Give and take

Hearing the horrible sound around them, the four people standing in a circle tensed and looked at the woman in panic, thinking that perhaps she had provoked the beasts and now they were in trouble.

The disdain that writhed within her chest subsided and the energy returned to its former stillness. The veiled woman then walked towards the group of humans who were watching her with alarmed faces and extended her open palm face up.

"I need a vial," she demanded, gesturing with her hand for them to give it quickly.

The others were slow to react, not understanding what she meant. Only then did the woman realize that she had spoken in her original language.

"I need a vial," she repeated, this time in the Sycomorus language. "A small one, about this size," she explained, separating her thumb from her index finger and leaving a space of about four centimeters.