A runner ran down a sidewalk. They wore earbuds.

Sludgy snow clung to the roots of trees and dim lampposts beside the path, leaving muddy puddles around them. New leaves were budding on the tree branches, and grass peeked out through the dirt.

Crickets chirped from the darkness between the trees and, in the distance, police sirens could be heard.

The runner stopped under one of the lampposts, pulling a water bottle from their belt. As they drank from the bottle, they lifted their other arm to look at their watch.

Around them, the crickets went silent, and a large figure formed between the trees, just beyond the light, its eyes glinting.

The runner put their water bottle back on their belt before continuing down the path again, oblivious.

The runner jogged around a bend in the path and disappeared from sight, just as the figure stepped onto the path. Abe(dressed like an actual viking berserker, poor dude) looked down the sidewalk where the runner had gone, and then back where they had come from.

Abe walked down the sidewalk in the same direction the runner had gone, his breath trailing behind him. He paused only for a moment under a lamppost, peering up at the light. He squinted at it, tilting his head with a puzzled expression.

From around the bend in the path, voices and laughter approached. Abe looked down again, just as two police officers walked around the corner, both holding cups of coffee. They both stopped when they saw Abe.

One, who is now named Will, whistled, resting his hands on his hips. "Bit cold for that, ain't it?"

The other officer, who is named Bill, shook his head with a chuckle. "Nah. He's a viking, they got tons more snow up there, don't they, bud?"

Abe watched the men silently before nodding. "Right."

Will slapped Bill's shoulder as he threw his head back with a laugh. He wiped his eye. "You came from that, uh, convention thing by the pond, yeah?"

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Bill frowned, "Isn't it a bit late for that? Thought that ended before sundown."

Will looked at Bill, "Yeah, I think you're right." He looked at Abe. "What're you still doing around here?"

"I..." Abe rubbed the back of his neck. "Got lost."

"Ah, yeah." Bill nodded. "I remember back when I came here with my family after first moving to the city. These paths do get a bit confusing if you haven't been here before, 'specially in the dark."

"You got pretty close, though."

"You did," Bill agreed with Will, pointing back around the bend, where he and Will had just come from. "Just follow this path and you'll reach the park gates in about ten minutes."

"I'd hurry if I were you, though," Will glanced down at the watch on his wrist. "The last night bus leaves in about twenty minutes. You miss that and you'll be walking home."

"Thank you." Abe said.

"Of course, bud." Will and Bill continued down the trail, "You be careful, out here. There's been a lot of trouble around here lately."

Will leaned towards Bill. "Did you see the size of him? Jesus. What do you think his mama fed him?"

Bill shook his head with a laugh. "Whatever it was, it was a shit ton of it."

Will cackled.

Abe watched them until they were out of earshot before he continued walking.

He kept walking, ending up on a shopping street filled with dark windows.

Abe eventually passed in front of a window display showcasing multiple mannequins in suits.

He looked down at his clothes, then at the mannequin. His reflection was vaguely visible in the window, except his irises, which seemed to glow in the reflection.

When Abe turned away from the window, he wore a suit identical to one of the mannequins. He tugged on his tie, trying to loosen it, before he eventually just snapping it off his neck. He stuffed the tie into his pocket, turning around the block and out of sight.

Characters:

Abe:

8', appears to be 600-700lbs. A large Scandinavian man with shoulder-length dark hair and a trimmed beard. Honestly he's just a hairy guy in general. Hazel-gold eyes, bad case of RBF. Wears lots of intricate gold jewelry(rings, piercings, etc., all gold), and has Celtic bands on his arms. Inaccurate at this point in the story, but his eventual fashion will be somewhere between biker gang and lumberjack, with a lot of earthy tones.