Morning crept into the tavern, slow and soft.
Golden light slipped through the shutters, spilling across the worn floorboards and brushing the edge of the bed where Rin lay, half-curled in a nest of furs.
The sheet had slid to her hips, baring her back, her skin still flushed with the heat of last night's surrender.
Her tail rested limp against her thigh, twitching faintly every few minutes, as if dreaming of the ropes and hands that had claimed her.
Kio stood beside the bed, a bowl of warm water and a cloth in hand.
He dipped the cloth, wrung it out, and pressed it to the sweat lingering on her lower back, his touch gentle but sure.
Her skin bore the marks of their night—reddened, tender, alive with the memory of his grip.
Rin stirred, her golden eyes blinking open, voice rough as gravel. "You're still here."
He nodded, his silence a steady presence.
"Good," she murmured, sinking deeper into the pillow. "If you'd left, I might've thought it was a wet dream."
Kio's lips curved, a faint smirk. "You screamed loud enough to wake the village."
She rolled her eyes, but her smile was warm, unguarded. "Let me have my afterglow, asshole."
He dragged the cloth slowly down her spine, the warmth seeping into her muscles.
Rin shivered, a soft hum escaping her throat. "Fuck… you're gonna make me beg again."
"Food first," he said, voice low, unyielding.
"Ugh."
"And you need to walk."
"Double ugh."
He sat on the bed's edge, watching her stretch—a languid, feline twist that bared the bruises on her ass, the bite mark on her shoulder, the faint red line where the blindfold had pressed.
Her movements were slow, savoring the ache, as if each mark was a trophy.
Rin caught his gaze.
She rolled onto her side, propping herself on one elbow, her tail flicking playfully.
"You like marking me, don't you?"
"Yes."
Her grin was all teeth, a spark of her bratty fire returning. "I like being marked."
"I know."
He handed her a plate: fresh bread slathered with butter, a thick slice of spiced ham, a boiled egg.
She ate with one hand, the other raking through her tangled hair, her appetite as fierce as her need had been hours before.
"So," she said, swallowing a bite, "you gonna tell me about those beasts?"
Kio met her eyes, his expression unreadable.
She chewed, staring back, undaunted. "You said you've seen them before. Ones that think. That plan. That shouldn't."
"I have."
"Where?"
"Long time ago."
"That's not an answer."
He refilled her water cup, the faint clink of the pitcher against the wood the only sound. "You're not ready for the answer."
Rin's eyebrow arched, her tail stilling. "The fuck's that supposed to mean?"
Kio didn't flinch. "It means when you go back out there, you'll find more. And next time, you'll kill them faster."
She paused, the bread halfway to her mouth. "…You saying I fucked up?"
"No. I'm saying they were testing you. Not the other way around."
Her brow furrowed, a shadow crossing her face. Kio reached into his coat and drew out a small, folded parchment.
"This is a sketch of a formation I saw once. Three-beast triangle, rotating point, psychic echo signaling. Sound familiar?"
Rin took it, her eyes scanning the inked lines.
Her jaw tightened, a flicker of recognition sharpening her gaze. "Yeah. That's exactly what they did."
"They're not mindless," Kio said, his voice steady, low. "And they're not random. Something's directing them."
"Something? Like what?"
"Don't know yet."
She stared at him, her tail giving a single, restless flick. "You really expect me to buy that you just 'saw this once'? Kio, this is war-strategy shit. Monster tactics."
He folded the parchment and slipped it back into his coat. "I know a lot of things."
"That's not an answer."
"It's the only one you get."
Rin sighed, her shoulders slumping, but a faint smile tugged at her lips.
She set the plate aside, her voice softening. "Thanks. For the food. The sex. The insight. And the ass-ripping. In that order."
Kio stood, the bed creaking faintly under his shift in weight. "You'll be sore all day."
Her smirk returned, sharp and playful. "Then I'll be thinking about you all day."
He paused at the door. "Salve's on the table. Use it."
"Or don't," she called after him, stretching back into the furs. "Maybe I like the ache."
Kio gave her one last look—soft, still, a glint of something unreadable in his eyes, like a secret he'd carry to his grave.
Then he stepped into the hall, the door clicking shut behind him.
Rin lay back, her belly full, her body tender in all the right places.
For the first time in weeks, a quiet calm settled over her, as warm as the sunlight pooling on the floor.