Ever Ending

Chapter 2

After some heated whispering between the trio, Jahan eventually stomped his way over to Fringe, who was now attempting to pull the iron stake out of the ground. The brute pulled it out without hesitation and lifted the would be thief up to his feet as if he weighed nothing. Fringe grunted but landed on his feet easily. It was Seball's turn to tilt her head. "As graceful as a Blacktail", she mused. Though she must've seen Mittas' eyes narrow and she sat up straighter. "You know what a Black Tail is?", she asked. He shook his head. "Question is, how do a bunch of barter trolls know what a Black Tail is?"

Jahan pulled him by the elbow, his wrists still bound together, and roughly sat him on a rock in front of the fire. The two women were already seated. "What's a barter troll?", asked Leafy. Fringe just stared at the lot of them suspiciously. Jahan took a seat opposite their prisoner. "Okay..... Since we know you can speak, can you at least tell us if you have a name? Is that something your people do?". Fringe couldn't believe this. Talking? His people? Not knowing what barter trolls were? They were treating him as if he was some low level barbarian or child. He was as foreign to them as they seemed to be to him. He contemplated a moment longer before answering. "Mittas Fringe. Most just call me Fringe though". With a sigh he added, "barter trolls are, you know, travelers who trade from settlement to settlement. I assume like what you're doing." He raised his tied hands toward their tent with a nod. "....not exactly", Seball answered, Leafy throwing her an elbow to the arm before she could explain. "And you just, what? Steal from these.. barter trolls?", Asked Jahan to which he received a shrug in reply. What else was Fringe supposed to do? Become a barter Troll himself? Seemed like too much work.

Leafy and Jahan both frowned, but said nothing else. Seball however, continued to stare at Fringe. He ignored her for several moments until the heat of her stare became annoyingly unbearable. "What?!", He snarled. Her pouty lips pulled up in a small smile. "Sorry. I've just never seen red hair before". He rolled his eyes, resisting the urge to scratch through the ginger mop atop his head. Everyone pointed out his hair color. Fringe, himself, had never met another person with it. Though he'd heard the story about his surrogate mother. In fact, the bright green of his eyes were a bit of an anomaly as well. The majority of people he'd met had darker hair and amber eyes.

The thought brought his attention to Seball's long locks. Her hair was shinier, but still a common black. Her eyes however.."are your eyes...purple?", Fringe blinked in surprise. A light pink blush appeared on the girl's olive colored cheeks as she looked away. Jahan cleared his throat, pulling Fringe's attention away from Seball. "Right", he stood. "This has been an... interesting encounter, but my departure is long over due". Wrists still tied, he began heading away from the strange group and their fire. Unfortunately, Jahan's long legs carried him over to block the exit path in no time. "We can't exactly let you do that".

Fringe had already figured as much. He sighed deeply as he spun back around on one foot, heading to the fire once more. The women were standing again. Leafy with a pair of daggers at ready. Seball equipped with nothing more than a concerned look. They were her guards. Were they escorting her? Where would they be going anyway? What was so special about her? "And why, exactly, can't you let me leave? You haven't killed me yet. I've nothing for you to take. The concept of keeping me prisoner doesn't seem to serve any purpose". Fringe plopped back down on the rock he'd originally been sat on. Seball looked appalled. "It's not our wish to kill anyone". Fringe looked to Leafy sheathing her daggers behind her back and snorted. "Protection", the burnette replied as she rolled her eyes.

During the short exchange between Fringe and Seball about their unique appearances, both Leafy and Jahan had redressed for travel. Large coverings draped over their shoulders with attached hoods. Along with strange coverings on their feet. Back sheath for Leafy's daggers and a scabbard for Jahan's greatsword. "We can't let you leave because you're intelligent enough to know we're not exactly from around here", Jahan answered. He came up from behind Fringe. Having at some point gotten left over soup from somewhere and handed a bowl full over to their prisoner.

Fringe hesitated but his hunger eventually won over and he awkwardly took the bowl in his bound hands. Jahan and Leafy sat next to one another to eat as well. Seball choosing to head into the tent instead. Presumably dressing herself in traveling attire. "Buttt..you aren't killing me". They were, indeed, strangers to the land. "No. It's against our beliefs". Leafy didn't seem to be one to elaborate very much. Fringe snorted once more and lifted the bowl to his lips to slurp the bland soup down.

Seball emerged from the tent a short time later, tossing something between Mittas' feet. He looked up at her, questioning. "Put them on. Your feet are so torn up". They were an extra pair of the strange feet coverings that the group was wearing. He looked from Seball's feet and back to his own. Only just realizing the drastic difference. Not only was his feet more dirty, but also more bloody and burned. The desert wasn't exactly kind to bare skin, but apparently the trio didn't travel in the nude.

The feet coverings had a hard bottom and vines for straps. Fringe slid his foot into one. Mimicking the way the others were wearing theirs. With a piece of vine in-between the first two toes of each foot. The covering was a bit more big on him than it looked on the others. Perhaps an extra pair of the larger Jahan. He studied the feeling of the hard bottom. "Is that...bark?.. tree bark?", He asked. Bringing his eyes back up to Seball. Her own eyes lit up with his recognition, "Yes!". "Bark from... extinct trees?", He asked flabbergasted and could visibly see the woman's heart sink into her chest when she'd realized her mistake. "What are you people?".