Whether it be by luck or some small misfortune, Fetter's almost one-sided conversation soon deteriorated into a fit of cheery laughter. The woman continued to work, pausing only once to look up at the wolf. The glance was brief, some of the irritation creeping into her eyes, but not the rest of her face. She turned back to the chore in front of her, finishing it up in no time at all. With deft fingers, she tore the binding where it ended beyond his leg, wrapping and tying the roll up so that it would not come unravelled in her bag. Then, she flicked it behind her, sending the dwindling supply in with the rest of her things.
'..if he doesn't stop...' She thought inwardly, sitting up and rolling her shoulders back with a small pop as her eyes found the laughing boy. '..No.'
The aforementioned boy continued to laugh nearby, greatly amused by the sounds of the large beast. His eyes were shut with laughter, small tears pricking at the edges. Without much warning, and apparently no indicators to the child, something smacked the boy in the side of the face.
Fetter stopped laughing almost immediately, glancing down at the object and trying to pick it up. The item in question seemed to be a sturdy scroll of yellowed paper. Curiosity caught his tongue and he squinted, turned it about in his hands, and looked it over.
"...It's a map." The woman spoke curtly, and was next to him. The boy jumped briefly, but hardly seemed to notice it. "Oh! O'righ, righ'. Haha, gotta bit carried 'way, I did."
The silver-haired woman watched him with a speculative eye as the boy plucked at the leather tie with the tips of his fingers, never quite trying to open the thing.
"Eh heheh.. heh." He chuckled nervously.
With a sigh, the woman reached over and snatched the object from his hands, unrolling it into her palm and shoving it back into his lap with the soft crinkle of worn parchment. "Here." She pointed at a mostly unmarked region on the map.
"This is us." She spoke plainly, then dragged her finger across the wrinkled surface. "... This is your village, isn't it?" Her tone was matter-of-fact, sounding more like a statement than a question. The boy perked up, light filling his eyes with astonishment and simple joy. "Oi! How'd ye do tha'? I didn't tell ya were I come from!"
She lifted a hand slowly, to rub at the place between her eyes.
"It's the closest place nearby."
"Brill'ant!"
"Brilliant."
"Wot?"
The armor clad woman stared at him blankly for a moment, and he returned her look with a confused one of her own. She stood up abruptly, allowing the map to pop back into an awkward roll, and grabbed the boys shoulder. He flashed his teeth in a startled grimace as he was yanked to his feet and brushed off. "Good, good!" She said, her voice still as calm as before. "You look like you're in fit shape. Strong boy." Fetter slowly began to smile again, although that confusion still remained in his eyes, paired with a kind of nervous uncertainty. "Uh, miss-"
"Do you know how to read the stars?"
"Well, sorta, bu'-"
"Good, good... clever, too. Perfect."
"Miss, I-"
As he was finishing his sentence, the woman pushed him out the door of the tent, where he stumbled in the bright light of morning. He turned back to look at her, his mousy brown hair amess and his expression not unlike that of a kicked puppy. "--I--"
"You'll be fine."
"I, ah -" He seemed to remember himself and dropped into a quick bow, followed by another one, just for good measure. "Thank ya! Thank ya both, real kindly. I..I'll jus' be off, then! Ma' always said t'wasn't right ta' hang 'round when there wa' work to be done, eh heh!" He slowly backed off, as though looking for an excuse to stay, and then glanced two-and-fro for a moment as he tried to get his bearings.
"Your map."
"Righ'! Righ'." He looked down at the object and fumbled for a bit, unfolding the large thing upside down and beginning to wander off.
