How many moons had it been since her escape? Her last steps inside civilization? Well, that second part mattered not, as she never lived among the people themselves, but behind bars as she waited for her only duty: to fight for the entertainment for others. So, for Eden, this was a new experience, seeing so many other beings (many of them with pointy ears…) roaming about and dealing with their normal lives without much else of a bother. Of course, some would turn their eyes over to the tigerkin who found their way to their land, mainly from the sound of the chain links around her neck from the thick steel collar to the massive bar of steel she rested comfortably on her shoulder, as if its weight was nothing.

The kinfolk took no real mind to the stares, though, as she wandered through the city, looking around causally at the city built within the trees. It was through mindless wandering did she find herself over at the market area, where many of the local folks sold there wears, from clothing to decorations to weapons to fruits. While she still hated the taste of fruit, she managed to survive thanks to eating them, and the grumbles from her stomach told her she needed to find some once more. Thus, she headed over to one of the first stalls she saw.

"Ah, welcome ma'am," the wood elf greeted her, but most of the noise she gave off dulled away into background noise as she looked down at the pile of pears before her. She had never seen so many fruit gathered into one pile, but that did not really matter. Picking up one of them with her left hand, she gave it a quick sniff before biting into it. "Hey! You can't start eating it without paying!" the salesman yelled at her. "That will be 3 silver!" He even held out his hand, expecting to be paid now. After all, she did bite into his merchandise.

Eden blinked at the motion though, a little confused about why he was making a ruckus. Was… he hungry too? Lifting the blade off her right shoulder, she spun the handle in her fingers to point the blade downwards before slamming it into the earth, embedding the flat tip down to it stood like a pillar before reaching down and taking another pear, sniffing it to make sure it did not smell of rot, before placing it into his hand. This left the wood elf both dumbfounded and irritated…

It wasn't always the rarest of sights to see someone pick some fruit off of a vendor's stall and take a bite out of it without paying, some folks were just too rude or too drunk to care, and still others stole. It was, however, a rare sight to see someone see fruit, eat it, get yelled at, and then try to hand a vendor his own fruit in payment. In fact, Jillian couldn't recall having ever seen such an event before, never once. Which explained why it caught her attention as quickly as it had. The utter look of confusion on the vendor's face was hilarious, though it seemed as though the elf wasn't the only one who was confused by the situation. 

The pint-sized knight decided that, perhaps, a little bit of intervention may be needed, especially in the case of the poor Vendor!- though the rather odd woman who was (seemingly) unintentionally harassing him looked as though she could use a bit of help herself, generally people didn't walk about with chains and the like- not by their own doing at least.

So she approached the kinfolk and the elf, clearing her throat just as loudly as she could, "Ya know, you have to pay for that, and generally- in my experience- people don't take their own goods as payment!" She explained to the kinfolk, before turning to the vendor, "Now the real important bit is: how much do I owe you?" Given that the woman didn't seem to understand the vendor's own explanation, she rather doubted that she'd understand her own either. She figured she might as well take the debt on herself.

The last thing she wanted was for the situation to somehow end up in violence, because that path would end rather poorly for everyone involved.

Both the elf and the kinfolk looked down to see who interrupted their small fight, both seeing the female halfling. The first half of her statement reflected on the sound "pay" a couple times, but to Eden, the sound had no meaning. Instead, she more or less mindlessly took another bite at the fruit before looking down at it. It had a different taste than the red ones she had (Apples, she heard them be named), but it still felt… off eating. It helped filled her, but the taste was nothing to really crave for. However, as long as it did no harm, she would not deny such a privilege.

The elf, with a heavy sigh, asked the halfling, "Is she a friend of yours?" as he rested the pear he was handed back into the pile. "Not to be rude, but she must be out of touch with civilization… or simply Still…" he mulled it over for a moment, as if to even trust letting one stranger trust another before sighing again. "Each piece is only two silver, so feel free to pick up any more if you wish. Just, please make sure she does not get into any more trouble if you are her friend."

"You could say that, I suppose. Here, take four, for the trouble." Jillian replied as she handed over the silver to the vendor. It wasn't her fault in any sense of the word, but she still felt like the elf should have some sort of compensation for the trouble- no matter how trivial the trouble may have been, "You have yourself a nice day." She said with a polite nod to the vendor before she turned back to her new kinfolk friend, "Clearly if you were hungry enough to just grab fruit right off a vendor's cart you're rather hungry, yeah?- How about we go get you a nice warm meal to fill that stomach of yours?- can't have you wandering around causing any more trouble for the folks in the market!"

The halfling tapped her chin, and placed one hand on her hip, "Something filling would be best!- You looked awfully unsatisfied with that apple, so maybe some meat- venison or the like- and, mmm, cider perhaps?- more apples, but in their best form!" With a bit of quick thinking, she added in, "You are hungry, right?"

Eden's eyes watched the halfling handing over the silver tokens after the small exchange between each other, tilting her head over the gesture. What were those trinkets she handed over and why did he settle down when the offering of food did nothing but infuriate him? Was it something that had to do with that "pay" sound the smaller woman spoke of?

However, once the elf was satisfied with his trinkets, he paid the two no more mind as he added the currency to his collection while the small female turned her attention directly at her. More, she spoke, hearing sounds like "hunger" and "filling." Those were sounds she conencted to food…. but what she had been used to had been cold scraps she was rewarded with for winning matches. However, her words were not cruel. She did not sense malice behind her voice that was planning on torturing her yet again.

However, the sound of "meat" acted like a type of trigger, her stomach grumbling loudly as her stomach pinched itself, causing her to hold her stomach while trying to sedate it with a large bite of the green fruit in hand. However, it did not aid in settling the feeling. Instead, it only increased it, as if demanding for the sound that was "meat." Her senses went on high alert for it, her nose seeking out something that met that need… Oh, there was so much cattle she could get it from… No, no. They were needed. This place needs them. She cannot simply assault them and not get away. Where? Where can she get this "meat?"

Jillian raised an eyebrow at the other woman, she was seemingly about as clueless as they come. She was seemingly out of touch with civilization, something that became more and more apparent the more that the halfling studied her. Though it didn't take verbal communication for her to see that the other woman was clearly hungry for something a bit more filling than fruit, and Jillian's own stomach was growling at the thought of a hot meal.

"If you're hungry, you can follow me." She said while motioning at kinfolk to follow her, "I can see to it that your stomach is filled, I know what it's like to be hungry." She started off, looking back along the way to see if the other woman was going to follow. It felt wrong to leave someone so out of touch with society alone among a market full of people.

Eyeing the motion to follow, Eden paused for a moment. This was no trap, right? What would she gain from tricking her? … Then again, considering her past and collar, she could easily be baiting her into a trap to try and recapture her… but Rizka and Rhea had worked hard to teach her on how to trust others. She should try to trust this shorter individual, but her mind could not help but flash in danger signs of a trap of some kind. In the end, though, she nodded as her response, placing herself on guard for whatever may happen. If she was going to try and trick her, then she would just be ready to retaliate.

Letting the half-eaten pear roll out of her fingers, she once more grasped the handle to her blade, heaving the thick mass of steel up and over before resting it on her shoulder before keeping step with the other woman, eyes and nose perked up and alert. Her eyes and ears watched the surrounding area carefully, ensuring no one was going to get her flatfooted while her nose stayed perked up, sniffing out the food she was desiring.

Her steps slowed down as an elk was guided pass them, carrying more items to be sold at the bazaar… So plump… ready for the taking… She could easily break its neck, kill it fast, and dig down into its flesh and feast like she had never before. No more meals of leftovers. This would be her first kill, and it would be so…

Her head shook furiously as she tried to chase away those thoughts. It was holding items for another, meaning it was not a wild animal. It was not a kill she could go for, but her stomach demanded its flesh. But why? Why was her mind and stomach going crazy over the need of meat? It was cruel, and yet it felt natural. It was telling her that what it wanted was nothing the flat fruit could give her…

The woman! The shorter woman was leading her to meat, and during the small episode, distance was gained between them. She quickened her pace once more to try and catch up.