Alisha has a tendency to always do the same thing for work. She arrives at exactly the same time as always, dressed in exactly the same clothes.

'So nice to see you again,' Alisha says before pulling me into a hug. I embrace the friend I've known for almost ten years. Sometimes, I still picture the slender elven lady in her tiny little home of just a few square meters.

Now, she's a grown woman in her early thirties with long blonde hair, always kept out of her face with small braids, wearing a long blue dress with white decorations.

'How are you? How are the kids? And where is Elien?' she chatters on as she releases me. Her bright blue eyes sparkle in the sunlight as we walk into the orphanage.

'I'm good, the kids are good too, and I have no idea where Elien is,' I answer as Alisha takes off her white cloak.

But she doesn't have time to respond because Noek comes racing in at full speed.

'Alisha!' The white dress of the six-year-old blonde girl flutters behind her.

Noek is the only child who has been here since she was a baby. When I heard that a half-human, half-nymph baby had been abandoned, I brought her in immediately.

'You've grown so much,' Alisha says in surprise to Noek. The little girl spins around proudly before running back to where she came from.

'Do you have that huge needle with you again?' Noek asks, far too eagerly. Alisha's eyes widen for a moment before she starts laughing.

'No, I left it at home this time,' she lies. She never leaves anything at home.

'Boring,' Noek says before running off again.

'I thought that obsession would've faded by now,' Alisha says, hands on her hips, looking in the direction where Noek disappeared.

'It's Noek,' is all the explanation I offer. Alisha shakes her head, laughing, before following me into the dining hall with her white bag in hand.

Some of the children come up to Alisha to greet her the moment they see her. Some wave at her, while others hardly notice she's there.

'I don't know how, but it looks even cozier than before,' Alisha smiles as she takes in the room.

I nod with a smile before heading toward the chairs by the fireplace. The chairs for me and Elien, where we almost always share a glass of whiskey in the evenings.

'What brings you to Livas this time?' I ask as I sit down in the left chair. The fire in the hearth crackles gently, spreading a welcoming warmth.

'A woman at the hospital sent me a letter. She has a patient, a young wolf, who breaks bones every full moon that never heal. She asked me to come take a look,' she explains with a smile as she sits next to me.

'Any idea what's causing it?' She shakes her head.

'I think there's something wrong with the connection between his wolf form and his human form. It seems like he can't fully transform into a wolf because his human side is blocking it.'

'That sounds more like a psychological issue than a physical one.' Alisha nods.

'It probably is, but even that requires help.' Many of the children here either need or have needed psychological help. We provide it externally, but the spots are limited.

'I have so much to tell you, but we'll get to that,' she says enthusiastically as Arthur begins serving dinner. This time, without any fighting wolves.

For a moment, we take our seats at the table, waiting for Isa.

When I first started the orphanage, I was convinced I could handle everything myself. Not surprising, since it was just Atlas, Eris, and Florien running around then. Once I had over ten kids, though, I realized I definitely couldn't do it all alone. I spent all day cooking and cleaning, so eventually, I hired Arthur as a cook and Gina as my regular cleaner.

Despite the staff, I was still spending day and night in the orphanage, organizing things and taking care of the children. In theory, that would've been fine if I were alone, but I'm not—Elien is here too. For weeks, I barely saw Elien, didn't know where he was or how he was doing. That wasn't the environment I wanted for my seventeen-year-old brother, especially given his past. If I was taking on the care and guardianship of eighteen children, I also had to take responsibility for Elien.

So, I hired Isa, the warden.

After dinner at the orphanage, I would head home with Elien, cook, and spend time together. Isa watches over the children in the evenings and nights and leaves in the morning.

It was a convenient arrangement, at least in my opinion.

Elien, however, was less enthusiastic.

While I thought he needed me around, it turned out he didn't. He'd rather have me out of the way and had no interest in spending time with me. Elien had built a decent life for himself in the taverns and as a messenger.

So, for the first few weeks, I still didn't see him.

I didn't mind much. I finally had peace, sitting with a book by the fireplace, a glass of whiskey in hand. Slowly but surely, Elien started coming home more. At first for fifteen minutes, then half an hour, sometimes an hour, and eventually, he'd sit by the fireplace with me, with his own glass of whiskey and book.

Don't be under any illusions, though. We don't have dinner together every night.

Elien has his own life too, and that's for the best. About half the week, we have dinner at home, sometimes he joins me at the orphanage, and the fireplace at the orphanage has almost replaced the one at home. Still with a book, a glass of whiskey, good conversation, or all of the above.