Too late, Autharyx realised he had talked himself into a corner. It wouldn't have been so bad had he paid immediately, but now he would have to reimburse someone who had directly insulted his honour or he would risk being run out of the first human village he set foot in. He grit his teeth at the very thought of letting this whole mess slide, but thankfully he was saved from having to answer immediately by another human stepping in. 

There was more chatter, which gave Autharyx the time he needed to compose himself again. While he had known things would be different amongst human, he had not been prepared for the level of disdain he would so casually be shown. In a way, he supposed it served as a testament to the respect he had gotten in his true form. If this was how humans normally interacted, the recognition he enjoyed as a dragon was valued even higher than he'd imagined. With that knowledge, he felt he could endure the indignities of interaction as a human, even if it meant having to swallow his pride for a bit.

The new human had stopped the other from advancing on him, and when he turned around it was clear this one had taken over the negotiations. Autharyx tilted his head slightly when he was met by clear lake-green eyes. There was something about this human, something that felt different from all the humans surrounding them. There was no time to worry about that now, though, so Autharyx filed it away for later.

"Yes, I... apologise," he said, only barely stumbling over the word. "I am indeed used to different customs. I did not mean to cause offence," [i]Unlike that one,[/i] he mentally appended, "And I agree we can all do with a little respect." He started to dig around in his bag before he could say anything that could be interpreted as a challenge. 

"I fear I do not have your currency at hand, but-" he interrupted the spluttering of the stall-human, "I do have this. How much fruit will this buy me?" He took out a small ruby he had taken from the very bottom of his stash. The cut was nice enough, but the colour was a little off and he hadn't looked at it for over a century. It stung to part with some of his treasures, even the sub-par ones, but when he realised the alternative was to find work, the decision had taken no time at all.