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 Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2012 1:01 pm
Tujil-dasu prided herself on her keen memory and sense of smell. She only had to smell something once before memorizing it. She might not run into that smell again for days, weeks later, but she’d recognize it instantly. She could track anything.
Or almost anything. Her memory might last forever, but the traces of smell left on the ground and in the air did not. Time was her enemy.
Of course there were other ways to find what she was looking for… Tujil-dasu was not easily deterred.
Bluu also prided herself on certain skills, including her memory and intelligence. She gathered information and favors, by trade or by trickery, and used both to gather more of the same. Information was useful and versatile, something she could sell or bargain with more than once, but she was just as keen on having others owe her favors. You never knew when such favors might come in handy.
Take this fierce wild dog that stood trembling in front of her, for example. The way she held her head so high, the suspicious glare… this dog was a fighter. No doubt she knew valuable information, but acquiring it required knowing the right questions to ask and, alas, Bluu didn’t know those questions. Favors would be better.
“Tell me what you’re looking for,” Bluu demanded, “and why.”
Tujil-dasu growled under her breath. She didn’t like having to deal with this cheetah; the same friend who had told her of the cheetah’s knowledge had also warned her of the kind of bargains the cheetah liked to strike. Information, favors. Tricky, clever prices to pay. But what choice did she have? The trail had grown cold and she had no intention of sitting around, waiting for the crazed leopon who had hurt Tendaji to strike again. And the leopon would strike again, of that she was certain: if not Tendaji, than at least another male. The madness she had smelled when she found Tendaji’s mangled body was not a madness that could be stopped.
“Large female white leopon. Gray stripe down her chin. Completely mad, likes to hurt things.” She narrowed her eyes. “She hurt someone I care for and now I’m going to kill her.”
Bluu kept her face studiously blank while she processed this information, piecing it together with other things she had heard and seen. It didn’t bother her that Tujil-dasu wanted to kill the leopon or that she would be assisting said murder if she provided information – ethical quandaries weren’t of much interest to Bluu. No, the only thing she cared about was what kind of price she could ask the wild dog to pay.
“How much do you want?” she asked. “Current location, recent location? Current will cost more. I can also act as liaison with some mercenaries, but they’ll charge their own fee on top of my own.”
“Recent location is fine as long as some scent remains,” Tujil-dasu said curtly. “And I don’t need any mercenaries.”
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Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2012 1:09 pm
Bluu restrained a smile and mentally filed the information that the wild dog could track things by scent. Also that she either already had mercenary contacts or was stupid enough to take on an adult leopon. Definitely a good person to have owe her favors. Bluu pondered the matter, but made her decision quickly.
“I’ll give you the directions to the most recent location. As payment, I want a favor: the next time I need something found, you find it for me. Also the name of the person you care for and this leopon hurt.”
Tujil-dasu growled faintly. “I need to know what I’m looking for if I’m to find it. A description isn’t enough: I need the scent.”
“The scent will be provided.”
Tujil-dasu closed her eyes, certain she was making a bad decision. But one that had to be made, if she was ever to find this leopon. “Tendaji.”
Bluu smiled, pleased with the bargain. “I may not come to collect my favor for months or years, but I’ll come some day,” she warned. “My payments are nonnegotiable.”
“I understand.”
“Head west until you hit the river. Follow it north. At the third bend, the river is shallow enough to cross. Cross there and head due west: you’ll find her scent shortly after crossing.”
“If her scent is lost in the river -” Tujil-dasu snarled.
“You’re the one who asked for recent location! And no, she hasn’t crossed. I believe she’s been in the same place for a little while now,” Bluu said with a smirk. “I’m sure a super tracker such as yourself should have no problem finding her.”
“How certain are you of this information?”
“I don’t trade false information,” Bluu snarled. “I held my end of the bargain, now you hold yours.”
Tujil-dasu grimaced. “I understand.” She looked the cheetah straight in the eye. “I’ll be waiting for you and I’ll repay my debt.”
Bluu smiled, only too happy to have a cooperative debtor. Of course there was no guarantee the wild dog wouldn’t change her mind and balk when the time came – but Bluu always collected her debts, one way or another. The smile also held a private quality, due to the information about the leopon that she held and the wild dog did not. It was all a matter of asking the right questions and the wild dog had not asked. But perhaps that was wise – Bluu would not have parted with the information freely.
Tujil-dasu gave the cheetah one last look before turning to go. Head west to the river. She kept her head high and set off at an easy jog. She had to get to the place indicated before the scent grew cold – she was most certainly not running from the cheetah or the bargain she had struck. No sir. Nor she was worrying about what the cheetah would do with Tendaji’s name; it had been a necessary price to pay to free Tendaji of the leopon. She’d done the right thing – right? Tujil-dasu gritted her teeth and kept running.
Word count: 1,011
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