Basil woke in a cold sweat, hair sticking to his forehead and neck, which he quickly tried to wipe away with his blanket. He recoiled at the smell. The inn probably hadn’t washed the sheets in weeks, given the state of the place. The walls had peeling paint, bits of the plaster and areas where they tried to fix holes shown through. Basil yawned and tried to remember his dream. Blurry visions of a disembodied arm and blood passed through his mind, and Basil shivered. What horrors could that possibly lead to? Basil hoped he would never find out. He slipped on his shorts and his shirt, wiping the sleep out of his eyes as he repacked his bag, taking the stuff he hid and putting it back in the designated pockets of his satchel. Basil went downstairs, where he grabbed one of the free apples they supplied, after all, the jules he had were for emergencies only, and he wasn’t that hungry after the dream he had. He hopped along, grinning at the strongest, most dangerous looking men and women he could see. Besides, who knows when the last time someone smiled at them. To his pleasure, they smiled back, saluting and giving other gestures of greeting. Basil, laughed to himself, exiting the inn where he immediately ran into a hooded figure, skin a pretty sky blue and with an interesting sea green stubble. “Sorry,” Basil said, rubbing his nose where he was hit, both from the pain and the clear salty scent that radiated from the man. 

“My bad,” the rough, but playful voice responded, and Basil smiled at him. The hooded man smiled back, and in his head, Basil put two and two together. “No problem… merman.” He whispered the last part quietly, and the man straightened immediately, stiff and dissociative. “I haven’t a clue what you’re talking about.” He said roughly, not playful at all this time. Basil put a hand on the man’s arm. “It’s okay, I'm one of those ‘ let sea people on land’ kind of people. I’m on your side.” The man relaxed, and he put a hand over Basil’s. “Thanks.” Basil laughed, and gave him a warm smile. “You can trust us creatures from Otto. We aren’t like the other sectors.” Merman looked curious, despite the fact that Basil couldn’t see his eyes. He raised the hood slightly and Merman winked. “Sam. Sam Blight. Pleasure to meet you.” Basil smiled brightly. “Basil Grace.” He introduced, and bowed slightly. Sam laughed and leaned against a nearby lamppost, gas lit and shining brightly in the early hours of the morning. “Where are you heading to, wolf pup?” 

Basil glared playfully at the nickname that was given to immature werewolves. “Everywhere. Otto, Foret, Xio, Aquatica-” 

Sam flinched noticeably and Basil gave him an apologetic smile, but Sam quickly brushed it off. “Nice. Sounds like you're really going places.” 

Basil shrugged. “I wanted to explore. So I did.”

Sam chuckled. “Is that why you landed in Graecus? Land of nature spirits?”

Basil nodded. “It’s close to my home sector, so I kinda just figured- why not?”  Basil picked up a rock a reptilian kid had kicked, and held it protectively in his hands. Everything from nature here- anywhere- were directly connected to a spirit, nature beings whose life force was merged with rocks, flowers, trees- you name it. He cradled the rock. It was small, so it was either really old or really young. He inhaled the almost metallic smell, which also smelled fresh. Definitely a young spirit. Basil took a sniff of the air around him, Sam staying silent while he concentrated. His ears twitched slightly, and he looked over to a squealing baby, hands outstretched to the reptilian boy. “Give it back, Asmodeus!” She yelled, and Basil smiled in relief, while her mother looked worried. Basil walked over, motioning Sam to follow him, who finally realized just how good a werewolf's sense of smell was. “Hey gorgeous, ” Basil said kindly to the little girl, who had angry tears streaming down her cheeks. “I think you have something in your ear!” The girl looked confused, and Basil pretended to pull the pebble out of her ear. The little girl looked elated, taking it gently and putting it in her little purse she carried. The girl brushed a piece of hair behind her pointed nymph ears, and smiled, wiping away her tears. “Thank you, Mr. Wolf. I'm Lily.” She held out her hand professionally, and Basil took her hand, taking care not to scratch her smooth chocolate skin with his claws. The mother looked at Basil skeptically. “Are you the mother?” Basil asked carefully, taking care not to assume. The older girl looked surprised. “No! Gods no! I’m her sister!” She burst into a fit of giggles, and Basil smiled, before his expression dropped. Behind Lily's sister, were two sketchy men, and based on the amount of decorative (or what he hoped were decorative) skulls, plus the rank smell that came off of them, they were bounty hunters. “Lily,” The sister said calmly, upon noticing Basil’s expression. “Go with the Brack and Khan.” Lily looked annoyed. “Do I have to? They smell icky.” 

The older girl smiled. “Yes, Lily. Now hurry, before they try to take me too. You know the deal. I give them you, and they give me a head start.” 

Lily rolled her eyes and stayed silent, skipping over to the bounty hunters. Brack mumbled something under his breath before counting out loud from thirty, and the older girl laughed out loud, tugging on Basil’s and Sam’s hands as she dragged them along in the opposite direction. “Come on, bozos. We’ve got thirty seconds. I’m Persephone Springs. Nice to meet you.”