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 Posted: Sat Nov 21, 2015 11:45 am
 Thulani was walking about the city, a few of his hand-stitched wares in his arm. Eyes looking to the other patrons, he sighed and raised his hand to run it through his hair. He had to wonder, sometimes, just why he'd decided to move to the city and open shop. The angel had grown up on the isle drifting below them, out in the open lands of agropastoralism. His family had been simple pae, working hard day in and day out to care for the plants and the animals that sustained them. Hard work, it was... Sometimes bountiful, sometimes barren; each dependent on the fickleness of the nature among them, the indecisiveness of the Guardians above them. He wasn't a devote follower by any means, but he did regard them with a quiet reverence.
How had he found himself in the city, he wondered. So often he yearned to return to the land.
But that would be a disrespect to the hard earnings and the goodwill of his parents who sent him off with such earnest smiles to better himself in these confines. What he had to offer was a little trade here, crafts made of the materials of the land. Clothing, sturdy and warm; fabrics hand-woven of fibres he could have only imagined not long ago. They weren't often much for the, for he was no true artisan, no craftsman, but they were made to last.
Eyes glancing, Thulani took note of a stand of flowers beside the road. He paused for a moment, glancing down, before shifting his items in hand and walking closer. "'Scuse me," he asked politely, looking around for whomever might run the stand.
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Posted: Sat Nov 21, 2015 1:17 pm
 Aquarious was hard at work at her stand, pulling various flowers, branches, and leaves from her supplies and placing them into decorative clay pots. She took care to arrange them, placing the larger pieces in the back and the smaller and more delicate ones in front. She hummed softly, filling the pot with some water to keep the plants fresh, then placed them in the shaded counter for sale.
It had been a busy morning, with quite a few custom orders, and several bouquet orders, so the lul of the afternoon was welcomed. As she checked on some of her previous works from the day, she heard a voice addressing to her.
Turning, she smiled brightly. "Good afternoon! How are you today?" She stepped from around the counter, adjusting her apron.
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Posted: Sat Nov 21, 2015 1:47 pm
If the angel had pretended he was actually ready to be spoken to and knew what it was exactly that he hoped to trade for, it would have been an outright lie. Heck even deciding how he was that day took him a few moments to decide. "I'm... fine." he eventually got out. Glancing away, he shifted the wares in his arms uncomfortably for a moment before looking back up at her.
He did want a flower after all.
"Do... ya barter here?" he offered as he casually showed off his items; some boots and gloves made of a hardy leather with some light blue embroidery to accent the curves. It wasn't complicated by any means, but it did at a bit of personality to the items.
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Posted: Sat Nov 21, 2015 2:21 pm
Aquarious could tell that this particular patron was going to need time to decide, and perhaps some guidance to what he was looking for. Casually, she fussed over one of her arrangements, not turning her back to the new-comer, but taking the pressure of her stare away from him in order to try to give a more relaxing atmosphere. "My mother used to say that any day where you woke up would be a good day."
At the question of if she bartered, she paused with her fussing and looked over her shoulder to him. "I barter. Are these the goods you're interested in offering?" Even at just a glance, she could tell that they were of good quality, and would be very durable. Those gloves were especially something she was interested in, since some of her flowers came with thorns. The flip side, however, was that she wasn't sure that anything she sold would match the value of what he was looking to trade. At least in the sense that her flowers would last for a week, if cared for properly, where his leather gear would last much longer.
"And what is it here that you have your eye on? Or are you looking for something more custom?"
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Posted: Sun Nov 22, 2015 9:06 am
As she returned his question, Thulani glanced down again for a moment before holding his items further out to her. "Yup... I've got some boots 'n some gloves. They'll do ya good." He had been fairly aware that most would consider such a trade to be at a loss for him, but he didn't really care much about that sort of thing, nor did he have much of a sense of economics to begin with.
He did, however, know how to make these guys last much longer than their shelf life. If dried properly, they could last him many, many months, or even longer. He'd probably keep one fresh one out to decorate his modest abode, but the rest would be drying in the back.
He hesitated when she asked about his preference.
"Well..." he started, glancing around them. After a moment, his eyes landed on a lovely vase filled with various wildflowers from the isle below. He was surprised such things could still be found at this time of the year."...maybe some of these?"
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Posted: Sun Nov 22, 2015 9:31 am
Carefully, Aquarious took the items one by one, inspecting them to find them even better quality than when she first appraised. This made her heart sink even more, because she couldn't in good conscious trade these for a vase of flowers. Granted, some of her flowers were priced higher than others based on the difficulty it took to get them and the season (though her grower did work miracles).
She watched was the brightly spotted male looked around her flowers, stopping at perhaps her cheapest vase. Wildflowers were easy to grow, and easy to transport... the vase they were sitting in was more valuable than the flowers.
She swallowed the sigh that wanted to escape her mouth, then half leaned, half sat on her counter. "I'm going to be painfully honest. I can't in good conscious barter with you, even for just one glove, with those flowers. If you'd like, we can see what other customers from this morning have paid me with, and see if there is anything better, but I cannot trade flowers for such high quality working gloves and boots." She paused for a moment, then held out her hand to him.
"My name is Aquarious, by the way. I don't believe I ever gave it to you."
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Posted: Sun Nov 22, 2015 10:01 am
The angel's look of disappointment from her answer couldn't have been more plain if he had verbalized it.
"They're really nothin' that special..." he protested weakly, aware of how set she seemed in her mind. If she insisted, he'd trade them for something(s) else first, and then those flowers. The flowers may have seemed a cheap variety to her, but they brought warm memories of the land below to mind. In that sense, they were perhaps the most precious ones here.
"Nice ta meet'ya Aquari'us." he took her hand and shook it, his grip firm and the calluses on his palms surely rough against her own. "M'name's Thulani."
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Posted: Sun Nov 22, 2015 11:28 am
The look on Thulani's face was a clear reflection of his feelings, and for a moment Aquarious envied his ability to show his emotions so easily. For her, even just this interaction of practiced energy and enthusiasm was tiring. Really, she would be happy to have anyone else man the front and just be able to stick to the back and work with her flowers.
A brief thought came to her as Thulani took her hand firmly and shook. She could feel the calluses against her softer hands, though hers were not free of calluses themselves from all of the lifting and carrying of her flower bundles and their containers heavy with water. "Thulani, why don't you come with me around the corner and see if there is something you'd like in trade for your boots and gloves, even if it's something you can trade away for something else." She knew that there were several semi-precious gems back there from her larger orders, and someone had traded a skein of fabric for several custom arrangements that had been ordered last week. Then there was the usual grains, breads, dried meats, and other edibles that she never turned away.
"Do you have any other errands for today?"
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Posted: Sun Nov 22, 2015 12:12 pm
Releasing his hand from hers, Thulani glanced to where he presumed the back of the shop was. If he could find something back there, he should be able to get those flowers after all. It just involved and extra step and a bit more of profit for him.
He nodded.
"Sounds fine ta me."
He waited for her cue before walking with her to the back. There were some interesting things, to be sure. Naturally, he showed some interest in the dried meats and grains, the practical sort of things. He had to sustain, after all, and he only could bring so much from home when he left to help with the bi-yearly planting and harvests. However, his eyes did linger particularly long on the bit of fabric,
"Nothin' in particular. Just was gettin' some of tha basics 'n stuff. Ya doin' anything except for sellin flowers taday?"
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Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2015 8:18 am
A smile came over Aquarious' face and she led him into the back. She pulled out different wares, keeping an eye on Thulani's face to read his reactions. He made it so easy to know his thoughts, wore them plain on his face. Poor guy would be so easily taken advantage of with most of the City venders.
Carefully, she placed aside items that held his interest and offered the skein of fabric to him. "Here, take a closer look." She brushed hair from her face and shook her head. "No, nothing more than selling. Though, if you're interested, I could always use a friendly face to help greet customers. You'd be paid, of course."
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Posted: Tue Nov 24, 2015 6:21 am
Thulani only briefly hesitated before reaching out to take the fabric in hand. Its material was really quite different, quite softer, than most of the stuff he had ever worked with (those being primarily animal-derived, like leather). The coloring and the patterning were also both quite lovely; he had to wonder how much time had gone into making it.
It would be so wonderful to try to make something out of this for a change; how his mother and sisters would love it if he pulled it off!
As he moved to return the fabric to Aquarious, there was a pause on her words. He... had never really worked with those outside of the family farm or in these sort of situations where he was just trying to sustain and withhold the temptation to procure something unnecessary for such. He certainly had no idea what a job involving decorated arrangements of flowers entailed, nor if he would be any good at it. "Uh..." he hesitated, glancing back to the front of the shop. Was she being serious; how could she trust her store, even if only partially, to somepae she'd just met?
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Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2015 8:48 am
Aqurious could tell that the fabric skein was a hit with Thulani, which relieved her since she wasn't much for fabric making and it would have just been bartered away for something else. At his hesitation, Aquarious had to think fast on how to make this worth his time. Seriously, she was just tired of people after the busy morning.
"How about we trade the fabric for your gloves and boots, and if you work the front I'll pay you with some of the perishables that I have. You don't need to worry about finishing sales or bartering, just greet them and make small talk, and you can chose to leave whenever you're feeling done. The longer you stay, though, the more I can give you." She held out the skein to Thulani, eyebrow cocked on one side. "Are you interested?"
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Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2015 8:59 am
Whatever hesitation Thulani had had in accepting the job was more-or-less vanquished at her proposal. The fabric for his wares... sure... he could do that. And if helping to greet others in the front would allow him to earn those flowers, well...
He could do that too.
"Sounds like a mighty good deal ta me." he nodded once before holding out his hand to shake on it. "My gloves 'n boots fer ya fabric, and a bitta hard work fer somma those flowers up'n front."
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Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2015 9:22 am
Once more, Aquarious slid her hand into his, grasping his hand firmly. "Wonderful. I'll pull the flowers and keep them in back along with the fabric." She let go of his hand and moved to take the flowers and vase from their perch.
As she picked up the wild flowers, she couldn't help but feel her curiosity getting the better of her. "So, excuse the bluntness, but are these for a significant other, family, or just yourself?"
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Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2015 9:38 am
Thulani nodded and moved to hand her his goods more-or-less immediately after releasing her grip. He stretched a bit, extending his hands forward in an attempt to ready himself to deal with the others to come by. He was about to move to the front-of-shop when she addressed him again.
"Just fer me." He glanced away, sheepishly, a bit embarrassed to admit it. Running his hand through his hair, he didn't make eye contact as he finished. "They remind me of my childhood home, ya see.... I miss it rather often." At that he turned off and walked to the front to do whatever it was greeters do.
Smile, right?
He could do that.
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