Lucy
*Ulric walked along a sparsely used dirt path through the Salvainian Empire, the butt of his spear lightly thumping the ground with each step as he used it as a walking stick. It was a fair day in the forest, there was a gentle breeze blowing above the tree tops and just enough sun poked through to keep the air around him warm. There was few that knew, but Ulric was on his way to the capital city of Salvainia in search of work. This man was a soldier of fortune, or a mercenary as many would call him, though either way he had services to sell and the capital city would have the most buyers. The only thing Ulric had to do at this point was keep walking, he had just crossed the Prasia-Salvanian border so there was still a few days journey ahead of him. He enjoyed this though, the peace he felt from being away from civilization was a refresher from his last job. With a slight smile under his helmet Ulric kept walking, keeping a thoughtful eye on the calm forest around him*
Pauline
*The rays of the sun shone through the leaves of the trees as Ishikawa hefted the carcass of a deer onto the back of his horse. Leaves littered the ground around him, the forest a sea of golds and reds. The Kitsunes hair shone like the feathers of a raven in the autumn sun as he continued his work, his footsteps barely audible. 

He was disguised as a Macen, as he often was. While he didn't expect to encounter others this far into the forest, he could never be too careful. The hunter was going on one of his last trips for the season before the frost set in, knowing that soon prey would become scarce, and he would have to rely on his dry stock. Blood stained the shoulder of his shirt, and a great fur cloak hung off of the side of the horses saddle. 

For a hunter, he seemed quite young, toeing the line between being a boy and a man, however, silver streaks dotted his hair, and his face seemed perpetually tired. Faded scars crossed his face, seemingly from old illness, though there was a newer one across his nose, matching a set going up his left arm. His eyes were a piercing blue, with silvered flecks that shone in the light. 

While he heard Ulric approaching, he didn't seem to be alarmed, continuing about his business. He made no attempt to hide himself, but his quiet nature might've made his presence a surprise regardless.*
Lucy
*Ulric's own appearance wasn't too obvious on account of the armor that he wore. He wore a standard steel helm with only a slit in it for him to see out of, with that he also had a gray wool gambeson on with steel pauldrons layered over. His armor was fairly light in terms of what he was used to seeing, but then again he was a former spearman, so fairly light armor was more advantageous.*

*It wasn't too long until Ulric had come upon the stranger, another macen by the seems of it. In response to seeing the man, he gave a wave of acknowledgement before speaking as he approached.* "Greetings stranger, fair weather in the woods today." *It was a fairly standard greeting, but such was given considering how he had the faintest idea who this man was, he could only tell that he was a Macen and that his shoulder was stained with... Blood? Just the sight of the red stain caused the man to briefly falter in his steps as memories or days long gone started to resurface. Ulric was able to repress these memories like he had done many times before, regaining his composure once again before speaking to the man in a more concerned tone.* "Are you alright sir? Your shoulder seems to have seen better days..."
Pauline
*Ishikawa took a moment from his work to look at the stranger, gauging the intentions of the man in armor. He didn't seem to be a threat, but it was odd for him to walk around in full armor without a purpose, as well. Ishikawas voice lacked warmth, or any emotion, for that matter.* 

"Greetings to you as well," *He looked back to his work, using rope to secure the body of the deer to the back of his horse.* "It is indeed a fine day." 

*Ishikawa paused for a moment, taking a look at his shoulder. His work was often what he used to distract himself from the sorrows of his day to day life, and he had a tendency to become so wrapped up in it he failed to notice certain things. Such as his shirt being stained with blood.* 

"Ah. No, I can assure you I am quite alright, it must've gotten upon my shirt whilst carrying my kill." *Along with the deer, a rabbit hung off of the side of the horse.*
Lucy
"Ah I see! That's a relief" *Ulric relaxed upon hearing that the blood was that of a hunted animal's, it was a relief to him as his medicinal skills were severely lacking. Upon hearing of the hunted game Ulrich cast a glace to the two carcasses that were being hauled by the horse; the deer was of seeming good size from what he could tell and the rabbit was in good condition, seems like this stranger knew what he was doing.* "You seem to know your way around hunting"

*This was when Ulric noticed that the stranger was a little weary of his armor, he would be too seeing a random soldier approach him in the forest. There many a reason Ulric wore his armor when travelling, but the simplest and less intimidating was that he had no where else to store it. With his slightly suspicious appearance in mind, Ulric decided to reach up and take his helmet off. Underneath the steel helm was the face of a man in his early thirties, a slight stubble lined his jaw and stretched down to his neck and faded scars from past battles barely showed their ugly faces. Ulric's eyes told a similar story, one studious look could tell that under the thin veil of composure laid a man broken by war.* "Pardon my armor, I wear it when traveling. Names Ulric by the way"
Pauline
*Ishikawa shivered as a gust of wind blew past the two of them, carrying leaves with it. Though the weather was nice, a wet shirt simply wouldn't do. Ishikawa began the process of unbuttoning it, but stopped, remembering he had company.* 

"Do you mind if I..?" *He looked over to the fur cloak that lay draped over the horse, "I wouldn't want to alarm anyone else." 

The man seemed to have trouble meeting the others eyes, but that would make sense, as they were still covered at this point. His gaze trailed to the ground as his arm was planted firmly against his horses side, the beast not minding much as he leaned. He smiled slightly as he was complimented, but it never reached his eyes.* 

"I've known how to hunt since I was just a boy... Now, it's most of what I do. I'd hope I was good at it by now." *His smile quickly faded, his face returning to its usual somber state.* 

*The Hunter relaxed slightly as the helmet was removed, taking a glance back up at the face of the man. He met his eyes for just a moment, before looking back down again. There was an echo of the pain in Ulrics eyes reflected within the young mans, but it wasn't as obvious as it was in Ulric. His emotions, in general, were kept locked away.* 

"It's quite alright... It's-" *His voice wavered slightly for a second.* "It's nice to meet you. You may call me Ishikawa."