Scarlet casually glanced into windows, wondering what she should 'borrow' for her trip. Because her caravan was gone she'd have to travel on her own to Dorhaven. That meant she needed supplies to get that far.

Considering her embarrassing misinterpretation the other day, she dared not to go to the bakery for food. Besides that, bread spoiled easily unless it was like crackers or biscuits. Dry food like that was not normally sold at a bakery anyway, unless they were pet treats.

Thinking about the bakery made her start to think of Fion. Was she really that bad? In a way she wanted to apologize, but her other half wanted Fion to do the same.

Her thoughts were then interrupted by a slippery kiss from Tilley. "Dze... I gotta feed ya too on this mad mission, don't I?" She then sniffed the leira's breath, "Ew... Where'd you get the carrots?"

Fion walked out of the bakery, fresh bread in hand. She also had a large carry bag with some vegetables in it and a small leg of lamb, slung over her shoulder. She resettled the strap on her shoulder and started to walk home.

She saw Scarlet nearby and flinched.

At the sight of Fion, Scarlet's original thoughts were triggered once again. "Oh boy..." she muttered, knowing she'd have to say something before leaving town.

After taking a deep breath she approached Fion. However instead of saying sorry she pulled out the money she had tried handing Annie a while back, "I'm leaving town soon and I have more than enough on me. Get somethin' fer yer boch to eat."

Scarlet could sense that Fion was not happy to see her, but 'I'm sorry' couldn't seem to escape her lips at the moment. She wrinkled her lips at she tried thinking of how to frase it without sounding like she was giving in.

Fion flushed with embarassment before pride started hurting.

"Thank you but no," She said, voice low and warring with confusion, hesitancy and a small amount of indignation, "I can pay my own way. You should give it to the orphanage outside of town instead."

She clutched at her bread, not crushing it yet. She had learned to be afraid of Scarlet and her erratic spirit. She quickly glanced around to see if anyone was watching and if any seventen were around.

"Why?" She asked after a pause.

"Like I said, I'm leavin'. I'm not gonna tell ya where because I don't want to hear the words no, ne or don't," Scarlet made a face, but it wasn't a sour one. More like a 'who cares' kind of look. "Let's leave it at there wont be much to buy where I'm goin'."

"'Sides that, I don't want you endin' up like my daoa -- havin' to mail me to my dad," she shrugged. "Or what I mean is yer son... What ever. You know what I mean."

Fion frowned in confusion.

"Why would I tell you not to leave? I don't know where you're going. I don't even know you, really. We've met just three times." She needed to get home, "I, I don't quite follow you. Why would I ever give Piran away? There's no one else to take him and I happen to quite like him."

Fion tried to sidle past Scarlet.

"I should get going, have a safe trip."

"Wait!" Scarlet reached for her to stop her. "Look, I just wanted to say that I wasn't thinking straight at the bakery. I'm... Okay, I was wrong... I'm sorry." The whole thing she had just said made her feel really stupid. I could have said that better...

"Can we just talk... Fer a minute or two?" she hoped Fion wasn't too scared of her at this point.

Fion had been a few scant seconds away from entering into the flight part of her conflict reflex.

Scarlet's apology, unexpected and seemingly very genuine, stopped her in her tracks.

"Alright," She replied slowly, "We can talk. Let's walk at the same time though."

She turned but waited for Scarlet to follow.

"What did you want to talk about?" She asked, still feeling a little wary.

If Scarlet started saying dangerous things about rebellions and seventen, Fion might get arrested too. She couldn't afford that.

Scarlet nodded and tried to keep up beside her, "I dunno... I just wanted to get to know ya is all." Perhaps get her to know me too... "It may come as a shock to ya, but I do like things other than gettin' into trouble."

As they continued down the street she figured since she had gotten this far with Fion she should start the conversation. Perhaps by answering an earlier question, "I wasn't sayin' you'd give Piran away. It was more an explanation as to why I was givin' you the ging."

Fion wasn't entirely shocked, just a little disbelieving.



"Oh, alright." Fion replied, "I still say you should give it to the orphanage."

Fion had no intention of taking it.

"What do you want to know?" She asked, relaxing slightly.

"Fine. The guy I got it off of might liked that more," she wasn't sure if should should mention that she found it on a corpse or not. "I'll drop it off before I leave."

"As fer what I want to know? I mean, just anythin'," shrugged the wick. "Do ya have any family locally?" Perhaps personal questions were not the best, but how else would she get to know her and not sound like she was brainlessly starting conversation just to start it?

Fion wasn't great with personal questions. Information was valuable and dangerous in her world.

"I don't have any family in Vienda, they're spread out and around. How about you?" Fion asked.

What she really wanted to know was if Scarlet had told anyone about her underground name. If Scarlet was learning sense or just having a good day.

Fion wasn't sure where this was going but she wasn't leaving yet.

"Um... I only have my father, and he's thirty some years older than me," she answered. "I'd like to think my momma loved me. After all, she sent me away rather then killing me. Besides, from what I've seen of the gollies, their life is dull." For such a sad topic, Scarlet seemed unnerved.

"From what my da has told me about her was she was like fourteen to sixteen why I was born," she then started counting on her finger the age difference between her biological parents. "Roughly that makes fifteen years apart... I've always just assumed she was a hopeless romantic who liked the idea of a forbidden relationship, but I wouldn't know... I don't even know her name. Just that she must have red hair, cause my da sure don't"

She then looked at Fion once more, "Ya know, wouldn't it be funny if I've got a little beata or brunno?"

Fion was a little shocked, she didn't know that Scarlet was half galdor. It wasn't something that you could easily admit to among humans.

Fion was glad that she'd kept Piran, she felt sorry for Scarlet growing up without her mother.

"Maybe you'll meet her one day and then you can ask," Fion began to wonder where this was going, "What would you do if you did find her?"

<Good grief... Did I make all those grammar errors? I shouldn't RP after midnight.>

"No clue..." Scarlet stopped walking and started to think. "I'll cross that road if it ever comes. Who knows, I'll probably make just as much a fool of myself as I usually do talkin' to random folks."

She then turned away, but still looked in Fion's direction, "I didn't mean to disturb you with anythin' I just said. I just didn't want to leave town with an enemy, ya know? I've got enough of them already."

Although it was more of at a truce more than anything else, Scarlet hoped she could come back to town and not have to worry about Fion warning everyone that there was a dangerous red head running around with a big mouth. And besides that, it was nice to have someone listen to her about that subject.

"Scarlet, I think you misunderstand me. I was never your enemy, I wouldn't have bailed you out the day I met you if I were." Fion wondered if she'd seen the world in such a moral monochrome when she was younger and decided she probably had, "I was angry because you were making a... spectacle in my house in front of a galdori noble that I didn't know. That's dangerous for people like me. I'm not a spoke, I can't run."

Her tone of voice was matter of fact but still slightly pointed.

"Why did you decide to push past Dom Leon?" She asked, slightly exasperated.

She wasn't sure Scarlet would understand.

A twinge of guilt poked her in the head. She had never understood why people thought the traveling life was dangerous. If someone lived in the same house and went to the same job every day, that meant everyone could know where they were. They wouldn't be able to do anything with their life without someone poking in and being able to come back.

"Fion, I'm sorry... I think I already apologized fer that," she remembered back to when Annie was buying her a dress. Scarlet still had the dress but it was too formal to wear around town.



"It's what he is. Like ya said, I can always dust," Scarlet sounded disgusted, but not with Fion. Her voice softened in case Fion wouldn't want the answer to be heard by the people around them, "That day I was angry and besides, although I didn't like you at the time, you were not doin' so well. Unlike you I cannot let people push me around just because it's safer."

Suddenly a thought hit her, but she didn't like it. Still, the suggestion might clear some things up, "Maybe that's why I didn't like you. You tell me what to do, what to say... That's why I don't join any 'groups' out there. I make my own decisions on my own time. It's too easy to lose that."

Fion bristled at that.



"Scarlet..." Fion exhaled heavily, "That's the thing, when you say you're sorry it doesn't mean anything if you don't change your behaviour."

"You apologised to me about putting yourself at risk, then you run around smirking at me and talking about seventen in front of a, thank Alioe, sympathetic galdor. At my home address." Her words were rough but her tone was exasperated and motherly, "Then you put me at risk by pleasing yourself and confronting a man that knows where I work and now asks about you and increasingly more than before asks about me. He'd been getting bored prior. You're right you can dust but the repercussions of the things you do don't. You can let people push you around if it's the difference between a bruise and broken leg."

Fion turned away.

"I see the merit in your free spirit, Scarlet but it has caused me a lot of trouble, trouble that won't go away. That's why I tell you what to do. I help people that need it, I helped you once but you need to be tactful if you don't want to get your house burned down." She paused, "Again, in my case."

"And stop saying you don't like me, it wrecks my day."

"I do like you, or at least am tryin' to. I said didn't not don't... It's statements like that that give me the feeling you don't like me. You never actually hear what I say anymore than vise versa," she frowned.

"When we meet again, is there any way I can make it up to ya? Aside from the obvious and keeping my fat mouth shut," Her voice was a mix of sadness and frustration. Scarlet wanted to cry at this point, but knew it was not going to change anything. It seemed like no matter what she tried to do to make Fion like her better always backfired.

"Stop it, you're not a victim here. I'm being straight with you and I am listening to you. It's just that I'm trying to be honest about my concerns. If you want us to have a fair relationship then I need to be able to do that without you taking it as a personal attack."



"You don't have to make anything up to me and you don't have to become a mute," Fion said placatingly, "All you need to do is be a little considerate, to other people and to yourself."

Fion could see the shadows lengthening a little as they walked.

"Look, I know you feel bad about the other day and I don't want you to feel worse. I just want to know you respect my... Somewhat precarious position and bring it to mind the next time you see someone with a vibe." Fion patted her shoulder, "I'm sorry, I have to get home and drop off my shopping before I go get P. If you come by house again sometime and knock on the door, maybe we can have some tea and talk about where you've been."

Fion squeezed Scarlet's arm and let go.

"Have a safe trip, ok?"

Scarlet looked up at her with a smile, "I understand. I guess then that means I'll see you in a couple weeks. Good luck." She watched Fion leave.

Once Fion was out of site Scarlet turned away and went back to looking for places to get rations. Yet again her lizard game her a veggie/syrupy scented kiss, causing her master to groan, but she wasn't upset. "You just like bein' a pina annoyance, huh?"