Night fell like a shroud.
The cages were parked in a muddy yard behind a tavern, the sounds of rough laughter and clinking mugs seeping through the walls.
Leyla's cage was close enough to touch the bars between them.
"You're from beyond the veil, aren't you?" she whispered.
Echo nodded slowly. "A place called Earth. I was pulled here by mistake."
"Mistakes are rare in the Beast World. Space is stable unless… unless someone rips it open on purpose."
"What do you mean?"
"The Beast Lords sometimes summon champions from other realms. But if the ritual is flawed, the energy backfires. Tears open where it shouldn't." She glanced toward the tavern. "You were lucky you didn't end up in a demon's maw."
Echo absorbed that. "You know a lot for a captive."
"I was a scout for the Silvermane Clan. Before the Blood-Paw Tribe wiped us out." Her ears flattened. "I was away on patrol. Returned to ashes."
Her grief was palpable, sharp in the cool air.
"I'm sorry," Echo said softly, and he meant it.
Her eyes flicked to his. "You have a kind aura. Unusual here."
Charm at work, he thought. But it felt more genuine than manipulation.
"Can you pick that lock?" he asked, nodding to her cage.
A faint smile touched her lips. She shifted, revealing a slender claw-tool hidden in her sleeve. "At dawn, when the guards change. The boar-kin is slow, drinks too much. The wolf-kin will be at the gate. That's our window."
"Why help me?"
"Because you're my window too," she said simply.
They sat in silence for a long moment. Then Echo felt a soft warmth bloom in his chest — a notification only he could see, glowing in his mind's eye:
[ Bond Formed: Leyla (Lv. 1) ]
[ +1 Bond Point (BP) ]
[ Charm resonates with her wounded soul. ]
Before he could process it, heavy footsteps approached.
The boar-kin guard, reeking of ale, pointed at Echo.
"You. Out. The boss wants to see the new goods."
Echo's stomach tightened. Leyla gave him a sharp, warning look.
Don't fight yet.
He stood, the chain dragging behind him, and stepped out into the cold night.