She listened to him patiently, smiling at his every word. When he mentioned that he "blathered," she waved a hand at him. "It's all right. I'm the exact same way." She understood where he was coming from--she'd felt an uneasy pause in their conversation coming and was hoping that either she or he would think of something to say.
He beat her to the punch by declaring he was a bird and so forth.
She blinked as he offered her his hand and smiled. She gently took his hand with her own. "Satu Mitsumi. A pleasure to meet you," she said quietly.
She heard voices down the road as Kelan ate more of the bread and turned her head towards the noises. Two men, it sounded like--and they both sounded quite rough. She put her hands behind her back, lacing her fingers together. She had to be ready--and having her hands behind her back meant that she could retrieve her kamas faster than ever.
The men scaled the horizon of the road and stopped at the sight of them. "Wha's this?" Asked one. He looked familiar..."Didn' I see you somewhe'a?"
"Him?" She asked hopefully.
"Not him, princess--you." She winced at the pet name. "Oi, Barthus...doesn't she ring a bell?"
Barthus, a tall, broad-shouldered man with stubble on every part of his square chin, stepped forward and circled her. Satu, however, turned with him, making sure he couldn't see her kamas. "Not really--"
"--Hey! What're those?" Drat! She'd forgotten the other one was standing there. Her back was to Barthus' partner...her identity was revealed. "Sickles?"
"Y-yes, sir! I'm the daughter of a farmer, and he wanted me to be safe, that's all...sir."
"Lemme see 'em."
"What?"
"Lemme see 'em, girl."
Barthus watched her with intensity as she backed away, backed away from Barthus and his partner, from Kelan, from the road, into the surrounding brush. "Go on, girl! Wha's your problem, eh? Givvim the sickles."
She was yea close to being home free--if she hadn't've fallen flat on her face. The two men had a good laugh as they pulled her to her feet--and pulled a kama out of its hold. Barthus yelped and dropped the kama and his partner pulled out a sword of his. "What is your name, girl?"
"I have none!" She had done this several times before.
"Don't toy with me! Wha's your name?"
"Better yet, what's your alias?"
Standing there in the dark green brush, she remained silent. She picked up the kama on the ground, pulled the other from its hold, and held the blades close to her face, the points facing away from her, in the shape of a menacing cross. The blades let off a light that gave her an ominous look...and she smiled.
That smile was there to tell them everything. "Who do you think, sir?" The men stared at her. "Aren't you going to be on your way?" Hesitantly, they scrambled off, watching her all the while.
She put her kamas away and looked for Kelan from the corner of her eye. She was sure she'd scared him away by now...