"Honestly, nothing too much has changed here in the last few years, apart from our marriage. Neercana's shop is doing the same as it always has. I can't say it has grown that much, but she has a lot of loyal customers. With my business being an inn, loyalty only really applies for the regulars that like my drinks, so my business fluctuates a bit more. But, as long as Thorn remains a good place to visit, I'm sure my inn will be fine. As for the rest of my family, my parents are getting older, but they..." Rukeewei began, but he interrupted himself when he noticed another patron enter the inn. 

Rukeewei sighed. "Actually, it looks like I have another customer. I'll come back over when I can. Hopefully Ariel can get my brother over here. I doubt he'll refuse, given that you all just got here." 

---

Yizan-Lei did not quite seem angry, but he was not receptive to Gallus' insistence. If anything, he looked disappointed. But, regardless, he lifted his head up to look firmly towards the tree. "I want...to go to the Hist. Mother was wrong. She was like you, she just looked at right now. She didn't think about the future, about our souls. Please, I want to go to the tree." 

Najan-Ja was still distraught and confused over his nephew's sudden will to die, but Gallus' outburst was enough to give him something definite to act upon. While his wife ran up to Yizan wrapped her arms around him, crying into his shoulder, Najan approached Gallus and practically forced the sheathed weapons he had confiscated into Gallus' arms. "Please just leave us be. I will thank you for the news you brought, but this is a matter for family, not a stranger that knows nothing about our ways."