This inn was rather empty for how large it was.

Not that I was complaining. The world was already very smelly, thanks to the nearby fires, so a lack of humans was a good thing. I honestly preferred the strange burnt smell in the air over unwashed humans. Even if the thick stuffy air made everything I ate and drank seem… burnt themselves.

Gulping down the last of my berry smoothie, I frowned in annoyance at the lack of detail in the taste. The darn stuff really did taste burnt, as if they had made it in a charred barrel like they did some wines and ales.

I didn’t like it at all. It almost ruined the drink completely. It was not a complemented taste at all.

Sighing, I sat back and glanced at the large window I was sitting near. It revealed the larger main street of Hornslo, and it was relatively empty. The only thing out on the street right now was the strange hazy fog that had engulfed the whole world.

It wasn’t that this village was empty, like this inn, but rather that people were busy. Some were out of the village, near the river. Doing whatever they did to try and keep the fires from crossing over the river and coming here. Others were preparing to leave. Earlier this morning a bunch of horses and donkeys had passed by, heading to one of the nearby shops. They were fleeing the fires, and taking as much of their goods with them as they could.

In fact this inn we were staying at, or rather the ones who owned it, were likewise readying to flee. Right now I could hear them rummaging around in the backrooms, packing boxes and whatnot. It was a small family, with the mother being somehow the oldest. She was old enough, in appearance at least, that I had originally thought her the grandmother of the family… but it turned out she wasn’t. She was the mother of two teenage children, and wife to a young man.

It wasn’t often one found a human couple like that. It was usually the man who was older. It was an interesting thing, but I hadn’t been able to get much information from them. They were far too focused on simple survival. They had no time for idle chatter.

In fact they hadn’t even asked for payment from the three of us for staying here. The only thing that they had wanted in return for letting us use some of their rooms, and their kitchens, was to agree to help them on what they called night watch and to help them load their cart when the time came. Both tasks Oplar happily agreed with without hesitation.

Night watch was simple enough. It was simply the duty of watching the fires while everyone else slept. They were very worried the fires would show up while they slumbered, and overtake them, so they wanted someone on duty at all times. I was more than willing to volunteer for last night’s duty, especially since I had found myself unable to sleep the night before.

I had genuinely been bothered by it, and still was. It’s been three days since we’d arrived here, and I’d only gotten a few hours sleep the first night here. Likely because I of the exhaustion from traveling for the first time in a short while.

Yet now was day two without sleep. It was midday, and tonight wasn’t my turn to watch the fires… but something told me I’d not be able to sleep much tonight either.

Hopefully I wasn’t turning into Vim.

There had to be something wrong. Maybe it was the bed? There were two other rooms, maybe I should try sleeping in a different one. It hadn’t felt uncomfortable though, and thanks to the smelly world I hadn’t been bothered by the stink of the bed or bedding either…

Maybe the nearby fires were more dangerous than my mind believed. Maybe I was instinctively just… on guard, or something…?

Maybe…

“Now Renn just because they said we could drink our fill, that doesn’t mean you should be getting drunk in the middle of the day!”

I smiled as I turned to greet Oplar who stepped around the corner of the stairwell’s hallway. She grinned as she walked over to sit down at my table across from me.

“Want some?” I asked as I reached over to grab the large pitcher. It was still mostly full… I was so upset over the weird taste thanks to the smoke that I’d just only finished my first glass, even though I’d been sitting here for a couple hours now. There were a few other empty cups on the table, one of which Oplar grabbed and held out.

“What… it’s just juice?” Oplar mumbled as she watched the contents pour into her cup.

“Don’t like it…?” I asked.

“Hm… I much prefer tea or spirits, but this will do for now I suppose,” Oplar said as she went to take a drink.

I watched her do so, but if she was bothered by the taste at all it didn’t show. She didn’t even seem to register the drink at all, and instead glanced around the inn. “Still empty, I see,” she noted.

“The streets have become quieter too. I think a lot of people have left in the last couple days,” I said.

“Aye… odds are this village will be burnt, based off how strong the winds are and how close the fire is now,” Oplar said as she glanced into her cup.

Oh…? Maybe it did taste bad to her too. Maybe it wasn’t just me.

Instead though she took another drink and shrugged. “Seen Sillti?” she asked.

“Still sleeping,” I said. Couldn’t she hear her snoring? She had been exhausted yesterday, after helping me and Oplar carry stuff for the innkeepers. We had spent about half the day carrying boxes and goods from the upper two floors down here to the first, so they could sort and pack them. Unlike Oplar and I, Sillti was not very strong… and it seemed she was also still a little exhausted from the few days of travel to get here from her home.

“May as well let the poor girl rest. We might be soon traveling hard after all,” Oplar said with a sigh.

“How far are we from Telmik?” I asked.

“About two weeks at Sillti’s pace. I thought about maybe procuring some horses, but such a thing might be hard right now what with everyone needing them to evacuate,” Oplar said.

Ah… right. The humans were using them to carry cargo. “What about the river? Didn’t you mention Lumen sometimes trades with this place?” I asked.

“We could, but the river’s slow and I bet it’s mighty congested. Plus it would just lead us to Lumen instead, there are mountains that separate the waterways here on this side. You need to round those mountains to get to rivers that connect to Telmik,” Oplar explained.

I nodded, remembering those very mountains she spoke of. Vim and I had crossed over them on our way to Lumen from Temlik… they had indeed been mighty and massive.

“It’s… a little odd to think we’re so far north already. How far are we from Twin Hills?” I asked.

“About as long from here to there as Telmik. We’re kind of in the middle,” she said.

I see. That’s too bad. I had planned to ask if we could make a tiny stop there if we had been closer, but I wasn’t going to let my selfish desires double our travel time. Especially not without Vim.

“You doing okay Renn?” Oplar then asked.

I perked up a little and glanced around. Was something wrong? But no. Everything seemed fine. Even the street outside was still clear and empty.

Oplar giggled at me. “You look tired, Renn. Was last night rough?” she clarified.

Oh. “I’m fine. I think it’s the smoke, it really bugs me,” I said. At least, that was what I hoped all it was.

She nodded knowingly. “Right? I keep thinking I just licked charcoal or something,” she said.

Licked… charcoal? I smiled at the odd way of explaining the smoke and haze’s affect on us. That was actually rather accurate. It wasn’t painful, just nasty and annoying.

A loud bang drew my attention to the other end of the room, and both Oplar and I listened for a moment as the innkeeper and her family rummaged around in the room beyond this one. It was behind the kitchen, some kind of storeroom.

“They’re rather worried,” I said gently.

“They’re about to lose their whole world, Renn. They may have money and stuff to take, but this inn is priceless to them. It’s not just their home it’s their livelihood, and their pride. They’ll survive, but they may never again have such a thing for as long as they live,” Oplar said softly.

Nodding softly, I wondered how hard it was to buy and or build such a place. “Vim once told me that some inns barely scrape by,” I said.

“He’s right. Most make only enough to survive and take care of the owner’s family. In fact most of the higher end ones are just branch businesses of larger guilds and merchant families. They’re not built or managed to make profit, at least not a lot, but instead for status or reach. A few years ago Brandy requested the right to start building inns throughout the Nation of the Blind under the Societies banner. It didn’t get accepted, though,” Oplar said.

“Why not?” I asked. What a wonderful idea! If we ran inns throughout the villages, then not only could we easily hide our members but also create places that allowed those that traveled easier times as they did so. Welcoming places and…

Oplar snickered. “They’re a pain, plus it’s one thing to own a business that deals with humans it’s another entirely to run one that deals with many humans all the time. Normal inns are always full, and half the time of merchants and stuff. Educated humans with keen eyes. Not the best places for those like us to blend in at,” Oplar explained.

Oh… right… “Yet we run one of the largest banks and warehouses in Lumen,” I noted.

“The members there are suited for it. Plus they have hundreds of humans to cover for them when needed. A tiny inn though?” She shook her head as she took a quick drink of her juice. “Just isn’t worth it. We’ve had members try to make inns before, never works out the way you want it to. It’s always problematic.”

I see… that’s too bad. “I see,” I whispered.

“Hm… I mean, look at you Renn. You hide it mighty well, what with your leather armor and stuff, but if you constantly worked in a place like this a mistake would happen eventually,” she said as she pointed at my head, where my ears would be if not for the hat on my head.

Nodding, I sighed. “Right. It’s why those in Lumen didn’t want me doing anything too direct, like working in the warehouse. They wanted me to work behind counters and stuff, where such things couldn’t happen as easily,” I said.

“Right? Did you ever wear their bank uniform?” Oplar asked.

Frowning, I tilted my head at the weird smile on her face. “Yes? Why?”

“What’d Vim think of it?” she asked.

My frown turned into a strange feeling grin. “I’m not sure. We… weren’t as close back then, I think. Not openly, at least. I did notice him study me each time I wore a different uniform though,” I said. I remembered the way his eyes would linger on me each time he had done so. Usually from a distance, like when he had been standing up on a balcony or down a hallway. He had done it when he had thought I hadn’t been paying attention.

“Hm… so does that mean he’s ogled you even from the beginning? How about when you first met?” Oplar asked further.

Although I knew she was just trying to tease me, and Vim, I happily smiled and nodded. “He had. Even in the beginning I had noticed him staring at my legs or rear. He even stared at my tail and ears… I think he finds them attractive, somehow,” I said. He had even been doing it lately too; it wasn’t something he had only just done in the beginning.

Oplar giggled for a moment, and then her smile turned a little sad as she got serious. “I see. So it’s true then, when it happens it happens,” she mumbled.

“Happens…?” I asked.

“Love. My parents had made it rather clear that even if you don’t notice it for a long time, it happens upon first sight. You’re not the first to basically confirm their teachings, but out of everyone I place stock in your answer the most,” she said as she tapped her cup with a finger, as if lost in thought.

A little surprised to hear such a serious tone from her, especially when it wasn’t right away followed by a laugh or giggle, I found myself oddly humbled.

“I appreciate that… but can I ask why my opinion can be valued so highly?” I asked.

“Your memory. It’s flawless. If you remember him doing such things, it means he really did it. Plus you’re rather pure. You don’t lie, especially not about stuff like that. I’d take your word over anyone’s, maybe even over Vim’s to be honest,” she said.

My humbled heart grew warm as I smiled at her. “I… I think I too fell for Vim upon first sight of him. I met him when he brought Lomi to the Sleepy Artist… so when I first saw him, I saw a man watching a beautiful scene. One that was tear-inducing. A little girl was happily, yet wearily, greeting and hugging people she’d never met before. Fellow non-human members. Yet the moment I stepped forward Vim’s eyes latched onto mine, as he studied me. Ever the dutiful protector. I sometimes spend a long time just thinking of that moment,” I told her.

Oplar’s eyes fixated upon mine, and I did my best to not blush and look away as she studied them… as if searching deep within them for something.

“I’ll be honest though, I don’t know if Vim thought the same about me at first. Remember… he almost killed me, when I had brought news of what had happened. If he had loved me I don’t think he would have been willing to do such a thing so readily,” I added, feeling sheepish.

She frowned. “I wouldn’t say so. Vim’s an odd man. And I can tell you for a fact he’s killed many people he loved, or cherished. No matter how painful, he does it without hesitation,” she said.

Oh… Right… “The endling thing,” I remembered.

Oplar nodded. “He’s told you about it? Good. I haven’t told him anything, but he actually has one of those requests waiting for him at Telmik,” Oplar said.

Wait… “What?”

Oplar sighed as she leaned forward, to rest her head on her hand as if exhausted. “The duck. Trek. He’s requested it. Poor man’s ready to end his life,” Oplar said.

My heart thumped as my vision blurred.

That quiet man…? The one who had lived near that pond, that Vim and I had visited on our way to the smithy? Vim had just recently helped him rebuild his little dock…

“Why…?” I asked softly.

“I don’t know. Trek’s an odd man. He won’t talk to anyone unless absolutely needed. I’d hope that Vim could talk him out of it… but… well…” Oplar shrugged.

“He so willingly supports anyone’s wishes,” I grumbled.

Oplar nodded. “Yeah. It’s a good thing, really… if he wasn’t the way he is, he’d be a tyrant and likely not the good kind at all. But sometimes… sometimes I wish he wasn’t so damned insufferably understanding,” Oplar said.

Hm… “That’s heavy news, Oplar. Thank you for telling me, but I also kind of wish you hadn’t,” I said.

She chuckled softly. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to sour your happy love-talk with such bad news, but it’s been bothering me and you brought it up so…”

Right… I had. I sighed. “To make up for it, can I ask something?” I asked.

Oplar sat up a little straight as she lifted her head off her hand and nodded.

“Do you know if Vim… well… takes baths with people?” I asked.

She frowned at first, and then smirked. “Ah. Right. I had heard you like to bathe with him, though haven’t seen it myself. No. Or well, I don’t know. I’ve not really ever heard of Vim happily bathing with anyone, but at the same time I don’t know if anyone’s ever really asked or tried to do such a thing with him, you know?” Oplar said with her smirk growing in joy.

She really did like talking about such gossip.

“I’ve only gotten him to bathe with me a couple times. It doesn’t help that he really never needs to, not ever smelling and stuff, but still,” I complained.

“Just get him filthy? Go throw mud at him or something,” she teased me.

Smiling at the idea, I sighed as I went to refill my cup. The juice was low.

“It took a long time to get him to really sleep with me too, you know,” I told her.

“Oh…? Here I thought you two hadn’t gone that far yet,” she teased me.

“We haven’t… I meant… well… you know. In the same bed. Speaking of that, I really need to know… and you might be one of the better ones to ask,” I said as I glanced around, to make sure no one was around. Particularly Sillti.

Oplar leaned forward too, nodding excitedly at me.

“Vim. You’ve mentioned before that you thought Landi had gotten him once… are there any others you know of? Or assume?” I whispered.

Oplar strangely didn’t grin or laugh as she lowered her head a little. “My mother’s sister, Jennifer. I know for a fact the two did the deed. There’s a few others, like Landi, that I’ve always assumed too. Like Kaley. Kaley likes older men, and she also has a particular thing about stamina so…” Oplar spoke quietly, and I felt my stomach tighten a little.

“Jennifer…?” I asked with a groan. I didn’t worry over Kaley. I had already asked her, kind of, about such a thing and she had laughed at the idea.

My friend finally grinned at me as she leaned back, to sit normally. “Vim owed her one. That was her request. You don’t need to worry I’m told he hadn’t enjoyed it at all. She was upset about that until she died. Over the years though it’s bound to happen, Renn. Really. I mean he’s at least a thousand years old, as much as I like to see you jealous I’d honestly suggest not getting so worried over such a thing. Statistically, by age alone, Vim may be one of the most experienced men in the world,” Oplar said, and somehow didn’t sound like she was teasing me. She seemed to be trying to give me honest advice.

I absorbed her words rather well, and did my best to not let my tail and ears fidget too much. They were wildly itchy now. “I… I know that. Vim’s told me about a few of them… I just… well…” I grumbled as I realized I probably shouldn’t actually tell her why I had wanted to know.

“Plus Renn, you don’t have anything to worry about. Now that I think about it, most of the ones I know about that for sure something happened with… were all like Jennifer. Basically he just obliged them or something. You though? He genuinely wants you. That puts you a step above them all by far, I’d say,” Oplr pointed out.

Although I enjoyed hearing it, I also didn’t.

He wants me.

It was so obvious to others. Oplar and everyone in the Society noticed it now, and not only saw it but acknowledged it.

Even I’ve noticed it. More than not. Recently Vim’s been rather… indulgent with me. The last couple nights before we had left the Summit I had actually thought something might happen. Twice I had caught him staring at me, or my tail, in a rather odd way… the kind of look that had made my heart thump and face hot.

Yet…

Why hadn’t he taken me yet?

Admittedly I’d never really been too interested in relationships. Not until now. But I’ve seen them. Heard them. Smelled them.

It was hard to not notice them. They were everywhere, all the time. Especially amongst humans.

I had watched Lujic fall in love. I had watched his family grow. I couldn’t count how many human couples I’d watched and listened to from a distance over the years. From the ones who just met, and flirted on the spot without hesitation, to the ones old and enjoying their last moments together. I had hundreds if not thousands of instances for reference in my memories to use… and… well…

There was one constant between them all. No matter their age, their type of romance… whether it was a love to last the ages, or some kind of tryst meant to last only a single night… there was something very common amongst all of them.

It always ended in the bedroom. And rarely did it take long for it to get there.

Such a reason was why I had left Lujic and his family so often after he had found his wife. It had been so odd to see and listen to them, especially at night. It made me feel so awkward and out of place… that I had to leave. But I had never thought much of it, other than it was simply a part of life. Something that eventually happened, to everyone. It was that common. Staying anywhere near humans, like this inn, only further proved such a thing. Mostly thanks to my superb hearing, though. I could hear what was happening even a house or two over sometimes, when the night was quiet enough.

Half the time it wasn’t just the man who initiated such a thing either… so maybe it was my fault… maybe I wasn’t pushy enough.

I knew I shouldn’t compare our relationship with the ones that human’s have, but I didn’t have much else to relate it to. The few non-humans I’d met that were married or in a relationship… I’d only known them for a very short time. Lilly and Windle. Henrietta and her husband John. Pram and Drandle at the Smithy. The few couples at the armadillos, and of course Riz’s parents at Secca… I’d not gotten to spend much time with them. A few weeks at most for most.

Even the places I’d spent more time at than not, like Secca and the Keep, I’d been distracted. I had spent more time with their children, Riz and Narli, than I had with the married couples. And at the Summit I had only seen Thrain and Ash a few times, and only once when they were together.

And it wasn’t like I could use my own parents as an example. Even I’ve done my best to not remember the sounds I’d heard back then. Or the bruises and tears on my sisters and…

I fumbled with my full cup, wanting to take a drink… yet also not ready to do so.

Stop thinking of them.

It was strange. I hadn’t thought of my family in a long time. Or at least, it had felt like a long time.

A byproduct of Vim and the Society, of course. They were so wonderful it was hard to think of anything else when around them.

And now that Vim wasn’t here, I was allowing my mind to wander. To get distracted. To think about things that I shouldn’t.

Though…

Taking a drink, I wondered if maybe I was over-valuing the stuff I knew. Maybe all the human interactions I’ve witnessed and listened into over the years were… well… maybe not wrong, but simply the wrong type.

Yes… it was the truth, wasn’t it? My knowledge about such things was oddly limited. To humans. In nearly the entirety.

I’ve always thought that we non-humans weren’t that different from humans. That the only real difference, other than physical stuff like strength or traits, was if we acted on instinct or not. But maybe I should rethink such an assumption. What if, by being as old as we were… particularly Vim, love was something a little different for us? For him? What if taking it this slow, this steady, was just… normal? I mean, the only real reason it was bothering so much was because it made me worry. It made me worry that Vim had reservations about our relationship. About me.

But what if that wasn’t a thing at all…? What if Vim wasn’t worried, and instead was in fact completely happy with how we were?

Then it taking this long for our relationship to slowly progress wasn’t a problem at all, was it?

Honestly I should have sat down and talked with some of the more recent members I’ve met. Narli’s mother. Nasba. I should have sought their insight, since they were or had been not only married for a long time… but far closer to Vim in age than I was.

Basically I really needed some kind of reference. I felt as if I was making a mistake, or doing some kind of disservice to Vim… but I wasn’t sure if I really was or not.

Maybe we non-humans taking so long, was just… normal, and I was freaking out over nothing.

After all did I really need such a thing just to know he truly loved me? Surely not, right? Didn’t he prove it in other ways? In those little, almost impossible to notice things he did for me? The way he held my hand as he slept? The way he always made sure I was fine first, before anyone else? What about the way he seemed to trust me so deeply, without any hesitation? He’s shown me, and told me, things he’s not shared with anyone else. His parent’s grave. Miss Beak…

Did I not see it in his eyes when he looked at me…?

“Also you really are adorable. I don’t know how you see yourself, but let me tell you Renn… you may be one of the most beautiful members I’ve ever seen. It’s all in your expressions, they’re lovely,” Oplar praised me and snapped me out of my thoughts.

Jeez. Vim being gone really was making me weird. Why was I allowing this to bother me so much, especially here and now of all times?

I felt one of those expressions Oplar spoke of warm my face as I sighed. “Let’s go back to talking about sad things,” I said, defeated.

Oplar laughed.

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