Phoenix Maplewood not giving up

For a few moments, the little guy looked like he’d been caught off guard, but that didn’t last long.  Mere moments later, he came right back with a lively response, absolutely drenched in sarcasm for good measure. Damn attitude didn’t match the wolf, but it did prompt Jet to raise a brow, somewhat impressed by that fact. He cracked a wry smile. It wasn’t the response he’d been expecting, but it was substantive. Perhaps there was some fun to be had, here. ”I can’t even begin to express how pleasant that would make me feel,” he started, matching the initial sarcasm while twisting his body so that he could take a couple of steps closer to the other. 

In a turn of events, however, little guy decided to come clean with honesty. There wasn’t much he could offer, he claimed, except for treatment for injuries. Or the maple sap, which he was apparently after. Or, perhaps a fish, tacked on as an afterthought. 

This guy one was one of those herbalist types, then. Which meant Jethro might actually be able to gain some useful knowledge by helping him out. Jet didn’t have any injuries now, but he wasn’t so damn foolish as to believe he'd be fortunate enough to skirt conflict forever. Learning about healing things could prove useful to him, when that time came. His brow furrowed in thought.

And a sharp snort of laughter promptly escaped him as the sarcasm returned in full force. 

”Can’t say I give a shit about the riveting conversation. Or the fish. Could see you tryin'a poison it to spite me.” He flashed a toothy grin at that, thoroughly enjoying the bit of banter that’d been offered so far. ”Don't think I'd trust you to touch me if I was injured, either. What you can do, is tell me exactly what the hell I’m doin’, and why. What use is the maple sap?” 

A selfish bastard, Jethro most certainly was. But this seemed to be a rare instance in which he had something to gain by helping another. For all of his talk, he valued knowledge far more than any physical possession that could be given in a moment. The more he learned, the better equipped he’d be to take care of himself. And for all of his attitude, a part of him suspected little guy operated in a similar manner. Notably, he seemed to carry with him the scents of others, which meant he was out here for more than just himself. Jethro felt.. marginally better about trusting information he'd receive from a pack wolf, as opposed to another loner.