[M] Me, myself and I

Even though it was late at night, Ridley was wide awake. This in itself wasn’t all that unusual; he had had trouble sleeping ever since his capture four years ago. It wasn’t necessarily because of the nightmares anymore, though those were gruelling and draining, but rather because he was afraid what he would see when he woke up. Since coming to Seere, Hydra had been taking more and more opportunities to emerge, usually whenever Ridley had gone to sleep and didn’t have the presence of mind to keep him at bay. It had only been a week since Ridley had woken up in an alleyway with a dislocated shoulder and a bloody nose, the crumpled forms of two men next to him. He had checked if the men were fine, aside from the odd bruise, but the guilt still nagged at him.

Another unfortunate side-effect of that particular fight Hydra had landed himself in was that Ridley hadn’t been able to do any work for the past week. Since he worked as a jack of all trades and didn’t have a boss to fall back on, it meant he hadn’t brought in any money for a week, which meant that he was running out. He had saved a little, but it wasn’t enough by far to sustain himself for a very long time. As much as hated it, he would have to find some way to obtain food until he was well enough to work again – even if it meant getting said food illegally. So, with a heavy heart, he heaved himself up from his bed and left his house, locking the door behind him. As it was night time, most people were either inside their homes or in a tavern getting drunk, which meant there weren’t all that many people around to see him, much to Ridley’s relief.

He set off in the direction of the market place. He never really visited the stalls during the night, so he had no idea if there was anything salvageable to be found, but it was worth a try. He didn’t like the thought of stealing – as shady as they could be, even the merchants in Seere needed to make their money – but he needed the food. Already, he could feel the effects of careful rationing on his body. Just as he made to turn into the alleyway that would take him to the marketplace, however, his gaze landed on a solitary figure wandering about. Normally, this wouldn’t have given Ridley pause, but he noticed that the man seemed unfamiliar – foreign to Seere, at any rate – and an idea formed in his head. Any inhabitant of Seere wouldn’t pay him a kindness if their life depended on it, but someone freshly arrived might— Reluctantly, Ridley walked over. He preferred keeping to himself unless absolutely necessary, but if he didn’t want to resort to stealing, he would have to try. So he walked up to the man and cleared his throat. “Sorry, can I ask you a favour?” He cringed inwardly. This is why he didn’t talk to people. After four years, it almost seemed like he had forgotten how.