Sapienophobia

Chapter 29

I was expecting to have at least a week more to procrastinate on finding him. The traps and whatnot were peak busywork for me.

Idiocy. No other word could describe-
It's okay, if he thought I posed a threat to him, one of us wouldn't be here.
I have the upper hand.

The man standing before me had the apparel senses of a hunter. His boots were darker than mine. His shirt was more insulating than mine. His pant legs were tucked into his boots so that it would be more difficult to form an opening on his ankles. More efficient than mine.

It wouldn't have been wise of me to assume that his clothes had magic.

Sod's ears laid almost flat against his face. His nose was on the rounder side. His aligned teeth sparkled. He would have been handsome by human standards.

"Your pit trap's bad," he gestured, "I could almost see it from the horizon."

He managed to avoid all my traps, and I still didn't hear him coming. The bounty did not do him justice.

Go with it.
How did he get past? Is there a type of magic that makes your boots silent?
What about the leaves and the mud? How did they not make any noise?

"It's supposed to catch an a-animal," I used the aforementioned trap as an excuse to not meet his gaze.

Stop stuttering. It's telling.
I can't help it.

"Yeah, you shouldn't underestimate animals," he squatted to meet my sitting position, "they can be quite... devoted to stalking their prey if they want to be."

Is that a threat? Is he saying that he knows that he's leagues above me?

"What happened to your hand?" he nodded at the bump where my finger used to be.

"I tripped," I answered curtly.

It was a lie I didn't expect him to believe.

Will he kill me?
It doesn't look like he has any weapons on him.
His pants were baggy, but I didn't see any protrusions or accessories.
He doesn't need any weapons to kill me.
Damn, I shouldn't have slept here!

I focused on my breathing to control it.

"I shouldn't talk to strangers," I acted.

This won't work.
Run away.
Will he chase me?
I should assume all my traps are useless.
And I worked so hard on them, too.

"Your parents taught you well. You don't know who I am?" He tilted his head at my anxiousness.

Why ask that? Does he know I'm lying? Does he know I know? Is he seeing how I'll respond?
Shit. Lie.
Obviously.
Faking gullibility shouldn't be hard.

"No," I replied immediately, "am I supposed to?"

He laughed before standing back up; I stood with him.

Ready myself.

"No."

I waited for him to continue, feigning the curiosity that an ignorant child under my circumstances would.

"Head home to your Province, kid. This forest isn't a place where you should play around like you've been doing. None of this is worth risking your life," his eyes had trailed away from my jittery form.

On the contrary.
What can I do?
I don't know his game plan. His patience might wear thin if I pry.
If he wanted to attack me, it'd take less than childishness to anger him.