In the kitchen, Ranya was putting some food on the table. Among the plates was one that included berries.

“Was out to gather them this morning”, she told him, which explained why he was left to sleep more.

With a nod, Klyran went to Midryl and asked him about the clothes. The other man didn’t look disturbed by the request and simply led the Ryan to his room. Midryl looked through his clothes and gave Klyran a set that he didn’t wear much. Then, he glanced at his new friend again and then took out a thick long sleeved shirt, which he also threw at him.

“If you want, you can wash yourself in the bathroom”, he said and pointed him to the door located in his room.

With a few words of gratitude, Klyran ran toward it and quickly opened it. It was similar to the room upstairs, but different at the same time. There was a tub, which the Ryan filled with water. After he took off his cloak, Midryl knocked on the door again.

“Forgot you don’t know how to use it”, he said with a smile and the entered the room, once Klyran gave him the permission.

The young Greenyard kneeled in from of the tub and took some of the wood that was set aside and threw it into the space under the tub. He then kindled the fire and stood back up.

“This will make the water to warm up”, he explained.

“What is there?” Klyran the asked, pointing to another two doors present in the bathroom.

“That”, Midryl said and pointed to one of the doors, “Has towels, feel free to take one. The other one”, he said and pointed to the other, “Leads to Ranya’s room.”

After those words, Midryl approached it and the put a lock on it. He then showed Klyran how to do it. Apparently, the lock was there so that the siblings don’t accidentally walk in on each other.

After Midryl left, the Ryan took off his clothes and placed them on the ground. He stepped into the water and quickly sat down there. Steam rose from the water and Klyran thought in that moment that he could die happy.

The hot water felt good against his skin, the weather of the South always being too cold for his liking. Despite being told to be quick, the Ryan could not help but enjoy himself. He submerged into the hot water and tried to keep his breath as long as he could. Then, when air became a necessity he came back up with a gasp.

Klyran stood there for a while, until the fire begun to die under the tub and someone knocked on the door.

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“Did you drown in there?” Ranya’s voice could be heard.

“I’m coming out” the Ryan quickly replied and got up.

He used one of the towel to pat himself dry and then put on the clothes given to him and fastened the cloak. His hair was still damp, causing him to shiver and put on the cloak’s hood.

When he got out, Ranya was patiently waiting for him.

“How are you feeling?” she asked him concerned, “I remember Aldryn saying something about the weather being too cold for you here.”

With a nod, Klyran assured the girl that he was fine. He even apologized for taking so long with the bath.

“Let go eat”, she quickly said and grabbed his arm, dragging him behind her.

In the kitchen, Klyran was forced to sit in front of the fire place. The wood there crackling and burning. Midryl brought some tea and set it on the small table, while Ranya dragged another chair and grabbed a towel to dry Klyran’s hair.

The three of them spend a few hours like that. Simply enjoying the day. When Klyran’s watch displayed 12, Midryl stood up and announced that he had to go.

“Some of the Greenyards are going hunting today” she said, “Apparently there are too many wild boars now and we need to hunt around 3 or 5 of them” she explained.

Klyran wanted to join them, but the siblings didn’t let him, which upset the Ryan.

“We have our own training to get to” Ranya told him with a smile, “You lazed around today too much as it is”

With a sigh, Klyran accepted the words and stood up to help them clean the room.

Once Midryl left, the Ryan and Ranya remained alone. She washed the used cups, while Klyran used a cloth to dry them and put them back in their place.

“Don’t be too upset” she told him, “We’ll train you a bit more and then you can come hunt with us.”

Those words caused his mood to visibly lift. The Greenyard commented that once Klyran was more comfortable with his own body, they would try taking him to a hunt. Those words caused him to pause.

“More comfortable with my body?” he asked, “The Kenman said something similar to this.”

He then re-told to Ranya the song that the Kenman sung for him. The serpent even expressed his confusion over the various words used to describe him, like: hooves, antlers and claws. After hearing the song, Ranya only calmly nodded.

“The Kenman is considered a Seer by our people” she said, “And every Seer is said to be strange. Maybe that’s the way he speaks of his visions” she then explained.

Once the two were done, they headed again to the training field. There were more people there that day. Some adults were training the children archery or combat. To not disturb anyone, the duo went to the edge of the field and begun their own training.

They first did some warm up exercises and then begun sparring. To Ranya’s great surprise, Klyran managed to dodge her attacks more effectively this day.

“I don’t know what you did during the night. But you are definitely better than yesterday” she complimented, making the other smile.

At some point during their fight, more people gathered around them. Some of the children who wanted to watch were instructed by the adults to listen to Ranya’s every word and remember it. While the newcomers were mostly girls who heard that Klyran was in the field training. They came to watch him and think of ways to ask him out on a date. His handsome face having caught their attention. The girls were even glaring at each other, daring the other to make a move before them.

All the stares caused Klyran to grow uncomfortable and sensing this, Ranya stopped him. The moment the two of them took a break, the girls grabbed this chance and surrounded the poor Ryan. They complemented his strength and agility, as well as his looks. Never receiving before such attention, the black-haired male didn’t know what to do or say. He helplessly looked at Ranya, who only laughed at his situation.

“All right!” she then shouted, startling the group, “Don’t you have duties to attend to?” she asked the girls with a glare.

Ranya and her brother were known to be the strongest warriors of the forest. They were the youngest to ever raise in ranks and didn’t even reach the age of 25, which was when most of the villagers would finally manage to pass the test and be recognized as warriors.

She then grabbed his arm and led Klyran away from the field.

“Thank you” he said, once the two were too far away to be heard.

“Don’t mention it” she said with a wave of her arm.

She led him to a couple of tall trees, where only upon approach the Ryan noticed some platform sitting in them.

“I will teach you something new” she then said and begun skilfully climbing the tree.