The darkness inside the hut thinned. Objects regained their color. Arthur opened his eyes when there was nothing left to wait for. The warmth in his chest was still there. The window was opened, not to look outside, but because keeping it closed no longer felt necessary.
There was nothing to suspect, no oddity demanding attention. Arthur rose with steady breathing, his body light, like days that were meant to be normal.
The pendant at his chest felt warm.
The same warmth as yesterday. The same as when Dermala had given him her magic. No vibration, no pressure.
Arthur looked at the pendant for a moment, then, without a reason he considered important, he took it off.
It was not a dramatic decision. He simply wanted to clear his neck, straighten his collar, feel the morning air without the small weight constantly resting there. He set the pendant on the wooden table, right beside the cup he had not yet touched.
Just for a moment, he thought.
And because nothing happened, he forgot about it.
The day moved easily. Too easily. Arthur went to wash himself as he should, worked with clean focus, his thoughts no longer snagging on corners he usually checked twice. He laughed at small things. He stood a little closer when speaking, not out of forgetfulness, but because he did not feel the need to step back.
There was no voice in his head asking for distance.
The ward, he was sure, was still working. Shouldn't a good ward be unnoticeable?
By the time Arthur realized the pendant was still on the table, the sun had already moved far enough. Light reflected softly on its surface, calm, unchanged. Arthur picked it up briefly, weighing it in his palm.
Its warmth had lessened.
Not cold. Just… ordinary.
He set it down again.
"It's fine," he told himself. "I can still feel it. I just don't need it all the time."
The belief felt mature. Reasonable.
Sean appeared at the edge of the space without a sound. His presence did not startle Arthur. There was no urge to step back, no pause he usually allowed himself. Arthur turned, greeted him, and continued what he had been doing.
Sean observed.
Not with a pressing stare. Not with readable intent. Just careful observation, like noting a change in weather without deciding whether rain would fall.
Arthur was more relaxed. His shoulders were no longer stiff. The distance between them was not as tight as yesterday.
Sean did not move closer. He did not test anything. He simply stood at the same distance and waited.
"You're not wearing the pendant?" Sean asked lightly, his eyes flicking briefly toward the table.
Arthur followed his gaze. "Just for a moment," he replied. "Nothing strange."
Sean nodded. He smiled faintly. There was no further comment.
"All right…" he said.
One word. Neutral. Enough.
Sean noted one thing: the distance that usually pushed him away from approaching was silent today.
There was no change that could be pointed out, only the sense that the day was beginning to loosen its grip. Activity stopped without signal. What remained was a long pause between one sound and the next. Arthur stood there, realizing that something that should have returned had chosen not to.
Not gone. Just not present.
He picked up the pendant and put it on again. There was a pause before the warmth seeped back in—a fraction of a second that felt longer than it should have. Arthur waited, then turned his attention elsewhere.
The ward isn't broken, he told himself. I'm just overthinking it.
That conviction sealed the gap neatly.
Night came without disturbance. No jolting dreams. No creeping shadows. Arthur slept with a calm sense of safety, a safety that did not ask for verification.
In the corner of the space, the rule still existed. Not broken. Not touched.
Just not guarded as tightly as yesterday.
And that was enough.