A man walked alone through the northern woods, heading south. He didn’t really even know where he was going nor did he much care. He supposed that he was wandering vaguely oceanward and maybe when he got there he would just keep walking.
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Katsu was so absorbed in his own thoughts that he didn’t notice the chittering of a flock of sparrows- what would be a warning sign to keep watch for the citizens of the 3 Cities, nor did he notice that they twittered again and took off when he spotted a young woman also by herself.
He saw she was carrying a small wooden crate and was dressed like a wasteland scavenger- thin linen coat, the thin scarf around her shoulders and head to protect from the sun, worn boots and half finger gloves. The only thing that did not fit the picture was that spear strapped to her back. That thing looked like it belonged in a royal armory, which meant she had either gotten very lucky with said scavenging or she was a decent enough fighter to get it from someone else’s corpse. He paused and almost involuntarily put his one hand behind his back to his knife.
“Hello!” she said, with a friendly smile and a wave, adjusting to put the weight of the crate on her hips. “Name’s Adeline, you looking for the 3 Cities?”
“The what?” he asked, glancing around just in case she had other friends hidden in the woods.
“The city just south of here? No?” Adeline asked, looking slightly confused. “You need directions somewhere else?” There was the shuffling of something else in the twisted trees and from the underbrush- sounded like an animal of some kind, but she either didn’t notice or it was with her.
“No, I don’t,” he replied, wondering if he should start stepping backwards. Not like he could outrun it if she had a pet hyena or something anyway.
She took a moment to appraise him, no doubt noticing both his missing arm and eye, and he wrapped his fingers around his knife, preparing to draw it. “Okay, well, don’t head that way,” she said, pointing to the woods to the northeast. “Big monster lives out there. Watch for a cold wind and if it shows up head the other way. You need any food or water?”
“No,” he replied, now confused himself but he wasn’t about to take food from a stranger. “Thank you.”
“No problem,” she said, turning around to walk away and readjusting the crate into both of her hands. “Come on by the city if you want, otherwise keep safe.” She gave a short whistle. “C’mon Rosco.” The creature emerged from the bush and it wasn’t a hyena- it was an actual dang steelhound with its skull like head painted dark blue.
Katsu froze and watched them walk away before he let out the breath he’d been holding. Well that was strange.
-----
He saw the city she’d been talking about soon enough- it was hard to miss those high walls and that spiky castle jutting into the horizon. There seemed to be enough people milling in and out of the open gate, and if the woman in the woods had been anything to judge by the place wouldn’t be particularly insular.
Of course open places in plague could be just as dangerous, especially if they seemed to be overly friendly of strangers. Yeah yeah ‘welcome in enjoy your stay no don’t ask where we get all this meat from you’ll find out soon enough.’
But he did need supplies, and maybe to sit down for five minutes, so into the gate he went. No one seemed to pay him much mind which was again strange, and as he walked the streets he only noticed one or two guards. Where was the security? The feeling of tiredness and trepidation left him as he continued walking and inspecting - this place was completely open, and the only real guards seemed to be around the casino areas. Finally he grew irritated enough to scan for someone who looked like a local, a man in a bright purple coat and top hat. Katsu tapped him on the shoulder and asked who was in charge around here.
“Adeline?” the man responded. “Her office is by the front gate. There something wrong?”
“A bit,” Katsu growled under his breath and made his way back to the northern part of the city. Adeline- it was a rare enough name, but could it possibly be the same person? That didn’t make any sense.
----
Adeline was talking to Grenfell when she noticed someone walking in a straight line up to her. She recognised him and smiled. “Oh hey!” she said. “Glad you could-”
“Where,” the man said, standing directly in front of her and clearly irritated. “Is your army?” Adeline looked to Grenfell as he adjusted around her, getting within arm’s reach of the stranger though with his hands behind his back. The man glanced to Gren, but noticed he wasn’t holding a weapon. He didn’t register the threat, but of course few did.
“We uhhhh,” Adeline said, unsure of how to respond to this person whose name she didn’t even know. “We’re working on it?”
“And your armory?” he asked, almost an accusation. That was about when Adeline thought Yup, you definitely belong here.
“We have a forge?” she responded, her voice getting smaller.
“Oh, really?” the man asked, his one ice eye glaring at her. “And you’re going to defend this city with what? Some smelted metals? Where is your guard? Why were you out by yourself when you’re the leader? Do you have a secondary in case something happened?”
“Ummmm,” Adeline responded, her voice now almost a squeak. “I was just testing some fire alchemy stuff? In case of ice monster? ”
Grenfell put a hand on her shoulder to reassure her before looking to Katsu. “My friend- what is your name?” he asked, not shaken in the least.
“Katsu,” the stranger said as though shooting an insult, glancing at Gren then back to Adeline.
