Now
this was a haul to be proud of. Saur felt more than satisfied with his yield this time around. As he deposited his catches for Alandri, he tried to keep himself level headed and reserved, but it was easy for just about anybody to see how proud he felt for his performance. His tail was raised high in the air, swaying gently back and forth as his head was held as high as it could be given his 2 and a half foot frame.
Now that the deep-blue scales granted by the Bubbling Scale were falling away, his deep, blood-colored scales hide began to reveal themselves yet again. He watched Alandri beginning to approach the group individually and straightened himself out, waiting his turn patiently. And his patience was rewarded when she began to address him. Once again, he failed to keep his pride in his work in check as his efforts were praised. His chest swelled and the expression on his face gave him away immediately.
"Ah...it was nothing, of course," Saur replied, repeating a motion he had made earlier: a clenched fist folding across his upper body and tapping against his upper right chest, preceding a low bow of his own head.
"The least I could do in order to make up for our mistake this morning. I am proud to have been of service,"As he was presented with the Lion Badge gift and second scale, taking a moment to inspect and appraise it once she was turning to the next one. However, as he was in the process of doing so, something occurred to him. Teacher Ot was expecting them back at the Magaambya at midday. But that would mean trekking back through the city...where he had caused a bit of a commotion when he went to save one of his companions from a full-on collision. He couldn't help but wonder if the guards were still going to be on his tail for that little stunt. Now that he had put in all of this effort into acquiring goods for somebody to sell, he realized just what kind of work he might have ruined at the time....
He looked up at Alandri as she began bringing the buckets of fish inside her hut again.
"Ah...excuse me, Ms. Alandri?" Saur spoke up as she arrived to collect the buckets that contained the fish he had collected. He stepped up to her, nodding his head at her as he awaited her to acknowledge him. Once she had, he continued.
"I was wondering. Do you mind if I kept one of those that I fished up for you? I can also pay for it if you'd prefer, of course."And if Saur were pressed for an explanation, he would continue again,
"You see, in our rush to arrive here as swiftly as possible, I assisted one of my companions by preventing them from crashing into one of the merchants bringing out their wares. Unfortunately, this caused the baker to drop his platter at the time, and it, erm...." He paused for a brief moment, electing in the moment to avoid mentioning the guards being called on them.
"...caused a commotion of sorts. And likely ruined that entire batch. And...I'd like to try to make it up to him on our way back."Saur then gestured down to the fish in the buckets before focusing back on Alandri.
"I was contemplating simply paying the man for the food I wasted--if the coins I have on me could cover it anyway. But if I could provide something in addition to payment, I believe that would go a greater distance in demonstrating the authenticity of my attempt to make amends."