Irritating Companions.
Jereez rode one her horses out of the city happily, every now again reaching into her pockets to brush her fingers across the smooth surface of the beautiful artifact she had been so successful in acquiring . Damn she was good! Real good! She gave the rest of the world a self-satisfied smirk. Now all she had to do was hide out while the bar was presumably searched then, when the strangers she'd acquired from finally gave up and left the region, she'd return a hundred, nay a thousand times richer than before.
Life was good.
There was a thud on the ground behind her and Jereez turned in surprise to see a second horse following not too far behind her, and catching up. Agitatedly, she recognised its rider as Damon. He'd opted to carry the box-like stringed instrument with him, attached to the side of his horse in a way that should protect it from too much harm.
"Hey there," he called as he approached, "nice day for a ride." He was right, it was a beautiful, sunny day and the outskirts of the forest seem rather peaceful and untouched, but she didn't care. Damon drew up beside her.
"What are you doing?" Jereez demanded, peeved that her lovely solitude was being disturbed, by Damon of all people. Damon simply shrugged.
"Came for my half," he told her, quickly flashing a broad grin in her direction. Jereez did not smile in response.
"Your ha- your half of what," she amended quickly before she gave away that she knew what he was referring to. The only thing she couldn't understand, was how he knew. He must have caught on earlier in the bar, when she'd told him to perform, she decided.
"My half of the profits," Damon explained and reached unabashedly across the small gap between them into Jereez s cloak and drew forward the pocket she'd been keeping the gem in. She glanced away, avoiding looking at the thief in annoyance. He knew her way too well. She was going to have to change her clothes so that he couldn't find her secret pouches. Damon jiggled the pocket up and down and looked impressed.
"You're right," he said in an equally impressed tone, "it is as big as your fist." Jereez frowned and took the pouch from out of his reach.
"It's not that big," she disagreed discontentedly. She'd been hoping to have the gem all to herself.
"It's pretty big," Damon counteracted, leaning back on his horse, "If we sell it in Parthax we could get a higher price for it."
"We?" Jereez blurted in response. She urged her horse forward a little faster. Of course, it had been silly of her to believe she could be a better con artist than life just when you thought you'd gotten away with the world scot free, you were disastrously reminded that you didn't really come out with the upper hand.
"Yeah," Damon encouraged, "you, me, and my half."
"Hey I saw it, and I took it!" Jereez protested, holding the dazzling object just a little bit closer to her body.
"And I provided a distraction." Damon didn't seem particularly concerned, he probably knew she would give in.
"Ten percent," Jereez bargained, realising that if he was that confident, she probably wasn't going to be able to talk him out of it. The last thing she needed was Damon informing the people she'd stolen from exactly where she currently was, and she didn't doubt he'd do it if she didn't give him some of the profits.
"Forty," Damon argued, his eyes lighting up at the prospect.
"Thirty," Jereez raised her price substantially in the desire to end this bargaining session quickly.
"Done!" She was surprised he hadn't pushed it further, but pleased that it was the end. Possibly he recognised that thirty percent of the profits was still going to be enough to keep him deliriously happy for the next fifty years of his life, which, for a human, was essentially the rest of his life.
"Where we headed Jez?" Damon asked, nodded to the road ahead and Jereez paused before she answered. He would not be happy with the real answer to that question.
"Just into the woods," she replied vaguely, " I thought I'd hide out in the woods." Damon appeared to accept it as a reasonable reply.
