She raised an eyebrow, then looked back at Abaya.
"Wow," she said flatly. "I didn’t realize I left such a strong impression. Guess I’m more popular than I thought."
She let out a short, humorless laugh and added under her breath, "Should’ve started charging for gossip."
Kaya was no fool.
Since early morning, ever since she had stepped out for shopping, she could feel the eyes on her—constantly, persistently. No matter where she went, soone was always watching. And not just her—Rin too.
Just one look at Rin, and anyone with even a fragnt of awareness could guess. He was a Nikala Beastman.
Kaya didn’t understand the full extent of it, but Cutie had once explained it to her: beastn could sense each other. Whether it was pheromones, hormones, or sothing else entirely—there was sothing in their blood that made them instinctively aware. Like a silent warning bell that told them whether the person standing before them was friend or threat.
So how could anyone claim not to recognize Rin?
The whole market likely knew who he was. Which ant Abaya... she knew too.
And that smile of hers—too friendly, too warm—it only made Kaya more cautious.
She narrowed her eyes slightly, then spoke, her voice calm but firm.
"Anyway," she said, cutting through the tension, "let’s get back to our deal."
Abaya sighed and started tapping the stone with her fingers. "But there’s one problem," she said. "Winter’s coming soon. And no matter how good we are at hunting, even we don’t risk going out once the cold hits."
She glanced at Kaya, serious now. "Once the snow starts, the prey disappears. Even the hunters stay inside."
Kaya nodded, quietly listening.
"So," Abaya continued, "if you want that much at, we’ll need to get it to you before then. We can deliver everything within ten days—after that, nothing. We won’t step outside in that cold."
Kaya thought for a mont. What Abaya said made sense. She had already heard that once winter ca, even the strongest predators struggled. Prey animals hid. Everything beca harder.
"Alright," Kaya said calmly. "Done deal."
Abaya blinked. "Wait—what?"
"I said, okay," Kaya repeated.
Abaya stared at her, stunned. "Did you even hear what I just said? That’s a lot of at. You’ll get it all in ten days! And winter is still about sixty to seventy days away!"
Kaya nodded. "I heard you. And I understand."
She stood up slowly and brushed off her clothes. "But I have one more request."
Abaya raised an eyebrow. "Go on."
Kaya looked at Abhaya and started making a weird symbol with her hands, almost like she was drawing a crown in the air.
"You see," she said, "I need so animals alive. The kind that reproduce fast. And also, I need so birds that... you know, the ones that lay eggs every morning. They don’t even need a partner, they just lay eggs."
She paused, a little frustrated.
"I can’t rember what they’re called here. Where I’m from, we call them sothing else... I just—ugh, they’ve got that red crown thing on their heads. They go around making those weird sounds."
Kaya made a soft flapping motion with her hands, completely failing to explain what a rooster or hen is.
Abhaya stared at her for a mont, then suddenly laughed and pointed. "Oh! You an the ones with the red crown on their heads? They go peck, peck, peck all the ti?"
Kaya’s face lit up. "Yes! That! Exactly that!" she said with relief, nodding quickly.
Abhaya nodded back, amused. "Alright, got it. We call them sothing else here, but I know what you an."
"I need a bunch of them," Kaya added firmly.
"Sure," Abhaya said, still smiling. "We’ll get you a bunch. Eggs every morning, right?"
"Right," Kaya said, finally relaxing.
"Yeah, we can do that"
Kaya pointed at Rin. "He’ll bring you to the place. Just follow him when he shows up."
Abaya looked at Rin, then back at Kaya, a slow smile spreading across her face. "Alright. That, I can do."
Kaya nodded and turned to leave.
But before she could take a step, Abaya’s voice stopped her.
"Wait... why did you tell about the salt?"
Kaya froze. She didn’t turn around right away. Slowly, she looked back at Abaya, who was now staring at her seriously.
"Do you even know what you’re saying?" Abaya asked. "Salt’s not sothing people talk about. It’s rare. Dangerous. If you really had it, why didn’t you use it yesterday?"
Kaya gave a small smile. "If I had used it yesterday, I’d have the whole market chasing after today."
Abaya frowned. "Then why tell at all? Aren’t you scared I might go and tell everyone?"
Kaya looked straight at her. "No. Because you won’t."
Abaya blinked, confused. "What makes you so sure?"
Kaya took a breath. "Because you didn’t even look at Rin with disgust. Not once."
Abaya’s expression softened just a little.
"A person who doesn’t flinch at soone like him... I don’t think you’re the kind to run around spreading secrets," Kaya said quietly.
She gave a small shrug. "And even if you do tell... I’ll lose the salt. That’s all. But you? You might lose sothing too."
Abaya didn’t speak. She just stood there, thinking, her face unreadable.
Kaya gave her one last look, then turned and walked away.
Abaya stood there in silence for a mont. Then suddenly—pfft—she burst into laughter.
"Ha! Haha... hahahaha!"
She covered her face with one hand, shoulders shaking, laughing like she just heard the most ridiculous joke.
"She really saw through , huh?" she said between laughs, finally catching her breath. "Damn... I need to work on my acting."
She sighed and dropped down to sit on a low stone behind the stall, her expression thoughtful now.
"Well, she’s not wrong."
Even though she was from the Lion Tribe—one of the strongest, proudest tribes out there—what did that really an anymore?
Sure, everyone said things like "the lion tribe rules the land" or "they’re born hunters, the kings of the wild", blah blah blah. But they never talked about the real problem.
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