He wandered around next to the river with a sour mood. What was he supposed to do now with that woman? Or Girl. She was something in between and Sae didn’t really care. All he knew was that he hoped that she would somehow be vanished from existence when he would return to his home later. That he did not have to ponder about her sudden appearence ever again. The River sang his well known song and the fireflies danced to it above the meadow all around him. It was gloomy and peaceful at the same time. The knowledge that just some yalms away, in his home, was a stranger that dared to threaten this peaceful solitude that he regarded as his and his alone was … ugly. Yes, so ugly that Sae wrinkled his nose again and pressed his paws more into the earth with every step. If he concentrated on the aether energylines he could still feel her disturbing presence like a stain on a painting he had known all his life. That belonged to him.

As he came to a halt on an accessable part on the rivers side, close to the water, he listened into the night. For once he would like those voices to appear in his head and tell him what to do. As long as he did not feel a shift coming up he just one time would like to have just a little guidance for his dilemma. But the forest remained quiet safe for his usual natural whispers.

Sae sighed. It was no use. In the morning he would have to return and see if the girl has recovered so that he could send her away without having a bad conscience.

He made his way back through the darkness of the forest feeling tired from the day. First the neccessary visit to Gridania, now this sudden appearance of this stranger. Was this some kind of test he didn’t understand? Was this the reason he did not have a shapeshift for a longer period of time? Because the voices had found another string to attach him to? Sae didn’t know how to explain these periods where he felt like his movements and even thoughts where influenced by… something.

But at least now he felt fully himself. Fully aware. He just couldn’t decide if that was a good thing or not.

She was still asleep although the sun was up for already two hours. The fireplace had gone cold and Sae saw that she had used the bandages and medicine he had left in the bathroom. Silently he put them and the used towels away again, cleaned himself and searched around his kitchen to what to have for breakfast. For himself of course. If the Girl was hungry she could ask and even then Sae would need to ponder about what he would spare for her. His stomach felt heavy and his appetite was more the unceremonious feeling of the need of at least some nourishment. He settled for an apple and a persimmon he had freshly traded yesterday in Gridania and realized that his claws had almost grown back to their former size again. He cut them as short as possible whenever he had to go to the City because the gloves would become an unbearable nuisance otherwise. The claws grow back everytime in the matter of around 24 hours…The Keeper climbed the ladder up to the floor above the kitchen where his resting place was and through the open window above his mattres out onto the roof. He felt too nervous so close to that sleeping thing under the blankets in the living room and while he perched on the roof, eating his fruits he could enjoy the chilly morning wind and observe the door of his hut underneath him, waiting for when the intruder would leave on her own.

About an hour had passed and the door still had not opened. With a growl Sae walked back across the roof, jumped onto the lower flat roof that spread over the four rooms in the back of the hut and took the window again as an entrance into his home. From the higher platform he could directly look down into the open space with the fireplace and saw that the matress was empty. The smell of old dried blood and dirt hang a bit more prominently in the air along with the personal smell of the other Miqo’te so she was definitely still in the house. Great.

When Sae took the ladder down again he immediatly saw her in the kitchen and both gave a startled grunt as their gazes met. She nearly jumped backwards until she reached the old wooden countertop and with her big green eyes looked like an anxious fawn that got seperated from his mother. Which appearently wasn’t even far from the truth. She still wore the clothes in which she had arrived here yesterday, her brown hair and tail at least dirtfree and she managed to bandage her wounds.

“Oh, uh… hi! Good Morning.” she spoke and Sae felt this unease in his stomach again. He saw that one of his cupboards was open that definitely had not been left like this by him. Slowly and internally hating the need to come closer to the girl he closed the door of the cupboard again while not letting her out of his sight. She did not move one muscle, not even her ears and seemed to hold her breath until the cupboard was closed and Sae took his step back again.

“I… am sorry. I am hungry. Could you… uh… can I…”

“You should leave.” was Sae’s answer to that. Rude, maybe. But she could stand and walk, so she could very well do that in the direction of the next village or Gridania.

“I won’t come far when I am starved, Mr…” her voice trailed off as if this way she wanted to get a name out of the Miqo’te infront of her. But the tall Keeper kept quiet, his piercing gaze still on the ruffled Girl. ”Please.” she added and her ears moved back shyly.

Several more tensed seconds passed while they where staring at each other. Sae’s tail moved behind him in unrhythmic movements while the gaze of the Girl repetitive flew towards Sae’s pawed feet. He was glad that the rest of his body was hidden underneath his clothes currently.

With a small grunt he opened another cupboard, took a bowl with nuts and dried fruit out as well as a piece of bread and placed both on the countertop.

“Thank you.” she already breathed and smiled hesitatingly.

He walked backwards some steps out of the kitchen, eyeing the other Miqo’te who hungrily grabbed the bread and the bowl and began to eat where she stood. This was all so annoying. Her eating sounds, no matter how low they were. Her curious gazes. Sae was torn between the need to keep an eye on her and getting as much distance between them as possible. It became even more annoying when she started smalltalk.

“Do you live here all alone?”

Sae’s ears twitched lower and he did not answer while the sound of nuts being scrunched by her teeth seemed to fill the whole hut. She waited patiently for some seconds and then just tried it with other questions.

“How far away from Baelsars Wall are we here in the Shroud? How far is Gridania?”