The mess hall of Bright Castle was unusually warm that morning.
Sunlight spilled through an open archway, painting soft gold across the long tables and cracked stone floor. Someone had left a pot of stew simmering early, so the air carried the gentle scent of herbs and something vaguely like chicken — though I was certain nothing resembling a chicken lived anywhere on this cursed shore.
I sat with my bowl in both hands, blowing on the steam as Sasrir plopped down across from me with all the grace of a falling boulder.
"Mornin'," Sasrir said, hair still damp from washing, shadows clinging lightly to his cheekbones. "Try not to choke on your enthusiasm. It's unbecoming."
I squinted at him. "Try not to choke on your own ego. It's already too big for this table."
Kai, sitting neatly on my right, hid a smile behind his spoon. He watched us bicker quietly, eyes soft and amused, as though seeing something rare in the Dream Realm.
It was rare — this warmth, this normality.
I jabbed my spoon pointedly in Sasrir's direction. "You're just jealous I slept like a baby."
"You slept like a slain baby," Sasrir corrected without missing a beat. "Dead to the world. You didn't even move when the crab knocked over the pantry shelf."
I blinked. "…Wait, that noise was real?"
Kai stifled a laugh behind his hand.
Sasrir leaned back smugly. "I handled it."
"You held it like it was a bomb," Kai added gently.
"I held it a strategic distance from my face," Sasrir countered.
I snorted broth out my nose, and Kai let out an honest, soft giggle — the kind that made a few nearby Sleepers glance over subtly.
"Hard to believe we've been doing this for weeks now," I said after the laughter faded, stirring my stew thoughtfully. "Feels like we've fought half the monsters on this shore."
"Two-thirds," Sasrir corrected.
Kai nodded politely. "…Almost three-quarters, I think."
I blinked. "Why do the both of you keep score?!"
Sasrir shrugged. "Professional pride."
Kai added, "It's useful for planning future routes."
I threw my free hand up. "I hate you both."
But I was smiling.
Sasrir smirked, swirling his spoon. "Remember those hammerhead dog-things? The ones that tried to eat you the first time we stepped back into the Labyrinth?"
I groaned. "Don't remind me. One of them grabbed my cloak and almost dragged me into a coral pit."
"You screamed louder than the manta shriekers," Sasrir said.
Kai coughed delicately. "It was… rather high-pitched."
I looked betrayed. "Kai, not you too—!"
Sasrir chuckled, letting shadows curl lazily around his fingers. "And then there were the Crustacean Centurions. Good grief. I swear I'll never be able to look at seafood the same way."
Kai's eyes softened. "But you two handled the giant one well."
I perked up immediately. "Exactly! See? Praise!"
"You only handled it because you melted it from behind," Sasrir said.
"We handled it nonetheless," I retorted, proudly thumping my chest.
Kai smiled again and pointed his spoon at Sasrir. "And your ability to make them freeze up is extremely useful. I can hit them with my bow so much easier when you're stopping them from moving."
As the three of us ate in companionable quiet, I finally spoke again, voice soft:
"…Speaking of monsters. Do you remember when we first met?"
Kai nearly choked on his stew. "Oh spirits, don't remind me."
Sasrir grinned slowly. "Ah yes. That day."
Kai turned his bowl slowly in his hands. "You two were… very dramatic."
I pointed accusingly at Sasrir. "He is the reason we almost fought you!"
"I assumed he was a disguised monster," Sasrir said primly. "He popped out of the fog in total silence, levitating in the air. What else was I supposed to think?"
Kai blinked innocently. "I was just… walking."
"You were floating," Sasrir countered. "Silently. Menacingly. At least three feet off the ground."
I groaned, burying my face in my hands. "You're lucky I didn't just blast you with a Light Pillar on the spot. We had just spent like an hour dodging those manta shriekers. My ears were still ringing."
Kai tilted his head. "…Thank you for being too tired to attack me. And for being lost enough to encounter me."
Sasrir scoffed. "We were not lost."
"You were going in the opposite direction of safety," Kai said.
I laughed. "Which is a polite way of saying yes, we were lost."
Sasrir muttered into his bowl. "Debatable."
Kai continued, voice warm with nostalgia:
"And then you dropped your weapon once you finally saw my face."
I paused at that, before shrugging nonchalantly. "Yeah well, who could have expected to find the Nightingale wandering around in the middle of the Forgotten Shore? I mean, it turns out you'd been here a whole six months longer than us, but we'd never even heard about you!"
Kai and Sasrir burst into shared laughter and I couldn't help but join in.
Kai sat across from me and Sasrir, the soft glow of the mess hall's lanterns catching in his dark auburn hair and turning it almost copper. Even in the plain light of morning, he looked like he'd stepped out of some painting — the warm brown lamellar armor resting comfortably on his tall, slim frame, the deep blue fabric beneath adding a quiet elegance that didn't match the typical rough Dream Realm décor.
I pretended not to notice how half the hall kept sneaking glances at Kai… but the smirk on Sasrir's face gave away that he did.