The bright smile flickered a bit- why, they hadn’t returned his hallo! How dreadfully rude of them…But the blank-eyed one had spared him a glance, and the big mister was talking; a rough rumbling sound, like a mountain gargling rocks. All in all, it was an okay start- not a single object had been thrown. Yet.<br/><br/>“....No, then? But it all<span style="font-style: italic"> fit! </span>There was daddy bear, momma bear, and… adolescent… bear….” The stream of babble slowed to a trickle; he’d finally noticed the bear carcass strewn on the ground. “And victim bear 1, I see.” After a thoughtful silence, he looked at the sky, then at the fire, then at the bear remains again. Something about this must have struck him as hilarious, as he immediately exploded with laughter; it was a cheerful, glad sound, and therefore sounded alien and utterly lost as it rang feebly in the frigid air. Mirthful words occasionally bubbled up between laughs, words like “damn fool”, “thought for sure”, “Poet”, and slightly more often, “Bears!”<br/><br/>Eventually, the chortles subsided into chuckles, which stopped as suddenly as it began- Dex’s head had whipped around towards the big figure, and was scrutinizing him, narrow-eyed. A slight scowl replaced the goofy grin. He’d heard what the man-bear-mountain had said, every rumbling word. Sure, he was all for polite customer service... but what use was being polite when the customer was being so, so...<span style="font-style: italic"> discourteous? </span>No, this was way over the line.  “Hey, big mister! That was rude of you… Very rude of you!” Dex shook is head in apparent disbelief, the hurt visible on his face. “ Only fit for soup or a hat? That is an insult, mister!” Dex pointed an accusatory finger at the bear-man, vibrating with uncharacteristic rage (and fatigue). “I dare say I’d make a decent scubbo, and possibly a magnificent hat as well-<span style="font-style: italic"> but that's not how you measure a man's worth! </span>” Sticking out whatever chest that he didn’t have, he practically yelled the last few words into the man’s face- then suddenly deflated. A long-suffering sigh forced its way out of his lungs, obscuring his face in a rush of steam. “There’s a thing called manners, you know?”<br/>He rocked back and forth on his heels as he stared blindly at his feet, visibly agitated. Another puff of breath hung in the air, frozen. By the time it had dissipated, the grin, along with his cheery demeanor, had re-materialized, floating on his face like a protective charm.<br/><br/>“Oh, speaking of manners,  I really should introduce myself!” After searching the skies for something invisible, he took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and began to recite something in a sing-songy voice.<br/><br/>“My name is Dex Noonan, tour guide and tradesman. What you need, what you don’t need, I have it all, and will trade with you for very reasonable prices- at only twice the original value!”<br/><br/>His eyes snapped open, and he capered near the fire- no sense in wasting heat. Or customers.<br/>“How ‘bout you, big mister? Or you, Sleeping Beauty?”<br/><br/>Dex eyed the rather sad heap that was Lazarus. “Oh, what a terrible, terrible waste! Broke a jam jar, eh, Fumble-fingers? You really should have been more careful.” He tutted under his breath. “Would you look at those stains. They’ll be such a pain to get out now… And such a pretty coat, too.” He spun around to face the blank-eyed, woman, who was busy dressing down the bear. “And you, miss? Need a hand?”