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[sub][color=8E939E]✧     Location: Soft Haven Cemetery     ✧     Purse: 12 copper     ✧     [@Mcmolly]     ✧[/color][/sub][/center]
All told, Kyreth’s arrival in Soft Haven – or more accurately, [i]outside[/i] Soft Haven – was a lot calmer than he expected. In fact, he’d go so far to say it was actually kind of pleasant, which was a nice change of pace. He got to spend the night around a warm fire (thankfully, without incident), and for the first time in ages, got to have a bit of conversation. Well, “conversation” was a strong word, seeing as Lilann really did most of the talking on her own, but Kyreth was content to sit quietly and listen. The night was kind to them, withholding the typical late autumn rain, and Kyreth was surprised to find the Soft Haven cemetery a rather peaceful spot to sleep. 

That wasn’t to say the night passed without incident, though. At one point, a horrible feeling of imminent danger shocked Kyreth from slumber, the boy shooting up like a sprung snare, pawing reflexively for his crescent. But, like so many other times he’d been started out of sleep, he saw nothing in the dark; no beast standing over him, no pitchfork-wielding mob, nothing. As such, he brushed it off as yet another case of some woodland sound startling him and managed to get back to sleep. 

As usual, Kyreth woke again at first light, blinking groggily up at the still-dim sky as he gathered up his senses. He was well acquainted by now with the stiffness that came from sleeping on the ground, but his tail complained especially loudly this morning; he would usually have unbound it from his waist for the night, but opted to keep it hidden since he wasn’t alone. Before he even lifted his head, Kyreth closed his eyes once more and put his hands over the pendant on his heart, whispering a prayer of thanks to Selene for once more seeing him safely through the night. 

Cold from the pre-dawn chill, Kyreth clutched his worn, dew-dampened cloak around him as he finally sat up, pawing blindly behind his head for the hood that had fallen off as he regained his bearings. Out of habit, he patted himself down for his belongings; knife, purse, crescent, cloak (obviously), and – oh, his packet of trail food was missing. Right, he’d shared some last night with Lilann. Absently wondering if he’d have enough left over to last him until his first Bounty House pay or if he’d have to buy more today, Kyreth looked around for the oilcloth packet, and found it on the grass next to him – and next to that, a bunch of deep, jagged gashes in the soil. 

Kyreth withdrew his hand as if he’d seen a snake and scrambled to his feet, backing a few paces away as his tail squirmed nervously under its wrappings. The marks weren’t just there; there were many of them, stretching to each side until they encircled their whole camp. 

[color=8E939E]“Li— uh, Lilann?”[/color] Kyreth rasped dryly, not taking his eyes off the marks. They looked fresh, tearing up the grass in what looked like a series of deep scratch marks. Were those there when he got here? It was too dark then to see the ground in any detail, but why would a graveyard be torn up like that? A wave of dread washed over Kyreth; not just fear of what sort of creature had to have prowled around them as they slept to make these, but a fear that a Soft Haven guard could come over any moment and blame [i]him[/i] for ruining their graveyard. 

No, no dammit, this had to be a misunderstanding, right? Nothing big enough to make those marks would pass through unnoticed – or without making a quick meal out of the two sleeping Tainted in its path. No, no way – sure, [i]something[/i] woke him up, but he didn’t see [i]anything,[/i] let alone something with claws big enough to do [i]that[/i]. 

Maybe Lilann would know. She was doing that weird ritual with the smoke when he arrived; maybe this was part of it. Yeah. He tried to clear his throat, calling out to Lilann again without taking his eyes off the marks on the ground. He did his best to keep the fear out of his voice, but he couldn’t purge the shakiness. [color=8E939E]“Was this part of your… funeral… thing?”[/color]