Horses for courses
121st Ashan, 718 - Harpy Inn Stables
He was about to follow the trail when Vega’s mood soured. At first he simply cracked a smile at her, thinking she was joking, but his smile soon faded when she turned around and untied Storm from where she’d just secured him. By the time he’d picked up his jaw from the floor, Vega had already put several feet of distance between them and it took him half a bit of jogging before he caught up again. Having been the one who’d saddled the horse had one advantage: he knew where all the straps were and by the time he caught up, he seized one of the loose straps, bringing the mare to a standstill.
“Let me get this straight,” he said as he met Vega’s color-shifting eyes. “You’re allowed to call me a little shit, but I am not allowed to cuss? Is that it? D’you really think a word is going to get us killed?” His knuckles turned white as he re-adjusted his grip on the saddle.
“I thought you were cool,” he sneered as he narrowed his eyes at her. “Thought I wouldn’t have to ‘Madam’ or ‘Sir’ you like the other customers. I thought you were nice, even though you’re the spawn of an Immortal… Guess you really are storm, aren’t you? Storming off.” If it was a joke, his face didn’t show it. “You’re a real-”
He didn’t finish that sentence, though it took little imagination to note that what was supposed to come after wasn’t particularly nice.
A war was fought on his face, a battle between giving her a taste of Zipper’s dictionary of vulgarities (which he knew inside out) or to try and make things right, before the situation could escalate further and blow up in his face, as most things did. After all, he was trying to keep a low profile here, and getting into trouble with a paying customer seemed to be a rather poor way to go about it.
“I’m sorry,” he said through gritted teeth. “I didn’t mean to get you angry and all. Just wanted to-” He let go of the saddle now, took a step back, checked his bow and quiver and fired a look between the road back and the forest, beckoning him to explore further. Brimtattle wouldn’t expect him to return for some time and he wasn’t going to let his fun be spoiled by her.
“Never mind,” he grumbled as he crossed his arms over his chest, waiting for Vega to inevitably take her leave.