This is a sort of prequel of how Ezra had made their way to Stonevale and had begun staying at Nan's.
The beast had returned.

That was the common theme Ezra had heard as they made their way into the town of Stonevale. The early afternoon sun was shining bright and few clouds hung in the sky. Despite what would be a perfect day to most, the Homunculi noticed that a small group of villagers had grouped around the town square. Specifically, the group had seemed to focused on a large message board that would usually hold the simple day to day announcements. As they got closer, they noticed among the simple announcements of births, marriages, and other simple news, a large poster took up the center of the board. The notice contained a larger font of writing and contained a long message about... something. Ezra was having difficulty reading due to the crowd, and with a bit of nudging and squeezing, would make their way through the crowd until they could get a much clearer view of the board.

"Warning: The troublesome beast known as Nightclaw has made his return to the area. Be on the lookout for a large black bear with large gashes on its face and body. Anyone who spots said creature should not attempt to confront the beast and should immediately alert the Stonevale Guard. The creature is extremely dangerous, and prefers to ambush people at night and retreat into the forest. There is a reward of 50 gold pieces for slaying the beast, but the Guard insists only the bravest and strongest of hunters attempts to defeat this monstrosity. If you wish to take on this endeavor, please head to the guardhouse for more information. -M. Jareth, Stonevale Guard." Ezra read aloud, ignoring the occasional odd stares they got from a few of the peasants. Although not the strongest of hunters, the Homunculi believed that they had a good chance of taking out the bear. They had previously hunted bear back when they had lived on the farm, and although this bear seemed a bit more aggressive and slightly smarter than the bear the Homunculi had hunted, in the end, the bear was still another beast and could be taken down with a trusty spear to the skull. With a small glance around, Ezra noticed the group who had gathered was dispersing, making their way home to enjoy an afternoon meal at home or visit the tavern for a nice ale.

All but one.

An older woman remained, looking at the poster with an almost stoic expression. Her grey eyes were sharp and, despite her appearance, held an expression of determination with a hint of... sorrow? Ezra wasn't sure, human emotions were difficult to truly comprehend. Sure, they knew what emotions were, but it was difficult to say if they could feel them. Mimicking facial expressions were easy enough, and following social cues definitely took some getting used to. The Homunculi had found smiling to be the most bizarre, as during times of appropriate happiness, their smile seemed to make others feel uncomfortable. With a glance of curiosity, they reached out slowly and gave the old woman the gentlest of touches on the shoulder. "Miss, are you alr-eugh!"

A swift cane to the ribs was the immediate response for what Ezra thought was an appropriate social interaction, and the old woman had a look of rage flash over her before softening the longer she stared at Ezra. "Git offa meh, ye silleh bastar- Ooh, Ah'm sorry, lass. Thought you were one of those bastards who wanna bother ol' Nan. Wha's yer name, child?" Ezra let out a small wheeze at the uncomfortable throb in their ribs, then gave an unsure glance to the woman. "My name is Ezra, Miss... Nan? A pleasure to meet you... the cane less so." The old woman let out a long laugh, almost a high pitch cackle. She looped an arm around Ezra's, pulling the Homunculi along as she began walking in some unknown direction. "Yer a funny lass, ah'll give ye that! Come have lunch with Ol' Nan, pretty girl like yerself should be nice an' cozy, not in tha' silleh gettup."