Shady

Jerica sighed again. She probably should have anticipated that question. So much for an exchange of information. "For my uncle... I said my occupation, exchange says you tell me yours ...

Jerica inhaled deeply, then sighed loudly. What would it hurt? Maybe it would make Eve stop being so stubborn and listen to her more. Not that that seemed likely. It ...

Jerica sighed, tipping her head back against the trunk of the tree. "We gonna play like this?"

Well, she'd been asking about her career. But free time worked too. "Looks like we've got time..." she commented, looking down at the wolves yet again.

"So, what are you?" Jerica asked again. She didn't doubt that Eve hadn't lasted long as a soldier. No chance would a single one of Jerica's men get by with ...

"What are you, back on Earth?" Jerica twisted so that she could lean against the tree, resting the spear across her lap, relaxing ever so slightly now that she was ...

Jerica let out a silent breath of relief that Eve didn't seem to be interested in prodding more. Jerica certainly wouldn't have left it at that, and she wasn't sure ...

"No." She didn't hesitate that time. There wasn't any part of Jerica's life that was simple. She hadn't had a simple childhood or adolescence, and the older she got, the ...

"Why'd you?" he shot back sarcastically. He knew it was a better idea to make friends with the other slaves, but he didn't want to field any more questions than ...

Jerica snorted. What, exactly, was half a soldier supposed to even mean? But, then, it wasn't a horrible descriptor of her. Half soldier, half assassin. Or, maybe she was all ...

She should have left off the second half of her answer. She bit back a sigh, contemplating the question. "Something like that." It wasn't really like that at all, though. ...

Pratik glanced up to look at him, then back at his own knees. Questions were dangerous. So, he answered simply, "Aren."

Jerica was silent for a long moment, contemplating not answering her at all. But, then, why shouldn't she? Surely, Eve was probably starting to get curious about why Jerica was ...

"Sorry," Pratik murmured to the slave he'd accidentally kicked while being thrown into the cage. Then he pulled his knees to his chest, wrapped his furs around him as best ...

"Helps if you lay on your stomach -- balance is easier." Jerica smirked crookedly, though she looked down and realized there were still distinct bark-shaped marks on her still-bare abdomen. ...