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It was a good thing Kayde was so charming. Or Elka would have to teach him a lesson the next time she saw him.

The Ice woman was walking down the road that led into Neued, a basket over one arm like a village girl off to pick flowers. Only she wasn't picking flowers. Flowers would have been much more preferable to what she was off to do. It wasn't like she'd had a choice in the matter, either. Against her knowledge, she'd been recruited for this task on her own. Had Kayde had also gone with her...Well, it still would have sucked. But at least she'd have him there to keep her company. She didn't know any of these people she was off to meet. Or what exactly she was being made to do.

She didn't have long to find out, as a small group of Earthlings appeared off to the side of the road, clearly waiting for her. She wasn't late. She'd made sure of that. The last thing she'd want to do is ruin Kayde's reputation with anyone here. Unlike her own, which she didn't really care that much about. Why would she care so much about the opinion of the people of Neued? What have they really done for her over the years?

As she got closer to the group, she noticed a few Alkidike there as well. How curious. In all her time living here, Elka could confidently say she'd never seen one of the tall women up close. Did these two always come down to help or were they here for something else? Better yet, did she even care? Not really. She just wanted to get this job done and go back to the inn. Or find Kayde to give him a peace of her mind for volunteering her for this without asking. b*****d.

Outwardly, she put on a smile as she approached. "I hope I'm not late," she managed to get out. She'd probably have to do a lot of convincing lying today. That was really the only thing she hoped for.

"Not at all," answered a much older Shifter man. "We all arrived early." Of course. Make her look bad when she was, for the first time in so long, actually trying here. "And now that you are here, we're ready to move out." Waving his arms at everyone, he walked further out into the forest, the rest of the group following close behind. Elka sighed, trying to keep her voice low so no one heard her, and followed behind, too.

For a good thirty minutes they just walked. Elka didn't understand why. It soon became apparent once they got there. Another group of Earthlings were stationed around a few tables. On each table was the carcass of an animal, each one in a different state of butchering. She couldn't help the recoil of disgust at the sight of it, her stomach twisting. Oh, Kayde definitely was getting some punishment for this one. He couldn't have signed her up to do something easy? Climbing trees to collect vines would have been more preferable.

The Shifter man, the leader of the group, gave out his orders to the newcomers. Fortunately, Elka wouldn't have to go elbow deep into a dead animal. She just had to collect the pelt and hang it up to dry. Her basket was useless, apparently. She tossed it down on the ground and accepted a pair of gloves someone handed her. At least she hadn't been stupid enough to wear one of her better dresses.

Stepping up to a table, the Ice girl tried not to lose today's lunch as she waited for the one working on the animal to finish and hand her the fur. She tried her hardest not to look at what he was doing, though it was difficult to ignore the sounds. So gross. She turned her head back at him just in time to see his amused smile. At least he didn't expect her to help him with the butchering, like some of the others of her group were doing. At least he had some courtesy. She couldn't even tell what kind of animal it used to be. Did they have farms around here? Probably not. How could anyone get anything to grow in this rough soil, let alone full fields for grazing. Back home, her family had a large greenhouse to stock their mansion with all the food they could ever want, complete with the cooks to prepare it. They even owned a few greenhouses around the city they lived in, selling the produce to the people of the city to make an extra income on the side.

Suddenly feeling a little homesick, Elka distracted herself with the pinning of her first pelt of the day, her mind going over all the things should was going to say to Kayde when next she saw him.