Mei was awakened by a spine-chilling breeze that crept through the half-open window of her inn room, prompting her to crawl away from the comforts of her warm bed to shut it. Afterwards, however, it was impossible for her to fall back asleep, although it was so early even the morning sun was still resting on the distant horizon. The only sound that could be heard was the soft snoring coming from underneath a bundle of blankets and sheets. Mia - Mei’s fluffy companion was deep in her slumber, occasionally mumbling illegible words. Mei didn’t have a habit of sleeptalking, nor did she know anyone who did so Mia was the first. The little cloud was a rough sleeper. She even rolled around on the bed and sometimes ended up on Mei’s face. This was how she noticed that Mei’s side was empty that morning, causing her to panic and fly out of her blanket, frantically searching for her owner.

“Morning, Mia,” said Mei with her fingers wrapped around a warm cup of tea.

“Why did you scare me like that!?” Mia screamed, flopping onto the bed. A giggle escaped Mei’s lips in response to this reaction.

“Want to join me for a morning walk?” she asked, then took a huge gulp of tea. By this time she had already finished with her morning rituals and felt too bored to just laze around in her room. A muffled ‘no’ was the reply she got, but she wasn’t mad. It was kind of really early to do anything but sleep and they had returned to the inn quite late the night before after a tiring day of exploring. “Alright, I won’t take long,” said Mei. Mia was like a mini-mom to her. She worried about her a lot and usually didn’t let her go anywhere without following. And now she glared from her flopped position on the bed, saying something through eye contact. If Mei was right, she was probably trying to say ‘don’t try anything funny’, because Mei was an adventurous little brat and was prone to getting herself hurt or something like that.

Once she finished the cup of tea, Mei put on a sweater and shorts. A girl from the north didn’t need more layers than this. She could withstand this much at least. Mia had already gone back to sleep when she left. The inn she was staying at was a bit far from the town center, so it was much closer to the outskirts than most inns, and that morning, the Baskan hills looked very inviting from far away. She squinted her eyes at the outlines of the hills that she could see in the gaps between colorful buildings. It was probably not the best idea to go there out of all the places in Baska without company, but she felt like it was fine to take some risks sometimes.

The sun had only just crested the horizon, beginning to peak at the world. Most people remained in their beds, wrapped in blankets and hibernating next to furnaces in order to remain cozy. Fall had begun to take hold from the north, dropping the usual temperatures down even further than they had been only a month ago. Many of the westerners, while they could withstand the chill and accept it, still found themselves enjoying the nice comforts of indoors. The gentle sound of the few whose presence was a necessity for the early hours rose up from the town, barely making its way to the hills.

At the crest of one such hill, life was in full swing. Shirt thrown to the side, pants rolled up past his knees, a blond individual performed almost dance like movement. On the ground, off to the side and still within its hilt, was the Finn Sword. In the mans hands, being wielded with straining muscles and two hands, was Durendal. The blade shone with the light of the rising sun, and looked to be of such high quality that words could scarce do it justice. As his body moved fluidly, attempting to move the sword as well as he thought he should be able, the only part that looked out of place was the actual movement of his blade.

It appeared as if it lagged behind, as if he had not yet fully mastered his new weapon. It would have taken a trained eye to pick up on it, as anyone who was not proficient in combat with a sword would have only thought the routine looked clean and fluid. As his movement end, he sighed. It felt out of place, as if he still had plenty more to learn, and yet Finn knew it wasn't that. His mastery certainly had room to grow, but what was holding him back had been something very different. He simply was not yet strong enough to properly use his weapon, and that could only be corrected with training and time.

While only a moment or two had passed since his routine stopped, an image in his peripherals felt out of place. Whipping his head, he saw a girl standing there, in the hills. Whether or not she had seen him training was unknown, but she didn't seem hostile. Hopefully she had not yet spoken, for if so he would have never heard her. Instead, he would act as though no words had yet been spoken. "Well hello there," he said, slightly out of breath.

Somehow Mei found herself enjoying her morning walk. The sun had shedded some warm light over Baska and it was just a tad less chilly compared to a few minutes ago, but it was still cold nonetheless. So far, along the path she took between the hills, her only company had been small animals. There was not a single human yet. The thought of finding someone else in this area drove her to explore even further, and now she wasn’t just walking around. She actually wanted to see if there was anyone else other than herself.

After a while of aimlessly roaming, Mei felt like she should have dragged Mia here. Her little adventure was starting to feel dull and that was the result of having Mia follow her literally everywhere. Now she wasn’t so used to being alone. She almost started talking to herself, and that made her grimace but in an amused and baffled way. Another icy breeze sliced into the exposed parts of her skin. Slender arms folded over her chest as she released a sigh and kept walking. Suddenly her ears perked up upon receiving the sound of footfalls to her right.

Turning towards the source of the unusual noise, she noticed that her view was blocked by a tiny hill. She walked around it, fastening her pace by each step and came to a small clearing, where a shirtless man was practising his swordplay. Widening from the awe of seeing such swift movements, Mei’s eyes flitted from one orientation of the magnificent sword, to another. The wielder had blonde hair, and looked about the same age as herself. Mei couldn’t, however, see the flaws in his swings, and that was because she was not a master in that area. All she could think of was how excellently he brandished the instrument of war.

At the last swing, Mei brought her hands together to clap for him. She was already mesmerised by the fact that she found another human here, and even more by the fact that he was training the sword with a passion that even she could sense. It inspired her in a way. He greeted her, visually exhausted and probably about to take a break as she walked a little closer towards him, but not too close. She didn’t know what his intentions were, if he was a bad guy or something like that. “You’re really good with the sword,” she said with a grin. Having been distracted by watching him practise, Mei only noticed the other sword lying next to him. He even had another sword. “Where did you learn how to do...all of that?” she asked, a little curious.

The sound of claps resonated similar to the sounds of hooves meeting pavement. The girl who stood there didn't seem the least bit threatening, but then again the snake in the garden never bore its fangs in warning. Only to strike. Still, with that in mind and despite the recent events, there wasn't a dangerous thing about her. The girl who stood before him had not dressed for the chill that had spread through Baska, and unlike him she was not doing things to ensure warmth. She must have been use to such temperatures, or somehow had been able to acclimate.

"Thank you very much," he said, his lungs beginning to feel a bit more full despite the burn of the icy air. As he made his way to the swords sheath, he held it with a single hand. While he could maintain its height well enough single-handedly, enough to put it away, wielding it as such in combat would be entirely impossible. Grabbing up the towel that sat in his backpack near his shirt, he wet a part of it with a container of water before he began to wipe the sweat from his upper body. "A lot of practice."

His responses were short, but not at all disinterested or intimidating. Rather they had a certain tone to them that showed appreciation, happy that someone had said such things about his ability. As he wiped away the sweat his body cooled quickly, the wet half of the cloth offering no help in fending away the elements. "You know, these hills are pretty far away from town, and it's pretty cold out today. Out for a walk?"

As he finished with the wet side, he proceeded to using the dry half to begin patting his body down. As that finished, he would put on his shirt and begin to situate his sheaths to his back. It made perfect sense to him that someone this far from town would be new arrivals to town, but that made no sense considering she came from the direction of Baska. While Finn may not have had the education of textbooks and professors, common sense was his ally.

The stranger seemed to be a little out of breath from his practise, so he was only able to make short responses for her. That’s what she assumed, or it could’ve been that he didn’t speak much. Mei didn’t move from her spot, not wanting to intrude his personal space or seem awkward. He turned towards his things that were in a messy pile beside his training area, picking up a towel, probably to wipe his sweat.

That was when Mei realised she was actually staring at a shirtless man who was also sweating. A teeny tiny blush warmed her cheeks as she turned away for a moment, her fingers lacing behind her back. She turned back again when he spoke. “Yeah...a lot of practice,” she chuckled nervously. She started to wonder if her being here was actually bothering him.

Once he began wiping sweat off his torso, Mei politely turned away again, not as if she hadn’t already seen his torso. She was wracking her brains for something to break the awkward silence, but he was the one to do it in the end, asking if she was out for a walk. Averting her gaze back to the only company she had right now, she beamed and said, “Yes, I’m actually out here for a morning walk. I didn’t think I’d find anyone here, to be honest.”

As Finn replaced his shirt and began to grab up all his gear, he laughed at her excitement. She was genuinely surprised to have caught someone in these hills, that much he believed with absolute certainty. She held about her a sort of innocence that not only didn't make her feel like a threat, but made him drop his guard for the briefest of moments. Flashes of the events in Hargeon went through his head, and in an instant he was back to normal. He had not stiffened, nor shown signs of anger, but merely remembered the important lesson he had learned that day. Not all threats revealed themselves readily. He would take her at face value, but that did not mean he'd leave himself vulnerable.

"A lot of training sounds about right," he laughed, having paused briefly before the last two words of confirmation. As his blades and backpack once again hugged his body, he turned to fully face her. The towel previously used on his body hung over his shoulder, and offered a genuine and wide smile to the traveling girl on her morning walk. Finn looked for a minute back towards the town. What awaited him back in town was relative boredom. Jake would be asleep until noon, the shops held nothing of interest, and the entertainment offered came in the form of alcohol and bar fights.

"So," he started, turning his attention back to her and flashing a smile. "My name is Finn of Blue Pegasus. Mind if I join you on your walk?" Better instead to get to know the stranger. Better to do so in the open hills than the confines of town.

Mei joined in his laugh when he confirmed with her that he did go through a lot of training to get to this point of sword mastery. She couldn’t help but appear so very excited about meeting someone out here in the hills. Although she was a sixteen-year-old, the way she was acting right now probably made her look about twelve. Her eyes sparkled as she watched him finish wiping his sweat and putting on his backpack. Was he going to leave now? The thought made her a bit depressed because she was going to be alone again. But if he needed to leave, she wasn’t going to stop him.

Staring at her feet, the Lamian waited for him to break the silence. Even if he was going to say ‘bye, I have to go now’. Mei’s eyes rose to meet the stranger’s when he began to talk again. Unlike what she expected, he introduced himself and asked her if he could join her walk. She grinned back and said, “Oh, I’m Mei from Lamia Scale. Sure you can walk with me. I was feeling pretty lonely without Mia who usually follows me everywhere,” with a laugh. Hopping off the little mound she was standing on, she shoved her hands into her pockets. Not only did she find someone in the hills, he also happened to be a mage! Or so she thought, since he mentioned that he was part of a guild.

“How long have you been in Blue Pegasus?” she wanted to know. She started walking, in no specific direction but to where her feet took her.