It sent chills down her spine, the blank stare he gave her. Those eyes bore no emotion, at least not that she could see, which sent her hands trembling just slightly. A traveler? Hah! If he was nothing but a traveler, then she was nothing but a human. He very obviously was more than just a<i>traveler</i>. She listened to his calm and matter-of-fact explanation, and by the end she was dumbfounded. Rowena didn’t know how to react to someone like this. She’d never encountered a person acting this way, who was so… assertively passive? She wasn’t even sure how to describe it to herself.<br/><br/>There were a few things he was right about. First, was that she couldn’t make him leave. From what she could tell, he was a much better fighter than she could even hope to be, meaning that even attempting to ‘make’ him leave would end badly for her, or just be a fruitless waste of energy. She opened her mouth to remark that she hadn’t left the fire. That she was only stepping away for a moment, but obviously that moment had become much longer, which meant he was right and she was at fault.<br/><br/>And just as though she was a twittering bird, he turned to ignoring her. Apparently, the deer was of more importance and deserved his full attention, because he became very involved, it seemed, in preparing the venison. Rowena wanted to complain, but she reminded herself that complaining did not get one everywhere. It might very well have caused problems, if she made this stranger begin considering her as an annoyance. With a huff of defeat, she slowly sat down across the fire from him and watched with intrigue as he prepared the meat. She had never learned these techniques, but the smell of food soon became overwhelmingly delicious. By the time he put the meat on his make-shift tray, she was ready to dive for a piece. But she held back.<br/><br/>What was his motivation for being there? She was certain he didn’t just happen upon a camp and decide to take over. There had to be something else. A reason as to why he risked upsetting someone, or dealing with an annoyance. Her contemplation became irrelevant when she finally gave in to her hunger and took the smallest piece of venison. Without much ceremony, she ate quickly and hungrily, as though she’d been starved for weeks. Her hungry eyes lingered over the remaining steaks, and after casting a cautious glance at the man, she took another, slightly larger piece. By the time she finished, she was utterly stuffed and in a much better mood.<br/><br/>“Thanks,” She said softly, although she had grown more confident that she didn’t need to fear him. At least for now. “I, uh, haven’t eaten so well in what feels like forever. But I’m still curious; what would a ‘traveler’ like you be doing all the way out here? And what’s the real reason you stopped here? Excuse me for being a little skeptical, but it doesn’t seem likely you would just happen to come right this way, away from even the trails.” She was right; her camp was intentionally placed where one could not see it from the trails or paths left by animals and the like nearby. “I don’t suppose you have a name, either?”<br/><br/>Her eyes were apprehensive, and she still kept her sword at her side. Even if she was beginning to trust this stranger to lack foul intentions, that didn’t mean she intended on being stupid. He would have to have to try a whole lot harder than just free food to get her full trust.<br/><br/><a class="username" data-user-id="294" data-username="@Annukai" data-xf-init="member-tooltip" href="https://blackdahliaroleplaying.com/members/294/">@Annukai</a>