A day at the market! :: OPEN

[synergismus]

Who: OPEN, NPCs if needed.
What: A guided trip to the Aspic Bazaar
Where: Aspic
When: Coardi Wednesday Morning
Notes: OOC post here.

It's spring in Baedal and the Bazaar in Aspic is full of life. The sun shines on colourful buildings, bleaching tentweaves draped over market stalls. The air is full of shouts and animal noises, customers haggling with merchants and tradesmen striking deals. Children of different species rush back and forth, unattended in the crowd.

There are a lot of things on display in the market. Local produce and wares sit next to strange and exotic bleed-through goods, all of which the sellers are quick to guarantee the genuineness and legality of. Less honest characters also visit the market, it is generally known as an official stomping ground for one of the city's more notorious criminal enterprises. The city is aware of this, of course, and while Militia presence here is not as keenly felt in other place, it may be noticeable in the cares some people take.

It's still considered a safe place, or as a safe a place full of haves and havenots in a strange city can be. It's certainly considered a safe enough place to send newcomers for quick introduction to local sights and economics.

The (more recent) residents of the Valhalla Inn and anyone on the CeidaryBlue523 Node have been encouraged to visit the place. They have also been encouraged to not go alone.

Comments

[gotbottle]

She casts a dubious eye over the offerings--there's nothing wrong, exactly, with all the pants on display, they're just not her style. She's a jeans-and-cute-t-shirt kind of girl, as shown by her current attire; brightly-colored trousers just aren't her.

"Like, jeans, I guess?" she says, turning her attention to Lex. She shrugs. "I mean, I might not have a choice in the end but... these are lovely but they're not me. I can come back if I don't find anything else."

[patricide]

Lex nods, his hunch correct. This didn't seem like the sort of thing to be her style just judging from her current ensemble. "It looks like there's plenty of other places to see who aren't as interested in dressing you up to look like a piece of candy."

They move to another section of the bazaar, this one filled with vendors selling jeans, cotton shirts, jackets and the like. He tends to dress more often on the formal rather than casual side, but he does need to rebuild his wardrobe and this doesn't seem like a bad place to start.

"If you'll permit me to make a suggestion," he withdraws a shirt in a rich gold color and holds it out to let Rachel get a good look. "I realize that you're looking for jeans, but I think something like this would compliment your hair nicely."

[gotbottle]

Rachel laughs softly at the 'piece of candy' comment, nodding. And she follows Lex through the crowd, to the next group of vendors. This is much more her style, she thinks as she peers at the offerings on a table.

She glances up at his suggestion, moving closer to examine the shirt. It's not something she ever would've thought to choose for herself. But it is pretty. She's got no reason to object, especially not when the suggestion comes from someone who dresses with a bit more sophistication than she does and who seems to mean well.

"Thank you," she says, taking the shirt from Lex and draping it over her arm. "I'll take it, too."

[patricide]

He smiles at her acceptance, pleased that he was able to help. After Rachel drapes the shirt over her arm Lex begins to look at a pile of men's shirts and glances up as his fingers sort through the sizes.

"Believe it or not I'm a natural redhead," his tone of voice is even, almost bordering on monotone if not for the barest amount of inflection as per usual. The longer Rachel talks to him the better she will likely be at deciphering it. As it is there is a hint of amusement in his voice, allowing her to decide for herself whether or not he is joking.

[gotbottle]

"...Really?" She looks up from the pair of jeans she was turning over, sizing him up. She can see it.

"Good," she shoots back, all warmth and pleasant smile. "There's not enough of us out there, you know." There. If he's joking she's in on it; if he's not then they have something in common. It doesn't even occur to her to observe and bring up that he's currently without hair, red or not. It's none of her business and besides, it's kind of the fashionable thing for some men to do these days, isn't it?

[patricide]

"Really," he says with an honest nod. "Aside from the ability to acquire a sunburn so easily, I like the whole being different thing." As a child it had taken a long time for Lex to come to terms with his appearance after the accident, but now that he has it's far from an issue.

"So Rachel, where were you from before all of this Baedal business?"

[gotbottle]

"Sunburn, oh God." Rachel shakes her head. "I swear no matter how much sunblock I ever remembered to use I still burned every summer. I grew up in Southern California and, like, there was always sun. Always."

She hesitates a moment, idly fingering a shirt. "I had trouble with it when I was a kid," she admits. "The red hair, the freckles, the being different and all. But when I grew up... I don't know. I guess I got more comfortable with being different. Anyway. I'm from California but I'd moved to New York for a job like... a year, almost, before I wound up here. What about you?"

[patricide]

Lex gives a slight wince. "My condolences. I'm from Kansas so the weather is considerably more mild, but that doesn't mean we don't have summer and I don't travel."

He can certainly relate to looking different and being treated poorly by fellow children as a result, but past negatives aren't anything that Lex likes to dwell on and he simply looks at Rachel with understanding. Lex owns where he is now and self esteem isn't exactly an issue. "What kind of job was it that lured you so far across the country?"

[gotbottle]

Actually, that statement about being okay with being different is mostly a lie. She's okay with projecting the illusion she's okay; in reality she wishes she really was both okay and not different.

"I moved to take a job at a publishing house. I was a junior editor. Figured maybe I could work my way up in the company someday." She smiles. "Did you travel for work or pleasure?"

[patricide]

"A woman of words, huh?" He gives a nod of approval, not that she needs it. "Are you doing the same here?"

As for her question Lex replies with, "as little of both." He doesn't like to be obnoxious about his status back home, but it is the truth about where he comes from. "Though I have to admit that much of it is business oriented. I run the agriculture branch of a conglomerate," his father's that he is the heir to, "I know it sounds so basic but feeding people can be a pretty hefty job."

[gotbottle]

"I am, yeah. And thanks." She'd hoped to write something of her own someday, publish it, but so far she's only gotten as far as editing other people's work. Someday, she'd told herself. But now she's here and she isn't sure if someday still holds. "And I don't know yet--I'm still hunting around for work. I'm sure I'll find something."

She smiles at his explanation. "Sometimes the most basic things are the biggest undertakings. Like--sure, they're simple things, right? But consider the scale. It's not a specialized business with a limited client base. It's good that your job lets you travel. Do you like it?"

[patricide]

"I'm sure you'll find something," he says as he moves on from one pile of clothing and begins picking through the next. "One thing I've discovered is that this city is really good with job placement. You have both interest and skill, that's not something to be overlooked."

He returns her smile and stops his movements for a moment. It's nice to find someone who is so easy to talk to. It's not that Lex usually struggles in that department, but he's used to everything having an undercurrent of one or both parties wanting something from the other. To be able to drop that for a while around Rachel is refreshing. "I do. I was kind of born into the whole thing, but that doesn't mean I can't make it my own." The conversation is nice, but he's not going to start dropping his family issues on her.

Draping a shirt across his arm Lex looks over at Rachel. "So are you having any luck?"

[gotbottle]

Rachel is impressed with Lex's attitude. She's crossed paths with similar people before, through work, but it always seemed that those born to money and stature--and Lex certainly seemed to be, if he ran an arm of a large corporation--were different. They took pleasure in showing off their wealth or their power. Or their attitude toward being born into the family business was more woe is me than I can do something with this.

"You should, like, absolutely make it your own. I don't think the fact that you were born into it means you're bound by what other people did before you. Besides, businesses need to innovate to grow, right? So you win like, twice over. Business grows and you're happy with the work you do."

She flashes Lex a warm smile as she straightens up from the clothing she was picking through. "And I think I'm doing all right, thanks. I've got a couple of pairs of jeans and some shirts. It's a start, at least. What about you?"