Burdock stands in stark contrast against walls covered in hand-painted murals. The style bears similarities to the floral designs on the front door, but on a much larger scale. Multi-colored swirls move in dizzying sequences in one corner, spreading along the perimeter and eventually shape-shifting into a group of red fish that swim among a gentle current of reflective water patterns. Another area has been painted to look like a rooftop view of Naver at sundown, with the sun glowing in one final blaze against the pink sky on the horizon.

“Oh, this is a new one.” Ryleth comments, looking impressed as he moves towards a wall that is decorated with a pixie-faced maiden that is reaching for a regal unicorn.

For a split second, he looks like he is about to trace his fingers across the mural. His arm extends and his fingers curl just slightly, right before a blur of movement comes bolting out of nowhere and shoves past me. Ryleth is caught by the elbow and he looks down with a sly grin at the little girl that holds him.

“Don’t!” she cries out. “The oils haven’t dried yet!”

“I wasn’t going to!” Ryleth says defensively, putting his hands up in mock surrender.

She sighs in relief, then releases the handsome man who, even at an average height, is a great deal taller than she is. It is then that she turns around to walk right past me and I am able to get a good look at her.

The little girl that stands before me is not a girl at all, but a woman. Were it not for the obvious curve of full breasts beneath her paint-splattered white smock, she would have had me fooled by her size alone. Her strawberry blonde hair has been trimmed short, falling just below her chin. She has a round face and large hazel eyes framed with thick eyelashes.

Burdock is standing nearby and it becomes clear that he is what she’s headed for. The petite woman doesn’t even need to stop in front of him before he scoops her up with one arm, then lifts her up to the top of a nearby bookshelf. I realize that she must have jumped from there originally, because the shelf top is covered in jars of oil and ink in various colors and dozens of wet horsehair brushes.

As if we weren’t even there, she very carefully stretches out across the furniture to lay on her back, crosses one knee over the other and sticks one arm straight up to paint flowers above her where the wall and ceiling meet. I look up and realize that she has already created a river of blossoms overhead and it appears as though she is only just finishing the end of it.

“Did you do all this by yourself?” I ask, unintentionally sounding a little breathless.

She perks up a little, just barely straining her neck to peer down at me from the top of the shelf.

“Of course not!” she exclaims, as if it were obvious. “Burdy helped, too! I can’t reach the ceiling all by myself.”

I looked from her to Burdock, who hasn’t moved from his place beside the shelf. He still does not say a word, but I notice something in the way that he watches the small woman work. His gaze seems to soften the longer he watches her. He does not physically smile, but from the way his eyes alight, I feel he very well could.

“So, Rylie.” the woman calls down, not bothering to look at us as she continues to fill in the petals of a flower with her brush. “You got a new girlfriend, huh? Weren’t you trying to get with whatshisface just the other day?”

Ryleth moves to stand next to me, arms crossed over his chest. He’s grinning, looking at me with the coy countenance of a fox and then clears his throat to address the girl on the bookshelf.

“No, this stunning young lady isn’t mine, I’m afraid.” he says. “Evvie, this is Lady Fayne. Fayne, meet Evvie and Burdock Warthorne. Though I’m sure you may have unintentionally met before.”

It suddenly goes quiet, right as Evvie drops her paintbrush in surprise. It audibly rolls across the edge of the shelf top, but before it can hit the ground and spatter creamy yellow paint across the floor, Burdock reaches out and snatches it from the air.

Evvie sits up and swings her legs over to let them dangle. She leans forward, face scrunching up to look at me.

“You’re a hunter?” she inquires, cocking her head to one side.

I pause, not sure if I want to answer that. It’s always been an unspoken taboo about showing off our identities and being from a younger generation of hunters, I never fully questioned why. But as Evvie and Burdock look at me and await an answer, I decide to hell with it.

“Yeah. Yeah, I am.”

She smiles and rests her elbows on her knees, using her palms to support her chin as she continues to study me with great interest.

“What kind of weapons you use?” she prods further.

“Huh? Oh. An axe, mostly. But I’ve got some daggers, too and I kind of know my way with traps and-”

“You’re one of the little birds, aren’t you?”

The question catches me off guard and I blink. It only takes a few seconds for me to understand what she means. Even though they have been stashed in a trunk beneath my bed and out of mind for the past two and a half weeks, I immediately envision the avian-style masks that belonged to Thomasin and myself. I gape at Evvie incredulously, but she only smiles some more.

“Last hunt, our paths crossed.” she recalls, her eyes shifting up to absently look at her mural along the ceiling. “You had a boy with you. I waved.”

I am taken back to the last night that Thomasin was alive, when an injured Silas was tailing us to ensure his safety. We had run into a very small amount of other hunters that night, but the first we had met was the duo wearing balaclavas. Looking at Burdock and Evvie, the huge difference in their heights and the sizes of their frames become the final identifier that I need.

“Lady Fayne lost her partner last hunt.” Ryleth informs her in a solemn tone and I just nod in confirmation.

“I see. I am sorry.” says Evvie. “We heard the news and left flowers for her at the cemetery.”

“Thank you.” I reply stiffly.

I feel the firm grasp on my shoulder as Ryleth sets his hand there. He offers a comforting glance, then looks back up at Evvie from her perch above us.

“That’s actually why we’re here today.” he begins. “You see, Fayne here wants retribution and she has an interesting plan in which to do it. But she can’t do it alone.”

And just like that, Evvie’s smile fades. Her legs go still and no longer kick playfully as they dangle down. The turn in conversation seems to have made her uncomfortable. Even Burdock, who has remained stoic all the while, seems to avoid looking at me when he stares at the floor. Ryleth senses the sudden tension and goes to act quickly.

“We shouldn’t be hunting forever.” he says very seriously. “If you knew there was a chance to get rid of all those creatures, wouldn’t you want to take it?”

Evvie shakes her head.

“Rylie, you were there last time. You saw what happened. You should know better.” she responds in dismay.

“We were foolish. We weren’t cautious enough, not skilled like we are now.” Ryleth insists.

“It’s too dangerous. We can’t afford the decrease in our numbers.”

She is right and we both know it. There are barely enough of us to keep the kingdom safe now as it is. A loss of just one or two would be a significant blow to the rest of us. Still, the idea that hunters wouldn’t be needed at all seems far more promising. Ryleth looks sidelong at me and shrugs, but I am not giving up so easily.

When I clear my throat and take a careful step forward, I am met with silence. The short girl on the bookshelf and her hulking companion look at me expectantly however and I decide to just go for it.

“Listen… I know we’re asking a lot from you.” I start, struggling to find the appropriate words. “I can tell there’s a lot more you’re worried about than losing hunters, though.”

“Oh?” Evvie asks, and though she sounds reserved, I can see her eyes narrow.

“I mean… It’s very clear you two care about each other. Am I right?”

“Yeah, so?”

Burdock looks up at Evvie again, his affection for her completely visible within his eyes to me now. I feel a pang of jealousy that wrenches at my core; all the looks that Thomasin gave me - whether it be in private or in passing - how many did I take for granted?

“I didn’t just lose my partner last hunt.” I say firmly. “I lost someone I loved. I had to watch her die and that is something I would never wish on anyone. So I understand where you’re coming from. I really do."

“Yet, you’re asking us to die for you instead?” she interjects with one raised eyebrow.

“No. I’m asking for your help because there may come a day when you can’t protect each other. Any hunter could be killed like Thomasin was.” I shoot back. “And someday, one of you could be in my place, holding the other while they bleed out in the street. If you want to keep living in fear and put yourselves in danger every month, fine. But I am offering you an opportunity to end this forever.

“I can’t promise you safety or that you’ll live through our plan. But if you are still going to refuse, at least acknowledge that you can just as easily be killed if the hunts continue.”

Evvie does not particularly care for the things I am saying. She glowers at me but when she opens her mouth to speak, the small woman is effectively silenced by Burdock as he gently touches her knee.

“Evvie.”

It’s the first time I’ve heard him speak this entire time. His voice is low and rumbling and I can’t possibly think of a sound that would be more fitting to his appearance. The behemoth of a man gives Evvie a stern look and though she tries, she cannot maintain her anger. The couple stares at one another for a long time and I almost wonder if they are communicating telepathically. But before I can ponder it further, they both nod to one another and turn back to look at us.

“We’ll give it some thought.” Evvie declares.

My heart skips a little and I look at Ryleth. He looks just as pleased (if not more so), wearing a triumphant smirk of his own.

“Really?” I ask.

Burdock nods. His face softens a little, giving me a small peek past the intimidating exterior he possesses.

From the top of the shelf, Evvie grasps the edge behind her and scoots herself forward. One foot lands on Burdock’s shoulder and as she gracefully extends the other one, he manages to catch her and hold her steady as she settles in and straddles either side of his neck.

Ryleth turns for the door and I am just about ready to follow him, but Evvie calls out after us.

“Hold up. There are conditions!” she sings.

I look back, befuddled.

“Conditions?” I parrot.

Evvie looks down at Burdock. He raises his eyes to look at her, then nods once. She grins and folds her arms over the top of his head so that she can rest her chin comfortably upon them.

“The full moon is in six days. How would you feel about hunting together first?”