Jo returns to Nocwich the first weekday of the three they are open and only the first day.

But none of this one comes with the professional ease of the two months and so many others earlier. She’s a resigned alert all the time now, very broadly aware of who happens to be within eyesight of her position, choosing positions in stores and stops where she can always see the door. Doing her best to avoid a specific person while being too exhausted to put too much effort into it.

She makes a vested effort to touch base with all of her contacts in The Markets/Shops, especially to relay some apologies for those she was too sharp with during May’s stress and winding gyre of tracking down and curing Dean from his Demon Ways. Along with that, she makes a circuit of the normal places hitting up people who will talk: the forest, the taverns, the gambling halls.

After that one day, with her business contacts restored up, she returns back quickly to her still healing family trio of boys.