Orca

He looks like someone who'd offer me a deal after I've lost all my winnings at a casino. Maybe he's in kahoots with the card dealer, maybe I'm just desperate. I get the feeling it'll cost me, but he can help.

Ronan: Who or what are you running away from?

Orca sighs, and pours himself another cup of coffee. The frown on his face betrays more weariness and bemusement than anxiety or melancholy. Then again, the guy's always frowning. With a practiced smoothness, he lifts the mug to his muzzle and downs it in one gulp, seeming not to mind its still-scorching temperature. Finally, he slams the mug back down on the table, and directs his gaze towards the asker.

"Ronan, wasn't it?" he says. "First of all, you gotta understand, I'm not normally the travelin' type. I'm comfortable back home, carvin' out a nice little life for myself in them old ruins. But, ah, couple nights ago..." He trails off, looking almost sheepish.

"This gal I've been seein', she's a real gentlelady, they call her Undrada, her lil' circus operation's been gettin' bigger. More powerful. One o' them anom- anama- magic kinda places." Orca fidgets with the empty mug.

"Well, I went down there on a lunar eclipse-- which they say not to do but it's not like I can keep track of all the moon phases-- and I walked into the big top and she was..." Orca gulps. "She was different. Hard to describe, but she had lots of eyes. Teeth." Despite the springtime warmth, he still shudders.

"So I bolted. I'm layin' low until the month's over." He's staring into the sludge at the bottom of the coffee mug now, as if he's looking for a pattern.