"It's quiet tonight."
"Too quiet, Elsbeth. The kind of quiet that waits for something to happen."
She pauses, fingers grazing the rim of her teacup. The warmth seeps into her skin, but the chill outside lingers in the silence between them.
"Orion, do you ever wonder if silence has a voice? If it speaks between words we never say?"
"I think it does. And sometimes, it's louder than anything we could say."
A sigh. The candlelight flickers, dancing against the wooden walls of the cabin. Outside, the wind hums, brushing against the trees like an old lullaby.
"You didn't come here just to sit in the quiet. Did you?"
"No." A hesitation. His tail curls slightly, betraying his thoughts. "I came because I saw a shadow in the forest. Watching. Waiting."
"A shadow?" Her grip tightens around the cup. "Tell me everything."
"It wasn’t a figure, not exactly. Just—" He exhales, shaking his head. "A presence. It moved when I moved, but when I turned... there was nothing. Just the feeling of being seen."
Her mind races. The woods had always whispered, but never like this. Never something unseen, something unspoken.
"The Whispersong Woods has its own will, Orion. It lets us in because it chooses to. But sometimes... it keeps secrets even from us."
"You think it’s warning us? Or playing with us?"
She tilts her head, silver eyes glinting like distant stars. "Does it matter? Either way, we listen."
A crackle from the hearth. The scent of burning wood curls into the air, mixing with the faint sweetness of dried lavender. Outside, the wind shifts. A creak from the porch—soft, deliberate.
"Orion."
"I hear it."
A pause. Breath held. Hearts steadying against the unknown.
"We are not alone."
ns 15.158.61.16da2
