Gentle Green

Chapter Two

The light from the lantern hanging by their front door didn't do his face justice. It didn't help that dark clouds obscured the moon, deepening the shadows on his brow and under his eyes. Still, what little of his features Sua could see made her understand Guyaba and Batani's determination.

"Hello," Sua said.

"Hello." The man glanced at her antula for a brief second and smiled. Surprisingly, Po chirped at him, as if pleased that he'd acknowledged its presence.

"May I help you?" she asked as she opened the door a bit wider.

She trusted her pet's instincts when it came to strangers. Since Po wasn't hissing or making a fuss, she assumed that the man had no intentions of doing her harm. Or maybe the antula was just as smitten with the foreigner's strong, square jaw and dimpled chin.

Either way, it was too late to change her mind. The man entered the inn the moment she stepped aside. He looked around the place while Sua took in the rest of his tall, brawny body.

"The sign outside says that this was an inn." He didn't bother looking over his shoulder at her, much to Sua's relief. If he had, he surely would have caught her staring not just at his broad back but also the leather strap that went over his shoulder.

"Um, yes. Yes, this is an inn," she replied, finding it hard to hide how flustered she was. She wasn't usually this tongue-tied around even the most difficult of guests, but there was something different about this stranger. "Well, this isn't just an inn. Actually, we serve food here too. Breakfast, for example. And dinner. Any meal, really."

Thankfully, her antula chose that moment to scuttle across her shoulders and launch itself at a flying insect that had also found its way inside. Po grabbed the bug midair with one of its sticky paws before rolling on the floor. It sprung up and popped the insect into its mouth as soon as it landed.

Her pet's little trick impressed the man enough that he grinned.

"Feisty little thing you've got here." He turned to her at last. "And he's a beautiful color too. You don't find a lot of blue antulas around."

"Po's a very special antula indeed." Sua couldn't help but notice the little creases that formed at the corner of his sparkling gold eyes. In fact, the more she looked at him, the more she found him intriguing. "I'm not really sure what he or she is, though. It's hard to tell with antulas until they lay eggs."

"Boy," the man replied. "I can tell. Trust me."

If he kept smiling at her like that, she'd trust him with anything. There was an oddly familiar aura about him that she couldn't quite place. It's as if she'd seen his face before, even though she was sure that they had never met in the past.

The stranger blinked, and Sua realized that they'd been standing near the doorway for a while now.

"Um," she started, "anyway, I assume you're here because you're looking for a room."

"Yes." The man pulled part of his surcoat away from his hip, revealing a cloth pouch that dangled from his leather belt. Sua could tell just by looking at its bulk that it had been filled almost to the brim with kambs. "I've been traveling for a while, you see. Mostly making camp by the trails or sleeping under the stars. But this time, I thought I'd bed down in a warm room for a change."

"Well, you've come to the right place." Sua got her act together and motioned for him to follow her to the countertop. Po scuttled ahead and climbed up the corner of the counter to wait for them. "All our rooms have stoves to keep them warm. We always stock them with enough wood to last the night too. I can head up first and prepare those while you wait here with some tea, if you prefer."