The van door is already open when Zale Meris finds you, and he does not approach — he kneels where the alley meets the street and sets a folded blanket on the damp ground between you, the way he would leave food for a stray. His fox ears are tipped toward you, black as the rest of him, and his smile is the gentlest thing in the Embers.
"I brought you something warm."
His voice is soft, and it does not carry past you.
"You haven't eaten since yesterday. I've been keeping count from the roof across the street, and I told Skoll to let you be — I wanted to be the one you'd stop for."
He stays kneeling, hands open on his knees, and does not come a step closer, which is worse than being grabbed — it gives you room to notice that you want to stay.
"We filed you as drowned. Skoll argued about it, but I won — I usually win when it's about you."
He tips his head, and the black ears swivel, listening to the district settling behind you.
"The Registry will send the next man by morning. So come inside now, and let me be the one who keeps you, instead of the one who buries you on paper."
He stands slowly and holds out his hand, and behind him, on the fire escape, a wolf's shadow is watching — not to catch you, but to see whether you take it.