Seraphine’s eye twitched slightly, clearly not appreciating being circled and examined like rchandise. Lyanna’s hand had drifted unconsciously toward where her weapon was concealed and Cassandra had taken a small step backward, uncomfortable with the attention.
The crocodile-man didn’t seem to notice their discomfort.
"The blonde one! Such regal bearing! Such perfect features! Like a goddess descended from the heavens!" He pointed at Seraphine, who looked like she was seriously considering whether it would be an issue to punch him.
"And this one!" He gestured at Lyanna. "Such fierce beauty! Such strength in those eyes! A warrior’s grace combined with feminine perfection! Magnificent!"
"And the quiet one in the back!" Cassandra flinched as his attention focused on her. "Such delicate features! Such mysterious allure! Like a winter flower—cold and beautiful and untouchable!"
He spun back to Julian, his tail nearly knocking over a nearby rchant’s display of pottery.
"Who are these won, stranger? Your companions? Your guards? Your—" His eyes suddenly widened even further. "Surely not your slaves? We don’t allow slavery in Hers Kingdom, oh no, not at all!"
Julian smiled—genuinely amused by this creature. He stepped slightly forward, placing himself subtly between the crocodile-man and his daughters.
"These are my wives," he said simply.
The crocodile-man froze completely, his mouth hanging open. His eyes sohow grew even larger—Julian hadn’t thought that was physically possible.
"Your... your... your WIVES?" The squeaky voice had gone up an octave, becoming almost a whistle. "All three of them? THREE wives?"
"Yes," Julian confird, his smile widening slightly at the creature’s reaction.
"But... but... but..." The crocodile-man seed unable to form coherent sentences. His clawed hands were gesturing wildly, his tail thrashing behind him. "You’re human! Just a regular human! And they’re... they’re..."
He gestured helplessly at the three daughters, who were watching this exchange with varying levels of amusent and annoyance.
"How?" the creature finally managed. "HOW? What possible... I an, what could you possibly... they’re so far out of your league that..." He trailed off, seeming to realize he was being incredibly rude.
Seraphine, despite her earlier irritation, couldn’t help but laugh at the creature’s complete breakdown. "Are you asking how my husband convinced us to marry him?"
"YES!" the crocodile-man nearly shouted. "Exactly that! Because no offense, sir, truly no offense intended, but you look like... well, you look fairly ordinary! Handso enough, sure, but these three could have literally anyone! Kings! Princes! Powerful mages! Wealthy rchants! They could marry anyone they wanted!"
Julian’s smile beca slightly more dangerous, though still friendly on the surface. "Perhaps I’m more than I appear."
The crocodile-man stared at him for a long mont, his reptilian brain clearly working hard. Then his eyes widened again.
"You’re rich!" he declared. "You must be incredibly, fantastically, absurdly wealthy! That’s the only explanation! You’re so kind of rchant prince traveling in disguise!"
Lyanna snorted with laughter at that. "Not exactly."
"Then what?" The creature was genuinely confused now, looking between Julian and the three daughters like he was trying to solve an impossible puzzle. "Magic? Are you a powerful mage? Did you enchant them?"
"I did not enchant them," Julian said firmly, a slight edge entering his voice. "And they chose to marry of their own free will."
Cassandra stepped forward slightly. "Our husband is exceptional in ways that have nothing to do with wealth or magic tricks. Perhaps you should judge less by appearance."
The crocodile-man blinked rapidly, clearly taken aback by the soft-spoken woman’s sharp response.
"I... yes... of course... my apologies..." he stamred, actually looking embarrassed for the first ti. "I ant no disrespect to you, beautiful ladies, or to your husband. It’s just... surprising, you understand? Unusual!"
"Everything about us is unusual," Seraphine said dryly. "You’ll find that out quickly enough if you keep talking to us."
The crocodile-man seed to consider this. Then, suddenly, his entire deanor changed—from flustered and embarrassed to shrewd and calculating.
"You said you’re hunters," he said, his squeaky voice dropping to a more normal pitch. "From the wilderness. Tracking strange creature for days."
"That’s right," Julian confird.
"But you don’t have any of your hunt with you," the creature observed, his yellow eyes narrowing slightly. "No at, nothing to trade. Odd for hunters who’ve been out for days, don’t you think?"
Julian kept his expression neutral. The creature was more observant than his silly deanor suggested.
"We stored our kills," Julian lied smoothly. "Too heavy to carry into town. We’ll retrieve them later if we decide to trade here."
"Mmm-hmm," the crocodile-man humd, clearly not entirely convinced. "And your weapons? I don’t see any weapons. What do you hunt with? Harsh language?"
Lyanna grinned, liking this creature despite his earlier rudeness. "We keep our weapons close. Just not visible."
"Ah! Hidden weapons! Very wise, very wise indeed!" The creature’s enthusiasm returned. "Can’t trust everyone, especially not in border settlents like this! Smart travelers, you are!"
He circled them one more ti, but this ti his movents were less performative.
"Tell ," he said, coming to a stop in front of Julian again. "What are your nas? If you’re planning to trade in our market, people will want to know who you are. I’m Skreek, by the way. Skreek the rchant. I deal in information, introductions, and interesting opportunities."
Julian considered his options. False nas? Partial truths? Complete honesty?
He decided on a middle path.
"I’m Julian," he said. "And these are my wives—Seraphine, Lyanna, and Cassandra."
Skreek’s eyes widened again. "Just Julian? No family na? No title? How mysterious!"
"Just Julian," he confird.
"And your wives share your mysterious nature, I see!" Skreek’s tail swished back and forth. "Well, well, well! This is interesting indeed! Mysterious hunters with impossible-to-believe beautiful wives, no visible weapons, no visible ga, and no family nas!"
He leaned in closer, his voice dropping to what he probably thought was a whisper but was still quite audible.
"You’re not actually hunters, are you?" he asked. "You’re spies! Or assassins! Or fugitives! Oh, how exciting!"
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