There was an odd smell in this inn.

It wasn’t stinky. Not bad enough to make me want to leave... but the smell was noticeable enough that it bothered me. I had wanted to ask Vim what the smell was, since I couldn’t tell, but he had lain down and closed his eyes right after we got into the room.

I sat on the bed next to him, since it was the only bed... and the only place to sit at all, in this small room.

The inn itself wasn’t big. The front entrance had been just a small room itself, without chairs or even a fireplace. It was one floor, which was a good thing since no one would be banging around upstairs.

We were in a corner room, and although the windows were closed and boarded up, the cold rainstorm outside was doing its best to make the room cold as well.

Other than this bed and a weird looking dresser near the door... the only other thing in the room was a fire pit. In the corner, taking up nearly half the empty space of the room, was a large stone pit. A place to put hot coals as to help heat the room.

The man who had given us our key had given us a large metal bucket, full of hot coals and black sand of some kind. Vim had dumped the buckets contents into the fire pit already, and honestly I wasn’t sure if they were actually helping or not.

It was a little after sundown. Vim and I had arrived in this small village a few hours ago, and had already gotten something to eat. Honestly I wasn’t too exhausted yet... but now that I thought about it, Vim hadn’t slept at all at Rapti’s house. She had only two bedrooms, and I had slept in the other one.

He could have slept with me or had used it when I hadn’t been using it. But...

When I thought of it, I didn’t think he slept when he was elsewhere either. He hadn’t really slept at the Sleepy Artist, as far as I was aware. Nor at Lomi’s new home. And while we were in Ruvindale he hadn’t slept at all, for sure.

I knew he had slept a little on the wagon we rode to Nevi... but it had only been for a few hours at most.

There was no reason to assume the little time spent trying to fix Mary and her families cart had been exhausting for him. I knew better than to judge him as I would myself, let alone a typical human.

Human...

Studying the man next to me as he slept, or at least seemed to be trying to, I wondered what he could possibly be.

He had said he was born before the age of humans.

I had heard of that before. My grandmother had told me and my siblings stories of such an era. There had been many powerful beings back then. Great ones. Huge, and overpowering. Humans had not even existed then, per my grandmother’s stories. That was how she began telling them; before humans were first born, our ancestors ruled.

If he really was from that time... not only was it supposedly thousands of years ago...

Then how did he look like a human? Or was it some kind of... fake appearance?

Was it possible? Maybe he was something that could shape his own body? Something that allowed him to appear as something else, willingly. Like how certain bugs or reptiles could change colours.

Yet somehow I doubted it. Changing certain aspects, like hair or eyes were one thing... but an entire appearance? Body structure?

After all so many of the older members of our kind seemed to have physical attributes. My grandmother had fur and paws. Lilly had wings. Trixalla and her husband had scales, although they tried to hide them. Lughes had wool, although only his beard had been noticeable.

A small flash of light lit up the room, and then a distant rumble thundered and shook the inn.

Glancing at Vim’s face as the thunder rolled away, I noticed the reflection of an eye peering from his right eyelid. It closed after a moment of staring at me.

He had woken up to check on me, because of the sound.

Smiling at him, I wondered how he had been instilled with such protective traits.

That wasn’t just belief, or morals... it was instinctual to him.

It made me wonder what kind of animal he could possibly be... since although there were many who were known as fierce protectors, or guardians, the reality was they only acted so for their young. Or territory.

He acted so for all of us, no matter how different we were. Even the ones he didn’t care much for.

Earlier today he had made a comment, after leaving Mary’s family behind, that he would have killed all three of them... the little girl included, if they had found out our secret.

He’d do so to protect me. To protect all of our members.

At first I was upset over such a vow, since... Killing such kind people, a child as well, was a little... disturbing. But I understood his reasoning. Even if I didn’t agree with it, or like it, I did at least understand it.

Even a child could hurt us, because they’d go tell others. They’d tell those who could.

Still...

Did it bother him? Or, because of his temperament and age, was he simply callous? Was he impassive to the evil he so willing allowed himself to commit?

I had seen the man shed tears in Ruvindale. After burning the paintings. I wasn’t foolish enough to think that those tears were for the humans he had killed or harmed in the process... but I also knew a man without any compassion at all wouldn’t have shown such emotion. A man without a heart would have burnt those paintings and moved on without a blink of an eye. A man without a heart would not have allowed those paintings to exist in the first place.

And it wasn’t just in Ruvindale... several times now he’s shown great emotion when we talk about those events. Or rather, when I try to bring up the fact that I have a debt to the Society and need to repay it. That I was at the very least had a part in the blame. He’s made it blatantly clear he blames no one but himself... and he’s shown he can get very upset. Even angry, while speaking of it.

That meant he really took those failures and events to heart. They affected him greatly.

Odds are there were far too many of such failures to count; based off the conversations I’ve had and heard from him.

An annoying sound began to fill the air as the wind picked up outside. The wind started to sneak in-between the window frame and the walls, causing a small whine to fill the air. I knew it also would make it rather cold, rather fast.

Although used to the cold, and capable of ignoring it to a great degree... I’ve come to realize I have been rather spoiled lately. I’ve had full meals, sometimes several times a day. I’ve had warm baths whenever I can. And I’ve been sleeping in well made, and comfortable... Touching the bed I sat on, I knew this was probably the worst one I’ve had the pleasure of sleeping on for months. Maybe in years. It was hard, and kind of lumpy.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

But it wasn’t Vim’s fault. This was the only inn here in this small town.

Such comforts I’ve been enjoying had made me more conscious and aware of the discomforts. The stuff that usually, and used to, not even be a thought were now big issues to me. Like the lack of a warm fire, or a nice bed.

Had I even wondered about the lack of warmth before joining the Society? Oddly, I should already be used to such comforts thanks to my years with Nory. She hated the cold... yet...

Thinking back on it, the only reason I ever noticed the lack of fire back then was because I had worried for Nory. I didn’t want her to get sick. Yet now...

Honestly as we ate earlier, I had even thought of the warm bath at Rapti’s. I had found myself longing for a long soak in such warm water... that I knew I’d not get here and or for some time as we travelled.

Slowly laying down, as to not wake the man next to me... I flinched at the sight of his eyelids slowly open a little, just enough to see what I was doing.

I gave him an apologetic smile as I laid down next to him. As close as I could without touching him, since I feared doing so would bother him. A part of me wanted to curl up with him, to keep the cold at bay, but the rest of me knew how ridiculous that thought was.

“Hm,” Vim made a soft sound as he closed his eye again, and then seemed to relax a little.

He had lain down without using a pillow, so I had one... or could have one. I chose to lie down next to him, under his outstretched arm instead. We were lying on top of the only blanket, but I wasn’t going to bother Vim with trying to crawl under it. Knowing him, if I bothered him to such a degree he’d get up and not go back to sleep afterwards.

Curling up slowly, and gently, I studied the side of Vim’s face. He really did look... human. Normal. A middle aged man, basically. Mary’s husband Karl had looked about the same age, at least appearance wise.

Which was probably why it was so easy to pass as husband and wife while we travelled. Mary had automatically assumed we were together before we had even said hello. We looked too different to be related, yet even though as Vim would say I looked young... I didn’t look young enough to be a daughter or sibling. Nor did he look old enough to have a daughter as old as me.

What I found odd about that wasn’t how well such a story worked with people... but how willing and easily Vim seemed to accept it. But maybe that was simply because he was so dead-set at never drawing attention. He always did his best to not seem strange or our out place. He even was willing to act as a father with Lomi.

And whether I liked it or not... I believe he saw me in the same vein as Lomi. A young child.

Maybe not as much of a child, of course... but...

He definitely looked at me oddly sometimes. Which was part of the reason so many onlookers automatically assumed our relationship to be a special one. They misinterpreted his gentle smiles, born from the outlook of an old guardian... as the warm smile of a lover. They didn’t know he gave such smiles to all of our members. Old and young. Man and woman alike.

It made me wish I had found him earlier.

It made me wish my family had found the Society earlier.

Maybe if they had...

Maybe if Vim had been around back then...

Closing my eyes, I did my best to not make a sound as tears welled and my heart crumpled.

The storm grew louder, but I knew no matter how loud the storm... there was no way to hide from him my crying. So I did my best to not start. To not make any noise and...

Taking a small breath, I found myself strong enough to not break. My eyes grew watery, and a few tears leaked, but nothing more.

Wrapping my tail around his leg, I focused on the sound of his breathing... it was a little loud, thanks to how close we were. Thanks to my ears being angled just right.

His breathing was comforting. It was solid. Steady. Strong. And I knew it’d never go away.

No matter how cold it got. No matter how strong the storm outside became. No matter what happened...

Vim would always be right here.

Even hundreds of years from now.

My heart thumped as I opened my eyes, and went still.

My tail twitched, and I had to actually focus on it for a moment. To keep it from moving too drastically, since I had laid it onto him. I didn’t want him to wake. Especially right now, since my heartbeat was quick and...

“You okay?” Vim asked.

Damn.

“Yes. Sorry,” I whispered, and did everything I could to get myself to calm down.

Vim’s eyebrow raised as he turned his head just enough to look at me. He looked concerned.

“I’m fine. Sorry... I just thought of something and...” I felt the rush of blood, and I knew my face had gone several shades redder.

Great. Just great. Please don’t have him ask...

“Hm...” he didn’t ask, but he did stare at me for a moment... which made me all the more embarrassed.

I closed my eyes and turned my head, burying my face into the stinky bed.

Groaning a little, I couldn’t help it.

Luckily Vim remained silent, and didn’t get up. But I didn’t dare peek at him, to see if he was still staring at me.

“I’m here, Renn. It’ll all be well,” Vim then said.

I groaned as I nodded, but still kept my face hidden.

He misunderstood... kind of... which was a good thing. Kind of.

Vim shifted a little, rolling a bit on his side, and I knew he was now facing me. Probably as to keep an eye on me, just in case something really was wrong.

Just great. Wonderful. Now I was going to have to lie here for hours, being self-conscious and...!

Slowly daring a glance, I found Vim a little closer. Close enough that if he had been anyone else, I’d have smelled them and only them... yet per usual, he had no scent. Not even his shirt and jacket, which I knew hadn’t been washed in weeks.

Instead of smelling him I smelled this stinky inn. Which for some reason made me angry, at him.

His eyes were closed, and he looked relaxed... yet...

He had moved his arm a little. Just a tad closer to me, right above my head. His leg a little closer as well, close enough I could wrap my tail around it with ease now.

I knew he had done so to further enforce his words, and promise.

He was here. He’d protect me. Nothing was wrong.

Yet... it just made me all the more conscious of the thought that had caused this whole fiasco.

He would live as long as me. Maybe even longer.

It was so obvious. So clear. So... blatant...

Yet it had somehow taken this long for me to think it. To realize it.

I returned to hiding my face, even though I could feel my blushing begin to subside already. Even though my heartbeat was returning to normal. But I didn’t want him to now see the weird smile that I could feel growing.

This was troubling. I needed to be careful.

I had buried Nory. I had buried Ginny, and although hadn’t buried Lujic... that was simply because I had ran away right before he died. Because I hadn’t been able to emotionally handle it.

The entire reason I had wanted to find others like myself was because I had grown tired of burying those I loved. It was why I had been so distraught to have Amber die and the rest go missing and...

I stopped thinking of them, since it hurt.

And yet here, right next to me. Literally within arms reach...

Was a man who not only would live as long, if not longer than me... but was strong enough that I didn’t have to worry he’d perish without me. I didn’t have to worry he’d die if I decided to look away from him for a few years.

I knew even a hundred years from now; I’d be able to find Vim doing what he was doing now. Travelling around, helping the Society. And to top it off... he actually had a genuine purpose. One I found lovely. One I desired to participate in and make my own!

And that very simple fact made him...

The storm picked up, and I was thankful for the distraction. Even though the room became colder because of it, I didn’t even notice. Even the wind didn’t seem that noticeable, thanks to my heartbeat and... and his...

I groaned again, and began to try and control my heart and mind... before I said or did something that would really humiliate me. I needed to steady my heartbeat. I needed to stop my mind from whirling as it realized just what kind of position I was in. I needed to calm down and re-evaluate everything about him and...

And I needed to come to terms with the fact that without realizing it, I had found exactly who I was looking for.

After I did all that, I’d be able to accept and a come to terms with just how happy it actually made me.

Hopefully it wouldn’t take me as long to comprehend as it had to realize it.

Hopefully I’d accomplish it before this night passed me by.

Hopefully I could do it before the one in question realized it too.

Hopefully.