[CENTER][h1][color=B3ADAB][b]CATHERINE CORIANDER[/b][/color][/h1][/center][hr]
Clouds rolling overhead, Coriander and Haku returned to Tune Town, their lengthy walk concluding with the wind returning in full force. Shivering, Coriander said, [color=B3ADAB]“Th-thanks for joining me! I’ll make sure you guys see Peppermint before we go, bye!”[/color] Waving her hand, she ran off, returning home, the warmth in her face staving off the chill.

Busting in through her front door, she called, [color=B3ADAB]“I’m home!”[/color] No response. Poking around, there was neither hide nor hair of her parents or the kids. With a casual shrug, she whipped up some lunch, pan frying a leftover fish fillet alongside some greens, enjoying both with a nice amount of butter. Once the dishes were clean, she ended up nodding off on the living room sofa for...she wasn’t sure how long. It was darker when she awoke, the wind rattling the windows. Sucking her lips in, she was starting to understand something was not right. The storm had blown back in, or another one to take its place. Throwing on a heavy coat, she went outside, the gusts immediately chilling her. Starting for the town hall, she didn’t make it far before she heard a voice coming from the other direction

[sub]I can’t get out, I can’t call for help, the storm’s getting worse, I’m doomed I’m doomed I’m doomed...[/sub] 

There was only a moment of time Coriander spent processing, before she sprinted off in the direction of the voice, heading into the slightly denser spot of trees closer to the edge of town. The wind roaring through the branches made it seem like the whole forest was writhing in anticipation, but that didn’t keep Coriander back for a second. Someone needed help. It didn’t even cross her mind that she’d gone across such a distance that she shouldn’t have been able to hear anything, much less a voice.

She found a fallen tree, the trunk having crushed a man’s legs to the ground. They met eyes, Coriander panting heavily. It was only now that she started to doubt herself, for the man, visibly covered in a grime that rain or seawater couldn’t wash away, his clothing that of a seafarer, his jaw covered in unshaven facial hair, his face unrecognizable to Coriander, who’d know the people of this town for her whole life. And he was certainly no sailor, not of Captain Cadog’s ship, that was for sure.

[color=B3ADAB]“Is your leg broken?”[/color] Coriander called.

“H-how did you find me?”

[color=B3ADAB]“I heard you!”[/color] The man seemed visibly confused, but dropped it.

“I can’t get out.” He readjusted his posture. Something seemed to be underneath him. Coriander moved closer, the man shirking away. She tried to push the log, but to no avail. Collapsing back, she looked back to the man, seeing a collapsed bag of food: fruit, vegetables, bread… The man continued trying to hide it.

[color=B3ADAB]“Are you...stealing?”[/color] No response. [color=B3ADAB]“Where are you from?”[/color] Still nothing. [color=B3ADAB]“I can’t move this. I’m going to get help.”[/color] The man shuddered, grimacing, but he had no cards to play. There was a clicking sound, like a branch being snapped, but to Coriander it didn’t register. Turning about the head back to town, she saw another man standing about 3 meters away. He was taller, but no less unkempt and filthy. And while she hadn’t recognized the sound, she did recognized the flintlock pistol aimed her way, a chill running through her far deeper than the cold of the wind could ever cut.