It was late at night when Vixen woke up. For a moment she was disconcerted. She had gotten unused to sleeping on an actual bed.
She was not sure what had woken her up, but she stood up anyway. She glanced over at the couch where Tira was sleeping.
She was not sure why her friend had been adamant that they would share a room but Tira had left no room for compromise. Just dragged her off, barely even letting her say goodnight to Lowks let alone anyone else.
But Tira was sound asleep at the moment, meaning Vixen could just slip away unnoticed. How could she give up a chance to explore?
She closed the door softly behind her, half expecting either Tira or Lowks to catch and stop her. They did not. As she wandered the halls, she could not help but be thrilled. There was something exciting about sneaking out under Tira's nose.
She opened up doors to peek into different rooms. She did not pick any locks though. She did not dare as there was a good chance someone was in there sleeping.
One of the rooms caught her eye. It was set up differently than the other rooms. So she actually stepped into it. It was a nursery. Cradle, toys, and even a small child's bed. Everything looked like it had been made in love. The wooden cradle had been hand carved, and many of the toys had been whittled with care. The bed was a bit more plain, but the blankets were quilted and they looked warm.
Vixen had not expected to see such a thing in a single woman's house. Rena did not seem to even have a husband.
She was about to leave the room when she noticed the picture on the mantel. A painting of a very happy looking man. Blond hair, green eyes. He looked a bit frail, even if he was good looking.
"He was my husband." Vixen nearly jumped. She had not heard Rena come in.
"Your husband?"
"Yes. We were married for ten years. Ten of the happiest years in my oh-too-long-life." She walked over and picked up the portrait. "He was ill when I married him, it eventually took his life. I could only prolong it. I miss him."
"Were you two hoping for children?" Vixen looked around at the room.
"We had one. Near the end of his life. She's all grown up now." Rena smiled softly. She seemed sad. "Found her own happiness. All I could ask for my little girl to have."
"At least you had a child to prove your love." Vixen tried to comfort the woman. She was not sure if she was doing a good job at it or not.
"Aye," Her smile was tight, "Now you should be off back to bed, little lady."
Vixen suddenly felt a little abashed. She had been caught snooping. So she backtracked and slipped out.
Only to realize after walking for a while that she had gotten lost.
She continued to walk hoping to figure out where she was. Eventually she wandered into the kitchen.
Lowks was inside, sitting at the table. A cup of what was probably hot tea in front of him. He looked up as she entered and gave her a soft tired smile, "Hey, Vixen. You thirsty?"
Not willing to admit to having sneaked out to snoop she nodded and he got up to fix her a cup of tea as well.
"Is Rena okay with this?" She wondered that Lowks was willing to raid someone else's kitchen.
"I asked." He shrugged, "I have no idea what she is doing up this late, though."
Vixen just accepted the tea, then looked at him. "Why are you up this late then?"
"Couldn't sleep. Strange place and all that."
"You do fine in the wilderness."
"I'm used to that though." He pursed his lips, and then shrugged, "Rena said that if I couldn't sleep I was free to peruse her library."
Vixen said nothing. Just quietly drank her tea. But now she kinda wanted to see the library. She was not a bookworm or anything but she was curious. Besides bugging Lowks sounded like fun.
So when he stood up she did to. Upon noticing that she was following him, he frowned at her, "What exactly are you up to?"
"I can't sleep either. So I thought I would go with you." She gave him her best innocent face.
He stared at her for a minute then just continued walking.
When they entered the library, Vixen looked around. It was not a huge collection but there were plenty of books. She picked up a random one and sat next to Lowks. Leaning her back against his arm she opened it up and tried to read. Only to realize that it was too dark.
But then it lightened up as Lowks lit the oil lamp on the table nearby. It was now just enough to read by. For a while they were quiet.
But Vixen started to talk softly to him, trying to bug him. To her annoyance Lowks just answered her patiently all the while reading the book he had chosen and pretty much ignoring her otherwise.