Though that boyish smile was sincere it immediately disappeared when he began to follow the feisty Pul'kin as the needed path to do so took him right past the pile of groaning bodies. The pile, while smaller now that some of those involved had either crawled or squirmed their way to the door, still consisted of several injured. The most injured was the last body Ms. Badger had tossed on top the others, and it was the bruised, swollen, and torn up face of that man that had brought the sudden change in Ethan's demeanor. Despite his earlier smile of satisfaction at the thought of bad guys getting their dues, actually seeing damage to such an extent struck an empathetic cord in his young heart. Not only had his smile left his face but his steps also came to a stop which was noted by Ms. Badger.

"Hmm?" She also stopped and turned to face the boy. "What's wrong boy?"

"He looks really bad, will he be alright?" Despite the question the look of concern on the boy's face said if she said yes he probably wouldn't believe her.

The Pul'kin was about to retort rather aggressively about them getting what they deserved but the innocent and sincere look on the boy's face as he looked at the injured ring leader caused her to pause. Ruffling her spiked hair she sighed heavily and frowned before answering.

"It hurts more than it looks but he'll be right as rain once he gets some healing. If he doesn't wait too long after getting to his feet he probably won't even have a scar."

Her words brought an expression of confusion to the boy's face and he looked at her with a questioning expression. Not only had he not expected to hear such statements from the female he certainly didn't find her the considerate type.

"Wha?! I'm not a monster you know! I just wanted to make sure more than his feelings hurt for a while. If I were to maim a customer, even a bad one, to severely no one would ever come here."

"Ah! Don't you dare!" She warned him with a pointing finger when she saw his lips start to part with an immediate come back. She had been on Nelumexa long enough and dealt with enough cheeky males to know a snide remark was on its way.

Ethan, who had been about to say something like "are you sure?" while pointing at her nails, or teeth, thankfully stopped before he started and firmly shut his lips.

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"Ah hah! I knew you were going to say something smart! Now follow me before I change my mind about letting you stay here."

Turning away from the boy she headed to the stairs diagonally across the room from the front door. Emotionally satisfied Ethan turned away from the bodies and began to follow though now his gaze wandered about the interior of the building as he did so. The inside, much like the outside, consisted of a mixture of stone, wood, and plaster along the walls, though the ceiling was bare wooden beams and planks, though they looked somewhat sanded. The large room felt more earthy and warm with the dominant color being brown rather than the white of the guild hall.

Instead of a bar the back wall was made up of a massive stone fireplace with a door on either side leading to what he figured was the kitchen. It looked similar to the dining setup at the orphanage so he was making a few assumptions. The floor of what looked like clay tiles in the other room behind the wall, which he could see through the mouth of the fireplace, seeing as it didn't have a back, and their polished smoothness lended credibility to his thoughts.

Just like the guild hall walls these also had some trophies of monster skulls and artifacts, though paintings and drawings were more dominant. Upon reaching the stairs he noted that Ms. Badger was already at the top. Picking up the pace he quickly, and in surprising silence, followed up the sturdy wooden steps and came to a stop behind Ms. Badger on the landing of the second floor. Though he wasn't aware the speed and silence in which he moved had been noted by the Pul'kin but she remained silent on the fact.

A second later they were making their way down the hallway lined with doors on either side. The stairs had twisted halfway up and thus Ethan determined they were currently walking across the top of the main room below. Coming to a stop halfway down she pulled out a key and unlocked the door in front of her and pushed it open before holding the same key out to him.

"I have one spare downstairs. This key is your responsibility. If you lose it you'll have to pay to have it replaced." She had taken his wrist into her grasp while talking and placed it firmly into his palm to emphasize its importance. Once he nodded in understanding she gave him another toothy grin and lightly patted his cheek.

"Good boy! Now enjoy your room. Don't forget to get cleaned up. Dinner will be ready in about three hours. We are having venison stew with potatoes and vegetables. The voucher will cover your meal and water but you'll have to pay for anything stronger..." She paused, "though I doubt you'll want anything like that given your age."

The last statement was said with an unintended cute expression of self reflection on her face and a fingernail against her chin. Realizing she was just standing there she gave him a small wave and made her way back down the hallway whistling to herself. After watching her walk away Ethan carefully closed the door and turned to look around his room for the at least the next few days.