"Layla! Layla! Don't go!"
Bonnie's shouts echoed down the lane. She finally darted outside, grabbing her friend's sleeve.
Layla turned, her smile soft but puzzled.
"What's wrong?"
Bonnie glared, fists clenched.
"I'm terrified for you! If something happens—"
Seeing her friend's distress, Layla gently shifted the subject.
"How's your exam prep? Teacher warned this one's brutal."
Bonnie's anxiety momentarily lifted.
"Elvish grammar and algebra are killing me. And that cursed herbal diagram analysis—it'll ruin my score!"
"I'll tutor you tomorrow," Layla promised, linking arms. "I aced that unit last term."
They walked beyond Dud Town's borders. Layla had memorized the route, and Bonnie's presence steadied her nerves.
No carriages ran to Byrek. The girls trekked for hours, their chatter fading as roads narrowed into overgrown paths. Shadows deepened.
Silence.
A prickling sense of eyes in the trees.
Bonnie clutched Layla's arm, voice trembling.
"Please… let's turn back. This place feels wrong."
"Almost there," Layla murmured, spotting decaying rooftops ahead. "See the town?"
Behind them, shrouded by gnarled oaks, a single amber eye tracked their movements.
Master said one visitor. Why are there two?
The weight of hidden stares intensified as they entered Byrek. Crumbling porches. Shattered windows. Yet something watched from the gloom within.
Layla's resolve wavered. Bonnie's warnings now felt chillingly plausible.
Monsters here wouldn't surprise me.
But Glen's cottage lay near the outskirts. Before they reached it, an off-key hum sliced through the silence.
"That's his voice!" Layla brightened.
"The man who saved your mother?"
"Yes!"
She pulled Bonnie toward the sound.
Glen stirred a sizzling skillet, whistling a tune from another world. Venison hissed alongside wild thyme and roasted roots—a humble feast by his standards.
Edible. Maybe even good.
He flipped a potato wedge, his humming rising with the kitchen's clatter.
Outside his window, Old Man Heron scowled toward the noise.
"That restless brat. Can't even eat in peace."
He turned to his terrier pup, scratching its ears.
"Steer clear of him, Pip. Bad vibes."
Glen had just set steaming plates on the table when—
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Frowning, he padded to the door and cracked it open.
Layla stood there, a freckled girl hiding behind her. Sunhat askew, basket in hand.
Recognition flashed in Layla's eyes. She curtsied deeply.
"Sir! Forgive the intrusion. I'm Layla, and this is Bonnie. We met by the river."
Glen raised an eyebrow. She actually came.
"Didn't expect you to brave Byrek. Come in."
The girls slipped past him. Layla noted his ease—no formal bows, no stiff propriety. Unusual.
"We're intruding…" Bonnie whispered, eyes darting around the sparse room.
Glen closed the door softly, observing Bonnie's white-knuckled grip on Layla's skirt. Loyal friend.
The cottage's lingering dampness couldn't mask the aroma of seared meat and herbs. Bonnie's stomach growled audibly.
"Sir—" Layla began.
"Glen. Just Glen."
"Mr. Glen…" She gestured to the steaming table. "We've disturbed your meal. We'll leave—"
"Nonsense." He waved a dismissive hand. "Plenty to share. Sit."
Layla's practiced politeness faltered. Bonnie's eyes, however, lit up like twin stars—a detail Glen didn't miss.
Hook, line, and sinker.
Glen straightened his spine slightly. Time to showcase Earth's culinary prowess.
"We couldn't possibly—" Layla protested.
"In my homeland," Glen interrupted firmly, "refusing a host's food is the real rudeness. You'd crush my pride."
Bonnie's hopeful gaze snapped to Layla, who flushed.
"W-we'd be honored," Layla conceded, bewildered. Sharing scarce food? What kind of place breeds such generosity?
She scanned the room—patched walls, worn furniture. His poverty mirrored her own. Yet he offered sustenance freely.
A truly kind soul. Her respect deepened.
Glen pulled out rough-hewn chairs. He laid out plates and utensils—including two sets of slender wooden sticks.
Layla picked them up, turning them over in confusion.
"Mr. Glen… what are these?"
Bonnie stared at her own pair as if they were enchanted snakes.