For the last few days, Kuan had found herself stationed in one of her least favorite places:
Jin'ta.
And during her one of her least favorite times:
When a small fleet of Serenian ships were set to make port, any time now.
Of course, Kuan knew it was a necessary evil; the mainlanders provided them with goods they couldn't get anywhere else, so she tolerated their presence. But tolerance wasn't the same as acceptance and she was by no means obligated to mingle with them any more than she needed to. Still, whenever there was a big shipment like this, it meant a lot of mainlanders coming on land, which meant the port needed a few more warriors than usual to help ensure the peace was kept.
For sailors were a rowdy lot. Annoyingly so.
It was a bright, sunny morning, though clouds loomed in the distance with the promise of rain. Walking through the town with her partner, Aiyo, Kuan lead them toward the docks--and she would admit that her feet were dragging a little. As they passed one of the foreign-run taverns, the scent of cooking meat reached her nose and she cleared her throat to keep from gagging, reaching up to rub at her nose. She didn't know how people could stand that smell.
"This town is so filthy," she told Aiyo with a frown.