Rodi stepped out from behind a tree halfway between Kre and Kitalia. He was a small little man, with darker skin and black, oily hair. “Na chief… if ya choosin’ ta be beddin’er or beddin’ere… best ya stay.”
“What?” Kre asked, not able to help himself. He didn’t mean to mock the man’s accent, but it was so hard to understand what he was saying.
Roc shrugged, as if this were a common task he had to perform, “He said that if you have to choose between sleeping with her or sleeping with us, it’d be best for you to stay with us. She’s dangerous you know.”
“I’m not… wait… sleeping with? No!”
Rodi laughed heartily at Kre’s expense and Kre suddenly wished that the man’s laugh was as unintelligible as his speech, so it wouldn’t feel as embarrassing. Roc, for his part, simply looked up at him with the same odd expression on his face. It wasn’t a look of pity or disgust… it wasn’t quite amused or even curious. If he had to put a word to the look that Roc was giving him, it would have been indifferent.
“Can I get some more food before you go?”
Kre nodded mutely, trying to ignore Rodi’s boisterous laugh. He pulled another few items of chow from his pack, aware that it was nearly depleting his stash, and handed it over to Roc. “Enjoy, and thanks for… interpreting, I guess.”
“You get used to it,” Roc shrugged. “When you do, you find that he’s a lot of fun to be around.”
“Is she really as dangerous as you guys say?” Kre asked, in a hushed voice.
“Ya,” Rodi chuckled, coming down from his laughing fit. “Mebbe… she worth tha’ risk fer jus’ one night. Be one fou fou night. Mebbe .”
“He says…”
Kre waved him off, “Thanks Roc, I can interpret that one for myself.” He looked up, worried that Kitalia had overheard this whole exchange and would punish him for it somehow. He needn’t have been concerned by that though, since she was no where to be seen. She had continued without him!
“Hey, um…” he waved Roc back over. “Did you see where she went?”
“Bread’s pace,” Roc replied with some crumbs falling out of his very full mouth. “Bat bay.”
Kre sighed, wondering how he was ever going to understand half of what these two guys were saying. Roc shook his head, grabbed the bridle of Kre’s horse, and gestured with his free hand. “Bat way.” He guided the horse a bit with a gentle but firm push in the direction he was gesturing.
“Ah, that way.”
“Roc, me man,” Rodi complained, “ya is be guidin’ free o’charge. Na good biz-ness me man.”
“He paid me with food,” Roc said with a shrug, watching Kre continue on down the path he had indicated.