I had buried the grounders body 9 in the woods, not wanting to set a large fire for fear it would draw unwanted attention. I did my best to carry on, shutting the incident from my mind and living a little more cautiously than before. The only problem with trying to stay hidden from the world is that invariably the world wouldn't let you. I had been out in the wilderness for nearly two months before I needed to utilise the trading post I'd discovered some time ago. I had started to catch larger prey and needed somewhere to trade and preserve the extra meat from my kill. I was in no position to waste food. That day I hunted to take my mind away from the situation with the Azgeda bounty hunter. These woods held more than just rabbits and deer. Animals just as fierce as the pauna, that Lexa and I once faced, prowled this land. I was aware that there had been times I was also the one being hunted. A dark figure with a deep growl had alerted my senses on more than one occasion. What ever it was I had caught it's eye. Maybe not on this day or the next but there would be a time we would meet and it would be kill or be killed.
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I had successfully slain a wild boar and waited until sunset to approach the doors of the trading post. From what I could tell the proprietors were a girl and an older man, possibly a family member. I watched him leave before spying my chance to move forward. The less people I came into contact with the better. Walking through the doors I entered a large room full of all manner of items, furs, weapons, food. The candle light illuminated the girl behind the counter. She was blonde, her hair was braided, a tattoo, just about visible through her clothing, upon her back. As the door slammed behind me it alerted her to my presence. She looked me up and down, apprehensive at first until she finally spoke, "Yu gada som in na kop op?" I hoped my Trigedasleng was up to this.
An awkward silence passed between us as she continued to glare at me, waiting for an answer. She wanted to know if I had something to trade. "Sha," I replied as I threw the wild boar carcass, that was draped around my shoulders, onto the ground. She looked down at it and then back at me. I was aware my behaviour was abrupt, but I was as wary of her as she was of me. "Hmmm, os fragon," she stated as a slight smile played on her lips. An attempt to lighten the tense atmosphere. My kill was good enough to warrant us starting a trade partnership, but I had no use for pleasantries, I'd already felt like I was lingering too long. "Ai ste hos raun you," I expressed I was in a hurry. By keeping my conversation to a minimum I managed to hide my linguist inadequacies. The girl knodded back at me, acknowledging my eagerness to leave, "Steiks, ge fleiva op en, ge son op. Thou osir kodon." A fair deal. The kill would be salted, dried, minus her share for the work. I nodded in agreement and in addition asked to trade one of my daggers for a box of candles, "Flika?" She agreed and passed me a box across the counter. There was something about this girl. She was tough, I suppose you had to be in her line of business, but there was also a kindness about her. She had a good nature and that felt like a very rare thing for me at this point in my life. I had agreed to return to collect my food, along with other items to trade. Although my guard was still up, it felt good to have this stranger to make my survival a little easier. Making my way to the door she called out, "Ai laik Niylah." I nodded back in acknowledgement before leaving. I never offered her my name, I wasn't even sure if I knew what it was anymore.
