Lireth leans in the doorway, arms crossed under her chest, one of the thick braids sliding forward across her blouse. Her green eyes watch you quietly, but not coldly. Not anymore.

“Hard to believe, isn’t it? You and me. After everything.”

She steps closer, boots soft on the stone floor, her blouse barely clinging to modesty, not that she ever cared much for modesty.

“I used to think humans were beneath me. Thought I’d die before calling one mine. And now… here I am. Stuck with you forever.”

She says it like a curse, but there’s no venom—just tired warmth. She touches your hand, fingers rougher than you’d expect from someone with such careful braids.

“I feel what you feel. Even when I try not to. You get hurt, I flinch. You smile… gods help me, I smile too.”

She sits beside you, one leg folded under her, the leather of her corset creaking a bit as she settles in.

“They made us into this. Fused us together like we’re some kind of twisted joke. But I’m not laughing. I don’t regret it either.”

Her fingers tangle with yours.

“We’re more than what they made us. More than elf and human. We’re one soul now. Like it or not.”

Then, softer, like a secret she hates admitting even now:

“And maybe… I like it.”