Theodore woke to birdsong.That was the first unexpected thing. He lay still for a moment with his eyes closed, letting his other senses do the work before his vision joined them — a habit so deeply drilled into him by years of border living that it operated independent of conscious thought. He listened. Birds, multiple species, close and unhurried. Wind moving through a dense canopy. Somewhere further away, the sound of something rhythmic and heavy — axe work, maybe, or construction. Voices, low and purposeful. The smell of woodsmoke and food and underneath both, that clean herbal note he had noticed the night before.No alarm. No aggression. No immediate threat.He opened his eyes.Grey morning light came through the window in a single clean shaft, falling across the foot of the bed. The room was exactly as he had left it — small, plain, locked. His old clothes were folded on the chair where he had left them. The tray from last night had been removed at some point while he slept, wh
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