Gravel crunched under the tires as the car rolled to a stop.
For a moment, Ludwig didn't move.
Neither did Atlas.
The engine idled, low and steady, like it wasn't ready to let go of the silence just yet.
Then the door opened.
Cold air slipped in.
Ludwig stepped out, stretching his shoulders once, slow and controlled. Atlas jumped down beside him without a sound.
They were already there.
Ishtar leaned against the wooden fence, arms crossed, like she'd been waiting long enough to get bored of it. Aglaë sat on the edge of the steps, sketchbook open on her knees, pencil frozen mid-line. Octave stood a little apart, posture straight, eyes already on the car before Ludwig had even shut the door.
And Mia.
Near the entrance.
Still.
Watching.
No one spoke right away.
It wasn't tension.
Not exactly.
Something quieter.
Something… settling.
Ishtar pushed herself off the fence first.
"About time."
Her tone was light. Almost.
Ludwig didn't answer. He opened the trunk.
Aglaë was already there, slipping past him with a soft "hi" that barely touched the air. She grabbed a bag that was clearly too heavy for her.
Ludwig took it from her without a word.
She didn't argue. Just smiled, faintly, and reached for something else.
Octave stepped forward next. No wasted movement. He took two bags at once, precise, efficient.
"Supply frequency is stable," he said, mostly to himself.
Ludwig shut the trunk halfway, glanced at him. Octave didn't look up.
Ishtar arrived last. Of course.
She picked up a crate, tested the weight.
"Still human food, I see."
A smirk.
Ludwig closed the trunk.
"You're still human."
"Debatable."
She walked off with the crate.
And Mia hadn't moved.
Not yet.
Ludwig picked up the remaining bags.
Then stopped.
Just for a second.
Their eyes met.
No smile. No performance.
Just contact.
She stepped forward.
Took one of the lighter bags from his hand.
"Thanks."
Simple. Natural.
No trace of the girl he'd carried a week ago.
He nodded.
That was enough.
They walked back together.
Not side by side.
Not quite apart either.
Inside, the space was already shifting.
Voices. Movement. The small, ordinary chaos of people doing something together.
Aglaë laughed softly at something Ishtar said. Ishtar answered with a mock glare. Octave was already organizing items on the table with surgical precision.
Mia set her bag down. Paused. Looked around.
Something had changed.
Not dramatically.
Not in a way you could point at.
But it was there.
In the way people stood closer.
In the way no one flinched.
In the way silence didn't feel like a threat anymore.
Ishtar tossed something toward her.
An apple.
Mia caught it without thinking.
A beat.
Then Ishtar nodded, once.
Approval.
Aglaë watched, eyes bright.
"You're faster now."
Mia glanced at her.
"Maybe."
A corner of a smile.
Octave didn't look up.
"Reaction time improved by approximately—"
"Don't," Ishtar cut in.
He stopped.
A small silence.
Not uncomfortable.
Just real.
Ludwig placed the last bag on the counter. Then reached back toward the trunk, hand closing around something set aside.
The small package.
He turned.
Mia was already looking at him.
Of course she was.
He walked over.
Didn't say anything.
Just held it out.
For a fraction of a second, something passed between them. Not visible. Not defined. But there.
She took it.
Carefully.
Like it mattered.
"What is it?" Aglaë asked immediately, leaning in.
Mia didn't answer.
Her eyes were still on Ludwig.
He shrugged, barely.
"Something useful."
Ishtar smirked.
"That's either a weapon or a problem."
"Same thing," Octave muttered.
Mia looked down at the package. Then at them. Then back at it.
She took a breath.
"Thanks."
Softer this time.
Ludwig nodded once, already stepping back.
The moment loosened.
Just enough.
"Open it," Aglaë insisted.
"No."
Not sharp. Just certain.
Mia turned.
And walked toward her room.
No one stopped her.
Ishtar watched her go, then glanced at Ludwig. A slight tilt of the head. A question without words.
Ludwig didn't answer.
Atlas sat down near the door, eyes following Mia until she disappeared down the corridor.
Then he looked back at Ludwig.
And if a dog could judge—
that was definitely what he was doing.p