[ P ] Luna Moth

This world was not an easy one to live within, that much had become clear. It had become exponentially more difficult with each new penny that he had acquired. Wealth had gone from this miraculous key of freedom to a burden in and of itself. He could no longer keep track of everything he owned without meticulous effort, nor could he endeavor to do so entirely by himself. While he kept scrupulous records, he had been forced to add three trusted individuals into his employ as accountants. A fourth served as his "butler", although Ruel refused to use the term.

Their wages had not bled him dry but his payments to doctors to ensure that they were deemed unfit for the draft had.

Ruel looked away from the cracked windowpane at which he sat so that he could, instead, take in the refurbished home that was his. But how long would it be before the state decided that they could own nothing?

For the first time in years, Ruel wondered: Do I have enough?

...

Through the rain outside, he watched what few people still remained free in the city. The elderly trundled by, some covering their ears and backs with ratty old cloths. Many merchants had left for safer harbors—it wasn't worth getting dragged into the barracks for a country that was only a temporary home for profit. He noticed a pup here and there, although they did not run freely like before.

And then there was a woman.
Alone, unaccompanied, no husband or children to lay claim. The sight was so foreign despite being one so common just a season ago. Without thinking, he stood and padded expediently down to the foyer before leaving his home and standing upon its crumbling, mossy steps.

"Madame," Ruel called to her, consciously aware of the soldiers that would soon be patrolling the area. "What ever are you doing here, alone?"

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@Lorelei