Our heroes have reached Rainhaven, after stopping in Avens Woods for Edeline. Since Edeline's warrior clan doesn't allow "outsiders", her friends had to wait a while in the woods. Oar had almost made the mistake of sitting on a "rock", but Faeda and Galen shouted and pulled him away quickly.

Oar: (o_o)
Faeda: "Um, that's a monster." (;^_^)
Adie: "What?" (o_O)
Galen: "It looks like a rock, but it's not. Edeline failed to tell Faeda and I, the last time we were here." (;u_u)
Adie: "Freaky!" (o_o)
Vi: "Are we in danger?" (O_o)
Faeda: "No. As long as you don't bother it, we're fine." (;^_^)
Oar: "Interesting..." (-_-)
Galen: "No, it's not!" W('O')W
Adie: "Well, it kinda is. A rock that's a monster! That's SO cool!" o(^_-)O
Galen: "It's not cool, when hundreds of those things come chasing!" (;u_u)
Faeda: (;^_^)

Now, it was late evening and Rainhaven was just winding down for the night. "How does it feel to be back home?" Faeda smiles to Galen. "It feels weird." he answers, "Especially because this is where our friendship started." "That's right!" smiles Edeline, "Just in that tavern over there." "It seems so long ago." smiles Faeda. "Yep," says Galen, "Faeda was the strange girl, alone in a pub, and she looked lost. If I didn't decide to speak with her, how different would our story be?"
"So cool!" squeals Adie, "You were friends from the start!" "Not exactly." laughs Edeline, nervously, "I came into the pub, looking for Galen, and found him screaming at the poor girl." Everyone gives Galen a look of surprise. "It's not my fault!" he shouts, waving his arms, "I thought she was being stuck-up!" "What's the matter?" says Vi, "Did Faeda turn you down flat?" Galen blushes and yells, "It wasn't like that?!" "No." nods Faeda, blushing too, "He kept asking me about my journey. And at that time, I didn't think I could trust him." "So," says Galen, looking towards the ground, "I mistook her silence."
"But," smiles Faeda, "Edeline saved me, from the very angry man!" Vi and Adie giggles. Galen folds his arms. "Well," says Edeline, "You're not as angry as you use to be, Galen. You have changed, over time." "Really?" grins Galen, now proud. "Yes," agrees Oar, "You only scream like an idiot, for good reasons now." Galen turns pale and then dark red. "WHAT?!" he shrieks.

Edeline: "Anyhoo... we should get some rest tonight. We'll head for Redport in the morning." (^_^)
Faeda: "It's it bit early. Maybe we should stop by that pup, for a while." (^_^)
Galen: "With that Innkeeper and Cook? Trust me, it will be cheaper to have drinks at my place." (>_>)
Vi: "Um... Faeda is too young to drink. I think she's hungry." (;^_^)
Faeda: "Very. I was trying to be subtle." (;^_^)
Galen: "Well... I don't have much to eat, at my place. But I can stop by the market." o(^_-)O
Edeline: "I'll come along and help carry the bags." (^_^)
Galen: "Great. You guys can wait in my house, until Edeline and I get back. It's the small house, second on the left." (^_-)
Adie: "Yay! We get to see Galen's home!" (^o^)
Galen: "Um... don't break anything." (<_<)
Oar: "Aw, shucks! What are we going to do for fun, then?" (-_-)
Galen: "I MEAN IT!!!" W('O')W

While Edeline and Galen run off to the market, the others walk into the very small wooden home of Galen. "Ugh," shudders Adie, "It's a shack!" "Adie." frowns Faeda. "I'm just saying." she shrugs. "Yes," says Oar, looking around, "It's small, dank, and very messy. Seems like Galen!" Vi tries not to laugh, but a snort escapes. "Be nice." says Faeda, "Maybe this was all he could afford." "Eww!" yelps Adie, pointing, "What is that?!" Everyone looks towards a green fuzzy easy-chair. "Um..." frowns Oar, "It's a chair, Adie." "No," she frowns, "That's not a chair?!"
Oar sighs, "No need to be a snob. Yes, it's not particularly stylish or anything, but looks like a very comfortable one." He plops down into it and sighs. "I was right." he says, blankly. "Hmm..." frowns Adie, giving the chair another odd look, "Well... whatever." "Hey," smiles Vi, "I wonder what the rest of his house looks like!" "Yeah!" cheers Adie, "Let's snoop!" They rush into another room, Faeda running behind.

Faeda: "Wait! Maybe we shouldn't..." (o_o)
Adie: "Galen won't mind!" (^o^)
Vi: "As long as we don't break anything." (^_-)
Faeda: "I don't know..." (>_>)
Adie: "Ooh! This is the kitchen. It smells funny..." (o_O)
Vi: "Hey! Over here! I found his room!" (^_^)
Adie: "Ooh! What's in there?" (^o^)
Faeda: "Wait... we can't go in there!" (o_o)
Vi: "It's kinda messy in here too." (;^_^)

There were clothes tossed everywhere, along with a few temple cloaks, and warrior gloves. But the thing that stood out, was the photo on his nightstand, next to his small bed. In the photo, there was a smiling woman and man, holding a very young Galen in their arms. Even though he was barely four in that picture, you can still tell it's him, for those almond eyes and surly pout. "His mother and father?" guessed Adie. "Most likely." nods Vi. "I wonder what happened to them." says Faeda. Galen's front door opens and the girls rush from the room, with guilty looks on their faces.
"We're back!" sings Edeline. Galen notices the girls. "Okay," he frowns, "What did you break?" "Nothing." they all answer. But before Galen could ask further, he sees Oar sitting the chair, nearly falling asleep. "Hey!" he yells, running over to Oar, "That's.... that's...!" Oar frowns, "Is this your favorite chair?" "It's garbage!" yells Galen, "And I mean literally! I was rushing to catch up with Faeda, that morning, that I forgot to take out the garbage!" "Ugh!" yells Oar, hoping to his feet!

Adie: "I knew something was wrong with that chair!!!" (o_o)
Faeda: (;^_^)
Oar: "How disgusting!" (;-_-)
Edeline: "Well, it kinda looks like chair." (o_O)
Adie: "What is it?" (O_o)
Galen: "Just a normal bag. I guess over time, mold started to grow." (;^_^)
Oar: (>_<)
Adie: "Eww!" (o_o)
Vi: (u_u)
Galen: "Don't worry, I'll move it now." (;^_^)
Faeda: *snicker* (^x^)
Oar: "It's not funny!" (>_<)
Edeline: "Kinda is..." (^_^)
Galen: "Hmm... it's also heavy like a chair. Give me a hand, Oar?" (;^_^)
Oar: (-_-)

After the guys moved the chair-shaped mold from the house, everyone got comfortable on the real sofa and chairs. "So," smiles Adie, "What's for dinner?" "Something great!" grins Galen, "Homemade funnel cakes!" "That's not a meal!" frowns Adie. "It's for dessert." sighs Edeline, "I plan to cook the meal tonight. And Galen will fry cakes after." "Hmph." he frowns, "You guys can have Edeline's potato stew tonight. But I'm only eating funnel cakes." "Juvenile." frowns Oar. But Galen's off in funnel cake daydreams.
"Well," shrugs Edeline, "I better get started. It should be done in a few hours, if that's okay, Faeda?" "Sure," she smiles, "I don't mind waiting that long. And I think I will tidy the place a bit too." "Huh?" says Galen, snapping out of his dream, "Why?" "It's my thanks for letting us stay the night." winks Faeda. "Oh," blushes Galen, "That's not necessary, we're friends." "A clean place isn't a bad idea." nods Oar, "Unless you like the place this dirty?"

Galen: "No, not really..." (;^_^)
Faeda: "Good, then it's decided! I will have this place spotless!" (^_^)V
Vi: "I'll help!" (^_^)
Oar: "So will I." (-_-)
Adie: "Me too! Me too!" (^o^)
Galen: "Hey, you don't have to go to all that trouble..." (;^_^)
Faeda: "It's no trouble at all!" (^_-)
Adie: "We want to help!" (^o^)
Galen: "Wow... thanks guys." (*^_^*)
Adie: "Where do you keep your bucket and mop?" (^o^)
Oar: "I bet those are foreign words for him." (-_-)
Galen: "It is not!!!" W('O')W

After a while of cleaning, Edeline was done with dinner. Everyone got ready to eat and sat around Galen's oak table, in the kitchen. They ate, talked, and laugh. Galen stuffed his face with as many funnel cakes he could fry. After dinner, everyone was full, carefree, and happy. And for Faeda, it felt like she was home, with her family. That thought reminds her of the photo on Galen's nightstand. She doesn't want to pry, but her curiosity continues to grow, till she finally gives up. "Um," she asks, nervously, "Who are the people, in the photo, Galen?"
"Oh," he says, thoughtfully, "So you've saw it. That's a photo of me and my parents, when I was younger." "I thought so." whispers Adie to Vi. "It's funny." he reflects, "I had once thought you were stuck-up, Faeda, because you wouldn't tell me your secret. But all this time, I've kept a secret from you all." "Galen." says Edeline, worried. "It's okay," he waves, "They are my friends too. I think it's time for me to share my story."

Faeda: "That's okay. I don't want to pry." (;^_^)
Galen: "No, I want to share it, now. I'm ready to." (>_>)
Edeline: "Galen..." (-_-)
Galen: "My parents were killed, when I was six, two years after that photo was taken." (<_<)
Adie: "That's so sad..." (o_o)
Faeda: "I'm sorry, Galen." (-_-)
Galen: "They were killed, when a soldier of Zev raided this town." (-_-)
Oar: "Why isn't that so surprising?" (-_-)
Vi: "It seems as through Zev is the center of Serenity's sadness." (>_>)
Edeline: (-_-)
Galen: "That's most likely true." (<_<)

Galen continues, "I hid in a cupboard, as my parents tried to protect me. And their actions did save me, but left me an orphan. It was then the Warrior Monks took me in, trained me, and provided as a 'family' for me. But my grief soon turned to anger. And then my anger was soon rage. My parents had died for no reason! There was nothing in Rainhaven for Zev! The soldier simply stopped here to kill people for sport!" Galen pauses, to calm down a bit. Edeline is really worried, but doesn't say anything. Everyone else is worried too.
"But," says Galen, "I wasn't the only one to lose loved ones, that day. So many of the people of Rainhaven looked after me. In a way, their my extended family, I know everyone here and they know me. And even with a family this big, I'm still angry, filled with rage. Three years ago, Master Xu of the Warrior Monks was being a bit harsh, with his lessons for me. I completely lost it, snapped, and I grabbed him and..." Everyone gapes at Galen, shocked. "Yes," he says, ashamed, "Master Xu was hurt and it took him three months to recover. Even now, he still has a slight limp. For that, the Monks had no choice but to ban me."

Faeda: "But you didn't mean to hurt him!" (o_o)
Galen: "Yes, I was sorry. But even so, the other Monks were afraid of me." (-_-)
Adie: "They should have given you a second chance!" (u_u)
Edeline: "That's a rule of the Warrior Monks, to never do harm to another Monk. It's the worst crime ever, to them. Punishment is exile." (-_-)
Vi: "How horrible." (-_-)
Galen: "No. I understand why they exiled me. If you'd seen the damage I had done, you'd be afraid too. I was afraid, when I realized what I've done." (-_-)
Oar: "What changed? I highly doubt you'd snap on any of us now. So, what changed your anger?" (-_-)
Galen: "Master Xu. Even though I had hurt him, he'd come to visit me, after he was better. He gave me his forgiveness." (^_^)
Adie: "What a cool guy!" (^o^)
Galen: "And with his forgiveness and concern, I was able to put away some of that rage." (^_^)
Faeda: (^_^)

"And," sighs Galen, "From that day forward, I've never snapped. I've got angry, yelled, screamed... but I've never lost reality. I will never hurt a person, the way I hurt Master Xu, ever again. This is my promise to myself. But still... I still have some rage to work out. But being with you guys, has helped a lot. This journey has helped a lot, even the bad stuff we've been through, too. Because it's hard to hold onto old rage, when you're too busy trying to survive for today, with loved ones." "Aw!" smiles Adie, "He called us 'loved ones'!" "Shut up." frowns Galen. Vi and Faeda giggles. "Thanks, Galen," says Oar, "For sharing your story."
Galen yawns, now tired. "It's late." nods Edeline, "Perhaps we should get some sleep?" They camp out in Galen's living room and quickly fall asleep. Galen slips off to dreams of funnel cakes... Later, he is awaken, by screams and commotion outside. He rushes from the house to see that Rainhaven is being attacked! "Hello, Galen." says a dark voice. Galen turns to see Star, standing nearby, his arm is missing above the elbow. "Nice of you to join us!" hissed Star...