Mouse peered in and made sure Taiga still snoozed in bed before sliding the door shut. He closed it into place with the smallest of clacks before descending the stairs at the guildhall. He tightened his bag’s strap to keep it from bouncing on every step.

  On the bottom floor, a few mercenaries he didn’t recognize spoke to the commissioner. The day’s light still grew and few people mingled about. The tables were empty, and the sound of stirfry and the cook’s voices carried through the hall. He dipped beneath the archway and out of the hall without notice.

  He took a few light steps onto the road before rounding to the stables. No one greeted him, and Mouse made his way in easily. Sweet Bun had been moved to a stall further in after breaking out and damaging the winter door. Now she had the last stall all to herself and she’d seemed pleased with it, since she no longer broke herself free.

  Sweet Bun greeted him with an annoyed huff, but changed her tune when Mouse revealed a bag of grubs he’d picked up from the market the day prior. He’d used money since Taiga watched, but he’d snuck in a little extra after being weighed.

  The linlao made a content grunt, stuffing her muzzle into the outstretched bag. She wore her pink sunhat constantly since Taiga placed it on her. He went in for a pet, which she side-stepped with ease. When he reached for her feathers again, Sweet Bun jerked back, giving him a cold glare.

  “I give you so many treats. Why do you refuse me,” he whined. She caught sight of his pout, and dove for his hand, nipping at it. He pulled back just in time, yelping in surprise. “Okay, but whyyyyyy.”

  She laughed in her short chirps. He sighed in response, tying the grub bag to her stall and letting her eat in peace. Once sure the bag would hold as she plunged her face in, Mouse slid down against the door to her stall. He picked at the straw and listened to her munch.

  Sweet Bun became notorious for her appetite in the guildhall. She was a beauty, no one could deny that. But her ravenous hunger kept any onlookers at bay, otherwise she’d peck their pockets. And a peck from a linlao was no slight nip from a horse. A stablehand had even brought in a doctor to check her health. When he left with a bitten hand and a few bruises, he gave her a ‘clean bill of health’, whatever that meant.

  Only Taiga could keep her behavior in check, though the reason wasn’t something anyone could replicate. “It would be nice if his calmness would rub off on me. Then maybe I could brush you.”

  The rustling of straw caught his attention. He glanced towards the entrance. Mimi walked in carrying a wooden pale. Upon spotting him, she froze, dropping the pale. She jumped when it thumped against the ground, scooping it back into her arms.

  She bowed to him before rushing out. On the trip back from Bearthatch, she’d avoided him with a fear in her eyes Mouse recognized well. He’d seen it in the faces of newer soldiers after experiencing their first battle together.

  Taiga had told him, ‘leave them alone’. So Mouse supposed he would do the same with her. He sighed the thought of Mimi away. She wasn’t someone important enough for him to consider further. If she wanted to build a wall of stone between them, he had no reason to help or hurt it.

  “Something wrong?” The stablehand asked from outside the entrance. Then a pause, “well, bye then. I suppose.”

  The stablehand walked in, spotting him beside Sweet Bun’s stall, and giving him a short bow, before returning to his duties. When the stablehand walked past him towards the supply room, Mouse took an apple from the boy’s bag, and held it up.

  Sweet Bun brought her head over the door, saw the apple, and scooped it up between her beak. She crunched it, and a piece of apple fell. It smacked him in the face, and he wiped the juice off him. She let out another chuckled noise. Well, at least he could serve as her entertainment, if nothing else.

  He shut his eyes, only her munches and the stablehand moving about kept him awake. Taiga never blamed him, but the mercenaries they traveled back from Bearthatch made their distaste for him clear. It didn’t bother Mouse, but he wasn’t sure what made them change their attitude with him either.

  The Mimi girl spent more time talking to Taiga on the trip back than Mouse liked. Taiga, too, made his displeasure of it apparent, and the memory of his crinkled smile made Mouse laugh. He could smile and lie like it was the truth, but unwanted attention bent those smiles quickly.

  Sweet Bun looked down over her stall door at him, chewing on some grubs. When another apple didn’t materialize, she grunted her dissatisfaction and turned away. He closed his eyes again and the weeps of Ttafaschu echoed through him. Each whimper pulled him in, ripping into his heart.

  It hurt; failing to save Ttafaschu. A gentle being, who admired the sky’s shifting colors more than the other Guardian’s Mouse had met. Tears splashed over him in ways he thought he’d drown in. And yet, he still breathed.

  A shift to the left drew his attention. Taiga leaned against the support pillar marking the beginning of the stalls. His soft smile warmed the claws of ice digging into Mouse’s heart. He wore his cloak, which he’d unbundled from his pack the day prior when the wind chilled him.

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  It wouldn’t be long until the cold set in and held them in its rasps for another several months. “I wondered where you went. This is the first place I checked.”

  “We bought those grubs yesterday.” His response received a nod from Taiga.

  Taiga walked over, squatting down in front of him. “How are you doing?”

  Mouse shrugged; his typical response to such a question. “Sweet Bun looks amazing in her hat. I chose well.”

  Taiga looked up at her, who eagerly awaited his attention. She nudged Taiga’s hair with the top of her beak, breathing in and huffing his hair over his face. He laughed, pushing his hair back and giving her a pat. Something Mouse wondered if he could ever do.

  “Excuse me, sirs.” A kid, maybe twelve or so, entered the stables tightly gripping a broom. “I was asked to call you both for the guild master.”

  “The guild master?” Mouse verified, to which the girl nodded.

  Taiga rose, extending a hand to Mouse. He took it, and Taiga pulled him up with a single tug. “Can you lead the way?” Taiga asked. The girl nodded, extended her arm towards the stable exit, bowing her head.

  “What’s this about?” Mouse whispered, following Taiga.

  He shrugged, looking at Mouse from over his shoulder. “I don’t know. Don’t do anything… stupid, okay?”

  This warning sounded familiar. Mouse thought for a moment, recalling it given to him before they’d met the queen for their mission. What did he reply back then? Oh, yeah. “Only if she doesn’t do anything stupid.”

  Taiga studied him as they followed the kid. He eventually sighed and nodded. “Just do your best, I guess.”

  Mouse agreed, tagging along behind them. The guild master’s room awaited behind a pair of wooden, carved double doors beyond the stairs and down a hall Mouse didn’t even realize existed. Two, three, four guards were stationed outside the room, and a prickle of tension bit at him.

  Inside, Telania, Mimi, Field, Ku, and even that useless Vieu stood within, in a line parallel with a few men dressed in fineries beyond that of Winolin, and a woman Mouse recognized from walking about the guild with her assistant in tow; the guild master.

  Taiga tensed his core, relaxing his shoulders and pulling them back. He glided across the floor, his head still and focused. The shift in posture alarmed Mouse, as it was only something he did when readying for combat.

  He glanced back over the group. He could take them if needed. Mouse would await a signal from Taiga. The kid left, and a guard replaced her, showing Taiga and Mouse where to stand beside the mercenaries.

  “We’ve read the report Sir Vieu provided us, but,” the guild master looked them over before continuing, “we have some questions needing answers, as well as an overview of the events as they occurred again. With me are officers from Pall, who are in charge of investigating this incident. You will answer any questions asked.”

  No one responded, and Taiga shot Mouse a glance before looking back to the guild master. His eyes hid much, though Mouse caught sight of a darkness in them, keeping him on edge. The mercenaries didn’t glance their way, unsurprisingly.

  An officer beside the guild master, whom Mouse surely knew was more than a simple officer due to his gait, mannerisms, and uniform, spoke first. “Sir Field, I see you sent a report in regards to the Bearthatch rest station on the way to the villages. Why is it, after finding the members of the rest station deceased, did you not turn back?”

  Mouse tuned out Field’s stammered reply. Bureaucratic nonsense meant to waste their time was of little interest to him. Surely they would have sent investigators to Bearthatch to confirm the exact things they would state here. Instead, his eyes wandered to the ceiling, studying the engravings of a group of people growing, what, a field of wheat maybe? No, it was probably rice. What a terrible carving.

  “We couldn’t venture too close,” Taiga spoke beside him. Mouse hadn’t caught when the conversation shifted to him. “A cloud of thick corruption kept us from seeing further in during the commotion. However, demons did appear from the corruption. We fought them until they numbered too many, and they pursued us until we met back up with the others.”

  Was this how Taiga told the story without the Guardian? The surprising simplicity seemed to placate the fancy officer, who nodded to the response. “So you didn’t see where the demons originated from?”

  “I did not.” Taiga’s voice carried an unusual bite to it. So, the fancy officer put him on edge.

  “I and Miss Mimi performed the rituals in line with Lanrian tradition.” Mouse missed the conversation again. Mimi nodded, and the fancy officer studied her confirmation.

  Mouse’s eyes dropped to his boots. Mud caked to the sole and rim from the rain and dirt during the fight. He scraped a small chunk off with his other boot. He raised a foot to check the bottom. He’d need to shake them out later.

  “Are we boring you, Sir Mouse?” the guild master’s voice boomed him to attention.

  “Ye—” Mouse turned to Taiga’s eyes burning into him. “No?”

  The fancy officer laughed while the guild master’s face reddened. The officer raised a hand in front of her when she opened her mouth. “It’s quite alright.”

  “If I may,” Taiga cut in, waiting for any objection to his speech. When no one spoke up, he continued. “During the attack on Winolin’s northern wall, the demons appeared organized beyond their means.”

  “Organized?”

  Taiga nodded, “they kept their formation, dragging civilians in reach to them rather than fighting individually. Several demons took over a cart of explosives and utilized it to their advantage. I have also personally witnessed demons calling for help from others. This is not something I’ve seen before.”

  “Alright. I’ll need to report this and see what actions we decide to take from there. We’re done here.” The fancy officer nodded to the guild master.

  She nodded in return, “you’re all dismissed then. Make sure you stay in town for the next few days in case we need to call on you again.”

  Mouse hurried out, waiting outside the door for Taiga to join him. His posture softened slightly. Once they left and returned to the great hall, Taiga led the way up the stairs. Mouse opened his mouth to say something, but someone behind them spoke first.

  “Sirs Taiga and Mouse.” The voice came from the fancy officer standing at the bottom of the stairs. “Do explain why two knights in her majesty’s employ are posing as mercenaries. For I am quite curious.”