She had bewitched him, he decided as he smoked outside the khajiit tent. Her coquettish behavior had been so unexpected he'd immediately gotten up to follow through the door she'd left open. She had confused him so thoroughly that it had taken him a contemptible amount of time to divine exactly what she wanted and by then, they were halfway to the caravan.
It had been a diversion, he now realized. She was quite clever. He may have been beguiled into accompanying her but he refused to go in since he'd already seen everything and it would be a waste of time. And perhaps out here he could see if any of the nord men matched the description of the skeever, Gjollmir.
"Khajiit hopes you brought enough tobacco," he heard a raspy voice say. He turned to see a khajiit in steel armor looking up at him with mischievous green eyes. "Your woman will likely be in there for some time."
Teldryn blew smoke out of the side of his mouth as he assessed the khajiit, deciding he would not correct his assumption. There really wasn't any point in doing so as the caravan would be gone in a couple of days. Instead, he asked, "What makes you say that?"
The khajiit's sharp teeth were on display as he smiled. "Kharjo has been with the caravan for many years. You will see."
Dazzled did not even begin to cover it. Between the khajiit themselves and range of exotic items on display in the market tent, Vanya was overwhelmed with excitement. It smelled strongly of incense and the wares were spread on rich carpets on the ground, while the walls of the tent were hung with beautiful tapestries, colorful draping linens lined with amulets, and an assortment of dried herbs. She half expected to see a gypsy with a crystal ball, though that would be quite ordinary compared to the reality of the fuzzy merchant that was watching her as she pored over a strange purple gem. It glowed with an alluring light that seemed like it was flickering and swirling almost as if it were alive. The khajiit called herself Ahkari- literally referring to herself in the third person- and had soft-looking gray striped fur. She wore a very nicely embroidered green and red dress with a red shawl. Kinda like a gypsy I suppose. A furry gypsy. Vanya snorted and covered her mouth to keep from laughing.
"Why does the soul gem amuse you?" Ahkari asked.
"Soul gem?" Vanya set the gem down, staring into the khajiit's ice blue eyes that were twinkling with interest. "That light is a soul?"
"Yes, you have never seen one?"
"I've never seen a lot of things," she replied plainly, rubbing her hands on her tunic.
Akhari blinked slowly, her whiskers twitching. A tapestry over her shoulder caught Vanya's attention. It was the size of a placemat with a soft blue background weaved with dark navy in the design of a sunburst with a sliver of a moon curving around one side. She recognized it as an homage to Azura. "How much is the tapestry?"
"That one is twenty septims. It is authentic Ashlander handiwork." Vanya only nodded, not wanting to seem too eager. She had been to flea markets before and had pretty good luck with haggling. Flea markets. She bit her lip hard and turned to look very intently at some jewelry that was sitting on a barrel, trying to tamp down the hysterics that were threatening to escape.
"Ah, you have an eye for the finer things," the khajiit said, and Vanya could swear she heard a faint purring. She looked over the fine jewelry with interest though she had no intention of buying any. It was certainly fun to look at but she simply had no use for it. The khajiit seemed to pick up on her hesitance and must have interpreted it as her not finding something suitable because she pulled out a small chest and opened it. "Here, take a look. These are some of my more special pieces."
Vanya gazed into the chest politely and then spotted an item that made her eyes go round. "Is that a straight razor? For shaving?"
Akhari's ears twitched, the slits of her eyes widening in curiosity. "Yes," she drawled. "It's a very fine one made of silver and moonstone." She plucked it from the chest and handed it to Vanya who turned it over in her hands, all pretense of a shrewd customer dropped. She had never used a straight razor but she was willing to learn if it meant she could fulfill a basic hygienic need she had noticed the women of Nirn did not concern themselves with. She wanted to shave her legs.
"How much?"
"Sixty septims."
Vanya faltered for a moment but she knew this razor was not leaving her hands. It was hers. "I'll take it."
"This one wonders what you want with a razor...unless...", Akhari sidled in closer and lowered her voice. "You are buying it as a gift for your man, is that it?"
Vanya nearly corrected her but then stopped, realizing the advantage the misunderstanding gave her. "Yes, and since I know nothing about shaving, do you know what other sorts of things I might need to go with it?"
In the end, Vanya had a bar of soap that Akhari assured her would foam nicely, a tonic to soothe the skin and a few other small items that caught her eye.
"It will be ninety-five septims," the khajiit announced.
Vanya pulled out her bag that still held the one hundred she had tried to repay to Teldryn. Just before opening it to pull out five, she remembered the tapestry. "Round it to one hundred with the tapestry and we have a deal."
Akhari's ears flattened. "I think not. One hundred- ten."
"One hundred-two," Vanya replied. Surely Teldryn would spot her a couple of coins.
"One hundred- five."
"Deal."
He was staring at the sun for the tenth time, wondering whether he should go in the tent and drag Vanya out when the curtain drew back and she emerged. Empty-handed.
He scoffed, "You were in there all this time and you did not buy anything?" He'd been convinced she'd be packing up the whole tent by now. He heard a snicker nearby and knew it was the khajiit from earlier.
"Ummm...not exactly." Her voice lilted upward as she spoke and he narrowed his eyes, sensing a question. She held a cupped hand up to him. "Can I borrow five septims? I'll pay you back right away, I promise."
He stilled his traitorous hand before it could reach for his pouch of gold. "I thought you had one hundred septims on you?"
"I do." She raised her eyebrows and a cheeky grin spread across her lips.
"Sheogorath's beard, what are you buying?" He shook his head, smirking as he gave in and pulled five coins from his pouch, placing them in her open palm.
She clasped the coins with both hands and held them to her chest. "Just some things I didn't know I needed until I saw them." She turned back to the tent and he felt the need to hasten her along, lest she continue to indulge her wandering eye.
"Make it quick, I'm hungry."
"I'll be right out!" she called as she disappeared through the curtains.
He caught the amused eye of the khajiit and rubbed his eyes with his fingertips, muttering, "Madness. This is madness."
Mercifully, she re-emerged moments later cradling a bundle wrapped in a blue shawl topped with a bunch of dried flowers tied together at the stems.
She smiled giddily at him. "Let's go. I'll buy your lunch to pay you back and make it up to you for causing you to wait so long."
He wanted to deny the offer to pay him back but he had waited for quite a long time, not to mention he had a feeling she would put up more of a fight about it than she had when he'd denied her previous attempt. Besides, it was only five septims and he was not keen to dampen the joyous glitter in her eyes by arguing over such a petty amount. He said simply, "Lead the way."
