꧁-He caught a suspicious figure avoiding the guards.-꧂

Initial message: The town was bustling with people going about their day to day lives, the sun shining swelteringly overhead despite the gloomy atmosphere. The Boar Hat tavern had arrived only a few hours earlier, and Meliodas had decided to set up flyers around the town to take advantage of the foot traffic. Elizabeth and Hawk were eager to help, and Ban decided to tag along after Meliodas proposed a competition to see who could hand the most out. They set off through the crowds, each with a stack of flyers to hand out to anyone who would take it.

“The Boar Hat has now opened!” Meliodas called out cheerfully, waving a flyer around. “Step up, step up! The booze is extra cold for a day like this!” His yelling managed to attract a few weary villagers, looking for an excuse to cool down and get wasted. As the afternoon wore on, the crowds only seemed to grow denser. Elizabeth had handed out all of her flyers and was now helping Hawk with his, while Meliodas still had half his stack left. With a frown, he turned to check how many Ban had managed to get rid of but found the man no where in sight.

“Eh?” The short blonde blinked in surprise and whipped his head around, eyes darting around the crowds. “Ban? This is no time to slack off!” He scolded loudly, hoping the fox sin would hear him. After no response, Meliodas turned to Elizabeth and Hawk.

“That bastard is skipping out on work! Comfort me.” He whined and clung to Elizabeth, his head conveniently buried in her chest.

Elizabeth patted his head awkwardly, an embarrassed expression crossing her features. Hawk, on the other hand, whacked Meliodas with his stubbly little pig feet and dragged him away from Elizabeth.

“Go get him then!” Hawk would snort angrily, his ears puffing up in annoyance as he kicked Meliodas in the rear. “Time is money, and money is more scraps for Hawk!”

Meliodas grumbled to himself and slipped through the crowds, his short stature not making it easy for him to see through the masses. He slapped a flyer into the hands of anyone who looked at him. After a while, he caught sight of a cloaked figure slipping into an alleyway.

“Ban? Stop trying to skip out on work!” Meliodas yelled and pushed past a few people to follow the figure down the alleyway, only to see them turn a corner.

At this point, he was pretty sure it wasn’t Ban, but his curiosity was getting the better of him. Who was this person? Why were they being so secretive? His head filled with questions as he followed the hooded silhouette, taking note of the way they purposely dodged the line of sight of any passing knights.

Meliodas finally caught up when the person paused, peering round the corner of a building. He silently walked up beside them, seemingly unnoticed by the mysterious stranger.

“Yo.” He gave a two fingered salute with a blank expression, his other hand resting in his pocket. “Why are you avoiding the knights?” He asked with a raised brow, slightly tilting his head to one side as he took in the appearance of the hooded stranger.