"I could hear you coming." Lyaria tries to find a comfortable position in bed without having to move her leg, which proved to be quite a challenge.

"That explains why you knew where the beasts were long before I did. How sharp is it?" Ezer closes the door, seeing her with a much better face than before.

"My hearing? Compared to yours...definitely better, though it's a lot finer in my other form.”

“How is your leg?” Ezer finds a chair and uses it to sit next to her.

“Okay, I don't feel pain anymore. When the maggots finish cleaning up all the dead meat, I'll be able to heal better.”

Ezer knew perfectly well how deep and serious her wound was, a large part of the musculature was affected, making it clear that a full recovery would be impossible.

"Will you be able to walk?" He didn't want to ask directly, but his concern was stronger.

“Hey? Ah… Yes, no problem. But it will take me a few days to be able to do it.

“Days? I would understand in months, but days...” He couldn't believe it, he knew that Lyaria had more knowledge about medicine than him, but still he wasn't stupid enough to believe something as fantastic as that.

“Our recovery speed is much faster than humans, it has to be if we want to survive in a place like this. It may take a few days for me to walk again, although it will take weeks to a month to fully recover.”

This time Ezer can believe it, but he still feels a little reluctant to do it, at least until he sees it with his own eyes.

“I heard that the people voted in your favor, that's good. Now it's my turn to receive his judgment.” Ezer can see how his hands cling to the sheets with greater force, he would understand that this was not an action out of fear or nervousness, but out of frustration.

---------------------------

Few candles illuminated part of the large wooden table that stretched across the room on which were a few trays with food such as chicken meat and a few vegetables. A white-haired man whose face was beginning to show old age was the only one eating around the darkness contained by candlelight.

“She is fine?” He speaks to the newcomer who was behind him.

"You have to try to fall asleep." The light emitted by the candles reveals the identity of the person being the old man with dark circles under his eyes even more marked than before.

"I can't afford that luxury, not until the situation calms down. So... how is Lyaria?” Utrecht brings the last bits of food left on his wooden plate to his mouth, then gulps down what's left of the beer in his mug.

“She is fine. The wound was not that serious, but added to the fatigue and the days of poor nutrition, it was inevitable that she would collapse. I am surprised by the willpower of the boy, he showed his worth. However, I don't think it will serve for what you want to do.” The old man sits in one of the nearby chairs next to Utrecht.

“Me neither, I expected… a little more. He still has a long way to go.” Sighs, putting the full weight of his back on the chair.

"And his loyalty?" The old man already had an idea, but he still asks to make sure.

“I've already figured out how to fix that.” Slowly the conversation begins to become more serious making the break time end.

“Are you sure? It won't be a year or two, it will be a long time. You may regret it.” He doesn't say it to put doubt on his decision, but so that he remembers the consequences that this would bring.

“We are dying, slowly, but it is a sure thing. The population stopped growing and each winter the deaths increase along with the snowfall. It may not be today or tomorrow, but I don't want my grandchildren to go back to living in caves and shacks like our ancestors. If this can save us without going to war, I can wait ten or twenty years.” He says it reaffirming his conviction.

“You are wrong about one thing, there will definitely be a war and we will be forced to participate in it.” The old man answers seriously.

"If we're on the winning side, it'll be worth it."

“If… we are on the winning side...”

The fat from one of the candles drips down onto the table announcing the end of its shine. The conversation between the two dies for a moment as each focuses on their own thoughts.

“You have to sleep, tomorrow will be a difficult day.”

“I say the same. I leave it to you.” Utrecht does not need to specify what he meant, the old man fully understood.

"Yes, I'll explain.”

The old man leaves with a complicated look in his eyes, exactly the same as Utrecht had behind him.