Groggily, Daniel sat up, raising a hand to his forehead. He was unsure of the time and he wasn't entirely sure he even cared. With a sigh, he slid out of bed. Regardless of the time, Spar and Caber would be hungry and in need of their breakfast. It seemed to Daniel that this was all his days consisted of now. Taking care of his horses and reminiscing in memories of times long since passed.

He slipped his feet into a pair of boots and made his way out the door. Daniel wasn't all too surprised to find that he still had at least an hour until the sun rose. He couldn't remember a time when he hadn't dreamt of his family. It also seemed like it had been years since he was actually able to sleep through an entire night. His memories were both a blessing and a curse. They were all he had left of his family, yet they haunted him. There was hardly a moment in the day when Daniel wasn't thinking of them. Everywhere he looked he could make comparisons to Araine and Will. Both were lost to him now, probably forever.

Yet Daniel found he wasn't quite able to accept this. He knew for sure that Araine was dead, but Will? He still lacked any proof that his son was dead. Of course the same could be said about Will being alive. There was no proof. Because of this, the smallest seed of hope remained embedded in Daniel's heart. He knew that he was probably only setting himself up for despair and sorrow, but still, he couldn't let go of his hope yet. Not until he knew for sure.

A small smile spread over Daniel's lips as soon as he heard the excited neighing of Caber and Spar. It was the only positive thing Daniel had to look forward too; the ever present loyalty and devotion only animals could display. He walked into the barn and gathered a pile of hay and began the process of feeding the horses.

He set two piles of hay out into the pasture; spacing them out to guarantee that both Spar and Caber would get some. Daniel then moved on to refill their water trough. Once finished, Daniel leaned his weight against the fence watching Spar and Caber eat. It always seemed so peaceful out here. It as here, by Caber and Spar, where Daniel could come the closest to setting his mind to rest. Here, Daniel was almost able to forget that he was alone in the world. It was his closest thing to true happiness.

Eventually Daniel lost track of time. He usually did when he was with his horses. Today was no different. It often seemed to Daniel that when he was away from Spar and Caber, time seemed to come to a complete stop and refuse to move. It was also then that he memories would pounce and Daniel would lose himself to the past once more. This was merely how Daniel's life went now a days. As far as he was concerned, there was nothing else.

In the end, it was the persistent growling of Daniel's stomach that forced him back indoors. He realized that it wasn't going to cease its ever present roar until Daniel satisfied its hunger. With a sigh, Daniel plopped down at the table and stared blankly out the window, focusing only on keeping his mind blank. He didn't want to think; not now anyway. It seemed almost peaceful when his mind was devoid of any thoughts. It was like he wasn't alone anymore. He closed his eyes and slumped back in his chair.

Today seemed like it would only drag on from here. Daniel almost wished he could end his pitiful existence. Each day blended into the next. There was hardly any difference from one day to the next. No matter how much time went by, things always remained the same. This bothered Daniel more than he wanted to admit. He would've loved to say that he enjoyed the solitude and the days filled with little work, but that would be speaking lies. Honestly, Daniel would jump at the chance to have his days filled with hard work. It would keep his mind busy and that meant he would be able to escape the past, at least for a little while.

Daniel's stomach rumbled again, louder than before. Slowly, he opened his eyes and glared down at his stomach, his brown eyes narrowing. "Oh shut up, will you?"

He grumbled softly under his breath as he stood. While it was true he had returned indoors, he had still neglected to actually do anything to sate hunger. Quickly and without much effort, Daniel prepared himself a small breakfast, which he quickly wolfed down. He glared down at his stomach again, his lips forming a thin line.

"Satisfied?"

Much to Daniel's annoyance, his stomach gurgled softly. His gaze darkened in response. After several minutes had passed with Daniel still glaring at his stomach, he eventually lifted his gaze. It was just now occurring to him that perhaps it was rather foolish of him to waste his time glaring at his stomach. At the very least, it was not normal. The edge's of Daniel's lips slowly twitched into a half grin.

"No wonder people consider me crazy." He chuckled darkly, heading into his small bedroom.

He ran his hand over the wooden desk in the corner, dust gathering on his finger tips. It had been years since he had last used the desk. He had always lacked a reason to make use of it. Daniel opened one of the drawers, remembering that he used to keep many different things within them.

Sure enough, his eyes landed on a leather bound journal sitting neatly in the drawer. It was the only item there. Curious, Daniel picked up the journal and flipped it open. He immediately recognized his own handwriting. The journal was once his. Well, technically, it still was his, its existence had only sank to the back of his mind.

The journal held a wide variety of entries within its pages. Some was of times before the war had began in Araluen. Others, were from his time spent searching for any sign of Will. The most recent entries were still from quite a few years ago. These were from when he had first arrived in Redmont. Finding nothing better to occupy his time, Daniel sat down and began to read through the pages.

Most of it wasn't quite as exciting as Daniel had been anticipating. In fact, most of it struck him as rather dull. Already he had tired off reading about his hardships during the war; most of it was complaints anyway. Instead, Daniel skipped ahead to shortly after he had woken up after the battle of Hackham Heath. Here, most of it was sorrowful writing, as it should be. This was after all, shortly after he had discovered that his wife was dead and his son missing. That type of news is never easy for anyone to receive, least of all someone who had just returned from the field of battle.

Daniel read through these entries with a heavy heart. Several times he debated shutting the journal and finding something else to do. Despite this, he still ended up reading on. As he read one of the entries something finally clicked in his mind. He reread the page just to be certain, and sure enough the facts remained there.

Daniel began laughing quietly, his lips twisted into a wide grin. He could hardly believe that all of this time he had never realized it before. His location was where he had been trying to reach all along. He was where he needed to be. Daniel's laughter continued, slowly growing in volume. The man he had spoken to before was a Ranger. Not just any Ranger, Redmont's Ranger. Halt. For once, things were looking up for Daniel. For all of these years he had been so close to finding the man who could tell him Will's fate.

Hope was burning brightly in Daniel. He was so close to finding Will. Maybe he really wasn't quite as alone as he had thought. Soon, if all went as Daniel hoped, he would finally meet Will again. Daniel's laughter slowly subsided, but the smile remained in place. His gaze softened and he stared out the window. Soon, he would get to see his son again. Soon.