Morning arrived quietly over Norvale.
Soft sunlight slipped through the thin curtains while cold air drifted gently inside the house.
Seren slowly opened her eyes.
For several seconds she simply stared upward at the wooden ceiling above her.
No screams.
No crimson halls.
No whispers from Underground.
Just silence.
A strange kind of silence.
Peaceful.
From somewhere downstairs came the faint sound of something burning.
Then Clara’s voice:
“…Ah.”
A pause.
“…Damn it.”
The smell of smoke immediately followed.
Seren sat up slowly.
By the time she reached the lower floor, Clara stood near the stove staring blankly at a burnt pan.
“You killed breakfast,” Seren observed.
Clara looked genuinely offended.
“It was salvageable five seconds ago.”
“It’s charcoal.”
“You woke up too early. That changed the outcome.”
Seren sat quietly near the small table while Clara aggressively scraped blackened food into a bowl with the expression of someone deeply betrayed by life itself.
For some reason-
watching this felt strangely normal now.
That realization unsettled Seren more than Underground ever did.
Eventually Clara placed a bowl in front of her.
“…What is this?”
“Breakfast.”
Seren stared at it silently.
“It looks dangerous.”
“You survived a death tunnel.”
“That tunnel had better presentation.”
Clara rolled her eyes before sitting across from her.
The morning passed quietly after that.
Simple routine.
Clara sorted herbs near the window while Seren sharpened her sword nearby.
Occasionally villagers passed outside laughing or talking loudly.
Norvale no longer sounded cursed.
By midday, Clara finally stood and stretched slightly.
“I need to head into the forest.”
Seren glanced upward.
“For herbs?”
“And hunting.”
That caught Seren’s attention immediately.
“You hunt?”
Clara blinked once.
“…Yes?”
“You don’t look like you hunt.”
“You don’t look like you sleep, yet here we are.”
Seren ignored that completely.
A short while later, the two walked through the forest path together beneath pale afternoon sunlight.
Clara carried a bow casually across her back while Seren brought only her sword.
The deeper they walked into the trees, the quieter the world became.
Wind rustled softly through leaves overhead while distant birdsong echoed around them.
Eventually Clara stopped near a clearing.
“This area usually has rabbits.”
Seren crossed her arms.
“So you shoot tiny animals from far away.”
“That is generally how hunting works.”
“Cowardly.”
Clara sighed deeply.
“You use a sword.”
“It’s honest.”
“It’s impractical.”
Seren looked mildly offended.
Clara eventually crouched near a set of tracks in the dirt.
“Quiet now.”
Seren immediately stepped on a branch.
The crack echoed through the clearing.
Several birds exploded from nearby trees.
Clara slowly closed her eyes.
“…I said quiet.”
“I was testing the branch.”
“For what?”
“Structural weakness.”
Clara genuinely considered leaving her there.
A few minutes later, movement finally appeared near the bushes ahead.
A small rabbit emerged cautiously into the clearing.
Clara slowly raised the bow.
Smooth movement.
Steady breathing.
Then-
release.
The arrow pierced cleanly through the target instantly.
Seren stared silently.
“…You actually hit it.”
Clara lowered the bow.
“That tends to happen when you know how to use one.”
Seren walked toward the rabbit while staring at the arrow.
Then suddenly:
“Teach me.”
Clara blinked.
“What?”
“The bow.”
“You want to learn?”
“Yes.”
“…Why?”
Seren thought briefly.
Then answered honestly:
“Swords can’t hit annoying people from far away.”
Clara laughed despite herself.
“You are deeply concerning.”
Still-
she handed the bow over.
Seren took it confidently.
That confidence disappeared almost immediately.
“…Why is it bent like this?”
“It’s supposed to be.”
“This feels inefficient.”
“You haven’t even used it yet.”
Seren pulled the string backward awkwardly.
The arrow immediately slipped from her fingers and launched sideways into a tree.
Several seconds of silence followed.
Clara stared at the arrow.
Then at Seren.
“…Did you just miss the forest?”
Seren lowered the bow slowly.
“This weapon is defective.”
“No. You are.”
The next attempt somehow went worse.
The arrow flew directly upward into the sky.
Both of them instinctively ducked.
Somewhere far away-
something crashed loudly through branches.
Clara looked horrified.
“How are you doing this?”
“I told you the bow hates me.”
“You’re fighting it like it insulted your bloodline.”
Seren narrowed her eyes at the weapon suspiciously.
The rest of the afternoon became increasingly disastrous.
One arrow snapped entirely.
Another barely moved after release and simply fell straight downward.
At one point Seren nearly hit herself.
By sunset, Clara sat against a tree laughing so hard she could barely breathe while Seren stood nearby looking personally betrayed by archery itself.
“…This isn’t funny.”
“It absolutely is.”
“I hate hunting.”
“You’ve killed exactly zero things today.”
“That includes my dignity.”
Clara wiped tears from her eyes while trying to calm down.
The fading sunlight filtered softly through the trees around them while evening slowly settled over the forest.
For the first time in a long while-
Seren found herself not wanting the day to end yet.