"Oi, stop that," Kit rumbled awkwardly as Eihmo'tei started to sniffle.
"Yes, really helpful and comforting, thank you," Kiara sighed, smacking his muzzle away lightly. The dragon snorted but didn't argue, probably because if anyone was worse with dealing with emotional outbursts than her it was her dragon.
"Excuse me?"
Both she and Kit whipped their heads around to find the owner of this new voice. A young man, maybe a few years older than Kiara, had stepped out of the bustling crowd and moved toward them, head tilted curiously. "Are you...having some trouble?" the stranger asked, taking another step closer.
Kit growled and Kiara moved instinctively to shield Eihmo'tei, but she managed to remember enough manners to say, "Shh, Kit, it's alright." Then she addressed the newcomer, eyeing him in a practiced way. He seemed to be a native; black hair and eyes with nut brown skin, wearing loose linen pants and some sort of open vest. He had something in his hand, a vial of some kind half full of semi-clear liquid. "If we were?" she said cautiously.
The stranger smiled. "Then, I would tell you this is the answer to your problems." He held the bottle up. "Your little friend is stuck, yes? Some of this oil and everything's fixed!" His accent was heavier than the guards, though he was certainly friendlier.
Kit shifted, rumbling low in his chest. He didn't like this, thought it was probably some kind of scam. Kiara agreed, but she really didn't see what their other options were. Besides, it didn't need to be a miracle potion, just something slippery enough to unstick Eihmo'tei's claws. "How much?" she asked.
"Six silvers," the man answered promptly.
Kiara's eyes widened. "Do I get you for the day, too?" she quipped, searching out her coin purse from her pack. "Tell you what, I'll give you two silvers and..." she hunted around a bit more until her fingers brushed something serviceable, concluding with, "an Adelan luck charm," as she pulled out a carved pendant strung onto a leather thong. The charm was simple, but elegant, a twisting dragon with outstretched wings painted in red and gold.
The man's eyes flickered between her and the charm, face stony. Then he suddenly broke into a smile, saying, "Deal," as he tossed the bottle up to her. She returned the gesture, tossing the coins and necklace in his direction before uncorking the vial and dripping the fragrant oil onto Eihmo'tei's claws.