Eris 2

"She helped us." It's really as simple as that, isn't it? "Despite everything, when she could have run with the rest of them, she helped us fight back long enough for everyone to get out. That's worth something."

"So she's not as bad as the rest of those thugs." Tracy frowns, crossing her arms as she glares at the new girl. "Doesn't mean she's good."

"I'm not saying she's all good, but she's definitely not all bad." You defend hotly. "Look, let's just... Rest up, recover, get something to eat. You in?"

The black haired girl doesn't reply, simply looking sullen for a good long moment, before shrugging. "If you don't want food, that's fine too." Tracy replies, rolling her eyes and helping you over to the side, where a small campsite-like area sits

It doesn't take that long for the houndour to come limping over as well. "So, what's your name?" You question, taking an oran berry and digging in. Red eyes flick towards you for a moment, and then return to looking down at the ground in silence. "Where are you from? You're a houndour, right?"

More silence greets you.

"Hey, come on, we're trying to be nice." Mindy pouts, reaching out as if to take away the new girl's food. You notice the flinch, the tensing of muscles, and raise a hand to stop the blonde. Even if she's teasing, that's too much.

"Leave her be. She doesn't have to talk if she doesn't want to." You warn your little sister. "If it's Rubrum town, that's where we're heading. You can come with us."

"Are you sure?" Tracy asks, glancing towards you warily. "If her group is still lurking around, having her at our back is dangerous."

"Better to have her where we can see her, though." Prue shrugs, biting into her food. "What do you say, dog?"

"Prue." You warn softly. "Anyway... I'm Alex, this is Tracy, Mindy, and Prue. As I said, we're travelling to Rubrum town. We'll walk you there, if you'd like."

"Eris." It's barely a whisper, but you catch red eyes looking towards you again warily, her body tensing as if waiting for a reaction. "My name..."

"Eris then. It's nice to meet you. I hope we can put the past behind us, and get along." You smile, watching the tension slowly leave her.

"Y-yeah, I'll..." She pauses, clenching her teeth as if biting off her words and looking away with a small scowl.

"You should eat. You're still hurt." You gesture to her food, which remains uneaten before her. "You'll need your strength when we hit the Mist again."

"I can gather my own food, on the way." Eris replies, her tone clipped.

"We're not going to wait for you to eat while in the mist." Tracy counters. "Eat."

Ah... You can tell this one's going to have issues, moving forward. A shame you can't really tell what those issues are, at a glance. "If you're worried about repaying us, you can just help us resupply along the way." You suggest lightly. "So eat up."

"Hey, where are you from? Is it Rubrum town? I hear there are a bunch of fire types there." Mindy guesses, shifting a bit closer to the new girl. "The hot springs are supposed to be super cool, and there's a shrine there that's gorgeous."

"Y-yeah... I've heard." Eris admits, seeming a bit off put by the attention.

"Are you going to be in any trouble, if we bring you there?" You guess, thinking it over. If her group is well known as bandits, there could be something like a bounty on her.

"I can pull my own weight." Eris replies sharply.

"Not what I asked. If you're wanted in that town, I'd like to know before going in." You warn her sternly.

"I've never been." Eris shrugs. "Look, I... I got out of there on my own. I don't owe you anything."

"Not how I remember it." You frown. "I pulled you out of that Mirage's grasp."

"After I helped knock her over." Eris counters. "We're even, so... So don't go demanding anything from me."

"It'd be safer for us to travel together, though. As a group, we'll have an easier time making it to town." You offer. "If you want to meet up with your gang again-"

"I don't owe them either, they left me behind." Eris growls. "I'm done being there-" Again she tenses up, visibly biting off her words. "I'm done with them."

"Then stick with us for now, you can decide what to do when we get to town where it's safe." You offer softly. "No strings attached."

"No strings..." She hesitates, looking around at your group. "I should get a payment of some kind. For escorting you-"

"You're delusional." Tracy huffs. "You, escorting us? We're escorting you, after you attacked us. You should be paying us-"

"We're even. She just said-" Eris counters.

"If we're even, then no payments necessary, right?" Prue chimes in. "This weird dominance ploy is pointless, you know that, right?" Oh, that gets a visible flinch from Eris.

"I'm not a part of your group. I don't owe you anything." Eris explains, pushing her uneaten fruit away.

"This is so dumb..." Tracy sighs, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Look, there are Water types on the road ahead. If you don't recover, you'll just be a liability, so eat. Consider it payment for helping us fight through the mist to Rubrum town."

"Think of it like a contract." You suggest. "Food in exchange for your services as a mercenary. Ah... Someone who fights for payment."

"I don't want food." Eris huffs. "I'll heal up fine with some rest and-"

"Then what do you want? Because I'm not letting you walk the mist by yourself. You know what's going to happen if you do." You sigh.

"What... What are you offering?" She seems to be on the back foot, still wary but also clearly out of her depth. Did... Did her old gang never pay her? Anything? Was she more of a slave than a member? Is that why she's so insistent that she owes you nothing?

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