"What the hell?" I asked as she released her hold over my mouth. I spat out the taste of leather on my lips. "I'll swing if you try attacking me."

She ignored me and turned around, facing the solid wall. Her stance lowered, and she held up both hands as if ready to tackle someone.

"Hey! What are you doing?"

Ignored again, I moved to her left to confront her. When I did, I found her face set in a deeply serious expression.

I didn't like the way she looked. Instinctively, my hand moved to my axe, preparing for any potential threats that might emerge.

Ten seconds.

An arm pushed through the wall and began entering the Whisper tunnel. Like a viper, she lunged forward, grabbing the person by the collar. She swung him around and hooked her fingers under their belt.

The person tried to shout, but she lifted them over her shoulder, and she slammed him into the ground over her shoulders.

Thud!

The person impacted the floor.

Alice shifted the position of her hands and switched her grip to his throat while pinning down his right arm. Her knee pressed on his chest, and she growled.

"Why are you following us, Proltus?" she demanded.

She loosened her grip enough for him to swallow audibly. He stared up with bewildered eyes. "Alice, what… are you doing?"

A quick knee brought towards his crotch made him panic.

"Answer. Now."

"Alright, alright! I was passing through, and-"

"Cut the lies. You're terrible at it. Last chance, Proltus."

I stood on the sidelines feeling uncomfortable. It wasn't hard to recognize the man on the floor. While I felt bad for the Grimm, I disliked the idea of someone tailing me even more.

Eh, screw it. If he wants to play the creep, he deserves the consequences.

"Okay! Stop. I was curious about what you two were doing," he shouted before Alice could press down.

She leaned down and tightened the noose around his neck. "Stop lying."

"I-I… Fine. I was making sure he didn't do anything weird!"

I stepped forward. "Well, screw you too."

He rolled his head my way and glared. "Why should we trust someone like you? The other survivor is a broken mess. And yet you're here, suddenly one of us, acting like nothing's wrong! How is that anything but weird?!"

I readied myself to defend and snap back a retort, but Alice's knee pushed into Proltus' gut, forcing him to exhale.

"Uoff!"

I blinked, tilting my head, as Alice slid her hand under his chin, forcing him to meet her gaze.

"A Grimm is a Grimm. We don't question our own," she said.

A pup is pack; we are one.

For the first time in a while, the strange thoughts made themselves known, resonating with Alice's words. A frown crept onto my face due to the unexpected intrusion, but the sensation vanished just as quickly.

I shook my head and stepped back as Alice backed away.

He got up, switching his focus between the two of us before settling on Alice. "Grimm or not, watch him. Devon is hiding something, and it's not right."

I winced. Speaking of keeping secrets, I caught Alice's eyes flicker for a split second. She pressed her lips thin.

"I can take care of myself, Proltus. Don't follow us again."

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His face shifted into a mask of anger, and he balled his hands into fists. He stepped forward, and I tensed.

Don't do it. I'll bite.

He took one last look in my direction before turning and walking through the wall. I stared at the blank space.

"If there's a problem with me, you can go," I offered.

"Did you hear nothing of what I said? I don't care about Proltor's paranoia. His fears are not my own," she responded.

"Yeah, sorry. How did you know he was coming?"

"The better question is, how did you not? I smelled him getting closer. You should have, too."

Right, supersenses. Let me tell my nose to stop focusing on food for a second; I'm sure it'll comply.

I kept my thoughts to myself and gestured to the wall.

"Still coming with?"

"Yes."

This is going to be a long day.

----------------------------------------

"Alright, tell me what you think. It took me a hot minute, but I convinced one of the kids to head into town and bring me back some cloth. It's not exactly the same material, but it's as close as I can get. Whatever fabric your original clothes are made from is of decent quality; maybe one of your hunts will take you into a kingdom proper, and you can buy material from there," Astra explained.

I pulled up the zipper of my hoodie, noting the absence of the previous holes. The new material matched the rest of the jacket flawlessly. With a big smile, I flashed Astra two thumbs-up. "Thank you! It's perfect; I barely notice the difference."

It's a lie; it's not as smooth, but hey, whatever, it's practically as good as new.

"And you fixed the pants, too. Awesome. Thanks, Astra."

"You should learn how to mend clothes yourself. Holes in your clothes are never fun, even if we get used to it."

I looked down at the many folds in her dress. "Really?"

Her eyes flashed yellow, and she smiled. "Oh yes. Woman or not, you don't stop to ask the ghouls to give you a second to cover up."

"Right. My bad. So, I have two questions because I never really stopped to think about it before. We got paid in money, silver coins to be exact, but there are different worlds and kingdoms; what use is the currency? And two, what do you mean by 'village'? Can we just leave whenever? Could I ask Neina to portal me somewhere?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Got somewhere you want to go? Are we that terrible?"

"What? No. I'm just curious as to where everybody is. I've seen so many rooms, but they're all empty."

"I'm only kidding," Astra teased. "In truth, most of us are out on hunts, long hunts. Rarely do we come back to the Warren between hunts. Some people prefer roaming a kingdom for a time. And nobody is keeping you here, not really. Pups are monitored, but once you're a Grimm, you're allowed to go wherever you want. But that means you do so without the guidance and protection of an older hunter. And sometimes, it's not the monsters that come for you at night."

That's… rather dark. Okay. No complaining about being chaperoned. Got it.

"So, the village then? And the currency? How does it help us, and do we get paid? What if I wanted to buy something for myself?"

Astra gestured to Alice. "Want to explain? You guys could probably visit before Devon takes you. It'd be good to explore and introduce him to the town's residents."

Alice looked annoyed at first, but her eyebrows settled, and she regarded me with curiosity. "Very well. We can visit the armory. Maro should be awake."

Astra giggled and settled into her chair, picking up a book in an action similar to Neina. Unlike her, she sat properly with her back straight. Her book had a colorful purple ribbon placed between its pages rather than being left open on the table.

"Have fun now! And remember, if Maro accuses you of anything, use Devon as an excuse."

Is it just me, or was there a hint of amusement in her voice?

We said our goodbyes to Astra, and we exited into the tunnel. From there, we took the Whisper Tunnels. I stopped and waited for Alice to turn around.

"Why would she say that? Is there a problem with Maro? What am I walking into?" I asked.

"Hmm. Maro is… well, Maro. Everybody learns not to touch things in the armory without logging it first. I don't know all the stories, but more than a few fights have been started because of improperly logged equipment. And in every one, Maro has never lost."

My eye began twitching.

I'm throwing you under the bus immediately, Devon. I didn't see you log anything.

Despite my hesitation to see this terrifying figure, I followed along.

"Okay, what about money? Are we paid?"

We entered into the whisper tunnels, and Alice nodded. "Yes, given an allowance every month. I don't think many have issues with currency. We're allowed to keep eighty percent of what we get from hunts. I think only Devon gives everything to Maro."

A twitch threatened to start, but I quickly rubbed my face to shake it off and kept going. Alice whispered the armory's name and broke into a jog down the tunnel. I matched her pace, and soon enough, we reached the end, where the familiar blank stone wall greeted us.

When we stepped through, we were only a tunnel away, and we arrived at the top of the steps down. It felt like, with all the hype to this terror of a man, I'd be better off facing another wolf.

"Stop stalling. Maro isn't a problem if you did nothing wrong," Alice called out as she descended.

I followed, albeit reluctantly, down into the jaws awaiting me. We walked into the armory, and Alice pushed past the rows of tables and stands of armor. There were sounds of moving boxes and the clink of metal from behind a mountain of crates.

"Maro? We've come to collect our stipend," Alice called out.

Something heavy smacked the floor, followed by another.

"You bloody vultures, is it so difficult to come say hello without wanting something?" shouted someone from behind the boxes.

Wait a second…

The owner of the voice stepped out and into the torchlight.

She stood like a mountain of a woman, taller than Devon. Her muscles bulged as she stood, threatening to rip out of their confining shirt. Her fiery red hair bobbed behind her head in a tight ponytail. Her eyes met mine, with a green brighter than my own.

Her eyes dipped to my waist, then widened. The calm look on her face morphed into one of rage.

"So you're the one who ransacked my armory." Her eyes flashed crimson. "Explain yourself."