“Not all books with pictures are for children,” Vigga replied to his comment nonchalantly. She recalled sneaking into the Captain’s quarters and raiding his library. There were medical books in there with pictures, among other things. “Is this about a real life detective? Is that why there are no pictures?”

Being ignored wasn’t new to Vigdis. In a way, she counted on it. Meant they were focused on something else. She could chatter on and on and they’d learn to ignore her presence entirely. When he asked for his things back, her head tilted to the side, much like a perplexed puppy. “Is a book considered things? Because of all the pages? Like pants aren’t pant. What is a pant?” Closing the book, she stood up and looked at it almost mournfully. She was awfully curious about its contents but this man didn’t seem to care to offer up any more details. The people here in Whitby weren’t very nice.

Offering the book to him, she casually slipped her other hand in her jacket pocket. The sound of metal jangled, the metallic contents of her pocket being joined by two more coins… or simply by her rustling them, fidgeting.