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 Posted: Tue Apr 16, 2013 7:23 pm
The Iridian Marketplace.
In a word?
Crowded!
It was perhaps the worst place to try and find someone, but alas, it was what Iris had to deal with at the moment. Despite how the sun was beaming down upon the only city on the desert asteroid world, the girl was bundled up in various pale clothes. She still wore her fuku underneath, but considering how much fairer her skin was compared to many of the other natives, she needed to do what she could to ensure she didn't turn the color of beets.
Peering out from the hooded covering, the blonde managed to locate several different non-natives, all getting hassled by various vendors, but none of them were the right foreigner.
Kicking up a bit of the dark sands beneath her feet, she pushed her way past another simple pale stone structure, peering inside, then outside as she aimed to locate a certain young man.
At this rate she'd probably have to scream out his name to be able to locate him.
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Posted: Wed Apr 17, 2013 4:57 pm
Bloody hell the planet of Iris was a scorching one. Crims couldn't help but pick at the collar of his uniform and wish that it didn't have full sleeves. Or pants for that matter. Hell, he'd kill to go pantless right now but he didn't think it would be appropriate. He was an ambassador of Saturn so he couldn't go prancing around pantless, how would that reflect on him?
But damn it was hot.
And gods did he want to strip and run around the planet in just his undergarments.
The strict warning his commanding officer had given him before he had been let loose was the only thing keeping him in his uniformed powered state. He didn't want to lose his traveling rights, so he kept his clothes on.
He had barely arrived at the Iridian Marketplace, minutes late for the scheduled meeting time. He took one look at the crowded market and frowned. At this rate, with all these people he would never find the senshi! He wrinkled his nose and began to push through the crowed, amber eyes darting back and forth as he looked for Iris's tale-tell hair. "Excuse me," he would mumble as he slid between the Iridians.
His shoving and wandering was beginning to get him no where but lost and he had to keep refusing the offers of vendors trying to swindle him into look at their stores. Still one had managed to catch him, a firm grim on his wrist and a too sweet smile. "No, really," he stressed again, brow furrowing in frustration. "Really, I'm not interested. I have to go. I have someone to meet."
Finally, the boy dressed in a lavender uniform managed to pry himself away.
"Iris!" he shouted, ignoring the funny looks he received.
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Posted: Thu Apr 18, 2013 5:16 pm
Many a judgmental eye was upon the ambassador of Saturn. Though the Iridian Senshi of the world could be quite informal, one thing that was common practice was to call her with her title of "Sailor" in front of her name.
Any who might have wanted him as a customer before seemed to back off the moment he had disrespected the senshi.
However, his shouting did manage to get the proper attention. In a very practiced manner, the girl seemed to zip through the crowd, twirling and dodging oncoming traffic, with a simple "Excuse me" to accent her movements within the crowd. Though the color of lavender wasn't exactly an uncommon color of clothing in a world that appreciated color to the fullest extents, it was more the style of clothing that gave away the ambassador's location.
The poor dear looked absolutely miserable. In a familiar manner, she slid an arm behind his back and pulled him up close to her so she could whisper him some advice.
"...call me Sailor Iris when you are around others on this world... otherwise they think you are disrespecting me..." With that bit of advice out for only him to hear, she backed herself away at a more respectable distance.
"...okay... first thing we are doing is getting you out of those clothes!"
Apparently Sailor Iris was very direct and to the point!
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Posted: Thu Apr 18, 2013 9:57 pm
In his defense the boy knew only one sailor scout and that was Iris. He didn't know much about the social conduct when addressing a senshi on their homeworld. Nor was this a topic they had ever discussed before. So he knew naught of the proper conduct nor that addressing them as Sailor Planet was important.
The only other senshi he had ever interacted with wasn't quite a senshi, yet. Though he feared for the day when she was. The girl was Princess Saturn and that was how he addressed her, so it was natural that since Iris simply introduced herself as Iris he hadn't thought to call her anything but that.
Of course he didn't expect people to suddenly shy away from him when only moments before they'd been grasping for his attention.
He paid them little heed because it gave him breathing room, proper room to look for her. He tugged at his collar again trying to give his skin some breathing room to cool. It didn't help and he was immensely grateful when she came up, almost out of nowhere, and pulled him toward her.
He nearly shouted her name with glee when she whispered in his ear. He tilted his head, frowning as he contemplated her words. "Ah, right. Sailor Iris," he greeted with a nod. "My apologies," he mumbled.
When she more or less told him to strip he took a step back, bewilderment written all over his face. "Excuse me?" He shook his head. "I. I don't think that's a good idea. Really."
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Posted: Fri Apr 19, 2013 5:32 pm
The surrounding strangers seemed to relax a bit after the young ambassador corrected his errors. They went back to their business as usual as they left the Iridian Senshi to deal with the Squire.
The boy's surprise made Iris think about the words she had just said, and within a few moments she was chuckling quite a bit. "...oh... you thought I meant.... ffffffff.... oh no... I don't need you to do that this very second..."
She lifted the hooded covering over her head for a moment so she could ruffle her own fluffy hair. "...it's just... obvious you are going to suffer heatstroke if you stay in those clothes... they don't allow your skin to breathe..."
She put her hood back up before she grabbed his hand and began to walk him through the crowded sand-covered alleyways. Everything might have seemed like it was moving too fast, but Iris was at least willing to explain things as she dragged the ambassador along.
"...My place is nearby... I usually don't make a habit of keeping men's robes there... but I know a place where I can barter for some nice ones. I mean... I hope you don't mind... but... um... having heatstroke out here is... horrible..."
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Posted: Fri Apr 19, 2013 10:16 pm
Her laughter was rewarded with the arch of an eyebrow and a stern frown. He did not respond verbally, instead he simply shrugged and let her take his hand to begin to lead him through the crowd. She mentioned her place and he couldn't help but grin, "So you do want to get me naked," he teased. "But somewhere private so you can keep all this," he gestured his empty hand down the lank of his frame, "all to yourself."
He chuckled knowing that it was simply because she cared for his health but he had to tease her. "I cannot say I blame you," he continued, complete with suggestive eyebrows should she look back at him. "I mean, I have seen myself naked. Quite impressive if I do say so myself," he joked.
When she mentioned bartering for something he could wear he shook his head. "No, you don't need to do that. Just tell me what's acceptable to wear? I was told it was best if I remained powered, but I'm sure I can make do with something," he told her. She wouldn't let him pay for her at the diner in Saturn so he didn't really want her bartering for something for him. "I mean, I don't want you to go out of your way for me."
Really, he should have planned better. Who went to a trade market without anything to trade?
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Posted: Fri Apr 19, 2013 11:16 pm
Eyes were rolled at his expense, though she wasn't facing him at the moment, so he wouldn't have seen her expression of annoyed amusement. In a rather bland tone, she merely egged him on by simply agreeing with him.
"Yes, yes, I want you naked and all to myself... I am such a horribly greedy person, wanting you all to myself." She was shaking her head as she merely agreed with him.
The alleyway soon enough opened up to a wider area that had many covered wooden wagons merely just parked in the sands, various Sand Munchers and Crunchers all waiting and grazing as they waited for their various owners to come back. Crims' first experience with a Muncher had actually been with one of the rarest color types possible, and now it was far more evident as he got to see a better view of the populace. Many darker colored wools, most of different earthy colors. In fact, there was only one white animal in the lot at the moment.
As the senshi still continued to weave her way through the area, both the girl and the squire being ignored by the various fauna too busy eating to care much about their proximity, she laughed once more.
"It is not a big deal... there are some things on this world I can barter that cost me no worldly possessions. Sometimes a valued performance skill can be considered good payment for goods."
As they approached the single white beast of the lot, the pair came upon a cart which had a pale pastel shimmer to the protective cloth covering the vehicle. The shape was slightly different than some of the other nearby carts, with the front portion being low so only a person could stand in the archway, but the back arch was far taller in comparison. To the side of the cart were several barrels, each one closed up tightly and secured efficiently.
A familiar pair of mismatched eyes blinked at the pair, the large head of Aque peering up and letting out a huge snort of approval. His ears perked up quite high before he was shoving his face at Iris for instant petting.
Her voice instantly got higher and friendlier in pitch as she greeted her buddy. "Hey boy! Hope you didn't get too bored without me! I hope you remember our friend from Saturn... because he's going to catch a ride with us!"
As if to confirm that his memory was still quite good, the Muncher soon enough was shoving his large head at Crims to get some good old fashioned attention from him as well. He let out a small whistle from his two front teeth.
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Posted: Sun Apr 21, 2013 5:30 pm
The sarcasm was evident and Crims found himself chuckling in response. "See, I knew it," he continued, grinning from ear to ear. "Glad you could openly admit it to yourself." Feeding his ego, jokingly or not probably wasn't best for the dark haired squire but he sure did love the attention. His gaze scanned across the various carts and various fauna.
Even if Aque's pelt wasn't white Crims was pretty sure he would have recognized the sand muncher and it appeared that the lavender clad boy was just as excited to see the beast. "Heeey buddy," he cooed as he moved to scratch the beast below the chin. "Didja miss me?" He murmured, one hand beneath Aque's chin and the other petting his neck, inching upward until he was scratching behind the ears.
"It's good to see you again Aque," he told the llama-like creature. He continued his motions and turned his head back to Iris. "So this is your place eh?" He asked gesturing toward the cart with his head. "Not too shabby."
He took a brief look around again before looking back at the blonde. "So...you want me to strip here? Er, lose a little bit of clothing now?" It wasn't like there were a lot of people around, and he really didn't mind not wearing most of his clothes. "If so, I probably should uh...power down."
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Posted: Sun Apr 21, 2013 8:09 pm
Aque let out another approving whistle between his front teeth as his ears twitched contently from all the attentions.
Iris crossed her arms and leaned against her home, simply letting Aque get his excitement out. Once Crims had acknowledged her again, she mentioned "Well, I made it myself... I'd hope it wasn't too shabby!" She took a fist and knocked upon the front panel.
"...Step up and get in... we gotta go to the Grand Hall... you can get as undressed as you want in there... but at least we can get you out of the direct sun. You can relax for a bit..." She needed to steer Aque in the right direction and had no intention of peeking inside.
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Posted: Mon Apr 22, 2013 11:10 pm
He gave the cart another once over when she told him she made it herself. "You made it?" He asked, a bit bewildered. "Huh. Well fancy thank. Nice craftsmanship Ir--" He caught himself. "Sailor Iris." It was hard to remember the extra title. He had been comfortable just calling her Iris, having to address her as Sailor Iris was annoying.
She left him to his devices and he took to the back of the cart as comfortably as he could. "What's at the Grand Hall?" He shouted as he powered down. The lavender military uniform dissolved into simple dark gray pants, a light purple tunic and darker gray combat styled boots. His training clothes would have served more bearable under the heat than the full sleeved multilayer uniform.
Still, he had been given orders and until Iris insisted in him shedding some clothing he hadn't considered powering down. Didn't seem proper, but now he felt so relieved to have less weight on him.
He wasted little time in unlacing his boots and tugging them off. He disliked wearing shoes most days. The tunic came off just as quickly as the boots and his discarded clothing sat in a pile in the cart. He debated shedding his pants as well, prancing around in his underwear seemed far more appealing than before. Instead he settled for taking a look around him.
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Posted: Mon Apr 22, 2013 11:57 pm
The interior to her home was essentially the size of one small room in a normal home. Iris was lucky in the fact that she was the only one who lived there. Full Iridian families were known to live in such tight quarters. As Crims got settled in, he'd notice that there really weren't a lot of possessions to Iris' name in the interior.
She had a slightly padded bedding area on the floor with a couple woven blankets sprawled over it. There was a small wooden low-standing desk near it with a large wooden trunk in front of it.
That was all. The rest of the space was plain wood with the shimmering cloth canopy over his head.
Once her companion had taken up space inside her home, the girl stepped up and sat down at the front. She merely patted the Sandmuncher's rump slightly. "Alright... time to go to the Grand Hall..." The senshi took up the reigns as the beast used his long tail to grab onto a handle upon the cart's base.
She didn't glance into the cart as her companion seemed to question their upcoming destination. "...well... the clothing I am bartering for you is there... but the Grand Hall is essentially where most of the water-trade occurs." There was a pause. "It's kind of important."
Perhaps the understatement of the year.
Soon enough the cart itself started to roll, the vehicle taking movement along the sand, pulling away from the other still carts nearby.
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Posted: Tue Apr 23, 2013 9:20 pm
The shaggy haired boy took a seat in one of the emptier corners, propping himself up against the wall of the cart. Her belongings were sparse and he mused it had to do with her constant travel. What good were belongings if you could not take them with you? He himself only had few things he would proudly say he owned.
It was probably less than what the girl contained in her cart.
He tilted his head back to stare up at the shimmering fabric while his companion spoke. "Who do you know there that will barter for clothes from an ill-prepared traveler?" He inquired, closing his eyes. The ride was a fairly smooth one and he found himself comforted. Much time had passed since his last animal-drawn carriage ride. Not since he moved to Saturn.
It was reminiscent of a more simplistic time.
"Will we be a bother, coming to barter for something other than water?" He asked, concern lacing his tone. "I mean, I would rather not cause any sort of commotion." He had little clue what to expect when they arrived at the grand hall or how he should behave. "Am I to assume that the rulers of Iris command the Great Hall?"
He was full of questions and hoped that he was correct in his assumptions. It made sense, that the sovereigns of Iris would control the water trade directly. If Iris had no source of water themselves controlling the exports would be left to the kings or queens.
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Posted: Tue Apr 23, 2013 10:28 pm
From the front of the vehicle, Iris laughed. Her companion had a lot of questions, and rightfully so. Iridian society was not exactly known for being an easy one to comprehend the first time visiting. After he prattled off several questions and guesses of his own, she finally decided to interject, keeping her eyes upon the dark sanded pathways.
"You answered your own question in a sense. I am on good terms with the King and Queen from this world... though royalty on this world is not quite what it means on other worlds. I have heard how Kings and Queens on other worlds more or less are there to make rules for everyone else.... but with how much water we need to import... overseeing the world's water trades is a full time job. It really doesn't leave much time for governing the world itself."
She paused for a moment as she had to tug slightly to one side with the reins to help guide Aque around a corner. Her manner of speaking about the King and Queen had been pretty casual, and soon enough she revealed the reason why she could speak in such a manner. "In all honesty... Royalty and Senshi are the only ones that function outside of the Clan System on this world... so I frequently work with the King and Queen in regards to foreign affairs."
There were details she was not mentioning, but as far as she was concerned, it was not Crims' business knowing her real connection with King Scepiet and Queen Mariengeld.
"...either way... it's going to be a quick visit. Just in and out, really. You probably should just stay in there while I take care of things on my end."
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Posted: Tue Apr 23, 2013 10:44 pm
He opened his mouth to interject what was likely to be useless information that Iris really didn't care about but changed his mind, opting to simply listen to her explanation. "What do you mean--" he started only to have her inadvertently answer his unfinished question. "I see," he mumbled trying to process the flood of information. "Interesting governing structure you've got here," he remarked, eyes opening.
"I do not think you have told me much about the clan system." He was curious but figured now was not the best time to divert the conversation. "Perhaps you might give me a lesson after the trades?" He suggested.
The look of disappointment and disagreement that passed across the squire's face when she told him he should remain behind were comical. His lips set in a deep frown and his brow knitted tightly together. "What? No, I disagree. I would rather not remain inside," he informed her moving to sit up. Maybe it was time he peeked out of her handcrafted home. "I think it would be beneficial to see exactly how trading is done around here, especially the water trade."
He wasn't about to sit idly while she went about business. That was not why he had traveled all the way to see her-- the asteroid. He full expected to be part of all the things they embarked upon. He would not be left out!
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Posted: Tue Apr 23, 2013 11:13 pm
The vehicle slowed as Crims seemed to be tempted by the thought of peering out. If he gazed out, he would find a large building that seemed to overshadow the rest of the other buildings. It was slightly more ornate, but still had a much more humble appearance than a true castle. It stretched out long and wide, with many entrances. It was clearly a place where many people could be housed as needed, and much water could be stored.
It was the Grand Hall, with such a fact being confirmed as the vehicle came to an absolute stop.
The Sand Muncher glanced back once they had stopped, as if trying to seek out some sort of positive reinforcement for doing such a good job.
"...Clan system isn't that hard to understand. We're a nomadic society. Clans are formed of family groups and Clans have an elder who leads. The Clan Elders are the political leaders here, and the rest of the clans merely live their lives, working and learning family trades. The people who live in the Port are the ones who can no longer travel in a sense or have no family to travel with. Those in the Port are essentially... um... lowest class in a sense..."
She glanced back finally, only to see a shirtless young man. "...well... it really is going to be a quick transaction to be honest... and it wouldn't really give you a true idea of how bartering usually works. Plus... you'd burn pretty easily without the proper covering..."
She casually gestured to her own coverings. "I am actually a minority on this world... I have to be careful as well." With that, she loosely took a finger and eventually drew it in close to nearly touch his chest, her lips curling for a slight smirk. "I don't think you'd want a sunburn as your souvenir from my home... would you?"
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