[ If there's any place that ought to be cleansed of this horror that's descended upon them, Claude thinks, it's the residential areas. Some of the citizens are sure to evacuate, especially at the urging of their local healers, but more still are likely to stay in their own homes, stubborn as can be. In all honesty, all of this has Claude spooked. This is unlike anything he's ever dealt with before, and the clamminess that has descended upon his skin, the ache in his chest, is as unfamiliar as it is unwelcome. He likes to deal with facts, logic, reason.

Some horrific murderer going around hiding viscera like some sort of macabre treasure hunt has absolutely nothing to do with logic and reason. But here and now, sword in hand, Claude is trying his damnedest not to show his apprehension for one reason and one reason only: a teenaged girl had decided to accompany him on this particular journey.

He's against it, frankly. But he knows that Ange can't be dissuaded once her mind's been made up about something, and he'd much rather she stay by his side than go it alone. ]

Okay. You're a deranged murderer. Where do you hide organs? [ He sighs. ] I think we may need to do some light breaking-in-and-entering.

[ For all the levity to his voice, his concern is clear; he won't let Ange more than a metre away from him, always dogging at her heels in case some beast descends upon them. ]