"I have a name, you know!"

"Right.. sorry, Raucous.  I just.."

Lucille is on the ground, standing uncomfortably.  She's got one hand by her side, bent at the elbow being partly held up uneasily.  Her other hand is by her sword, but hasn't drawn it yet.  She's standing in the middle of the road, with the rest of her crew, along with Jordan the healer kid.

In other words, someone in the usual state of confusion and disorder for a post-Raucous encounter.

Jordan speaks up next.

"I'm glad to see you're okay!  You were pretty much dead there."

"You saved me right?  That was great, thanks!"

The kid perks up at the praise.  "Yeah, you were almost gone!"  He doesn't bounce, but the big smile shows nothing but happiness.

Hmm, skipping over who almost killed me, I see.  Ahh, kids, much more resilient than the adults.

Back to Lucille.  "I just.. wanted to thank you.  The guards met us on the road and walked us the rest of the way to the town.  Thanks for letting them know we were in trouble.  That said.. could you come down for a moment?  I'd like to thank you more personally."

Hmm.  Ahh, well, why not.  They don't seem ready for an attack.

Raucous flaps up, flies over, and very carefully lands on the ground, still holding the vial of milky fluid and the credit note.

"There's two things.  One, we're going to have some of the Hedge Bear meat preserved, and yes, you can have some.  Second.."

Food!

Raucous shakes his head at his instincts.  No!  I promised not to be so easily bribeable with food anymore!

"No?  You don't want any food?  Hedge Bear jerky is supposed to be quite good."

Aaaagh!

Raucous then speaks up.  "Yes, that sounds great."

"Alright then.  Second...  why did you go in the carriage?  That was stupid!  You threatened Jordan and we coulda killed you."

Hmm.  Should I lie?  Should I tell the truth?  Maybe a mix of both.

"It's what I do.  I try to keep people much stronger than me confused and off-balance.  It's because I can't actually do anything to affect them.  So if they're confused, they're not able to actually do anything.  It's to keep myself safe."

"Uhh.."  Lucille visibly stops a minute to process this.  "It didn't work there.  It almost got you killed.  Look, I don't care who you keep off-balance, but if you try that sort of thing with me or my crew again, you're taking your own life in your hands.  Alright?"

She then kneels to the ground again, to put her face closer to the bird, on a more accessable level.  "Is that clear?"

"Yes."

...

"I'm still getting the preserved Hedge Bear, right?"  Dammit, stomach!

"Yes.  We'll be out and about tomorrow.  If you find us then, you can have some."

"Okay.  I'll be leaving soon after, gotta get back to work anyway."

"What do you do, anyway?"

"I'm a mercenary!"  At this, Raucous stands up straight and puffs out his chest, holding his wings wide.  If he was a large bird it'd be impressive.  It's somewhat less so for such a tiny one.

"A mercenary?"

"I deliver things for people" at this, he holds up the vial of milky fluid., "And sometimes I prank them.  I might not look like much, but looks are an illusion.  When I do my job right, I can make people think the universe isn't working properly anymore."

"Hmm." says Lucille.  "Well, I do believe you can carry messages.  But I'll believe you're a mercenary when I see it."

Raucous then responds.  "Is that permission to do something to you?"

"Yeah, you know what?  It is.  Do your worst."

Tomorrow would not be a good day for Lucille.