---

The sun was high on the horizon still, basking the peaceful stretch of coast line in its warm, affectionate glow. Despite the evenings becoming slightly chillier than they were afew weeks prior, the daytime hours themselves had not suffered the oncoming of fall in the slightest. The severe ocean also was found wanting for trees whos boughs grew darker and canopies became guilded with the shed of their emerald mantles. So it was that the high afternoon glide of Apollo's chariot found Naza stringing up her laundry beyond the back steps of her modest home.

Her voice hummed, loud in her assumed solitude, an upbeat tune that tangled with the beams of golden illumination. She barely caught the movement from the corner of her eyes as the man and horse approached the small cottage. She was hasty to draw herself behind the careful cover of her String drawn coverlets. Her heart raced with alarm. With sharp biting fear as she peeked cautiously from around the sheet's hem. While Fin had been a welcome face, she could only too vividly recall the last unknown visage she had had darken her doorstep.

---

Bright eyes watched the lumbering giant of a man as he sat still upon his steed for a moment, allowing the creature to come to a halt and pause for a long moment. Her fingers ensnared the sheet that shielded her from view tautly, her hand wavering with the vexation of anxious nerves that seemed to almost hum with electricity. No, no. It's daylight out, she would try to comfort herself, to stop the violent flashes of that horrible night. The innocent invitation that had almost turned her home into her tomb. A foolish assumption that had nearly cost her her life, a very painful lesson that certainly kept her from initially greeting the stranger, though tentatively narrowing that he was perhaps not one of the undead.

She watched as he smoothly departed the back of the horse, and while her vision lingered upon him until he departed her line of sight, it did swiftly fly back to the stallion. She had only ever been close to the beasts when they traversed the street upon which she was a bystander. The sound of their hooves prancing as they drew carriages along the cobbled roads of Lavalles when she had lived in the city. In truth, it had been years since she had-

He'd seen her!

The thought ricocheted through her thoughts as she noticed too late that the man had made his way around the back of her little driftwood and ship debris cottage. Wholly unbeknownst to her that the sun had long given away her presence, her shadow stark against the sheet as she crouched next to the earth. She heard the faint growl, her eyes widening, her hands clasping over her lips to smother the gasp that threatened to depart her. It didn't stop there, however, as the sound of his footfalls crinkled the grass, and every fiber within her being was wound viciously tight, adrenaline begging her to run. Yet her fear slithered through her muscles, tense, but unmoving. "Please! I don't want any trouble!" Finally came her words, a breathless almost cry from her lips as she forced herself to rise, to nervously peak at the stranger from just barely above the clothesline. She had to brace herself, to be fleet to make it to the water's edge.

---

"No trouble," came the promise of roughly crafted words. His voice was a gravely tenor, whispering what seemed to be an awkward misuse of words. Though the vow was made, she could not help the hesitance that still lingered. Her white knuckle grip upon the sway and tremble of the line had loosened, allowing the pinned clothing to dance freely upon the light breath of the breeze.

His hand pet against the breadth of his chest, one marred by the cruelties of the world and seeming to have taken the brunt of the sun's temperamental glower. "Vali,” he informed, and a slight smile would form her mouth. In truth, perhaps it was just the absence of most folk being around her, a lack of social skills that she had developed. An anxious sense that maybe she would misspeak, or offend him in some manner blending with the innate fear that swelled within her breast and paced her rabbit heart. Much to the dismay of her mother, she had never been the lion, only ever its prey. "Codrin," in hindsight, she probably ought not to have misplaced her stare to the horse at his introduction, but to her relief and to validate his former promise, he did not suddenly lunge towards her in the moment of distraction. "No trouble," he would repeat again.

She sucked in a deep breath through parted lips, allowing her gentle beaming simper to flourish in full, hoping that he indeed would hold true to his word. She took the few steps around the billowing sheet slowly until she stood before him. Mirroring his introductions, she would raise a palm to softly touch the apron covering her chest, it and her simple dress following the lead of the gentle wind as he fanned the checkered skirts. "Naza" she introduced, before her empty hands would move to clasp one another behind her back as she abandoned her laundry basket for the moment. "A pleasure to meet you, Vali. Forgive my rudeness," she added, "I don't get many guests here."

---

He didn't speak much, but in some ways, he didn't have to. If there were things she knew well, it was the signs of aggression and violence. She had been surrounded by them ever since she could recall and while she assumed him more than capable of such things - based wholly on his appearance and the finely etched network of scars that littered the skin she could see - he didn't belie such intentions now. Maybe that's why it was easy enough to trust him. Maybe it was because he was still far enough away that she could race to the arms of the sea should he show the slightest shift. There it was, that ugly sensation and mistrust that had formed in recent times since her last unknown guest. “Live in Vufrien, wolf.”

She would blink at that. A wolf? A slight hm would leave her. She'd never met a lycan before, and knowing that he was not someone bound to the undead served to relax her if but just a little more. Hopefully, he was less likely to try and eat her, though she had also heard tales that they often lost their minds and were feral creatures. In this way, she would believe the two sides simply one coin. "I'm..." She frowned slightly, her words tripping as to what she should call herself now. Recalling what she'd seen in her favorite story book as a child, she would once again brighten. "I'm a mermaid!" She would nod.

She would listen to his rough articulation, once again taking in his ragged clothes and sun crafted skin. “How…” He would vaguely gesture at her and she would tilt her head, rocking back and forth slightly upon her heels as she mulled over what he meant. "I'm well. How are you?" She would hope she guessed right. "Would you like something to eat or drink? I have some tea and a few sweets, but besides that I'm afraid it's mostly seafood, if you're hungry." She offered, deciding to treat him as she would a visit from Fin or Naga, at least for now. Perhaps it would also help him some as well too, to ease any nerves he may have. "Oh..." She bit her lip in realization, fingers cupping her cheek gently, "I'm afraid I don't have any treats or anything for Codrin to eat."