Elena hadn't really meant 'how is your emotional state.' She'd really wanted to know... what? Well, if they'd hurt her somehow, or some way... But it didn't really matter now. Soon they could be home and she could stick her in a hot bath and decent clothes and feed her and then, hopefully, learn what had brought them together. (Not to mention do the same for poor Avi. An eventful morning for an infant!) But Elena wasn't thinking about this as much anymore. They were together, that's all that mattered.
"You don't have to thank me," she told the girl gently. "I just... I had to. I couldn't..." Elena didn't know how she would explain, but soon she didn't have to, because Pepper was in her arms. She held onto Pepper, pressing her face against the girl's hair. "We can talk about it when we get home," was all she said. And when she said 'home,' she meant it. But of course, there was still the matter of...
The screams from the slave market reached them and fear coursed through her, her eyes going wild. Those cries, those sounds. Her mouth opened to say something but went dry. She was about to run with Pepper when she saw Soevak at the end of the alley. For the moment, she was frozen to the spot. Obviously they needed to get away, far away, and quickly. But... without that man, she would have lost the bid entirely. She might have lost Pepper entirely. She owed him. Not just the money (though she supposed she owed him that, too), she owed him a favor.
So, mouthing a silent apology to Pepper and making the strongest promise that she could in her heart that she wouldn't let anything else happen to this girl while she was able to protect her, she waved her arms to Soevak to make sure he could tell which way they went. Then she grabbed Pepper's hand, clutched Avi to her, and sprinted as fast as she could in current circumstances.
They ran down the road for several minutes, and she continued pulling Pepper along after they seemed clear of the melee. Until finally the neighborhood began to change, the streets became greener and the houses larger and set just a little apart. Then finally she stopped, panting. She looked down the street, watching for Soevak, before turning to Pepper. "Sorry, I couldn't... I owe him, I said... I said I would," she told Pepper between heavy breaths, the last statement coming across as a clear apology.
"But I won't let anything happen to you." She was still breathless, but this came across clear, solid, and again there was a fierceness in her eyes. "I promise. Not while I can still prevent it."