[i]’A lot has happened.’[/i] 

Enasi let out a deep sigh, relaxing and letting his realm wrap him in its positive energies. The halls were quiet, which was a relatively good sign considering all of the hectic things that occurred not too long before. To be fair, all of the chaos was very contained. Overall, his realm was the same bundle of positive energy, but there were small twinges of something different. Something neutral. The guardian let out another sigh, one that was more relief filled than anything. Neutral was good. It wasn’t a lot, and it was mainly in his home, but it was a start. 

[i]’We took a trip to the Nightmare Realm. It didn’t go as planned, but things ended up smooth.’[/i] Enasi ran a hand over his stomach before adding, [i]’More or less, smooth. Rue is also a very well balanced mix of positive and negative energy. He’s okay, as if nothing’s changed.’[/i] 

He turned a corner, passing the hospital ward. He wasn’t sure where he was going, but he let himself roam. [i]’Seishu got kidnapped for a few days. But he’s back now. He’s recovering. He needs to take some trips to the Earth realm. We need to get his realm back.’[/i] Enasi caught himself before his thoughts could derail into panicking over everything from Seishu’s health to the Balance being a hassle. Instead he kept walking. 

It wasn’t often he was able to have a calm moment to himself. Most moments to himself had been filled with panic and reorganizing. It was rare that he actually took the time to care for himself… “Huh.” The idea of it made him pause in his tracks. “I guess...that is a bit unhealthy.” Enasi scratched his head and stretched his arms over his head. He wasn’t going to bring it up with the others though. He didn’t want another ‘I told you so’ from them.

Two energies approaching only grew stronger when they realized their guardian was near. The two staff members, both elves of some sort, beamed in delight when they saw him. He returned their smiles with hugs and kisses on their foreheads. They were going to burst with happiness at this point making him laugh and contain both their energies. “Thank you.” 

“Thank you? For?”

“There’s no need to thank us sir. You do so much for us, we’re just happy to do these little tasks for you. And to see you well rested.” 

“Right! We’re your subjects. Loyal no doubt. Thanking us is not necessary.”

This caused Enasi to laugh, but he nodded nonetheless. “Yes, of course. I will still of course appreciate my minions.” They grinned and respectfully bowed as they were sent back to their duties. The guardian watched them go and eventually decided that he had enough time to himself. As ironic as his behavior was, closing people off or keeping things to himself, Enasi thrived off being with others and so that’s what he decided to do.

~~~~~~~ 

Moments that felt like hours passed. Despite such a short time, Crios felt that it was exactly what he needed. When the fox doctor finally found his resolve, he embraced Cho tighter, keeping his tail at bay instead of wrapping that around him as well. A little more reluctantly, Crios pulled himself away from the chef. “Sorry for disturbing you while you were working. I realized-” He paused to figure out the right words. “Well, Lord Enasi has a habit of reminding me of the things...or people that are important.” He gave a sheepish grin only to be met with a kiss.

“None of the apologizing necessary. I was only surprised- a good surprised!” Cho grinned and continued. “I’m glad our guardian could knock some sense into you too.” The chef snickered and let go of Crios as he laughed as well. 

“Taking breaks- even the small ones, they’re nice. I should do it more often.” 

Cho listened as the man in front of him get lost in his thoughts. He wasn’t going to hold Crios to that, not wanting the doctor to feel like he had to stop working for his sake. It was something he loved to do and Cho wasn’t going to take that from him. “You do what you can, and I appreciate every bit of it. I am happy as-” For once, it wasn’t Crios that interrupted their time together. A smaller minion sheepishly walked over to get her boss’ attention. 

“Sir, I apologize for the interruption but…” Her voice trailed off for a moment as she straightened out her apron. “We may have dropped the pastry dish.” 

Cho sighed in exasperation and turned to go see the problem, however before he could disappear too quickly, he turned and hugged Crios once more. “I’ve got to get back in and see how much chaos has ensued. I never knew just how busy this job was until I became the one in charge. But, don’t worry, it won’t be too long before we see each other again.” 

~~~~~~

Harper watched Seishu’s expression up until his eyes closed once again. “What are we going to do with you Night?” Harper said absentmindedly before letting both ears flop down. Just for a few moments, he let his guard down. Just for a few moments, he stopped listening so intently to the world around him and for once it was rather quiet. Harper took to his own thoughts, mulling over the status of things just as his guardian had. He also thought of things that the guardian may have needed assistance with- without him having to ask. It helped being one step ahead of things when his guardian had tendencies to avoid sharing issues. 

Harper managed to get a few minutes of actual rest and nearly missed the footsteps approaching the door. One ear shot up and soon he was sitting up and rubbing his furry cheeks. Before the door could open, Harper hopped up and opened for his guardian. “Sir.” He bowed and stood striaght when Enasi nodded. “You didn’t miss much sir. He was only awake for a few minutes.” 

Harper figured Enasi would want a report while he was gone, and while he didn’t, the guardian was appreciative anyway. He took a seat on the bed and leaned down to kiss Seishu’s forehead. “I don’t blame him. He’s had a… rough few days.” His voice was soft, but playing with Seishu’s hair was probably disturbing his sleep nonetheless. “Though, I’m sure Crios would be opposed to sleeping for days.” He rubbed his cheek and sighed. “Hmm, I think the hot springs would be a nice place to relax for a bit. What do you think? I mean, we’ll probably have to take another trip over to Earth, but we just got back so I don’t want to go back and forth too much.” 

Harper had noticed Seishu waking up, but stayed silent about it. Instead, he listened to his guardian, doing his best to keep up with his rambling. “I’ve little opinion about hot springs. I’m not a fan of wet fur after all. Another trip to the human realm would do him justice, but if you or Crios feels there’s a need to wait then so be it.” Harper gave a quick glance over to Seishu before shrugging and taking a seat once more. 

Enasi sat on the edge of the bed in contemplative thought. He didn’t want Seishu to stay cramped as he had been, but didn’t want to risk messing with his injuries. It was definitely something Crios was better capable of handling. A lot had happened. He wanted to make some changes, but he wasn't sure just where to start. 

“Well. Don’t overthink it sir. We’ll be here to help of course. And I’m sure Night would want his input included anyway.”