@Innue

“Yeah,” Axel chuckled, “I’ll be sad to see it go to be perfectly honest but I can’t carry on in these rags.” 

Axel took this chance to walk closer to Selim, unbuckling his sword as he did. He made sure it was still lose in it’s sheath but he had no apparent reason to draw yet, despite the very nasty looking spear Selim had. He didn’t seem like a violent fellow and Axel would give him the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise. When he is about 15 feet away, Axel spread his shredded cloak on the ground and plopped on it like he was at a picnic in the park. Pulling some rations from his bag, Axel began munching on some jerky.

"I spotted your trail a ways back and followed it hoping to glimpse whatever you were hunting.” He said between bites. “Tracking is a specialty of mine, and I’m always looking to collect rare Natrelmon. Actually, the state I’m in is due to a rather rough encounter with an Albion and Mythari. It was tough, but safe to say I was the victor. All in all it was a nice little detour on my way to Toran. I’m finally going to start my rites and keep getting sidetracked. I’ve been traveling for about a week from Ward.”

Axel once again refilled his canteen with magic, as the jerky and physical exertion seemed to want him to stay parched. It felt good to just take a moment and relax and be slightly carefree. The fact that he had some company was a godsend as he missed having someone to talk to during his travels. He was not used to being alone other than a few rare scouting assignments, as he was always surrounded by his comrades, but they were mostly older and had long since completed their rites or given up the idea of it. 

“ So what were you hunting out here?” Axel asked, although his eyes kept glancing on the spot he had seen Selim stow his book. Something was nagging him about it and his senses had become slightly heightened as he approached Selim. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it.