Kamila shrugged. Between her training and Lith’s presence, there was a very limited number of things that could endanger their life. Besides, moving with mostly Warp Steps made it impossible to ambush them, even to wild animals. ’Protector’s whole family? Are we going to eat with a pack of wolves?’ Kamila thought. ’Thank the gods the Skinwalker armor can self repair and clean, otherwise I could kiss my beloved evening suit goodbye. ’This thing is amazing. I love the Skinwalker armor almost as much I love L...’ Due to her family history and her past relationships, Kamila had conflicting feelings about the dreaded L-word, so she mercilessly snuffed the thought out. In her experience, thinking that word meant that it was only a matter of time before saying it out loud. After that, things could only go downhill. Love meant commitment, faithfulness, and honesty. All things that most men she had met in the past abhorred like a plague and she wasn��t fond of committing herself either. Despite her age, Kamila was still building her career and Lith was quite younger than her. ’The last thing I need now is to have more complications. Zinya needs all the help I can give her and my current job doesn’t leave me enough time to breathe, let alone to think about l- that.’ She thought while stepping through the dimensional corridors. After a while, they arrived in front of a nice two-storey cottage in the middle of nowhere. A light came out from its many windows and so did many childish noises. The house was surrounded by a tall fence and its lawn was well-kept. The scene was odd enough by itself, but it was made eerie by the fact that the cottage seemed a replica of Lith’s house. Kamila had been there too many times to miss the countless similarities. Protector had no idea what humans could consider cozy, so he had simply improved his home according to Lith’s memories. "I thought we were going to meet Protector." Kamila said, incapable of making heads or tails of the house. "We are." Lith knocked on the door, feeling his feet heavy and his stomach churning. Selia opened almost immediately. "Lith! It’s so good to see you again. You had me worried sick! The next time you disappear for this long, at least give me a warning." She said while giving him a brief hug, before turning to Kamila. "And you must be Kamila. Gods, you’re just lovely. I’m Selia Fastarrow. I hope that this stupid apprentice of mine has mentioned me at least once." Selia took Kamila’s hand and gave her a dazzling smile. Selia hadn’t talked with another woman since the start of winter. To reach the nearest village during the cold season she needed Ryman’s help, but leaving the children home alone, even for a while, meant finding a wreck at her return. "He talked a lot about you." Kamila couldn’t help but notice the huntress’ youthful appearance and wonder what the heck was she doing there. "Are you here to meet Protector too, miss Fastarrow?" "Been there, done that." Selia tittered. "Call me Selia, otherwise you’ll make me feel like I’m an old woman. Believe me, having two kids does the trick already. By the way, call him Ryman, otherwise he’ll forget his own name." Kamila’s confusion kept getting worse by the second. Even the inside of the house was almost identical to Lith’s and Selia’s words made no sense to her. Lilia and Leran were hidden behind a couch, staring attentively at their unknown guest. They knew Lith, but their parents always warned them about humans. They were respectively 5 and 3 years old. With Ryman’s red hair and Selia’s sharp eyes, they were the spitting image of their parents. ’The children are the first normal thing I see since we got here.’ Kamila sighed in relief, at least until Selia made them come closer and the kids started sniffing at her like hunting dogs. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮 "Remember to behave." Selia said with a commanding tone. "No claws on the guests." "Claws?" Kamila echoed, not knowing if to be more confused by Selia’s words or the kids’ whimpering. "Yes, claws." Ryman said while coming downstairs accompanied by the clanging of his toolbox. "Children usually lack self-restraint. You must be Kamila. Lith has told me many great things about you." "Likewise." Kamila suddenly felt lightheaded. She had expected to meet a huge wolf thing coming out from the woods, maybe from a cave, not a man doing carpentry work. The guy in front of her was a giant, at least 2.1 meters (7’) tall. He wore a leather overall over a brown shirt so big that it could be used as a tablecloth and his boots were bigger than a bucket. Ryman’s face was rough and savage, with a square jaw and a cleft chin. He kept his long flaming red hair in a tress long hair and there were wood chips in his well-trimmed beard. Despite his huge size and bulging muscles, Ryman’s emerald eyes were calm and his smile was as warm as that of the father Kamila had always longed for. "Are you Protector, I mean Ryman, I mean him?" "Guilty as charged." Protector nodded, not moving any closer to give Kamila space and time to think. "And you are..." Kamila turned to Selia as his reluctant brain was forced to connect the dots from one to five and notice the obvious picture that took form from such a trivial exercise. "His wife and mother of his children, dear." Selia brought an armchair near to Kamila, who plunged more than sitting on it. Her mind was still holding, but her knees had already fallen. "And they are..." Kamila pointed at Lilia and Leran, her voice was reduced to a gasp. "The above mentioned children, yes." Selia moved near to Ryman, quickly followed by the kids. Seeing them all so close, it was impossible even for Kamila’s shocked mind to refuse to notice the resemblance. "It’s wonderful." It was the only thing she managed to say before fainting. "Well, this isn’t a good start, but it could have gone much worse." Selia sighed. "Really? How, exactly?" Lith was dejected. He had seen Kamila fight Thrud’s meat puppets, crazed human beings, and even survive the attempted murder planned by her criminal brother-in-law, yet she had never fainted. Not even once. Yet a happy family of four had managed to do the trick. "She could have run away screaming, or tried to attack us. That’s how usually goes." Selia replied. "Really?" "Yes." Ryman nodded. "Sometimes people get lost and finds our home. It all goes nicely until the kids do, well, their thing and shapeshift. The runners we let them go. They are usually so scared that don’t remember anything that could compromise our safety." "What about those who attack you?" Lith asked. "They make excellent fertilizer for the garden." Protector snarled. "I don’t take murder attempts lightly, nor I can allow such fools to leave safely just to lead a monster hunt straight to my home." "It sounds about right." Lith first checked Kamila’s condition, making sure she had just lost consciousness. Then he gave Selia her due. He had prepared several toys for the children plus a lot of clothes capable of self-repair, clean, and to adjust their size to their wearer. Selia’s kids grew fast and played hard, turning even the hardest of leather to shreds in a couple of friendly quarrels.