Aneira, at last, accepted the offered bowl, uncurling her fingers to do so.”wise words to live by.” She responded with a gentle smile, hesitating for a moment before she took a bite, using a spoon to scoop some of the porridge into her mouth. To her great surprise, she found that she loved the flavor. “ thank you. It’s delicious.”

By her side Tannith was trying not to pay attention to the suspicious looks that kept turning in his direction, though he shifted uncomfortably once or twice. Instead, he focused on leaning in to try some of the offered food as well. For him, the sticky porridge only seemed to get caught in his throat. The adrenaline of their escape had finally worn off and an overwhelming grief was beginning to settle in. Despite this, he tried to follow Aneira’s example, sitting up straight, smiling pleasantly. But he couldn’t quite hide the sadness in his eyes.

Taking another bite of food, Aneira surreptitiously pressed one of her legs against Tannith’s, having glanced up at him and understanding what she saw as their gazes met. She too was beginning to feel grief creeping up on her, though she kept the emotion rained in and under control for the time being. She quickly looked too Anu as he took a moment to gesture at the cart behind him, speaking of offering goods to the locals. She considered the question seriously for a few moments. She wanted to get her self and Tannith far from the steadhold and any other possible attacks, but at the same time, she didn’t want to hinder any prosperous opportunities these people might have. If things had not gone the way they had this evening, she would have her self gladly excepted the merchants...

“ if you continue south from this place, there are several towns that would gladly welcome such exotic merchandise as you might offer. Those here in the north are a bit more superstitious.” She finally said, truthful in her statements. She didn’t consider herself superstitious, but those under her care had been known to balk at strange talismans or odd potions.