The evening settled over Elaris Hold like a soft violet blanket, the horizon swallowing the last slivers of sunlight as fireflies, or some elven kin with golden glows, winked among the garden's shimmering blooms.
The glass-leaved tree cast a faint sparkle, its branches swaying gently in the breeze.
Alex sprawled beneath a wide, low tree, its canopy draping him in cool shade, his tunic bunched under his head like a pillow.
The mossy ground was damp against his bare back, a faint whiff of crushed petals clinging to his skin as he slept, his chest rising and falling in deep, easy breaths.
The day's warmth lingered, but the air carried the earthy musk of the animal enclosures and the distant clatter of settling poultry.
A low hum broke the quiet, the sliding gate whirring open, then gliding shut with a metallic click.
Jusin's heavy boots crunched gravel as he approached, a sack of poultry feed slung over one shoulder, his broad frame casting a shadow across the path.
