New town, faces, and plenty to loot. (open)

[Claude Van Inkaa]

Timestamp
Day 33, Year 511, winter

Claude stepped off this freight ship with nimble confidence, for he would alert the crew any other way. Stowing away tends to be frowned upon, and even in port sailors tend to have a hefty anger towards trespassers. spending days of travel aboard a cargo ship undetected is easy, find a dark corner and camp out. The hard part is of course entering and exiting. One slip up and your cover is blown; it's as easy as not checking one corner.

Clearing the docks is Claudes only concern, the streets full of midday commerce and human traffic cause a veil of anonymity to anyone who seeks it. The line dividing dock to mainland is so close as within sight, before it happens... "HEY YOU!" a loud shout, from what sounds of a large man, screams over from the far end of the dock.

RUN. No time to look back, no time to assume the man wasn't shouting for him. Claude entered a full sprint, left as soon as he hit the land, right into the nearest street. To hide is all he needs, just one moment of freedom, one area of reprieve. It wasn't much, but within the distance Claude could see a small turnoff, not much more than a cupboard in size...

Claude positioned himself tight into the corner, the pattering of a running giant could be heard in the distance...

[Asami Shimizu]

The girl was returning down the road to her home, carrying bags that held what she had bought from the market. It was not much, but it was plenty for her to survive on. As she rounded the corner, she saw a man quickly go into a small side, and she also heard the sounds of a man shouting telling him to return. The one doing the chasing had a rugged voice.

Asami's brain charged instantly, thinking through the conditions. Was he someone who stole an item? No, if he had, then he would not be running towards the market, but rather away from it. Furthermore, the fact that he was running towards a crowded place such as the market, but then stopped and hid away, indicated he did not plan to run all the way and hide among the crowd of people. So in other words, probably... 'he was unaware he was running towards the market'. Yet it is an important place to anyone living here. Even to her, who did not get here until recently knew where it was for a while now.

From this she was able to assess that he was new to this place. Someone who did not know the place well, being chased by someone with a rugged voice. She could easily understand what was going on with these thoughts. In other words, a man who had hidden away on the ship, being chased by a sailor.

Calmly, she sat on the ground, dropping her bags, and allowing them to fall to the floor. And soon after, the one chasing the man she saw became visible. Asami did not look at him, but instead, looked back to where she came, "O...Ow... Why was he in such a hurry...?" she spoke softly.

The sailor 'understood', in one way of the meaning. His thought process was that this girl had been knocked down, so that man must have passed through her. So he did not even glance at the place where he was actually hiding and quickly ran past the girl, going down the route he had been tricked to believe led to the person he was chasing.

"... Mu..." the girl let out a strange sound, that sounded like a mix of disappointment and annoyance. She calmly stood up, patting the back of her skirt to clean it off and picking up her bags. "Even if I am not a good actor, it is hard to imagine someone pretending to be knocked down, right? And you were also in a rush, so you did not have time to consider that possibility, and instead accepted." she declared, even though the man was now out of hearing range.

She then turned her attention to where the other man had run. She approached it, looking in at him, with a slightly stern look, "It is no good to steal rides like that. In the future, you should pay also, yes?" she said, holding her finger out, despite the fact that she had just helped him to hide.

Then she let out a soft sigh. "If you understand it is fine, this time. He will probably soon give up his search, since it is not particularly beneficial to him to look for you for a long time, yes?"

[Claude Van Inkaa]

Claude was at just the right angle to watch the series of events. He did not see the sailor until he had passed. The ladies actions, however, were completely visible and readable. He could notice her staring from the distance but hardly expected her following actions.

Kind or dumb... she doesn't even know what I've done.

His thoughts raced as she dropped her bags and 'fell down.'

With the sailor having passed Claude felt safe, for the moment, to leave his hiding space. A level of guile was administered in his movements, his head barely turned but his eyes could be seen scanning everywhere, crazed. "Than I will not make that mistake again," he replied to his saviors scorn. "He won't be looking back, sailors are to thick headed to see anything but their goal, but he will be coming back eventually..." his voice showed some level of concern.

By nightfall the bars would be crawling with the creeping rumors of this one stow away. Buying a bed would be no easy task tonight, and his brain started looking for other options. "Thank you for this kindness ma'am, but I can't stay here right now. If you truly wish to continue teaching me my moral obligations, than you can walk with me..." and he turned and began to walk. A bit rude, but he had to lay low for an hour or so at least. Getting off the street was priority.

[Asami Shimizu]

"Eh...?" She tilted her head to the side at him saying that the sailor would continue to look for him. "Even though it's disadvantageous to him...? He will still allow his stubborn attitude to do something so bad?"

She wasn't doubting what he said, but rather, she was asking it to herself. She could tell this man was much more experienced then she was, and if his ability to steal rides was an indication, he was also probably much more well-traveled.

She had began walking with him, though not planning on scolding him. It was for a many reasons. One being she felt like she could learn a lot from someone like him. Another, and perhaps the biggest reason was... because she had not particularly made a lot of human contact in this town. Due to how she is to shy to take the initiative, she has not talked to many people, even though that's the reason she came here.

However, in this case, her want to help someone made her overcome her shyness, and so she ended up doing something one would not expect from her. And since she was invited, she decided to accept and walk with him.

"But I wish people could forgive others easily. I think the sailor should forgive you also." she smiled widely saying this, and one would have trouble finding a hint of negative emotion in her smile. Even now, as she was walking with someone who she knew to have at least stolen one thing recently, and who could easily overpower her if he wished to, she still seemed very optimistic and not worried.

People would perhaps call her thoughts naive... And Asami would agree with those people. She understood that her optimistic thoughts were things that would not be achievable. If the sailor simply forgave anyone who hide away on his boat, then many people would begin doing that, instead of paying.

"Still, what do you plan to do?" she questioned him. "If he really is as stubborn as you say, I can imagine him doing many things, including informing people of you. It will be difficult to hide anywhere for a bit, yes?"

Asami had already assessed several possible 'moves', but she did not say them. Because she wanted to know what 'this man' would do, not what the 'best possible move' was. In this way she would be able to learn more about him, much like how she learned that the sailor was a bit stubborn due to his 'move'.

[Claude Van Inkaa]

Claude was surprised that she had chosen to follow him, but he was open to anything. Having an open mind about people has served Claude quite well in his days. Claude wished he could go into detail, but instead he kept his response simple. "You must not have much experience with sailors than huh?" claude paused for a moment, seeking the words to use, "They appear to be hard workers, laborers right? well a strong body does not mean they forgo laziness and a single track mind. you understand?"

Claude wished to stop his tongue, for this young lass seemed like too innocent a girl to entirely understand the cruel truths of the world. This however did not hold him back, while sympathy is important, some things must be said.

"Sailors also tend to be drunks, and drunks tend to not be so forgiving, if only it were so easy as an apology." Claude looked around frantically, "Do you know where the slums are?"

Slums, the area of town where the lower class live, often ignored or noted as 'the bad part of town.' In Claudes experiance, there will always be an abandoned home or two around such a part of town. Homeless people, drunks, even the eccentric and lunatics all know of a place where people are always 'coming and going' and tend to be inhabited for only short periods of time. Claude needed to find a place such as this unless...

"Unless you wish to provide me with a bed? I can pay..." he rattled a satchel of mizos, "or I can provide some variety of service, I have many... applicable skills"

[Asami Shimizu]

"Oh, is that so?" She questioned at his explanation of sailors. "I see. I learned something new today, yes?" She smiled happily at that, despite the seemingly 'negative' association such knowledge has. There was no look of her denying such knowledge or of it suddenly destroying her optimistic view, and in fact, she seemed very glad to have learned it.

"I am afraid I am also a bit new here. I still have not been to very many places yet." she placed her finger to her lip, thinking on the fact that she had not yet explored it. And, more importantly, she had not been to the school yet.

When he began offering her a trade for a place to stay she suddenly looked flustered. "A...Ah... Um.... Please do not offer me anything, you do not need to do such thing."

"Um... If I am not a bother to you... Then I do not mind allowing you to stay in my house for the night." Once more one would see her as naive. Although she was blushing a bit, that was more from embarrassment of having a male in her house. But despite that, and despite the fact that she did not know him well enough to know if he would do anything bad when they were not in public, she still accepted him to be invited into her house for the night, and even said she did not need anything in return.

"Then... You would like to go now, since it seems you are anxious to hide, yes?" she questioned, tilting her head at him.

[Claude Van Inkaa]

Claude was glad his proposition had not been turned down, even happier so that she denied his offer for payment. "yes than?" he said, almost expecting he to take it back. Physically his tension began to vanish, his eyes no longer scanned, his pace less frantic, and especially now that they had found their way off the sailors path back to the ship.

"Where might it be that you live ma'am?" Claude looked eagerly ahead of them, his pack felt heavy from the recent panic and was beginning to weigh him down. The pack itself strapped simply over the shoulders, with a tent tarp and sleeping bag rolled up atop. Claude looked more like a hiker than a thief, but appearances are all part of the grand facade.

The city was actually quite beautiful, while he had the chance to enjoy it. In the ravaged land that had become of everything outside the safety of the cities limits, such peace could not be found. "You know I can cook, at the very least..." Claude had made as another offer for her hospitality.