Part 2
Her voice carried a warmth that immediately made the room feel quieter.
"I'm Ruby."
"It's wonderful to finally meet you."
Adrian returned the bow.
"I'm Adrian."
"It's an honour."
Ruby shook her head gently.
"No."
She smiled kindly.
"The honour is ours."
She studied him for only a heartbeat.
Not long enough to seem rude.
Just...
Enough.
Something in her expression softened almost imperceptibly.
She could feel it.
Not his thoughts.
Not his secrets.
His heart.
She felt exhaustion.
Responsibility.
A loneliness Adrian himself rarely acknowledged.
And beneath all of it...
Something older.
Something bruised.
Something that had stood inside a theatre no one should ever find.
Ruby said none of this.
Instead...
She simply smiled.
"You've travelled a long way."
Adrian blinked.
"I have."
"You must be tired."
He laughed quietly.
"I don't think I realised how tired until you said it."
Ruby nodded gently.
"Then we'll fix that first."
No questions.
No interrogation.
Just kindness.
She turned toward Theron.
"Our guest hasn't eaten."
Theron's eyes widened in horror.
"He hasn't?"
Adrian opened his mouth.
"I had lunch—"
Theron pointed a wooden spoon at him.
"Dried meat doesn't count."
"It does if you're travelling."
"No."
The enormous elf folded his arms.
"It counts as surviving."
"It does not count as eating."
Adrian glanced at Elena.
"Is this negotiable?"
She smiled.
"No."
"You're doomed."
"I was afraid of that."
Just then...
A loud crash echoed from upstairs.
Followed immediately by an excited voice.
"I FOUND IT!"
Theron closed his eyes.
"...No."
Another voice.
"Dad!"
Tiny footsteps thundered across the second floor.
"I FOUND THE SPRING!"
Theron pinched the bridge of his nose.
"...Please tell me that's not my workshop."
Silence.
Then—
"...Maybe?"
The giant elf sighed the sigh of a father who had accepted years ago that peace was merely a pleasant rumour.
He looked at Adrian.
"My daughter."
A pause.
"...Ask questions at your own risk."
Before Adrian could reply...
The sound of impossibly fast footsteps raced down the staircase.
A blur of green.
Brown.
And tiny fluttering leaf-like wings.
A little High Elf girl practically launched herself around the corner, clutching what appeared to be a tiny brass gear in one hand and a pair of oversized magnifying goggles perched crookedly on top of her head.
She stopped so suddenly that she nearly tripped over her own boots.
Brilliant blue eyes grew impossibly wide.
She looked at Adrian.
Then Elena.
Then Adrian again.
Her mouth slowly fell open.
"You..."
She pointed dramatically.
"...You're Adrian!"
The room became very quiet.
Theron looked toward the ceiling.
"...Three."
Ruby smiled knowingly.
Adrian frowned.
"Three?"
Theron nodded.
"It took exactly three seconds."
Mira took one determined step forward.
Then another.
Then another.
Until she stood directly in front of Adrian.
She looked him up.
Looked him down.
Walked in a complete circle around him.
Twice.
Without saying a single word.
Finally...
She stopped.
Rested one finger thoughtfully against her chin.
And asked with complete sincerity...
"So..."
She looked directly into Adrian's eyes.
"...If you're half slime..."
A tiny pause.
"...why aren't you sticky?"
The entire kitchen fell silent.
Theron slowly closed his eyes.
Ruby covered her smile with one hand.
Elena looked away toward the window.
Adrian...
Burst out laughing.
For the first time since entering the western forests...
It wasn't forced.
It wasn't polite.
It was real.
Adrian leaned casually against one of the kitchen counters, still smiling to himself after Mira's completely serious question.
"So..." he said with a chuckle. "You want to know why I'm not sticky?"
Mira nodded immediately.
"Yes."
She pulled a tiny leather notebook from one of the countless pockets stitched into her explorer's vest and flipped it open with astonishing speed. A charcoal pencil appeared in her other hand almost magically.
"I'm making observations."
Theron sighed.
"She's making another notebook."
Ruby smiled while beginning to slice fresh bread.
"It's her twelfth this year."
"They're organised," Mira defended.
"They're everywhere," Theron replied.
"They're organised everywhere."
Adrian laughed.
"I think I like your system."
Mira beamed.
"I knew you would."
She looked back down at her notebook.
"So..."
She tapped the page thoughtfully.
"Sticky?"
Adrian rubbed the back of his neck.
"Honestly..."
"I don't actually know."
Everyone looked at him.
"I've never really thought about it."
Mira's eyes widened.
"You've never tested it?"
"No."
"...Why?"
"I had other things going on."
She stared at him with complete disbelief.
"You became half slime..."
"...and you didn't do experiments?"
Adrian paused.
"...When you say it like that..."
Theron pointed his wooden spoon toward Adrian.
"Don't encourage her."
"I'm not."
"You absolutely are."
Mira looked between them excitedly.
"We could test things!"
Ruby set another loaf onto the table.
"No explosions."
Mira nodded.
"No big explosions."
Ruby raised an eyebrow.
"Mira."
"...Small explosions?"
Theron immediately shook his head.
"No explosions."
The little elf sighed dramatically.
"I live under impossible restrictions."
Adrian laughed harder than he had in days.