The market of New Hemisect stretched out before Sephos, teeming with trolls and goods and lusii beetles, a colorful morass of activity and voices. Whispers and shouts and roars and squeaks echoed amidst the stalls and storefronts, a bustling hive of sound and commerce.
Sephos preferred his own hive.
He walked the street, his lusus moving ponderously behind him as he looked around in unhappy disgust, shying away and glowering as a troll nearby shouted and called to him. Sephos wanted them to leave him alone. ”Don't want what you're selling...” he muttered, ”Grub off.”
He was here for specific things: 1: to deliver herbs and dye to places so he could have beetles for other things. 2: to buy plants for his garden and forest 3: To look at and buy clothes
He didn't want to bother with anything else. Maku hummed above him, and he grumbled ”Why couldn't they have a ******** market in Four Fronds?” he said, looking up at the treebeast.
Maku hummed in amusement. Keep looking, the creature advised, it was best not to be too hasty about this. He would find something, he was sure.
Sephos muttered and grumped, but he kept looking... despite the awfulness of this awful forest of concrete and steel...
Market Day. It was a weekly thing that had to happen for Valaon or her produce would take over her grange. The midblood troll reorganized some of her apples that other annoying trolls had misplaced. She looked through the crowd of other trolls as her Lusus poked it's eyes up to look with her. Crapple gargled some chatter to Valaon before retreating back to its crouched, comfortable position. Valaon shrugged, "I ain't got time fur that sort' stuff." She replied to her guardian as she moved to polish an apple then resort through her other produce.
She looked at her produce, noting that she still hadn't started growing more herbs. She really needed to. How else was she supposed to feel like an accomplished planter? Shrugging off the thought, she looked at her filthy nails. For a moment, she wondered if she could sell more produce if she had more help on her farm. Sure, Crapple and her were able to harvest pretty much everything needed but what if she had someone else to help? Perhaps she could even try to grow more!
Snapping herself back into reality, she began to spectate the other trolls again. Today didn't see as eventful as the others had been recently. It was a shame really, she needed the beetles to buy more equipment for her homestead as well as some new clothes.
Posted: Thu Nov 05, 2015 6:46 am
Hobo Pixi
I figured i should give her a chance to yell at him before he started interrogating her on cultivars and soil types and stuff
Pots. Pans. Weapons. Stuff. None of it was clothes. None of it was even jewelery – which he could try to appreciate. None of it was plants. None of it was produce, and Sephos was about to give up and leave when...
Apples.
Like a desert wanderer sighting an oasis, Sephos went right to the apple stand, eyes widening in surprise. ”Maku!” he exclaimed, ”Look!” he picked up an apple and showed it to his lusus, ”I've never seen this cultivar before! Look at the color it has!” he sniffed it experimentally, ”And the smell of it!” He put it back carefully, only to free his hands for more investigation. ”And look! Look at how healthy and well formed they are!”
Maku hummed in pleasure – he rarely saw his charge so animated and... dared the treebeast even think it... delighted. Yes. That was an interesting apple. And there were other interesting apples, too. Such a lovely stand...
Sephos was discovering that. There were so many varieties, and they looked so good... ”Ah!” He picked out a smaller variety, a bright colored specimen. ”I haven't seen this before either! Look at that shape, perfect for the hand and... ah!” completely disregarding the fact that it was a market stall – and in all honesty, he had forgotten that that was a thing, so surrounded was he by fruit – he took a bite out of it. ”Mmmm!” he exclaimed. It was tasty! he stared at it, overjoyed, ”Whoa. This is a ******** good apple.”
”Sephos...” Even Maku knew this social more, ”That isn't yours yet.”
Valaon had gotten a little attention at her stand before another troll approached and seemly didn't even see her. She watched as the boy riffled through her produce. He seemed more than excited to see her apples, which was a change of pace for her since most trolls mostly bough a few and left. Sure, it was rather odd that he would smell her produce but who was she to judge? Maybe they smelt as good as she knew they tasted.
The apple troll continued to watch the other troll, even after he bit into on of her apples. She checked the type of Apple then her price for it. She watched closely to see if he'd eat any more before giving him a total.
There was a sense of pride inside her as he exclaimed how delicious her Apple was. She didn't even spare a glance to get lusus, knowing Crapple was watching. If the boy couldn't then she'd send her lusus off to catch attention from an enforcer of sorts. She wasn't worried and it showed her her relaxed demeanor.
With her usual stoic expression, Valaon reached her hand over to the boy. "That'll cost ya'll about fifteen beetles for mai ambrosia Apple." She told him with her usual accent; something similar to a southern accent.
Posted: Fri Nov 13, 2015 7:24 am
Hobo Pixi
Sephos devoured the apple, exclaiming to his lusus how really very good it was. It was obvious that it was cultivated – no wild apple ever tasted so sweet-yet-tangy or had such a perfect crunch to it. Sephos was intrigued. Very intrigued. Maku listened patiently, amused – he loved it when his charge was passionate.
Both were a little surprised when someone spoke. Sephos stared at the greenblood for a long moment, apple core in hand. ”Huh?” Oh. Right. It was a market. He'd forgotten. He shifted uncomfortably for a moment, trying to pretend disinterest... but the apples... ”So this one's an ambrosia apple?” he grumbled, looking at the core, ”... you grow it yourself, or you get it from somewhere, or what? Is it a, uh, grown variety, or is it a graft? What sort of soil do ya use?” he waited a moment, surprised at how much he'd said. ”If ya grow it.” he grumbled looking away and trying to pretend disinterest...
Valaon waited with her hand out even as the other asked her questions. She didn't really care if he was interested or not in her apples, she loved them and that's that. Once Sephos was finished speaking, the green blood looked to Crapple before looking back at the boy. "Yah, ya ate mai ambrosia apple an' I'm still waitin' for yer beetles." She told him plainly. "I grow mai apples myself." She replied, "Graftin' cause it's more predictable than wingin' it."
Valaon pulled her hand back since her arm was getting tired, she slipped her hand into her pocket and pulled out some soil. She held out her hand, showing him the soil. "I keep it atta ph of 'bout six." She wondered if he was actually going to pay or run off. Why was he interested in her apples anyways, most trolls could care less. She set the soil on the empty spot on her table.
Valaon looked at her apples, picking up an empire Apple and broke it in half. She handed him the other half, giving Sephos's lusus the other half. "Tell me what ya'll think 'bout this one. S'called the 'Mpire Apple." She offered, waiting for him to either reveal his interest or disinterest.
Posted: Sun Nov 22, 2015 1:24 pm
Hobo Pixi
So she did grow them... He accepted the apple half curiously, sniffing it before taking a bite. ”Hey, it's tart!” he said, chewing, ”It's acidic...” he amended, ”But its got, uh something balancing it out.” Maku didn't eat fruit (and he didn't eat with his mouth) so, a little mystified and flattered that he had gotten a piece too, he handed it to Sephos, who didn't know what to do with it... other than hand it back to the shopkeeper. ”What do you think?” he asked her, "About your apple.".
A better question might have been why she was keeping the soil in her pocket. Even Sephos thought it was odd, and he'd been known to carry all manner of things in his overalls. Still... he investigated the soil. It was very different from his forest loam – completely different makeup, probably had a different nutrient, sand, fiber, and water composition. ”Yeah, grafting is handy... Where's this soil from?”
Maku hummed quietly, nudging him. Uh. Right. Beetles. And produce. Sephos took a few more apples – of both varieties – and of some of the others, and put it in a bag. ”You do bartering?” he asked. He had a few beetles, but... well... that was why he was here. ”I've got...” he brought out some of the herbs and forest vegetables, showing them to her. ”These.”
Valaon watched the other try her apple, raising a brow. "In ma opinion, sweet with some tart.. acidic, yah." She agreed with the other as she pulled up a pot and filled it with soil from her pocket before pressing a seed into it. She looked back up to Sephos then to the soil. "Ma homestead. Was like that when I moved on in." She explained as she set the pot aside.
She raised a brow as the other asked about bartering, "Nah, I ain't got no use for bartering... I need beetles." She replied before seeing the herbs. " 'Suppose I gotta use for those herbs though." Working the hours her and her lusus did was not without injuries or illness... and those herbs would be helpful. "Just this once... I'll barter with ya. Next time bring me beetles." She told him as she pushed the pot to him. "For ya, it's tomatoes." She told him as she made the exchange with him. "Ya know about gardening... I assume ya know how to not kill these tomatoes?" She asked.
The sweet would balance it out, yeah. That made sense. "That's good soil." he said, "Really good soil. You grow anything else in it? Other than apples?" When she said that she didn't take barter, Sephos felt his pumpbiscuit falter. "... sorry?" he said, uncertain if it was the right time to be saying it at all, or if apology was what he really meant. He handed over the herbs anyway. "Look, I've got deliveries, so I'll have beetles later, if you still want them. I'll come back with them." Yes. That sounded like a solution. He stared at the pot. "Ja. I know tomatoes." He said. They were tasty, and they smelled good fresh. He actually had a plot outside that would be good for them - lots of places for the vines to grow on, and lots of sun. "What kind of tomato is it? And, uh..." he said, the thought suddenly occurring to him, "... Why are you giving me a tomato in a pot?"
Valaon rubbed her neck, "for this purchase... I'll take ya up on yur herbs. I could use em anyways." She explained, nodding. "I grow many things in my lawn ring. Oranges, grapes, lettuce, carrots... Ya name it." She looked to the tomato plant then gave a half smile, "ya took interest in ma plants so I want to send one home with ya." She meant it too. Perhaps he could even sell the tomatoes that he got from the vine? Who couldn't use a few extra beetles? "Green zebra... They won't red usually as they are a green tomato." She replied.
Apples for herbs, he understood. Plants for free... He was okay with, but it went against all the hard lessons he'd learned out here in the middle of civilization. Trolls never gave away things for free. There was always a cost. And it sucked. It made sense, but it sucked. "Thanks." he said, deciding to take the gift... and why not? The tomato sounded interesting. A tomato that did not redden... He knew of them, but he did not himself have a variety of his own. The idea appealed to him. "I'll take care of it." Of course he would. "I've got a greenhouse. It's in my hive's tunnels, but it's got lights." he offered, "I've got a lot of plants down there." He wasn't sure what to say next, if anything. So, he took his apples and put them into a nice cloth bag he'd brought for that purpose. "I'll have beetles later." he added, as well. Again, he wasn't sure what else to say. And then he was. "... Could I visit your orchard someday?"
Valaon nodded at his thanks.. It wasn't everyday she just gave stuff away. She was curious if he'd enjoy the tomatoes or not. She liked them but her lusus wasn't a fan so she wouldn't made an outside opinion. Her brow raised as sephos mentioned her orchard. "Ay don't see any problem with that." She told him, pulling out a paper and writing directions on it then handing it to the other. "That outta make it easier."
Sephos took the paper. "Yeah, it'll help." he said, nodding. Directions were handy. "You can come and see my plants too, if you want." he offered. It was not an offer he normally made, but if she could grow and breed and graft apples (and tomatoes) like this, then they clearly shared an enthusiasm for plants, and it would probably be good to show her his strains and get her opinions. Or get her to grow and breed them. Or get new strains from her lawnring. Maybe. He should probably give her directions, though! He started to flip the paper over to scrawl them on it, and then realized that that was stupid. He fumbled in his pockets and, miraculously, found an empty seed packet. "Here." he said, scrawling directions on it as well before handing it to her. It was a Four Fronds address.
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