He was alone. Alone and dumbstruck by what he’d found. Regan didn’t intend to stick around to discover just how long that shock would last,

“Go. Go.” Regan whispered and nudged Cassian. If he’d run, she’d follow. If he stayed, she’d maintain her place between them.

Cassian’s other hand was still on Regan’s wrist. He took advantage of it, moving even as she started to urge him, keeping the hold tight to ensure they stayed together. He took off through the crowd, shoving people out of his way. They’d part like the Red Sea if they knew who he was. It occurred to him as he was fleeing that making his identity known and settling this whole thing once and for all was an option. Then again, it would give birth to a plethora of questions concerning the reasons for his trips out of Skia and subject him to a scrutiny he had no time or capacity to deal with at present.

So they ran.

Homeboy followed. In fact, as he pursued them he hollered for his pals, and before long a whole hunting party was around them, some closer and some farther, all seeking to chase them down and get to the bottom of what happened at the cabin that night.

“Shit.” The expletive leapt from Cassian’s mouth quite uncharacteristically. Seems even the king had a knack for crude words when the situation called for it. Well, you’d say it too if your only way out had just been blocked by two men. They could either barrel through them or slow to a stop, and the men around them were far larger than both Cassian and Regan.

Regan held to him. Her eyes scanned the crowd, tracking those moving toward them as she breathed in their anger. The wolf screamed to be set free. How easy it would be to tear through their bodies and set them aflame. But no, not here, not amidst the joy that despite this disruption still whirled around them. Regan wouldn't see it, but the man up on the stage - the one on the horse - had started to notice the commotion.

There was no stopping - at least, not in Regan's mind. The only way this didn't end in an unfortunate revelation or even more unfortunate bloodshed was for them to break free and make for the woods. Though Regan was smaller, she called on her hellhound strength to shove through and part a way for them.

Indeed, Cassian’s conclusion was the same: exposure or bloodshed. That is, if he continued to do things in this seat-of-your pants, uncivilized way. He was a man now, not a wolf.

Regan shoved through the last of the crowd where three men were waiting for them, their eyes full of vengeance.

“Just who do you think we are?” Cassian asked loudly, a frown on his features. The leader was still behind them, slogging his way through the crowd to catch up. The others, his followers were forced to come up with an answer. Only the three men in the doorway had seen Cassian and Regan. Only two remained.

Regan stopped, hand still clutching Cassian’s as her heart thundered in her chest. Her eyes bounced between the men, checking for familiarity and finding none.

“You tell me.” One of the men barked, slowly advancing on them.

Cassian wouldn’t let Regan stand between her and them. Though it was appropriate to protect the king, in Nevermere the men protected the women. He’d tug her to the side, slightly behind him.

“I don’t know you. I don’t know any of you. So this is a misunderstanding.” He said it with a certainty that caused some among them to question themselves. They looked at each other, waiting for whoever was confident among them to speak up.

That was when the leader reached them.

“It’s the couple from the cabin.” He said with a pant. Cassian turned around to face him, moving Regan again if she didn’t fight him.

“Yes, we haven’t forgotten that humiliating night. You came upon us…” he fell silent, feigning embarrassment. “But what is this now? The other among you let us go.” It was a plausible lie, if not particularly good. He was beginning to have a sinking feeling that this wasn’t going to go how they wanted it to.

Regan happily folded against Cassian’s side, for her own part understanding what her place in this was now. Even as the men closed in she still believed Cassian would find a way. She made her best effort to look both perplexed and frightened as the familiar face of the leader approached.

The commotion was finally enough to have caused the festivities to halt. The mayor—supposedly that’s who he was—had already been drawn to the scene and now held out a hand to stop the music.

“What’s this now, Raymond?” The mayor called out, stepping to the side of stage.

“This is the pair,” the leader spluttered, “the ones that were there that night. The ones that got away.”

This wasn't good. Everyone was looking now. Cassian did his best to continue the farce.

"And this is the man, your honor," Cassian said, extending an open hand towards the leader, "who, along with his friends, disrupted a romantic outing with my wife and threatened us with weapons. Even now, you see how they surround us." He looked around the crowd, hoping there would be empathy towards them from the other citizens. Not everyone was a thug with thug friends.

This solicited a few scandalized gasps from nearby women, which clearly frustrated the leader who sought confrontation. The mayor had started to descend the stage to make his way toward them. It didn’t take long, as the crowd parted for him the way it would have for Cassian—had they know who he was.

“They were there,” The leader sputtered in defense, “the night Ferris was cut down by the beasts—they were there.” A shadow passed over the mayor’s face as he directed his attention to Cassian with a furrowed brow.

Cassian knew how to manevuer this situation with a calm collectednes that would have put stone to shame, but he didn't need to be a king right now, he needed to be an innocent man. He blinked rapidly at the leader, as if confused.

"Yes, we heard the sounds of the animals. We told you so that night. But we hadn't seen them." He looked back to the mayor, a plea in his tone. "They had no business with us but they insisted on holding us. Even now they do the same."

The mayor did not speak at first. As any good leader, he’d learned to hold his tongue until his thoughts were fully formed. It was strange to see the roles reversed: Cassian, the subject of a leader and his scrutiny.

The mayor assessed them: Cassian with his bare chest and Regan either her bare feet and trousers. They were an unorthodox pair, no doubt about it. Perhaps in quieter company he would have excused Raymond’s suspicion as the hysteria of grief, but he wouldn’t publicly embarrass the man in such a way. Besides, there was certainly something…odd about this couple.

“This is not how we do things Raymond,” he said eventually, “We will sit and discuss this like civilized folk. Come…” The mayor indicated for the three of them to follow.

The breath Cassian didn’t know he had been holding exhaled quietly from between barely parted lips as he nodded in agreement to the beckon. Now this, in a civilized context, was something he could handle.

He turned his face towards Regan, giving her a nod of confidence, before leading her after the mayor, starting to formulate more of their story in preparation of what was to come.

Raymond, the lead hunter, looked immediately irate, but didn’t challenge the mayor. He’d wait for Cassian and Regan to go first before tailing, several of his men following at a distance.

The mayor would to make small talk. He’d walk up to what seemed to be a town hall or meeting house of some kind. When they entered, there were a few women busily working over the table to weave crowns of autumnal leaves.

“Would you allow us the room, ladies?” The women looked up at the mayor, perplexed, flitting between Regan and Cassian. But after a moment’s consideration the woman nodded and started to shuffle out.

“And Merida—“ The mayor called, stopping the woman. He took one look at Cassian and Regan before saying: “Bring this pair some clothes, please. And bring Gerald either you.”

The woman nodded and exited. It was then the mayor indicated for them all to sit at the table with the leaf crowns.