Capítulo 23: ID cards

Without noticing the others hunters expressions, Leo asked Natalie,

"So how do we get the meat back? It's kinda a lot to pack back like usual." Snapping Natalie out of a similar daze as everyone else, she replied,

"I'll send one of the hunters back and they'll get Jack and some other Warriors to bring a cart. We'll clean it while we wait." And so, for the next few hours, Leo and the others had to wait until jack arrived. After a while Iris came up to Leo and said,

"That was really something, taking out the tusk giant in one shot like that. I think out of everyone here you have the most raw power." Leo was surprised at her words, but as he thought about it he realized she might've been right since no one else tried to take the mammoth down in a similar manner.

"I just used an inspiration from somewhere else. Plus it probably wouldn't have gone so smoothly if it's attention wasn't diverted." Iris shook her head at Leo's words. She figured that he didn't realize how powerful he was compared to them. They continued making small talk while waiting for Jack. Then he finally got there, and they started heading home. Leo didn't know it, but usually they would've had to fight off a few scavengers while waiting for the cart. But this time there wasn't a single one, the other hunters contributed this to Leo as well. Just his presence was enough to keep them away. As they were walking Leo noticed that the surrounding mountains had snow on them, so he asked Iris,

"I know it's probably too late to ask this, but what season is it? My guess would be fall, but I don't know what time of year it is for sure." Iris nodded her head at Leo's question.

"That's right, you showed up right after fall started so we're already a month into it. There's a little less than three months till winter. It's also the reason we went for a tusk giant, to stock up on winter supplies. Before the end of fall though there's a fall feast, it's usually the last big celebration until spring." When Leo thought about her words, something didn't seem right to him.

"So is there four months per season? And if that's the case sixteen months per year? It's quite a bit longer than earth." Leo digested this information during the walk back. Now that he thought about it, it was also probably the reason for the garden in the cave. Instead of a green house they used sun crystals in a cave. In this way they could continue producing fruits and vegetables during winter when it should be impossible.

While they were walking back and Leo was thinking about the new information, they arrived at the village. As he walked into the village Leo suddenly stopped. He took a deep breathe and knew something wasn't right. He had learned everyone in the villages scent by now, and now he picked up a new scent. The main reason this bugged him was because no one ever came to the village so there shouldn't be any new scents. But this mystery didn't last long when Austin came over.

"Leo, Iris, Thomas came back so elder grandma wants both of you at her hut." Leo looked at Iris and they both headed up to the small hut. Leo figure this new scent belonged to this Thomas. He wondered where he had been this whole time since he must have been gone since before Leo woke up. When they walked through the door, elder grandma and a man who looked to be in his late twenties were waiting for them. What surprised leo was that this man didn't seem like he was a mutant.

"Leo, this man is Thomas. When we first brought you here, I had some theories about you background. So I had Thomas go to one of the closest towns to gather some things I needed. Though I say close, the nearest town is still at the least a weeks journey from here. Which is why he's been gone since you have been here." Thomas stood up and said,

"Nice to meet you. I'm Thomas, also Brenda's husband. I assist with the Warriors, but my biggest job is going into towns when needed due to me not being a mutant. This time I was sent o get these." As he said that he pulled out several items at once. The first item was a metal plate, roughly the size of an ID card. Thomas took the card and explained,

"These are identification cards, you drip a little blood on a blank one and they display your information. They're needed for accessing most cities since it displays your current name, race, age description, and social status." He handed Leo the card. Leo assumed they wanted him to use it, so he cut his finger and dripped some blood before the wound closed.

NAME- Leo

AGE- 18

RACE- werewolf

STATUS- unoccupied

The rest of the card was filed with Leo's physical description like hair color, hight, even weight. With how similar the card was to modern ID cards, Leo almost half expected a picture of himself to show up. Leaving aside that his race was werewolf, he looked at the status section though and was concerned.

"What does status mean?" Seeing it said unoccupied, Thomas started explaining.

"Status typically shows where you at socially. If you're a citizen then it says citizen. If you're a criminal, then it says criminal while including a list of crimes on the back. If you're a slave though, then it says enslaved. It's a measure to keep criminals and escaped slave from moving freely. Yours says unoccupied because you aren't a citizen of any kingdom." After hearing Thomas's explanation Leo understood. He then asked,

"If my card said criminal, what if I just threw my card away?" Thomas shook his head,

"Then every card you make after that would say criminal as well. They are connected by the goddess Themis, goddess of law and justice. Which is why anyone without a card is considered potentially dangerous, and detained until they could confirm they're not a criminal. If you ever want to visit other places, you need one of these." Leo realized they got him a card mainly to ensure he wasn't some kind of criminal, and so that he could travel without being harassed over it someday. He was about to say thanks, when he noticed the other things Thomas had brought with him. They were a couple books, but what bugged Leo was what was on the cover of the top one.

{Journal of private John Andrews. United States Navy. 1941}