A Fisherman Among Merchants

[Aveilthé]

OOC: Thanks to Foxie for the apparent "...Among Merchants" fad. *guilty*

It was a bit chilly out, not to mention the people themselves.
They were unfriendly at this time of year, for the cold weather
changed attitudes of most, to the great displeasure of Gareth.
Snide remarks would be given for every time a person pushed
him, for he would shoulder-push the dunderhead right back with
a retaliating growl. "Serves ya right, ya great prunes!" he'd shout
at the people that glared in response.

Slung over this young man's figure was a net filled considerably
with dying fish, some gasping for water that wasn't there. This man,
Gareth, had a grouchy expression on his face, for his lighty tanned
face was reddening due to the cold and the hair all over his body
stood on end. This gave him a very uncomfortable disposition. His
dark green, charming (though at this point, not quite so charming)
eyes gazed up to the sky, then grimaced. "A damn blizzard's
comin'," said he, in a strong Scottish accent. He swore some more
as he heaved his net up higher some more, for he felt his back
ready to snap from the weight of the huge fish - catfish, to be
precise.

Gareth understood that people were packing their things and
readying to go home, for news was spreading wide and far that
a terrible blizzard was coming. As far as Gareth could tell, it was
coming fast, for the sky looked sinister as if it was about to
swallow Escavas whole. Yet he was not very happy with the
temperament with these people; if only they could spare a few
moments to be more polite, it would make Escavas a much better
place to be in. Alas, Gareth was infected by these people. It could
not be helped.

"Outta the way, ya runt," grunted he to a small, terrified boy
that ran out in front of the scary fish-carrying man. The boy
yelped and scrambled away, looking for his mother.

This man was tall, and usually better-looking than he was now.
At this moment, his jet-black, curly hair drooped in the cold and
looked mildly damp. Bits of clean facial hair reigned about his chin
and just above his creasing lips. At the moment he wore a heavy
light brown long jacket of sorts, that served well enough for the
cold, but was still cheap anyway and would do no good in a
terrible blizzard. Nonetheless, this man was handsome in his
own nature, giving off a strong aura of masculinity that would
often make the ladies glance back again when passing him by.

Gareth was not a conceited fellow. Indeed, he had a sarcastic
and flauting nature, but he meant well - he never meant the
things he would say to anyone. Most of the time words would
pop out of him before he would ever think about it. He was well
taught about all the right things that he needed to know from his
father, and his grandmother, Maralyn Vaux.

Suddenly, another man shoved by Gareth, causing him to shout
in bewilderment. Due to the force of being shoved, he
staggered some and instantly lost his grip to the net that was
slung over his shoulders, making the fish and net slip to the ground
where the fish slid out. In anger, he watched helplessly as his
precious fish slid away. "Ya bastard!" he shouted furiously as the
man dissapeared as quickly as he appeared. Clenching his jaws,
he beant down and prepared picking up his fish and tossing them
back into the net, but ignored the ones that were being squashed
by heartless people.

[Relairah]

As the cold wind coming off the Escavan Ocean caused the men
working on deck to pull their cloaks tighter or the women walking
along the beach to walk closer to their men, or companions,
there would be a lonely young girl walking along. She wore a
long green dress, seamed, so that it was rather fitting up top but
loose and flowing below the waste. It had no particular designs
except the lace that lined the color and the edges of her long
sleeves. Over it she wore a long, thick cloak, dark green in color.
Hazel eyes peared out from thick, red curls that were blewn
about and she licked her red, chapped lips.

Brown boots left prints in the freshley wet sand and she began
to move toward the docks. Cold, numb fingers gently touched the
necklace about her neck, calming the shells that bounced upon
her skin. "Damn weather," she muttered under her breath. Hazel
eyes turned up toward the cloudy gray skies and a gentle sigh
escaped her lips. She had picked up swearing when she and her
family had sailed across the ocean to here, and now she used it
frequently, especially with her hot-temper. She often was
scolded by her grief-stricken father, and so had resolved to use
as little of it as possible around him. However, she did love
her father, despite the way she acted sometimes.

She moved up, away from the waves that came in and out, sand
sticking to her wet boots and the hem of her dress. She turned,
releasing her cloak slightly as her numb fingers didn't have a
whole lot of strength to hold it so tightly anymore. She began to
walk down the docks, watching the men as they went about
their business. Her father had sent her from their home not far
away to go to the docks and find out some information about the
area here. He had sent her sister out as well- to the market to
get food and such. And he had sent her two brothers on other
errands which she didn't care to remember. She muttered under
her breath her jealousy that she had to deal with this cold wind
and wet spray from the sea, and stench of the fish.

As she walked along, not really paying attention all too much,
she heard the sound of something crunching underneath her
brown boot and her eyes fell, a frown coming to her lips. "Ah
man..." she groaned, removing her foot from the now squished
fish. She bent down, shifting her hold so that she could grasp her
cloak with one hand and poke at the fish with the other. She had
not once in her life eaten fish and she wondered about it. "I
wonder if its actually safe..." she muttered.

Eyes looked up slightly, seeing there were other fish scattered
on the dock and a few others were squashed as well. She
grinned slightly to herself, "I wonder what sort of idiot actually
dropped fish. I bet there was a hole in his net and he didn't even
notice," she murmered with a giggle. She was thinking out loud,
but it was her only company, thus she didn't care if anyone heard
her- neither did she think that the person she was speaking of
would be just nearby.

She stood, wiping her finger on her cloak, finding the sliminess of
the fish rather disturbing yet intriguing. She looked around,
raising her hand to hold back her hair which was being whipped
by the wind, especially now that she was on slightly higher
elevation from the beach. She stepped over the fish she had
squashed, and kept her eyes on the ground, careful not to step
on anymore.

[Aveilthé]

OOC: If Kiku wants to join in, she still can, but I'll keep this goin' till ya join. XD

Gareth slipped the clean fish into his net, letting the dirty ones
be, for he had no time to get them anyway; most were squashed
and he wanted to get out of this weather as soon as possible.
However, once he glanced toward a vividly red-headed girl,
he froze, watching as she picked up the dirty scale-clad water
dwellers.

'I wonder what sort of idiot actually dropped fish...'

When he heard this, he felt his temper rising above the surface.
Wanting to take his heated anger out on someone, he decided
to pick on the girl, especially after her brash behaviour.

"That idiot would be me," he growled, stomping up to her with
the net now half-empty, slung over his broad shoulder. "I
hope ya choke and die on that bedraggled fish, ya witless
street rat!"

[Relairah]

Hazel eyes looked up, rather frightened and saw a tall, strong,
yet handsome man standing over her in an angry mannor. So,
the idiot was him? He didn't look like the type to be that stupid.
Still- she supposed looks could be decieving. However, she
did not let herself become intimidated. She frowned, "I'm not a
witless street rat. I have a home and decency. More than you, I
bet." She let the cold wind coming off the ocean whip through
her curly red hair, not bothering to push it away from her fair
skinned face.

Though her tone was rather angry towards him as well- her
hazel eyes showed clearly that she was rather frightened and
unsure, and a bit lost too. Her thoughts were racing of what she
should say or do with anything that could happen. Speaking of
having a home... she wondered when she should be getting back
to it. She hated for her father to worry, no matter how grumpy
he could get, and also, she figured she shouldn't get too caught
up in arguing with this fisherman. She was here because she had
been given a job to do.

[Aveilthé]

OOC: If Kiku wants to join in, she still can, but I'll keep this goin' till ya join. XD

"Mind your mouth, little girl," he retorted, "ya are a witless little
witch or you would've helped me scrape up the fish, but no,
your sorry little hide is trying to steal 'um! Well take 'um anyway,
I've no need for dirty fish that is as low as the thief that picks 'um
up from the filthy street. Besides, ya contradict yourself if ya
say ya have more decency than I. Who is the one stealing
the fish now, eh? Not even bothering trying to find out whom it
belonged to, eh?"

He hitched up his net higher over his shoulder as he turned
on his heel coldly to leave, but as he did so, there was a nasty
riiip sound and the next thing he knew, his net was ten times
lighter. Fearing the worst, he turned around slowly and saw
to his horror that the bottom of his net was split wide open.
Fish was once more scattered all over the street, and people
were cursing fervently at him. "Idiot twit," they spat, shaking
their heads and giving off rude gestures.

"Arrgh!" shouted Gareth. "That's just m'damned luck! Well
screw that, take it all if ya want it, little girl! The lot's for you!"
He kicked a corpse of a fish and it flew in an arch in the air
and hit someone's head off in the distance. "It's bloody cold and
I think I will go home now!" Yet he didn't move, for he was
breathing very roughly. He had never had such a temper in his
life, and he knew it, but he didn't care.

[Relairah]

"I'm not trying to steal anything. I simply was examining.
But you would know that if you'd been paying attention. I'm new
here, haven't really ever seen fish before like this. So, I'm no
street rat!" She backed up just slightly, avoiding being hit in the
face by the large net of fish. She watched him turn to leave and
have even more bad luck, and had to catch her breath quickly to
keep from laughing, her cheeks suddenly turning pink.

Once she was sure she had calmed herself, holding back the
laugh as best she could she spoke once again. "I told you, I'm
not stealing anything. Anyway most of these are alive. You
could put them back in the sea so they wouldn't go to waste.
And then you have a chance of getting them again later if you go
get a new net."

She scowled, bending slightly and picking up as many fish as she
could carry in her arms, causing her green dress to be soaked
and covered in water and the smell of fish. She didn't much care,
but rather began moving toward the side of the dock to dump
them back in the sea. "And you should watch that temper," she
muttered, scowling at Gareth. "Blubbering idiot."

[Aveilthé]

Gareth's temper deflated suddenly. He may have a bad temperate
at situations like this (again, who could blame him?), but he always
kept to the side of prudency. There was no point in wasting his
breath to the wretched girl. Grumbling, he turned his back on
her again, but instead of walking away, he bent down and
picked up the slippery fish. Whether alive or dead, he didn't care.
Fish could not breath out of water for too lang, chances are,
most of them were dead anyway.

He grudgingly tossed them over the smaller cliffside, watching
as the lifeless or still living fish were tossed into the frigid, watery
depths once more. All the while, he didn't speak to the girl, he
didn't feel like starting another row, thus he gave her his silent
treatment for the time being until he saw fit that he decided
to speak to her again.

The fisherman had to bite his tongue. He was itching to snap at
her, but as aforementioned, decided against it. It might've
resorted to violence, and he was not a violent man; let alone he
had never hit girls before in his life. After he had finished, he
wiped his hands upon his already sopping brown coat. He
turned back to the girl and whisked a piece of cold, dark wet
hair out of his green eyes. "Let say we get out of the cold," he
said impassively. "A storm's coming. Thanks for... err... helpin'
me out with the fish, and I suppose... ya're right..." he said this
last part grudgingly, for he didn't like to admit that the girl was
a little right. But he decided to be on best terms with her
anyway. At least it was better than being enemies.

[Relairah]

Hazel eyes watched as arm full after arm full was dumped back
into the water until at last most of the fish were back in the
water. The rest weren't worth really getting - they were mostly
squished. It wouldn't make much difference to leave them, as the
docks already were filled with the stench of fish that constantly
hovered in the air and was blown in from the seas. Thick red
curls were blewn about her face stronger and stronger - for
indeed, Gareth was right... a storm was coming in. 'Joy...'
she thought sarcastically.

She looked up at Gareth, expecting another snap, yet was
slightly surprised at what he said. She smile, and nodded in
agreement. "Uhm, sure... no problem." Gaze turned toward the
skies that were beginning to darken, and a soft sigh of
annoyance came from her lips. She turned her gaze on him once
again and bit her lip. She needed to be getting back home - her
father would need help with things. But - she was a grown
woman and she didn't need to ask her father, or explain herself,
if she went somewhere else temporarily. "So, uhm," she was still
contemplating exactly what he meant. Should she say a farewell
and leave or was he inviting her to stay? Perhaps it would be
easier to ask...

"Would you prefer I simply go on my way?" she asked, twitching
slightly. She had to admit she didn't really want to - she was
rather curious about this fisherman. But, the way she had just
asked the question made her feel rather stupid. Yet, there
wasn't going back in time at all, so no point in trying to. She
wondered if she should say anything else - if it wouldn't just
make it worse. "Or is there some place we could go temporarily
to wait the storm out?"

[Aveilthé]

"Simply?" he repeated her, giving her a rather stony face. "Ya like
to say that word a lot, donchya. Well if anything, if it is so simple,
then go. But if ya look at the streets, it's icy. See?" He gestured
at the icy street. "Most likely ya'd trip and injure yourself. So no,
ya cannot just simply go on your way. If ya want, suit yourself,
but I'm gonna go to that inn." Again he gestured, this time, toward
a four-story building, rather small and dingy-looking.

[Relairah]

She glanced toward the streets, and indeed they were icy. Her
mind flew toward her family and wondered if her siblings had
gotten home alright. But, the man was right... whatever his name
was. That reminded her, they'd been so busy arguing... she
supposed she'd get his name eventually. Or maybe not. She
nodded slightly, "You're right. I won't be in your way." She really
didn't like tagging along with people as she tended to be a bit
independant minded, yet she followed after him. The inn looked
warm, and welcoming, and anything was better than staying out
here in the storm that was beginning to fall upon them. Rain
drops had already begun to sprinkle, now slowly but beginning
to fall faster and more frequently.

She stepped inside the inn, pausing to simply look around. It was
somewhat like the inns back home, but different in its own way
as well. There were people that were sitting around talking,
some sitting alone either looking about at the different pictures
and such on the walls, or reading to themselves. She said
nothing, simply stood near the man she'd followed. She suddenly
had a feeling that she didn't want to be alone. All of this was so
new to her and she barely knew her way around anywhere in
this town. She wished she had her sister with her, but she also
was beginning to trust this man wouldn't just abandon her either.

[Aveilthé]

Gareth tramped straight up to a woman behind a downtrodden
desk. He laid a few shiny coins upon the desk, to which the old
lady bent over to look down at them scrupulously. Nodding lightly,
she jabbed her finger at a piece of parchment laying dormant
with only a few signatures. Obviously understanding, Gareth
took a quill from an inkwell and wrote down his name in fast
cursive. He turned around to face the girl. "What's your name? I'll
sign in for ya," he said slowly, trying to turn a new leaf with her.
"And don't worry about payin', I paid for ya. And I paid for both of
us to stay a night."

The old woman then spoke. "You both hafta stay in one room,
'cause all the others are filled. It is one bedroom with one bed,"
she said briskly, sipping on a cup of hot coffee. "And if you two
are hungry, my husband will send food for you two. He's makin'
pork. And he makes the best." She smacked her lips. Gareth,
listening, promptly drooled. He loved pork, and it was better
than fish. Oh yes, Gareth was absolutely tired of consuming fish.

It did take a while for the lady's words to soak into his brain. Once
he comprehended her words, he possitively blanched but didn't
say anything about staying in one room with the girl. A rosy blush
did erupt from his face, though.

[Relairah]

Aithne was caught looking around, rather intrigued by the pictures
on the walls and the design of the lobby and whatnot. She was
bent on learning as much as she could in her new home, and she
unconsciously followed Gareth to the desk, looking rather curious
yet nervous, as though she were just a young child following after a
friend or close companion. She jumped slightly when Gareth asked
for her name, and she quickly snapped back into herself. "Aithne.
Uhm, thanks." she grinned slightly, moving so that she stood beside
him at the desk. She watched him write down her name and was
rather surprised that he even knew how to write - and in cursive,
even though it wasn't all that neat. Hazel eyes turned upon the lady
at the desk, and she nodded slightly.

She herself was suddenly nervous. What if she was labeled a tramp
in her first week of living here - as she had only arrived a few days
before. That would be awful. But she had no choice and she was
bent on making the best of what she was given. Anyway, it was
better than a lot of other things. At least she had a warm dry place
to stay where she felt rather safe for the night. She sighed, glancing
at Gareth. If she noticed the blush, she said nothing about it.
"Thank you," she said toward the lady at the desk. "It's much
appreciated. We'll not bother you too much."

She moved away from the desk, and she realized suddenly that she
was hungry. She didn't really like asking people for food, but
she didn't really have an option at this point. And that pork sounded
so good. So, she had to admit she was rather excited about it. She
waited on Gareth, having learned his name from seeing it on the
sign in sheet. However, she felt she wanted to ask him his name
anyway, just because it would be more proper. "So, I never caught
your name in all of this," she said, once they were away from the
desk.

[Aveilthé]

The old lady handed Gareth a key. "Thanks, ma'am," Gareth
told her airily, his face positively red. "Alright, uhm... yeah." He
followed the girl out.

"So your name's Aithne, huh?" said he, trying his hardest not to
squeak. "It's nice... better than mine anyway. It's Gareth," he
responded, brandishing the key to the knob of an ancient-looking
door and forcing it into the hole. "Okay, uh... if I can just open
this damn door..." There was a faint click, and the door opened
for them.

Inside was indeed a one-room bedroom, though with a fireplace,
already roaring with fire, and a stack of wood beside it. It was
a down-to-earth abode, and it seem to please Gareth nonetheless.
One small twin-sized bed was lain about against a wall, with a
table beside it. Another door was open, but it led to a bathroom.

"Well it's nice, but uh... the bed's kinda small..." Gareth suddenly
felt his entire body really hot. He was extremely embarassed.
He knew the Fates must have cursed them both into this
kind of bizarre situation. "Ya can have the bed, I'll uh... sleep on
the floor. And uh... I know we got off on the wrong foot back on
the streets, so I just wanna appologize about my temper. The
cold does funny things, yanno."

He threw a few of his things on the floor. There was only one
pillow on the brown-blanketed bed, slightly threadbare and
abused.

"It's not really that late, 'ccording to my clock. It is gettin' ready
to be nightfall soon. Oh, someone's at the door, I'll get it."

Indeed, the sound of knocking was heard at the door. Gareth
opened it to reveal an elderly man, wrinkles upon wrinkles
with white hair, albeit balding, that held a tray of pork.
"Here you go, young sir and ma'am," said he in a wheezy voice,
holding the tray out to Gareth who took it, but looked sort of
crestfallen. "Err... sir, I don't have any money to tip--" but was
cut off short by the elderly man's guffaw. "Don't worry about it,
lad, you already paid for your keep, that's good enough. Enjoy.
By the way, if you need anything, call upon Clent. That's my name."
With that, he bowed himself out, and scampered off.

"Mm, smells good," said Gareth, holding up a thick and huge chuck
of pork. "And he gave us a knife, and two plates with forks. How
nice." Cutting up the pork in half, he put one on a small pottery
plate and the other on his. He handed one plate, fork and all,
to Aithne. "Bon apatite."

[Relairah]

Aithne nodded, "Yea, it's-" but she stopped, or rather was cut off by
Gareth. "Gareth... it suits you. Well, I like it anyway." She watched
as he struggled for a moment to get the door open. She paused,
before stepping inside and looking around herself, rather
observantly. It certainly wasn't the largest room, one made for
people who needed some place to stay but didn't need to live in
luxury. It would do, and she was satisfied. She subconsciously
heard Gareth and nodded. "Yea... okay, if that's what you wanna
do. Just don't make yourself uncomfortably." Her cheeks were as red
as roses, but she tried not to think about it.

Hazel eyes turned upon him and she grinned slightly, "Yea, uhm, I
guess I should apologize too." She paused, before moving toward
him slightly and sticking out her hand. "Truce?" She looked at the
few things he had and wished she had a few of her own things. All
she had was the clothes on her body. There was a pillow on the
bed, which she was completely glad for. She nodded slightly, letting
him get the door, although she opened the door a bit wider so that
she could get a peek, being her curious self. She almost said
something to the man who damed himself Clent, yet she was all too
eager to eat the pork and so she backed up, letting Gareth close
the door and accepted the plate and all as he handed them to her.

"Wow, I hope we can pay him back sometime soon or something.
Smells good..." She eagerly began to eat, trying to remember not to
be sloppy as she was already rather embarrassed as it was from
having to share a room with Gareth for a whole night. She was sure
she didn't want anymore embarrassment. It was the best pork
she'd had in a while, and she savored every bite. At that moment,
she wasn't thinking about anything really. Not how she'd get back
home, not what she'd have for breakfast, not how she'd pay Gareth
back for all of this - even if this was a rather embarrassing state.
Afterall - he had paid for her.

She placed her plate aside, wiping her mouth with the sleeve of her
green dress, smiling slightly. She stood, looking around a moment
before walking over and putting her plate on the table next to the
bed. "Yea, it isn't really that late... but, do you think you could
occupy yourself for a bit? I think I'm gonna go take a bath. I need to
freshen up a bit anyway, especially after all that fish." She grinned,
knowing that Gareth probably didn't really think all that much about
the smell of fish since he dealt with it every day.

She moved toward the bathroom, "I won't be too long," she
murmured before closing the door. She hesitated a moment,
wondering whether or not she should just wait until she got home
to take a shower. It was rather awkward taking a shower knowing
that this door was the only thing keeping her hidden from the eyes
of an almost stranger. Still, the hot water seemed so welcoming to
her and she hoped it would wash away the red and embarrassment
from her cheeks. Thus, she placed her worry aside, undressing and
stepping in, the water feeling extremely comforting, especially
compared to the cold winds blowing outside.

[Aveilthé]

Gareth ate his slowly, sitting upon the floor all the while and
munching on delicious, hot pork. It felt good as it slid down his
throat. He nodded absentmindedly to Aithne as she hurried to
the bath, but it didn't take him long to realize that she was
only many feet away...

He shook his head vigorously, trying to rid of such thoughts.
No, it was innapropriate, how could he think of such things
about a complete stranger. Standing up, he dusted himself
off and walked around the premesis, admiring the few paintings
on the wall and the cracked, dirty miniature chandalier giving off
a small amount of light. The window near the bed emitted
a bit of light also, it was obvious that dusk was already upon
the city. But more so, the snow had thickened into a powerful
blizzard in only minutes.

Thus, sitting upon the end of the bed, he found a book upon the
table. Taking it, he flipped through it's pages and decided to read
for the time being. There was absolutely no place to go at this
point, and it being late, was sure that the lobby would be bare
of anyone.