Maris approached the armored man cautiously, holding the steaming mug of Moon-Lavender tea with both hands.
The knight lifted his head slowly, the weariness in his clear blue eyes almost palpable. He looked at the pale purple liquid, then at Maris's kind face, and offered a weak, grateful smile.
"Thank you, child," he rasped, accepting the mug. His gauntleted fingers trembled slightly as he brought it to his lips beneath the rim of his helmet. He took a long, slow sip.
The effect was almost immediate. The rigid lines of tension around his eyes softened, and the deep furrows in his brow seemed to smooth out. He let out a long, shuddering sigh, the sound echoing slightly inside his helmet. "...This tastes," he paused, searching for the word, "...like silence after battle. Like remembering home."
He took another drink, looking around the impossible warmth of the café again. Kai watched him from a distance, G2 perched silently on his shoulder. Elian peeked out from behind the table he'd hidden behind, his fear slowly giving way to curiosity. This man felt... sad and tired, yes, but not frightening like the echoing fear from the teacup.
"You look like you've seen a lot," Maris said gently, standing near the table but giving him space.
The knight nodded, cradling the mug. "Too much," he admitted quietly. "My world... it's fractured. Torn apart by shadows and blight. We fight, we rebuild, we fight again. Sanctuaries like this?" He shook his head. "They're legends whispered by campfires. I never thought..." He trailed off, taking another sip of tea.
Kai stepped a little closer. "What do you fight?"
The knight looked at Kai, his blue eyes studying the small boy with the ancient gaze . "Shadows, mostly," he said after a moment.
"Creatures born of despair that feed on hope. They drain the color from the world, the warmth from the heart." He gestured vaguely with the mug. "This place... it shines. It pushes the gray back."
"Is that why you look so tired?" Maris asked. "Fighting shadows?"
He managed another faint smile. "That, and walking for days without rest. I was tracking a particularly nasty beast that slipped through a tear... ended up falling through one myself, I think. Landed out there." He gestured towards the door. "Thought I was done for. Then I saw the light."
Elian, drawn by the knight's quiet sadness and the lack of 'noise' coming from him, crept out from behind the table. "Does... does anything good ever happen?" he asked timidly.
The knight looked surprised by the question, then thoughtful.
He stared into his tea for a long moment. "Yes," he said finally, his voice a little stronger. "Sometimes. Sometimes, you find an unexpected light in the deepest dark. A hidden spring in a barren land. A child's laugh in a ruined city."
He looked directly at the three children. "Or a warm cup of tea when you thought all warmth was gone from the world."
He paused, a flicker of memory in his eyes. "Once, during the Long Siege, when our walls were crumbling and hope was a forgotten word, a single flower bloomed in the cracks of the citadel steps. A tiny, white blossom, defiant against the ash and ruin. It didn't win the war, but..."
He sighed. "It reminded us what we were fighting for. That even when everything seems lost, something beautiful can endure, or return."
He finished his tea, placing the empty mug carefully on the table. The deep weariness was still there, but some small spark had returned to his eyes. He slowly pushed himself to his feet, his armor groaning softly.
"Thank you for the respite," he said, bowing his head slightly towards them. "This place... may it endure." He reached into a pouch at his belt and placed a small, polished river stone, etched with a simple protective rune, on the table. "A traveler's blessing. It's all I have to offer."
Kai glanced at his system: `[Offer Detected: Wardstone (Minor Protection/Blessing)]`. He nodded his acceptance.
The knight gave them one last, grateful look. "I must continue my journey. My duty calls." He turned and limped towards the door, his steps already seeming a fraction lighter than when he'd arrived.
He pulled the door open, revealing the dim, shifting landscape outside, and stepped through without looking back.
The door clicked shut, leaving only the wardstone and the lingering feeling of quiet resilience.
Maris picked up the smooth stone, tracing the rune. "Wow. He was like someone out of a story."
"He felt... strong," Elian added softly. "Even though he was tired."
Kai nodded, looking thoughtful. He looked at the door where the knight had vanished, the faint scent of rain and metal lingering in the air. 'I do hope everyone comes back safely,' he thought, his small hand tightening slightly. He hoped the knight found his way, and he hoped his Mom and Dad would find their way back too. The café felt safer with Maris and Elian, but it wasn't truly whole without Talia and Lev.
Meanwhile, somewhere else—or perhaps somewhen else—reality tore open.
With three distinct, ungraceful thuds, Rain, Jasper, and Xander tumbled out of swirling vortexes of unstable light, landing hard on dusty, cracked earth.
Rain hit the ground first, rolling with practiced ease despite the disorientation, and came up scanning her surroundings—a bleak landscape under a bruised-purple sky.
Xander landed a moment later, already reaching for the knives that hadn't left his grip even during the chaotic transit.
Jasper landed last, sprawling flat on his back with an "Oof!" that echoed in the sudden quiet. He lay there for a second, blinking up at the alien sky.
"Well," he groaned, pushing himself up and dusting off his perpetually rumpled clothes, "at least the landing didn't involve screaming plant-monsters this time."
Rain shot him a tired glare as she got to her feet, brushing grit from her coat. "Ugh, why are we always together?" she mumbled, though there was a grudging relief beneath the annoyance. Being separated in whatever hellscape they'd landed in would have been far worse.
"I don't know," Jasper said, looking between Rain's stoic face and Xander's watchful silence, "but I feel very reassured when you both are right with me." He offered a slightly wobbly, but genuine, smile.
Xander merely grunted, his eyes fixed on the horizon where strange, geometric shapes pulsed faintly in the distance. Wherever the cat-man had sent them, it wasn't friendly territory.