Kira's room was organized in a way that wasn't human, not because it was tidy, but because the items chosen to be there made sense in a way Haru couldn't quite put into words.
Dried herbs on a shelf, fabrics folded by texture, not color. A small hunting knife next to an old rag doll.
Kira and her two worlds, coexisting in the same room without conflict.
"Who do you share it with?" Haru asked.
"I don't have a partner yet," Kira said, preparing the water, testing the temperature with her wrist, testing it again. "I arrived late; the pairs had already formed."
"Does it bother you?"
"No," she said simply. "I sleep better alone. Beastskins are light sleepers."
"It's ready." She turned. "Let's go."
Haru stood still.
Kira looked at him with that expression of someone analyzing behavior they don't understand.
"Are you embarrassed, Master?"
"I'm not…"
