Lys had stopped in front of Tresta's small hut. The place looked the same as last time, simple, well-kept, despite the rough conditions of the outer settlement. The thatched roof had a few fresh patches this time, and someone had swept the dirt in front of the door recently.
But it still carried that quiet feeling of a home where a person had recently just died.
The wooden door wasn't fully closed. It sat slightly ajar, letting voices drift out into the warm afternoon air.
Lys paused, one hand hovering near the doorframe. He could hear two women talking inside. One voice belonged to Tresta; he could guess from the low, tired, but steady tone of her voice. The other was younger, urgent, almost pleading with Tresta.
He shifted his weight quietly and leaned closer, listening without stepping inside yet.
"…you can't stay out here, Tresta," the younger woman said. "Not with what's coming. Come with my tribe. Come with me. We can leave before it gets worse."
Tresta's reply came after a short pause. "Maya, stop. I'm not useful to you anymore. Dragging someone like me along will only slow all of you down. I'm already a burden in this state. Just go."
"Who says you're a burden?" Maya shot back, voice rising a little. "You never were. I've seen you get through times worse than this. Let me help you this time, like you helped me back then."
Lys stood there for another second, processing the names and the tone. Maya sounded like someone who had known Tresta for years.
Just as his gaze turned to the bow hanging on the wall from the little space through the slightly ajar door, his focus shifted. He finally took a slow breath, pushed the door open with one hand, and stepped inside.
Both women looked up at the same time.
Tresta was sitting on the edge of a worn-out bed against the far wall. Her sharp face looked more tired up close, with dark lines under her eyes. She held herself carefully, the way people do when their body doesn't move the way it used to.
A weird-looking bow hung on the wall behind her. Even from where Lys stood, something about that weapon felt off.
The other woman, Maya, was younger, probably in her late twenties. She had vivid features and an energy that seemed to fill the small room even while sitting. Right now, she was leaning toward Tresta, one hand resting on the older woman's knee.
When Lys entered, Maya's hand moved fast, drawing a short blade from her waist in one smooth motion. Her eyes locked on him, with a sharp and defensive posture.
Tresta raised her hand quickly. "Maya, stop. He's not a threat."
Maya didn't lower the blade right away. She kept it ready, eyes flicking between Lys and Tresta. "You know him?"
Tresta nodded once, her movements still careful. She looked straight at Lys, her expression guarded and tired. "What are you doing in my house? Didn't I make it clear back then that I don't need any help? If you came to convince me to go into your village like the others, you should give up now. I'll die before I take pity from those people inside the walls."
Her voice didn't waver. It only meant that she meant every word she said just now.
Lys kept his hands visible and stayed near the door. He didn't step further in yet. "I'm not here to offer pity," he said. "And what if there WAS no need for it? What if you could stand with people in this fight, the way you used to, and actually protect them? The way you were always supposed to?"
The words landed with more weight than he intended them to. Tresta's eyes narrowed slightly. Maya lowered the blade a little but still held it ready; her body still looked tense like she was ready to move if needed. The two women glanced at each other, then back at him.
Maya spoke first, her voice sharp. "What do you mean by that?"
Lys met Tresta's eyes directly. He kept his tone even, but inside his chest felt tight and pounding at the same time. This wasn't something he had planned to say today, but standing here, seeing the way Tresta held herself and the way Maya tried to pull her out before danger came, it felt like the right time to say it.
"What if the curse that's been taking everything from you- what if I said I could remove it? Like it was never there?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the small hut went completely quiet.
Tresta stared at him without blinking. Her fingers tightened slightly on the edge of the bed. Maya's grip on her blade loosened completely as she looked at him with open surprise, then suspicion.
Lys, however, stayed where he was, waiting for their reaction. Outside, the distant noise from the crowd Sara was handling still drifted faintly on the wind. But in here, everything had narrowed down to this one moment.
He had thrown the offer out there. Now he had to see what they would do with it.