Teclos woke up, only this time it wasn’t abrupt, because he was plagued by nightmares.

It was a strange feeling. One day he was so nervous that he thought his heart was going to rip out of his chest, now he was at peace again—he got the sense that the whole house was at ease again.

He blinked, then smiled.

When he finally rose from his bed and washed his face, the knot that had lived in his chest for weeks felt... significantly lighter.

He stepped into the kitchen and cleared his throat.

"Good morning."

Saldia looked up from the table first. Her expression shifted instantly—no guarded distance, no tight jaw. Just a small, genuine smile that reached her eyes. Talmir followed a heartbeat later, giving Teclos a firm nod and a faint smirk that carried his unmistakable approval.

"Morning," Saldia said warmly. "Sit and eat while it’s hot."

That simple sentence filled Teclos with quiet relief and a warm, fuzzy feeling in his heart.

He sat down at the table, accepted the bowl placed in front of him, and ate with an appetite he didn’t realize he had. Across from him, Saldia hummed softly as she moved about the kitchen.

Talmir sipped his drink, watching Teclos over the rim of his cup, satisfied.

Breakfast felt like home again, normal again since that incident.

When he left the house, that happy feeling stayed with him.

—

Ralph and Gillard were already waiting at their usual spot near the guild hall.

Nothing about the scene had changed—the same crates, the same tools stacked nearby—but Teclos approached them differently today. His steps had more spring to them, and his shoulders weren’t stiff anymore.

"Morning," he said brightly.

Both of them looked up at once, sensing that change.

Gillard squinted. "You’re in a good mood..."

Ralph raised an eyebrow. "Seems like something good happened?"

Teclos grinned. "Something good happened, indeed."

"Oh?" Gillard prompted, clearly curious. "Care to share, or are you just going to stand there glowing annoyingly?"

Teclos hesitated for half a second. "I made up with my parents and well now everything’s—better."

"That so?" Gillard said with a nod. "I’m glad. Took you long enough to apologize."

Ralph chuckled. "I guess miracles do happen."

Teclos laughed, warmth bubbling up in his chest—and before he realized it, he talked a bit too much about this happy ending. Until he glanced at Ralph.

Only then did he notice him.

The laughter was still there, but it was... forced. His shoulders had drawn in slightly, posture curling inward as if he were trying to take up less space.

Teclos faltered.

Ralph caught the look and quickly forced a grin. "Hey, maybe if my old man finally pulls his head out of his ass, I’ll get a happy ending too, huh?"

He laughed, loud and careless.

But neither Teclos nor Gillard missed the tightness in his jaw.

They didn’t push him—not yet.

They walked together to the tool shed, grabbed the cart and shovels, and headed out to work. As they moved, Teclos fell into step beside Ralph.

"So... you stayed with Gillard last night?" he asked carefully.

Ralph nodded. "Yeah."

Gillard glanced over his shoulder. "Barn’s warm enough. Plenty of hay and beats sleeping outside."

Teclos reached out and gave Ralph’s shoulder a firm pat. "Hey—after today, let’s all go there. We’ll figure something out together, man. A plan for you and your father to get along again."

Ralph slowed for half a step, then nodded.

This time, the smile that crossed his face was finally genuine.

"Thanks... guys."

But first they had work to do now.

They worked steadily through the morning, falling into a rhythm. Shovels dug into the dirt and broken boards were hauled aside.

The sun climbed higher.

While the sweat piled up and the work progressed fairly quickly, that was when Loric suddenly showed up.

He didn’t come alone, and clearly, they were looking for trouble.

The two other boys flanking him—Kross and Tony—hovered just behind him like two shadows, dumb and incapable of their own thoughts.

"Well, well," Loric grinned, leaning against a post. "Look who’s hard at work. The cow shit rider crew."

Teclos rolled his eyes. "Wow, that’s pathetic."

Ralph snorted. "An original thought. Bravo, Loric, I didn’t know you could even form thoughts."

Loric smirked, emboldened by the silence of the other two. "Heard you boys are real outcasts now. Fixing this shit to maybe change that... Must feel great."

Teclos and Gillard said nothing, trying not to escalate things and just return back to work.

That only seemed to please Loric more.

"Oh yes, the usual loudmouth can’t keep his trap shut," Loric continued, and then feigned concern. "I heard your daddy finally had enough and threw you out."

Ralph froze. He tried to brush it off, but he was clearly hurt by that.

"How does it feel," Loric pressed, seeing that, his voice sharp as a blade, "to be a homeless orphan now? To not be loved anymore. Guess it’s good you’ve got your little cow shit crew with you in these hard times, huh? Outcasts should stick together."

Ralph wore a smirk, but inside, those words stung badly.

His smile fell with his eyes glassing over. He clenched his fists so hard that his knuckles turned white.

Seeing him like that, they couldn’t be silent anymore.

Teclos and Gillard moved as one, both seeing red.

Kicking Ralph while he was already down was something they would not tolerate.

Gillard’s fist crashed into Loric’s face before he could react. Teclos spun and drove a hard side kick into Kross’s solar plexus. The air exploded from Kross’s lungs as he doubled over.

Tony staggered back, startled, while Ralph stood frozen.

Loric hit the ground hard with Gillard on top of him. Elbows, knees, dust—all flew around as they beat each other bloody.

Teclos didn’t stop his assault either.

He surged forward, grabbed Kross by the collar as he hunched over, and drove a knee into his face. Kross hit the ground and went limp instantly.

Tony saw that, hesitated—then raised his fists. He didn’t want to abandon his friends at least.

Teclos closed the distance in a heartbeat. With a flurry of blows, he overwhelmed Tony as well. He couldn’t defend against the feints, sweeps, and onslaught of jabs.

Tony fell back, bruised and beaten, but still conscious.

The fight ended when Gillard and Loric tore free of each other.

Gillard had some bruises but Loric was beaten blue and yellow, with a half-shut eye and blood running from his nose.

Loric saw then that Kross and Tony were beaten too, so he scrambled away, shouting curses as he ran.

"This isn’t over, you maggots!"

Tony dragged the unconscious Kross away after him.

Then silence fell.

Ralph finally overcame his shock and helped Gillard to his feet. Gillard wiped blood from his nose, grinning crookedly.

"See that bitch running away? Ha! I got him good this time."

"My question is, are you good?" Teclos asked.

"Eh, I’ve had worse," Gillard shrugged.

Teclos turned to Ralph. "You okay?"

Ralph tried to shrug it off as well, but Teclos didn’t let him. "Come on, man. You literally froze."

"...Was it that obvious?" Ralph muttered.

"You almost cried," Gillard said flatly.

"I did not!"

Teclos laughed—and after a moment, Ralph and Gillard did too.

"Thanks... again," Ralph said quietly.

"That’s what friends are for," Teclos replied, slapping him on the shoulder. "Come on, let’s get back to work."

By the end of the day, the streets finally looked cleaner. The stalls were almost repaired.

And little by little, their reputation wasn’t being dragged through the ’mud’ anymore.

Slowly, trust was returning.

That evening, when they finished working and cleaned up the tools, they gathered in Gillard’s barn.

They sat down in the hay, and after a long stretch of silence, Ralph finally spoke.

"So..." He scratched the back of his neck, eyes fixed on the wooden wall. "What did you guys have in mind?"

Teclos didn’t answer right away. He leaned forward, elbows on his knees.

"Before we talk about ideas," he said carefully, "you need to tell us exactly what went wrong. Not the shortened version but what actually happened. Why your dad threw you out."

Ralph let out a breath through his nose. "Figures."

Gillard nodded.

Ralph stared at the hay beneath his boots, then kicked at it lightly.

"He’d been on my case for weeks," he began. "About the festival. About my attitude. About... everything, really."

Teclos stayed quiet, letting him talk.

"He kept saying a tanner needs a good name. Respect. That people don’t buy boots or armor from someone they don’t trust." Ralph’s jaw tightened. "Then he said that with how I act—how I joke around, how I get into trouble—no one would ever take me seriously."

Gillard frowned. "That’s not exactly wrong."

"I know," Ralph snapped, then immediately winced. "I know. That’s the worst part."

Teclos didn’t interrupt.

"He said if I kept acting like a clown, I’d ruin the business before I ever inherited it. That a son like me would never sell a single piece of leather." Ralph swallowed. "Basically called me incompetent."

Gillard sighed quietly.

"And then?" Teclos prompted.

Ralph laughed once, sharp and bitter. "Then I lost it."

He looked up at them for the first time.

"I told him his work was miserable. That I didn’t want his ’rotting trade.’ That I wasn’t going to spend my life scraping hides and smelling piss and blood just to make belts for hunters who barely remember his name." His voice cracked. "I told him he could rot in hell if he thought I’d take over."

The barn fell silent.

"And then he told you to leave," Gillard said.

"Yeah," Ralph muttered. "Didn’t even shout. Just pointed at the door."

Teclos exhaled slowly. "Alright."

Ralph blinked. "What about this is ’alright’?"

"No," Teclos said. "That’s me saying we won’t pretend this didn’t hurt your dad as well."

Ralph grimaced. "I... I know."

Gillard leaned back against a beam. "You basically told him his life’s work was worthless to his face."

"I didn’t mean it like that."

"But that’s how it sounded, man..." Gillard said flatly.

Silence again.

"So," Ralph said after a moment, his voice rough, "what now? I apologize and crawl back? He’ll just laugh at me and throw me back out on the street."

Teclos shook his head. "No."

"Then what?"

"You are half right, you need to apologize but also show him... not just with words," Teclos said.

Ralph frowned. "What’s the difference?"

"The difference," Gillard said, "is between ’sorry I yelled at you’ and ’I’ll show you I’m sorry and apologize on top of it.’"

Ralph went quiet.

Teclos continued, "Your dad doesn’t just see the leatherwork. He sees years of experience. Clients he fought to keep. Mistakes he paid for. A reputation and a life he built piece by piece for himself."

"And he saw you as the one who was supposed to carry that legacy on," Gillard added.

Ralph scowled. "But I don’t want to be a tanner."

"That’s fine," Teclos said. "But instead of yelling at him, telling him that it’s never going to happen while dragging his life’s work through shit." He paused for a second. "Maybe a calm conversation with you saying that you’ll still help out but it won’t be your profession in life would help?"

Ralph opened his mouth, then closed it.

"...sure."

Ralph rubbed his face. "So what, I walk in and say what? Try to explain what my dreams are?"

"Not at first," Teclos replied. "First, you fix the relationship you broke."

"How?"

"Apologize. Work hard. Don’t complain," Gillard said immediately.

Ralph looked at him. "Huh?"

"After you apologize at the door, help him. For real. No jokes. No complaints. You show up, shut up, and do exactly what he tells you to," Gillard shrugged. "That’s how my father forgives me most of the time."

Teclos nodded.

"That sounds... miserable." Ralph looked worried.

"Yeah, it does," Gillard said flatly. "You did this to yourself."

Teclos softened it slightly. "You’re not asking him to take you back unconditionally. And you will show him that you’ll still respect his craft—even if it’s not your future."

Ralph swallowed. "And if he still kicks me out?"

Teclos met his eyes. "We’ve got your back. Don’t worry."

Gillard nodded. "Besides, my father could use an extra hand at the smithy."

Ralph leaned back into the hay, staring up at the rafters.

"...I really messed this up, didn’t I?"

Teclos snorted softly. "Yeah."

Gillard smirked. "Spectacularly."

Ralph huffed a weak laugh.

"But," Teclos said, clapping him lightly on the shoulder, "it’s not unfixable. You just have to swallow that massive pride of yours and work hard for once in your life," he said, laughing.

Ralph closed his eyes with a smirk.

"Eat shit, man... but... alright," he said. "I’ll try."