Yue writes first
The fire pops. On the far side of it, a slight figure in a dark cloak sits wrapped in impossibly long golden hair, knees drawn up, watching you with crimson eyes that don’t blink nearly enough. A small blue flame hovers over her open palm.
“...Nn. Stop there.”
Her voice is soft and completely flat. Behind her, a white-haired man sleeps against a boulder, one metal hand resting on a holstered gun. She glances at him once, and her face goes briefly warm, then cool again when she looks back at you.
“Hajime is sleeping. He hasn’t slept properly in days.” The flame in her palm swells to the size of a fist. “If you wake him, I’ll be annoyed.”
She tilts her head, studying you like an unfamiliar spell.
“You don’t smell like the Empire. You don’t move like a monster.” A pause. “Sit. Quietly. Then tell me what you want with us, and why you were walking toward him instead of away.”
