The smells were incredible. It wasn't until now that S'Kylir realized how hungry and cold she had been. Villages always had that effect on her and she sometimes wondered what it would be like to live in a community like this as a resident. As a normal person. But she had never known and felt she never would. Staying in one place too long made her feel nervous. Walking to a stall selling particularly sweet smelling meats, she turned her nose up at one of the Tang-Mo furs. The Ka-Po-Tun were an honorable people in general but every society had their barbarisms she supposed.

She spoke with the merchant (who had his reservations about selling to them at first) about possible Kamal bounties or other work requiring mercenaries, paid him for the food she had picked out and moved on.

"Now, where to get a night's sleep?" she asked Septimus, careful not to speak with her mouth full and not to let any of the sauce from a skewered lizard get on her face. Steadily, she slowed to a stop and stared dead ahead.

"My, my... Something new... and quite hopelessly out of place, it seems," she said quietly while watching the strange snake woman fumble her way through the crowded market.

Septimus reached over and snatched away the lizard, biting into it before handing it back. "hmm, I am unsu-...what? The snake woman? I think she's a Tsurask...but strange."

S'Kylir shook her head, "She's not like any Tsurask I've seen. I don't think that's the case here. Come." She didn't wait for her companion and dipped into the flow of shoppers while popping the rest of the skewer in her mouth and throwing it away. Unlike her current interest she slipped through the hustle and bustle as effortless as liquid. 

"You there," she came up behind the woman, "What are you?"

"You seem lost," the Dunmer held her ground, unfazed by the look she was getting, "You are also causing somewhat of a scene."

"I am sitting, trying not to be accosted by racists like you, ma'am." She turned away from her and went back to her journal.

"Of course," she crossed her arms and smirked just a little, "I'm afraid 'racist' is a throw away word in this particular situation and my accosting of you is out of selfish curiosity. Nothing more. You are not Tsurask, I think. You do resemble something familiar though..."

"Do not speak to me about them. I went to them for help and they shunned me, called me a freak of nature and tried to kill me. I am a Ssythian, for your information..."

S'Kylir took a step back, but did not take her eyes off the woman. She felt the words on her own tongue a few times as if trying to find a meaning. Then she froze in thought sizing the snake up and down... "Mysterious Akavir is becoming less and less mysterious these years," she sighed.

Septimus approached the woman and stood next to her, offering a fried lizard. "I apologize for the type of food, it is the only type we have right now as we have not gathered supplies quite yet. Would you like a bite?" 

The woman looked at the fried lizard and licked her lip a little. "I do not discriminate, sir. " She took it and bit into it, tasting the first good food in days and nearly started to tear up, but kept her composure. 

Septimus crossed his arms and spoke again, staring out over the water. "I apologize for my companion. She does not have exceptional people skills...In fact, she can be rude at times, but she does not mean to. She is old, and crotchety, but she is a very kind and inspiring woman..." He looked back to S'kylir and winked, feeling the death stare drilling a hole into his head. "...When you get to know her."

The woman nodded and sighed, having finished the lizard. "Thank you...I apologize for being so rude. There has been no kindness towards me since landing in this fiendish place." 

Septimus nodded, his mandibles starting to twitch as he reflected on racism towards himself. "I can understand fully. My kind are not welcome in some places, the Tang-Mo in particular dislike my race as a whole...Tell me, ma'am. From the guilded oaken bow resting upon your back and the fur bag upon your hip, I would guess that you are a hunter, are you not?"

She looked up to him, her eyebrow raised. "You would guess correctly, sir. I have hunted for nearly all of my life." 

He nodded again and spoke. "A tracker as well? How proficient are you?" 

She put a finger on her mouth and thought about it. "I once tracked a wounded bull netch stricken by Dremora Arrows for a week and a half..." 

His shoudlers jutted up and he let out a "Hmph." Before speaking again, sounding impressed. "I would like to invite you to join us then, ma'am. We are hunters ourselves, though our game are often larger and more dangerous. The pay is nice though."

She considered the ffer for a few moments before nodding positively. "Alright. I accept, as long as I can get another lizard on a stick. Warm food is quite...addicting...Oh, and my name is Annette Gibberon."

Septimus sounded shocked now, expecting a very very foreign name. "Annette? What a strange name....regardless, I am Septimus Yelenyn, and my companion is S'kylir. It is a pleasure."

She turned towards S'kylir now, addressing her directly. "I apologize for my attitude madam, again. I look forward to helping you as much as I can."

S'kylir's eyes were narrowed into luminescent red slits as she looked upon the snake girl with her chin held high. Her arms were folded and her lips were pressed into a shallow frown. There was a moment of silence between the three of them that was longer than it had any right to be during which the Dunmer glanced between her old friend and what would certainly appear to be their new companion.

Finally she bowed stiffly, "A pleasure, Muth'Serjo. It is fortunate our mutual friend is so taken with you. Fortunate indeed, for while I let my curiosity get the better of me..." she leaned in a little closer with a somewhat menacing and tight smile, "I choose my allies wisely and I am not so easily impressed by a mere hunter's tricks, Annette."

The woman turned elegantly in place, her clothes and mane of red hair swirling around her movements, and began to walk back toward the town proper. Her boots clicked confidently beneath her with each step and she did not look back. She had seen an inviting looking inn on the main road with a broad selection of fine teas available in the main floor kitchen. It would do nicely for the night as they rested and resupplied. She would be able to have her clothes washed, sleep in a bed and get more information out of the locals... and she would be able to keep an eye on their new friend.