The storm had died down a little. The fresh morning breeze was not as chilly as it could have been, and the whole world had been painted over with a layer of white.

My seat was a little damp, but that was my fault. I had been too lazy to bring a chair from inside the house, and had instead just brushed off the snow and sat down.

The world wasn't that quiet. Voices lingered from inside. People talking down the street told me that work was being done. Smoke from chimneys littered the sky, and every so often birds flew by while chirping at each other.

It's only been a few days since we arrived, and I already wanted to leave... but I knew I couldn't.

Lomi was having far too much fun for me to tear her away just yet.

Her laughter, which I could just barely make out from inside the house, was why I sat out here on the balcony.

I was not so cruel as to hate such happy joy, but honestly it was too much for me.

Plus it was good for her to spend some time with fellow women.

Lughes had left to meet a client. I had offered to join him, but he had said my cloudy expression would sully the art.

"The fact he was so serious almost makes it hurt more," I said to myself.

Amber, Crane and the new-blood were occupying Lomi. They had been in the kitchen, but now it sounded like they were a floor higher. In a bedroom maybe?

A dog barked from a few streets over, and a baby cried elsewhere. Closing my eyes, I took in the random, yet very normal sounds of the city around me.

The air was thick with the smell of burning wood. Every so often a light breeze blew by, and I got a breath of fresh air. I liked to hear the people talking, as well. Even during the cold, and with the layer of snow, they were still out and about. Shopping. Working. Earlier a couple had been walking by, just walking, and enjoying the day.

The Sleepy Artist would survive awhile longer, by what I could hear and see.

When there was peace, if was usually safer for those in the society. Humans became complacent. They began to lose their situational awareness around themselves. They stopped looking at their neighbors as strangers, and instead as family... in a way.

Yet, the moment war or chaos sewed their seeds that all changed.

Suddenly your neighbors were your enemies. Suddenly you began to notice the strange. The out of place.

Like how a woman's neck was a little longer than it should be. Like how a man's beard was strangely thick.

"Enough," I told myself, and forced the thoughts away.

This balcony was meant to be a place to relax. A place to rest. It was on the third floor, and facing the back street. There were no other buildings this high here, and no other balconies. Here one could sit and not be bothered, and not noticed. Even Lomi could sit here, without her hat, and be safe. Safe enough, at least.

Yet here I was, brooding as if I were a king with a whole kingdom of worries.

"That's a troubled face."

I blinked, and looked to my left. The door was open, and a gentle smile was greeting me.

"What is it?" I asked, since I noticed Renn was alone. I could smell Lomi upon her, but didn't see anyone else.

"Can I sit with you? Though if you don't mind I'd like to get that chair instead," Renn asked, pointing to a small wooden stool not too far from the door. One of the ones I should have grabbed myself, earlier.

Sighing, I wondered if I was willing to make her hate me or not.

"Sure," I said, and wondered why I wasn't willing to.

"Hm," she happily nodded and retreated back into the house, grabbing the small stool.

Placing it not far from me, simply thanks to the lack of space to do anything else, I sighed and moved my legs position a little so we'd not be touching.

"Close the door," I said, right before she sat down.

Renn paused, and went to do so. Seemed she had simply forgotten.

The door shut quietly, and she took her seat.

"What's the kid doing?" I asked.

"Painting. With Amber," Renn said.

I noticed the warm tone in her voice. She sounded...

"Don't like art?" I asked.

"No! I do... I really enjoyed it... but I had to leave," she said quickly.

Studying her, I wondered if those glossy eyes had been crying earlier.

"I know the feeling," I said honestly.

Looking out into the city, I noticed a few new tufts of smoke. More fireplaces had been lit.

"You do, don't you?" she asked.

"And? So what questions do you have for me now?" I asked her.

She has made a habit of coming up to me and asking questions. These last couple days we hadn't had much time alone. She spent most the day with Lomi and the rest. I was thankful for that, but honestly her questions weren't that bad. Most were simply about the society, but a few were sometimes a little...

"Why doesn't Shelldon come out? To say hi to you at least?" she asked.

Like this.

Shifting a little, I ignored the clump of snow my foot brushed up against. "He's a coward. I scare him," I said.

"Oh... so Crane was being serious," she said.

"Don't know what she told you, but yes. Shelldon is scared of me. He'll talk to me if I force it, like if I went down into the basement and confronted him... but he'll never willingly show himself in front of me," I said.

"Did you do something mean to him?"

"Well... maybe. I yelled at him once," I said.

"For what?"

"That's a private matter. You can ask him," I said.

She didn't persist, but instead nodded. As if that made perfect sense... as if she did indeed plan to ask him.

"How much longer will you be here? With Lomi?" she asked.

"Probably another week or two. We can't wait for winter to pass, since I have other places I need to check on. But I want to give her some time here, since she seems to enjoy it," I said.

"That's kind of you."

"It's a necessity. I've seen those much older than her break from such trauma. Little moments of happiness like this keep the soul together," I said.

"Not sure if I should praise you or chastise you," she then said.

"How about neither?"

She huffed, and looked away from me. To the cityscape before us.

"I like it here," she said.

"Then stay."

She glanced at me, and I knew from her expression what she wanted to ask. What she feared to ask.

I nodded. "I'll allow it. If you'd like to stay here, as long as you got permission from the residents, then do so. Do know I mean all of the residents, that includes Shelldon," I said.

Renn's fingers coiled around one another, as they twirled. It seemed it was a habit of hers. "Can I really?" she asked.

"Did you expect me to say no?"

"I did. I thought you'd force me to earn your trust," she said.

"And how would you do that, exactly?"

The woman fidgeted and shook her head. She had no clue.

"Life is all about risks. I let you stay, there's a risk to those too feeble to protect themselves. And I don't just mean from you yourself. Yet what should I do? Never let anyone try? Never give people a chance? We're called a society. A society is a band of people, working together. Can't really do that if you never give someone the chance to prove themselves," I said.

"Did you make the society?" she asked.

"No. I simply protect it," I said.

Least I tried to.

"Who did?"

"No one you'd know," I said.

"Ah. A secret. This supposed society sure does have a lot of them," she said.

"Secrets are valuable. If you want one, you need to pay the price for it."

"So I can buy them? What's the cost?" she asked, interested.

"They do say cats have nine lives," I said.

She huffed, yet smiled. "That is what they say."

Sitting in silence for a moment, I tried to think of which location suited her best.

There were a few predators still. More than most knew about... but most were solitary creatures. Living either completely alone, far away from anyone and anything, or lived in human cities on their own.

It was a good thing the ones she found to introduce her to the Society were Lughes and Crane. People who not only wouldn't shy away from a predator, but were also willing to coexist with one.

"Most... most struggle," I said, choosing my words carefully. Renn glanced at me, and I continued, "Most struggle to live with each other. Separate species, I guess you can call it. There aren't many places where more than one kind of peoples live together. In fact only a handful, that are left," I said.

"I see," she said gently.

"Other than the cat family in the south I spoke of, there's a larger town to the east. One where many different kinds live. The largest conglomerate of the society. Most of the village is non-humans, in fact. The problem there is you'd be the only predator. The only hunter. Everyone else would be prey," I said.

"Which might cause problems," she said.

"Little ones. But problems nonetheless. It's just reality. One of the families there are bunnies. Rabbits. No they don't multiply like them," I said, stopping the stupid joke that had crept to her forethought's. "But they are like Shelldon. If a hunter, a real one like yourself, took residence nearby... they might actually run away."

"I'd hate to be the cause of such discord," she said.

"I'm bad enough when it comes to that. There are a few places, a few families I can think of where you'd be accepted. Might even enjoy them. Yet at the same time you might wander all through the land, to each one, only to wind up back here," I said.

"I see... thank you, for telling me. I'm sure it wasn't easy for you," Renn said.

"Everything is easy for me," I said back.

Her smile told me she knew full well how deep of a lie that was.

"Where do you live?" she then asked.

"Nowhere. I travel, constantly. Have to. Even with me always going from one place to the next, I rarely am there when I need to be."

She nodded, as if in understanding. Maybe she did.

A large bird flew by, causing Renn to look up. Her ears perked as she did, and I realized they were probably her dominant ones.

There were a few like her, and Lomi, who had separate ears. Yet it seemed unlike Lomi, hers were fully functional.

I'd need to remember that. That meant she could hear as well as I could. She could hear the whispers of mice.

That meant she was more pure-blooded than most.

Which meant she was older than she seemed.