Get Her! }{ The Tradesman seems so angry..

[Purple Demon]

It was dawn, and the sun arose from a deep slumber. The white puffs of snow shone over the rough edges and crags of the mountains. Out in the open, following along a shallow path that was next to impossible to be visible, was a frustrated man trudging a couple of packs of items with him. He moved slowly and watched his items thoroughly, as though he thought that the items were feeble and fragile and they would fall and break instantly. He kept going on his way, minding his packs and rubbing his hands together occasionally to keep the warmth from straying away from them.

Among the snow was a pale girl and her fearsome feline friend. They hid well enough to stay away from the Tradesman's sight. This was easy to begin with, because he only paid his attention to his wares, and hardly anything else. This girl and her companion had been stalking this Tradesman for hours. They were , and they kept watch for their rare traveling merchant when they felt the need to stay within the ridges (Mostly because when a thief is wanted in an area, the demand for that thief's capture grows each time sales go missing).

They kept low against the snow behind the merchant, waiting for a good time to strike. The girl's hands felt numb and cold, but her eyes kept fixated on the pack of goods, her animal-like crawl and stare were fluent and silent. The paws of the Snowsaber next to her clawed carefully in-tune with the merchants feet crunching snow.

When all of a sudden, the merchant dropped the candle he had been using before the daylight hour. Clumsy. As he crouched down, the girl and Snowsaber burst toward the pack like lightning. She whipped out a small snagged rock dagger, cutting the packs away from the man's arms. She took one pack and gave the Snowsaber the other, and ran for it. Once the Man stood with the candle, he felt enormous relief and stretched. "Hmm... Hmph?" He felt his back and noticed that his wares were gone. He turned as he heard hurried footsteps puncturing snow. The girl's long black hair twisted as she ran, and the cat's pack left a track in the snow. He looked around his area and saw his packs' straps. "H-hey!! You!!" He yelled at them.

They didn't stop and continued to run. The girl tripped, and the merchant chased after them, "Stop, you thieves!" He breathed frantically. "Stop her! Get her!" He was close behind, now. The pale girl looked over her shoulder and struggled to get up, sprinting. No matter how hard she tried to run, he was only a few steps behind her.

[JxSlaughter]

Zhijiru and his dog was silently walking a long way behind strangers. He knew about thieves, as he was a merchant too. He walked ever so quietly with each step, making sure that he wouldn't be spotted or heard. Tonight he was taking a trail, due to the very rough terrain. He could trip at any step in the dark with all the dead shrubs, rocks, thorns and ice. This area wasn't known to have thieves, but the most truly desperate thieves were the ones who came out in areas where people would least expect them. Thugs that loved to spout their titles and self worth usually wouldn't attempt such a feat. They also usually traveled in packs that had weak morals as themselves. During nightfall the most cautious thieves and determined would prowl. He had to keep his wits up for those hungrier than him.

He didn't have any food on him, but he had money. Lots of money. He had finish selling his wares and goods to a village a day ago. The village wasn't full of many resources and during the day they always welcomed visitors. But he heard rumors that at night they sometimes completely clean out their guests at the inn they stay in. They didn't do it all the time, or else the village would have been boycotted. But it wasn't a rare occurrence for people not return to their homeland. Of course, it was easy to blame it on the wild monsters, thieves, dangerous terrain and weather. Zhijiru wasn't going to take any chances. He filled himself up right before leaving, so that the scent of food wouldn't carry to any wild beasts or food-crazed creatures. He even filled his money bag with plenty of cotton so that the coins wouldn't clank against each other.

Suddenly the sound of footsteps in the snow came towards him. It was definitely faster than a walk. But as a normal human he didn't think that it was anything else than another person. That was, until his accompanying dog started barking. It wasn't his usually dog that he brought around during the casual visit to the market. This dog was more adapt to the snow and had more stamina for long walks. His other dog always rode with him in the wagon. But he had no wagon this time. Knowing that the area would be full of many beings he had a dog that would bark only at things that were non-human, and it did start barking long before he could see anything himself. After all, it was dark.

Zhijiru quickly lifted up an unlit lantern that was strapped to his waist. Some monsters were attracted to light, and some were not. He only wanted to use it when those that weren't attracted came forth so he could scare them off. He lit it. He squinted his eyes in the cold air and in the far distance there was a girl, and it wasn't long before he saw the man chasing after her.

[Purple Demon]

The girl kept running, staring ahead in the dark at her companion. It stared back. Veryll had a head start because she had given him the first pack. She had a very blank gaze, and her bare feet were sore from shards of ice, or maybe rocks, that cut at the soles of them. But she was used to it. Used to seeing in the dark and pain that shot up at her.

The man was very close, and shouting things that she couldn't understand. Strange words that she had heard from other victims before. "Shi-- Someone! Anyone! Help! She has my supplies!" He shrieked between breaths. It occurred to her that he couldn't see well, or he would've noticed the man and his dog near them. A few steps away, maybe..

The startled Tradesman grabbed at her hair, hoping he could stop her like that, anchor her in place.. That worried her, because it hurt a lot when people pulled at her hair. She tried to run faster, but she was tired. He grabbed at her again, this time, he had her.

Her eyes widened as he wrapped her mane around his fist. He tugged backward, and the last thing she saw was Veryll stopping to help her. He almost dropped the pack between his fangs. She smiled weakly at him and he took this as a sign to go without her and hide somewhere to wait.

She fell backward, and she saw the twisted angry face of the man. "You have something that's mine," He grunted behind his teeth. "I want it back, now." He demanded.

Her lips quivered as she tried to think of something to say. Nothing came to mind, and she just said something to toy with his emotions. "What, this?" She shook the pack up at him. "I think I might keep it. I smell some bread in there. Very sweet." She smirked at him, lying on the ground. He kneeled to her and smiled back, her hair still twisted around his fist. At first she was confused, but then she realized she might have made him more angry than she wanted to. She kept grinning at him persistently. "Sorry, but I think you're fat as it is. Let a poor girl and her friend eat today?" She tried to keep a straight face but giggled as she said it.

He tugged at her hair violently, still holding a contorted smile.
"Ouch!" She whimpered.

"I want my pack." He ordered her before pulling at her hair again.

"Then why don't you try to take it? Hm?" She growled back, clutching it to her.

[JxSlaughter]

Even though Zhijiru saw the silhouettes of two humans his dog was barking at something other than them. He thought he saw another creature but it was hard to make out because it soon disappeared from his sight. He tapped the dog on his neck to make him stop barking. After the dog stopped Zhijiru soon heard a man's voice.

"Someone! Anyone! Help! She has my supplies!"

I guess the worry wasn't a creature attacking, but of theivery...

Zhijiru started running towards the two, taking caution with each step. They were still a ways away. He called back to make sure that who ever needed help wasn't alone. "I hear you!! I'm coming!!"


By the time he got there he saw a young girl, with her hair clutched within the man's grasp. She was holding what appeared to be his, tightly in her arms, unwilling to let go. The man was not very handsome. He was slightly short in stature for a grown man, had a rugged, poorly shaven beard and slightly crocked teeth. Along with an odor from his breath and chubby, light tan body. Zhijiru thought he remembered this man from earlier, but he met so many people selling his wears he wasn't sure.

Even if the girl was stealing his things, she was still young, and in Zhijiru's mind, she doesn't know any better than to do what she needed to do to survive. This wasn't a totally new occurrence. He would like to fix it so that they both could go on without anyone getting hurt.

Zhijiru held his lantern up a little bit so that they could see his face. "Sir, please let go of the girl, I'm sure she means no harm. If there is something that she wants from you I will pay for it."

[Purple Demon]

He stopped ripping at her hair when he saw the other merchant. "O-oh. I didn't see you there." He said, half ashamed. He struggled to get up, but his gut and chubby legs got in the way.

The girl stood, and just about ran away, but tumbled back to the ground with the pack in her arms. She was numb. All she could feel was the small gushes of blood from her feet. The crimson liquid stained the snow, and she looked up weakly at the other man who she had hoped came to help her.

The tubby fiend shot her a look that boasted, 'Even when you almost outran me, I won in the end.'

"..if there is anything she wants from you, I'll pay for it." He said.

There was a long pause before the fat one spoke again. The girl was just about to give up and decide running was the better option before he turned around and ripped the hair out of her head.. or worse. But then he said unexpectedly, "The two packs are costly. Finest quality around, guaranteed." She said solemnly and business-like, crossing his arms over his chest. The girl worried whether or not 'two packs' would confuse this man. After all, he had probably only seen her, and she had one pack. She stared cautiously at his canine companion.

"I could just take it back from her. No need to waste money on this..." He stopped as he spit at her. "sleeper." She glared at him disapprovingly. She didn't know what it meant, but it didn't sound kind.

[JxSlaughter]

Zhijiru exchanged glances at the girl. He felt sorry for her, but as a merchant he too didn't appreciate when his hard earned money and goods were stolen from him. That thought was something that kept him from fully sympathizing for her at the moment.

The talk of the two packs did confuse him. He only saw one. Maybe the other 'thing' had it. She possibly had a dog that snatched the other one? Zhijiru didn't think that she would have been after whatever was very expensive. There must of been something that she wanted that she needed to survive with.

Suddenly the man spat at her. Zhijiru was taken back, even though he didn't like thieves did he didn't hate them as people, and would never spit at them. Especially at a young desperate girl. The man talked about her as if she wasn't a living thing. Inside, this made Zhijiru very displeased. But the man did not appear to be the type to take in and accept a moral lecture. Zhijiru wanted it to seem like he was on the merchant's side, even though he wasn't, so that the man would be patient with him. Zhijiru smiled at the man, "Don't dirty your hands, I'll take care of it."

Zhijiru hung the lantern on his waist and headed towards the girl. He went down to her height to speak with her. He pointed at the pack. Zhijiru spoke gently to the injured girl. "There's something you want in there, can I see it?" He was certain that she wasn't interested in the pack itself or the expensive goods in it. If she was honest enough to show exactly what she wanted and wasn't going to be greedy about it then maybe there could be a fix to this.

[Purple Demon]

The man nodded with a sense of agreement. "Alright, then."

As he made his way toward the girl, she shivered. She thought for sure that something bad was going to happen, but she just froze in her place. She frantically stared up at him when he came to a halt. When he knelt down and began to talk to her, she wasn't scared. She was nervous.

No one ever talked to her unless she was the one who stole from them. Her eyes widened when he asked her a question. She was about to say something but nothing came out but a small hiss of air. 'The food. The food.' She rushed herself. She slowly lifted herself and sat upright and opened the bag of wares. She reached for the bread she smelled earlier. She sifted through it until she felt something half-flat and moist. She pulled it from the pack. She blushed. She squished it when she fell.

She showed it to the merchant in front of her.

[JxSlaughter]

He could now plainly see that she was an honest girl, she was definitely worth helping out.

The pastry did look very delicious, and to her it must have looked ten times more mouth watering. It looked like some kind of bread dough that was strawberry filled and had vanilla frosting. Zhijiru could also see that the man wasn't necessarily , but brought it along just to merely satisfy his taste buds when he got bored. Besides, the man could survive on his own fat longer than the girl could survive on bread crumbs. Hopefully the man was more greedy for money than he was gluttonous.

The only problem was, this was one bag, and there were two.

As she held up the pastry and Zhijiru snatched the bag from her other hand. It was loosened up as she kept her eyes on the food. "You keep that, and I'll have this," Zhijiru said playfully.

He walked back over to the merchant. He reached into his pouched and pulled out 5 gold coins. Much, much more than a peasant pastry would cost. Zhijiru shook it in his hands a bit, making them sparkle by the lantern's light. The man could buy more than 20 of those pastries with those coins. But the question is, would that satisfy him? Zhijiru tried to sweeten the deal. "I remember you saying that there was another pack, I'll retrieve it for you." He handed the bag over after putting the gold coins into the pack right in front of him.

"You don't seem to be the kind of business man that would get his hands filthy, and you appear tired from your long journey." The merchant might ask why he would go through all the trouble. Zhijiru needed to protect his real goal. "Of course, as a merchant myself..." Zhijiru crossed his arms and placed a hand under his chin. "I wont do it for free, if I get it back to you, I get the girl. There's a big business for young female slaves... If you don't believe me you can hold onto the girl until I get it back."

[Purple Demon]

She looked at the sweet bread and let the bag go, and as he snatched it from her, turning away and conversing with the fat man.. She smiled shyly at him. He was the first to help her, or even speak to her for that matter. But then she listened to what he was about to say.

"I remember you saying that there was another pack, I'll retrieve it for you."
'I hope he doesn't hurt Veryll to get to the bag. I'll.. tell him to give him the bag, Veryll will listen to what I say, I hope..' She worried hurriedly.

"You don't seem to be the kind of business man that would get his hands filthy, and you appear tired from your long journey.." 'All that running had to have made him tired. He could barely keep up!' She lied to herself, snickering slightly.

"Of course, as a merchant myself..."
She went quiet. As he crossed his arms, she knew something was going to be said that she didn't want to hear. She wanted to shut it all out, the voices and wind. The thoughts of Veryll and the tugging at her hair. The merchant and his barking dog. But it all clashed together, refusing to go away. Her heart beat fast, and it felt like it was going to burst.

"I wont do it for free, if I get it back to you, I get the girl. There's a big business for young female slaves... If you don't believe me you can hold onto the girl until I get it back."

"Oh no!" She shouted, scared of what might happen. She'd much rather starve if it meant she had her freedom. A concerned, frightened look washed over her face, erasing her smile. 'Maybe I was right not to trust them! What happens now?'

In her panic she caught a glimpse of the fat man, "I think I might keep her here." He chuckled wickedly. Now she was annoyed. She felt the urge to follow this merchant so she would be able to reassure the safety of Veryll. She crawled over to him and wearily bit his chubby ankle. "Yowch!" He howled, kicking her face. "On second thought... You take her. I don't want to even be near the little--" He rubbed at his ankle with the snow. 'Same to you, fat old gremlin.'

[JxSlaughter]

Zhijiru tried to keep himself from chuckling. The man sure changed his mind really fast. Zhijiru held the girl's arm. "Can you stand?"

[Purple Demon]

Her lip quivered again. 'Why did you care? She wanted to snap at him. But she held her gaze in a kind of blank way, not a scolding or angry way. She stuttered, "Y-you have my arm." She stated the obvious, still frightened.

She tried to get up with his help, but sort of dangled to the side. "..My feet." She said pathetically, disheartened. "I'm sorry." And that was the first real apology she'd ever stated to anyone. She held the bread like it was very delicate, the sweet fumes dancing to her.

[JxSlaughter]

It wasn't a surprise that she asked why care. People who were very low on material things tended to be shunned by society and were thought as useless. But Zhijiru couldn't answer right now. The other merchant thought of him as one of his own. Zhijiru didn't want to fully express himself freely while he was around. Zhijiru wanted to make sure that he was able to be on everyone's side without hurting anyone as much as possible.

The girl said she was sorry for her injuries. She shouldn't be sorry, nothing was her fault. "It's okay, here ride on my back." Zhijiru let go and motioned that he would give her a piggy back ride.

[Purple Demon]

She climbed onto his back, resting her chin on his shoulder. "Thank you." She said, not expecting an answer. She looked forward into the dark, trying to make out some sign of Veryll. As everything fell apart right now, she just wanted him to be safe. So, she figured that if she did see him, she'd silently motion him to run or hide somewhere. 'Drop the pack, Veryll. Run and forget me. Live another day.' She thought to herself, worried about something terrible might happen.

The blood on her feet and toes felt frozen over, and even though her feet were completely numb, she could tell that there was still a little warmth of blood covering them. The pain stopped shooting up at her. It had stopped when the merchant caught her and she fell backward. That seemed so long ago.

She recalled seeing Veryll's lit face, his bright blue eyes piercing her through the dark. The look they had then told her, "I'm coming to help you." She refused this and sent him onward with a smile. Reluctantly, he turned away, running straight and not looking back, and he disappeared into the blackness. She heard a dog bark wildly. But she couldn't grasp at what it was barking at. She knew now that it was the merchant's dog.
'Veryll. It might have been Veryll.' She thought.

"What was your dog barking at?" She asked, hoping to lead them away from Veryll somehow.

[JxSlaughter]

"What was your dog barking at?"

Zhijiru fixed his stance so that she was more stable on his back. "Hm, probably barking at your friend."

It wasn't long before the dog started sniffing the ground. The dog was gray, and not any taller than from Zhijiru's knees. He had a sturdy, square shape. The tail was curled tightly over his back and had a darker face compared to its body. He had a full coat, that was dense around the neck, tall ears, long muzzle, and medium sized legs. Neither short, or long. It had no collar or any sign of ownership. The dog suddenly darted ahead with a quickened pace, and Zhijiru followed him more and more away from the main trail.

I'm sure it didn't go too far, she is with me after all.

It zipped back and forth using its eyes as well as his nose. He came back swiftly to sniff the girl Zhijiru was carrying and darted ahead again towards some group of various shrubbery up ahead. The dog pawed at the ground at the edge of the vegetation, and did a double take back and forth as if to coax something out. Then it started barking, almost like he was asking the 'thing' to chase him. It wasn't anything vicious, it was almost playful or annoying. From where Zhijiru was he couldn't see anything, but he knew that the animal was there.

"Looks like Diesel found your friend..." He said, referring to his dog.

[Purple Demon]

She stiffened when he said, "Hm, probably barking at your friend."
'I bet it's hard to trick you.' She thought.

When his dog started trailing off after it sniffed at her, she knew something was wrong. He zipped around and jumped, almost seeming playful to her.

"Looks like Diesel found your friend..."

The large feline's eyes emerged from the dark. The icy eyes piercing her again, she realized he wasn't going to put the pack down. He growled at the playful dog, inching a little closer. Then he stopped and stared up at her, quietly. The bag hung from his mouth.

"You aren't going to hurt him, are you?" She asked scared out of her mind.