When the Dawn Breaks [TBAU]

☆ Chapter 2 ☆

Impulse was fairly sure that Xisuma had caught on to his fear by now. Mostly because of the way the alleged mayor spoke to him softly and carefully, as if he was a wounded animal.

Impulse was not a wounded animal.

But he was nervous.

Impulse stayed silent while Xisuma led him into the village, chattering about the different things they had there. He listened carefully, not wanting to let information go to waste.

He took note of the surroundings, trying to quickly make a mental map of Hermit Village. It was an incredibly small community compared to others. There was one main, cobbled road with a few dirt paths branching off of it. At the beginning of the road (the north end) was the entrance to the village, and at the end was their town hall, the biggest structure in the place. To the east of the road were all of the houses, and to the west there was a barn, some shops, and an archery range among a few other recreational things. Impulse knew he'd need to get to know the layout better if he was to stay for a while, but this was fine for now.

This was going well, in all honesty. He hadn't been kicked out of the village immediately at least. That had happened in the first town Impulse had gone to.

You forget to mask your demon traits once and they chase you out with flaming torches in hand like you're a monster.

As long as he kept using his cloaking magic, the others would just see him as human, and all would be fine. Because Impulse wasn't a monster.

"Alright! This is my place!" Xisuma stopped walking as they reached one of the houses closest to town hall. It was large, two stories with an attic, and soft golden light peeked through the windows. "Well, it's also more or less the town lodge, since it has a lot of guest rooms. Perfect for travelers like yourself!"

Impulse smiled and followed Xisuma through the front door. The inside of the house looked almost bigger than the outside. They entered into a foyer with a long red rug, and stairs to one side with a balcony view from the hallway of the second floor. The bottom floor was mostly open concept, the kitchen, living room and small game room all visible and interconnected.

(Remind me to never describe house layouts again.ok Soe)

Xisuma took the stairs, and it looked for a moment like he was trying not to jump up them two at a time. Impulse ran a hand along the polished wood railing as he followed.

They stopped at the third door down the hall, and Xisuma swung it open with a flourish of his hands. "Your room, esteemed guest," X exaggerated his British accent a little bit, and Impulse huffed out a giggle, looking into the room.

It had all the necessities: a bed, dresser next to it, a small table with two chairs, and a door to a small bathroom off to the side. Impulse stepped inside and placed down his bag near the door.

"Alright, I'll let you get settled then. And, for dinner, you like lasagna?" Xisuma cracked a wide smile, which Impulse returned, nodding.

"Oh, I almost forgot..." Impulse fumbled for his bag again, and pulled out some diamonds, "Thank you, Xisuma, for your hospitality." He pressed the diamonds into the mayor's hand.

"Oh, no no it's fine!" Xisuma tried to give them back. "I do this for free—"

"I insist, please." Impulse interjected, and Xisuma accepted the money, sighing and putting it in his pocket.

"Alright then, I'll be back in a bit," Xisuma turned and trotted back down the hallway and the stairs. Impulse watched until he couldn't see him anymore and shut the door to his room.