"Ian?"
Upon hearing someone call him, Ian lifted his head and saw a man who seemed vaguely familiar standing at the entrance of the tent, cautiously waving at him while holding a bowl of porridge.
It was Aik, a young man from their village. They weren't very close, but often met.
In this unfamiliar camp, encountering someone he recognized felt like meeting an old friend in a foreign land.
"Ian? You survived too!" Aik's tone was much warmer than usual.
He seemed more spirited than Ian imagined, looking well, and though his clothes were somewhat tattered, he appeared more composed than Ian's disheveled state.
"You're here too?" Ian was a bit surprised.
"Lucky me." Aik sat beside him. "Recently escaped to the mountains and nearly froze. If it weren't for the lords of the Red Tide Territory finding me, I'd probably be nothing but bones now."
"The lords of the Red Tide Territory?" Ian looked at him, his eyes full of questions.
