#this is the...

it had been easier than she’d expected to pilfer a loaf of bread  &  a hunk of sour-smelling cheese from the busy marketplace just beside the docks  &  slip into the crowd before the vendors saw her.   busy docks were your friend when you wanted to go unnoticed,  &  asha wanted nothing less than to be noticed.  so it was fortunate for her then that the docks were so packed with people,  traders  &  travelers  &  merchants  &  pirates all swarming over each other as they searched for provisions.   the air was hot  &  humid &  reeked of something rotting,  &  asha felt thirsty as she returned to the ship that had become her only safe home.   

maron had already returned with his spoils  --  two flagons of wine  --  &  was well on his way to finishing one when asha entered the ship’s cabin.  &  at the sight of him,  she couldn’t help the furrow that came to her brow.   ❝  that’s all you got ???   some wine  ???  ❞   she said by way of greeting,  setting their stolen dinner on the table before him.   ❝  i thought you were going to try to get some coin.  ❞