The midday heat hummed over the farm, though the shade of the cabin porch offered a brief reprieve. Anyael remained on the stairs, her back straight and her eyes fixed on the twisted silhouette of the treeline. She didn't move, not even when the wind stirred the dust at her feet. She was a silent sentinel, watching the woods as if waiting for a ghost to emerge.
The silence was broken by the rhythmic crunch of boots on dried leaves.
Anyael's head snapped toward the sound. The cold, distant look in her eyes vanished instantly, replaced by a spark of genuine light.
"Natsu!" she called out, her voice rising in excitement.
She scrambled to her feet and sprinted down the remaining steps. Without slowing down, she threw herself at him.
"Woah, easy there!" Natsu laughed, catching her with practiced ease. He stumbled back a step but held his footing, looking down at her with an amused grin. "Have you been sitting on those steps since I left, Anyael?"
Anyael didn't answer. She wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, burying her face against his chest to bask in the familiar scent of earth and sun. She let out a small, contented giggle, leaning into his warmth as if he were the only solid thing in a world of shadows.
Natsu let the embrace linger for a moment, patting her back before gently pulling away. "Alright, alright, I think that's enough for now. My ribs can only take so much. Where's Tanya?"
Anyael's smile didn't disappear, but it definitely soured. She let her arms drop to her sides, a small frown tugging at the corners of her mouth.
"She's inside," Anyael replied, her voice losing its edge of joy. "With that woman."
Natsu picked up on the venom in her tone immediately. He looked toward the cabin door, then back down at Anyael, a flicker of fond exasperation crossing his face.
"'That woman,' huh?" Natsu repeated. He reached out and gave her shoulder a playful nudge. "Thanks, Anyael. By the way, since I've got you here... what do you want for dinner?"
Anyael stayed silent, her eyes darting toward the porch again. Natsu didn't wait for an answer; he reached out and ruffled her hair, deliberately messing up the neat strands until they stood in every direction.
"Ah! No! Natsu, stop it!" she squealed. She swiped at his hand, giggling despite her attempt to look annoyed. She smoothed her hair down with her palms, though her eyes were bright again.
"Come on," Natsu said, extending his hand toward her. "Help me out with the prep. It's a big group to feed tonight."
Anyael beamed, her brief bout of moodiness forgotten. She took his hand, her small fingers curling around his, and followed him up the porch and into the cabin. The heavy wooden door creaked on its hinges before clicking shut, leaving the porch empty once more.
The silence returned, but the shadows didn't.
Under the shade of the treeline, a small patch of darkness detached itself from the rest of the forest's gloom. It didn't move like a normal shadow; it flowed across the grass like a pool of living oil. It stopped a dozen yards from the cabin, slowly rising from the ground in a thick, gooey mass.
The liquid darkness churned, elongating into a feminine shape. It lacked a face, at least at first, until two slits opened near the top of the form. A pair of eyes flared to life—not the neon-purple of the shadow maids nor the legion, but a swirling, violent plasma-violet that pulsed with a life of its own.
The figure stood perfectly still, watching the door where Natsu and Anyael had disappeared.
"Soon, I'll have you for myself," the entity spoke. The voice didn't come from a mouth; it vibrated through the air, sounding like a hundred whispers layered over one another. "But until then..."
The figure didn't finish the thought. It simply slumped back into a puddle, sinking into the roots of a nearby oak until every trace of it was gone.
Back inside the cabin, the door to the bedroom swung open as Natsu stepped inside, his presence immediately lightening the heavy air of the cabin. Anyael was tethered to his arm, her grip tight and her expression bordering on a pout as she followed him into the room.
Tanya, still seated on the stool by Cassia's bed, offered a quiet greeting. Cassia simply nodded, her malachite eyes tracking Natsu's every move with a renewed intensity.
"You must be hungry," Natsu said, his voice cutting through the silence. "You haven't touched a scrap for two days, Miss Cassia."
Cassia shifted slightly under the soft sheets. "I... suppose I am."
"Well, I have just the thing." Natsu stepped into the kitchen with Anyael still attached to him like a shadow. He returned a moment later carrying a small plate. "Dinner won't be ready for a few hours, so consider this a peace offering in the meantime."
He moved toward the bed, stepping carefully to avoid the sleeping Lorie. He handed Cassia a plate containing two tightly wrapped, golden-brown cylinders. They were warm, bundled in charred flour skins that smelled of toasted grain and seasoned meat.
Cassia stared at the twin parcels with deep suspicion. "What is this?" she asked. "A localized ration? Some form of edible scroll?"
"It's a chicken burrito," Natsu replied, leaning against the wall while Anyael watched Cassia with narrowed eyes. "It's a recipe from somewhere far from Azmuth. Think of it as a complete meal compressed for efficiency. Go on—it won't bite back."
Cassia hesitated for a full minute, studying the "scroll" as if it might be trapped. Finally, she took a tentative bite. The flour skin gave way with a soft, pillowy resistance, and then the flavors hit her. It was a chaotic, brilliant harmony of textures—chewy, soft, and crisp all at once.
The stoic mercenary vanished. Cassia began to eat with a frantic vigor that bordered on desperation. She had always treated food as fuel; flavor was a luxury she couldn't afford. But this was different. For several blurred minutes, the world outside—the forest, the gods, the mission—simply ceased to exist.
She swallowed the last bite and sat back, her breathing slightly heavy. In this stranger's home, surrounded by death, she had found a moment of genuine peace. She looked up at Natsu, struggling to reconcile the man who cooked for her with the monster who commanded horrors. He felt more human than any "civilized" person she had ever met in the kingdom.
"Thank you for that, Natsu," Cassia said, handing him the empty plate. "Chicken burrito. It was... delicious."
Natsu took the plate, his smile widening. "Glad you liked it. I promise you dinner won't be any different, so prepare yourself."
Tanya let out a small giggle at Natsu's pride, and the sound finally caused Lorie to stir. The mage stretched, her brown hair falling over her face as she blinked the sleep from her eyes.
"Ohh... where am I?" Lorie muttered. She sat up, her vision slowly finding focus. "Oh, right. The cabin. With Lady Cassia."
She looked toward the bed and froze. Seeing Cassia awake and sitting up made Lorie scramble to her feet. She realized the entire room was watching her, and she hurriedly wiped a streak of drool from her chin.
"L-lady Cassia!" Lorie squeaked, her face turning crimson. "I'm so glad you're finally awake. I-I'll inform the others immediately."
Despite her attempt to be professional, Lorie's composure failed her. Her hands began to tremble, and her eyes welled up with tears. She didn't just weep; she sobbed in pure, unadulterated relief, hiding her face in her palms.
Cassia sat motionless, dumbfounded by the display. She had never known how to handle raw emotion, especially directed at her. She wanted to look away, but her gaze stayed locked on the crying girl.
Tanya stood up and stepped over to Lorie, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "There, there, Miss Lorie. It's okay. She's alright now."
Lorie managed to pull herself together just enough to offer Cassia a teary-eyed smile. "Welcome back, Lady Cassia. I—I'm going to tell the rest of the party."
With Tanya steadying her, Lorie moved toward the door. Cassia watched them go, her mouth half-open as if to say something, but no words came. She simply followed Lorie's form until the door clicked shut, leaving her alone in the room with Natsu and the ever-watchful Anyael.
After a moment, Natsu's shadow stretched across the floorboards, thickening into a pool of ink before Tara rose silently from the floor. Cassia watched the manifestation with a numb sort of acceptance; the laws of the mortal world simply didn't apply here.
Tara stepped forward, stopping beside Natsu and the ever-clinging Anyael. She offered Cassia a small, professional bow.
"Good morning, Miss Cassia. I'm glad to see you're finally awake," Tara said. Her voice was smooth, but her neon-purple gaze remained unreadable. She turned her attention to Natsu. "My lord, the wraiths wish to meet you."
Natsu didn't respond immediately. He stared at Tara for a long beat, his shoulders sagging. Cassia watched as a look of genuine exhaustion washed over his face.
"I see. I guess it was inevitable," Natsu sighed. He looked defeated, as if a weight he had been trying to ignore had finally settled on his back. Then, his expression shifted to a sheepish pout. "Also, I told you to stop appearing behind me like that. Do you want to give me a heart attack? Goodness, Tara."
Anyael let out a sharp snicker, quickly covering her mouth with her hand to hide the grin.
"Looks like dinner prep will have to wait. I'll excuse myself for a bit, ladies," Natsu said, turning back to Anyael. "Anya, can you start prepping some potatoes and carrots for me?"
"Sure. Anything for you, Natsu," Anyael replied, her voice turning sweet and cooperative in an instant.
"I'll help Lady Anyael with the prep, my lord," Tara added. "I'll have Sicily watch over Miss Cassia so she can assist with anything she might need."
"Sounds like a plan. Alright, I'll be back in a bit. See you later, Miss Cassia."
Natsu gave Anyael a final, affectionate head pat before heading for the door. Anyael reluctantly let go of his arm, her eyes following his every step until he vanished outside. Cassia caught the look—a raw, open longing that made her feel like she was intruding on something private.
Just who and what are you, Natsu? Cassia wondered.
"Come, my lady," Tara said, breaking the silence. "Let's get started with the ingredients as my lord requested."
Anyael's icy indifference toward the "guests" didn't seem to apply to the shadow maids. She smiled at Tara and took the maid's hand, the two of them disappearing into the kitchen area.
Cassia watched the empty doorway for a while. She felt a strange hollowness in the room now that Natsu was gone. She took a deep breath, the scent of the cabin's wood filling her lungs, and leaned back into the pillow.
"Guess I'll rest for now," she whispered to herself.
Drowsiness claimed her faster than she expected. The physical toll of the last few days finally outweighed her caution. Her eyes drifted shut, and her breathing slowed into the steady rhythm of sleep.
As soon as Cassia's eyes closed, the door creaked. Sicily slipped into the room, moving with a silence that shouldn't have been possible. She sat in the chair Tanya had vacated, her neon-purple eyes glowing softly in the dim light of the bedroom.
"Rest well, Miss Cassia," Sicily muttered, her voice a low hum. "Don't worry. Your nightmares won't haunt you this time."
She sat as a silent guardian, watching the mercenary sleep as the sounds of chopping vegetables drifted in from the kitchen.