There is a momentary pause. Feina, bright-eyed and full of intensity, looks at her sister, and says firmly, “I am going.” The looks dares the older vixen to try and stop her.
Aedaith opens her mouth to reply, looking fierce. Before she does, Bandé puts a hand on Aedaith’s shoulder, and quietly says, “She gets to decide, Aed.”
Aedaith closes her mouth, and looks beaten. She says, “If they want you, you should go.”
Feina grins, says, “Yaaay!” and hugs Aedaith. She then turns to Larrikan and says, “Can we go ask now, before they find another guide?”
Larrikan smiles at Feina and tells her, “Sure!” and leads her off to meet the travelers.
Aedaith’s look, as her heart breaks, is perfectly clear, and Larrikan doesn’t need Aedaith to speak aloud the parting message of, “I will never forgive you if you just got my little sister killed,” that her look delivers.
Larrikan knows this is a terrible thing to do to Aedaith, and it hurts him too be the one who takes Feina away from her. He does it anyway. It hurts less than losing Sakura. And maybe they will make it back.
Leaving Bandé to comfort the stricken Aedaith, Larrikan follows Feina back over to where the four foreigners and the trolls are drinking.
When Larrikan returns to the trolls, Feina in tow, he ignores the glare from Sakura – he knows she’s wondering what he’s doing with another vixen. He solves this by explaining.
“Hallifred, sir?” asks Larrikan, “Is there room for one more to go with you?”
Hallifred beams at the foxes and says, “Ja, sure. Got three trucks. Easy!”
Larrikan nods, then turns to Vash and says, “Sir, would you be interested in taking a local guide?”
Feina beams at Vash, but he isn’t looking. The armadillo grins and says, “I was hoping you’d say something like that, Larrikan.”
Feina has been saying, “Oh, pleasepleaseplease…” quietly, and when Vash approves, she bounces in place and says, “Yaay!”
Larrikan can tell that Feina can barely contain her urge to hug Vash, but is a little hesitant because of Blue’s snuggling the armored one. He murmurs, “Hug Blue first.” to Feina.
Sakura, listening, realizes this is not nefarious plan to deprive her of her sweetie, but a plan to get them a guide. She smiles at the both of them and says, “Thank you.”
Vash clues in slowly, just in time to be met with an energetic vixen-hug. He manages to wonder if this is a good idea before impact. After the hug, Blue steps in and demonstrates her preference for closeness before anything else can happen. Vash appreciates this, and decides trollish beer is the answer to worrying about hyperkinetic vixens.
Larrikan introduces, “Everyone, this is Feina.” The bouncy fox girl beams and says, “Hihi!” She hugs everyone Larrikan introduces her to, which is a lot, as he seems to have a knack for remembering even trollish names.