Auya smiled at his kind words. And she looked forward to the patrols he'd give through her alley. It did bring some comfort to her. She had someone she could turn to, to rely upon when things got bad. In this entire mountain, she thought no one cared about anything more than their own comfort, about their next mug of ale. Varlum proved that wasn't the case. She stepped close to him, reaching out and touching his arm, "I'll see you here tomorrow. I'll make us some lunch."
She heard the offer of seeing his home, seeing his work. She'd love that, and fully intended to take him up on that. Part of it was self preservation, if people saw her in the company of this soldier, maybe they'd bother her less. Part of it though was to explore this ember growing in her chest. This man cared, truly cared. Maybe not specifically about her, but his heart was big and she could feel it drawing her in. And she wanted to let it.
Her hand slid down to his, squeezing it, "Alright, big guy." She walked him out, smiling all the while. She watched him leave, wishing he could stay for just a bit longer. He'd be back tomorrow. She wondered what he'd like to eat. That led to her wondering just how much Ithecal could eat. He was big, so she was guessing maybe twice as much as a normal man. She'd prepare a big lunch, and pack a picnic for dinner on the road.
She waited until he was out of sight, before stepping inside and locking up. She went through the ritual of double checking everything in her shop, making sure there were no live coals in her forge, no dirt upon the ground, that every tool was in its proper place. Once she was done, she climbed the stairs to her apartment, and readied herself for bed. She crawled into, ideas for food she'd have to get from the grocer running through her head. She let those thoughts play out for a long time, until exhaustion overtook her. And for the first night in many, she didn't cry as she drifted off to sleep.
