The Prospect's Deal

08

I shook my head as I stayed in the background as they worked.

Ezra did not like that I was staying in the background, he felt that there was nothing wrong with me being near the stone. Ezra spoke up once again, addressing his partners. "Come on guys, let her be close to the stone. I really don't think she's going to do anything stupid, she's been very well-behaved the entire hunt." Ezra's tone was now becoming more and more insistent.

Ezra's partners eventually gave in and decided to ease up their restrictions towards me once more. Ezra noticed this and spoke to me. "Come a little bit closer. It's ok, you can be near the stone. I'll make sure that nobody touches you or anything like that. Okay? Just please come a little bit closer."

I slowly walked over.

Ezra waited patiently as I walked over to him. Ezra watched my every move carefully as I approached him. Ezra was relieved when I was standing close to him now. Ezra spoke softly, he was going to make sure that he kept his end of the deal and make sure that nobody could do or say anything rude or disrespectful towards me.

Ezra still held the stone tightly in his hands, his grip was gentle and was enough to keep the stone in place. Ezra also kept an eye on his partners, making sure none of them were giving me any dirty looks or making rude comments in my direction.

I put my hand out to touch it.

Ezra noticed that I seemed to want to touch the stone. Ezra was a little bit afraid that I might accidentally damage it, but he didn't want to stop me from touching it. Ezra then spoke softly. "Sure, you can touch the stone. Just please be careful because I don't want the stone to get damaged at all."

I just took my hand away and stayed back.

Ezra noticed how I took my hand away from the stone. Ezra had thought that I wanted to touch it, but instead, I chose not to touch it and moved away instead. Ezra was a little bit confused but at the same time, he was relieved. Ezra didn't have to worry about the stone getting damaged anymore. Ezra still spoke softly. "Are you sure you don't want to touch it? I said you could."

I shook my head as I stayed back behind the men.

Ezra sighed softly as I continued to remain behind the men. Ezra saw that I was clearly not interested in touching the stone anymore. Ezra decided not to push it further. "Alright, fine." Even though Ezra was relieved about the stone not getting damaged, he was starting to feel upset that I was staying behind the men and refusing to join in. Ezra now decided to try and coax me, Ezra continued to speak in a playful tone. "Come now, don't you feel left out? All the other men are touching it, don't you want to join in too?"

I shook my head as I just looked around the forest.

Ezra continued to try and coax me, but it was clearly not working. Ezra could see that I was getting more and more disinterested in interacting with the stone and the rest of the men and he couldn't understand why. Ezra continued speaking softly to me. "Come on, just touch it, just for a bit. Just tap it once and I'll leave you alone for the rest of the hunt."

I walked to him and gently touched it.

Ezra was surprised when I walked over to him and actually touched the stone. Ezra watched me as I tapped the stone, he took note of how gentle my touch was when I tapped it. Ezra spoke softly. "Good. Very good. You see, you didn't ruin the stone by touching it."

Ezra continued to watch me as I continued to examine the stone with my hands. Ezra seemed pleased at my behaviour, he was now starting to feel like he had been a bit too harsh towards me before. Ezra spoke in a kind tone. "You know, I'm sorry if my partners treated you unfairly before. I hope they did not make you feel unwelcome or anything like that."

I shrugged as I decided to go mute.

Ezra noticed that I just shrugged and decided to go mute. Ezra felt at a loss for words, he had hoped that I would forgive his partners and acknowledge their misbehaviour. Ezra wanted to keep the peace and make sure that everyone was getting along, but it seemed like I did not want to say anything else. Ezra sighed softly. Ezra didn't want to force me to speak more, he decided to let me be quiet for now.

After 30 minutes, we all started walking again to find more alien stones.

Ezra and his partners started moving again as they headed deeper into the woods, they were now on the hunt for more alien stones. Ezra was keeping a watchful eye out, he was careful to check the area around him to see if there were any alien stones hidden. If he did spot one, he would point it out to his partners and they would all go over to dig it up.

I looked at my oxygen tank and realised I was close to running out. I pretended there was nothing wrong so I didn't disturb the hunt.

Ezra had been keeping a watchful eye on his partners throughout the hunt. Ezra had noticed that I had looked at my oxygen tank and he was starting to get worried. Without his partners noticing, Ezra looked towards me. Ezra could tell by my body language that my oxygen was running low and that I wanted to say something too, but I didn't want to disturb the hunt. Ezra spoke quietly. "Are you low on oxygen?"

I nodded slowly.

Ezra could tell by my nod and the pace of my movement that I was in desperate need of oxygen. Ezra noticed that all of his partners were still focused on the hunt, so Ezra took advantage of the situation and spoke quietly towards me. "We're gonna have to take a little break, could you come with me for a second?"

I nodded and followed him.