Like most mornings, this one was early for Carmen, as it was for the majority of Buzzards. She’d risen before dawn, tossed her last piece of rabbit meat to Chester (poor thing had been awake and hungry for hours!), munched on a dry bit of yucca root, and swiftly dismantled her camp. She had a routine: first, she’d pack up the deer hides she’d slept in. Then, she’d cover up whatever hole she’d used as a latrine. Finally she would stamp out her fire and scatter the ashes before she set out. It was the same order each time she broke camp. 
	
That had been the start of her day. Now, three or four hours later, she was walking at a brisk, steady pace along the edge of a Boar camp. She knew who it was, and she knew what they did, but she’d passed by this place before. She knew to be careful… or, she thought she did. 

Chester nudged her calf with a low growl, and Carmen turned around to see a woman clutching a sack. As soon as she gave her attention, the stranger started to blubber on about the Boars, how she was just a slave, warning her to be careful… blah, blah, blah. She knew all of this. Just as she was turning to leave, however, she felt two wooden shafts sliding from her belt. Her spears! The ones she’d worked damn [i]hard[/i] to make! 

“Hey!” She shouted indignantly and whipped around. She started to pursue the woman, [i]toward[/i] the Boar camp. A terrible, terrible idea. She slid to a stop and panted angrily; she was torn between outrage and fear. Chester was running ahead, baying with fury at the thief. She inwardly begged for him to stop; the last god-damned thing she needed right now was a bunch of pigs pursuing her. Breathless, she whistled for Chester and he stopped reluctantly with his tail wagging stiffly. 

Maybe reason would work? Carmen shouted to the woman even as she got farther away. “Give one back! I’ll trade for it!” She knew she had nothing to trade. Well, maybe she did. A few rabbit bones. A skillful hand could turn those into shanks, and a slave of the Boars might find those handy for escape. “You can keep the other!” At this point, she wasn’t hopeful, though– and her legs were itching to run from this Boar settlement. It was simply unsafe.