*Kai*

Sky had been rambling for a while. It was cute that he tried to tell a story.

"Will you shut it?" Vi shouted, clutching her head. "My head is killing me..."

"Hey, that's uncalled for." Kai pulled Sky close. "Come on, Sky. You can keep chatting my ear off."

Vi folded her arms. "Hmm, you fall asleep when I do that..."

Kai blushed. "Well, sometimes it gets boring."

Vi narrowed her eyes at her husband.

"Clamor down, kids or I'll stop this wagon!" Allie said.

Kai laughed. "You sound like Mom!"

Allie chuckled. "I always wanted to say that. But in all honesty, I feel like the grown up of the group."

Vi hung her head. "Wonder if I'll get to say that line to Chi one day..."

Kai laughed. "If he gets to be as noisy as his uncle and dad, I bet!"

Sky pouted. "So, I am noisy?"

"Yeah, but it's not a bad thing!" Kai grinned. "Means you're lively!"

Vi sighed. "Reminds me of what Del told Star. I miss that kitten and Chi."

"Is that why she's been grouchy? Baby withdrawal syndrome?" Kai stretched and put his hand over hers. "I also miss our little boy, but he's with Mom. She said that she'll video tape all of his antics!" He chuckled. If not for that, Kai might not have left his son.

"Video tape? Using that weird box with a glass eye?" Lulu asked.

"Yeah, it's called a camera. Though, she might also use her fancy bracelet for it." Kai took a breath. "More convenient."

"Star said his first word in forever on your birthday, right?" Allie asked. "Maybe he'll talk your ear off the next time you see him."

"I want my baby..." Vi mumbled. Tears poked out of the corner of her eyes. She fluttered her eyelashes at her husband. "Can I use you as a pillow, honey?"

Alice rolled her eyes. "We brought actual pillows with us, you know, Violet."

Violet narrowed her eyes at her. "You sure have been snappy lately, Alice."

"I've not!"

"You sorta have been," Kai said, laughing.

Alice flushed. "Fine, but I'm gonna hide. I don't want to see a sappy display of affection."

Kai stuck his tongue out at her. "You're just jealous because you have no significant other."

"I'm fine without one."

Vi sighed. "Reminds me of En..."

Kai smiled. "Maybe we should pair them up."

She scrunched her nose. "Please don't, they'll be too much to handle."

Kai laughed. "Anyway, it's fine for you to use me as a pillow." He ruffled his wife's hair. "Just don't use my lap, alright? It's not very soft."

"I can live with that."

Kai helped his wife into the wagon before offering his sister his hand. Once he was inside, he closed the back of the wagon.

Kai had to stifle a laugh. He never thought he would be writing more stories for Vi's brother. It had been so long. Hopefully, he would enjoy the new stories as much as he did the old ones.

He had been there for his sister's birthday. Lulu deserved it and he helped care for his parents and siblings when they needed him.

Still, he couldn't help but feel guilty for not being there for his wife. Even when she put on a brave face, it was clear when she was worried about her brother. She always told the kids she was visiting because he was sick, but Kai didn't think they bought that. They didn't know what it was, but they could sense something was wrong.

Kai wished he could tell them, but he had to respect his wife's wishes, even if he didn't necessarily agree with them.

Lulu turned to look at her big brother. "Hey, Kai? What kind of story are you going to write?"

Kai smiled. "I'm gonna write down all the adventures we're going to have like I did when Vi and I did this last time."

Vi glared at her husband. "Although your big brother likes to be a bit over the top."

"What?" Kai's cheeks reddened. "Another young Key Keeper is going to make her debut!"

Lulu furrowed her eyebrows. "What's a Key Keeper?"

Vi pinched her husband's arm. "Good going, Brainiac!"

Oh right... Lulu didn't know what a KK was. How was Kai going to explain that to her?

"Your big brother is trying to make it sound like Key Keepers are special people, but they're really not."

"But what do they do?"

Vi rubbed against Kai. "All sorts of things really. Good Key Keepers generally do things that help others."

"I know Kai got to go on an extended fishing trip for his. What task did De give you, Vi?"

"I had to deal with people for mine."

Lulu furrowed her eyebrows. "Like as a merchant?"

Vi shook her head. "I had to help improve some people's relationships."

"Huh..."

Vi covered herself with a nearby blanket. "I'd like to take a nap."

If Vi wanted to keep what was going on with her family, that was her choice. Why was she being so vague about her task? She wasn't talking to little kids, so what was the point?

Kai didn't know how, but he felt like he had to help his wife. She wasn't saying so, but she was struggling. He would be a failure of a husband if he ignored her.

Kai sighed. He wouldn't have much of anything to write about so soon into the journey. It would probably be better use of his time to practice his drawing.

He would start with the inside of the wagon.

If he wanted to draw the outside of the wagon, he would have to wait until they were taking a break.

Lulu spoke just above a whisper. "Kai, do you think Vi hasn't been sleeping well?"

"Maybe. She might be tired from her visit with her family. Let's let her rest for a while."

"Okay..."

***

Maybe Kai should have stayed up front. Until they got to the inn, at least. He didn't really tell Alice where he wanted to take them. How could he know when they were getting close?

Kai shook his head. What good would doubt do him? He had to be there for his family. That was all that mattered.

His parents did the most they could to support their children. They didn't have to give them the wagon. Or send them off with lunch. They had to be grateful for that blessing.

Lulu scooted over and squeezed her big brother's hand. "Why don't you join your wife in her nap? It'll be a while yet before we stop again, right? I'm sure Vi would like that. She did ask you to be her pillow."

Maybe that was for the best. He didn't want to worry Lulu any more than he suspected he already was.

Kai crawled to the front of the wagon. "Allie, let me know when we get into town."

"You don't need to tell me that," Allie said. "You and Vi are the ones who actually know where we're going. I would have Lulu wake you if I needed directions."

"Alright," Kai said. "Wake me up if you need to take a break from driving."

Kai crawled back over to his wife and laid her head against his shoulder.

Lulu put a pillow behind her big brother's head. "Relax. Allie, Sky, and I can take care of ourselves, no problem."

***

It wasn't long after that before Kai fell asleep. He shook his head. Someone covered him with the blanket his wife had been using.

Lulu smiled at him. Sky was sitting next to her.

"Did you have a nice nap?"

"Yeah." The young man rubbed his eyes. "Where did Vi go?"

"Not long after she woke up, we hit a fork in the road," Lulu explained. "Since she knows where we're going, she asked to go up front. She's driving right now."

"Did she say if she thinks we'll make it into town before dark?"

"If we're lucky, but I wouldn't count on it," Vi replied from up front.

"If you could hear me, why didn't you say anything?" Kai shouted.

"You sounded out of it. I didn't want to scare you, but it seems like I ended up doing that, anyway."

"You know which inn I wanted to go to?" Kai asked.

"Of course," Vi said. "You want to go to that inn we stayed in when I had to stay off my feet."

Lulu rubbed his arm. "Vi did just tell us that story a few hours ago."

Sky held out a canteen. "Would you like a sip?"

Kai smiled. "Thanks, little bro."

***

Kai heard the wagon creak to a stop and stood up. He pushed the door on the back of the wagon open and hopped off. "Wow. It's really gotten dark."

Vi walked over to them. "I know the inn isn't that far from here, but I can't see enough to feel safe driving anymore."

"If you hadn't decided we should stop, I would have asked you soon," Alice said. "I don't like the idea of running into bare trees any more than you do. Especially when our siblings are with us."

Sky put his hands on his hips. "You say that like Lulu and I are little kids."

Kai rubbed his back. "Still, Mom wouldn't be happy with us if you got hurt."

"She would still fuss if you or Vi got hurt!"

Vi bit her lip. What wasn't she saying?

Alice got some firewood out of the back of the wagon. "Kai, would you please start the fire for us?"

"Of course." Kai took the firewood from his younger sister. "You'll prepare the meat?"

"Yeah." Alice turned back to the wagon. "Did we pack enough blankets?"

"Lulu's are on the top of the pile," Vi said. "Two or three of us can use two if they want. We should stay warm if we huddle up together."

Kai arranged the firewood before lighting it with a stick. "I might not do as great a job as Willie, but I'll try. I'll keep watch while you guys sleep in the wagon."

"But it's not fair if you're the only one who doesn't sleep!" Sky said.

Vi ruffled his blond hair. "Your big brother is being a gentleman, watching over us. A man is watching over women and children like he's supposed to."

"Still..."

"He can sleep in the wagon in the morning. I'll drive us to the inn. He'll be able to sleep as much as he wants once we get there."

Kai chuckled. "I wonder if anyone at the inn will recognize us."

Vi glared at her husband.

Alice put their meat in a pan before putting it over the fire. "I'm glad we shouldn't have to worry about food for a few days."

"We should be able to buy food in town too," Kai said.

"That said, we should wait until our last day in town, so that the food will last us," Vi said.

"What is the town up ahead like?" Alice asked.

Vi's cheeks reddened. "We actually didn't get to explore anything, because I needed to rest."

Kai pecked his wife on the cheek. "We could change that this time. You never know what we could gain from that."

Lulu hugged Vi. "That sounds nice. It'd be boring if we just worked all the time."

"We can't expect Dad to help us find the other gems. We're going to have to get that information somehow," Kai pointed out.

"Right... Though I have a feeling that we're going to have to tread lightly with that," Vi said.

Alice clapped her hands. "Let's eat. We should really be getting to bed."

"Alice is right." Vi slapped her cheeks. "We can have a little fun when we get into town."

Lulu, Alice, and Vi had one serving of meat while Kai and Sky had two. Sky and the girls then climbed into the back of the wagon so they could go to sleep.

It was crazy to think this was Lulu's first night away from home. It was a little scary, but at least she had her brothers and sisters with her.

How did Vi, Kai, and Alice feel when they had to do this for the first time?

Sky wrapped his arms around his big sister. "I love you, Lulu. Sleep well."

Lulu ruffled his hair. "Sleep well, Sky. I love you, too."

Vi kissed them both on the cheek. "Kai will keep us safe. Just sleep for now."

***

Thoughts? Theories? Predictions?

~Shino out!