"Alright, we've got his fingerprints, DOB, and a facial scan," the officer clasps his hands over the wooden desk, "from here on out, Kiroh Blyat will be registered under your name in this town."
"Thank you kindly, Officer Tigins. We'll make our way out now." Amika—who had his hood off—stands up from the chair and gestures for Kiroh to join him.
"Don't worry too much about the process of getting him in the system, we'll sort it out in due time." The officer grabs a paper and begins to do more office work.
"Alright, well ya know how to contact me. Have a good night, Tigins." Amika does a small wave as Kiroh follows close behind.
The soldier doesn't say a word the whole time. He only looks at the officer with a nod of appreciative gratitude—the officer nods back. Kiroh turns and follows Amika through the station.
Now that they were outside, the duo could feel the significant drop in the temperature. Probably somewhere between forty and fifty degrees Fahrenheit compared to the middle sixties earlier in the day.
Nighttime had taken over completely, the darkness would have engulfed the whole settlement if it wasn't for the lights and their low buzzing. Illuminating their surroundings, the soldier and wanderer spot a giant clock next to a lit up statue. It reads, 23:51. Just nine minutes until midnight.
"Y'know, you coulda told me earlier you were from one of those outer settlements." Amika spoke in his oddly higher-pitched voice that Kiroh was slowly getting used to. "Instead of that 'People's United... Army' or whatever it was ya said."
"People's United Regime. Not, 'Army.'" The soldier corrected him before asking a question; his voice is slightly raspy but remains mostly smooth. "Where are we holding for the night?"
"The BlueDisc Inn. It's prices are cheap 'n the rooms are decent. And speakin' of decent rooms, you want yer own or do ya want to share?" The shorter man stuffs his hands in his pockets.
Kiroh shakes his head and speaks. "I'd rather you not have to go through your funds as much. You already spent money on our stays here, so let's just share the room." The soldier adjusts his grip on his rifle's new sling—a very recent addition given to him during their registration into the town.
"Oh~? Feeling humble now, huh?" Amika sports a grin as he nudges the soldier's arm. When his only response comes in the form of Kiroh's helmeted face staring at him, he lets off a chuckle.
Continuing on, he says, "Alright, alright. No need to give me the stink-eye now... hehehe. Anyways, you know ya don't need to wear that helmet here? Yeah?"
"It's a self-insurance thing, I'd rather keep it on." Kiroh rolls his neck, eliciting a few pops.
"Self-insurance? Seriously?" Amika looks at the soldier with a doubtful look. "Okay, Kiroh, let me get this straight, you think someone—anyone here—is gonna try to kill you?"
"No," the soldier replies instantly, "I just feel exposed standing out here. Also... cold."
The other man with horns shifts from his initial doubtful expression into one of realization. "Oh yeah, we're supposed to be headin' to the inn. C'mon, I'll lead ya there since I know you don't have a single clue 'bout where it is." He chuckles some more.
"Hm." Kiroh nods with a barely audible hum.
Walking across the settlement on the mix of dirt and pavement, they encounter two-story and three-story buildings with windows on each of them. Only a few are actually lit up in yellow light, suggesting open establishments or non-sleeping residents.
"Where exactly are ya from?" Amika asked as they were walking by a lamppost.
"A small outer town." Kiroh responds quickly, turning slightly to glance at the horned man.
"Well-yeah, I know that. But where? Where's the town? Temen? Morten Central? You didn't get specific when the officer asked." The shorter man tilts his head at Kiroh.
The soldier recalls what Amika had said much earlier in the day about his ethnicity. When the man asked him if he was Temenese, he simply agreed and didn't think much of it. Boy-oh-boy, one can only wonder how that could backfire. But hearing Amika say, 'Temen,' the soldier can only use his common sense and say it as well.
Kiroh turns his head slightly left to look at the shorter man. "Temen. I don't know where and to be honest, I'd rather not remember." He makes sure the man can hear the last bit of his sentence. Even if he's fabricating "old" memories, he'd rather not surface real ones, traumatic ones.
Amika only raises an eyebrow before lowering it and catching the hint. Huh, guess the guy's good at reading social cues.
The soldier asks, "What about you? Where're you from?" He adjusts the weapon strap on his shoulder.
"I'll only say," Amika starts, "New Wardence, from the deeper parts of the south." He looks forward and sighs, very noticeable.
Ah, okay. He's from the south of New Wardence. If this was supposed to imply something negative, Kiroh had absolutely no fucking clue what it was. And he could only speculate since, once again, he doesn't know a damn thing about it nor does he know where New Wardence even is.
"I see." Instead of asking about it, Kiroh decided to be a jackass and say those two words. From this moment on, he decides that he should probably learn how to read the map instead of remaining ignorant. When the opportunity arises, he'll take it.
"Oh, uh-don't worry about the armory by the way. It's closed at this time, unless of course, there's an emergency goin' on." Amika's attempt to change the subject is duly noted.
"That's fine, we can head there tomorrow then?" The soldier asked. Fatigue makes itself known as he spoke.
Amika shares the same tired feeling. "Yep, soon as first light hits." He adds on, "I'll get ya situated with the whole bounty thing, too, when we got the time."
"Appreciated." Kiroh only said.
"Oh, and uh," the horned man scratches his head and asks, "sorry if it's rude or anythin', but what's with your last name? Blee-yat? What's that mean?"
On the soldier's helmeted face, a one-sided grin overtakes his hidden expression. He exhales a few times in a silent chuckle before returning to his usual frown. "Determined." Is all he says, prompting a toothy grin to form as he stifles a laugh. The man knows the amount of bullshit coming out of his mouth but he doesn't care. He'll just stick with it until he can't.
Going about their way to the BlueDisc Inn, Amika tells the following soldier a bit more about the town. He doesn't go into detail but he tells him about how the town came to be. From its start as an outpost to its eventual transformation into a civilian settlement. Kiroh paid attention, or at least attempted to, since he felt himself getting sleepier.
After a few more minutes, the duo found themselves standing in the carpeted lobby of the inn. The whole atmosphere of the place had a warm feeling to it, probably because of the fireplace or the dim lighting. Most of the process of signing in was a blur but Kiroh was able to keep it together until they finally arrived in their room.
In the room is a single brown bed, a wooden desk and a large chair with a small pillow. Still having a sense of etiquette, he goes to the large chair located in the far corner. The soldier drops his backpack on the floor and places his gun so it leans on the wall.
Not bothering to take the helmet off, Kiroh lets the darkness envelope his eyesight and ignores the full pain coming from his sore body. The last thing he sees is Amika collapsing on the bed a couple feet from away him.
/////
The next day would be an eventful one.
After waking up in the early morning, Kiroh being the first to wake up, Amika decides that they need to address the soldier's needs first. First was hygiene, since he could smell Kiroh's scent—it really was not good. Also going under that category would be clothing since they both know the soldier didn't have anything else besides his dirty green uniform.
Second was regarding the armory. Although the man with horns had no actual weapon presented on his body, he figures he could go for a blade. And to help out Kiroh, he would assist him in his effort to refill his used ammo.
Third would be getting the bounties and jobs that were still available. Amika was very familiar with the process since he was always traveling and doing things that would give him money. From simply helping someone build something to killing a void creature.
Fourth and final would be stocking up on necessary supplies. This includes the essentials of food, water, medicals, and all the other important goodies.
Before they could go out, however, a small issue arose between the two men. It was Kiroh's... appearance. The human currently has most of his grey gear equipped over his green uniform—a plated vest on his torso, shoulder pads, forearm guards, thigh guards and knee pads. His weapon lays on a nearby wall, unloaded with the safety on.
Amika began the conversation. "Godsdamn, if yer gonna look like a frickin' robber ya might as well just take the mask off. You'll look a bit more normal even if ya got that vest on."
"I don't see what's wrong with the mask, when I was registered yesterday the employees didn't exactly care that I had it on for most of the time." Kiroh defends himself.
"Sure," the shorter makes a gesture to represent the office people, "they don't care, but the regular people do. When somebody sees you walkin' around with some armor and a murder mask, your gonna frighten them and put 'em on guard."
"Is it common for people to walk around with their faces concealed?" The human man asked in his usual tone, remaining mostly unchanged.
"In this town, yeah, but that don't stop people from getting all defensive." Amika answered as he crossed his arms.
"I know the balaclava will make others uncomfortable, but that's them. However, if the owners of one of the places were goin' to gets suspicious of me, then I'll take it off."
"Bala-what? What's that even mean? Actually, never mind, Kiroh, do you realize how your makin' this sound like such a petty argument?"
Kiroh takes a long pause before answering. "Yes, I do realize. But I'm willing to argue since I like keeping the mask on. I'm used to having it on all the time so it just helps me feel safer."
Amika had his mouth open but he didn't say anything. Only after a few seconds of staring at each other did the shorter man say something. "Fine, but if we start gettin' really bad looks, I'm gonna make ya take the mask off."
"Of course." Having ended their talk on a mutual note, they prepare their items to leave.
Their first action was getting Kiroh clothes that would fit him. Thanks to the funds coming right out of Amika's pockets—to which the soldier was very reluctant to spend—they would be able to purchase some of the lower-priced clothes in a nearby store.
Due to buying the cheapest clothes, the soldier was called a cheapskate many times by his partner. As a final result, Kiroh now had several sets of black clothing; fitted shirts, loose pants and boxers made with decent material. Only one plastic bag was needed to carry the clothes.
"Gonna be honest with ya, your choice in fashion is pretty bland." Amika had told him.
"Eh, it works either way." Was all that Kiroh responded with as he was eyeing a group of people across the street.
"You're also a cheapskate, like, to levels even I don't drop to." Amika chuckles as he looks ahead, not even sparing the man a glance.
Upon hearing that, Kiroh turns his head and looks directly into his ally's eyes. He doesn't say anything, only raising his free hand and giving him the middle finger. Amika sees it and laughs, knowing that he annoyed the soldier successfully.
Next up in the list was heading to the armory where they could both buy items and repair equipment. The taller man was not so stingy here.
Kiroh had decided to be more accepting of using Amika's money, filling his ammo reserves and repairing his vest—he was completely baffled at how fast the employees were able to restore his armor. Of course he questioned it, but once again, he chose to ignore it and accept it as it is. Because, why bother when it just works?
And while Kiroh was spending money, Amika decided to do some shopping as well. He looked around the armory to find any good bladed weapon that was big enough to scare and small enough to defend. In the end, Amika and Kiroh ended up with more weight on them; the former brandishing a dagger with a decorated handle, and the latter carrying a box of ammo and donning repaired armor.
"The handle has a pleasing design." Kiroh had told his ally when he glanced at the sizable blade.
"Yeah," the horned man points at an intersection of indents on the handle, "I like how the lines connect right there."
"Mm." The soldier only hummed as a response.
With the first task being done excellently—and with no problems—as well as the second, all that was left were tasks three and four. Getting bounties and stocking up necessities. The sun still seemed to shine in the cool weather, only partly blocked by scattered clouds; a nice reminder that much of the day still remained and time was more than enough.
Amika led the way to the main hub, a large building of brick, wood and plaster located just next to the town hall. When they walked closer to the main hub, they started to attract more looks from the locals; specifically towards the soldier of the two. Amika gave Kiroh a 'told you so' look while the soldier only narrowed his eyes.
Upon entering, the duo are greeted by a loud and active atmosphere.
To the left is a plethora of wooden and marble tables with dozens of patrons filling in the seats. Most are drinking and cheering, some are quiet and discussing things with each other, and others are silent and busy with their own personal things. On the right is a large bulletin board filled with hundreds of papers containing a familiar pattern of word structures.
Just ahead of the duo is what's most likely the receptionists' desk. Three women and one man are standing behind it, each of them appearing busy with helping others or doing paperwork. A line of seven people stand in front of the desk, probably waiting for their turn to come up.
Amika gestures for Kiroh to follow him, to which the soldier complies. Instead of going to the tables or the receptionists' desk, they head straight to the bulletin board. Skimming over each paper, Kiroh can't seem to understand the words..... realization dawns on the soldier.
"You've done bounties in other towns, right?" The shorter man asked.
Kiroh doesn't respond.
He just continues to stare at the incomprehensible words written on each paper. The only thing he's currently doing is cursing himself mentally. Earlier in the day, he's been able to push off the thought of his illiteracy by simply asking for Amika's help earlier. But now? The entire bulletin board is like a manifestation of mockery towards his inability to read the language.
Amika, who has been looking at Kiroh's masked face for a couple seconds, raises an eyebrow at his behavior. Due to the mask—which he finds to be very annoying—the only thing he can see are the man's narrowed eyes. He could only wonder what pissed the guy off.
Then he asks, "What's wrong?"
Kiroh turns to face the shorter man, looking down slightly to meet his eyes. Although the soldier's eyes are still narrowed, he doesn't harbor any will towards Amika.
He leans closer to him, "Um, uh... I," he continuously breaks and makes eye contact, "uh... I, I can't read this. I don't understand it." The soldier's voice was hushed and fast, and almost resembled something close to embarrassment or panic. "Can you select something?"
Amika doesn't do anything at first, only staring at Kiroh. This silent eye-to-eye contact continues for a few more seconds until his mouth curls upwards on both ends. It begins with a growing snicker and turns even louder. Soon enough, he starts to laugh.
"Please stop laughing at me," the soldier pleaded, unintentionally sounding more pathetic than he wanted to. He breaks eye contact and looks back at the board, trying to ignore his partner's laugh. "Can you just select something, please?"
The horned man continues to laugh.
"Amika, please, do not laugh at me." Kiroh spoke through gritted teeth, losing his patience much faster than he thought he would. When the shorter man continued to laugh, he exhaled sharply and decided to just stare at him until he finished.
Only a few more seconds pass before Amika finally stops.
"Oh man," he chuckles, "not sure if yer pullin' my chain or anything but you made me laugh thinkin' you actually couldn't read." A hand goes over his still-smiling face.
Kiroh doesn't say anything, deciding to just stare at the shorter man with as much seriousness he could gather with a balaclava. The taller man stays almost still in his rigid stance with the only noise coming from him being his breathing. Probably because of his irritated attitude. Even with the loud atmosphere of the hub, the soldier's breathing somehow comes on top—becoming much clearer to Amika.
The horned man is quiet at first, his chuckling expression fading away quickly. Seconds later, he gestures for the soldier to lean down to his level. Once the man does, he asks, "Wait... are you bein' serious with me, right now? Like… you actually can't read?"
"Yes," the human nodded, "now could you please select something, this admittance is… more embarrassing than I pictured it to be." Kiroh stops leaning and returns to his real height. Not being able to get out of the situation, the man starts to rub his throat to distract himself.
"Okay, hold on, Kiroh." Amika said, getting the man to stop rubbing his throat and grabbing his attention. Much to the unexpectancy of Kiroh, the horned man grabs the other's shoulder and pulls him down to ask, "How in the damned void did you manage to survive this far in life? Also, if you were a soldier, how'd ya even get accepted if you couldn't read?"
Not moving to get out of Amika's grip, Kiroh simply answers. "It's a different language I learned, it's not whatever," he gestures to the bulletin board full of paper bounties before continuing "that is. English is my language, I've been writing and speaking it my whole life."
"En...glish…. I ain't ever heard a language called 'english' before."
Before the soldier talks, he attempts to break Amika's grip but fails almost instantly; his grip is like fucking iron for some reason. "But you're using english right now to talk to me?" Kiroh adjusts the strap of the rifle hanging on his right shoulder.
"Uh, no. We're both speakin' Nar'hanth. And you're obviously fluent—though you said you lived in Temen. We've been usin' nothing but Nar'hanth, there's no other dominant language in the Northern Territories."
"Oh." There was a pause in the conversation after that single word. Amika continues to stare right into the human's eyes while Kiroh switches his attention from his new partner to the intimidating bulletin board. "Then could you read these out and pick one? Also, I would appreciate it if you let go of my vest."
After yet another short silence—just one of the many that would take place in this alliance of two—Amika lets go of him and uses his regular voice. "So you really can't understand these?" He asked, all seriousness presented in his voice.
"I cannot, I can write in english but this," he waves his hand lazily to gesture at the bulletin board once more, "I don't understand anything. Some characters seem really similar to the ones in my language, but that's it."
The horned man seems to be contemplating something due to the thumb he's currently biting, his face is contorted in thought. Passing a few seconds, Amika concludes his response. "Okay, so Kiroh," the soldier hums in attention, "I still have no idea what english is, but you can write it fluently, yeah?"
Another positive hum and a nod from Kiroh is what he receives.
"Okay, okay... speaking english is basically speakin' Nar'hanth then... so that's it then. You can talk in Nar'hanth, but you can't write—only speak it. But for english, which is basically Nar'hanth, you can write it just fine." He gazes right into Kiroh's depressing brown orbs. "Is that it?"
"Yes," the human nods as he stares right back into Amika's golden eyes, "I can only write in english, not Nar'hanth."
"Well… alrighty then." Realization forms on Amika's face. "So that's why you kept asking for help when we were in the armory!" A cheshire grin dominates his expression.
Kiroh doesn't say anything. More than likely a result of him being embarrassed or annoyed to admit it once again. The wandering movement of his eyes are more than enough for the horned man to widen his already large grin.
"Can you select a bounty already?" No anger makes itself clear in Kiroh's voice. The human completely breaks all eye contact and chooses to stare anywhere else besides Amika's eyes. "It would be better if we do something while we still have enough daylight."
"Hmph," the shorter partner made an exaggerated noise, "sounds like a great idea, Kiroh. Now let's see… this one." He steps towards the bulletin board and unpins a paper, reading to himself first before turning to face Kiroh. "This one's about clearin' out a nest of crimson imps located just four kilometers west of the town."
"Crimson imps?" Kiroh asked without thinking. Before he could realize his mistake and attempt to word the question differently, his shorter partner answered anyways.
"Yup," Amika looks down at the paper again, "and it says a few people went missin' in the area before the nest was reported, probably the work of those lil' red bastards." He looks at his taller partner with an opportunity-driven smile. "If we find all of 'em, we'll get an extra five-percent bonus."
"Sounds good." Inside the soldier's head, he's connecting the dots between what Amika had just said and his own recollection of the 'red bastards'. He can only conclude that the names of those red goblins are in fact, not goblins, but imps. Crimson imps to be exact. Nodding subtly to himself, he makes sure to use the proper terminology for the red-colored midgets he previously deemed as mythological goblins.
Amika rolls the paper horizontally and says, "I'll take it to the receptionists' desk." He pointed a thumb to the area with the uniformed receptionists—which was both surprisingly and conveniently less busier than it was earlier. Only two of the four employees were busy, leaving the man and a lady unoccupied.
The soldier nods and follows a few feet behind. As he does so, his gear bounces up and down in an established rhythm. He casts a glance to his left where the tables of people are and notices a surprising sight.
Two people are looking right back at him; a man with brown hair and a blue-haired woman with a youthful face. Before he immediately averted his attention to the receptionists' desk, he saw them eyeing him up and down like some sort of shiny trinket.
Feeling a wave of uncertainty overtaking him, Kiroh speeds his pace and places a hand on Amika's back to usher him faster. The horned partner obviously takes notice and asks, "What are you-"
Kiroh cuts him off. "Let's hurry, I believe we're being targeted." Thanks to his close proximity, neither of them really needed to lower their voices as much as they did earlier. "Young girl with blue hair and guy with brown hair at the tables."
"Wait, hold on, that's just-"
He's cut off once again as Kiroh speeds them up. "I caught them eyeing me just a couple seconds ago, let's move quickly and be out of here."
Amika comes to an abrupt halt which makes Kiroh nearly trip in his step. The latter was about to ask why he stopped, but the former beat him to the question.
"Where are they?" The shorter man folds his arms while looking at the tables full of people, most likely looking for the ones that fit his partner's description.
Turning around, the soldier is met with the sight of the two he just deemed as the ones targeting them. Surprise and instinct are all he feels in the second it takes for him to react to their dangerously close distance.
Kiroh steps back in an instant and wraps a hand around the grip of his pistol, which was snug in the holster on his right hip; more than ready to pull out the sidearm.
The man reacts first, calmly putting his hands up in a mock fashion. "Heh, nice reflexes ya got there, shorty. But you're gonna have to be a lot more threatening than that." His close-up features are more than enough to denote his younger age; the lack of any natural lines as well as the arrogance in his voice helps as well.
"Who are you?" Kiroh asked quickly and with hostility—similar to the tone he used on Amika just yesterday. His mask only allows his narrowed brown eyes to be seen, he can't help but think of how punchable the guy's face is.
"Jeez, ya got a stick in yer ass or somethin'?" The younger man places his hands in pockets and assumes a lax stance. The arrogance in his voice does wonders to piss Kiroh off, but the soldier remains steadfast in his usual stoic behavior. "Say yours first and I just might tell ya mine."
The green-uniformed soldier was about to repeat his question until the blue-haired girl cut in, forcing the young man to back up with a hand on his shoulder and speaking. "It's Aliana, or Ali, this dude," she points a thumb to the other guy, "is Thompson. Sorry for the rude first-impression." She smiles at the soldier's masked face and turns to glare at the guy behind her—said guy only shrugs in response.
Kiroh takes a moment to examine the two people. The woman—or Aliana—wears a dark blue jacket with yellow outlines over a grey blouse; her trousers are a pair of black leggings defining her form. On her waist is a belt of small bags and other hanging tools, on other parts of her clothing are more trinkets.
The taller guy—who happens to tower over Kiroh by two whole heads—has a red form-fitting shirt with a tactical rig over it; a white graphic design of some language is printed over the chest area. He wears brown cargo pants, pockets aligning the front of his thighs and shins; each of his pockets have a zipper.
Opening his mouth to speak, Kiroh is cut off once more. "What are y'all doin' in the NT?" The voice belongs to his ally, Amika. "Didn't I tell you to just hang back and just stay in Wardence with the others?" His voice is stern and imposes authority—or it would, if Kiroh didn't think it was so high-pitched.
A question like that was all that was needed to spark Kiroh's curiosity, even though it wasn't exactly much. He doesn't have a clear idea as to how these people are related to Amika in any way, but from what the horned man had just said, he can only assume that they're allies. He lessens his grip around his holstered pistol. Deciding to stay quiet, he intends to listen to their conversation and figure it out from there.
Despite the shorter man's voice, Amika's sternness prompts the brown-hair and blue-hair to look away from him in a mix of shame and embarrassment. An action duly noted by the soldier who stands only three or so feet away from the three.
"Yeah, that's right. Look away, you know what ya did." Amika has a slight frown and furrowed eyebrows on his face, his arms are crossed as well.
Aliana, or Ali, is the first to respond to Amika. "Ehehe… sorry Mika, we, uh, we know why ya left the camp and all… but we just couldn't find it in ourselves to leave you all on your lonesome." Her words were slow, but in the end she offered a smile. She faces Kiroh. "But I guess ya got a new partner now? So at least you aren't completely alone."
Kiroh's ally only sighs with a disapproving look. "So you've been trackin' me for the past… what, three-four months now?" Amika receives a nod from Ali, prompting a sigh to escape his mouth once more. "Obviously, I'm a bit annoyed, but at least all that training you did with Samantha paid off."
Continuing on, Amika places a hand on Kiroh's shoulder and says, "And yeah, this is my new buddy, Kiroh." The expression on the shorter man's face turns into a friendly smile. "Kiroh, meet Aliana. Aliana, meet Kiroh."
"Evenin' Kiroh, pleasure to meet ya." She expresses a smile eerily similar to Amika's; it reveals a set of unnaturally sharp teeth. Putting her hand out, she expects him to return the greeting. He does exactly that but Kiroh breaks it off noticeably quickly. "And sorry for eyein' you earlier, we had no idea you guys were all buddy-buddy."
Only a grunt of acknowledgment comes from Kiroh, nodding once. While asking directly seems like a better option, the soldier decides it's not his place to know about Amika's past colleagues and Wardence—he assumes that Wardence is a place they're from.
Besides, they're just travel buddies for now and to be honest, getting to know someone isn't exactly something he's good at since he tends to never make an effort towards it.
Retracting his hand, Amika watches their surroundings before speaking. "Well, 'fore we talk anymore, I'm gonna get this bounty for us," the horned man gestures to himself and the soldier, "then we'll meet up outside and chat from there. Sound good?"
Positive answers all around, well actually, just a nod from Thompson and an affirmation from Aliana.
"Good, we'll be out in a bit."
Following through with the compromise, both parties turn to their respective places. Amika and Kiroh head towards the receptionists' desk, the former speaking to a receptionist to register the bounty. Kiroh can understand what they're saying, but obviously, he can't read the shit they are talking about.
The soldier turns his head to watch as Aliana and Thompson move to the door, neither of them turning back to look at him. Within a matter of seconds, the hub's doors are closed and he can no longer see them. He focuses back on Amika and the receptionist.
"Okay, sir, the digital copy is saved and officially registered in the system. You can keep the hard copy if you wish to." The receptionist gestures to the bounty paper on the wooden counter. "Is there anything else I can help you with?"
"Nope, thank ya very much." Amika grabs the paper and stuffs it into a pocket before looking at the receptionist and waving politely. "Have a good day, sir."
Amika looks at his partner and jerks his head towards the door. "C'mon, Kiroh. We'll chat with 'em and take off." He doesn't wait for a response and turns to leave.
Kiroh looks at the receptionist and nods gratefully. "Thank you, sir." The man behind the counter only offers a tired, but seemingly genuine smile.
Joining his semi-new ally, the soldier and the wanderer walk to the door.