"Come, Fang."
The hound broke off investigating the loam in case it had changed, and trotted after. The command was to come, and not heel or just being expected to follow along. That meant some sort of possible trouble. But it would be trouble for Mistress only, and not for a hound. His job would be to watch for other threats.
That command also meant it was not a hunt. He did not have to try to be sneaky. He could still sniff at things, and range side to side in doing so. The smells and sounds of the camp told him that it was mostly empty this time, though. Where were her friends? He looked, and could only see the grumpy one. Maybe that was why Mistress expected some sort of humans-trouble? Again, though, that was for her. His job was to watch.
Their progress had not been silent, of course, though it was the hound's movements and snuffling at things that gave them away first.
The brunette looked up, already narrowing her eyes and grimacing. There was only one hound that was any sort of regular visitor to their camp, after all. And, sure enough, it was that one, with that woman. "They're not here!" It was deliberately not welcoming, though she did wince inwardly at herself for how blindingly obvious a statement it was.
"Yes." The blonde nodded, just once, in that odd way of hers. "Can talk while you work?"
Jessandra almost growled at that. Here she'd been having such a good day, too. "Do I have a choice?" she snapped. That got another inward wince. Why did that woman bring out the worst in her?
"I ask? Not tell?" The blonde's voice made it clear she was confused by the question.
"Good thing you don't try to tell me!" Jess brought herself up short at that, taking a deep breath.
"Yes." Another single nod.
The brunette needed a few more deep breaths for that. She hated how this Tree-Walker brought out resentment in her by being so… irritatingly reasonable! It put her badly on the defensive and feeling like an ogre. It didn't help that the woman moved so well. Even now, after having her leg injured by wolves, she was walking all too gracefully and quietly again. How did she do that?
Shaking her head at herself, the trapper nodded. "Fine, then." It wasn't quite as snippy as she'd just been, at least. She wasn't happy with herself over how it sounded, even so. She'd meant to be matching her in being reasonable.
"I want to ask, when others not here to try… try tell you not say things at me. Want know. Please, what I do wrong? Why is so not like me?"
For all the stranger's sentence structure was still horrid, that was awfully clearly asked – for her. Had she rehearsed asking that? She'd obviously waited – and had just said as much – for her to be alone in the camp. Maybe that was part of her planning. She checked her progress on preparing the wires for traps, and decided nothing there needed her immediate attention. She turned to regard her odd visitor, and sighed heavily.
"I don't know!" She quickly held up her hand to forestall the blonde's confused attempts to ask more. "It's not… it's not really you. Or, nothing you did, anyway. It's how… it's how everyone reacts to you."
The hunter looked even more confused, her head tilting. "I not understand? Sorry."
"No, of course you don't!" She took another deep breath or three. "The way you talk… I know you can't help it. But it makes them think they're helping a child out, sort of – for all you clearly aren't one. Though I think they underestimate your age."
The blonde blinked, then seemed to ponder that before slowly trying to respond. "Not sure how old. Not remember… um. Think is not yet forty summers. But get close?" She sighed. "And child… not know how help child look. When child, not helped. Grabbed. Hit. Throw things at. Sorry. Not understand… not see what you see. Because not know."
The trapper's jaw dropped and she nearly spluttered before recovering. "Your people threw things at you? At a child that… well, I'm assuming you were like this then, too? How… How in the flames of the legendary fortresses of the north did you ever turn out to be so nice to people?!?"
The scout shrank back some at the intensity of the woman's reaction, causing Fang to look up, watching to see whether he needed to guard her. But then, at the end of it, she caught onto the emphasised word. "I… I try be nice because is better? Far-Scout find me in woods, had to tame me like hound." She glanced down to Fang. "Well, not quite, but seem like. Learn what nice feel like from new clan. Like much better. Not want be mean."
A grunt greeted that, though not a disagreeable one. The brunette pondered that in the back of her mind while she spoke of less consequential things. "'Far-Scout', 'Tree-Walker'... do your people even have names?! I mean… what I'd think of as names?"
"Have names, yes. But is… just for clan to know. Feel very strange, meet people who give out names. Feel like should call you Trap-Wright, not make free with your name."
That got a laugh. "I like that! Trap-Wright is good. But it'd just confuse people if you came asking for me that way. With luck, they'd just say, 'You mean Jess?' And worse, they might come out with what my mother calls me when she's mad at me." She sighed heavily. "And I don't like being mean, either. I'm sorry I am."
The blonde nodded once, then looked confused again. She seemed to be trying to find words, but didn't get the chance.
"And I didn't finish about how they react to you. Or how I do. I'm sorry, but I can't help resenting how they fall all over themselves to help the simple-seeming, pretty, graceful, exotic woman with the hound who otherwise wanders the woods alone." She sighed at herself. "Which, I suppose, means I'm jealous of how they treat you. But you didn't ask for anything special. It's… it's not something you do to me, and I know it. And I hate how it makes me look that I feel like that!"
The scout was struggling to find words even more, now. Jess saw it, and decided she should check on her wires again. Sadly, they still hadn't set well enough to want further work, so she couldn't really distract herself that way for long.
"I… I not know word 'exotic'? Think maybe need know before understand what say?"
"Hrmph. It means 'different in a way that's attractive in part because it's rare.'" She shrugged. "Or close enough. It means they like how you're not local, and aren't put off by it. And that's helped by how you're so nice, and pretty, and graceful, and talk in a way that makes them want to help."
Another single, slow nod. "Ah. So is not just be pretty – not that think I am, but not ugly, at least – but be different. You pretty, but in way they used to. Do good work with hands, work I not see them do. But not walk like forest-dweller. So is other way I different." A sigh came, and prompted another look up by the hound. "So can't help be different. And they like because that. Not because should like more. I sorry."
It was the trapper's turn to blink in surprise. "You think I'm pretty? Well, at least someone does!" She snorted, then shook her head at herself. "Well, thank you. And I think you're seeing it, yes. They're used to me. You're new and different. So you get their attention."
The blonde gave a brief, sour grimace. "And is attention you want? What I get, I mean?"
Another heavy sigh came from the brunette. "Yes. And it makes me sound so… bloody petty! But I can't help wishing I got the sort of attention you get for just… walking in."
"I sorry. Is way can help? Need trade, and learn write, or would offer just go."
"What?!? No! Oh, goodness, no! They'd all just think I'd chased you away, if they didn't mount a rescue operation to try looking for you!" This time, her sigh was exasperated.
"I sorry… not want make trouble. Just… want not make you hate me."
"What?!? I don't hate you! I… oh. But resenting might lead that way. That's what you're getting at, isn't it?"
The scout's reactions ended with a simple nod to the final question.
"Well, I don't want that sort of trouble, either. That would just make them all resent me, and that's even before figuring in your dog." She tried to make that a joke, but it didn't quite come out like one.
"How can help? Is it… should ask for you? Make attention me, need attention you?"
"I… you… are you for real, Tree-Walker? That's… huh. Well, that might be a bit much. But it does help that you offered that." She shook her head. "Just… try to… oh. Oh. You've only been sort of ignoring me because I didn't react well to you." She sighed even as she got a tentative nod in response. "Well… try to ignore how surly I get, instead? But not ignore me? I think… that will help me be nicer back, at least. And maybe I can help with your writing. Though I know how we write, which isn't what you needed to learn to read." She sighed, feeling defeated with that.
"Oh! Can learn other way? I sure that good, too! And is better for here, yes? Not want take time away from make traps, but if you can show when have time, that be very good!"
The trapper looked up, tentatively pleased. "If you think that will help you, then yes, let's do that. The wires are almost ready for me to start working into things now, but you probably need to hunt still, anyway, I'm guessing. I mean, you don't usually stop here with your pack free of burdens like this."
The blonde flashed a quick smile. "Is true. Need gather and maybe hunt some. Is birds good trade for dinner and write? Or just write?"
"I think… maybe I'll spot you dinner. We can discuss times and other things after."
After a glance at the trap-makings, the scout nodded. "Will come then. Thank you." She turned with a wave of her fingers that did more to summon her hound to her side than to wave farewell, and started off into the woods.
Once the other woman was gone, the trap-maker returned to her work, mumbling to herself as she coiled and threaded her copper wire. "Well, Jessandra Wren, you could have been a lot nicer to her. Good thing she's apparently used to worse, and willing to be nice anyway. And what mother would have to say about any of this, I shouldn't like to think…."
