Back To The City, And A Thank You

Mae instantly got up and pushed him back.

"Step back, you creep!" she exclaimed, and when she glanced back at Ayden, he wore a pained expression on his face.

It was like upsetting a boy. Pretty much instantly though, Ayden let a sigh and got up.

"Anyways, I'm not expecting anything, I'm getting out of here. See you around." and with a wave, he started to walk away.

Mae had a very pressing question in her mind that she wanted Ayden to answer, but she couldn't say anything because she felt too awkward.

He started to walk down the cliff, and since Mae couldn't say anything to break the awkward silence, she silently followed him.

Both of them made their way down the mountain, and Ayden walked back to The City With No Name, with Mae tailing him like a puppy.

By the time they got to the city, it was late in the evening, and the golden sun was casting a beautiful aura over the layered and jagged buildings of the city with no name.

"Hey," Mae called out, but there was no response yet again from Ayden.

"Hey." Still no response, and Mae was getting visibly annoyed.

Each time he noticed her out of the corner of his eyes, he visibly got a bit agitated and picked his pace up a bit.

"Hey! I'm trying to talk to you here!" She shouted, and Ayden finally stopped.

"How did you know my name?" She asked, her hand clutching her chest, as she wanted a response.

Ayden looked up for a second and turned around.

"Oh yeah, I forgot this." He reached into his coat and pulled out Mae's bag.

Ayden paused, his eyes locking onto Mae's as he finally acknowledged her presence. 

He held her gaze for a moment, a hint of curiosity in his eyes before he casually tossed her bag towards her. "Your bag," he said, almost as an afterthought.

Mae caught the bag, taken aback by him picking it up. "Where did I drop this?" She asked him, her eyes gleaming with an expectant glow.

"When you were running this way, out of the city." He said, his tone not changing

Mae opened her bag to check her belongings, and then she also read the name "Mae Reinhart" on the strap.

"So that's how you knew my name, huh? Maybe I was a bit too harsh and insensitive towards this man." She thought to herself, and she looked back up.

Ayden just stood there and seemed like he just wanted to be gone at this rate. All of a sudden, looking into his eyes, her heart started to flutter.

"...ank-" (Mae)

"What?" (Ayden)

"Tha-... you-"(Mae)

Mae was stuttering with her words, which she couldn't bring herself to say.

"If you want to survive in this city, you have to be tough, or at least put on an act of being tough. This is a dog-eat-dog place, and to survive, you must play by its rules. " Ayden said, putting even more distance between them.

"Wai-" (Mae)

"Anyways, I'll be off. See you around, and if you want any help, ask for my name, and you shall be led to me." He said and disappeared into the melting pot that was the city.

He was like a grain of sand, blending with the denizens of this city.

Mae clutched her bag a bit tighter, and she grits her teeth.

"I just wanted to say thank you..." She mumbled to herself.

"Well, whatever, let's arrange for someplace to stay tonight." Mae then put her hand into the bag, and into the compartment where she stored her money.

She pulled out the last bit of money she had, in the form of currency notes and coins, and started to count them.

"Five... Ten... Twenty... Fifty... I've around one hundred midos huh? Not a lot remaining... I have to earn money somehow..."

It was a painful reminder that Mae was on the verge of running out of money.

"Where do I even begin though?" She thought. She had tried anything and everything but still failed.

"What can an idiot and good-for-nothing like me even offer? "

She started to walk down the street and quickly realized that walking without footwear on gravel was painful.

She then spotted a relatively harmless-looking old man, who was wearing glasses and seemed to be waiting on the walkway for something.

She was about to ask the old man who was standing at the side of the street for directions to a lodge, when her mind flashed back to the events that transpired a couple of days ago.

She quickly clutched her heart and hit behind a wall "What if this old guy turns out to be some super scary and strong dude!? What will I do then?"

Ayden's advice then ran past her head.

"If you want to survive here, you must be tough, huh? I feel like I'm missing something though."

(yeah she totally did not forget about the second part)

"_Hufff_... Alright, so I must put on the act of being tough eh? Let's try it on this old man and see if it works!" Mae said to herself, as she now confidently walked up to the old man.

"Hey, you, old geezer!" She said, in a loud voice, loud enough for most people in the vicinity to hear.

She walked up to him until he was an inch from his face, but the old man stood his ground, it almost felt as if he was used to this.

"I want a place to stay for the night, so tell me! Where can I find one?" She stood there, looming over him in silence, trying to exude an intimidating presence.

The old man, seemingly unfazed, continued to sit on his bench. After a few moments of silence, he finally spoke, "Well, young lady, you've certainly got the attitude. But if you want a place to stay, you're in the right spot."

Then, he started to look around for something, and Mae was frustrated at the fact that she was being disrespected like this.

"Can you even see, old man?" (Mae)

"No." (The old Man.)

A deafening silence ensued, as the old man reached into the pocket of his worn coat and pulled out a white cane. He carefully unfolded it and tapped the ground with it.

A "Oh... I'm sorry..." faded away as Mae realized her blunder.

The old man let out a hearty laugh and said "Just follow me, you're lucky I own a lodge, you know?"