Having to worry about the same things as always made what happened with Ekaitz feel like a dream, Melusine thought, her shoulders slumping. How was she ever going to get that lonesome dragon free if she remained here, worrying about buying decent vegetables? Melusine glanced down at the spuds in her bucket. At least their fear of me is useful, but I can't keep pushing them.

A phantom jolt of ice down Melusine's back ripped her from her thoughts. Someone was watching her, staring at her. She was being hunted, she needed to turn and fight! No, no, that wasn't logical. Melusine clenched a fist around her tunic collar, her breath short and gasping. Not again, she needed to control herself, there wasn't a threat anywhere!

"Are you alright?" A familiar voice whispered from Melusine's left. With a gasp she looked up to see Lee standing next to her. It was always a bit harder for Melusine to read Lee's expressions specifically, but he seemed genuinely concerned. "Deep breaths, Mel."

"I've told you… not to call me that," Melusine replied, but she closed her eyes and listened to his advice. Luckily Lee hadn't tried to touch her. If he had, it could've ended in disaster. Out of all the villagers, Lee was the one person Melusine might've felt guilty for accidentally hurting.

"Right, right," Lee chuckled, "your name can be a bit of a mouthful. Do you need to sit down?" Finally able to quell her paranoia, Melusine glanced over at the well with an exhausted expression. Better to let the comment about her name slide, arguing the point wouldn't do anything productive.

"No, I'm fine. Thank you for your concern." She realized that she had bent over, so Melusine stood up straight. "You were going to shop too, weren't you? Sorry again for cutting in line, but time was of the essence."

"Oh no, I'm fine, I promise. I only needed to pick up something for tonight's stew." Lee waved his hand, stuttering the whole time he was talking. Melusine tilted her head, her eyebrows knitted together.

"Are you even able to eat vegetables?" Lee hummed at her question, and mirrored her head tilt. It was times like this that Lee reminded Melusine more of a domesticated hound than a fearsome wolf.

"Sometimes, sure, but not all the time. My diet still needs mostly meat and the occasional marrow. Speaking of, are you eating properly?"

"Sure I am," Melusine lied, making sure to stare right at Lee. He smiled and patted her back.

"You went monotone there, Mel. If you ever need help getting your hands on some meat, I'll share my hunt with you."

"I," Melusine paused to heave a heavy sigh, "don't want to bring you trouble."

"We're both barely hanging on in the village. Pooling resources is normal."

Melusine stopped herself from asking if Lee meant in Kavash or in general. Lee was one of the few freed beastfolk that didn't leave Adelias's borders for the Kavashian Empire. He'd made it to Hathorn, and settled just south of the border a few years ago. Melusine didn't know all the details, but whenever they had their little "meeting of the outcasts" as Lee put it, Melusine always was given the impression that he had never been part of a tribe.

"My mother might accept your help, but I'm used to looking after myself," Melusine said instead. "Ask her if you're in a sharing mood, she'd be appreciative."

"Rejected again…" Lee hung his head. His mood switched to gloom and doom so fast… Melusine thought as she headed for the well. "Well my offer is always on the table, so—"

"I know, I know. I can't chat, goodbye." Melusine huffed, waving over her shoulder. She had to remember to get the potatoes out of the bucket before drawing water, and if she had to socialize at the same time Melusine knew she'd lose her hard-won bounty of starch.

She could hear Lee shuffle towards the bakery where he worked in the mornings. Sometimes Melusine was sure he used those animal ears and tail to endear himself. He always managed to get work, despite Hathorn's local culture of suspicion and prejudice.

In order to get to the well, Melusine had to step over a few bushy pots. She set the bucket down, untied the rucksack from her belt, and dumped the potatoes into it. She placed the bucket on the well's stone brick rim, leaned the sack against the base, and gripped onto the pulley rope.

"Melusine Tepes," a baritone voice called from her left. It belonged to the man who'd been speaking with the village girls. His ash blonde hair swayed in the gentle breeze, and his narrow eyes were like two brilliantly shining sapphires. Melusine could see why the girls had been swooning over him. But despite his beauty, he was obviously fully grown, perhaps in his mid-twenties. He was of average height for a human man, which meant that he was eye level with Melusine. His armor was blued to a near black and decorated with white paint. The design reminded Melusine of blooming flowers growing underneath archways.

"Yes?" Melusine replied in a reluctant and hard tone with a raised eyebrow. She brought up the heavy chains and hook end with only a few tugs on the rope. "Who are you?"

"My name is Baugulf, Miss Tepes," the blonde answered with a fist pressed to his chest plate in greeting.

"Just Baugulf? In that case, we're both peasants, right?" Melusine didn't believe that for one second, but she could play along. She didn't turn towards or look at the blond stranger. Instead she focused on securing her bucket to the hook with a knot. "I'm not a Miss, and no one around here uses my surname."

"But you do have one? Your friends said your family—"

"We don't use it," Melusine insisted, quick to snap at the stranger. She let the bucket fall, but caught onto the rope as soon as she heard it plop into the water. She ignored the stinging in her hand and started to carefully pull it back up. "We just remember we had it, like the rusty old sword my grandfather used to have. I'm not looking to get executed."

"An understandable concern, but I'm not here to send you to the gallows, Miss—"

"I'm not Miss, I said. Those weren't my friends, either. You're beating around the bush, just come out and say it. What do you want?" Baugulf was silent for a beat, then cleared his throat and put on a smile. Melusine didn't need to look at him to know just how fake that smile was.

"Would you be willing to answer a few questions in private?" Melusine's left eyebrow quirked further up towards her temple.

The stranger was talking like one of those capital men the guards-watch liked to send to Hathorn. Usually they were investigators that were trying to crack down on a smuggling ring. Send for help with a monster or famine and Hathorn was lucky to get their messenger back in one piece, let alone actually receive relief. Oh, but coin not filling the king's coffers? That simply wouldn't do.

"Am I suspected of a crime?"

"No, it's merely—"

"Has there been a crime that you suspect I have information on?"

"No—"

"Are you even a guard or investigator?"

"A knight, actually—"

Melusine yanked the knot securing the bucket loose, inwardly cursing it for weighing her down. She wanted so badly to turn on her heel and speed away as fast as she could. "My father always told me not to follow strangers to secluded places. Goodbye." She'd settle for the most poised getaway a sack of potatoes and a full water bucket would allow. She hobbled past the knight, her brow furrowed, head down.

"Wait, please, Miss Melusine!" The man followed her, quicker on his feet than she expected. He was either more athletic than his pretty face belied, or the armor was lighter than it looked. Or Melusine's cargo was a bigger problem for her. "Speaking somewhere with other people around is acceptable too."

"You're suspicious, and I don't want to answer any questions!" Getting a bit desperate and not wanting to lead this Baugulf—if that was his real name— straight to her mother, Melusine made a sharp turn and pushed her way through the door of the bakery.

"Mel?" Lee sat up from the counter, his wolf ears at attention. He had been leaning his chin in his palm, so his elbow was still on the counter when Melusine shut the door with her foot. She leaned on the flimsy oak wood with everything she had, potatoes and all. "What's wrong?"

"A weirdo was pestering me while I was getting water. He wants to talk to me alone, he said." Melusine set her bucket down and nudged it safely away with her boot. Baugulf rattled the handle and tried to push the door open. Melusine gritted her teeth. He really is stronger than his baby face makes him seem, she thought while she gave Lee a smile. "So… uh… can I hide in here for a bit? Just until he leaves. If he leaves."

"Of course," Lee stuttered out, and hurried around the corner, his face creased in concern and a cold sweat. "Should we call for the guards?"

"I'm sorry, I think we got off on the wrong foot," the blond stranger grunted out from the strain of their reverse tug-of-war. His tone sounded baffled and almost impressed that she was holding her own against him. Malachite pigmented scales emerged in Melusine's skin, patches covering her forearms and temples.

Lee froze for a second in front of Melusine, his hand pressed to the door next to her head. Melusine glanced up at the wolf beastfolk, her lips pursed. She caught a glimpse of wide, golden-yellow eyes from between his long bangs, then he leaned in. Melusine tensed up, her own eyes the size of saucers.

"L-Lee?" She gulped. For the first time she was the one stuttering between them.

"Sorry, Mel. But you want him scared off… right?" Wait, was his voice always so deep? His voice must've dropped two octaves at least. Did puberty finally hit more than just his build? She was so caught up in the unexplained changes that when Lee slammed a fist on the door next to her ear she let out a yelp.

"What in the hells?!" Melusine exclaimed. She leaned to the side, away from Lee's fist.

"What's going on in there?!" Baugulf shouted at the same time.

"I could be asking you the same thing!" Lee raised his voice in kind, but it was back to its normal alto. "You're chasing her into the shop, and expect a man to sit back and watch?! B-beat it!"

"Who's chasing her?!" Baugulf's tone was now appalled, and Melusine felt something in her snap.

"You are!" Melusine and Lee barked in unison. They both blinked and glanced at each other. Melusine almost snickered, forced to look away from Lee to keep a straight face.

"I— ah, yes, fine. I admit fault." The sole members of the Hathorn Outcast Association were in unison again, glancing at each other, then at the door. He's surprisingly… mature? Melusine thought. I've never seen an adult admit fault besides Mother. She isn't a lone unicorn? "Please, if you feel more comfortable speaking with me inside the bakery with your friend, I'm more than fine with that, Miss Melusine."

"Hngh… what do you want to do, Mel?" Lee leaned down so he could whisper to her.

I want him to stop calling me Miss, and calling every acquaintance of mine my friend, Melusine griped in her head.

"It's better to deal with him together than to get the guard involved," she answered with instead. "I'm certain they'll take his side and make everything worse." Lee hummed in agreement and stepped back so Melusine could move away from the door. She opened it to reveal an ashamed blond knight and a small crowd of bewildered onlookers. "Get inside."

Melusine didn't have the energy to reproach him further, so she made room for him to pass and gestured inside. She noticed Lee mirroring her on the right side of the entrance, but made no comment. They needed to be a united front if she wanted to get out of whatever trouble the traveling knight was trying to rope her into.

With a heavy sigh Melusine leaned against the counter and crossed her arms. "Doing this in here won't be troublesome for you, Lee?"

"Huh? Oh, no, not all," Lee insisted with a panicked wave of his hand and a shake of his head. He shot Melusine a smile, stumbling over his words. "People probably won't want to come in anyway, not after that whole show." He's definitely back to normal, Melusine thought, but suspicion still had a vice grip on the insides of her chest. She couldn't shake off her anxiety no matter how much she glanced Lee up and down. What was all of that earlier, then? She realized that all her staring had made both of the men in the bakery confused and awkward, so she coughed and refocused.

"What's a fancy city person like you doing all the way out here in Hathorn anyway?" She asked Baugulf. He smiled and placed a hand on his chest. He looked relieved to be joining the conversation.

"I was sent to retrieve you by order of King Adelric the Third, Miss Melusine," Baugulf admitted and tilted his head slightly. "The Dragon's Proxy of Ekaitz, no matter who she might've been beforehand, is by right the true left hand of the king."

"The what? The what hand of the king?" Melusine's face twisted in a grimace of pure confusion. How did this knight know the dragon's name when no one who lived right next to his prison remembered? For that matter, wasn't it usually called the right hand of so-and-so? What did the left hand do at court? Feed the king peeled grapes? Maybe if she pretended to be dumb he'd consider her a lost cause. "I don't know what any of that is, who's the king right now? Where is he? I've never seen him."

"Mel, your voice has gone monotone again…!" Lee whispered from behind a hand, his eyes squeezed shut. "You're so obviously lying…!"

"Ah, there was a man who came through here claiming to be a king of something when I was young. He did magic tricks to amuse children. Was that him—?!" Her mouth was covered by Lee's hand, and his sharp claws pricked her cheek.

"Are you sure I should be here for this? It sounds like…" Lee's panicked voice grew muffled and warped, like Melusine had been dunked in water. Her eyelids felt heavy too, she suddenly couldn't keep them open. She tried her best to focus on Baugulf, who was replying to Lee with a strained but polite smile. Damn, I can't make out what either of them are saying…

"Go with him," a booming voice echoed inside Melusine's head. It shook in her skull just like it had shaken the cave. She lurched forward, feeling like she was about throw up a breakfast she never had. "The knight, go with him, fledgling. I am your one true lord, and I demand it. You've dallied enough!"