Toren couldn't believe what he was hearing as he watched the exchange. He thought about pleading with her to just do it and be done with it, that she was making a mistake in thinking she could handle this, despite how little he knew about her. He wouldn't do it, though, because of that very reason. Even if it might save her life, he knew that it was not his place to meddle with his master's affairs like this.
Her confidence was admirable, but he knew it would not be wise for her to bear such a risk. After all the news his master was going to hear, he was fairly certain that he would be in no mood to deal with a littler firecracker of a woman as well, especially just to have her telling him she was purposefully causing the delay in his orders. No, Toren already knew his master's patience for this sort of thing was usually minimal. Worse, she was already the woman he was trying to keep from him and she was making it too easy.
Now he had another name. He knew her business. He knew that Agehneim knew her, too. His dilemma was sparing her a few days more and have the apothecary tattle on them both or fess up and let the first source of the news be himself, which he knew would be both a blessing and horrible curse.
All he could do was glare at the older man. He wanted to scream that he was the sick, twisted man that he was, but Toren wanted no more punishment than he was already due. No doubt word of all of this was already going to reach Akakios somehow, some way. "I'll tell him what he needs to know," Toren finally spoke, trying to keep his voice level while glancing at this woman that had just talked herself into something truly dreadful, "but don't think he'll side with you so easily, you know how he loathes a sloth, Agehneim."
The older man breathed a satisfied sigh and cracked a toothy smile without missing a beat, thinking he knew what might be going on. "What business is it he could possibly have with her? I'm mighty curious, boy."
"It isn't my place to talk about that. You know I treat his matters with the utmost respect, sir."
"And you'd like me to respect that?"
"Yes."
"After you've gone and tried to embarrass me in public?"
"It was just a warning, and so is this." It should have bothered him how little this man seemed to care about crossing any line with him. It should have given him pause when he was so nonchalant about this. Toren was being backed into a corner quite easily and he didn't even know it yet. Right now, though, he was terrified of what was going to happen to himself and his acquaintance whom he, unfortunately, knew the name of now.
"I'll be on my way, then," Agehneim replied, his smile so prideful now. "Please do tell me what he decides, I can hardly wait to hear." With that, he was on his way back out to the gate with a final little glance down at the little snake coiled around Petal's wrist.
Toren watched him until he'd disappeared around the corner that he knew would lead him back down to his own shop, and he did not breathe a sigh of conflicted relief until then. Looking down at this woman he thought she surely could not know what she was speaking of before. "I really don't think you should talk to him," he immediately warned her, his eyes not settling on any one thing in his nervousness. "I'll take care of things..., sorry about your, um, snake, Miss."