Kittens scurried along the pier, past the red-garbed merc as he made a quick stride toward the Mithran Groves. Garonne Gran had seen him coming from the central fountain in Windurst Woods. His clothing was obviously Eastern, which did even less to sooth the mithra's concerns about his intentions. She removed her helmet, clipping it to her side as the shine of her purple-tinted hair replaced that of the silver helmet's.
 
"Can I help you with something?" The mithra approached, smiled, and made the first move. Her well polished armor shining in the evening sun as she flicked a fallen leaf from her shield, then returned her gaze to the red-haired mercenary. If she needed to sum up the phrase 'out of place,' this guy was it. His eyes were an intense blue, and carried an unnatural hunger in them. The hairs on the back of Garonne's neck raised, she could smell blood on him.
 
The mercenary crossed his arms and shifted his weight backwards. "I'm looking for someone, a mithra."
 
Garonne shook her head, still smiling. "You'rrre going to have to be more specific than that. Do you know her name?"
 
The red haired man continued walked toward the groves, the mithra now walking beside him as he continued their conversation. "She fostered a hume boy a while back, I need to talk to her about th-"
 
She cut him off, "Oh! Arma had a little kid like that, he would probably be a little older than you! Are you looking for him?"
 
The red mercenary shared a smile with the Mithra. "You got me, I'm looking to find out about that guy. Do you know where he is?"
 
The mithra's smile turned into a apologetic hiss as she sucked the air between her fangs. "Ahhh…'frrraid not. Supposedly he had an accident over in the East."
 
The red mercenary frowned at her response, obviously unhappy with the answer. "What about Arma? Could I talk with her?"
 
Garonne shook her head and sighed. "Sorrry, she's no longer with us either."
 
The mercenary nearly lost his footing on the the pier at her comment. He took a moment, then took a break and straightened his posture once more. "Did you know her? Arma?"
 
The threat from him was beginning to fade, Garonne could almost feel the air around the mercenary cool as he seemed to relax. "Oh, yeah. We were good frrriends. I would watch herrr son occasionally, and even taught him how to hold a sword."
 
He stopped and stared over the groves as they reached the fork in the pier. As the mercenary stopped the wind picked up, whipping his scarf like a banner on a battle field. "That so?"
 
Garonne couldn't help but fall into nostalgia."Oh yeah, cute little kid. He wanted to be a mage, but he picked up on swords so well. Long red hair, gorgeous green eyes, and he was always getting so flustered over everything." Her smile widened slightly and she continued to reminisce. "I liked watching him, sweet as the Starlight Festival, and so well behaved…and he even had a little girlfriend. She was really cute too. A little brunette, who was a wonderful dancer." She smiled again, a moment before the color drained from her face. "They'rrre gone too though…took off together and neverrr came back…it broke Arma's heart."
 
The two of them remained silent for a moment. Garonne continuing on. "I like to think they just stayed together and have a good life somewhere…maybe they got married, and kept going East." Garonne fixed her gaze on the pier, slowly bringing it up to meet the mercenary's. "Too many stories have sad endings these days, don't you think?"
 
The mercenary pulled his scarf up over his mouth. "Yeah, I guess so. Life's shitty like that though." The mercenary turned and took a deep breath. His red hair fluttered in the wind as he began back down the way he had just come.
 
The mithra squinted as he turned, and a light bulb flared in her mind. "Wait, wait….Mihgo's tail…red hair, blue eyes, you're Emry, aren't you?"
 
The mercenary stopped and turned. "Emry?"
 
"You look like him…except…well, he would be a good amount older than you." The mithra took a step forward as the red mercenary examined his own hand. He looked to be lost in his own thoughts, like someone who had woken up in a body they didn't even recognize.
 
While she had initially been worried about his presence, Garonne had an even worse feeling about letting him go as he was now. "Hey, let's go get some tea at the Rarab's Tail. You look like you could stand to take a load off."
 
The red mercenary shook his head. "Naw, I have a lot to do. See you around, Gran." He turned back to her for a second, then bolted down the pier.
 
It took her almost a full minute to realize what he had called her.