Desur grabbed it with a grateful wave of one ear. “You’re brilliant.”
He popped open the jar and dipped a finger in. Pulling his face free of his shirt, he rubbed the salve under his nose then sighed with relief.
After that, he held the jar to her. She took it back, did the same, and then closed the top to drop it back in her pocket. The agent made her sense of smell disappear. It was easy for her to ignore it, but Helmen once told her that for an Ugarian, losing their sense of smell was highly disconcerting.
It was a testament to how bad the stink was here that Desur hadn’t hesitated to use the salve.
“Where are we going first?” Desur asked, looking much more eager now.
“Merchant’s row,” she said, pointing. “That way.”
They chatted about items and shops as they walked. It was a good thing they weren’t in a hurry because progress was slow. Several Hulgs tried to knock into her, but she was used to their petty games and easily turned sideways at the last moment to avoid them. A quick move of her foot often caught them instead.It was fun to hear them curse and stumble as she and Desur walked on, unbothered.
“You’re going to get me into a fight doing that,” Desur said after the third time. “Some Hulg is going to take it personally, and then I’ll have to stop them from hurting you.”
Amina bit her lip to keep from laughing and hurting Desur’s feelings.
Desur was big for a male Ugarian, almost as tall and broad as Helmen. His size was the only reason he ever won a conflict, and that was usually before it started because he wasn’t a skilled fighter. It was a better bet that Amina’s speed and hidden natural weapons would win a fight than Desur’s size.
To save Desur from any potential confrontation, Amina ducked behind him and came up on his other side to avoid another Hulg trying to body check her. She kept that up, and due to Desur’s size, none of the Hulgs tried to do anything to him.
Finally they made it to merchant’s row. Polkor didn’t have the largest shopping area of the stations she’d been to, but it was big enough to find all the items she wanted.
The first few shops were easy, and she was able to buy everything they needed and have it sent to the ship. The staff at the fourth shop refused to even acknowledge her existence.
It was rare, but she occasionally ran into someone who thought humans were so lowly they wouldn’t even talk to her. It was too bad no one else sold parts for their ship or else she’d skip this place.
Desur’s ears were folded back, flat against his head, a clear indication he was pissed at the way she was being treated.
“Let me give you a list,” she said, tugging Desur’s information square out of his uniform pocket. She quickly dictated what they needed and handed it over.
“That’s a lot,” he muttered.
She grabbed hold of him and pulled his ear closer to her to whisper, “Bargain him down to half what he’s asking. I’m going next door to buy some crunchies.”
He gave the Hulg staff an unfriendly glare, his ears still pinned in a combination of anger and aggression. “Are you sure? I don’t think we need any of these parts, they’re only spares."
“If we have any issues, they’ll be needed,” she countered. “But I’ll make sure we never have to come back here again. When you bargain, stand too close to whoever you’re talking to. Bump into them as often as you can. If they tell you to stop, ask them to be more careful. Merchants can’t start fights because the station will fine them.”
“It’s too bad it doesn't extend to all the Hulgs here,” he grumbled, taking the information square from her.
“I’ll wait for you next door or further down the corridor,” she said. Turning on her heels, she marched out of the store, accidentally knocking into a display of reinforcing putty on her way out and knocking all the containers to the floor.
It was petty, but it made her feel better.
The next shop was run by another Hulg, but this one didn’t care that she was human. He grunted at her to only touch what she was going to buy, then he went back to whatever he was looking at on his information square.
She moved to the rack of snacks. The ones she liked weren't there, but she grabbed some she knew the Ugarians would enjoy. When she spotted familiar packaging, she crouched down and dug into a bin. After a while she pulled out a few of Helmen’s favorites. She heard someone else come in but was too focused on her task to look up.
After going through the entire bin, she only found three. She was going to start looking through the next bin when she heard the newcomer’s loud declaration.
“But I need the bug-pucks, and the directory says you sell them!”
He sounded so forlorn she stood up and moved around the rack, ready to help. To her surprise it was a large Talin standing at the counter. He was a beautiful gold color she’d never seen before, with copper-colored quills that darkened to black at the tips. The scarf he was wearing looked like it’d been roughly torn from a larger piece of fabric. She almost let out a startled sound when a little red lizard head poked out from the scarf.
This Talin had a pet lizard? It was adorable, but was that common among them?
“I don’t carry anything like that,” the shopkeeper said again. “But I have some lovely hichels and yos mash.”
