Hard Bargain

Someone suggested a snippet of the current work so they could assess for themselves whether Ember’s level of snarkiness is merited. 🙂 Behold–the bargain.

“My apologies, xxxx. It’s just I know how difficult these are to hunt.”

Sure, he did. He wasn’t questioning her prowess or honesty. Nope, never that.

Through an act of will, Ember kept her tart words sealed behind her tightly closed lips. The customer was king, wasn’t that what her aunt always told her? At least until that customer tried to rip her off. Then he was less than dog shit.

The Astra peered at her with a considering expression before glancing back into the bag. “Hmm.”

Having done this dance so many times she could do it blindfolded, Ember waited. Astra, grounder, it didn’t matter. When it came to bargaining they were all the same. First, he’d try to find some flaw with the merchandise so he’d have reason to drive down the price. Then he’d offer to take them off her hands. Because he was such a nice guy.

Ember fought not to roll her eyes. Ha. “Nice”. Right. She’d yet to see one of those during her stay on Amara. As far as she could tell, the Astra were all moody bastards whose temperaments shifted like the clouds.

In those moments when they were at their most mercurial and assholish, she wondered why she’d always been so fascinated by their race. . Then she remembered. Ah right. The sky.

And Amara.

Unaware of the path her thoughts had strayed down, the Astra reached into the bag, pulling out a muskeet to examine before setting it aside on the table and reaching into the bag for the next.

His friend drifted closer, reluctant curiosity on his face.

Lauren leaned over to Jon. “Is it just me? Or do they look kind of cute?”

Ember understood her confusion. Muskeet were a strange mix of one of the flat bottomed owls that roamed the edges of the waste and a miniature, hairless dog. It had a tuft of hair on the top of its head that looked like a stringy mohawk and the round eyes and beak of the owl. Its wings were tiny and only really good for gliding short distances. It had a rat like tail that was hairless and its body was covered in a mixture of feathers and short fur as if it couldn’t make its mind up about which it preferred and decided to keep both. The thing was so ugly that it actually transcended back into cute. and the rat like tail on its rump, it was considered one of those rare specimens that we so ugly they transcended back into cute.

It was also surprisingly delicious roasted over an open flame and why Ember went to the trouble of catching the wretched beasts.

Although not considered overly dangerous, they had a wicked bite and were fast and agile enough to make catching them an exercise in patience. If not for the fact that they grew lethargic around the hours of sunrise, Ember would never have been able to catch as many as she did.

“These are pristine.” The Astran rested his closed fists on the tables and contemplated the five muskeet in front of him. He’d arranged them side by side in a straight line, noses on one end, rat like tails on the other.

His friend came to stand beside him, scrutinizing the muskeet with an assessing. When he finally looked up at Ember, she saw respect lurking at the back of his eyes.

“Catching this many and keeping them in this condition couldn’t have been easy.”

“I’ve had practice,” Ember said, keeping her smug expression to herself.

They weren’t going to find any flaws with her meat. She’d learned a lot since that first outing. Like the fact that their value dropped drastically the moment their hides were marred. And that if they saw their death coming they would express their anal glands, thus ruining the taste of their meat.

You had to be quick and efficient in your kill or risk losing everything.

It was a balancing act that Ember managed to navigate flawlessly.

“They’re on the smaller side.” The first Astra prodded one of the muskeet with a frown. “Not much meat to a couple of them.”

There it was. The opening gambit.

Mentally, Ember rubbed her hands together, excited for her favorite part of this whole process. The haggling.

She snatched a muskeet off the table and stuffed it into the bag before reaching for the next. “In that case.”

The younger Astra lurched forward to place his hand over the next muskeet. “Hey, now, hold up. What do you think you’re doing?”

“You said they were too small. If that’s so, I might as well eat them myself.” She aimed the politest, fuck you smile at him that she could muster. “I found some herbs this morning while hunting. They’ll go nicely with muskeet.”

The Astra’s hand tightened around the muskeet they were both holding. “I never said I wasn’t willing to buy them.”

Ember pretended to be swayed. “I don’t know.”

“You can’t eat all these by yourself anyways,” the Astra persuaded with a smile meant to charm.

She was sure most of the time it worked too. Unfortunately for him, she was immune to flirting. She’d much rather drive a hard bargain.

“Why not?” Ember gave him a cool smile. A lot of Astra thought they could take advantage of her because of her status as an outsider. It never worked, but that didn’t keep them from trying. “Like you said, they’re small.”

Just because she enjoyed the game didn’t mean she was willing to take a loss. He’d pay fair price. Just like everyone else.

“Smart grounder,” his companion murmured.

Yes, she was. So glad he noticed.

“Make your offer,” Ember ordered.

And it had better be a good one.