So, I wrote alot today to make up for this last week; and it turned out super long. So, you guys get two chapters!! Prepare to be amazed! Lol- jk. Sorry for typos! Blessings, A. R. -----------------------------------------------------------      Laurel followed Dylan towards the gate of the lepers district. They both were quiet. They hadn’t stayed long after Whittle left, and Dylan was nearly falling asleep in the corner of the room.      Laurel glanced up at him in the dark and saw him rub at his eyes, then squint into the night. He was so tired.      “Dylan,” she whispered, reaching out to touch his shoulder. He jumped.      Laurel felt horrible that she had startled him. “Sorry,” she apologized, looking up at him sheepishly.      He sighed, squinting his eyes shut for a second. “Its fine, Laurel. I'm just tired, I guess.”      Laurel bit her lip. He noticed. “What?”      She glanced at the gate, then the open space beyond. It disappeared into the darkness.      “Maybe you should stay here for the night. You’re tired, and disoriented, and if you get caught, you’ll be in lots of trouble.” She suggested.      Dylan grimaced. “A lieutenant getting caught… won’t that be the day?” He groaned, swaying slightly.      Laurel reached out to steady him. She felt worry in her heart as she helped him stay on his feet. What had he been doing to make himself this exhausted?      He looked down at her and held her gaze. Her heart froze.      “You really want me to spend the night here?” He asked, his blue eyes steady and alert for the first time this evening. Laurel nodded dumbly.      Dylan didn’t seem to notice that she was still holding his arms. She pulled away quickly and looked away, her heart beginning to pound and her face burning bright red.      He broke the silence. “Fine. I’ll stay here. But what about you? Can you cross the gap without getting caught?” He asked, concern in his tone.      Laurel felt a small smile take shape. “I can do it. I’ve done it a couple times now. Besides, I better be home so that my mom doesn’t skin me.” But at the mention of her mom, she remembered the fight they had earlier. Her mom thought she was seeing a buck. What made it worse was that Fern thought it was Dylan. Laurel paled.      Dylan noticed her strained expression and seemed to wake up a bit. “What’s wrong?”      Laurel exhaled shakily. “Nothing. Mom’s just been hearing things and she keeps cornering me about them.”      Dylan gave her a sad look. “I’m sorry. Want to talk about it?”      Laurel’s heart skipped. No! She wanted to shout. But she managed to grin mischievously.      “No, it’s alright. I’ll just have to tell her I’ve been doing deliveries or something, and that the rumors are just rumors.”      Dylan smiled. “Okay.” But then he frowned as he looked at the gate. “I’ll stay here until you’ve made it across.”      Laurel nodded and stretched slightly before stepping up to the gateway. She drew a breath and tried to focus on the shadowed road before her. She knew there was guards to keep in mind. They had an uncanny way of knowing when something was afoot; despite the cover of darkness, they could see movement for miles.      She looked across the gap towards the third district. Then, she took off. All she could hear was her own breathing as she raced across the darkened road. She hoped no one could see her. Well, besides Dylan.      When she reached the walls of her district, she stopped and turned, looking at the district she had just left. At that exact moment, the clouds moved away and the moon revealed itself, shining it’s cold, white light down on Akolan. Just as the clouds concealed it again, Laurel caught sight of a silver buck in the entryway. He raised his hand for a second, then retreated back inside the walls.      Laurel smiled and turned towards home.        The house was dark. Laurel pushed open the door as quietly as she could. Once inside, she shut and locked the door behind her before turning to face the room.      Her mom was sitting in the pitiful looking rocking chair. She was ready for bed, it seemed, and her shawl was wrapped tight around her shoulders. She was asleep.      Her thin frame looked so delicate in that chair, her care-worn face full of worry and tenderness.      Laurel felt a sadness in her heart as she watched her mother sleep. Of all rabbits, Fern shouldn’t be the one to worry at night. Her mom was just trying to keep her kids safe.      Again, the guilt and shame returned when Laurel thought of the argument they had. First, they were worried about Patrick. Then, it had everything to do with Laurel staying out after curfew. Fern thought it was a buck. But did she really think that was the only reason?      Or did she know the truth, and kept denying it? Was she waiting for Laurel to tell her that she was seeing a buck? Put an end to all her doubts and fears? Tell her that she wasn’t a Causer like her father, just a silly young doe who was in love?      A few tears slipped down Laurel’s face. If only her dad was there. He would’ve straightened everything out.      Laurel tip toed towards her mom’s room and returned with a quilt a few minutes later. Holding her breath, she draped it over her mother’s form and tucked it close before going to her room and crawling into bed. Her night was full of uncomfortable dreams, with visions of a screaming Patrick, her mother crying, and an injured Dylan.        Laurel woke up the next morning with a somewhat happy heart. She wasn’t necessarily overjoyed about the dream she had last night, but she felt good about the coming day, whatever it had in store.      She got up quickly, made her bed, then headed to the kitchen.      Her mom was awake, her lips pursed in puzzlement as she stared off into space. She didn’t hear Laurel come into the room.      “Morning, Mom.” Laurel greeted, going into the kitchen to start a fire.      Fern looked up and smiled, inhaling deeply before standing up and folding the quilt.      “Morning. Did you sleep well?” She asked as she headed to the back rooms. They both were trying to keep things as pleasant as possible.      “I guess. Just had some weird dreams,” Laurel admitted as she pulled out two old looking mugs.      Fern returned a few seconds later, fully dressed and smiling in a motherly way.      “Good weird, or bad?” She asked as she helped prepare breakfast.      Laurel shrugged. “More confusing than anything.”      Fern nodded, slipping an arm around her daughter and squeezing her. “I’m sure it will all work out.”      Laurel smiled. “I hope so.” And she truly meant it.        An hour later, Laurel was at work and receiving her chores for the day. To her surprise, she would first deliver a letter to Administration HQ, then go pick up groceries from the market. She shrugged and pocketed the list, then went to find the letter she would be responsible for delivering.      Brown met her in the hallway. Laurel curtsied, then looked up at him.      He seemed tired, but somewhat happy. How could he have changed so much in the last couple weeks?      “This is the letter. Just leave it at the front desk, and the Administration will take care of the rest.” Brown instructed, giving her the letter and heading back to his office. He never said a word about yesterday.        Laurel dropped off the letter as quickly as she could. It seemed busy there, with rabbits running this way and that, arguing with one another and trying to somehow get work done.     Laurel wove between rabbits, trying to avoid a collision. Once the path was clear, she strode up to the front desk.      Four bucks were arguing loudly with each other behind the desk, none seeing Laurel stand there. She didn’t know if she should try to get their attention, or just leave the letter on the desk and let them sort it out.      A black buck noticed her and raised his eyebrows. Gradually, they all stopped talking and turned to see what the buck was staring at. Laurel felt her face burn.      “Can we help you?” The black buck asked, seeming more pleasant than his scowling comrades.      “I was just delivering a letter from Captain Brown,” she said slowly, glancing at all four rabbits. She didn’t know what they were thinking, or why HQ was in such an uproar.       The black-furred rabbit took the letter from her and read the front of it.      “We'll deliver it.” He answered, looking up at her again. Laurel nodded and turned away, ready to leave the chaotic office. A hand reached out and touched her arm. She stopped and looked up.      The same buck was standing there. “Say, you wouldn’t know where Walters is, would you?”      Laurel’s heart froze. “No, I don’t.” She answered slowly, pulling away and heading towards the door. Once she was outside, she headed straight for the market.