Adrian found himself laughing with them so naturally that for a few precious moments he forgot entirely about the western road, about the impossible theatre, and about the folded playbill resting safely inside his travelling pack. It was as though the walls of House Sylvaris refused to allow the burdens of the outside world across their threshold, insisting instead that every worry wait patiently upon the porch until morning.
As everyone settled into their seats, Theron remained standing. He looked around the table, then frowned. "Something's wrong."
Ruby glanced upward from her task. "What is?"
"We're missing someone."
Mira blinked, scanning the room. "We're not."
"We are." Theron looked beneath the table, calling out into the shadows. "Where's Oak?"
Almost on cue, the enormous shaggy dog slowly wandered into the kitchen, stretched dramatically in front of the fireplace, and collapsed with the unmistakable sigh of a creature whose greatest hardship in life had been deciding which sunny patch of floor to nap in.
"There he is," Theron nodded approvingly. "Now everyone's here."
Adrian looked toward the resting dog. "He eats with you?"
Theron looked genuinely horrified by the question. "Of course."
"He doesn't sit at the table," Ruby quickly added before Adrian misunderstood the arrangement. "But he's family."
Theron scratched Oak affectionately behind one ear as the old dog thumped his tail happily against the floorboards. "He was here before Mira."
Mira nodded, propping her chin on her hand. "And he still thinks he's in charge."
Oak responded by yawning loudly, his jaw stretching wide.
"I think he agrees," Adrian chuckled.
Ceramic bowls were slowly passed around the table, each filled generously before being handed to the next person. Warm bread disappeared almost as quickly as Ruby sliced it, while fresh butter melted instantly across the steaming crust. Theron insisted Adrian take another serving before he had even tasted the first, claiming quite confidently that travelling consumed at least twice as many calories as ordinary living.
"I walked all day," Adrian protested, looking at the mountain of food.
Theron raised an eyebrow. "You breathed all day too."
"I generally try to."
"Exactly." Another heavy ladle of stew landed in Adrian's bowl. "There. Problem solved."
Adrian looked helplessly toward Elena.
She calmly buttered another slice of bread, completely unbothered. "I warned you."
"You did."
"I distinctly remember warning you."
"You definitely did."
Theron finally sat down opposite Adrian, placing an equally enormous bowl before himself. The giant elf folded his hands together, looked around the table, and smiled quietly. For the first time since Adrian had met him, there wasn't a joke waiting behind the smile. There was only gratitude.
"I'm glad everyone's home."
The room fell comfortably silent. Ruby reached across the table and gently rested her hand over Theron's. "So am I."
Mira smiled into her bowl. "Me too."
Even Elena's expression softened. "So am I."
Adrian looked around the table. He had known these people for less than an hour, yet somehow the words didn't feel strange. They felt true. The silence lingered only another heartbeat before Theron suddenly looked directly at Adrian.
"So."
Adrian looked up from his spoon. "So?"
The enormous elf leaned forward, his eyes gleaming. "How much can you eat?"
Ruby slowly closed her eyes, letting out a soft breath. "Theron."
"What?"
"You promised."
"I promised nothing."
"You definitely promised."
Theron looked completely innocent, though his lips twitched. "I promised I'd wait until after the first bowl." He looked back at Adrian with the grin of a man already planning something spectacularly unnecessary. "The first bowl is almost finished."
Mira quietly leaned toward Adrian and whispered just loudly enough for everyone to hear, "Don't accept."
Theron gasped dramatically, clutching his chest. "Betrayal."
Ruby sighed into her cup of tea. "I give him ten minutes."
Elena smiled knowingly. "I'll say seven."
Adrian looked between all of them, then slowly smiled. "I have a feeling..." He picked up another piece of warm bread. "...I'm about to be challenged to something."
Theron's grin widened from ear to ear. "Oh... you have no idea."
The warmth of the room rose with the laughter that followed, and outside, as twilight settled gently over the forests of the Verdant Reach, House Sylvaris glowed like a lantern in the wilderness a place where stories were shared over steaming bowls of stew, where arguments about pepper became treasured family traditions, and where, for one peaceful evening, even a weary Mayor could forget the weight of the crown waiting beyond the next sunrise.
For a few peaceful minutes, the only sounds filling the dining room were the comforting ones that belonged in every home. Wooden spoons gently tapped against ceramic bowls, fresh bread crackled softly as warm crusts were torn apart by hand, and quiet conversations drifted naturally around the long oak table without anyone feeling the need to fill every silence. Outside, evening settled slowly over the surrounding forest, painting the orchards beyond the windows in shades of amber and violet while the first stars cautiously began appearing above the towering emerald canopy.
Adrian had almost finished his second bowl when he noticed something peculiar. Theron... had already finished his fourth. The giant elf wasn't rushing, and he wasn't eating greedily. He simply possessed an almost supernatural efficiency. Every movement was calm and deliberate, yet somehow another empty bowl quietly appeared beside him every couple of minutes.
Adrian blinked, thoroughly fascinated by the physics of it. "How?"
Theron looked up, his spoon pausing mid-air. "How what?"
"You've eaten..." Adrian counted the bowls stacked neatly beside the enormous elf. "...four."
Theron nodded proudly. "Mhm."
"You haven't even stopped talking."
"I multitask."
Ruby calmly buttered another slice of bread. "He's slowing down."
Theron looked genuinely offended. "I am not."
"You paused between spoonfuls."
"I was breathing."
"You usually don't."
"I like to keep people guessing."
Mira leaned across the table toward Adrian, lowering her voice dramatically despite making absolutely no attempt to actually whisper. "He once ate an entire festival pie."
Theron corrected her immediately. "It was two pies."
Ruby smiled. "It was one."
"There were two."
"You shared the second."
"I supervised."
"You ate seventy percent."
"It needed supervision."
Adrian laughed into his stew. "I don't know whether to be impressed or frightened."
"Both," Elena answered without looking up from her meal. "They're equally appropriate."
Theron wiped his beard with a linen cloth before folding his arms with unmistakable confidence. "I've worked hard for this reputation."
"You've certainly eaten hard for it," Ruby replied smoothly.
"I train."
"You snack."
"I recover."
"You snack."
"I prepare."
"You snack."
Theron looked toward Adrian for support. "Do you hear this?"
Adrian smiled. "I do."
"It's relentless."
"It is."
"I've been unfairly attacked for decades."
Ruby reached over and gently placed another bread roll onto his plate. "There."
He looked down, his brow furrowed. "What's this?"
"A snack."
The entire table burst into laughter once again. Even Oak lifted his head from beside the fireplace as though wondering whether he'd missed something important, before deciding the conversation wasn't worth sacrificing a perfectly comfortable nap.
Theron let out a dramatic, long-suffering sigh before picking up the bread roll. "I'll eat this entirely out of spite."
Ruby gave a small, knowing nod. "I know."