathers fast in an underground house. “What a mess. I think we need to do some cleaning!”

Aidan groaned. “Can’t it wait until tomorrow?”

"There's plenty of today left, and I want to sleep in a clean house," said Flame.

“Yes ma’am," said Aidan, and he gave her a mock salute.