The walk from the northern gate to the man's house took them about thirty minutes, mainly because they were a little sluggish considering everything that they carried or were subjected to.

Treading neatly laid stones with the now wet grass peaking out, they followed a path that stretched further from the main roads. As suggested by Atomu's descriptions, this part of Prope Portam was the Medulla district, named after the fact that most of the town-like things happen here. Medulla in Old Manjuno meant centre or middle. Again, simple Paladian mind, but at least it wasn't something stupid like Midcity.

Rowan rolled their eyes with a smirk.

Even though they stepped behind houses, wells, small bushes, gorges splattered throughout, benches and tiny park areas next to modest fountains, everything in the world suggested the district's presence. Be it, the screams of Paladians trying to run from the storm because they overestimated how long they could stay outside, or the bells ringing, mostly because there were lots of thin clotheslines hung around various buildings or narrower streets connected to those metal alarms.

Atomu beamed lightly, chuckling and thinking about the times his mother scolded everyone for such. Not only were their dried-out clothes completely soaked again, but the bell wouldn't stop ringing throughout the night.

His expression shifted into a more stern approach.

"We're almost there." the man announced, sticking his lantern forward, as a horse passed, carrying a few drunken Paladians. The woman who steered the animal sighed in exhaustion, and the hooded guy gave her a nod of reassurance.

Chyuuichi turned, squinting his eyes. "Why don't we get a ride as well, eh?" he bumped Rowan's shoulder. "Mr Horse!" he waved.

"They're not for free," Atomu muttered, putting a hand over his mouth. "...and I'm sure we're in no position to interrupt h-her work."

"Not many carriages ride around town at these hours, especially in such conditions." The man added. "They should be thankful for the hard work that lady's doing." he smiled a little, his grin sticking out from his green hood.

Atomu beamed as well. He couldn't help but recall that one night he and his sister wandered a little too far during Dearfest, and ended up stranded on the beach side of Prope Portam, far from home. Then, a similar thing happened, much like a blessing from above, a lady swung by and gave them a free ride home.

"Bummer." Both Chyuuichi and Rowan said, both surprised at this little coincidence. While the Mirillian wanted to high-five the Tributal, the latter seemed embarrassed, mainly because they expected a more complicated vocabulary from their lips.

Dry lips despite the rain. Rowan opened their mouth a little, craving water or some sweet liquid to soothe their needs. They turned to the trees at the sides, growing right above the wooden gates and then as they took a few turns, straying further away from Medulla, more sporadically appeared, amidst fences separating tents from houses from pens full of animals. These coops now had makeshift roofs made of linen, silk and wool, shielding the few animals from the storm.

A Tributal would mutter of such sights proving Paladian idiocy, but Rowan was too fixated on the mentioned barks. It was a well-known fact that the sap of Lignorian trees was rather sweet. They were already embarrassed and soaked to the point that normal notions were rare, but Rowan still took everything they had in themselves to subtly commit to such heinous (in their mind) acts.

With careful glances, they stepped to the side, making sure no watchful eyes met their strange decisions. Putting a hand on a tree that grew up into the sky, penetrating through the makeshift roof and spawning seven big, green leaves, they searched for a crevice in the bark, sticking their tongue out.

The other three took a turn, and the man stopped, handing Atomu the lantern. Rowan couldn't hear their voices, not that they were far away, it's just there were things of greater importance.

"Don't." the man spoke. "Llove tree sap is poisonous."

"Ah," Rowan muttered, stepping back, and rubbing their finger against the tree. They furrowed their eyebrows and clenched their jaw. "Damn it." they thought.

"What on Errarion are you doing?" Atomu asked, tilting his head.

Chyuuichi stood still, with a neutral expression. Rowan turned, stuffing their hands back into their pockets, trying to play it cool. "I was making sure that they hadn't lied to me."

"What?" Atomu chuckled. "Who?"

"A-Ambrosia said some sap is p-poisonous." Rowan fixed their wet ponytail, and the other Paladian took silver keys out of his pocket, fidgeting before forcing one into the tight keyhole. "You get it, right?"

"Surely." The man uttered, before grinding his teeth. "If you want something sweet, you can always ask for it."

"Okay," Rowan noted, unwillingly.

Atomu covered his mouth, giggling.

"Don't laugh," Rowan muttered, their voice a little weak.

They turned to Chyuuichi, who grew red, desperately trying to hold all his feelings in. His cheeks were puffy and full of air, and his eyes looked like they were about to explode. "DON'T LAUGH, CHYUUICHI!" Rowan shook him around.

The man let go of the keys, stuffing them back into his big pockets and flinging the wooden gate open. It revealed a small stone path that led towards two curtains hiding the entrance to his tent-house. Atomu peeked, excitedly, with a light smile, but still, it was the former who took the first step towards his own, humble abode. "Hi, Shana," he muttered, reaching his hand out towards a small animal that sat beneath the slanted beige roofs and atop a few boxes.

The dark cat, with a few white hairs underneath its head, meowed, as the man's fingers landed right beneath her chin. She purred, almost sinking into his scratches. "Come on." he signalled, turning his head back to the three, waving, and sneaking through the curtains.

"Hi, Shana!" Atomu uttered, putting his hand atop the cat and petting her back multiple times with a significant beam.

Chyuuichi hadn't uttered a word since Rowan's little mishap but touched the cat's head, hearing a meow.

Rowan stopped for a moment, both arms folded. They took a look at the animal and continued.

***

The man's tent revealed a rather cosy interior. A few unlit lamps were hanging from the wooden posts lit up beforehand. As mentioned earlier, the inside was cluttered. Tables, desks, shelves full of little items, comfy blankets instead of carpets, and a little sign with the words "right here" laid adjacent to the various shoes that belonged to the man and the sister he mentioned.

Further away in the living room stood a big couch and a woollen armchair, which rested right by books stuffed away in the corner next to the remnants of a broken shelf, which used to hang from two wooden posts.

"Make yourself at home." the man uttered, smiling, taking off his hood, then the greenish cloak which covered his body and essentially sinking into the mentioned chair. He brushed through his dark hair, before revealing his face to the three, who curiously stared as if awaiting directions or suggestions. He sighed, pointing. "This right here is my bedroom, two of you can fit in there for the night. I'll sleep on the couch."

"What about this one?" Rowan asked, pushing the curtains apart.

"My sister's. You can sleep there, Tributal. Just not in those wet clothes."

"I'm assuming you have spares for such an unfortunate surprise." Rowan crossed their arms.

"Obviously." he chuckled, trying to stand up. He pushed a few fingers on his fine stubble and continued to move them to places they were to explore. Without a word, Atomu wandered over to one of the bigger closets, opening it up and revealing neatly laid linen and woollen clothes, separated by a colourful blanket.

He recalled owning one too, it happened on the same day he and his sister got lost on the beach. A few hours earlier, he had won the colourful, blue duvet with these yellow stars sprinkled atop. Maybe it wasn't that special of a reward, after all. He pushed his hand into its soft material, and took out a neat, reddish shirt, throwing a blue one to Chyuuichi.

"Linen?" Rowan stepped back. "You guys make roofs out of silk but can't do the same with clothes?"

"It's more practical." Atomu and the man both spoke at the same time.

"Unison!" Chyuuichi raised his voice. Rowan sighed, in great, immeasurable disappointment.

They made a strange noise, stepping into the mentioned bedroom, and peering at the duvet with a light illuminating the cosy square meter. "I'll be fine," they added, taking another step in and sealing the curtains tight.

The man sighed, almost letting steam out. "Considering how late it is, you might save them for tomorrow."

"R-Right." Atomu nodded, folding the shirt and brown pants beneath his forearm. "We can hang them outside if it's sunny tomorrow. I-If that's not a problem."

"Won't be." he chuckled.

"How long are we staying here?" Chyuuichi asked, stepping back, removing his shoes and neatly putting them where they belonged.

"Good question." the man sat up. "I'd be fine with a couple of guests. Not so sure about my sister." he breathed out.

"We won't be trouble, promise. I can even pay you some Silver if you'd like." Atomu explained.

The man raised his open palm and shook his head. "You want to give them a proper burial, right? Don't trouble yourself. I get it."

Atomu stepped back, opening his mouth a little.

"Right." the man's expression grew a little distant. "I'll put them here then."

"W-Will you be fine sleeping next to corpses?"

"If I don't have to see the bodies, I can just pretend they're not there. They haven't started rotting yet, eh?" he smirked, but his attempt at a joke was in poor taste, especially after meeting Atomu's puzzled expression. "Right." he looked down. "If you could carry these here, um..." he snapped his fingers twice. "I believe I haven't gotten to know your names."

"A-Adam." Atomu nodded, playing with a strand of hair.

Chyuuichi squinted his eyes at Atomu, trying to understand his thoughts. "Chyuuichi!" he raised his hand, then pointed to the shoes in the correct spot. "...and the Tributal's Rowan!"

"I'm Ranpa," he muttered, looking around. "Ranpa..." he stopped. "T-Turon."

"Turon?" Atomu blinked twice. "Huh. My surname's Turon too, ehm. W-What a coincidence."

Most Paladian surnames end on: on, er or ski. It was commonplace for some of them to repeat, despite no correlation between two people. Although Ranpa knew that, he seemed a little stressed out with his words.

"Guess so." Ranpa scratched his forehead, closing one eye. "As I said, if you carried that burden from the Orange Willows to here, I'll be fine keeping a watchful eye for the night. I rarely do catch much sleep."

"Is everything okay? I am usually stressed out when I can't sleep! Normally I'm dead like a log!" Chyuuichi said, stepping around and peering at the papers that hung from the walls, which he couldn't make out. They weren't written in Old Manjuno, it was just that Chyuuichi was the one trying to read them.

"Just my thing, I guess." he looked to the side, spotting a little statue of a dragon, resting on one of the shelves. Unfortunately, Chyuuichi's gaze met the same object.

Atomu, on the other hand, quietly wandered into the other room.

"IS THAT A-" Chyuuichi screamed and Ranpa leapt towards the small object. The Mirillian sprinted, but, as if the world's tides rolled mercy for Ranpa, he was the first to grab it, clenching it in his fist, and defending the rest of the shelf with his stature. "H-Hey! Was that a-"

"Small dragon," Ranpa replied. "Green, nothing interesting." he looked up, a little stressed.

"Well, can't you show it to me?" Chyuuichi blinked a couple of times. "...or!" he jumped. "Do dragons really exist?!"

"Ha." Ranpa closed his eyes. "I don't know."

"Since-"

"Chyuuichi!" Atomu yelled from the other room. "Don't bother him!"

The Mirillian turned his head to the other Paladian for a moment, and then back at Ranpa, who seemed to loosen up a bit. The Mirillian stepped back, sighing, his eyes half-closed and his gaze seldom wandering towards the other room.

"Sorry," Chyuuichi added, insincerely, since he didn't think he was in the wrong there. Turning on his socked heel, he took a few careful steps towards the room Atomu was in, watching over the various decorations and trinkets splattered throughout the Paladian's tent. He gave Ranpa a little curious smirk, before disappearing behind the curtain.

The black-haired Paladian raised a hand, before deeply breathing out. He opened his palm to see the small green dragon, treading its spiky back with his thumb and flipping it around.

A few small letters grew visible, forming into "Kris".