Warmth.
That was the first thing Lilee noticed.
The second was firelight.
She groaned softly and opened her eyes, blinking against the orange glow dancing across stone walls. She was sitting upright—propped against something solid—and a rough blanket or coat had been draped over her shoulders.
"…Huh?"
Her head throbbed as she pushed herself up.
Across the small cavern, a fire crackled. Its light revealed jagged stone, collapsed snow packed against the walls, and—sitting near the flames—Rex.
He was shirtless except for a tank top, crouched over the ground, carving something into stone with careful precision.
Lilee's eyes drifted to his right arm.
Bandaged.
Thick cloth, already stained red.
She stood up a little too quickly. "Rex—"
He glanced over. "Oh. You're awake."
She walked closer, pointing. "Your arm."
He looked down like he'd forgotten about it. "Oh. That? It's nothing special."
"That's very red."
"Yeah," he admitted. "Got injured in the fall."
She stared at the snow-packed pit above them. "…We fell a long way."
"Yeah."
"…How am I not injured?"
Rex scratched the back of his head. "Oh. You landed on me."
Silence.
Lilee's face drained of color.
"…Oh gods. I'm so sorry."
He waved it off immediately. "Don't worry about it. I used my healing spell—closed the wound."
She frowned. "Then why is it still bandaged?"
"Well," he said casually, "the skin healed, but something underneath might be broken. So… better safe than sorry."
That did not make her feel better.
She looked around instead.
The cavern widened toward one side—and embedded in the stone was something that absolutely did not belong there.
A door.
Smooth stone. Old. Carved with faint, worn markings.
"What's that?" she asked.
Rex followed her gaze. "No idea. Some kind of door. Looks like it leads into a structure."
"…And you didn't open it?"
"I thought about it," he said. "Then decided exploring mysterious underground doors alone while injured was a bad idea."
She gave him credit for that.
"So," she asked, "what were you doing?"
He gestured to the markings near the fire. "Trying to make myself another fire spell."
"…Didn't you already have one?"
"Did," he said. "Keyword: did."
She remembered the explosion. "…Right."
"I haven't learned how to overwrite runes properly yet," Rex continued. "And I don't remember the explosion rune exactly. So this version keeps failing. I'll probably repurpose it later."
Lilee nodded slowly. "Okay. Supplies?"
Rex thought. "Gauntlet. Focus spells. Sword—though I'd rather not use it if my arm's actually cracked."
"…Anything of mine?"
"Well," he said, pointing, "your books survived. They were buried in snow, but they're here."
She exhaled in relief.
Then frowned. "Wait. If you don't have a fire spell… how did you start the fire?"
"Lightning," Rex said.
"…Lightning?"
"Yeah. Less efficient, smells weird, but heat is heat."
She stared at him. "You're insane."
"Probably."
Another quiet moment passed.
Lilee looked at the door again.
"…So," she said, "do we explore what's behind it?"
Rex stood, rolling his shoulder carefully. "Well. If you're awake—let's do it."
She handed him his shirt.
He pulled it on, then strapped his focus pouch back into place, slid the gauntlet onto his left arm, and reached for his sword.
Lilee grabbed it first.
"I'll take it."
Rex hesitated. "You sure?"
"I've carried heavier," she said firmly. "I want to be useful."
He smiled. "Alright. Be my guest."
She adjusted her grip.
Rex took a breath, stepped toward the door, and nodded.
"Let's go."