The Art of the Hunt

The Only Safe Haven

The ride to town was quiet, keeping to a well used road. Made of dirt, of course. The woman took the time to finally ask about him, first with his condition. "Are you alright?"

Realizing that he was shivering slightly, the green haired boy stopped himself. "I'm... I'm fine..."

Sighing with relief, she then asked, with a voice laced with curiosity. "What was that massive metal bird? I've never seen anything like it."
That was the second time she had referred to it as a metal bird. Once meant that she just forgot the word... while twice meant that she genuinely didn't know. So, Izuku asked back, "You mean the airplane?"
Shaking her head, she took in the word. "That's what it's called?"
The greenette explained quickly, "It's a form of transport... but it reacted... badly... to this place..."
Nodding, she seemed to understand. He wasn't here by choice, in any words. "I see... the dark magic of this place brought it down."
His brain froze. This didn't make any sense, what she just said. The world didn't run on magic... did it? "Dark... Magic?"
Nodding, the woman explained something for once. "Yeah, the corruption here is a mixture of magic and disease... and it has completely devastated this place."

Weakly, he only responded with a sound of acknowledgement. "Oh..."

What she said next was a horrifying thing to hear, especially for the greenette. After all, his entire life has already changed, with... Mom's death... but now he found out something even worse. "Once people arrive, they can't leave, either, so we make the most of this cursed land."

His head snapped back to her own. "Wait... can't leave?!"

She nodded, continuing to elaborate on the blunt truth. "Mhm. Many have tried, but they can't leave the Bayou... the domain of the corruption. Some see it as a test of god, or damnation for their sins. While some... do what they can to survive, and don't look any further."

That was enough to make him somber... before realizing one crucial thing. While he did know English, due to the Allmight interviews he watched, he was sure that she didn't. Yet she was completely comprehensible to him. No language barrier at all! Bugging him, he asked. "Ok... wait, what language are you speaking? You know Japanese?"

She laughed, "Kid, out here, everyone speaks the same language. To me, you're speaking English."

"This place is so..." Struggling to find the right word, he settled on the most... broad... term to describe his situation. "...strange..."

The woman laughed. "Strange? That's the word you use?"
Rubbing the back of his neck, Izuku apologized for his choice of words. "Sorry, I overthink things, and I can't help but want to learn more..."

Waving off the unwanted apology, she barked another laugh at him. Or rather, with him. She wasn't being mean with the following comment. "You'd fit in with the scientists here." However, she then realized that she never asked his name... and he didn't know hers. "What's your name, kid?"
With a bit more confidence, which wasn't much better than before, the boy replied. "Izuku Midoriya. What... what is yours?"
She smiled, "People call me Llorona's Heir. You can just call me Llorona, for convenience."

He smiled warmly back, appreciative to know the name of his savior. While she is no major heroine, she had taken a pedestal similar to one in his mind. "It's great to meet you, Llorona."
"And you, Izuku." The carriage arrived at a walled town, going through the gates.

It was then that they arrived at a large wooden gate, encircling something that had the sounds of bustling people. Another cart left, trudging along to the left of their carriage, and he could hear the motor of a boat at the pier, getting ready for departure. When their carriage entered the city, Izuku analyzed everything with wide eyes. It was a classic wild west town, with one main street, lined with buildings. At the end was a grand manor style place, while the ones closer to the gate were clearly newer. Llorona glanced out the carriage, before starting to introduce this very place. "Right, welcome to the last safe town out here, called Haven. A few things I've got to say before we disembark. 1. Try not to draw attention to yourself early. Until you've proven yourself, it's best to keep out of everyone's ire. 2. You need to learn how to use those weapons. You will die without that knowledge. 3. You'll need to find an occupation while you're here. This place doesn't tolerate beggars, and without this haven, you will die. So make yourself useful, be that as a doctor, hunter, researcher, armorer, part of the AHA, or as shopkeeper. Those are 3 things you need to keep in mind."