Back out in the roguelands. With his leather roll on one side of him and his bag of goods on the other, Itzal strolled back to the "highway" where he always went to show off his wares. It had been weeks since his encounter with the dumb female Hyena. Not that he remembered it. There were so many who crossed his path, he hardly could remember the fur color, even, of a single creature. Not even the dominate fur color. But soon enough he would remember her. Oh yes.
For now, let him enjoy his blissful ignorance.
Reaching his spot, the old hyena dipped his head, shaking his shoulders so the packages slide off his back and onto the ground at his feet. Straightening back up, Itzal moved his paws over the stuff in front of him, pushing the bag off to the side so he could spread out the leather on the dirt. He frowned, staring at a lump in the middle. Rolling up one side, he took the rock underneath between his paw and jerked it out, sending it tumbling off over into a clump of grass. Spreading the leather back out, he smiled. No wrinkles or bumps, just a smooth surface to settle down his wares. Presentation was important. If he kept a bad area or just placed things without care or thought, it would reflect on him badly. How could someone take pride in their work if they also didn't take pride in everything else?
Itzal turned to the bag, next, opening it and tipping it on its side so some of the contents spilled out. Easier to pick up. Gently, he picked up some with his teeth and pawed at the rest, moving it by inches to the exact place he had already mapped out in his mind to put everything.
His inventory was much the same as last time. Bones. Feathers. Bits of jewelry from previous trades he thought he might be able to get something better for. Super smooth and shiny pebbles. Bits of fine leather he made himself from the many carcasses that littered his pack's lands. Bits of tucks chiseled into fine shapes. A few small rodent skulls, fully intact without a single scratch. He only dappled in the finest of goods. Even a crack the size and width of a single fur ruined the bones. Though even junk had its place, if one was creative enough. Maybe he should start expanding his business to include some choice pieces that were more damaged. He was sure someone out there would want some. Maybe some idiotic young male could pretend there was some grand story behind the piece to attract the attention of the females. The young were naive like that.
Whatever. It was no skin off his nose what someone wanted to do with his pieces once they were out of his paws. Once he went back near the end of the day, he would think about making a new pile for damaged goods. Lure in some sucker. If he was creative enough, he could make up stories about them himself. But he wasn't. Itzal liked what he could see and feel with his own senses than something that came from the imagination.
Giving a yawn, the hyena settled down on his stomach to wait for someone to pass by.
He had almost dozed off when the sound of paws on the ground reached his ears. Raising his head, he gave a yawn, stretching his front legs to the side of his leather blanket. The creature that was approaching him came into view as he blinked the sleep from his grey eyes, seeing a slightly familiar pattern of brown and pink. Oh. He'd met her before, hadn't he? Oh. No, don't tell him she was going to show him more junk to "trade."
Forgetting his previous vow to extend his business to slightly damaged goods, Itzal let a low growl sound in his throat. Too low for her to hear, merely for him to get out some of the annoyance he already felt at seeing her presence. She seemed determined this time as she walked with purpose to where he was. A pair of bags bounced a little on her back. Curious. Okay. She had his attention. For now.
"Good day, uh....Mis---Itzal." Ana tried her best to cover up her usually blunders when she spoke to anyone. An old habit from when she was young and addressing the elder members of her family group was difficult to shake off. For this hyena was clearly much older than her and deserved that much respect. But she knew her mannerisms were not a common one among other creatures. Even other hyena. So she tried her best to just call him by his name. She could tell by his raised eyebrows she had done an awful job at greeting him. But than of course she had. Her stammer was clearly audible as she'd struggled with the words. "I have spent more time looking for things." Standing very still, she waited for his words before proceeding. His aura of authority was strong. She could feel it even as he looked at her with little expression on his face.
"Have you?" There was skepticism in his voice. She could hear it easily. He knew she could hear it and he didn't care. He was far too old for all this nonsense. Why did she want to find his approval in her random junk? Her expression as she'd looked over his stock didn't show all that much interest. "Show me and we'll see."
She was definitely a strange one.
Trying, and failing, to contain her smile of triumph, Ana went around to the side of the leather blanket. There she pulled the bags off her back and placed them on the ground. She tipped them over, spilling their contents for him to inspect with his critical eye.
Once again, Itzal approached the scattered objects on the ground. He moved them around with his paw until they were all individually spaced. Only than did he lower his head so he could see better. Inspect them as closely as he could for any scratches or imperfections. For surely there must be some. The last batch she had thought to offer him had been laughable.
But as he looked over everything, he realized it was he who would be doing the laughing for a whole different reason.
"Where did you find these?" Itzal asked sharply, looking up at the brown female with some suspicion.
"I found them!" No, don't raise your voice. That only made things worse. Ana could tell he was accusing her of something. Of maybe robbing someone or stealing from a stockpile. Absurd! Where would she even find a stockpile of clearly junk? She had worked her tail off to find these things in such near perfect condition. She'd painstakingly stripped the skulls of their meat and hide herself. It had taken her so many hours, just to make sure she didn't accidentally scratch any and ruin their value. She had never been a crafter. She thought she'd done a very good job. She was insulted by the accusation!
Wait...If he was accuser her of doing something wrong...That meant she'd done good, right? He didn't believe these were hers by right. So than she'd won. She'd shown him she could do it.
Of course, this counted for naught if he didn't believe her.
"Only my scent is all over them. They are mine and never belonged to anyone else." Except, of course, the animals when they'd been alive.
Still giving her a suspicious eye, Itzal lowered his muzzle to sniff at each object. He took his time, making sure there was not the hint of another on them. Huh. Seemed she was telling the truth. But still...She learned quick.
"Fine. I believe you." He went back to his place and sat down, gesturing with one paw at the goods he had on display. "What would you like for them? I'm up to barter."
"I'm...Not sure what the value of my things are...."
Itzal gave a sigh. Of course not. Again, he didn't understand why this seemed so important to her to do. However, business was business. He settled in for a lengthy explanation of the value and worth of different types of items and what he was looking for the most.
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