Welcome to Gaia! ::

It was a vivacious town. Not so large as some, but filled to bursting with life. Senka could appreciate that. It was certainly better than a sleepy, quiet town - though those had their appeal as well. But today she preferred the crush of life, the excess of stimulation. There were so very many options here. So many different stories to choose between. The only question was where to begin.

For a while, she simply wandered, absorbing the atmosphere and reacquainting herself with the sounds of the Common tongue spoken with the distinctive Sunderlander accent. For a while, she familiarized herself with the milieu of this particular town, content to observe its people from afar. But she had never really been one to stand aside for very long. So, sharp crimson eyes scanned the crowd, searching for a likely find. It was not so very difficult.

He was a handsome enough thing to look at, she supposed, but it was not this that caught her eye. No, it was in part the uniform, and in part the rather discontent air he had about himself. Joke with some of the locals, he may, but his walk was not that of a happy man. There was more to him than was immediately clear. Yes, this man had a story in him.

Perhaps some would find a constable on his rounds a boring thing, and others might find him intimidating, but Senka was not so easily intimidated, nor was she the type to overlook someone as potentially interesting as a man of the law - particularly not when she was certain she had seen a bit of coin exchange hands. Oh, yes. He would do nicely.

A smile curved her lips, and if the effect was a bit vulpine, then she only matched the pale fox at her side that much more.

"Good afternoon," she said after placing herself in his path. Never let it be said that Senka was not direct. Oh, she could be as subtle as her beloved fox if the need called for it, but she found that being straightforward suited her just well.

"It is a lovely day, is it not? How fares the market?" Why start large? If one was vague, people tended to fill in their own blanks.

She hummed, her smile broadening a touch even as he frowned. So he was going to be difficult. That was alright. The hunt could be just as fun as the reward, if it was done properly.

Really, she would have called his concern unwarranted. Senka did not want much from him at all. No coin or promises. No favors or services. Only a bit of time and a few words. Surely there was nothing wrong with that. Why, nothing they discussed ever need leave their confidence. Was that not more than generous?

"But there are so many different kinds of markets," she said. "Large markets and small markets, good markets and bad ones, honest markets and those whose people are a little more...creative in their business transactions.

"Tell me, sir. Is this an average market or an interesting one?"

"Only in the broadest sense of the term," she said, falling into step beside him as though it were the most natural thing in the world. The white fox slipped around his other side, his fluffy tail brushing the man's leg in the process. "Is one man the same as the next? It only falls to reason that the people who make up one market - being different people than those who make another - lend to a different milieu. I simply wonder what sets this market apart from others."

She glanced sidelong at him. "It seems to me that seeing what you see, as a fine, upstanding keeper of the peace, would lend me a certain perspective that I might not otherwise glean."

If the constable had hoped to be rid of her so easily, he was sorely mistaken. Perhaps the only thing Senka loved more than writing stories was their acquisition. The fact that he was being so evasive only made her that much more determined - for it was not the market itself that held her interest, though she did give it some passing curiosity, but the man. Who was he, really? What was his story?

She blinked and her gaze drifted toward the stands in question. Certainly, Senka was not immune to the allure of shiny things, but neither was she willing to give up the chase so soon after she had begun. There was always later if she wanted to take a peek.

"So they are," she agreed pleasantly, but without much apparent interest. "I find myself rather more inclined to take a look at things they way that you see them. Tell me, sir. What do you see?"

It occurred to her that she had been remiss in her manners. It would not be the first time, nor was it liable to be the last. She tended to forget such things in favor of more interesting matters. "Do forgive me. I don't believe we have been properly introduced. I am Senka Zimakova. Who might you be?"

Far from deterred - really, he ought to know better - Senka seemed unaffected by his ugly words. Instead, she followed him as he moved on. Progress was progress. If he was getting testy, perhaps he would tell her something worthwhile in an attempt to be rid of her.

"That kind of integrity is rare," she observed, though it was impossible to tell from her tone whether she thought that such honesty was a good thing or a bad thing. "You disapprove?"

He certainly made it sound like a detestable thing. She wondered whether he had any personal interest in the situation, to make him so scornful. Or, if not the seamstress specifically, then a similar situation. Had he been hungry as a child? Had he children of his own to feed? He was the right age for it, though certainly not all men his age were married.

Senka hummed. She did not disagree, necessarily. Naivete could be dangerous, but then again, life always seemed to work itself out. Or at least, it did in her experience. Perhaps the honest seamstress and her children would be just fine.

"No one at all," she said with a smile, extending her left hand and fluttering its ring-less fingers to emphasize the point. "I am quite at my leisure, I assure you."

Lucius yipped and she stroked his ears. At some point, he had left the constable's side and returned to walk beside his mistress. He was really very good at being quiet and blending in, despite his pristine coat and larger than average size, but he also appreciated attention.

"Are you quite certain that this seamstress and her ilk are no concern of yours?" she wondered, continuing as though they had never left off. "It seems that they are the ones most in need of protection."

The woman arched an elegant brow. "I was referring to her state as a single mother, not her finances." Though of course she had seen more than one widowed mother manage on her own, it was never easy for the rare breed. But if he was unwilling to extend the least bit of protection to the seamstress, then that was his business. She was not there to be anyone's moral compass.

"What is your family like?" she queried. It was a legitimate question. Never having belonged to a family, Senka was curious as to their inner workings. It was not possible to miss what one never had. She was not jealous of those with normal lives, nor would she wish to trade her own life for one, but she was...interested.