My hand lifts again to pull at my new beard; I'd almost forgotten about it in the hub-bub. "What, you don't like my Old Man and the Mountain look?" I ask with a faint snort, and then turn to plod soggily toward home.

Later, standing in front of the bathroom sink with the kitchen shears in my hand, hacking away, the deja vu is almost palpable. I doubt it was intentional, but with this place, you really just never know.

I show up on Kira's doorstep a little later than I planned; I stopped first by the fields and then at the inn to get a quick look at the new equipment, but found it hard to get away with all of the confusion. I am dry, though, and shaved. My hair's scraggly but shorter, at least. Kira can trim it up if he feels it's not to his standards.

"Well, the good news is we have some actual tools to help with growing food," I say as I nudge open the door.