Darina snorted at Magpie's query, pointing a thumb at Rock Hammer. "I'm not that much of a martyr," she said, "and I'd like to think the Big Guy over there has got it covered. If he can't handle it, eh. We'll all be dead anyway." Honestly, she was surprised to see Rock Hammer actually resorting to anything else besides smashing this latest obstacle. It was a pleasant surprise, reminding her that this wasn't some mindless golem but someone who really was--and, from the look of it, might still be--a human being.<span style="font-style: italic">Projecting your hopes, are we?</span>she thought, wanting to roll her eyes at herself. She had just eaten a dead human being not long ago; it was about time she revised where the boundaries of humanity lay.<br/><br/>She backed away, then turned to Rock Hammer, giving him a thumbs-up. "If he tries anything, we could have him for dinner," she remarked, then grimacing at how flippant she had made that sound. She really was growing rather fond of him, she mused. For now, though, the fact that all she brought to a gunfight was a good nose rankled at her, and it was about time she remedied that. Besides, she was eager to see the insides of this Stalker base. Not many bandits could claim having breached the walls of such a well-defended territory--or, well, not without having gone through a skirmish.<br/><br/>Feeling the straps of her backpack digging into her shoulders, she wondered how she was going to go about the barter.  Would they even be receptive to her? She could see that the Stalkers eyed the newcomers intently, and with good reason, though their attentiveness at least ranged from curiosity to wariness. None of them looked like they would creep into their bunks in the middle of the night and stab them. Yet. The image of Scott's defiled corpse flashed in her memory, and Darina winced. Who knew what people could be capable of? At least she and Rock Hammer bore no ill will towards the man they had consumed, and she didn't find any sort of relish in being around to witness his final moments.<br/><br/>Not really wanting to dwell on that again, Darina thought of the two vials of absinthe she had but immediately dismissed the idea of trading one for ammo. Nossir, not on her life. It was stupid, foolish, really, to keep them when there could be more practical things she could trade them for, but if she could hang onto any piece of her old life, let it at least be those. Darina sighed, approaching the nearest sentry. "We're with Viktor," she began, wondering what the proper register of voice was to indicate something between humbly-asking-for-help and still-won't-trade-that-for-sex.<span style="font-style: italic">Well, maybe I could, if I have to.</span>"I, uh, was wondering if you had any ammo to spare for a pistol of this make."<br/>She unholstered her weapons and, taking a risk, handed it to the Stalker, who was now joined by another fellow.<br/>"Dunno, lady," the sentry said, scratching his neck as his comrade inspected it. Darina tried not to twitch at the annoying pet name he had given her, "we know you're with Viktor, we saw you come in and he'd probably vouch for you, but we're not sure how much we can afford to release to newcomers."<br/>"We can talk to Viktor and have it straightened out, but it might take a while to get the approvals," the other said, returning her weapon, "how soon do you need it?"<br/>"Soon," Darina replied, reholstering her gun, "tell you what. If it would help, I can pull my own weight around here. I'm a pretty good watch. When's your shift?"<br/>The two men looked at each other. "Well, I'm perimeter guard for the remainder of the day," he said cautiously, "was just heading out to see to a disturbance in the woods that one of our outposts had reported."<br/>"Good! I can take your shift," Darina said, putting on a big smile, "then maybe you could help me with the supplies. And, uh," she cleared her throat, "if you can throw a knife into the deal, it would be great."<br/><br/>So here she was, freezing her ass off on the outskirts of the village, rather than inside the warehouse, sitting cozily in front of a fire as she had imagined her new comrades were doing at the moment, with a ridiculous image of Rock Hammer roasting one of his slabs of meat-armor for the wolf-man.<span style="font-style: italic">Why'd I agree to this, anyway?</span>she thought sullenly, making her way to the outpost, listening to the crunch of snow and underbrush as she trudged through the thicket. She knew why, though; when she had approached the Stalkers, she suddenly realized why she felt such an urgent need to find a weapon. She needed to hunt. Her stomach was growling.<br/><br/>The perimeter guards mentioned hearing a disturbance and seeing some dark form lurking some ways into the thicket not long ago, and they had been on alert ever since. Whatever it was, it had slunk back into the shadows, hiding and keeping well away from the path that wound its way through the woods and led down to the Stalker village. There was no sign of an attack from a large contingent, no other indications of other intruders. It must have been an animal, some said, while others thought that whatever it was had perhaps fled upon seeing the outpost.<span style="font-style: italic">We'll see about that.</span><br/><br/>They gave her a knife, thankfully. Not as good as her old ones, but it should suffice. Rather than climb up to join the other perimeter guards in their tower, she went alone, picking her way through the bushes and roots and making as little noise as possible, until she found what she was looking for, a tree high enough to provide her with both cover and a good vantage point. She scanned the branches first, plotting her way up, then she started her ascent, deftly climbing up the tree, making sure the branches she picked would hold her weight.<br/><br/>Darina was about midway when her head jerked towards the right, 2-o-clock, the way it did earlier when the wolf-man entered the scene. This time, her stomach growled. Fresh blood. Her eyes changed color, the way it did at the height of her Hunger, as they found more tell-tale signs of a presence: disturbed branches, from trees that were in the same direction as the smell that enticed her now. She squinted, her gaze following this subtle trail. Calming herself, she took a few deep breaths, reminding herself that she had to report back to the outpost first before beginning the hunt.<br/><br/>Her climb down was much faster, though she wasn't sure if it was because she knew the way down or because she wanted to get on with it. One of the sentries had already gone to meet her at the base of the tree, and in hushed tones she told him what she saw. Nothing definitive, but something definitely was out there, was in the trees, and was perhaps watching them until they scared it away.