The afternoon light fell through the gaps in the tower walls, pale and slanted. Kael carried the folded hide carefully, stepping around the scattered boards and tools from their earlier work. His hand throbbed slightly still tender from the cut he had earned trying to turn the stubborn earth but he ignored it, focusing on making the makeshift bed more comfortable for Elin.

  He laid the hide over the straw she had arranged, smoothing it with deliberate care. It was a small gesture, practical more than anything, but he noticed how much it softened the floor beneath her.

  Elin had paused in the doorway, watching him adjust the layers. “You… really think this will help?” she asked, voice quiet but curious.

  Kael glanced up. “Better than just the floor. You’ll sleep without stones pressing into your back.” His tone was straightforward, almost rough, but careful.

  She stepped closer, tilting her head. “You don’t have to...”

  “I know,” Kael interrupted gently, pressing the hide flat one last time. “I want to. It’s better if you rest well.”

  Elin’s lips curved faintly, hesitant, unsure how to respond. She knelt beside the bed and ran a hand over the layered hides, smoothing them slightly. “We… we need to finish the planting too. Half-done work leaves the soil waiting for more.”

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  Kael nodded, glancing toward the cleared patch outside. “I’ll help tomorrow. Today, we rest what we’ve done.” His gaze flicked down at his hand, flexing the fingers slowly. A faint twinge reminded him that the cut had not fully healed every bend and touch a whisper of the effort already spent.

  Elin followed his glance. “Still hurts?”

  “Not much,” he muttered. “But I’ll be careful.”

  She didn’t press further. Instead, she adjusted a corner of the hide over the straw, tucking it gently to keep it even. “It’s… better. Thanks,” she said, soft, almost shy.

  Kael stepped back, brushing dirt from his hands. He surveyed the makeshift mattress, the half-finished planting outside, the quiet tower that felt less empty now than it had before. The day had left marks aches, cuts, soil on skin but also progress. Slow, measured, real.

  Ash padded between them once, sniffed the floor, then settled near the edge of the hide. Tail flicking lazily, ears alert but relaxed, he seemed to approve.

  Kael exhaled, letting a small measure of satisfaction settle in his chest. “We’ve done enough for today. Half the planting, a bed that’ll hold through the night… tomorrow, we finish it.”

  Elin nodded, brushing a strand of hair from her eyes. “And then… everything else.”

  Kael didn’t answer immediately. He simply looked toward the faint light spilling across the tower floor, then down at the small layers of straw and hide, and allowed himself a brief moment of calm. Small victories. Half-done work. But real.

  For now, that was enough.