“Two at least!” Renn haggled, and a little horribly at that.

It wasn’t that she gave in easily, or didn’t comprehend how to do it…

“Fine, take them,” the stall owner said. The older woman had a smile, but not because she had just made a good deal.

Rather she smiled simply because she found Renn’s happy joy at getting two for the price of one too pure to dislike.

Renn was handed the two baked pastries. The things were steaming since they were freshly cooked from the outdoor kitchen right behind the stall. She happily accepted them, and I handed the three renk to the stall owner. The older woman gave me a strange smile as she took them. The smile told me she saw a man out of his depth, who was whipped and owned as much if not more than a workhorse was.

“Thank you!” Renn thanked the woman as we left the stall. She went straight to taking a big bite out of one of the pastries.

It was full of some kind of meat. Venison, by the smell of it… and she must have found it delectable because she actually stopped walking as to savor the taste.

“Watch it,” I warned her, since this area was rather busy. A few other travelers gave us glares as they had to go about rounding us.

“Mhm,” she nodded and returned to walking.

Walking with her through the small marketplace, I guided her back to the caravan we had joined.

There wasn’t much chance of her being incapable of knowing where it were, since this town was only few buildings and a market… but she was right now entirely focused on a single thing.

Her snack.

“This is great,” she said.

“I bet it is,” I said, as I watched her devour over half of the large meat filled pastry.

Was she going to even offer the other to me?

Granted I wasn’t hungry at all. And she, like most of our kind, needed a lot of sustenance… but…

The scary part was she had eaten nearly a dozen apples before we had even got here.

While she ate the snack, I studied the stalls we passed. Most were food, or traveling supplies. Rucksacks, hats, camping gear. A few were also obviously traveling merchants themselves, since their goods were things one normally didn’t see in this territory. One of the stalls, guarded by a large man with a spear, had silk wraps. Chances are they were headed for Ruvindale.

“How can these be so tasty?” she asked as she took the final bite of her pastry.

“Helps when you’re real hungry,” I said.

Noticing a stall, one of the last ones at the corner, I saw the large barrel on the cart that sat right behind it.

Pointing at it, Renn quickly nodded as she swallowed her last bite.

“A single renk!” The man behind the stall said as we approached.

A single renk…? What was it then, diluted slop?

Still, there was no stopping Renn now. She quickly ordered two of them.

“Two more renk for the cups!” the man said as he hurried to grab them.

Ah. That made sense. So he was making his money on the cups, not the drink itself.

Funny. He probably thought it was some great business idea that was going to catch on, but who wanted to carry cups around all the time?

“Sure, sure,” I said as I dug out the four renk needed.

The man smiled, as if glad to find a sucker.

He went to filling up the cups from the barrel behind him. The light liquid that poured out told me it was some kind of mead.

Once the cups were in our hands, I knew it was light mead. Probably made with only a single spice.

Renn happily smiled at herself, pleased.

The cups he used were basic wooden ones. In fact… Yes. There was a slight leak in mine.

Looking to hers, I was pleased to see nothing really dripping from it.

With a careful smell, and a slow sip, I confirmed it was mead and nothing too strong. She would be alright to drink it.

Actually…

“How do you handle your spirits?” I asked her.

“Spirits?” she asked, and I noticed the way she said the word.

Again. I keep forgetting that although older than usual, she was still… somehow young.

She very likely had spent most of her life with her family, hidden away, before venturing out into the human world.

“A type of liquor. I’m asking if you get drunk easily or not,” I said.

“Oh. Why? Want me drunk?” she asked, amused at me.

“The opposite,” I said plainly.

She huffed and nodded. “I don’t think I can get drunk. All I get is a horrible headache if I drink too much of this stuff,” she said.

“Oh?” That was a little interesting to hear. Although some of our kind were… inhuman, in many ways, there was a rather strong constant.

Our kind got just as drunk as humans did. Even if it sometimes took a few more glasses than them, the end result was normally the same.

That meant, if true, Renn was simply one of those types that either couldn’t or hated the feeling and subconsciously kept herself from it.

Or she had simply never drunken anything of quality, which was also very likely.

“Yet you drink that with a happy smile,” I said as she took a drink.

“Because I am thirsty. And I like stuff with honey, too,” she said.

Honey…

Walking with Renn away from the marketplace to the dozen wagons situated to the north, I studied the caravan group who were bundled around a large fire.

They were already drinking it seemed.

Scanning the horizon, I tried to imagine how much money a small brigand group would make here. It seemed most of the small villages and all the roads around here were… a little too defenseless.

They better hope the wars down south don’t reach here.

“Want some?” Renn finally offered me the other pastry.

“Some,” I noted.

“Well… a few bites,” she said with a small smile.

“Eat your fill, I’m fine,” I said.

“Hm…” she studied me as we approached the wagon we had been riding in. The third from the front.

A few of the caravan members waved at us as we approached the cart, and I heard some of the jokes and hollers they gave at the sight of us.

Renn glanced at them, and I noticed the way her ears twitched under her hat.

“They’re just drunk,” I said to her.

“Hmph. It’s better we’re seen as a married couple anyway, isn’t it? So it’s fine,” she said.

Something told me she wasn’t as upset as she sounded.

Reaching our wagon, I noticed we were alone. The nearest other member of the caravan was two wagons down, and was putting up a small tent to sleep in. She had attached the tent to her wagon, which made it easy to do.

“Won’t rain will it?” Renn asked with a glance to the sky. There were clouds.

“Not here,” I said. We were still a few days away from the ocean.

Renn then offered me her cup and pastry, smiling at me.

Putting my own cup onto the wagon, I took her items and waited for her to clamber up into the wagon.

As she did, I noticed her tail peak out from the end of her right pant leg. The tip of her tail twitched, barely sticking out.

Was it that long? For some reason that was a little surprising…

“Really?”

Looking away from her heel area, I found her glaring at me.

“What?” I asked.

“You were looking at my butt!” she said as she reached out to take her snack and drink back.

“Oh… no, your leg actually,” I said.

“That’s somehow weirder!” she said, and was about to take a big bite out of her pastry but had to stop since she started to laugh.

“Your tail was sticking out is all,” I said as I hopped up onto the wagon to sit next to her.

“Huh…? Oh… Was it?” she asked, suddenly a little worried.

“Nothing to worry about. I just noticed it. For some reason I didn’t think it was that long,” I said as I sat against one of the barrels. It was the same spot I had been sitting in all day.

Renn didn’t say anything as she put her drink down and went to fumbling with her pants. Watching her pull her pants as far away from her waist as possible, I watched as she squirmed and wiggled until her tail popped out.

With a smirk she proffered her tail to me, basically laying it on my lap.

It was indeed longer than I had thought. Nearly as long as she was tall. The brown tail had noticeably lighter spots all along it.

“Well?” she asked, seemingly proud of herself.

I flicked it, which caused her to yelp and pull her tail back away from me.

“Vim!” she grabbed the spot I had flicked, and looked at me with an expression of pure shock.

“Sorry,” I said, feeling a little bad.

She grumbled, leering at me out of the corner of her eyes as she messed with the hairs on her tail. As if I had shifted a few strands out of place with my flick.

“Did it hurt?” I asked. Usually tails such as that were a little sturdier…

“No, but I didn’t think you’d actually touch it let alone attack it,” she complained.

I sighed and nodded. Great now she’d never trust me with it again.

“I was going to share, but you don’t deserve it now,” Renn complained as she quickly went to stuffing her face with the remainder of her snack.

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Nodding in defeat I went to drinking what was left from my leaky cup.

A whole renk for a hollowed out piece of wood. Ridiculous.

Renn’s tail twitched as she ate loudly, glaring at me the whole time.

This trip was going to be hard, wasn’t it?

“Look what you did,” Renn complained, pointing to the spot I had flicked. There was a small indent in the hair. It’d definitely go away soon, but she had a pained expression on her face.

“I did apologize,” I said.

“You did,” she nodded.

Her tail twitched in the air and smacked me on the thigh. Surprisingly a little hard.

Frowning in approval at her ability in using it to such a degree, I watched as she smirked in pride and coiled her tail back around her waist.

“Did all of your siblings have tails?” I asked her.

“Hm?” she quickly chewed and swallowed, seemingly a little surprised at the sudden question. “They did. All of my siblings were just like me. Ears and tail. My nails get long and pointy too,” she said, showing me.

I had already noticed her nails before. That was a common thing with our people.

“How many?” I asked.

“Three brothers and two older sisters,” she said. "A younger sister too," she then added after a moment... with a tone that told me she had probably been precious to her.

While she spoke, I noticed an odd change. Her eyes got a little softer, her voice a little quieter… and not because she worried someone was listening in.

This conversation was probably not a happy one for her.

“None of them alive. I’m the last. My aunt might be alive, but something tells me she’s not,” Renn said quickly, most likely seeing my next possible question.

“I see,” I said.

Renn nibbled on her pastry, which was probably quickly growing cold.

After a few moments I sighed and nodded. “What?” I asked her. Her look wasn’t a normal one.

“Do you have any? Family?” she asked.

“Oh. No. Never did,” I said.

“Never?” she asked.

“Never,” I said.

“Ah… what about… similar? Have you ever run into anyone like you?” she asked, smirking a little as she did.

“You mean have I met any like me?” I asked, smiling in return.

She nodded.

“I meet them all the time,” I said.

For a tiny moment Renn’s eyes went wide, and I watched her mind crank out thoughts as fast as possible… then it quickly slowed down as she sighed. “You mean us in general,” she complained.

Well… no. But that was fine.

Sometimes I shouldn’t speak so openly.

“Possibly. Does it really matter what I am?” I asked her.

“Well… I guess not,” she said as she took another small bite. There weren’t many bites left

After chewing for a moment, she then held out the remainder of the pastry.

“What?” I asked her.

“Your share. You said a few bites,” she said, gesturing for me to take it already.

“Rather I asked if that was all I’d get…”

Renn huffed, but didn’t pull the pastry back. “Hurry up before I stuff it in my face,” she complained.

Although I really didn’t want any, I went ahead and took her kind offering.

Once it was in my hand, I realized that what had looked like a few bites for her was but a single one for me.

Plopping it into my mouth, I couldn’t help but smirk at her jealous expression as I ate it.

“You should have just eaten it if you’re going to be that big of a baby about it,” I said to her.

“I’ll just get more later,” she said, nodding at her decision.

Sighing I nodded. Of course she wanted more.

While she went to drinking from her wooden cup, I glanced around. The campfire nearby was loud still, but the rest of the world was growing quiet. Dark. The woman who had set up a tent a few wagons down had already retreated into it, and if I focused I could hear her soft snoring.

“Do any of us do this?” Renn then asked.

“Do what?”

“Travel like this. Selling stuff. Merchants?” she asked.

“Oh. Yes. There’s a few,” I said.

“Is it hard?” she asked.

I shook my head. “Not really. Or well, I guess it depends on what you consider hard. In your case it would be,” I said.

“Because I’m not smart enough?” she asked, and I noted the odd tone in her voice.

“No. Because I doubt you’d be able to make enough profit to feed yourself, let alone anything else,” I said.

“Oh…” Renn glanced at the odd cup in her hands. “Did we spend a lot of money just now?” she asked.

“Yes. I bet most of these merchants spent less than two renk here,” I said.

“Hm…” Renn went into thought, and I wondered if spending time at the Sleepy Artist had spoiled her.

“Most humans only make a few dozen renk a week. Most merchants make a little more, but that’s because they incur risks. Think of these apples. What if it stormed? What if birds decided to feast upon them? Bandits, or wolves, or such,” I explained.

“Ah. That makes sense. But… you said these were worth a few penk right?” she asked.

“About three I’d guess, yes.”

“So…” she glanced around us, and I knew she was counting the barrels.

“Judging the number of people in this caravan, chances are there are only a few who actually own these barrels. The rest are just workers. Employees. Maybe family. They’ll probably make a few penk in profit if they can get all of the barrels to their destination, after paying all the salaries and whatever credit they took out originally,” I said.

Renn was focused on me as I spoke, but her ear twitched as if annoyed.

“Although you’re special. You’re smart enough that you’d learn quickly if you spent a little time learning it all. And being a woman you’ll be able to manipulate men and get along with the wives and women. And you’re one of us, so strong enough that you can save money on guards or guides…” I nodded as I spoke, realizing she would probably succeed in being a merchant after all.

“Why pay for workers when I have you?” she asked.

“You must be drunk,” I said with a huff.

She frowned; her tail unwrapped from her waist just so it could dance in the air as if annoyed. “I’m not!”

“I’m expensive,” I said, changing tactics.

“You are!” she agreed.

“If you want to be a traveling merchant I can take you to the Cathedral. You can join the transport company,” I said.

“Transport company?” she asked, nearly spilling what little was left in her cup as she drew closer to me.

“A small company, full of our members. They mostly deal with ocean and river routes, but they do have a caravan. You can join them if you want,” I said to her. "Or maybe I could take you to Lumen, but..." I stopped talking since she no longer was smiling.

She stared at me, suddenly…

Wait… was she upset at me all of a sudden?

Yes. She was. That look on her face was actual annoyance.

“I’m not Lomi,” she then said.

Tilting my head, I tried to comprehend why she would say such a thing.

Renn shook her head, and placed her cup down next to her. It clunked in a way that told me it was only a few gulps from being empty.

Scooting closer, I felt more of the barrel I sat up against as I pushed myself back against it, as if to keep the distance between me and her the same even as she got closer.

“What?” I asked her, a little worried. Was she actually drunk?

“I admit my heart is heavy and I… I’m very sad. But I’m not going to break. You don’t need to treat me as you treated Lomi,” she said, staring into my eyes.

Quickly realizing what she meant, I felt a little stupid.

Of course she would have interpreted my words that way.

“Renn, I hadn’t meant it that way. I was… trying to tell you that there are options for you. Ones you might find yourself enjoying,” I said.

“All the while treating me gently, as you did with that little girl who lost her whole family! I lost a home, but…” she went quiet, and seemed to realize she couldn’t honestly say it hadn’t affected her that badly.

“It’s alright. I know what you mean,” I said, raising my hand in defeat.

“Do you?” she asked, a little loudly.

“I do. It might sound like lip service right now, but I honestly wasn’t trying to treat you that way. I thought I had been treating you rather normally,” I said.

Renn blinked a few times, and then drew a little closer. To get a better look at my eyes.

“I’m not lying,” I said.

“I can tell. How strange,” she said softly.

“Is it?” I asked. Was I that rude in her eyes? To treat her like some little girl? Some meek woman without her own will and heart?

Did she think our last few hours of interaction had been me treating her gently? As if I was afraid she’d break?

If anything that just made me wonder how I had been treating her all this time. I hadn’t been that rude had I?

Renn sighed and then sat back, seemingly losing interest in staring at me. She turned to grab her cup again, but stayed seated near me. Close enough that our knees were touching.

“For your information, I’m usually a nice person,” I said to her.

“So I’ve heard,” she said.

“Funny, considering you seem to doubt it…”

She hid a small smirk behind her cup as she took a sip.

Grabbing one of the apples, to hopefully help wash down the taste of that snack she had just given me… I felt a little odd as I bit into it.

What was I going to do with her?

I didn’t blame her for what happened in Ruvindale… Although a part of me wished she had been a little more observant. A little more…

What? Like me?

If I had been there, would I have been able to stop any of that from happening?

Probably not.

How could I have known Lughes hadn’t been paying his taxes?

Amber, I might have been able to save. I would have noticed that families debauchery rather quickly…

But the taxes…

I could not have saved the Sleepy Artist… but I could have at least ensured that Lughes and the rest would have been safe.

I could have also saved more of the paintings, too.

Was that why I had been a little upset at her? Because she hadn’t done what I would have?

Yet how would I have done such things?

Pure force. Of course.

Glancing at the woman who sipped the last bit of her drink, while eyeballing me, I wondered why I had even thought her capable of it.

She could be strong. Strong enough even to face knights, in numbers to boot... But strong enough to face a whole city? An army?

Likely not.

Which meant if she had remained in the city… if she had not been banished…

She’d just be dead, or missing, like the rest.

Sighing, I looked away as she reached out to grab her own apple. Still hungry. Or maybe her odd anger had made her so.

“Think they’ll be loud all night?” Renn then asked.

Glancing at the nearby fire, and the three people dancing around it in drunken stupor… I shrugged. “Who knows?”

“They’re going to keep me up all night,” she complained.

“Go yell at them,” I said with a wave.

Her eyes lowered at me, and she sighed.

“What?” I asked.

“I shouldn’t have said anything. Now you’re going to be mean again,” she complained.

Shaking my head at her, I wondered what she had wanted me to say or do. Go tell them to shut up? They were harmless… plus…

Humans’ being so distracted and drunk was good for us. It was the only reason I was comfortable with her having her tail out as openly as she was.

She munched on the apple she had picked up, while staring at the humans in the distance. Her eyes…

“Your eyes reflect in the night,” I said.

“Huh?” she glanced at me, and it became more clear.

I had noticed it before, but the last few days we’d been a little… busy.

Pointing at my own eyes, I then pointed at hers. “Your eyes. They reflect like a cats,” I said.

“Well… I am one,” she said.

Smiling a little, I nodded. That was true.

“I meant just be careful. Humans notice such eyes, and get scared, especially on the road in the middle of the night,” I said.

“Oh. I know. I look down because of that, at people’s feet and stuff. At least at night time,” she said.

“Hm? Do you?” I asked. I hadn’t noticed.

“Well… yea… I was attacked once because of it. So I’ve made a habit of it since,” she said.

Nodding, I understood that completely. That reason was very believable…

I stretched out, laying a little farther out along the end of the wagon’s lip. Renn scooted back a little as I did, since I basically stole some of her area.

Resting against the barrel, I let my head rest back against it and nodded.

This would put me between Renn and anyone who approached the wagon from this angle. I wasn’t worried over someone actually sneaking up, or even into the wagon, without me first hearing them… but one was never sure.

Mistakes did happen.

“Are you actually going to sleep?” she asked, sounding excited at the thought.

“Only if you don’t keep me up all night,” I said.

Renn chuckled.

The sky was getting rather dark. It was still a little too early to really… fall asleep, but it was necessary.

These merchants would be up early. Before the dawn, they’d be back on the trail.

Listening to the dancing and laughter, and the snores from the few sleeping around us… I closed my eyes.

The wind was light. A little cold, probably too cold for humans to be comfortable. Likely the reason for that large fire in the distance.

That fire crackled and popped. Somehow it sounded louder to my ears than all the drunken voices.

Off in the distance I heard the grass in the wind. The trees and bushes. Animals, all around us. Snakes, rabbits, something a little bigger… maybe a wild dog, was not far from us. Over a hill nearby.

A few birds still made noises in the nearby trees, and the sound of bugs began to start their chorus.

And above all of that, were far more precious sounds.

Renn’s munching as she tried to quietly eat an apple.

Her breaths and the sound of her tail as it lightly moved along the floor of the wagon and her lap. Her ears, beneath her hat.

Focusing on them, since they were the most important… I tried to not think of the last few nights.

I didn’t think of the deaths. Or the chaos.

I didn’t think of the fires, or the paintings within them.

I didn’t think of the village lost, and the little girl left behind.

I didn’t think of the ever increasing threats and dangers to my people.

I only thought of this moment. This singular place, right now and here, in this vast world.

Just me and her.

And thanks to that… for these few seconds…

I was able to sleep.