“Are those your other servants?” Asked Morn.
“I would not call them servants. They are Hunters like me that are also my friends. I might also needed to get a higher ranking Hunter in on this too. Without someone like that I’m not certain if I can pass off a fake identity.”
“I’m sure that whatever plan you make will be good.”
I found her constant lack of initiate kind of annoying. I didn’t know if she was just naturally that way or if she was trying to ingratiate herself with me to make sure I kept her. “Alright you need to wait here for a while. I need to get you some clothes otherwise you will never manage to get into Districts.”
She nodded, “Very well, I shall wait here until you returned.”
I briefly wondered if I should just left her here and never return. I wondered what she would do if I did that. Would she just continue to wait until she starved to death or would she eventually find enough initiative to find me or get a different master. However I didn’t want to do that, at least if I took care of her I could estimate the risks and she might be a useful ally.
I shook my head as I left the cave and began to run back to Districts. I tried to avoid that line of thought. I had already begun to think of her as an asset and how I could effectively use her to protect Districts. If I did that she would be just like her and her mother thought she was, my servant. I tried to decided if that was bad or not but only struggled unsuccessfully.
Finally I reached the wall of Districts and approached the gate. I knocked on the gate and a little bit later it was opened for me. It was one of the gate guards, not Hunters but instead regular soldiers. He let me through and I entered the city. I headed to the barracks in this section of the wall slowly beginning to conceal my presence as I did. While I had come back from patrol late that was not too unusual however if other Hunters found out I felt again then I would need to answer questions about what I did.
The barracks was empty which was not surprising. Most Hunters didn’t use it instead going to their own homes. It was initially designed to be used to prolonged sieges of the wall so that Hunters stationed here could easily rest but be gotten easily. There were other things it was used for but generally it was empty. I searched through the supply rooms until eventually I found a generic Hunter uniform. Again most Hunters didn’t use them instead just wearing the badge and whatever personal outfit they desired. A few did but they were usually the annoying stickler types which were thankfully rare among Hunters.
I looked for one that should be the correct size for Morn. I eventually found one and stuffed it into the small bag that I usually kept with me. Then I proceeded to sneak out of the entrance toward Districts. Going through the main gate would be too noticeable. Once I left the wall I ran down the length of the wall until I was fairly certain that I was beyond the standard watch radius.
Then while I continued to conceal my presence the best I could I climbed over the wall. I had to go slowly because if I exerted too much energy I would be more easily noticeable. Once I reached the top of the wall I looked around sensing for any Hunters and when I did sense any of them I dropped over the edge of the wall and stealthily moved into the Jungle.
Once I have entered the jungle and left the sight of the Wall I broke into a run and after just a little while I arrived at the cave. I could not sense Morn inside but I hoped that it was just because she had successfully hidden her presence. I entered and sure enough there she was waiting near the cocoon. She seemed to be standing in the exact same place that I left her. I wondered if she had even moved at all while I was gone.
“Good, your still here.” I said.
“You told me to remain here so I did that.” Morn said.
“You, um, didn’t need to stand in the exact same spot for the entire time I was gone. As long as you stayed in the cave it would have been fine.” She simply nodded in acceptance at what I said. “Here, I brought you these clothes.”
I pulled out the clothes from the bag and handed them to her. She took them and began to try and put them on. However she was awkward and moved uncertainly while attempting to do it. Finally I reached out and grabbed her, “Here, hold still and let me help you. This is how you put them on.”
She let me show her how to put the clothes on and when she was done I stepped back and took a look at her. “Hmm, not bad. Except for the eyes you look like a human. If I got you some tinted glasses then nobody would notice that either. It is not easy to sense that you are a beast either so you should be able to blend in fairly well.”
“I am not worthy of such praise.”
“However you will need to speak and act more casual. You don’t need to be totally casual but maybe just treating me like a squad leader instead of your master would better prevent you from standing out.”
“Of course, I will do my best.” Her voice and tone had already changed. A part of me wanted to test and she how far she would accept my orders but I squashed that part of me and returned to the matter at hand. “Now we need to get you into Districts. We should be able to get you over the wall without being spotted but things will get messy if you are noticed. If that happens I need you to keep quiet while I try and explain things.”
“All right, I can do that.”
Then we headed out of the cave. At a distance we would just be two Hunters running through the woods. Not unusual at all. However getting past the wall was a different matter. I couldn’t go through the front gate because then Morn would get noticed and I would have to try and bluff my way past which would be difficult and remembered. The only real option was climbing the wall which shouldn’t be that hard. However getting caught there was even worse. For security reasons Hunters are not supposed to climb the wall except in extraordinary circumstances.
“And continue to conceal your presence.” I told her while I continued to do the same with my presence. If we kept it hidden then it would be difficult for another Hunter to detect us as longer ranges. However doing so was generally tiring so Hunters rarely did it for extended periods of time unless they had a knack for it.
After the run back to the wall I stopped outside of sight. I closed my eyes trying to sense things. Then I swore. “Of all the Beasts….” I looked over to Morn, “,figuratively of course, there are guards here. Normally this section of the wall is unguarded.” I looked back and forth along the wall. “I will probably be fast to go around and find a section of the wall that is not being guarded.”
Morn just nodded and followed me and I walked along the edge of the wall from just inside the jungle. After a few minutes I paused and looked up at the wall. “Here is good. We should be able to get over it before we get caught. Now follow me and keep hidden and quiet.” There was the silent nod of acceptance and then I left the tree line to climb the wall.
We went slowly up it trying to keep as quiet as possible. Before reaching the top I looked over the edge and checked to make sure the path was clear. Then I climbed up onto the wall and pulled Morn up with me. I moved over to the other edge of the wall and looked down. This side was a lot more clear. If we jumped down and walked away it would be easier to notice then on the other side. The Hunters that were watching the wall might notice us if we do that. Instead I motioned toward Morn and we headed along the wall away from the main gate where the Hunters were stationed.
There were a few entrances down into the wall and after a few minutes of walking we got to one and I opened the trap door and motioned Morn down inside. She went down first and I followed her. Once we were inside I shut the trap door. Once that was done I spoke in a whisper, “We are going to make our way to one of the secondary gates and make our way out there. Nobody should bother us on the way and we are going to try and avoid notice but should somebody question us try to act natural.”
“What is natural for a human?” She asked.
I struggled to find an answer to that question. Eventually I just had to cop out and say, “Just try not to attract too much notice. Be quiet and let me do the speaking.” We walked through the passageways inside the wall until I got to some of the larger rooms. I could sense people and I slowly relaxed my presence as I walked so that people would begin to notice me but wouldn’t notice when it suddenly appears. I could feel Morn doing the same thing right next to me. It was still surprising how much like a Hunter she felt like.
We walked passed some normal people who did not seem to pay us any attention. However just as we were about to get to the gate exit I heard somebody calling me name, “Rika is that you?”
I cringed a little, I had been hoping to get through this place without being stopped but I really didn’t want to be stopped by him. I tried to ignore me and continued walking, moving faster than before.”
“Hey, Rika! How are you doing?” I inwardly groaned. That voice was getting closer and I knew that I wouldn’t be able to avoid this encounter. I’m sure that if I ran he would follow me. So I turned and faced him. Running toward me through the common room waving his hand at me in an attempt to get my attention was Lucius. He was almost five years older than me but you certainly wouldn’t be able to tell by seeing him or speaking with him. He had never seemed to outgrown his childish looks or his childish attitude.
“Hello Lucius, surprising seeing you you.” I said in the driest tone that I could managed. I didn’t really hate Lucius, it was difficult to bring yourself to hate him, but he was exactly the Hunter I didn’t want to deal with right now. He was certainly going to ask a lot of uncomfortable questions.
“Not too surprising.” he said. Did he not understand my annoyance sarcasm? “I am assigned this this section of the wall and usually I get some of the later shifts. However seeing you around is strange. Aren’t you assigned one section down the wall in an easier shift. What are you doing here now? Did you fall asleep while on watch?” He smiled and laughed while he said this. I didn’t think he actually believed that I fell asleep while on patrol but he must have thought it was funny to say.