Seriously, I’m not a demon. Nafan groaned inwardly, glancing at a pair of chopsticks on the counter and recalling the men’s impaled hands with a gulp of discomfort.

Da Shan just stared back at the boy with his mouth open, speechless. Apparently deciding that he wasn’t going to see anything entertaining, Khyriel turned back to Nafan and tilted his head, as if to say, so?

“Uhh…” Going along with their pretend normality, Nafan mumbled, “I have to get some medicine, and some other stuff.” He cast the lycan an uncertain sideways glance. “I can take a look at your, uh, injuries, too…”

Khyriel scoffed and crossed his legs. “What injuries?”

“You said they tore your… nevermind.” Nafan sighed and rubbed his face. “Erm, owner, I’ll stay one more night, if it’s still alright with you.”

Da Shan let out a humorless laugh. “I can’t say it’s completely alright, but I don’t know if I can refuse. It sounds like that little rascal is taking orders from you, so you must be even scarier.”

Nafan smiled forlornly, and beside him Khyriel tossed his head back with a chortle.

“Hey Da Shan, don’t fret, I’ll sleep outside tonight. I like the fresh air better.” Khyriel hopped off his chair and pulled his tunic over his head, then turned his bare back to them and headed for the door. “I’m gonna go hunt some breakfast. See you later, Titties,” the boy called over his shoulder with one last dark grin at Nafan.

“It’s Tethys…” Nafan called back half-heartedly, acutely aware of both the owner and his daughter staring at him with round eyes.

“Goodness.” Sounding rather defeated, Da Shan sighed and slid a cup of tea over to Nafan. “So what are you, really? I’d pinned you as a normal man. You’re good at deceiving people.”

“You don’t give yourself enough credit.” Nafan smiled wearily and met the owner’s dark, suspicious gaze. “I really am just a normal man.”

“But Khyriel listens to you,” Da Shan pointed out warily. “I’ve never seen him take orders from anybody but Wang Tianxi.”

 “Yeah, well… I’m paying him to be my bodyguard as I travel to Zhao. He saved me after I was attacked by bandits on the way here,” Nafan explained, glad that he could be honest for once. He hesitated for a couple seconds before catching the owner’s gaze again. “He… you… you know he’s a lycan, right?”

Da Shan paused, too, his eyebrows shooting up again. “A what?”

“Nevermind,” Nafan said hastily, shaking his hand in dismissal. “Do you sell breakfast?”

“No, the town has plenty of vendors though, you’ll run into plenty of food if you’re stocking up for supplies,” Da Shan said distractedly. “And about Khyriel… I know that he’s a hire-arm, and that he’s a lot more dangerous than he looks.” The man lowered his voice and leaned forward to whisper. “I’m a contact, you see… for a lot of underground services. I get paid to deliver messages to any hire-arms and assassins who pass by looking for extra money. Khyriel takes a lot of business from me.”

“Oh?” Attention caught, Nafan sipped at his tea and gazed attentively at the owner. His stomach was starting to growl, but it was early, so he had time to sit around. He was going to be here the whole day, anyway. “How’d you meet him?”

“Tianxi dragged him in. That girl is also more dangerous than she looks.” Da Shan let out a sheepish laugh. “Oh, don’t get the wrong idea. She’s not a hire-arm or anything, she just has a lot of connections with a lot of scary people – acts like it’s nothing at all. I’ve been doing this for much longer and sometimes I still feel intimated by some of the uglier brutes, but they all turn into kittens around her. Anyway…” Da Shan paused for a moment to fetch himself a cup of tea, taking the chance to refill Nafan’s as well. “Tianxi brought him over and said he was looking for money. Sex or murder, didn’t matter. I was pretty skeptical but Khyriel’s never failed a request.”

“Do you know why someone like him is looking for money?” Nafan queried, setting his teacup down and glancing over his shoulder as he heard the light footsteps of someone else entering the inn. Da Shan looked over too, but his daughter went to greet the guest and he turned his attention back to Nafan.

“No clue.” The man shrugged. “I don’t usually ask why people take on those kinds of jobs. Money is a pretty attractive thing. Maybe he wants it just for the sake of wanting it.”

I doubt that. But Da Shan sounded like he really didn’t know, so Nafan just smiled and nodded. “Well… thank you for the hospitality, owner. It’s not very often that I meet such open-minded people.”

“Oh, are you heading out?” Da Shan straightened, looking disappointed as Nafan got up from his chair. “There’s no need to thank me. You keep an interesting conversation, that’s all I look for in a person.”

Chuckling, Nafan passed a handful of coins over the counter. “I’ll be back,” he promised, pulling his robes together and heading out of the inn.