IC: Kestartes City, Kestartes Delta, ca. 2950 CE
Kalath awakens before sunrise.
Except for the watch-standers who have made sure that no wandering predators have broken into the Stronghold overnight (or Hunters, which is to say much the same thing), she's the first of the fifty-odd survivors to awaken.
This may be for the best. Kalath proves her worth to the Stronghold every day, because she's fast, and skilled, and sharp-eyed, and she does much more than her fair share when comes to venturing out into the wilderness of the City to bring back the game that, along with the vegetable gardens planted on the rooftops and the carefully maintained mushroom nurseries in Building Three, keep the Stronghold fed. But this is very much a two-edged blade.
Everyone knows, has known since they were very small, what sorts of people the Call comes to. Everyone knows, once a person hears the Call, that only those of the very strongest will can resist the temptations of the Call -- or else, to give in and surrender. To transform. In the end, to become a Hunter.
So the watch-standers -- today, it's Pel and her older brother Merric -- don't quite hide a little bit of relief as they let Kalath out through the gate and into the City. And Kalath is perhaps a little bit relieved to be out in the City, in the crisp cold air and among the steep towers of the Old Time, all grown over with green and living things, where she doesn't have to put up with everyone being just slightly cautious and guarded, worrying over Kalath and if and when the Call may take her.
Kalath moves carefully through the silent avenues. Trees and shrubs and grass and moss have long ago broken up most of the sidewalks and paving-stones into crumbled stone and gravel. She is making for the area known as the Inner Wild, an expanse of more natural slopes and hills and a wide lake fenced in by the husks of ancient structures: the hunting is better (if riskier) in the Inner Wild as more creatures in the area. Mind, for this reason it is more often frequented by the Hunters as well. But there's always the chance of coming along a bird or wild fowl, or perhaps a spinewolf browsing among the old skyscrapers, before she reaches the Wild.
Suddenly, Kalath's senses prickle. Off in the corner of her vision, she catches sight of a figure the like of which she has never seen before. It seems to be the figure of a woman -- but the figure is all white, dressed in spotless draping robes that stand out stark against the browns and greens, unlike the clothing made from hides and furs and the occasional bit of old salvage, like Kalath and the other inhabitants of the Stronghold wear. The figure is standing close to the corner of one of the old buildings, several intersections away from Kalath. It seems to be looking in Kalath's direction, even though its features are indistinct: whether it is veiled, or covered by a featureless mask, is unclear from this distance.