He paused mid-step, mind racing through possibilities before he even turned around. Despite his best attempt to place the voice, it was totally unfamiliar. Not someone he knew, then. But who—?
It's not me they're calling. He realized as he turned and saw the same family he had seen earlier at the gate. It was the wife, calling out to their little kid — whose name, Arros remembered hearing, was also Arros.
The boy was darting through the crowd like a menace. Weaving between pedestrians' legs, dodging merchants' carts, all while clutching his figurines in both hands.
The child skidded to a stop at Arros's feet, staring up with wide, gleaming eyes full of imagination and excitement. He stammered a quick apology for bumping into the tall stranger.
The father jogged up behind him, carefully navigating the crowd. He scooped his son up with a friendly growl into his ears then noticed Arros standing there.
