Although the middle of the day, the Weaver’s Hut was a little quiet.

Usually by now there’d be children running around. Adults working, or preparing for their upcoming meals. Yet right now, as far as I was aware, only a small handful of people were even awake. And that number included me, Vim, and the elder non-humans of the family.

I couldn’t blame the humans, and younger generations, from being exhausted. It had been a long, scary, night for them. And then Vim and Nann had them working hard throughout the morning, burning bodies and dealing with all the stuff we had brought back from the mercenary’s encampment.

We had even helped Elisabell bury her brother properly. She had wanted to bury him deep in the nearby forest, next to the largest tree she could find. Although Vim had been relatively quiet throughout the ordeal, I had been proud of his gentle willingness to accommodate her.

After burying her brother Martin, Elisabell had become rather passive and understanding. She had wept fiercely as Vim buried him, but once we had returned here from the forest she had stopped crying. Although she had somewhat grown quiet, she had also been willing to talk to me when I addressed her.

Walking through the courtyard, I passed through the small stone pathway that ran through the center. It led to something of a gazebo, but I didn’t pause at it. Not even to study the strange flowers that surrounded it. Instead I went straight to the workshop, making sure not to drop the warm pot I held, or the stuff sitting on top of its lid.

The door to the workshop was open, as I’d left it, and upon entering I was glad to find that Vim was still on his chair made of solid stone… and Elisabell was likewise okay.

She turned as I entered the room, and gave me a tiny smile as I strode over to her. I ignored Vim, as he ignored me, and I went to putting the large cast iron pot onto the table. The only table in this whole place not littered with tools or cloth.

“It’s just a simple soup, Elisabell. But Nasba says her children love it,” I said.

The young woman’s smile grew a little. “Thank you Renn,” she said as she stepped over to the table.

I nodded as I placed the small bowl that had a spoon in it on the table in front of her. I had carried it, and an empty cup, on top of the pot. She had a water jug nearby, which I had freshly filled a little bit ago.

She was more than capable of tending to her own needs; of course… although I saw her as a young girl, she was not a child. She was old enough to have been looking for a husband, after all.

But Vim had laid down the law. He and Nann had made it very clear.

Until we three left, Elisabell was not allowed out of Vim’s sight. Not for a single moment. And although Vim hasn’t been actually rude or cruel to her… he hadn’t seemed too attentive on making sure she was fed or anything.

He hadn’t even worried about a place for her to sleep. I had to go ask Nasba for a pillow and blanket for her. Nasba, unlike Nann, hadn’t been bothered at all by my request. She had showed me where a cot was here in the workshop, and had given Elisabell a set of bedding.

I patted Elisabell on the shoulder as I stepped away, to let her eat. She wasn’t anywhere near as anxious or scared as she had been last night, or this morning, but she was still stiff. She had deep dark circles under her eyes, and I knew she was likely exhausted. She hadn’t been able to fall asleep yet.

Odds are she was worried Vim would kill her in her sleep.

I didn’t fault her for thinking such a thing, but wished I knew how to convey to her that such a fear was unwarranted.

Vim had promised not to hurt her. Unless absolutely necessary. Vim could be cruel, but he was also a man of his word. He’d not break a promise like that. Not willingly, at least.

But that didn’t mean Elisabell wouldn’t, or couldn’t, do something foolish…

Which was what I had been worrying about, while gone. The half hour I’d been elsewhere, helping Nasba prepare her that pot of food had been long and stressful.

Though maybe I didn’t need to worry too much…

Stepping away, I walked over to Vim and his little workbench. I watched as Elisabell poured some of the soup into her bowl, and sat down at the table. She quickly went to eating. The moment she took one bite, her stomach made a thankful noise and she flinched.

I looked away, before Elisabell noticed my stare, and I smiled at Vim. “What are you working on now, Vim?” I asked him. He was no longer messing with the set of leather armor. But instead he had a large felt, with thick fur on one side. He was sewing something to the edges, likely to form a crease.

“A toy. For one of the children.”

I frowned and wondered which one. There were many children here.

Vim must have noticed my question, for he gestured to our left. I followed his thumb, and found a bundle of fuzz. Stepping over to it, I picked up what looked to be a decrepit little stuffed animal. It kind of looked like a bird, based off the shape. But it had fur though, and it didn’t have a tail or wings.

It looked torn and stained. As if it had been dropped in muddy water, and left there for days.

“During the attack she dropped it while you guys were running into the building. It fell in the garden, and I think one of the horses nibbled on it,” Vim said.

Oh… So last night, when Nann and I had gathered the families around the courtyard, he meant. I did remember a few younger girls amongst that group… though I honestly didn’t remember any who had been carrying such a toy. Maybe it had been one of the families that Nann had gathered.

I smiled softly as I put the toy down and stepped back over to him. “How can you be so strangely gentle like that Vim, yet so mean to her?” I asked him.

“Easily,” Vim answered simply.

My eyes twitched, but I didn’t allow myself to grow upset with him.

After all… I understood it. I really did.

Elisabell was basically being forced into the Society. It was either that or kill her.

Yet… even though that basically made her a member…

It also didn’t. In a way. Not because of a technicality or because Vim didn’t see it that way, but rather for a more simple reason.

She hadn’t proved herself yet. And until she did, Vim would not treat her like a member.

And since she wasn’t a member… well…

Elisabell coughed, and I glanced over at her. She shifted on her chair, wiping her mouth, and then went back to eating.

Either Vim’s comment had bothered her, or she was simply so stressed that even eating was difficult for her right now.

Though…

Watching her eat, I realized she was actually doing pretty well. She was, in a certain sense, basically a prisoner right now. Under Vim’s watchful eye.

Under the eye of people, things, she now knew were not human. And not just because I was walking around with my tail and ears visible, either. She had fully witnessed Vim’s strength. Its incomprehensible truth made her realize just what kind of situation she was in.

Yet… although obvious anxious and stressed… she was also not crying or weeping anymore. She was even being a little cordial with me, and Vim, and had even gone so far as to help me and Vim earlier. When we had gone through the camp, searching for anything worth taking, she had not only helped but had worked hard.

It was likely she was just trying to stay on our good side… but… well…

Had I been in her position, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to be so… cordial, or accepting, of it.

Grabbing Vim’s shoulder, I leaned into him a little. “What are you making?” I asked with a whisper.

His head tilted a little, and I smirked at the way he side-glanced me. Did he not like it when someone whispered in his ear?

“A duck.”

A…

Smiling warmly at him, I nodded. “Good,” I said.

“Hm,” he made a noise and rolled his shoulder. The one I wasn’t holding. I couldn’t help but giggle at his adorable discomfort.

“By the way, Nann’s going to teach me how to sew. She’s going to make you a new set of clothes, since she ruined your other pair. I’m going to be helping her tomorrow,” I told him. She had made it very clear that I was to find her at the crack of dawn, and not be late.

“You’ll be in good feathers. She’s very good. Plus she’s more like you than not, she likes to make designs and stuff,” Vim said.

I nodded. I had noticed. Most of the clothes here were pretty. Especially the ones worn by the girls and women.

“Good feathers. That’s funny,” I said as I realized what he had said.

“Is it? It’s apt, I think,” he said.

“It is… what would you say about me then? If it was me instead?” I asked him.

“Good paws maybe? Or maybe your eyes. I’d say something akin to under a watchful eye or something, I think,” Vim said as he thought about it.

“Watchful eye…?” I asked.

“Your memory. Plus you notice things I don’t like you noticing, so you’re perceptive,” he said.

I giggled as I leaned against him again. “What have I noticed recently that you didn’t want me to?” I asked.

“What haven’t you noticed, would be an easier answer,” he mumbled.

Elisabell’s spoon clanked as she went to refill her bowl. I smiled at her as she did, and I noticed the way she was doing her best to not look over at us.

“Do you know how to sew Elisabell?” I asked her.

“Huh…!” she startled, nearly spilling some of her soup in the process. She quickly sat up straight, and coughed. “Y-yes. Though I’m not very good…” she said.

Hm… “You mentioned your family worked on roofs?” I asked.

She nodded quickly. “We did… You might not want me to sew much, but I could definitely fix any leaks in your roofs and stuff,” she said, confident.

“I look forward to seeing your sewing Renn. I bet it’s not as bad as you say it is,” Vim said.

“You have seen it, Vim,” I said.

“I… I have?” he turned, and I realized he was doubting me.

I nodded. “Remember in Ruvindale? When we met? The pants I wore had been ones I sewed. Nory had made them, originally, but I fixed them before leaving our cabin. I fixed all my clothes and bags and stuff before leaving, as best as I could at least,” I said.

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Vim blinked, and then frowned… and I watched him remember and ponder the past. “I do remember those pants… What happened to them?” he asked.

“Amber burnt them. After she heard you had told me to get rid of them,” I said.

He sighed. “Had I said that? Really?” he asked.

“No… but that’s how I had interpreted it back then,” I said. He had just been bothered by the pattern design on them. They had been patterned with an emblem design from a nation that no longer existed. He hadn’t liked the fact I had been walking around in clothes that told others how old I was.

“I’m sorry,” he said softly.

Smiling at him, I patted his shoulder. “It’s okay Vim.”

His eyes told me he didn’t believe so, but I wasn’t going to press it. Honestly I was just kind of glad that he even remembered them.

“Still… they hadn’t been that bad had they? Why do you say your sewing is bad then?” he asked.

“They’d been horrible Vim… They had been off center, and itchy, and the seams I’d made were tearing. When I took them off after you said something that night, they had even torn,” I said with a smirk, a little proud of it for some reason.

He sighed at me, but smiled all the same.

I’d not mention that I had torn them out of emotion. I had taken them off quickly; ashamed I hadn’t realized what he had so obviously noticed upon first looking at me. So the tearing hadn’t really been because of my handiwork but rather my hasty removal of them.

“I’d think any woman would know how to sew. Or uh… is it… well… because…” Elisabell went quiet as we both turned to look at her.

Smiling at her, more so to let her know it was completely okay for her to join our conversation, I waved her concerns down. “I wish I could say it’s not because we’re not human… but the reality is it might be a reason. But my own reason is more than that. I grew up struggling with it, and learned to hate it since failing at it got me beatings,” I told her.

“Beatings…?” Elisabell and Vim both said softly, and I realized I had said something a little off for the happy moment.

Coughing, I nodded. “But I need to learn! And quick. Vim for some reason hates clothes you see, and ruins them faster than you can blink. Which means I might one day soon be the only thing standing between him being naked and not,” I said.

“Naked…” Elisabell frowned at us, and I realized she was imagining him so.

“Humans are oddly understanding of a naked man knocking on their door, you know. They usually pity me when I do,” Vim said with a smirk.

Elisabell laughed, and I loved hearing it. Was this the first time she’s laughed since last night?

“Probably because we’d be too shocked to do anything else, I’m sure!” Elisabell said between her laughs.

I nodded. “Yeah. You’d be nice to him just in hopes he’d go away, I think. Better to give him a set of clothes than risk being around him any longer than need to,” I said.

“See, usually humans are nicer than that though. They’re nice enough to not say that part out loud,” Vim said.

Smirking at him, I noticed he had started to fold his little stuffed animal together. It lacked any stuffing, and looked oddly wobbly, but it was finally taking shape. It, like the destroyed one on the table nearby, had a small layer of fur all around it. To keep it soft. Yet the leather was the type of tanned hide that would be resilient and durable. Where if properly taken care of the young girl would be able to hold it for years without worry.

Vim then coughed, and remembered something. “Speaking of being naked…” he turned, to look at Elisabell.

I glared at him for a moment, waiting expectantly for what he was about to say. A joke? Something serious? Hopefully whatever it was…

“You didn’t bathe did you? Probably too late now though. You look about to fall over…” Vim said with a sigh.

Ah…

Elisabell went a little still, her brow furrowing as she tried to comprehend what he had just said.

“Vim, really…” I sighed as I thumped him in the shoulder.

“Um…!” Elisabell started to say something, but then went red in the face and wasn’t able to say it.

“Just ignore him Elisabell. He’s teasing me, through you,” I said to her.

“Huh…” she got her embarrassed blush under control far faster than I ever did, and then frowned at us. “But I do stink,” she admitted.

“You’re fine. You need sleep more than anything else. We can bathe once you’ve rested,” I said.

Vim nodded, agreeing with me.

“Huh…” she repeated the same nod of her head and sound, but this time it had sounded less sure than before.

Smiling at her, I then noticed she swayed a little. She caught herself, and went to blinking wildly as if suddenly stunned.

She had just almost fallen asleep. While sitting and talking to us.

“Are you done eating Elisabell?” I asked as I stepped away from Vim.

“Huh…? Oh… Yeah…” she didn’t sound too happy about it, but she nodded.

“Then let’s get you into your bed,” I said.

“Mhm…” she nodded, and although has been rather meek and mannered this whole time… she seemed even more dutifully acknowledging as she stood up from her chair.

Smiling at her, I took her by the arm and guided her over to the cot. She practically fell into it, making the thing wobble and sway a little. It was just a large blanketed netting that was suspended by two of the support beams in the room. But for her it was more than enough.

Grabbing the blanket Nasba had given her, I draped it over the girl as she grabbed the large feathered pillow and buried her face into it.

I smiled down to the girl as she rolled over and curled up. I patted her shoulder as she blinked at me… and I saw the way her eyelids slid heavily along her eyes. She was already falling asleep.

“Goodnight, Elisabell,” I said to her.

“Mhm,” she made a noise and nodded… and then sure enough, a moment later, fell asleep.

A little jealous at how quickly she had done so, I patted her shoulder again. Not to wake her, but to just let her know all would be okay.

As Elisabell drifted deeper into sleep, I stepped away from the hanging cot and back over to Vim.

“She fell asleep as soon as she rolled over,” I told him.

“She’s exhausted. Plus sleep is a place of sanctuary. You can hide from your fears and pain there,” Vim said.

“Why don’t you ever sleep then?” I asked him.

Vim frowned, and then glanced at me. “That’s funny. Or are you saying I should sleep more because I’m a coward?” he asked me.

I smiled at him. “I more so meant… if that’s how you view sleep, then I’d think you whose life is sometimes hard and cruel, would enjoy it. Not that you’re a coward,” I said.

“Ah. That’s too bad. Beak would have called me a coward there,” he said.

“You are one, Vim. But not for things like that. You’d never cower over such trauma. Now if sleeping could save you from me, on the other hand, I’d believe it. But you sleeping would just invite me into your bed, so…” I teased him.

Vim’s eyes studied me for a moment, and I felt a tiny blush form.

He then smirked and looked away, to re-focus on the little toy he was making.

“What…?” I asked.

“I fear the day you can say something like that without blushing,” he said.

My blush deepened.

Walking over to him, I hoped she really was asleep. Otherwise we were likely looking like a pair of fools.

“How are you feeling, Vim?” I asked him.

“Got a year to talk about it?” he asked back.

Hesitating at his tone, I calmed down as I realized he had just been making a small joke.

Although glad he was in a strangely good mood all of a sudden, I was half tempted to smack him for saying such a thing. Coming from him that comment had been rather serious.

Vim glanced at me and smiled. “I’m fine Renn. How are you?” he asked instead.

I gulped. “Worried,” I admitted.

He nodded. “I’m sure you are.”

“Not going to try and relieve me?” I asked him.

“She’s taken the only bed, Renn,” Vim said gently.

My face grew hotter, again, and I finally gave in to the urge to smack him. Although I did so playfully, tapping his shoulder. “Vim…!”

“What? Now we know she’s definitely asleep, she would have moved or made a noise at that,” Vim said.

Sighing at him, I shook my head as I glanced over to the girl. She looked just as I’d left her, sleeping soundly and all curled up.

Studying her for a moment, I realized she was likely about the age Nory had been. When I had met her. Or maybe just a little older.

“Why’d you let her live, Vim…?” I asked him softly.

“For you Renn. Isn’t it obvious?” he said.

My blush grew warmer again, but not out of embarrassment. Stepping up behind him, I wrapped my arms around his neck and head. Hugging his head from behind, I buried my face into his hair.

“Thank you,” I whispered as I fell for him all over again.

I had expected it, but still…

“Hm. We’re headed to the Crypt after this. So it works out fine. We’ll leave her there,” he said, unbothered by my smothering of him.

“Just to be sure… when you say crypt you don’t mean a grave, right?” I asked as I squeezed his head tighter.

He chuckled, and it felt wonderfully weird to feel it in my arms. “You were just so happy, and now you’re on guard again. You’re a pendulum Renn. But no, it’s just the name of the location. I’d not take her elsewhere just to kill her there… that makes no sense. Waste of a headache,” he said.

Taking a deep breath, I wished Vim didn’t lack a scent. I wasn’t sure what kind of smell I wanted to smell from him, but the lack of one made me a little sad. “Please tell me it’s at least somewhere she’ll be happy,” I said.

“Those there seem happy enough,” he said.

Hm. I’ll have to just wait and see then. Odds are Vim didn’t care if she’d be happy or not. To him, sparing her life was the limit of his mercy.

Vim tilted his head a little, making me have to sway to the left as he did so. Since I was clinging to him so strongly. “It’s a place of worship, basically. It’s where many of our members are laid to rest. A holy place. She’ll basically become a nun,” Vim explained to me.

Ah. He had misinterpreted my noise earlier. He had heard my hum as one of annoyance over his answer.

Brushing his hair, I sighed at him and his adorableness. “Sounds like a place you don’t care for,” I teased him.

He chuckled. “You have no idea.”

Smiling at him, I tried to smell him again.

Really. It was so strange to have something, someone, wrapped in my arms… and not be able to smell it at all. Everything had a smell. Everything. Yet he simply didn’t.

It was off-putting in a way. Disturbing. And not just because I wanted to smell him, to know what he smelled like.

He’d just gone through battle last night. And not only had he fought, and killed, he had been stabbed through by Nann. The wound had bled so much that we had tossed all of the clothes he had been wearing into the fire of burning bodies. And although he had cleaned and wiped himself off, I knew for a fact that he hadn’t bathed since then. I had tried to bathe with him, to use it as an opportunity, but he had said he had too much to do. He had windows to fix, he had said.

So by all counts Vim should smell. Not just of his own scent, but of grime and other stuff. Bad smells.

But of course he didn’t. Not even buried in his hair was I able to smell anything.

Though maybe it’d happen one day. He was able to smell me, and I could smell myself, even though no one else supposedly smelled me anymore.

Blinking at the realization, I laid my chin on his head as I thought about that fact.

I no longer had a smell.

So strange. It was too bad Miss Beak was dead; she probably would have had a very unique perspective on it. I wonder if she had noticed at a… “Vim,” I spoke up as I realized something.

“Hm?”

“She noticed, hadn’t she? That’s why she called me your mate. She noticed my lack of smell,” I said, feeling very stupid for not having noticed.

“Yes. Very likely. You had told her your story Renn, but it’s not like you or I had been very forthcoming with our relationship. Under more normal circumstances, Beak would have just thought I’d been escorting you for one reason or another. Maybe even would have just assumed we were having fun, playing around for a short time. Yet she had noticed the truth immediately,” he said.

“Right…” I nodded, and wondered how long ago Vim had realized. He had said yes rather quickly, which meant he had already thought of it.

Vim was oddly aware in weird ways sometimes.

“I bet Merit will notice right away too,” I said.

He groaned. “Don’t remind me.”

Patting his head, I smiled. “Be nice to my friend,” I said.

“I’m always nice to Merit,” he mumbled.

He was… but that wasn’t the problem. He wasn’t nice enough. Yet… if he did become nice enough…

Then I’d worry over losing him to her. Which hurt my heart. I wanted her to be happy but…

Sniffing, I did my best to not allow my eyes to fill with tears… but I lost rather quickly.

“Renn…?” Vim asked gently.

“Mhm…” I dug my face back into his hair, and clung to him as I went to crying.

Doing my best to at least keep my sobs as quiet as possible, I wept into his hair.

A lot of painful things have been happening lately. And I knew more were to come.

Yet even with all these painful things, Vim was steady. Strong. Warm.

It wasn’t a stretch to say his stalwart attitude and heart was keeping my own frail one from shattering. If he even realized it though…

Clinging to him, Vim continued to work on the little toy… letting me cry into his hair without complaint.

Like always he indulged me. As he did with all of our members. As he did for everyone he protected.

However… I couldn’t help but feel a little special. To be chosen over Merit, and who knows who else. To be granted such leniency, as well.

For him to have spared Elisabell… that alone was telling. Even if no one’s mentioned it. Even if Vim hasn’t even realized it yet.

He had spared her because he knew it was what I had wanted him to do. What I had hoped for.

Basking in his gentle sturdiness, I hoped a day would come where I could pay him back for all of this. For being who… and what he was. For not just me, but the whole Society.

“I love you Vim,” I whispered as I cried.

I really did.

Even if he refused to smell.