Sara Nieve was gone by the time that Jake and Edward returned to 182 Blossom Street.

Caleb was shifting in and out consciousness by then thanks to the heavy hit that he had taken during the brawl. His injuries weren't too grievous, thankfully, but that did little to ease Edward's mind. The hippocampus was hyper aware and mostly silent on the trek back to the Nieve household. There was no requests to hear a joke from Jake and he didn't even fight Roger about staying in the garden once they made it back. The skeleton doctor was horrified by the scene yet relieved to see that his nephew was relatively unharmed. "Jake! What in Sycamore's name happened out there?! Where is your Uncle John?!" 

"It. ." Caleb was still stunned from the attack and a little bloodied too. He could only hear tidbits of the conversation as bony hands lifted his small body into the air. Eyes flickered open before closing again. This left a shred of hope for Edward who still remained quiet as the eight-year-old did best to explain their encounter. "It wasn't Uncle John's fault! We were attacked out of nowhere and Caleb saved him! He got a little hurt in the process and—"

"Well. . That's the last time that any of us will let Uncle John take you or your sister anywhere alone. We'll have to have a little [i]talk[/i] with him once he comes back for your cousin." It was unsurprising to say the least and the skeleton doctor could only mentally kick himself for letting Jake and Caleb go. He was sure that Mary and Sara would've felt the same if they were aware of the circumstances. "You're not in trouble for what happened, Jake. Caleb will be fine too, I'll make sure of it. . Your mom is still reading to your sister and cousin in the garden. You and Edward should join them. I'll take Caleb upstairs for now and we can find out what happened after he's been tended to."

A head was lowered as the younger boy slid off of Edward's back. ". . Okay."

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Roger Nieve was relieved to find a lack of substantial injuries on the black-haired orphan boy. Caleb Crowsnest was officially prescribed rest alongside treatment for shallow wounds. He was eventually left to recuperate upstairs in Jake's bed where he remained fast asleep for the moment. The lack of mortal wounds didn't stop the skeleton doctor from feeling indescribable rage towards John Nieve Junior though. He was always a shady character and Sara had warned her other children to keep their distance. Even still, he tentatively remained "family" up until now. Getting a child hurt was a new low though. Maybe one that Roger couldn't look past even if he tried. He was sure that Mary would have felt the same if she knew what happened to her son—

Roger's train of thought was interrupted by a knock at the front door. The animated undead lowered a hand away from his imaginary beard as he reached for the knob. It was probably a stupid idea to entertain any other guests considering what just happened yet here they were. Roger knew some combat though he wasn't nearly on the same level as John Junior or Sara. The fact that Sara was missing and had likely run off to be reckless didn't much help either. The skeleton was still sure that he'd be able to defend himself if it came down to it though. "Hello? How can I help you?"

"I take it that you're Roger." Standing just outside the front door was. . A rablin? Those were uncommon in Thorn City to say the very least. This could have only meant one thing. Exciting news for Caleb once he came around. "Sorry. What I meant to say is that I was wondering if this was the Nieve household. I come bearing a message from Captain John Nieve—"

"Ah." The door was opened just a bit wider. "You must be Caleb's friend, Rainbow. Come in."