It was good for Tosh and Meg to be able to move back into their home again. It had taken a bit of time for the final architectural drawings to be translated into a form in which they could actually see sitting on the property. They had a 64x64 lot and they had to make sure that it was defensible. They wanted to make certain that the views from the property were able to note any sort of attack by the Trackers. Their skill-level in certain skills needed to be mastered and quickly. But sometimes, Tosh just wanted to relax...being at a high-stress level wasn't good for the body and playing the piano helped with that.
Meg pursued her study of alchemy. There were attacks available that modern defenses couldn't stop and it would give the Trackers pause if they were attacked magically. Luckily she had the innate talent for it and would be able to pursue the gaining of knowledge of alchemy in the first place.
Eventually, after a while, Tosh came to join her in that study...
...and for the times where magic wouldn't suffice; Tosh trained Meg in the martial arts. After all, why not use as much as was possible to defend their position. After having been in the military so many years, Haruo was certainly knowledgeable in the shoring up of defenses and War College had helped to learn how to defend a location from attackers. But sometimes, military tactics, guns and magic wouldn't help...sometimes you miscalculated and that provided the enemy a chance to get beyond your static defenses. Then you had to fight for your life and in that regards the martial arts were the last-ditch defense and as such when it meant one's life, one had to be an expert at it. Tosh just hoped that the Trackers were so confused by their flight path that they were having trouble following it. It was a faint hope, but one that he clung to. Hopefully he had the time to help Meg master the martial arts.
Sparring was an important part of training the muscle memory and instincts and as such, Tosh brooked no quarter and gave none. The workout was intense and at the end of it the result was apparent as Meg levelled up from an orange belt to a green-belt. Tosh realized that she meant a lot to him so he did what he had to to make sure that she could defend herself against an attacker if it came down to it. The knowledge gained would ensure that it saved her life, even if he fell.
She understood too, because she clung to him; her eyes locking with his, trying to convey as much love as she could muster, making him understand that their fates were intertwined with each other. In wolf-pack terminology, she considered herself his mate...and their lives, no matter how long or short, would be tied to each other. If he died, she didn't want to live.
Chores took up the rest of the day and it was a tired pair of weres that hit the rack (or queen-sized bed) that night. For Meg, curling up next to the one that she loved, was comforting, smelling the scent of him in her werewolf enhanced sense of smell. He was her mate...and that was all that needed to be said.
Fall...had come to Moonlight Falls and they hoped that it was not a harbinger of doom.
