Everyone stopped and stared as Reuben and Jesse walked past. It likely didn't help that they were holding a conversation not unexpected from friends when one was injured.

"I'm not walking any faster than I need to." Jesse told Reuben for the fifth time. "Gramps said your leg was almost fractured. Going too fast might make it worse. I'd rather carry you instead, to be honest..."

Reuben looked up at Jesse and gave her a death glare if there ever was one. 'I'm not a baby' the glare informed Jesse while aiming straight at the heart, 'And I don't want you to carry me, so you can just walk faster, darnit.'

"Hey!" someone shouted at the duo from behind. Obediently, Jesse and Reuben turned around to see how was calling out. Walking toward them was a red haired girl a bit older than Jesse with dark, almost soulless eyes that only kept track of Reuben. When the girl was close enough to the child and the pig, she looked up at Jesse. The girl looked the child up and down with some disinterest before droning,

"I was told to find a kid with a pig. I assume that's you?" the girl asked Jesse in a voice that was as mocking as it was authoritative.

"My name's Jesse," agreed Jesse, pulling her hand out for a shake, "And that's Reuben."

The girl looked from Jesse to Reuben, who gave her a cheerful smile, before she looked back up at Jesse. "You're Jimmy's rec?" the girl then sneered with disgust. "You're so… little."

Jesse stood up a bit straighter, pulling her hand back in when it became obvious that the other kid wasn't going to shake it. "He's my grandfather." the child told the older girl with some feign confidence.

"Whatever." the older girl decided with a roll of her shoulder. "A client's a client."

"The name's Petra." the girl then told Jesse quite smugly. "You want something special, I'm your kid. For a price, of course."

"Gramps said I didn't need to pay for anything..." Jesse slowly informed Petra with a fairly nervous side glance. "He said that everything was ar-"

"If you need something from me besides this, idiot." Petra rephrased, acting as if Jesse was suddenly the most dense person in the world. "I'm doing this gratis, for Jimmy. I owe him... a lot. After today, I could care less if I ever saw you again."

Jesse staggered back a bit in shock from Petra's brash attitude. Why on earth was she being so rude when she seemed to have some respect for Jesse's grandfather?

"Now," Petra then instructed, "If you would kindly follow me. I'd like to finish this off before my next meeting."

Jesse and Reuben exchanged a glance before Jesse looked back up at Petra to nod. "Alright." the child agreed. "I'm following you."

Petra nodded and motioned for them to follow her. Reuben and Jesse exchanged a rather wary glance at each other, but remained close to their leader as she navigated them through crowds of people to an alleyway. Eventually, they came to a dead end with a single loot chest waiting for them. Petra then turned around to look at Jesse, while motioning to the chest.

"Consider it your care package." Petra delightfully sneered as Jesse stepped forward. Giving Reuben a rather wary side glance, Jesse opened the chest and started to go through its contents.

"Carrots… potatoes… Exploring Swine Health and Husbandry..." the child listed absently as she placed everything in her inventory. "And… wood? What would I need that for?"

From behind her, Petra let out a rather amused, and less than friendly, snort. "It's for a fence, dummy- to keep tabs on him. Do you even know how to take care of a pig?" she entertained with a less than friendly smirk.

"Well… no." Jesse sheepishly admitted as she closed the lid on the loot crate to get up again. "But how hard could it be?"

Petra openly laughed. "You're so young and naive," she snickered, "It's adorable."

"H-hey!" Jesse defended, "You're not much older than I am…!"

"But I'm still older. Aren't I?" Petra chuckled. "Plus, I'm not the one who decided to adopt a pig, of all creatures."

"Don't see how it's any different than adopting a dog, or a ferret..." Jesse grumbled without a second thought. Petra glared at her.

"You can't treat every animal like a puppy, Jesse." the older kid informed the younger as she folded her arms in distaste.

"Says who?" came the immediate rebuttal.

"The law of nature." Petra smirked. "Each animal has its own characteristics. You can't just lump them in the same group as a dog or a cat. Pigs, sure they can be domesticated, but not like dogs or cats or whatever. They need space. Maybe some mud to burrow around in and dirt piles to dig for carrots or something..."

"Reuben doesn't do that." Jesse pointed out. "At least, not as often as you make it out to be."

"What are you talking about?" Petra questioned, turning to face Jesse.

"Well," Jesse said with a shrug, "Just look at him- if burrowing in mud and finding carrots is all he's good for, then why is he still here with me?"

Petra frowned before turning her attention to Reuben, who likewise looked up at her with a smart grin. It was then that Petra realized that Reuben did not look the same as a typical pig, and she instantly recoiled at the discovery with some disgust.

"Where did you say you found him?" Petra inquired to Jesse with a skeptic raise of her eyebrow.

"A waterfall." Jesse boasted, although there was no need or reason to. "He was the only living thing around. I was able to gain his trust with my homemade sandwiches."

"How romantic." Petra retorted with a snort.

"Are you making fun of me?!" Jesse immediately retaliated. Even Reuben seemed to take some offense to Petra's snark and positioned himself in a way that looked like he was going to attack her.

"'Course not." came the reply with a lazy flick of the wrist, "Not everyone gets to meet a new friend that way. It's kinda cool."

Jesse paused. "Cool?" she repeated, dumbstruck and in awe. "You think I'm cool?"

"I said it was cool," Petra immediately debunked, "Not you."

"Oh..."

"Let's get going." Petra then informed Jesse and Reuben. "My next appointment is in five minutes, and I'm never late for an appointment."

"Do you think we'll meet again some day?" Jesse inquired, quite innocently. "Maybe on a day when someone didn't pee in your cereal that morning?"

Petra paused before turning to Jesse. Her face and expression were unreadable. It took her some time, but Petra did admit (in a rather ambiguous tone), "Maybe some day." before continuing on her way.