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Hector held his ground, not moving back but also not moving closer. He wanted to get a clearer read on this stranger’s aura before doing anything else. It didn’t feel menacing or angry. Not hostile or hungry.

Rather, it was quite cold. Wary. And patient. Waiting on him now. Not intending to do anything until he did.

‘Y’know, I really wanna be the one to break the ice and say hi,’ said Garovel, still privately, ‘but I also realize that, from now on, you should probably be the one greeting any dangerous and mysterious strangers we happen across.’

Well, Hector didn’t disagree.

Garovel wasn’t done, though. ‘I realize that, yes? So in exchange, I hope YOU realize just how incredibly mature I am being, right now. How much self-control I have. Right? I’m right, aren’t I? Tell me how right I am. Compliment me, dammit.’

‘You are incredibly right, Garovel.’

‘Aw, thanks, pal.’

Hector offered the stranger a wave. “Hello!” he said from afar, still staying put.

The stranger said nothing, but after a moment, he did offer a return wave.

Hmm. “Are you the one who rescued this ship?” By the look of the thing, Hector actually wasn’t yet sure if ‘rescued’ was going to end up being the correct term for whatever had happened here, but he felt like that was the most diplomatic word to be using here.

Until he discovered otherwise, at least.

There arrived a long pause. Then the stranger said, “No. It wasn’t me.” It was indeed a masculine voice, just as Hector had thought.

“...Then can you tell me what happened here?” said Hector. He decided to test the waters a bit and take a step closer.

Rather than answering, however, the stranger decided to pose his own questions. “Who are you? Why are you here?”

He supposed that was only fair. He was a foreigner in this country, after all. “My name is Hector,” he said. “I saw this ship during the storms and tried to help the people on board. Then it disappeared and ended up here. I’d like to know how that happened.”

“...You are concerned for the passengers.”

“That’s right,” said Hector. “Do you know if they’re okay?”

“There were casualties, but most of them survived. Would have been much worse if the ship had been left out there, I’m sure.”

“I see. But you weren’t the one who moved the ship?”

“Yes.”

And Hector waited, but the man did not elaborate further. He pursed his lips inside his helmet, wondering how next to approach this conversation.

Garovel decided to step in now. ‘What’s your name, stranger?’

And there was another long pause, until the man finally said, “...Loren.”