It's Just Business (open)

She heard feet approaching, just two, which meant one person headed her way. The only weaponry she had on herself was the pickaxe pressed to her back and tucked into her waist belt. There was no sense in dousing the fire since anyone close enough to crunch gravel in her earshot had obviously already seen it. Maybe he'll go around, she thought, but then dismissed the idea as the shuffling feet and clinking armor ceased just outside of her firelight's range. She turned her eyes on the shadowy figure and he spoke.

"Make yourself welcome," she replied with a shrug, then she eyed her dinner, wondering if she aught to split it or not. The man sighed and walked closer to the fire, but further from her so they were on opposite sides. She looked him over as he questioned her purpose. Shrugging she answered simply, "Work drives me here, but what of yourself stranger?"

She could smell his rabbit cooking and it was a delicious scent but she wouldn't take him up on the offer. She had caught and cooked her own dinner and didn't mind cutting through the tough skin to get to the goods. Her eyes trailed his every move, though she tried to be covert about it. She wasn't flashy so if the man was out to rob someone he'd probably have skipped her little camp site at the first sight of her. And he was human, who weren't known to keep goblin women for playmates so she wasn't afraid of him on that account. Not to say she was afraid... really, maybe just a little, more like wary so to speak. Its just, he was so darn... big.

His own reasoning for being out and about at night rang true. He looked like the sort who would hunt in the night for sport. Coming from the city she had no doubt he was well fed and didn't need to trap rabbits to fill his gut. And in his own words boredom had driven him out of doors. It didn't take him but a few sentences to circle the conversation back to her. She looked away, debating the risk of sharing her lead and whether or not the man would take her prize.

"The kind of job that doesn't pay very well," she sighed, reaching for the paper and offering to show it to the man. She doubted a human would be so petty as to steal so cheap a bounty. "Of course, that could be said of all honest work." She continued, passing the rolled poster to her fireside companion.

She shook her head no when he asked if she knew where her target was hiding.  Then she reached into her 8kg pack and withdrew a slender flask, the metal container wrapped tightly with braids of hemp for better grip. "Only water," she answered simply, tossing him the flask. She could do with a few drops of spirits herself though.

The rocks tinkering down the hill caused her body to stiffen on alert. She tried to focus in the direction the sound came from but the campfire light was limited and she couldn't see into the shadows. Her hand reached back and pulled the pick-axe from her belt, laying it gingerly across her lap in cause of trouble. If the human's eyes hadn't wandered curiously toward the noise she would suspect he was working in tandem with bandits on the ridge or something. Seeing his alertness to the fact gave her the slightest sense of comfort. If there were bandits about, they'd think twice before attacking a campfire seating a man of his size, and if they needed further reason to be persuaded elsewhere, the glint of her axe should do.

"The bounty doesn't pay enough," she shook her head, amazed at how astute he was at dissecting her. "I was feeling listless, and have a penchant for travel and I had not been this far south till now so," she let the rest of her reasoning hang in the air unsaid, confident he could make sense of the rest.

He insisted she share the rabbit, and since she had provided the water - as commonplace as such a refreshment may be - she felt that it was justified that she partake of the food in an even exchange. Lugalese's mouth practically watered at the thought and she reached forward to pluck her share of the meat from the stone. As she chewed and savored the delectable flavor he made her a tantalizing offer, with no strings attached save one: his company.

"Why?" She asked bluntly. It was too good to be true, too generous by far. Why pay her for a job she already intended to collect the meager reward for and why offer her as high as triple the value? She shook her head indecisively. "You can't be that starved for companionship." Not that she was refusing, how could she? The payout he was offering was too much to pass up, especially with the added benefit of his presence. He was an intimidating specimen to look at.

Then maybe this offer had something to do with him 'knowing of' the perpetrator and recognizing him for his troubles. What did her fireside companion know that she didn't? Her suspicions were high, and she want answers to her question. She hoped that his answers would be the added weight that could tip the scales in favor of accepting his bargain. So far as she could tell, it was a winning contract in her favor.