The minutes spent tidying up Tamma's room soon turned into hours. After a long series of journeys to and from the trash basin from both women, the wooden floor of the room had become visible. Small bits of rubbish ranging from crumbs of food to pieces of paper and dirt were still scattered across the ground and clothing still hung from hooks on the walls in a sloppy manner, but Tamma stared at the result with pleasure.

"I think that's good enough," the hunter said as her eyes darted from one end of the room to the other. "How about you Miwah? I know you're a bit more concerned with tidiness than I am."

"This is more than acceptable, Tamma," Miwah said with a smile. "Any room is better than nothing."

"Now you're talking, lass!" Tamma said while giving Miwah a friendly jab on the shoulder. "If you'd like, you can sleep on the bed. For now."

"Then where will you sleep?"

"On the floor." Tamma reached down and pulled out some blankets and pillow from underneath the bed.

"But... it is still a bit dirty." The seamstress' eyes focused on a small mouth of dirt in the middle of the vacant section of the room. Tamma took her foot and kicked away the bit of filth that caught Miwah's attention.

"Lass, I spend all of my time in the forest. This is nothing compared to burying myself underneath a blanket made of thricklebrush branches for three hours while waiting for some animals to pass by."

"That makes sense."

"Go on, give the bed of a try!" Tamma pointed at the mattress with a smile. Miwah advanced further inside the room, kicking off her shoes and placing them in the corner between the wall and the door. She sat on the edge, making a creaking sound as her weight pushed down on the edge of the bed and making the other side rise upwards.

"Apologies," she stammered as she turned around to look at the unevenness she had created.

"Don't stress it. Bed's been like that for a while. Ever since I got here now that I think about it. I’m pretty one of the legs is shorter than the other. If you lay down, you won’t' notice it. As long as you sleep close to the wall. And don't roll over. Or move your legs too much."

"I will keep that in mind tonight." Miwah then slowly leaned back on the bed with one hand, eyeing the sheets that covered the mattress. There were a few stains on top of the cloth covers; the kind that came with age and use. "Thank you for letting me stay in your bed for the evening."

"Don't mention it, Miwah. It's the least I can do for a guest." Tamma took one of her thin cloth sheets and held two corners in her hands and spread it out across the floor, covering up most of the empty space. "Just don't get used to it. As much as I love Lug, sharing a sleeping space with him can really get to you after a while. I can only take the scent of ripe brillick for so many nights in a row."

"You know what they say about 'too much of a good thing,'" Miwah said before giggling.

"Exactly. So, I was thinking we could alternate every few days. Or if you're not really sold on sharing a wood and dirt mattress with a brillick, maybe we could alternate sleeping schedules. One stays up while the other gets the bed and then we switch out."

"I am fine with laying on the floor if I have to." Miwah had stretched herself across the mattress, resting her head on the firm lump of feathers inside a sack that served as a pillow. An earthy scent came from the casing that made her nostrils tingle for a moment.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"If only all roommates could be agreeable as you," Tamma replied. She stretched herself across her back and rested her head on her arm. The hunter whistled and Lug trotted over to the sheet and plopped his body right on top of the hunter. "Then there would be a whole lot less murders here in Farrowport."

Miwah's eyes pried themselves open. She rolled to the edge of the bed and looked down at Tamma, making the bed shift down in the process. "What was that?" she asked.

"Calm down, lass. Just making a joke."

"Oh."

"I'm sure the murder rate would be the same, regardless of good roommates."

The seamstress stared at Tamma with a peeved look. Tamma's mouth moved in an awkward manner as she tried to prevent a smile from growing across her face. "You have quite the sense of humor."

Tamma burst out in laughter which was accompanied by Lug chortling along. "Sorry, Miwah. Just couldn't help it! You're a smart lass. You'll do just fine here Farrowport."

"Sure. That explains why we were almost killed in the middle of an alley not too long ago."

"All right. I will admit that was a bit of a miscalculation on my part."

"Oh! And how could I forget about the grizlewulf that attacked earlier in the morning?"

"That too..."

"And then the Ghenka Clan's captain robbed you and would have certainly slain me if he looked at me for just a moment longer!" Miwah's frustration became evident by the way her breathing became audible and her body moved in rhythm. The smile quickly vanished from Tamma's face and switched to a look of concern.

"I guess I'm too used to Farrowport. Today was just like any other day. To me. Granted, some of what happened was due to a lapse in my decision making, but still. Not really anything out of the ordinary for a normal citizen like me. But if you're from a small and quaint village in the middle of Xiwao, I can see why you've been thrown for a bit of loop. I really think a good rest will do a lot for you. Me too. Take our minds of things for a bit and just enjoy the peace and quiet."

Miwah rolled back to the corner of the bed so she faced the wall. "I think you are right. I just need to let my mind... relax. Those few minutes back at the bathhouse really helped to keep me thinking straight. Even if it was just for a few minutes."

"Well, I can't guarantee you a bathhouse experience. But I think my bed will get the job done for tonight. Once we get up in the morning, we can try to sort what to do about all of my missing stuff then."

"Sounds like a plan."

The hunter yawned while the brillick went silent. "All right. Good night, Miwah. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Good night, Tamma.," Miwah quietly responded. Both women turned to face away from each other.

Then silence ensued.

Despite laying in the bed and the dim lighting, Miwah couldn't fall asleep. Her eyes remained wide opened, staring at the stained and chipped paint that covered the wall in front of her face. Her mind raced around despite her motionless nature. She pulled up the blanket and covered her upper body. The sound of the rain became louder as the weather became more intense. With the shift in precipitation came a lessening in lighting, making the already dim room almost pitch black.

Miwah slowly turned to the other side of the bed and looked down at the hunter and her brillick. Both lay motionless, sprawled out along floor as Lug rested right next to Tamma. Both bodies moved up and down in a rhythmic manner, almost in tune with one another's movements. They remained silent, their sleep undisturbed despite the sound of the rain becoming louder.

She then lay on her back, spreading her arms out to her sides. Miwah's eyes opened wide, now focusing on the ceiling. Her eyes traced the lines of the cracks between the wooden planks above. While she focused on that, her mind replayed all the events that had transpired. The escape from the ship. The battle with the animal in the forest. The meeting with the Cutthroats in the middle of the alley.

But what stuck out in her mind the most was the encounter with the Ghenka Clan at the Market Center. She cut her eyes straight ahead while her lips pursed. Miwah clenched her fists as she ran through the event in her mind over and over, contemplating on how it would have panned out in a multitude of other scenarios.

Her hands clutched onto her blanket tighter. She could feel her blood boil as she thought more and more about how she had been wronged. She put one hand on her Beacon, looking down at it. Even though it was almost pitch black, she could still see the smoky mist travel through it, generating its own source of dim light.

"I need you Yalch," she whispered. Miwah then tucked the necklace back underneath her robe and forced her eyes shut. She adjusted her body one more time, nudging the pillow and wrapping the blanket around her body tighter as she tried to force herself to sleep.