Being in Matori was a nice change. It was so different from Oba where she had grown up, and she rather liked the difference. She had come there once or twice before the war to see some of her father's family, but she was really little at this point and didn't really remember much about the trip. Now things were different though, now she was soaking in everything as if she would never see it again.
Although the beaches and the inns were nice, the marketplace was where it was at. It was always where it was at. A cities market place told a lot about the city, and it was no different here where she was. So many people mulling around, so many sights and sounds. Sure she got some strange looks form the natives, even some hostile ones from some of the older Matori, but it was nothing she wasn't able to deal with. When she got closer to the stall owners and her Matori marks became visible people tended to be more kind to her. She understood their feelings, and couldn't really blame them. After all, she was pretty much always in hiding before the Obans were defeated in war.
"Hello, I was wondering if you had any material for staffs?"The older woman who was minding the stall gave her a once over before deciding that she didn't want to talk to Eleina.
Shocked Eleina just stood there for a second, unsure of what to do. Although she had hoped the woman simply hadn't heard her she had a feeling that that wasn't the issue.
"Excuse me, I don't know if you heard me—""I heard you all right, I'm just deciding to ignore you is all."
Eleina frowned.
"I'm part Matori, and even if I wasn't it would be rude to ignore a potential customer.""I don't care if it's rude or not. This is my stall and I can do whatever I want. And I don't want to sell to you."
Dejected Eleina turned away, a frown on her face as she went to walk away and find someone else to buy from.
"Grandma what have I told you about turning away customers! You don't do that! Excuse me miss, please I'm really sorry for whatever my Grandmother said. She's old, and very prejudiced. Is there anything in particular you were looking for?"
The voice that called out to her was much different from the one before. It was young and male and as Eleina turned to look she noticed that he also had a much more friendly look him to him over all. The grandmother was still there for a second, looking at Eleina with fire in her eyes, but eventually she turned and walked away from the stall.
"It's fine, nothing I'm not use to. I got it before the war and even with the war over I still get those that don't take kindly to me. You can't blame them, especially those that are older, it was how they were raised." She took a few steps closer to the stall.
"I was looking for staff materials. I wanted to see if you had anything that I hadn't been able to find in Oba.""We have tons of stuff they don't have, come take a look."
Eleina looked through the different things, finding that he was telling the truth when he said they had many things that were not in Oba. There were especially pretty wraps for her weapon that would give them a more Matori like feel. She liked that, being able to pay homage to the part of her that wasn't as visible. After looking for a little while longer she decided that she wanted to buy two of the wraps.
"How much would you like for them?""Normally they are pretty pricey, the material is the best and will last you many years, but since my grandmother was so rude to you before I feel bad charging you the full price. You were nice enough to come back even after what she said. So how bout I give you a discount?"
The price was fair and she had the money to spend, so Eleina bought them both. Happy she thanked the boy before heading to a new shop. Hopefully she would find more people like him and less like his grandmother. The world needed more people to be tolerant of other kinds, it wasn't as black and white as it once was.
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