He stepped closer, close enough that she felt the difference immediately.
It wasn't just the size of him, though that was hard to ignore. It was the way he moved steady, controlled, like nothing around him was unpredictable.
Like he wasn't worried about anything out here.
Mira stayed where she was, even as every instinct told her to take a step back.
She didn't.
Mostly because she didn't want to give him that kind of reaction.
Partly because she wasn't sure it would matter if she did.
Up close, the difference between them felt more obvious. Not just physically, but in the way he looked at her like he was trying to place her somewhere and coming up short.
His gaze flicked briefly to her hands again, then back to her face.
"You're alone."
"Yeah," she said, then added after a second, "recently."
Something in his expression shifted at that, subtle enough that she almost missed it. Not softer exactly, but less sharp.
"You shouldn't be out here," he said.
Mira let out a quiet breath. "I'm starting to get that impression."
He didn't respond right away.
Instead, he shifted slightly.
Not toward her.
To the side.
It took Mira a second to understand what he'd done.
He hadn't blocked her in.
If anything, he'd left space, an opening behind her, clear enough that she could turn and run if she wanted to.
Her gaze flicked past him, then back again.
That wasn't an accident.
Mira studied him for a second longer. Then nodded appreciatively.
"Wandering out here," he continued, "you'll run into things you won't be able to handle."
His tone didn't change. Still even. Still matter-of-fact.
"Wild animals. Traps. Clans that won't stop to ask questions first."
Not dramatic.
Not exaggerated.
Just… information.
Mira exhaled slowly, absorbing that.
"Good to know," she muttered.
"You can keep going," he said. "Or you come with me."
Her eyes lifted back to his.
"My territory's close," he added. "You'll be safer there."
Mira glanced past him once more, toward the deeper stretch of forest.
Then behind her, back toward the open field.
Neither direction felt like a better plan.
"…temporary," she said finally. "It's just temporarily."
That almost-smile again. Slight, but there.
"Bram."
Mira was taken aback for a moment, then nodded.
"Mira."
Although she wasn't sure the name that belonged to the body she currently possessed.
Then he turned slightly, not walking ahead of her, just shifting his position enough to indicate direction.
Waiting.
Mira hesitated for half a second.
Then stepped forward.
Bram didn't rush.
That was the first thing Mira noticed once they started moving.
He didn't walk ahead like he expected her to keep up, and he didn't hang back like he didn't trust her. He stayed just slightly in front and to the side, setting a pace she could follow without thinking about it.
The forest closed in around them the deeper they went.
The light shifted first, softening as the canopy thickened overhead. The air cooled next, carrying that same earthy scent she'd noticed before, stronger now, mixed with something heavier she couldn't quite place.
It wasn't unpleasant.
Just… different.
Mira kept her steps careful, her attention moving between the ground and the space around them.
Branches. Roots. The uneven dip of the earth.
It wasn't hard to walk here.
But it wouldn't be easy if she wasn't paying attention.
It took longer than she expected before he finally slowed.
What she saw was different from her expectations.
Just a space where the trees pulled back enough to reveal something built into the land itself.
Mira stopped beside him, her gaze moving slowly over it.
It certainly wasn't a house.
The structure sat low against a rocky incline, more carved into the earth than built on top of it. The entrance was wide but shadowed, the interior hidden beyond a gradual slope inward. There were no straight lines, no sharp edges, everything about it felt… Wild.
It looked less like somewhere someone lived and more like somewhere something stayed.
"…okay," Mira said quietly.
She didn't say anything else right away.
Mira hesitated just outside the entrance.
Her gaze flicked briefly behind her.
The forest stretched back the way they'd come, quiet and unchanged.
Still an option.
Then she looked forward again.
"…temporary," she reminded herself under her breath.
And stepped inside.
It took a second for her eyes to adjust.
The light didn't disappear completely just dimmed, without windows or holes filtered in through the entrance and somewhere deeper within, enough to see by but not enough to soften anything.
The space opened wider than she expected.
Not deep in a narrow way, but broad, with uneven walls and a ceiling that curved naturally overhead. The ground wasn't dirt exactly, but packed earth and stone, smoothed in places from use.
There was no furniture.
No table.
No chairs.
No shelves.
Just space.
And toward the back, Mira's gaze landed there and stayed.
A raised area of stone and layered material furs, maybe, or something similar formed what was very clearly meant to be a place to sleep.
No attempt to make it anything else.
"…you don't have a bed," she said before she could stop herself.
Bram glanced at her, then followed her gaze.
"I do."
Mira tilted her head slightly.
"That's not a bed," she said, pointing at the pile of rocks.
"It works."
She let out a quiet breath that almost turned into a laugh. She had at least gathered that he lived alone.
"Yeah," she said, stepping further inside. "I'm starting to notice a theme here."
Her eyes moved again, slower this time.
Taking everything in.
No storage.
No structure.
Nothing that suggested long-term living the way she understood it.
But it wasn't empty.
It was… used.
There were small signs of it if she looked long enough.
Subtle shifts in the ground. Certain areas more worn than others. The way the space naturally divided itself without needing walls.
Functional.
Not comfortable.
Mira crossed her arms loosely, more out of habit than anything else.
"I'm guessing this is where I'm supposed to stay where you can see me," she said.
Bram leaned slightly against the stone near the entrance, his attention still on her.
"For now."
Again.
Temporary.
Mira nodded once, more to herself than him.
Then she looked back at the space.
Really looked this time.
"…we're going to have to fix some things," she muttered.
Bram's brow shifted slightly.
"Fix?"
Mira glanced at him.
Then back at the "bed."
"Adjust," she corrected. "Improve. Make it… less like I'm sleeping on a pile of rocks."
A pause.
"It's not rocks."
Mira gave him a look.
"That's not the part you should be focusing on."
Something in his expression shifted again.
Not confusion this time.
Something closer to curiosity.
Mira turned back to the space, already mentally moving things around that didn't exist yet.
Because staying here
even temporarily
didn't mean accepting it as-is.