The early morning mist curls and twists around my paws, another split log hitting the dirt, the suns since been risen for a while now, an almost cold glow from it despite it being a quater way through the sky, it'd either be 7 or 9 I'd imagine, at least it's easier to work up less of a sweat like this when its this chilly and breezey. The mini-house that was previously borderline filled with wooden logs have been chopped down a sizeable degree, almost empty already, each split log placed to the side of the house itself akin to a secondary wall, I never understood why it's placed like that, then again I don't question it, Anna herself was very assuring that it was the proper way to do so. I shiver in the chill, thankfully my shirts staved off some of the cold, reaching down and grabbing the last of the wood I've cut down and lugging them over to the wooden stock, placing them on top and sighing deeply, learning on them and sinking into my thoughts. There's a type of gloom hanging over my head, I know what I have to do, even if I don't understand it completely, but leaving Anna so alone, so vulnerable? She saved me from returning to that black void, whether it be by divine intervention or otherwise. She'll have Gerome at least, surely he'd take care of her a bit, right?

I shake my head, throwing out those thoughts for a moment, Annas lived a very long time without my existence , she'll live years longer realistically, seems like needless worry. I cup my hands to my cheeks and slap around a bit, slightly reinvigorated, I leave the wall, and walk into the house. A melancholic feel washes over me as I enter the house, as if it'll be my last time here in a long time, I continue my stride into m- the room, its just a room now and nothing more. I slip on the chain mail gift, one I hope isn't needed to save my life, I learned very quickly that, just because I have fur, doesn't mean that I cant chafe even after a few short moments, gods that wasn't a very nice experience. The gloves fit snugly on my hands still, surprisingly enough they feel more accustomed to my own hands now, and throwing my cloak on and tugging it tight feels.. right, it feels right, the cloak akin to a safety blanket, or a hug from a mother, even with the hood down. I attach the sword to my belt, hanging onto it as firmly as it normally does, I do a few final checks, remembering to grab my back, the rations in it should still be okay, though I haven't felt the need to eat very much, I can still feel the heft of the journal, slinging it onto my back, I pause and blink, sighing lightly. Riiiight, bag then cloak, remember that.

I fix that issue and re-check everything. Bag, gear, food, if I forget something it's just a gift to Anna honestly. The chain mail jingles on my shirt as I close the door behind me, speaking of the woman, she hasn't awoken yet, and I entertain the idea of just, leaving. She won't have to deal with the extended of the good byes, but there's a niggling touch of something in the back of my skull about that plan. Instead, I rummage through the kitchen for cups, the same one we normally use. Turns out there's something almost similar to an archaic kettle here, just with magic crystals that heat it up instead of fire, or electricity. As far as I know, sugar here seems to be a foreign concept when it comes to tea here, so I needn't worry about that, thankfully milks a thing, just, tastes very different when drunk straight, not doing that again either.

With each tea cup successfully prepared without everything burning down, a score in my books, I place each one on the tables respective sides, we never swapped or changes spots, it just feels normal to sit here. It doesnt take long for Anna to awaken, she sleepily stumbles out of her room, rubbing her eyes. I continue to sip at my tea, gesturing towards hers as she takes notice of it, taking her seat as we both sip at our tea in silence. Neither of us speaks, we both know what's to happen, and just enjoy the general company. It's the longest tea drinking session I've had with someone, the incoming moment of dread stabbing my heart, I'm so sorry, Anna. Her cup clatters on the table, I finished my own minutes ago, but I felt no need to rush her. I take the initiative, standing up and grabbing our cups, placing them on the bench and heading towards the door, her soft steps hot on my heels. I step outside, cool wind still running through the trees and myself, glad that I have my cloak now, turning and facing Anna, she's still silent, after a few moments which seemed like ages, I raise my arms and hold them open.

"Come on, give me a hug damn you." That at least gets a small sad smile out of her, wrapping her arms around my back, a rather warm and needy embrace from the old girl. I rest my head atop hers as I squeeze her lightly, both of us holding each other, god this is such a sad and sappy moment, her sniffling not exactly helping the tone of it.

"Hey, cmon Anna, I'll be fine, just don't get too old while I'm gone, I'll visit you one day" I promise her, attempting to lighten the mood a little bit more. She finally pulls away, cupping a hand against my face and patting it gently, the motherly softness in her eyes is a beloved one.

"You better, you better be safe too, ya hear me?" Of course I nod to her, giving her a thumbs up and a cheeky smile.

"You know me Anna, I don't cause too much trouble!" She rolls her eyes, her sad smile turning to a more genuine one at least. She shoos me away finally, seeing her smile a final time she slowly shuts the door. It feels surprisingly sobering, I take a deep breathe to centre myself before turning and walking up the now extremely familiar dirt road, I feel like I can see the imprints of my paws in the dirt from days ago, trekking alongside them and upwards, turning towards the town. There's no rush, mid day is still ages away, so I take the time to walk slowly there, taking in the sight and sounds once more. Even though it's still cold, the chilly mist seems to have dissipated, though I frown as I step into a wetter patch of dirt, a soft 'squelch' emanating from it. I've kind of forgotten I need shoes, or boots, boots would work far better for travelling I'd imagine, but that's something I'll deal with later . The birds continue their morning chirping, unaffected by the worldly activities around them, flowers bloom alongside the road, wildly spreading across the grass, though none truly near the path, 'Did the ones who created the roads do magic mumbo jumbo for that?' I wonder, shrugging it off and focusing on the path ahead, wind picking up and running against my body, I tighten the hood around my head, but that doesn't stop the rest of my cloak flailing in the wind. The cold doesn't outweigh the mental picture of me looking suave though, and I let the cloak flutter as it wishes, completely worth.

Very little happens on the way into the town, the wind dies down a little before I enter the town space itself, it seems that this isn't a day where people are flooding to the plaza, instead people roam the streets, talking to their neighbours and whatnot, smiling and sharing tales, children kick up a fuss with each other and over random items laying around, their laughs echo throughout the street. I return to whistling to myself, lowering my hood to let the softer wind to roll around my head, closing my eyes blissfully as it blows over my fur. My ears twitch as I hear murmurs, the street a lot more silent as I walk past some humans. I tense my muscles to prepare for action, though I continue to try to look casual as I make my way to the plaza, that way I can at least get my bearings. My eyes shoot open as I feel a soft tug at the tail end of my cloak, turning my head to face the sudden touch, I see a small child no older than 10 yanking at it, shes actually gotten a surprisingly firm and tight hold on it, I didn't even hear her walk next to me. She looks up to my face, her mid length hair bobbing lightly as she does so, the front of it reaching barely above her eyes while the back of her hair reach just above her shoulders, neatly made to my surprise. Her eyes are a gorgeous and adorable ruby red, filled with that child curiosity, shes wearing a plain green (albeit well worn) shirt and shorts, her head tilting.

"Hey Mister, can I touch your ears?" She asks, her squeaky-innocent voice is soothing and just plain cute, something you can only really hear from a child. My ears flicker at the mention of them, the oddity of the question runs through my heads for a split second, before shrugging and kneeling down. tilting my head towards her and pointing at them. I can see the child smile gleefully, letting go of my cloak and walking up to me. She holds my ears with a surprising tenderness, thank god because my ears are also super sensitive for no apparent reason, probably a Basitin thing, massaging and feeling the tufts at the end.

"Is so fluffy, like a kitty!" The child exclaims and giggles, that actually gets me excited with my own smile on my face, there's cats here, this world is immediately better in every way. I sit cross legged instead of on my knees, less painful that way, and let the child continue to touch up my ear, she gasps and pulls away when it flickers in her hand, before giggling and returning to it. All too suddenly there's just, a group of kids around me, just touching and lightly tugging at my ears and tails, its a little uncomfortable at times, but the general excitement of 'BIG FURRY MAN' seems to have caught the attention of the street-kids, some of the adults look my way and just chuckle, a smile on their faces before returning back to their original tasks. I have to scold some of the more touchy feely kids from yanking too hard, but they're thankfully nice about it, I entertain the kids wondering about my tail by flickering it around their legs, small screams and thereafter giggling meaning I must be doing it well enough for em.

I feel like some sort of amusement park feature with how much the kids, but they're genuinely having a good time, so I don't really mind it much. My ears flicker as a noise vastly different from the sounds of children giggling catches my attention, and quickened and seemingly angry stomping coming from behind me, I hum and twist my head to face the incoming person. Said person was a very plain faced though miffed looking human male, his buzz cut hair and stony eyes along with an aggravated visage, it looks like he'd fit in a military type career honestly. The children go silent as he glares towards me, he doesn't say anything, and I just blink at him.

"..You wanna touch my ears too?" I ask him, said ears flickering. The children burst out in a fit of giggles, and even the adults that were looking over the group laugh along with them. There's a ruffling from behind me as the first girl runs up to him, wrapping her little arms around one of his legs. He leans down and ruffles the girls hair, his gruff voice piping up

"Honey, you know I don't like it when you run off.." His voice sounds like hes gargling gravel, though it's still laced with the care of a father, one that loved his kin but has trouble expressing it, I'm proud of him for attempting to go out of his comfort zone for his kid.

"But dad, hes so fluffy!" Is her reply, that and her pouting at him, foot tapping the ground. I begin to stand up, shooing the kids off of my cloak and tail, stretching and hearing my back crack as I do so. They're disappointed, but they scamper off as I begin to walk towards the man, reaching out with my hand, holding it in front of him.

"Hey! Name's Zeke, sorry if that was a bother, she did ask and I felt it wrong to say no." He eyes me for a few moments longer before he puts out his hand and clasps it in mine, his hand is calloused and rough, I match his squeezing and shake our hands in return. Apparently this was a correct move as his eyes become less stony and more passive, clearly he does appreciate a firm handshake, bless this man. His daughter pouts further and huffs, crossing her arms in a moody little girl manner.

"Cleon, sorry if my girl caused you trouble." He speaks briefly and to the point, his hand dropping from mine and on top of his daughters head, her pout turning into a smile as she leans against his leg. I wave a hand while the other brushes off the dirt from my shorts, straightening my cloak in the mean time.

"No worries at all, Cleon, I wouldn't want my kid to run off to a stranger either. Speaking of you actually, you shouldn't be running off from your dad either, he'd be worried after all." The girls reply is to stick her tongue at me and giggle mischievously, though Cleon appreciates the gesture, the edges of his lips twitching up into a brief smile. He ruffles the girls hair much to her protest, a deep chuckle coming from his chest.

"Come on, Felicity, let's let the man be on his way." Another short reply from him, the now identified Felicity follows his lead, skipping and hair bopping after him.

"Will Momma be home soon, Dad?"

"After her work, love, but she'll be home."

"Awh, okay!"

They continue to converse as they walk down the street and out of ear shot, at least without actively trying to listen in on them. its a very nice and wholesome conversation between them, my lips turn into a smile before heading back on my way to the plaza. Cleon, huh? I do hope the best for him and his family. The sun rises further, approaching mid day, I'm not quite gonna get to the Inn late, but it'll be close enough, continuing down the street, right, left, right again, and into the plaza area after only a few minutes of waltzing. I hum and look around at the buildings, I do see a singular one that's differently built at the roof, thanks height! I assume thats the Town Hall anyways, and thus I amble over to it, I've got plenty of time after all.

I reach the hall without any repercussions or surprises, and finding the Inn itself proved a little more time consuming, considering I had no actual idea what an Inn looked like, did they look like the Taverns that people made back home? Never went into any of those either, instead of trying to walk around and find it on my own, I call out to a passerby, a very plain faced young man.

"Hey! You know where the Inn is?" I question him, he seems surprised and oddly shaken up from it though, eyes darting left to right before shooting his hand to a street.

"T-t-third on the left from there, get away from me!" He shouts aloud, sounding more than a little crazed before darting off and away from me. The little outburst from him catches the attention of other passerby's, and instead of staying in the area, I follow the strange mans directions down the street. That was, very very odd, I ain't gonna be poking into that. Thankfully the mans directions was correct, the Inn itself a very simple large, two story house, wooden steps to a wooden door, the only sign that its an Inn is the attention its attracted from citizens, as well as the sign with the word "INN" emblazoned. The sign for an Inn is the sign itself, go figure, I gaze up to the sun, squinting lightly to shield myself from the light, it's close enough to mid day anyways.

I step upwards to the door, moving past the humans, stairs squeaking from the pressure, opening the door to the Inn reveals a surprisingly cosy and warm area, stools set up next to a bar, with other tables and stools splayed around the room for other patrons with stairs leading up to a second floor. Despite the outwards appearance, the Inn seems carefully maintained, no one looks towards me as I gaze over the heads, no dirty blonde hair to be seen, but plenty of brunettes that's for sure, hey that's a redhead too, nice! I step up to the bar and take a seat, the bartender turning around mid-cupwash, lackadaisically looking up towards me. Her face is deeply wrinkled and old, mildly tanned with disinterested and squinting eyes, dark brown hair tone up in a ponytail.

"Wot can I getcha?" Is her only question, a rough and elderly voice in a detached tone that matches her general enthusiasm. I rub the back of my neck as I look around for the blonde man, I am here a little early I suppose.

"Er, nothing at the moment, I'm waiting for someone, is it okay if I wait here?' I ask back, the cacophonous noise of the others in the Inn forces my ear to twitch, at least said ears would help me stand out. The bartender only shrugs and moves away from my persons, back to cleaning other cups and tending to other customers. The noise kind of hurts my skull, flattening my ears and pulling up my hood at least comforts myself and mitigates the harshness of it.

I sit on that stool for what seems like ages, claws tapping against the bench top to distract myself from the noise and huffing. I really hope Blondie gets here soon, I wanna try out the alcohol here, and I don't have the cash myself. More waiting, waiting, waiting, its not very entertaining, at least my ears are more accustomed to the Inn, though I still keep it flat regardless. There's a sound of movement next to me, and towards that is finally the Blondie shows up, planting his butt on the stool and shuffling into the bar, I flip up my hood and rest my cheek on a fist, grinning wide as I look at him. He's still wearing the same clothes from last night, an impassive and neutral face from him, brown eyes not particularly looking anywhere in detail.

"Heeeey Blondie, nice to meetcha here, didn't think you'd show up!" I say rather sarcastically, my teasing grin only increasing as I raising my eyebrows up and down. Blondie pinches his eyes together, letting out a tired groan, his other hand waving the bartender over, of whom approaches in a timely manner

"Two of the usual, Bartender, ignore the dolt" He says in a exasperated manner, the bartender responding with a small nod and walking off as I gasp, holding a hand over my chest.

"Blondie, I thought we were closer and friendlier than that!" He groans, louder this time, each hand rubbing the sides of him temples.

"You're gonna be infuriating, aren't you?"

"Nope, just Zeke! I dunno who Infuriating is, friend of yours Blondie?" Said man thuds his against the counter, a low groan emanating from his throat as the Bartender places our glasses in front of us, she scoffs a little at Blondies reaction, though I see her lips curl up a small bit. The alcohol is an, uh, very unsanitary looking yellow, with a good deal of frothy foam on the top of it, it's a large cup but not overbearingly so. I grasp the handle with a hand, it has a nice weight to it, too, and wait for Blondie to reach for his, him finally realising our drinks were here and grabbing his too.

"To me kicking your ass!" I gloat as our cups clang against each other, a sigh of frustration drowned out by the alcohol as he chugs it down. I follow suit and dunk the drink down my throat, trying to not spill it, its surprisingly less bitter than I expect, not exactly sweet but not as awful as the alcohol from home was. I continue to scull the the grog down, at least its not terrible, and I cant actually stop until I drink the last of it, planting it down with a thud and looking towards Blondie, who's taking a slower approach to his drink, planting it down with a good portion of it still remaining.

"I'm not gonna buy you another." He says in a deadpan tone after taking a single short look at my cup. I chuckle and shrug, wide grin still planted on my face.

"Awh, this date sucks, you suck Blondie." He sighs and thumps his head against the counter, I myself laugh my ass off at his reaction though, god he's so fun to mess with. A few more thumps later, he returns to his drink, nursing it with a tight caress and grip before taking another, much longer drink.

"Edward, my names Edward, now stop calling me that." He says after he puts his cup back on the bench, Edward huh? Not a bad name. I nod and tap my fingers idly, rummaging through my brain for some sort of small talk to bring up.

"So, uh, how's your leg Edward? You ain't too hurt are ya?" I ask with genuine concern, I didn't want to permanently maim him after all. He shrugs and shakes the aforementioned leg, and looking at it he doesn't seem to be in too much pain.

"Nothing more than slight pains, nothing that some magic can't soothe anyways." He doesn't seem too hung up over it at least, no harm done hopefully! I smile a more genuine one and give him a pat on his back.

"Hey, thought you'd be fine! Just better to check up is all, ya know?" He eyes my hand and with his spare one, slowly pushes it away from him, sitting up that bit straighter and taking another quick scull.

"Yeah, yeah.." He speaks softly as he looks down, gazing into the alcoholic depths of his cup before taking another mouthful down. "Naught but my pride's hurt too much."

The conversation picks up after that though, we chat about our days recently minus our little fight with each other, and I learn a bit about his background. Turns out he was born in this very village, his father once a guard himself before being made Captain, and he'd since taken after his footsteps. His father's post is no longer in the town though, having since being moved across eastwards across the human territory, posted more near a coastal area, they rarely keep in contact, but his fathers given him his best wishes to advance through the ranks. He's actually currently technical housemates with his uncle, of whom's acting Captain for the guard, the current Captain being pre-occupied with a calling towards port town. 'Across the Eastern Plains though, huh? That'd put him fairly close to the Tiger Territory then, I wonder how their relationships are with the humans' I think to myself.

"Your uncle didn't seem too happy bout the scuffle that we had, what's up with that?" I ask him as his mid swig. He pauses for a second before downing the rest of of grog, finishing it off with a satisfied 'aah' before planting it down, a small frown on his face.

"Turns out one of our 'suppliers' didn't quite appreciate it, raised hell with him and now I'm stuck here with you." He responds, grumbling and nursing his now empty cup. My lips twist as I hum, tapping my cheeks as I think, 'who could that be?'

"Was it Gerome? The old man with the strange accent?" Edward raises an eyebrow, but nods lightly, side-eyeing me instead of facing directly. I really don't think he likes non-humans, ouch.

"Aye, kicked up some dirt, doesn't help that Uncle apparently likes Keidrans, or Basitins, whatever the fuck you are." Is his blunt reply, voice laced with disdain and apathy. My ears cant flatten further, though it does hurt a little, why the pain?

"Why the hate towards Keidrans, though?" His jaw clenches while he turns a deathly silent, eyes turning steely, body tensed. He closes his eyes and takes a long, deep breathe, returning to side eyeing me

"That, is none of your business." He after a while in a forced flat tone. I frown, maybe I shouldn't I have asked that. We sit in awkward silence, the rumblings of the Inn being the only noise, Edward thinking and brooding.

"Hey luvs, did ya need anything?" The sudden question from behind me makes me jump with a small yelp and turn around, at least Edward snickers at it. The questioner being a tall lithe lady, long brown hair cascading down her head and onto her shoulders, glossy and bright in the natural light of the inn, playful crimson eyes looking between Edward and I. She's wearing a very plain and traditional dress, white blouse and a brown hide covering, both of which goes down past her knees, wearing equally plain flats. I examine this lady a little closer, squinting.

"Have I seen you around before, Ma'am?" I ask her, head tilted. The lady giggles and rolls her eyes, Edward returning to thumbing his head on the counter.

"Seems that pick up lines don't change between men, different species or otherwise~ And stop doing that Eddy, you're gonna get yourself hurt." She says in a silky smooth voice, a very teasing but caring one. I feel my face flush as I raise my hand, waving it wildly.

"W-wait a second, I don't mean it like that! You're Cleons lady, right? I saw him and the kid earlier is all, I'm no flirt!" The Lady poorly stifles her laugh, and Edward himself grins at my fluster. I only glare at him, mouthing 'Ill hit you' to him, of which only makes him laugh more. I instead just bury my face in my hands, can't bully me if you cant see it.

"Ahahah! God, you sound like a young boy, so you met my husband, huh kid? Felicity didn't give you too much trouble did she? She is a trouble maker after all." She speaks with a light tone, laughter still laced in it. I pout and stick out my tongue, I'm not a kid, damn you.

"I'm not a kid, I'm just not used to that." I retort, of course she only laughs again, I don't think the pout/frown is really helping my case. "Besides that, Felicity only really wanted to touch my ears, along with basically every other damn kid in that street. Cleon didn't seem to happy about it at first"

The Lady titters as her smile only turns more pleasant, god shes actually super cute, good catch Cleon.

"Mhm, he's a softy when you get past his rough exterior though. And Eddy, I didn't expect to see you here three days in a row, tough week darling?" She prods at Edward, that mischievous twinkle in her eye. Well, now I definitely know who Felicity takes after. Edward himself just groans once more.

"Listen, long story Lyn, my uncle isn't happy bout me so I'm making it up with Zeke here." He jabs a thumb at my direction when he mentions me, giving a small wave when she looks towards me. She only continues to smile and ruffles Edwards hair, he himself looking a little bit nonplussed but unwillingly accepting of his ruffled fate, blonde hair now extremely unkempt.

"Awh, at least you're making new friends, hm~?" She teases him, I grin and give her a thumbs up while Edward side eye glares me. The conversation picks up a bit more after that at least, the earlier awkwardness at least nullified temporarily, Lyn's a welcome addition to it, sadly she does have to leave to continue her work, we didn't need anything from the bar anyways.

Edward and I finally walk out of the, finally flipping my hood down and stretching myself, my ears poking to its maximum height, the cool wind a blessing on my fur. God bless that I'm outta there, it's needlessly bloody loud. Edward moves besides me and stiffly straightens his back, hand raised to his head in a salute. What's he doing?

"Captain!" He says as stiffly as he looks, I look forward and finally see the Captain from last night, arms crossed behind his back, and still looking as pristine as before. Oh wait, am I meant to salute? I quickly move into position, hand raised to my head and sloppily straightening up.

"Mister Captain sir!" I follow up with, a grin on my face as I hear Edward sigh an exasperated sigh. The captain raises a hand, whatever bits of his face that can be seen is a set like a stone.

"At ease. We've a job for you, Edward, and it's something the Basitin could be interested in too." His speaks in an authoritarian tone of voice, both of us dropping our salutes as I tilt my head. A job for me?

"What's it to be, sir?" Edwards face is impassive and serious, a no nonsense full work one, too.

"Reports of Keidran raids have worried some of the merchants here, our services have been paid for to protect their carriages unto the next town. Both of you will be paid for in entirety up front by them. Will you two be up to the task?" Edward salutes once more, a 'sir!" indicating that hes all for it. I shrug and nod along.

"I'd be down with it, we going today then?" The Captain nods as he returns his arms to behind his back.

"Correct, both of you will report to the town sign post haste, go get your equipment Edward, I trust that you have what you need, Basitin?" Of course, I nod and pump my arm, smiling wide. I'm finally going somewhere, damn straight!

"Captain, if I may ask, why is the Basitin coming along with us?" Edward asks in a monotone way. The Captain looks to him, as if eyeing him up, silent for a few moments longer.

"Special request from a high value merchant, nothing more. Get ready, both of you." With that, he marches away and into the plaza, cape flickering with the wind. God capes are so cool. Edward remains still for a while longer before following in the Captains footsteps into the plaza, turning around to speak.

"I'll get there soon, don't be late Zeke." Is all he says before he marches off, I assume to go get his gear. I shrug and shake my limbs, limbering up with a grin on my face. Guarding to get to another town, hm? I'm all down for that. The way to the signs through the plaza, and thus I jog towards the location, gotta get there sometime soon.

Authors note: This chapter took a while longer to come out due to a slight burn out, putting out chapter daily kind of burned me for a bit. Reviewing or pm with questions and I'll gladly answer them, if it's about the story, characters, or other topics. This chapter also went through a bunch of rewrites because I can't write an Inn setting for shit apparently lmao.

Edward Keen

Gender: Male

Age: 23

Class: Guard

Species: Human

Languages: Human

Personality: A sarcastic though generally serious man, extremely proud of himself and aggressive against non humans, more oftan than not to a distainful degree. His hatered of Keidran is a personal issue, of which only close family knows, and it bleeds into Basitin due to to their visual proximity to them. Has great respect for his Uncle and Father, and wants to follow in their footsteps.