The jungle was no worse for the wear, considering everything it had been through. Kalidar closed his eyes, allowing the thick humid air to sink into his skin as the smells and sounds of life stirred around him. There was something deeply peaceful about his home even if it brought memories to the surface he’d much rather keep under.
When his current job had him swinging by Aiur he wasn’t able to resist traveling to what used to be Antioch in search of his former home. He’d warned Juju Bee to stay on the ship, slipped out of the city limits and hiked the kilometers south through dense undergrowth.
And here he stood amidst the ruins of a building ravaged by zerg years ago, having carefully picked his way around the poisonous plants guarding a huge stone wall - built just as much to keep people out as to keep those trapped inside in.
It was amazing how resilient nature was. It was not that long since their homeworld had been overrun by monsters determined to consume everything in their path. Kalidar found a rock and sat, staring at a door that had been knocked off its hinges. That had been his sister’s room. He wondered where she was.
The youth would have normally and naturally faded into the background, experienced in subterfuge. The blood-red tattoos, however, and crimson claws drew the eye directly at him. He didn’t think much of it. Who would come out here? This place had been hidden for thousands of years.