The inn's door flew wide open, making Terence and Mie jump. A figure all but bounded into the common room, arms loaded with a bulky sack that looked bigger than she was.
"Looks like I got here at just the right time!" Nyala announced, triumphant.
She dropped her haul on a wobbly table, kicking up a cloud of dust. When she straightened, her caracal ears quivered with satisfaction and her tail beat the air like she'd just brought home fresh prey.
"Did you have to come in like that?" Terence sighed, a hand to his forehead.
"Obviously," she shot back with a mischievous smile. "It's my house too, isn't it?"
Huddled against the back of a bench, Mie stared at her with wide golden eyes. Caught between wariness and admiration, her ears wavered between perking up and drooping. She finally crept closer when Nyala opened the sack.
"I found enough to fill your stomachs," the feline went on, pulling out strips of dried meat, a few tired but still good vegetables… "and better yet: clothes."
She shook out a slightly wrinkled men's shirt, a pair of pants, then produced two simple little dresses.
"An adventurer put on too much muscle—his old things don't fit. And his girl hit a growth spurt, so I picked up what was lying around. Better used here than rotting at the bottom of a chest."
Terence froze, momentarily at a loss. He looked at the clean shirt in Nyala's hands, then at his own stained, frayed one. His gaze slid to the dresses. Mie edged nearer, fingers trembling.
"For me?" she asked in the tiniest voice.
Nyala held out the light beige dress. Mie hesitated, clutched the blanket that was still serving as her outfit, then slipped behind a partition. She came back a few minutes later, cheeks flushed, the dress a little too long and pooling over her bare feet. She stood straight, ears erect, as if waiting for a verdict.
Terence was speechless. The grimy, frightened girl from the day before had vanished. In her place stood a child in a pale dress, fragile but smiling.
"You look very pretty," he said at last, soft-voiced.
Mie glanced away, but the shy smile clung to her lips.
Nyala arched an amused brow, then tossed the shirt to Terence."And you—change. Because honestly… you looked like a vagrant who fell down a well."
He caught the shirt and pulled it on. A little broad in the shoulders, a bit snug at the waist, but clean. Nyala evaluated him, arms folded.
"Not bad. Almost respectable," she murmured.
Mie let out a light laugh—a rare sound that warmed the room more surely than the fire.
They headed upstairs next. Terence explained that they should divvy up the rooms.
Mie bounded ahead. She had already chosen hers during their earlier exploration. Proudly, she showed off her "treasure" on a shelf: a shiny pebble from outside, a faded ribbon, and a neat handful of hazelnuts arranged like jewelry.
"This is my room!" she declared, eyes sparkling.
Terence nodded, a sincere smile tugging at his mouth.
He entered the large room at the end of the hall. The smell of dust still clung to it, but the space was wide. The bed, broad and sturdy despite the years, anchored the center. A door opened onto a small wooden balcony looking over the clearing and forest. Another led to an adjoining space: a private washroom, a relic of the former innkeeper's status. A cracked basin, rusty pipes—but the idea was there.
Terence lingered on the threshold."It's too big for me," he murmured.
"It's perfect for you," Mie corrected, surprisingly firm. "You're the boss."
The word boss squeezed his chest. He turned away to hide his reaction.
Nyala, for her part, took a room farther down the hall. She gave it a quick once-over, nodded, then said,"It's fine… but you both know I'll be coming by there often."
She pointed shamelessly at Terence's door. He choked, Mie rolled her eyes, and Nyala burst out laughing.
A little later, Nyala declared it was time to wash."Clothes are nice, but if we still smell like dust, it's pointless."
Mie lowered her head, embarrassed. Terence went rigid at once."She should… I mean… do you want me to…"
He couldn't finish. The idea of helping a little girl undress and wash left him deeply ill at ease—not because he refused to help, but because it was a line he didn't dare cross.
Nyala eyed him, caracal ears twitching, then laughed."You're really stiff, huh? Good. At least you don't look like a creep."
She set a hand on his shoulder."Leave it to me."
Mie looked up at her, surprised, then nodded shyly. The two went upstairs together.
A few minutes later, splashes echoed from above. Laughter—timid at first, then bright. Little yelps of "ah!" and playful "hey! not that!" A full-on water fight broke out.
Downstairs, Terence worked on dinner. The fire purred; a pot simmered with vegetables and chunks of meat. He stirred slowly, but his ears caught every burst of laughter above. A quiet, involuntary smile drew across his face.
When the girls came down, hair still damp and cheeks flushed, they were holding hands and laughing like sisters.
"There," Nyala announced, dropping into a seat. "Clean and ready to eat."
Mie, in her slightly too-big beige dress, sat beside Terence. Her eyes still sparkled from the battle.
They began the meal. Terence served them both. Mie started on the vegetables, then tested the meat with tiny bites—before smiling: she liked it after all. Nyala enjoyed herself without restraint, tail thumping with each mouthful.
At one point, Nyala tried to filch a piece from Mie's bowl. Instinct kicked in—the child threw her arms around her plate like a small animal defending its hoard. Terence burst out laughing; Nyala pretended to sulk, then surrendered a whole drumstick as compensation.
When Mie went up to bed, the room grew calm again. Terence sat a while across from Nyala.
"Thank you," he said simply. "For… helping her."
She studied him, a little surprised by the sincerity in his tone.
"I want her to have a normal life," he went on. "But I'm not good with kids. And even less with a girl. Just the idea of helping her bathe locks me up."
Nyala shrugged, but her smile had lost its mischief."It's fine. You're doing a lot already. You give her a roof, a meal, a smile. I can handle the rest. Just keep being you."
Terence looked down at his hands. His heart was beating a little harder than he cared to admit.
Night fell. Mie drifted off in her room, curled in her new dress like a cocoon. Terence went to his own, took in the balcony, the clear sky and the stars above the forest.
As he was closing the door, a voice rang from the hall:"Good night! And lock your door—just in case…"
He sighed, amused in spite of himself.
Lying in the big dusty bed, he stayed awake a moment longer. The house had come back to life today: laughter, splashes, clean clothes, opened rooms. Still shaky, still fragile… yet he felt something being born.
For the first time, he fell asleep with the sense that he was where he belonged.