Warm.
That was the first thing Lif registered. Not pain. Not the usual chill of stone or the ragged breath of dirt beneath his body.
Just… warmth.
He blinked once. Twice. Then his eyes slowly fluttered open.
Wooden ceiling. Dim orange light filtering through gently swaying curtains. Linen sheets that didn't scratch. A faint scent of lavender and burning firewood lingered in the air.
He was lying in a bed.
"...Huh," he muttered, confused. "I'm… alive?"
He sat up slowly, his body still sore but no longer screaming. His right arm felt like it had been sewn back together with yarn and wishes, but it moved. He flexed his fingers — a slight twinge, but not paralyzed. The stiffness in his legs was still there, but dull. Bearable.
His hand brushed the fabric over his chest. Different clothes?
His old rags — torn leather and blood-soaked tunic — were gone. Now he wore a plain white shirt, a little too big, and soft trousers made of roughspun cotton. His feet were bare, clean. Someone had even washed his face.
Before he could panic, a soft voice broke the silence.
"You're awake!"
Lif turned sharply to his left — or tried to. His neck protested halfway, but he managed to shift and see two girls seated at his bedside.
The older one smiled gently. Long brown hair, tied into a loose braid, and eyes that reflected steady calm. Beside her sat a smaller girl with brighter hazel eyes and messy hair tied in twin tails, kicking her legs off the edge of the chair.
"Hi," said the younger girl, waving. "You're not dead!"
"...Clearly," Lif answered, blinking. He managed a crooked smile. "Hi."
The older girl chuckled. "I'm Mary. That's my little sister Jenna."
"Hi again," Jenna added, scooting a little closer.
"I'm Lif," he said, instinctively. Then smirked slightly. "Lif Ellis. From Valchent. You've probably never heard of it — random village in ostara."
Mary gave a small nod. "We haven't. But… nice to meet you officially, Lif."
"Yeah! Nice to meet you!" Jenna chirped.
A brief pause hung in the air before Mary added, quietly, "Sorry about our dad. He's… um. Kind of a lot. Sometimes."
Lif waved it off with a slight shrug. "Don't worry about it. I've had rocks treat me worse."
That got a surprised snort from Mary, and even Jenna giggled.
"So," Lif continued, stretching his arms a bit before wincing, "why am I here, exactly?"
"You're young," Mary said bluntly. "And our dad kind of almost killed you."
Jenna nodded in agreement, frowning. "Like, three lightning bolts! Who does that to a kid?"
Lif chuckled, brushing his hand through his messy hair. "To be fair, I was hiding behind a tree and covered in blood."
"But you didn't even fight back!" Jenna protested.
"I tried," Lif replied with a small grin. "Barely managed a half-formed wall of ice and a basic core reinforcement."
Mary leaned in a bit. "Wait— core reinforcement? That's how you tanked the last attack?"
Lif nodded. "Dumped the last of my mana into my inner body. Hardened it just enough to keep the nerves and organs from frying."
"That's…" Mary blinked. "You used internal reinforcement? That's like… insanely hard."
"I thought that stuff was just theory," Jenna said, wide-eyed. "I didn't even think it was real."
Lif shrugged modestly. "It's easy actually, you reverse-engineer standard enchantments. Just invert the polarity of the mana pathways — imagine your bloodstream is a lattice, and feed the energy inward instead of radiating outward."
Jenna's jaw dropped. "...What?"
Mary laughed. "Don't bother. I've tried it four times. I just end up giving myself a stomach cramp."
Lif smirked. "Took me… seven months to get it right. First three months I just threw up a lot."
"You taught yourself?" Mary asked.
Lif answered with a simple. "yeah."
"You're thirteen," Mary pointed out.
"...Yeah," Lif answered, not even flinching.
There was a brief silence before all three of them started laughing.
Jenna wiped a tear. "You're like, the weirdest thirteen-year-old I've ever met."
"Flattered," Lif said with a small bow from bed.
Mary smiled warmly. "Wanna walk a bit? Or… try to?"
Lif nodded. "Yeah. Better not stiffen up too much or I'll forget how legs work."
The girls helped him up. His legs were shaky, and his shoulders stiff, but with their support, he managed to stand. It felt… good. Not just the motion — but the comfort. The casual kindness.
They led him out of the room into a long hallway lined with smooth wood floors and hanging dried herbs. The house was larger than Lif expected. Two floors. Wide-open living room, shelves of books and worn tools. A massive fireplace sat in the center, burning slowly. The scent of soup wafted in from the kitchen.
Jenna bounced a little as they walked. "So you're from the human country? What's your village like?"
"Quiet," Lif said. "Fields. Wind. Animals, a very intense experience."
"Do they teach enchantment in cow-school?" she teased.
Lif narrowed his eyes. "No. We steal it from passing travelers and ancient stone circles."
Jenna gasped. "So cool."
Mary rolled her eyes. "You two are impossible."
Lif chuckled, then paused as he looked out the large window in the hallway. The forest stretched far beyond — golden light pouring between the trees.
"...Thank you," he said, voice softer now. "For taking me in. You didn't have to."
Mary gave him a look. "Yeah, we did."
"Our dad's not always that intense," Jenna added. "He just… gets protective. He lost his brother in the war. And his best friend. Both to humans."
"I get it," Lif replied. "I really do."
They walked a little more — showed him the fireplace room, the pantry, the front porch. Lif stared at the big leather couch with open envy.
"I call dibs on that when I'm healed," he declared.
"You'll have to fight the cat," Mary warned.
"There's a cat?!" Lif turned dramatically. "Where?"
A ginger tabby blinked at him from the windowsill. It let out a long, unimpressed meow.
Lif froze. "He knows I'm weak."
Mary nodded. "He smells fear."
"He'll sit on your face in your sleep," Jenna added.
"That's how they assert dominance," Lif said solemnly.
They all broke into laughter again.
By the time they circled back to the room, Lif was walking on his own. He leaned against the doorframe, breathing a little heavier but smiling.
Mary turned to him. "Feeling alright?"
Lif nodded. "Yeah. Better than I've felt in months."
Jenna crossed her arms. "Well, you better recover fast. You still owe us stories. And maybe, like, mana lessons."
"I can pay in sarcasm and slightly above-average combat advice."
"Deal," they both said in unison.
As the sun began to set, casting golden shadows across the wood floors, the house felt warm again.
This time, Lif didn't think it was just the fireplace.